Dumbledore and the Prophecy that was

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 74085

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "adamjmarcantel"
<adamjmarcantel at y...> wrote:
> --- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "magicroxx" <magicroxx at y...> 
> wrote:
> > ...
> > 
> > Has it occured to anyone why Dumbledore didn't approach Harry and 
> > say "Well Harry, ..., there is this prophecy thing ... I have
> > wanted to tell you ...,  Now I think you should hear it from the 
> > horse's mouth." 
> > 
> > Dumbledore takes Harry to the Ministry
> > 
> > "... It is dangerous for him to know Harry, that is why you need 
> > to listen to the prophecy and then destroy it" 
> >
> > 
> > I mean the thing broke anyway, and its probably for the best. I
> > mean  come on, he had people guarding it every night and if he 
> > knew what it  said, then what was the point. Just break it!! ...
> > 
> > Roxx 
> 

bboy_mn:

So the choices are, smash the prophecy so Voldemort will forget about
it and go on about his business of killing people and taking over the
world, OR guard the prophecy for as long as possible, and keep
Voldemort obsessed with getting it, thereby distracting him from his
plan to take over the world. 

Personally, I think the second option, Dumbledore's course of action,
is the much better choice. It makes more sense to keep Voldemort
distracted and causing as little trouble as possible, and in the
process perhaps saving a few lives, and delaying Voldemort, hopefully,
long enough that they can come up with a plan to stop him.
 

> adamjmarcantel

> ...  Along the same lines, what if Dumbledore' version of the 
> prophecy is not entirely accurate.  

bboy_mn:

You seem to have forgotten Trelawney's second prophecy. She made it
while she was in a trance, when she came out of the trance, she didn't
remember anything. From what I read of the first prophecy, it happened
the same way, Trelawney went into a trance, logically, when she came
out of it, she would not remember what she said. 

SO and that is a big SO, Dumbledore's account is the only existing
account of the first prophecy, and what is recorded in the Hall of
Prophecies at the Dept. of Mysteries is Dumbledore making a record of
what he heard.


> Adam continues:
>
> What if his memory of what Sibyll Trelawny said is incomplete and/or
> misunderstood.  Of course, this  would only work for those who think
> the pensieve contains the subjective memory of the person.  
> ...edited... 
> Dumbledore's memory of the prophecy was inaccurate.  ...
> 
> Adam,  


bboy_mn:

While I will admit that Dumbledore's account of what he heard is only
as good as his memory, it is none the less the only exiting record of
what was said.

Also, true memories are usually imbedded deep in our minds, it is our
ability to recall them that is flawed. Frequently, when we think we
are remembering an event, we are actually remembering the last time we
remembered it (ie: the last time we thought about it). So over the
years, the memory gets distorted by being a memory of a memory of a
memory etc....

When memories are draw from the subconscious, when they are truly
drawn from deep within the mind, I suspect that these are very
accurate. Accurate in the same sense that detailed memories that our
consciousness isn't able to recall, can be recovered in detail from
the subconscious by hypnosis. (that's an illustration; I will concede
that it is possible for hynosis to have it's own inaccuracies)

So, with or without inaccuracies, Dumbledore's account is the only
acccount that has ever existed. Also, I'm sure Dumbledore saw this as
something important, and he would have made a serious effort to
remember it accurately.

As a concession, I will add that it is entirely possible that
Dumbleodre has misinterpreted what he heard.

Just a thought.

bboy_mn