Bang! You're dead.

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 86447

Kneasy wrote:
Sorry to keep  harping on about previous postings, but I had a go at
this as well (Prophets without honour). Anyone can make a 'prophecy' -
but only *after* the event can the accuracy be determined. Even then
rationalising of the events may occur. It's probably a red herring
concocted by JKR to keep us from digging into more potentially
productive seams.
> >
Kathryn responded:
I must admit I didn't read the prophecy threads. I wonder if at the
same time as giving the prophecy about Harry Trelawney had added, oh
and btw Dumbledore's going to die next Tuesday, he'd have been as keen
to accept it as the only possible way things can happen and not tried
to fight it. This idea that seems to be showing up in the books that
prophecy is immutable and things *will* happen that way smakes of
'fate' and 'predestination' and neither of those concepts fit well
with the idea of our choices being important. I wonder though is this
why Dumbledore seems to ignore Harry getting into danger - he's going
to die at the hand of Voldemort so as long as he's in danger from
*other* things, he can't die? Snape obviously doesn't know this
because he didn't know Quirrel was carrying around a guest so he
could have assumed he didn't need to try and fight the hex on the
broomstick because Harry couldn't be killed by Quirrel. Oh I'd like to
have seen that - Harry falls off the broom and breaks his neck, Snape
runs down to examine the body, looks up at Albus and says "oops?"


Kathryn, you really should read the prophecy threads. (I didn't change
the name of this thread because I was afraid you'd skip it if I did.)
Not all of us think they involve predestination; I think they're
sufficiently ambiguous to allow for the element of choice, which as
you say is crucial to JKR's worldview.

I don't think that there's any guarantee that Harry will survive to
fulfill the prophecy, only that if he does die, no one else can defeat
Voldemort. Snape, in my view, is just trying to guarantee that harry
will be around to do it (and also, of course, trying to rid himself of
that pesky life debt to James). Suppose you're right, though, and the
only way he can pay that life debt is by saving Harry from the only
person/power who can kill him: Voldemort? Puts an interesting twist on
things, doesn't it? Poor Snape, though. I'd hate to have him find out
that all of his efforts to save Harry are just a waste of time and
he'd better just stick to teaching Potions and wait for Book 7. I do
want him to keep trying to solve things in his own mysterious way for
his own mysterious reasons until the end of the series. 

Carol, who's pretty sure she wouldn't have read all the books, much
less joined this group, if it weren't for Severus Snape