That damn Prophecy - an alternative take

[arrowsmithbt]

No: HPFGUIDX 75199

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "scooting2win"
<scooting2win at y...> 
wrote:

> > --- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, B Arrowsmith 
> > <arrowsmithbt at b...> wrote:

> > > 
> > > Trying to sort out the 'either, neither, other' is the key.
Now, 
> > the 
> > > assumption has been that this passage refers to Harry and 
> Voldemort 
> > > *only*. Why should it? Two other people have already been 
> referred 
> > to 
> > > in the Prophecy, why not again?
> > > 
> > > "born to those" refers to the Potters or the Longbottoms, 
> according 
> > to 
> > > the birthdates of Harry and Neville. Now insert some names, 
> fitting 
> > the 
> > > existing canon, into that bit of the Prophecy.
> > > 
> > > "but he will have a power Voldemort  knows not, and either
Harry 
> or 
> > > Voldemort must die at the hand of the other for neither James 
> nor 
> > Lily  
> > > can live while Harry survives".
> > > 
> > > > 
> > > Comments please!
> > > 
> > > Kneasy
> > 
> my reply:
> you provided an interesting point, Kneasy, and let me see if I can 
> add some more thoughts to your head. Neither can live while the 
> other survives, Harry and/or Voldemort while Neville Survives. This 
> would explain why the Death Eaters went after the Longbottoms after 
> Voldemort was defeated the first time. Of course it's only 
> specalation here. Lori


True, we're all speculating.
I might be gullible, but now that we've reached Book 5, I figure JKR
should have given 
us enough to try and sort things out a bit. So I worked on the
principle of Occams 
Razor ( if you're not familiar with scientific theory, it's the idea
that the simplest  
explanation is probably correct, or at least the closest to the
truth).

Now, I don't know about you, but there have been times when I've 
gazed open-
mouthed at the complexities of some of the Prophecy theories. We have
a choice, 
either keep it complicated until we know enough to simplify it, or
keep it simple until 
we have to complicate it. I prefer the latter. On the evidence *we
have so far* and 
*assuming we have been told  the complete truth* (both phrases should
be in Big 
Letters, underlined three times and highlighted in bright red), then
this is the 
simplest explanation that I can come up with.

So, it could be that it foretells:
1. The birth of Harry
2. The necessary death of James and Lily if Harry is to survive
3. The power passed to Harry by their deaths
4. The marking
5. Neville is eliminated as a candidate (his parents don't die as the
Prophesy requires) 
6. The doubt about the out-come of the battle between H and V

There's no doubt that the  posters have become highly suspicious  of
what JKR may 
get up to and they also love complicated and convoluted reasoning to
explain what  is 
going on - in fact if  anything simple and straight-forward turned
up, I think they 
would be disappointed and accuse JKR of cheating!

Yes, I'm prejudiced towards my own theory; no, I won't dismiss  other
theories off-
hand if they look good, but so far as I know this is the
interpretation that comes 
closest to the Occams Razor criteria. If it gets rubbished by better
theorizing or 
additional information, then so be it.

This Harry Potter stuff is hard work sometimes!

Kneasy