[HPforGrownups] A far-fetched analysis of the Prophecy

[Random]

No: HPFGUIDX 69668


On Friday, July 11, 2003, at 09:04 PM, lissbell at colfax.com wrote:

>> *SNIPPED* my [Random832] own statement on the 'only ancestor' thing
>
> *SNIPPED* that it's "last" not "only"

Yes, i would have realized this but it's been so long since i fully 
read CoS, so i thought the wording was "only"
>
> Now I have a question for anyone reading who happens to know the 
> answer.  Both my hardback and paperback copies have "ancestor" in this 
> passage despite Rowling's statement that "ancestor" was an error and 
> should have read "descendant".  This kind of mistake really should 
> have been corrected before the paperback release, so why *is* it still 
> printed this way?  It doesn't really support or contradict my theory 
> one way or the other, but I'm curious.

It's "still" printed this way because _later_ editions were corrected 
back to say "ancestor" again. Only the first-edition US paperback, If i 
remember correctly (without 'Year 2') had "Descendant".

> Random wrote:
>
>> Or AD himself doesn't know... prophecies can be tricky things.
>
>
> Lissa replied:
> That is, of course, a possibility, but Dumbledore so carefully crafted
> his comments that it makes me believe he does know.  (It took me 
> several
> read-throughs before I realized that he wasn't saying what I *believed*
> he was.  Dumbledore is a manipulative genius.)

It could easily be a coincidence, though. I don't like thinking AD 
knows *everything*. Or, perhaps, he only _thinks_ he knows.

> Lissa replied:
> It is, I think, really intriguing from that Voldemort chose Harry for 
> his enemy when it could have been so many different boys.  (Of course 
> Voldemort was operating under the mistaken assumption, most likely, 
> that the boy would be born to parents who'd defied him three times.) 
> Dumbledore confirms, though, that the prophecy does in fact apply to 
> Harry because Voldemort marked him as his equal.  (You could argue, I 
> guess, that Dumbledore is wrong here.  He just tends not to be wrong 
> about these things...)

However, Dumbledore may just be struggling to force a complete 
interpretation which could be, though complete, incorrect. On the other 
hand, perhaps AD is thinking too hard. The prophecy certainly *could* 
mean exactly what most everyone but you thinks it means, though i do 
believe JKR will make it less conventional than that. It could mean 
something else entirely. AD could even be wrong about it meaning 
Harry... just because it "applies to" Harry just means he fits all the 
criteria, not that no-one else does or that he is in _fact_ the person 
spoken of in the prophecy. I don't remember the text of the prophecy 
saying anything about "marking as equal", just that it was the MoM's 
reason for striking NL from the prophecy's file.

> As far as who else the end-of-July boy could have been... it really is 
> moot since Voldemort chose Harry, but it's oh so very interesting!  It 
> would make me laugh endlessly if it *could* have been Gregory Goyle or 
> Vincent Crabbe.  Poor Tom really didn't choose his mortal enemy > wisely.

Does the prophecy _say_ Voldie makes any choice, or that he has the 
ability to affect who it applies to at all? Or is that just AD's 
addition? I didn't get that impression from the prophecy itself. I 
could be wrong; i don't have the book handy and don't have an 
electronic copy to search through.

> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/57319

good reading. I recommend it to anyone.

> Lissa replied:
> You're absolutely correct.  I almost argued this in my post this
> morning, but I was too tired to do it.  Also, I tend to believe that
> Rowling will make it exactly three (and make it quite apparent) by the
> series' close just because it would fit so neatly with the prophecy
> then--but she certainly wouldn't have to.

She very rarely does what's expected, thus far.

> Thanks so *very* much for your comments, Random. (If you prefer to be
> called Random832, let me know.)

I prefer "Random" but i can't ever get it anywhere.

--Random832