Prophecies, Trelawney & Centaurs

[Fiat Incantatum]

No: HPFGUIDX 36287

On 10 Mar 2002 at 5:23, uncmark wrote:

> Consider if Sibyl's first prophecy was about Harry. I've imagined 
> James and Lily as some of the leading young wizards fighting LV, 
> possibly aurors, yet not THE leading wizards. In a VERY PUBLIC 
> gathering at Hogwart's (possibly their wedding or the Baby's 
> christening)Sibyl Tralawney goes into a trance and prophesies the the 
> Potter baby will cause the downfall of LV, putting into motion a 
> string of events.

One thing that we might want to remember is that there is more than one 
prophecy running around and IMHO the originators of the other prophecy (for 
lack of a better word) are a lot more believable than Trelawney:  the centaurs 
in the Forbidden Forest.

<< begin quote>>
from book 1 (US edition, chapter fifteen "The Forbidden Forest")

"Firenze!" Bane thundered. "What are you doing? You have a human on your back!  
Have you no shame?  Are you a common mule?"

"Do you realize who this is?" said Firenze.  "This is the Potter boy.  The 
quicker he leaves the forest, the better."

"What have you been telling him?" growled Bane.  "Remember, Firenze, we are 
sworn not to set ourselves against the heavens.  Have we not read what is to 
come in the movements of the planets?"

<snip>

Firenze suddenly reared on to his hind legs in anger, so that Harry had to grab 
his shoulders to stay on.

"Do you not see that unicorn?" Firenze bellowed at Bane. "Do you not understand 
why it was killed?  Or have the planets not let you in on the secret?  I set 
myself against what is lurking in this forest, Bane, yes, with humans alongside 
me if I must."

<snip>

"Good luck, Harry Potter," said Firenze.  "The planets have been read wrongly 
before now, even by centaurs.  I hope this is one of those times."

<<< end of quoted material>>

So, there is the evidence of another prophecy (of sorts) that is known to the 
centaurs.  I'd consider them a more creditable source of predictions than 
Trelawney, any day.  So, what is it that "is to come" that the centaurs see? 
What was Bane worried that Firenze might have told Harry?  Why does Firenze 
hope that the centaurs are wrong this time?  If it is only the second return of 
Voldemort, then why does helping Harry constitute setting oneself "against the 
heavens"?  Harry doesn't give the encounter another thought, but it *can't* 
just be a throwaway scene, there's too much potential there.  It is never 
referenced again in any of the existing books, so I suspect that it must be 
significant at some point in the remaining three.

I suspect that the centaurs saw something along the line of Voldemort killing 
Harry (and so were reluctant to save Harry from Voldemort in the forest) and 
Trelawney saw Harry being Voldemort's downfall.  The two predictions are not 
mutually exclusive, if you look at it the right way, Voldemort COULD kill Harry 
now, since he can now touch him, and that COULD have the effect of destroying 
Voldemort in the backlash.  I somehow doubt that a frontal assault or trap will 
ever succeed against Voldemort, so it will have to be something subtle that he 
doesn't understand enough to plan to counter.  JKR has certainly gone out of 
her way to drum into us the idea of the power of loving self-sacrifice, hasn't 
she? Supposedly we're going to see Harry finding out more about death in the 
books to come ... 

Fiat, who hopes, like Firenze, that this is one of those times <sigh>

  
-- 
Fiat Incantatum 
fiatincantatum at attbi.com

The last temptation is the greatest treason:  
To do the right deed for the wrong reason.
           T. S. Eliot "Murder in the Cathedral"