Prophecy and Choice - Ray Bradbury's, THE ILLUSTRATED MAN.

[vmonte]

No: HPFGUIDX 97079

Del adds :
I'd go even further. In my idea, the fact that the Prophecy was made
and Harry heard it cannot change anything to the *outcome* of the
War, it can only change what will happen *until then*.

It's a bit like being told : you're going to die tomorrow. Well, you
can choose to stay at home or to go to work (for example). But if it
so happens that you are supposed to die in your sleep at 22:30,
because of an earthquake, the fact that the prophecy is made and
that you hear it won't change anything to the outcome. It can lead
you to live that last day differently than what you would have done
otherwise, but it won't change the outcome.

vmonte responds:
Did you ever read a book called THE ILLUSTRATED MAN, by Ray Bradbury?
The story is about a man who meets a wanderer, an illustrated man, 
covered in tattoos. Well, anyway, the tatoos are magical, they come 
alive.  Each tattoo tells a disturbing, or tragic story.  But there 
is one spot on the tatooed man's body that is blank, without a 
tattoo.  The illustrated man explains that that spot tells the 
future; but he will not allow anyone to look there because nothing 
ever good comes from looking there.  Well guess what, when the 
tattoed man falls asleep, the other man takes a look at the blank 
spot on his back.  The vision the man sees of the future is that the 
tatooed man is going to kill him.  The man panics and tries to kill 
the tatooed man first, but the tatooed man fights back.... See where 
I'm going?!  The tatooed man would have never attacked this man in 
the first place, he is just protecting himself.  

The prophecy only unfolds the way it does because Voldemort chooses 
to believe it.  He makes it come true.  If he had ignored it in the 
first place he would have probably conquered the WW by now.