The Darkness Within

[nkafkafi]

No: HPFGUIDX 119419


> Neri earlier:
> > It is precisely the prophecy that makes me think I'm right in 
> > this. If I'm right, then this would be the second time that LV 
> > fulfilled the prophecy by his own attempt to thwart it. I suspect 
> > this is a nice theme that JKR uses to handle the paradox between 
> > fate and free will. This also explains why DD is so adamant about 
> > preventing LV from getting the rest of the prophecy.
> 
> SSSusan:
> I'm a couple of days behind, so please forgive me for that.  But 
> Neri, could you flesh out these last two sentences a bit?  I'm 
> struggling to understand what you mean here.

Neri:
Well, we already have in canon this strange twist, in the end of OotP.
According to DD it was actually LV himself who chose to "mark" Harry,
and by this fulfilled the conditions for Harry to be "The One". Why
does JKR need this strange complication? It doesn't make the plot more
 thrilling, and things are already quite elaborate (as Carol wrote)
without it.

My guess is that Choice and Free Will are a main theme of the HP saga,
and so JKR simply won't allow that the future of the WW will be
decided strictly by a prophecy (that is, determined by fate). LV's
choice was necessary here. In order to thwart the prophecy he decided
to kill a baby, and only by this decision and action he actually
fulfilled the prophecy. In a way it is a self-fulfilling prophecy – it
will come true only because Trelawney told it. But it can be
self-fulfilling only because LV chose to go to any length in order to
thwart it. Had he chosen not to act against "The One", then there
would never have been "The One", and no one to prevent LV from
conquering the WW.

My theory just applies this same principle again: LV is sure that the
Ancient Magic protection is the power that was foretold by the
prophecy, so by using the blood trick he tries to steal it from Harry.
As a result of taking this choice he ends up protected against
everyone BUT Harry, thus again fulfilling the prophecy by trying to
thwart it. 

Of course, this can only work if LV doesn't know critical parts of the
prophecy, so he wouldn't realize that he's fulfilling these very
parts. This explains why it is so important for DD to keep the rest of
the prophecy from LV. Several list members (and me included) felt
disappointed by the ending of OotP because the prophecy didn't seem to
be such a great revelation. It was practically difficult to see why DD
risked so much to keep it hidden from LV, especially as LV already
knows half of it. But now I suspect that the prophecy was never meant
to be a great revelation. What is important about the prophecy is
precisely that LV knows half of it, and by trying to prevent this half
from happening he causes the other half to take place.

I'm not sure if I made it more or less clear  :-) 

Neri