Dumbledore's Actions in MOM Duel

[Berit Jakobsen]

No: HPFGUIDX 83818

starmom513 wrote: 

Dumbledore has always been "The
> > Only One He Ever Feared" – but would he still be quite
> > so feared if Voldemort knew that Dumbledore COULDN'T
> > kill/vanquish him – that only Harry has that power?  

My comment:

What comes first; the hen or the egg? I'm not sure I agree with 
everyone that because of the prophecy Dumbledore CAN'T kill 
Voldemort! A prophecy is not "the law" or the "cannon" as it were; a 
prophecy states what is going to happen, it doesn't decide what is 
going to happen... There's a slight difference there. Let me try to 
explain what I mean: If, in book 7, in the heat of the battle, 
Neville was the one to kill Voldemort, that would have been the 
deciding factor, and the prophecy would have been different. A 
prophesy doesn't alter the future, it just gives us the knowledge of 
what is going to happen anyway (regardless of the prophecy). It's not 
the propcecy that decides the future, but the future governs the 
prophecy...

So, when the prophecy states that "either must die at the hand of the 
other", signifying Lord Voldemort and Harry, it doesn't say that no 
one else COULD ever kill Voldemort, it just says that this is what is 
going to happen. Either Harry or Voldemort is going to kill the 
other. The prophecy is just foretelling the future, not setting up 
rules as to who can kill who. Technically I'm sure Dumbledore could 
kill Voldemort if he wished to (I'm not so sure he would do it 
morally-wise). By the way; the prophecy doesn't use at all the 
wording "no one else can kill Voldemort but Harry". The prophecy just 
revolves around the two main characters, Voldemort and Harry, 
saying "either must die at the hands of the other".

Berit J.