two and a half thoughts

[khaili]

No: HPFGUIDX 72311

Hey there,
I keep thinking back and forth as to the prophecy and other important issues discussed around here. I'm tired with arguing with myself so you'll have to listen to it. So here goes some thoughts:
1) Ron Weasley: At some time during my first OoP reading I remember suprising myself with the thought that Ron would, indeed, turn out to be a traitor. Now I can`t remember exactly if it was due to how fragile he seemed during the battle in MoM or his secret-like behaviour in more than one situation. No, maybe it was because of something else , I really can't remember (should start taking notes).  
But the interesting point is that it didn't last much longer. Harry and Ron are true friends and there's nothing about Ron that resembles the known behaviour of Pettigrew - the only link there is Scabbers, which isn't strong enough. Now, dealing with 'I am his shadow' issues and struggling to get a life on his own doesn't turn anyone into a traitor - it'll only help him grow up, I suppose.
2) The prophecy (1). I have two completely opposite points of view here. One, which seems to follow the majority around here, is that Neville might as well be the one it's about.  Still I don't think anyone is sure about that ; maybe NL's parents were indeed trying to protect their child *in case* he was the one, not because they already knew it.
(let's play Sybill)
IMO, which changes every other hour, I think the books will continue to assume Harry is the one referenced in the prophecy, and so will Dumbledore, Harry, Lord Thingy (gotta love that nick) and everyone for that matter. Then, when the final due comes, Neville will interfere trying to save Harry's life, out of love. (Love as in friendship, alright, no other implications here). Maybe Neville will ultimately find out about his chances on being 'prophecy boy' and will take the chances to save his friend. And this sort of altruism may as well be part of the 'power the Dark Lord knows not. ' . 
(back to reality)
While I keep re-reading stuff to strengthen the theory above stated, I tend to think we might be in denial. We don't want Harry to die, we don't want that ' he sacrificed himself for the greater good' cliche , we don't want the final fight to end with a great blow that vanishes both Harry and LV. So we keep trying to find other meanings: Neville, Pettigrew, someone else. My key argument on this is Dumbledore. He wouldn't lie to Harry, would he? Even if he meant to protect Neville, as someone recently supposed here, would he do so at the cost of burdening Harry all that much? [Still, maybe Dumbledore truly believes it but he'll be wrong in the end, so will LV and everyone else until the very end, as I supposed in the above paragraph]
(now to something else)
3) The prophecy (2). As I reached the final chapters of OoP, specially when I laid my eyes on the prophecy text, it reminded me of likewise situations in other books or general culture. My first thought was ' ok, this is a huge reference, I'll concentrate later what it refers to'. And I couldn't really find it. 
My first idea was Greek mythology.  Wasn't it Chronus (Chrone? confused about Greek Gods names in English, sorry) who learned that one of his kids would take him out of the throne so he kept eating all his children? (and eventually Zeus escaped and fulfilled the prophecy?) Than there's all those regarding Apollo's Oracle (the kid who married her mother and killed his father) based on a similar prophecy. 
But I could swear there was one other reference, far more specific. The bad guy would realize there's a prophecy about a good guy being born and being able to vanquish him in the future, and chase the good guy as a baby. Even the detail as to 'both will die' seemed awfully familiar to me.  Was I dreaming, or is there any reference to that in our muggle culture? 
Sorry if any or all of those were already discussed. Lots of archives to catch up with, you know.
Cheers,
Julie
missing her OoP copy because she lent it to a friend - who called  yesterday to say she couldn't stop reading and she'd probably finish in five days- you know the feeling