prophecies and choice..was Re: Neville and the Prophecy - VERY LONG

[Shannon]

No: HPFGUIDX 108282

Erika said:
>I believe that if that prophecy was never read or heard by anybody,
>then nothing would have happened.  What is that phrase...."The power
>of suggestion"?  Voldemort wouldn't have branded Harry as his equal
>and inadvertantly given him powers that he would not have had
>otherwise.  Voldemort set the prophecy in motion. Harry is the ONE
>simply because Voldemort chose him, not Neville.


By the same token, I have a very hard time swallowing all this prophecy 
stuff.  Just as you say that if no one had heard the prophecy and it had 
not been acted on by Voldemort nothing would have happened, I have to 
wonder what will happen if Harry chooses _not_ to accept the terms of the 
prophecy.  Normally this wouldn't seem like an option (because to 
paraphrase Cpt Jack Sparrow, prophecy!), but one of the major themes of 
this series so far has been the notion that everyone has power over their 
own fate.  Choice is stressed, over and over and over, as being the most 
important thing.  So it seems fishy to me that suddenly this prophecy pops 
up that locks Harry into one path..."kill Voldemort or be killed by him," 
which is what the prophecy is saying, on the surface.  Especially given 
that the prophecy tells us something that we as readers (at least I assume 
I can speak for all or most readers) have assumed from the start: that it 
will come down to Harry and Voldemort at the end.  When I read that chapter 
in OoP, I remember thinking, "Am I supposed to be surprised by 
this?"  Harry certainly is, but I as a reader wasn't, after five books in 
which Voldemort is built up as Harry's arch enemy.

Granted, I have no interesting theories on what exactly will happen. But I 
do think that some miracle will occur to make Harry look past the end of 
his nose (quite a feat as he has seemed mostly incapable of that thus far) 
and see another choice somewhere.  I also think that we have a second tier 
Trio (Neville, Luna, and Ginny) and that they will have a significant part 
in whatever comes (as will Ron and Hermione of course).

Shannon, who really should be stopped before she continues abusing 
parentheses in such a lavish manner...

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]