Help me understand the importance of the prophecy, please

[dcyasser]

No: HPFGUIDX 82085

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Tim Regan" <tim_regan82 at h...> 
wrote:
> Hi All,
> 
> I've just re-read the prophecy chapter <snip>  It doesn't tell 
> anybody much that they didn't already know.
> 

Hi Dumbledad,
First off, what a great post! So funny yet so very well illustrating 
your points. Sorry I've snipped to pieces to answer.  

Many in fandom felt the same, uh, disappointment at finally reaching 
the prophecy,as in "duh!" But guess who hadn't quite figured it out, 
or hadn't quite *wanted* to: that's right, our boy Harry.  Revealing 
the prophecy to Harry now sets him straight on the path to his dream 
date with Voldemort, no more wondering what's Voldemort got against 
me and my family, maybe he'll just forget about me and go away.  
It's time to concentrate on making sure Harry can and will fulfill 
the prophecy. The fact that Harry now knows what he is meant to do  
changes everything. 

Dumbledad wrote:
> Here it is again: 
> 1) The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord 
approaches . . . 
> <snip> 
> 5) he will have power the Dark Lord knows not . . . and 
> 6) either must die at the hand of the other for 
> 7) neither can live while the other survives . . . 

<snip> 

Dumbledad wrote, regarding DD: 
(6) must have been a terrible realization, but that's 
> a separate thread (e.g. message 65909). (7) would have been real 
> news to Dumbledore too, and increases the pressure on him to keep 
> Harry alive, to teach him very fast, and to develop a huge network 
> of competent witches and wizards of all ages who are supporting 
> Harry.
> 

dc:
Dumbledore should have been teaching him faster. Now that Harry 
knows what the rush is, I think there will be some serious 
extracurricular studying, beyond DA.  

Dumbledad wrote, regarding Harry. 
(1) must be good news for Harry – on each occasion 
> that he has fought Voldemort he has expected the imbalance of 
power to lead to his own death. Now he knows it's not so imbalanced. 
<snip> 
Now, he must have spotted the fact 
> that Voldemort is repeatedly trying to kill him, it's happened 4 
> times before Book 5, so (6) and (7) don't tell him much.
> 

dc:
Actually 5, 6 and 7 are great shocks to Harry, because he just 
hasn't wanted to put 2 + 2 together, and no one else has wanted him 
to, either.  Sure Voldemort wants to kill him, but as far as Harry 
knows, it's a revenge motive, and all his Voldemort-related 
encounters are fallout from something that happened when he was 1, 
not a prelude to his future.  He argues point 5 with DD "I haven't 
any powers he hasn't got..." (US hardcover p.843). As for 6 and 7, 
they change his entire outlook. "An invisible barrier separated him 
from the rest of the world. He was - he had always been - a marked 
man. It was just that he had never really understood what that 
meant..." (Us hardcover pp 855-856)

Harry's got a boatload of brooding to do, but not much time to feel 
sorry for himself or anyone else.  The point of the prophecy is to 
set him in motion, so fasten your seatbelts.


And about Voldemort, well, what do you do when your plans keep 
crashing and "Killing Harry Potter for Dummies" doesn't help? You 
call tech support. I expect LV'll be on-hold listening to muzak for 
much of book 6, but once he gets connected - watch out. 

cheers
dc