Why were the sacrifices different? (was: A moral theory of Magic )

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 95331

> Jen wrote: <snip> Harry was born with the "power to vanquish the
Dark Lord" regardless of whether his parents died or not. <snip>

Carol responds:
I don't think he was born with the power to vanquish LV or Lily's
sacrifice would not have been necessary. Nor would "mark him as his
equal" make any sense. Ironically, it's only when Harry is struck by
the AK and it backfires that Harry becomes the only one who can defeat
Voldemort. Until that point, that portion of the Prophecy was
unfulfilled, and it could have been Neville--or no one. In trying to
defeat the portion of the Prophecy that he had heard, LV caused it to
come about (shades of Oedipus and anyone else in Greek tragedy who
tries to prevent a prophecy from being fulfilled). Something similar
may happen regarding the part of the Prophecy that's still unfulfilled.

Carol