OOP: It CANT be Nevilles Prophecy / Can Harry Die?

stardreams04 queenofthecampus at hotmail.com
Fri Jun 27 00:07:58 UTC 2003


No: HPFGUIDX 64607

<snip> 
Does the 'kill or be killed' portion mean that Harry cannot be killed 
by anyone other than Voldemort? Could he duel with a death eater and 
survive simply because they are not fated to be the one to kill him?  
Could he jump off the astronomy tower and come off without a scratch 
because there is only one way he can die unless Voldemort himself is 
dead?In a practical sense, I wonder whether knowing and understanding 
his prophecy will make Harry even more reckless? He knows now that 
there is only one way he can die, so becomes blind to other risks.
<snip>

I was actually musing over just this idea, but I approached it from 
the Voldemort end. The premise of the theory is sound: If ONLY Harry 
can kill Voldemort, then it would stand to reason that ONLY Voldemort 
can kill Harry. But what would that knowledge do to Voldemort? If he 
knows no one else can defeat him, what does he then have to fear from 
Dumbledore? Would that sort of knowledge of his assured 
invulnerability allow him to take risks he never would have before? 
Having Voldemort waltz into the Ministry anytime he wanted or go on 
Muggle killing sprees anytime he got bored would be VERY bad for the 
Light side.

This is why I believe the prophecy was so very important, however. 
Voldemort STILL doesn't know the ending part, the part that 
says "either musy die at the hand of the other." Without that bit of 
information, Voldemort must still be cautious around Dumbledore and 
the members of the Order. Though the prophecy may seem trivial in 
light of Sirius's death, it has implications that will shape 
Voldemort's (and, as tangawarra suggested, Harry's) actions for the 
next two books. Knowledge in this case IS power.







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