Why is everyone so convinced the prophecy is correct?

[Tim]

No: HPFGUIDX 82326

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Melody" <Malady579 at h...> wrote:
> tobyreiner asked:
> >Why is everyone so convinced the prophecy is correct?
> 
>>  
> Kneazle wrote:
> > In the Dept of Mysteries the prophecy is labelled "Voldemort and 
> > Harry Potter(?)" It may not refer to Harry at all, but that 
doesn't 
> > make it wrong. DD seems convinced the prophecy refers to Harry, 
but 
> > DD has been wrong before. Or DD could be lying.
> 
> I thought the prophecy sphere had "Voldemort and ?" on it until it 
was
> determined who it meant.  It could be read two ways I guess.
> 
> (a) the question mark was not removed
> 
> or
> 
> (b) the identity of the second person is still vague
> 
> 
> Kneazle wrote:
> > I wonder if someone (Kneasy? Talisman?) has considered the truly 
> > horror-inspiring possibility that Dumbledore has been using HP as 
a 
> > decoy for sixteen years to protect Neville Longbottom. 
> 
> Well I am not Kneasy or Talisman, but I find that thought rather
> disturbing but intriguing as well.  
> 
> Ok, let me remove my MD hat so this does not mix.  Mostly because 
this
> will paint a very bleak look on Dumbledore's morals.
> 
> Now.  We have a Dumbledore that has an orphan boy who he believes 
that
> Voldemort will think will destroy him.  What clues Voldemort has is
> the scar on Harry and the fact that after he attacked Harry, he was
> stripped from his body.  
> 
> Now.  Dumbledore does work to protect Harry right after the events,
> but he does not protect Neville as strongly.  We can assume this
> because the death eaters managed to break into the home and torture
> the family.  After those events, Neville went to live with his
> grandmother, who does support Dumbledore, but she is not mentioned 
as
> being a part of the OoP (though that could be a cover.)
> 
> We then have Dumbledore working to bring Harry's DADA skills high 
and
> ignored Neville to a degree except in Snape's bullying.  Now, if
> Dumbledore does believe that Neville is the prophecy boy, then he
> *really* believes it is Neville, as he is, is enough.  
> 
> And, if that is true, then Dumbledore is *really* lying to Harry.  
He
> is putting him in danger over and over and over again just to cover
> for Neville and his need to be what?  Innocent?  Protected?  A 
decoy?
>  It is the Sirius posing as the secret keeper to hide Pettigrew all
> over again?  And, we all know how *that* turned out.
> 
> 
> Melody
> who thinks that read of Dumbledore makes him just as bad as Crouch 
Sr.

Me:

I think you're missing something.  Harry picked the orb up off the 
shelf.  If the prophecy had really been about Neville and not about 
Harry, then Harry would have ended up in St Mungo's like Bode (I 
think it was Bode who tried to get it under Voldy's command) did.  It 
was made clear that the prophesy orb could only be taken by the person
(s) the phophesy was about... then, and only then, could someone else 
touch it.

Tim