The Prophecy's half fulfilled

[Cathy Drolet]

No: HPFGUIDX 108470

Meidbh

"Good point - I like it but I'm not convinced yet. Bear with me here 
I don't have the books to hand...
If Lily dies before VM attacks Harry (did it happen this way?)
Then - at the time Harry is attacked it is he and he alone 
deflecting the curse, whether through some innate power of his own 
OR (as VM says above) through the protection conferred on him by 
Lily's sacrifice. She made the sacrifice, she cast the spell, but 
Harry received the power to deflect VMs attack (albeit unwittingly). 
Harry had the power.
What do you think?"

DuffyPoo: 

I'm not trying to convince anybody except perhaps maybe myself. Oh, and shame on you for not having the books handy. ;-) However, I think it is still Lily's *sacrifice* that deflected the curse.  I'm not in the camp that believes there was a spell cast here by Lily.  It is the mere fact, the 'old magic,' of her dying to save her son.  It put a protection on and around him like a bubble.  The effect of that sacrifice was still in HP, still viable, until LV removed 'that obstacle' in GoF when he used HP's blood for the rebirthing potion, but it is totally Lily's sacrifice that saved baby Harry.

As an aside, which I probably shouldn't do, if LV went after James first, which he apparently did (or so the books say), why on earth didn't James AK LV?  LV was trying to get his son.  Whether James had any idea LV was going to kill him, or merely take him to use in some other way (train up to be the next generation LV?), I just don't understand why James didn't AK the big guy.  He fought, and he fought bravely, the AK, since the prophecy, may not have 'killed' LV (the reason I think DD didn't AK LV in the Atrium, or part of the reason) but it certainly would have slowed him down enough that they could have escaped with baby Harry and found another place to hide, using a more...um....reliable secret keeper.

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