neville longbottom in harry potter

Harry Potter is, and always has been, The Boy Who Lived. However, he was able to live because of the love of his mother, which shielded him from harm. Throughout his life, Harry met many people who cared deeply for him and protected him.

Albus Dumbledore was like a father to Harry, always trying to keep him safe for the greater good. The Order of the Phoenix did whatever they could to make sure Harry kept on living, despite the danger to themselves and others. Most important, however, were the friends he made along the way; the friends who would do anything for him, believed in him, and in some cases, died for him.

We’ve compiled a list of fifteen times Harry was saved by his friends, allowing him to make the ultimate sacrifice in the end and destroy Lord Voldemort once and for all.

Spoiler warning: if you’ve never read the Harry Potter books or seen all the movies, stop reading now.  Please note that this list that focuses on events from the movies. A lot of material was left out of the films that originally appeared in the books and other things were changed.

15. Hagrid Rescues Him From The Dursleys (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone)

Hagrid tells Harry he is a wizard in The Philosopher's Stone

Although they had not yet become friends, Hagrid would become a pivotal father-figure and friend to Harry Potter throughout his time at Hogwarts. Hagrid first brought Harry to the Dursleys, on Dumbledore’s order, as they were his only living relatives and were muggles. Little did anyone know how abusive the Dursleys would be to Harry, often starving him and making him sleep in a tiny cupboard under the stairs.

When Harry turned eleven, he received his letter from Hogwarts, which his uncle Vernon Dursley took from him. He did everything he could to stop Harry from getting any more letters and exposing the family to more magic. Uncle Vernon even went so far as to set off in a storm to a tiny hut on a rock in the middle of the sea. However, seeing as Hagrid was from the magical world, he was able to reach the hut and deliver Harry’s letter anyway.

Harry was not only saved from the Dursleys in this instance but from his own ignorance of the wizarding world, his true identity, and how his parents died, all of which Hagrid revealed to him before whisking him off to a world of magic.

14. Ron Stops the Troll (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone)

The Mountain Troll in Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone

During the Halloween feast in the Great Hall, Professor Quirrell runs in and interrupts the meal by informing everyone that a troll had gotten into Hogwarts and was down in the dungeons. ("Thought you ought to know!") Although he faints dramatically in the film, we later find out he was the one who set the troll loose as a distraction in order to steal the Sorcerer’s Stone.

Harry and Ron then set off to warn Hermione about the troll, but accidentally lock it in the bathroom where she was crying earlier. The two realize their mistake and rush in to save Hermione. They distract the troll by throwing pieces of debris at it, but it goes after Hermione anyway.

Harry then jumps on the troll’s club and mounts his neck. After shoving his wand up the troll’s nose, the enraged beast tries to whack Harry with his club. Ron finally pulls out his wand and with a helpful reminder from Hermione, performs the Wingardium Leviosa spell. This halts the troll’s club in mid-air above its head and bringing it crashing down, knocking the troll out.

Although it’s Ron who saves Harry from getting pummelled by the troll, if Hermione hadn’t corrected his spellcasting in Charms class, things may have turned out rather differently.

13. Hermione Distracts Professor Quirrell (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone)

Alan Rickman as Severus Snape at a Quidditch Match in Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone

During Harry’s first Quidditch match as Gryffindor’s seeker, his broom starts to go awry. It jerks about and tries to throw him off, leaving him dangling and holding on for dear life. His fellow Gryffindors look on from the stands, including Hermione who is watching through a pair of binoculars.

As she follows his movements, her binoculars eventually fall on the stands across the way, which hold some of the teachers from Hogwarts, including Professors Quirrell and Snape. Hermione witnesses Professor Snape muttering what she thinks is a curse, and sets off to stop him.

Being the incredibly gifted witch that she is, even as a first year, Hermione uses Lacarnum Inflamarae to ignite the hem of Snape’s robes, effectively breaking his concentration. Harry is then able to climb back on his broom and finish the match, catching the snitch in his mouth for the win.

Since Professor Snape outwardly shows his dislike for Harry throughout the film, Harry never suspects it was actually Professor Quirrell, possessed by Lord Voldemort, who was trying to steal the Sorcerer’s Stone. When Harry finally gets past the obstacles to the last room where the stone is supposedly hidden, he finds Professor Quirrell instead. It is then revealed that he was jinxing Harry’s broom and, Professor Snape’s robe catching on fire, broke his concentration. Snape was actually trying to protect Harry.

12. Hermione Saves Him From Devil’s Snare (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone)

Emma Watson as Hermione Granger in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

When Harry, Ron, and Hermione decide to stop the Sorcerer’s Stone from being stolen, they have to jump down a trapdoor. When they hit the bottom, they all land on a large viney plant, which Hermione identifies as Devil’s Snare.

The plant then starts wrapping its long, tentacle-like vines around the trio, who struggle against it, only making it worse. Hermione then tells them to relax, which will make the plant stop trying to kill them. She demonstrates by holding very still and is dropped down into the chamber beneath them.

After Ron and Harry scream for Hermione, she reminds them to relax once again, which Harry does and is released from the plant’s grasp. Ron, however, continues to struggle until Hermione remembers a rhyme from Herbology class, “Devil’s Snare, Devil’s Snare, It’s deadly fun, but will sulk in the sun.” After hitting the plant with the Lumos Solem spell, Ron too is released. It's another case of Hermione’s rabid attention, intelligence, and excellent memory saving the day-- and Harry’s life.

11. Ron, Fred, and George Rescue Him From The Dursleys (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets)

he Weasleys Rescue Harry Potter From The Dursleys in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

During the summer before Harry’s second year of Hogwarts, the Malfoys' house elf, Dobby, pays him a visit. Dobby warns Harry not to return to Hogwarts because of the danger that awaits him there. Dobby appears at unfortunate day when tensions in the Dursley household are already running high. A potential client for Uncle Vernon’s drill manufacturing company, Mr. Mason has come for dinner along with his wife, and Uncle Vernon is eager to impress him. Harry is shut up in his room, where he is forbidden to make any noise or come down during the meal.

However, when Harry refuses to heed Dobby’s warning about returning to Hogwarts, Dobby levitates the dessert Aunt Petunia made, sending it crashing onto Mrs. Mason’s head. Harry is locked up in his room, with bars installed on his window, and forbidden to leave.

A few days later, Harry is woken up in the middle of the night by Ron and his twin brothers, Fred and George, who came to rescue him in their father’s enchanted Ford Anglia. After pulling the bars off the window, they help Harry escape with all of his Hogwarts supplies, and fly off into the night, leaving the Dursleys behind until next summer.

10. Neville Gives Him Gillyweed for the 2nd Task (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire)

Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter During the Triwizard Tournament in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

During the Triwizard tournament in Harry’s fourth year, he is chosen as a Hogwarts champion and has to complete three tasks. After successfully completing the first task, and retrieving a golden egg guarded by his assigned dragon, Harry has to figure out what the second task is. Eventually, Cedric Diggory tips him off about finding the answer while taking a bath, giving him the password to enter the Prefect’s Bathroom.

Guided by Moaning Myrtle, one of Hogwarts’ resident ghosts, Harry opens the egg underwater and listens to a song sung by Merpeople who live in The Black Lake at Hogwarts. From the song, he concludes he’ll have to retrieve something of his from the lake, and thus must somehow figure out how to stay underwater for a prolonged amount of time.

Seeing that Neville Longbottom has an affinity for Herbology, Professor Moody, who is in actuality the Death Eater Barty Crouch, Jr., gives him a book called Magical Water Plants of the Highland Lochs. It is in this book that Neville discovers a plant that will help Harry breathe underwater: Gillyweed. Before the second task begins, Neville gives him a handful of Gillyweed, which gives Harry gills like a fish. This allows him to successfully complete the task and not drown from trying to hold his breath for too long.

9. Neville Saves Dumbledore’s Army From Detection by Umbridge (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix)

Death Eater Practice Dummy in Room of Requirement From Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

In Harry’s fifth year at Hogwarts, Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic at the time, became paranoid that Albus Dumbledore was conspiring to take over the Ministry and assure his position as Minister for Magic. As a result, Fudge fired Dumbledore as Headmaster, replacing him with Dolores Umbridge. Particularly fond of rules, Umbridge used her new position to create an enormous amount of educational decrees and subjected students to sadistic punishments and interrogation methods, including pens that wrote with the user’s own blood.

Disgusted with Umbridge and her methods, particularly how they weren’t allowed to learn spells for combat, Harry, and his friends banded together to form their own Defense Against the Dark Arts class with Harry as the teacher. They called themselves Dumbledore’s Army (DA) to spite the Ministry. When Umbridge saw them all congregating together, she issued a decree that all student organizations were to be disbanded, forcing DA into secrecy.

While brainstorming possible locations for their meetings, Neville came upon the Room of Requirement, which equipped itself for their use, providing them with Death Eater dummies to practice on, useful books, and Dark Detectors. Although it seems like dumb luck in the film, Neville was conscious of its existence in the book, even getting very specific about what kinds of people could and couldn’t enter their hideout.

8. Hermione Saves Him From Umbridge (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix)

Professor Umbridge Talks to Professor Snape While Harry Potter is Tied Up in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

After Harry has a vision of Voldemort torturing Sirius Black in the Department of Mysteries, Umbridge catches Harry, Ron, and Hermione trying to use the Floo Network from her office. Her Inquisitorial Squad catches a bunch of the other Dumbledore’s Army members and holds them at wandpoint, while Umbridge has Harry tied up in a chair.

Upon summoning Professor Snape to her office so she can use Veritaserum to find out the truth of Harry’s intentions, Snape informs Umbridge that she has used up his stock interrogating other students. Desperate, Umbridge decides Harry has left her no choice but to use the Cruciatus Curse on him, which is illegal and one of the three Unforgivable Curses.

Hermione interrupts Umbridge before she is able to perform the curse. She urges Harry to tell Umbridge about Dumbledore’s secret weapon, or she'll tell Umbridge herself. Although Harry is unaware of it at the time, Hermione was referring to Hagrid’s half-brother Grawp, a giant who was currently tied up in the Forbidden Forest. However, when they enter the Forbidden Forest, it’s a group of centaurs they meet, who take care of their Umbridge problem, at least for a while.

7. Luna Saves Him After He’s Petrified By Draco (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince)

Luna Lovegood arrives with a spooky glasses in Harry Potter

Before Harry’s return to Hogwarts in his sixth year, he met up with Ron and Hermione in Diagon Alley. They decide to follow Draco Malfoy and his mother into Knockturn Alley. It’s there they discover Draco taking part in a strange ceremony at Borgin & Burke’s, which leads Harry to suspect Draco may have become a Death Eater.

On the Hogwarts Express, Harry sneaks into the Slytherin’s compartment by using Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder to disappear under his Invisibility Cloak, unseen. He eavesdrops on Malfoy and his friends to try and find out what he’s up to. When everyone else has emptied out from the compartment, Malfoy lingers, suspecting Harry is invisible. He performs the spell Petrificus Totalus on Harry, causing him to fall out of the overhead luggage area and onto the floor. Completely paralyzed, Harry is unable to fight back when Draco breaks his nose and leaves him there under his Invisibility Cloak.

Although it's Nymphadora Tonks who saves Harry in the books, the film has Luna Lovegood patrolling the train looking for Wrackspurts with her Spectrespecs. Noticing a fair amount of Wrackspurts congregating near the floor, Luna performs the spell Enervate and un-petrifies Harry. She then accompanies him to Hogwarts and even proceeds to fix his broken nose, the sign of a true friend.

6. Hermione saves him from Nagini (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1)

Bathilda Bagshot speaks with Harry in Harry Potter

After Harry, Ron, and Hermione successfully retrieve Slytherin’s locket, one of Voldemort’s seven Horcruxes, they escape into the Forest of Dean where they remain in hiding from the Death Eaters. Wearing the locket eventually causes Ron to become jealous of Harry and Hermione, and he abandons them.

In an attempt to locate Godric Gryffindor’s sword, Harry and Hermione head to Godric’s Hollow where they believe the sword may be in the possession of Bathilda Bagshot. While standing at the grave of Harry’s parents, they see Bathilda, who beckons them to come into her home.

While Harry is focused on finding out what he can from Bathilda, Hermione stays on her guard because of Bathilda’s silence and general creepy demeanor. Harry follows Bathilda up to the second floor where she speaks to Harry in Parseltongue and directs him to a photo album.

Meanwhile, Bathilda transforms back into Voldemort’s snake, Nagini, and attacks him. Hermione then comes to his rescue, hitting the snake with a Blasting Curse that allows them to escape through disapparition, although Harry has already been bitten. However, Hermione is able to heal Harry’s wound with Essence of Dittany, a rare plant derivative that stops bleeding and heals wounds.

5. Ron Saves Him From Drowning (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1)

Harry Potter retrieving Godric Gryffindor's sword

Upon returning to the Forest of Dean, Hermione and Harry decide to take turns keeping watch in case they were followed. While Harry sits by a tree, he observes a silver light orb, which takes the form of a doe Patronus. Harry follows it further into the woods, where it leads him to a frozen pond. Under the surface, he observes Godric Gryffindor’s sword.

He plunges into the icy water to retrieve the sword. However, since he is still wearing the Horcrux locket, which can be destroyed by the sword, the locket rebels and tries to choke him while he’s underwater. Harry gets stuck under the ice as the pond refreezes, nearly drowning him until someone comes to his rescue.

When he’s pulled out and puts his glasses back on, he sees that it’s Ron who has returned from his self-exile, Godric Gryffindor’s sword in hand. They then decide to destroy Slytherin’s locket together, with Harry using Parselmouth to open it and Ron stabbing it with the sword, killing another piece of Voldemort’s soul.

4. Hermione disguises him (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1)

Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter Affected By the Stinging Jinx in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

After escaping from Xenophilius Lovegood’s house, Harry, Ron, and Hermione run right into a group of Snatchers in the woods. In the books, they appear because Harry accidentally says Voldemort’s name, which now has a Taboo curse on it. The Snatchers are made up of known werewolf Fenrir Greyback, Scabior, and others. Upon spotting the trio, they give chase, causing Harry, Ron, and Hermione to separate temporarily.

Ron is caught by Scabior with Harry and Hermione surrounded by the remaining Snatchers. Although they don’t yet know who the three are, Hermione stuns Harry with a stinging spell to disfigure his face and takes his glasses to hide his true identity. Harry and Hermione give false names, but Scabior suspects they aren’t who they say they are and brings them to Malfoy Manor instead of the Ministry.

At the time, Snatchers were bringing muggle-borns, blood traitors, and Harry’s supporters to the Voldemort-controlled Ministry. If they had brought Harry, Ron, and Hermione there instead, they would have surely been recognized, as Hermione’s face had been in the Daily Prophet as a supporter of Harry’s.

3. Dobby Saves Him From Bellatrix And the Malfoys (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1)

Dobby Rescues Ollivander and Luna Lovegood in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

After getting caught by the Snatchers and brought to Malfoy Manor, Harry and Ron are locked up along with Luna, the goblin Griphook, and wandmaker Ollivander. Hermione, on the other hand, is tortured upstairs by Bellatrix Lestrange, who tries to get her to reveal how she came to have Godric Gryffindor’s sword. Hearing Hermione’s cries and screams of pain, Harry pulls out the piece of Sirius’ two-way mirror he saved and begs for help when he sees a familiar face in it.

Unexpectedly, Dobby appears, sent by Aberforth Dumbledore who possesses the other mirror. Dobby apparates Luna and Mr. Ollivander to safety, returning to help Harry, Ron, and Hermione escape. Harry and Ron battle with the Malfoys until Bellatrix holds Hermione at wandpoint. Dobby then saves the day by nearly dropping a large chandelier on Bellatrix, disarming Narcissa Malfoy, and disapparating Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Griphook out of Malfoy Manor.

2. Hermione and Ron Save Him From Draco, Zabini and Goyle (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2)

Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

At the beginning of the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry, with the help of Luna, asks the Grey Lady, Ravenclaw's house ghost, for the location of Rowena Ravenclaw’s diadem. The Grey Lady, Harry discovers, is Rowena’s daughter Helena. She informs him the diadem was corrupted by Voldemort with dark magic and hidden in the Room of Requirement.

When Harry goes to retrieve the diadem, he is discovered by Draco, Zabini, and Goyle. Goyle eggs Draco on to do Harry in, but before the Slytherins can attack, Ron and Hermione arrive, disarming Malfoy.

Ron then pursues Draco, Zabini, and Goyle while Harry and Hermione retrieve the diadem. Ron returns, pursued by Fiendfyre dispelled from Goyle’s wand. Surrounded by fire, Harry throws up a shield spell, which knocks Ron to the ground. Although its something of an accident, Ron falls into some brooms, which he, Harry, and Hermione use to escape from the burning room.

1. Neville Saves Him (and Everyone Else) By Making Voldemort Mortal Again (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2)

Lord Voldemorts Snake Nagini

When Voldemort announces Harry is dead, he gives all of the Hogwarts students and professors a chance to declare their allegiance to him. Draco joins his family, but then Neville starts to step forward too. Although Voldemort jokes that they might be able to find room for him in their ranks, Neville has other ideas.

In the books, Harry tells Neville to kill the snake Nagini in case something happens to him, or if Ron and Hermione are unable to. The movie version leaves this piece of information out, but nevertheless, it’s implied that Neville still knows what to do.

After an impassioned speech about Harry, Neville draws Godric Gryffindor’s sword out of the Sorting Hat. Harry awakens and rejoins the others, enraging Voldemort and starting another cat-and-mouse chase through the castle. Although Ron and Hermione try to destroy the snake themselves, it is Neville who kills Nagini, chopping off its head. While he saves Ron and Hermione in the immediate sense, Nagini’s death was also the last of Voldemort’s Horcruxes, leaving him mortal once again.