Who knows? DD knows, that's who.

[Barry Arrowsmith]

No: HPFGUIDX 117760

It's been a while since I've let my paranoia off the leash, to snuffle 
after hot scents, cold trails and red herrings.
Time for another outing, I  think, probably to the dismay (or 
irritation) of 'sensible' posters. But cheer up, it's all canon-based 
thinking.
Mind you, what  a suspicious mind can do with canon is nobody's 
business.

OK. It's that Prophecy again.
Sort of. Looking at it from a slightly different angle though, and not 
trying to interpret the words for once.

You're probably all aware of the respect I have for Jo's sneakiness; 
her ability to concoct a scenario that turns out not to  be quite what 
it seems at first  sight. I'm wondering if she's done it again. 
Remember when OoP came out, how HP junkies leapt with delighted cries 
on fresh meat after 3 years of left-overs? What fun! And  that 
Prophecy! Ooh! Here was something to get our teeth into! Only we 
didn't. It's as obscure now as the day it was printed. Disgruntlement 
all round, plus some suggestions that it was incomplete, fixed by DD or 
everything in it had already happened.

There it sat on a shelf in the Ministry, gathering dust, complete with 
it's own little label dated 16 years previously -
"S.P.T. to A.P.W.B.D. Dark Lord and (?)Harry Potter.

In his usual end of  book explication DD adds  the following:
"The official record was re-labelled after Voldemort's attack on you as 
a child. It seemed plain to the keeper of the Hall of Prophecy that 
Voldemort could only have tried to kill you because he knew you to be 
the one to whom Sybill was referring."

This is somewhat at odds with the next passage after Harry brings up 
the possibility that it could be Neville:
"He chose the boy he thought most likely to be a danger to him,"
Oh yes? And on what evidence did Voldy base this assessment and how the 
hell does DD know? We're talking inner-most thoughts and fears here; 
it's unlikely to have been a topic of conversation down at the DE Glee 
Club. But DD goes further:
"He saw himself in you before he had ever seen you [...] gave you 
powers, and a future, which have fitted you to escape him not once, but 
four times so far..."

It changes from knowing to choosing; from a certainty to a guess 
(albeit an educated one) on Voldy's part. Mind you, the Ministry seem 
to be hedging their bets - they left that question mark there. But DD 
expresses no doubts, it's Harry.

All well and good, you may think; however there are a few grey areas 
that niggle. Recall when the globe broke; did we hear any of it? No. 
Not one single word. Harry didn't identify the Seer, not even the sex 
of the Seer - it's an 'it'.
There are the eyes,  "hugely magnified" which match the figure from the 
Pensieve, so it'll be Sybill unless the author's cheating, but there is 
no way to determine that the unheard words in the Ministry match those 
of the Pensieve. As it stands the only person who has heard both is DD.

Whether that means anything depends on how much you trust DD. He may 
well be the epitome of goodness but that doesn't necessarily mean that 
he's not above stacking the deck, gaining an advantage or manipulating 
those around him - all in a good cause, naturally. I always feel much 
more comfortable when there's some independent confirmation of DD's 
little declarations.

He has a tendency to slip very  interesting information in amongst a 
load of guff, and naturally it goes right over Harry's head. Not the 
sharpest tool in the box, our Harry; always seems to miss the 
opportunity for the  really telling question. And here's another 
instance in the quote above - "He saw himself in you before he'd ever 
seen you..." Excuse me? How can this be? What did Voldy know of Harry 
before GH?

This could open up a whole new cauldron of Flobberworms. From existing 
canon we get hints that the Potters were not total unknowns to his 
Evilness. For a start he knows the first few phrases of the Prophecy, 
up as far as "born to those who have thrice defied him" according to 
DD. We can be sure that the defiance was a bit more than turning down 
an offer for double-glazing. It'd be significant; enough to  put the 
Potters on Voldy's shit list. But then DD goes on -
"Consequently, he could not warn his master that to attack you would be 
to risk transferring power to you,..."
Eh? Where does it say that in the Prophecy? Have I missed something?  
It surely can't mean that "the power he knows not" was transferred from 
Voldy, can it? 'Cos that's the only power mentioned and there's not 
hint of a transfer - just the marking.

Uh-oh. The mark. The scar. The sign that identifies - or is it 
'bestows'? - equality. The scar that DD said could come in useful. Yes, 
damn right; added powers are always useful and that 'scar' looks like 
it could be more than a healed wound; more than a warning device, too. 
A curiously shaped affair, like a bolt of lightning. Now were have I 
seen something like that before? Ah, yes; collar tabs on a nazi 
uniform; a stylised "S" - only this time it  stands for Slytherin.

I suggested in post 108664 "Shared thoughts" that all the keys to HP 
happened before the books started, that we'd arrived halfway through 
the second act. Jo thinks so too, having said that if we knew the 
'whys' of what happened between Harry and Voldy at GH there'd be no 
need to write the last two books.

There'll be more to it than just that, I hope; a few deaths, a bucket 
or two of blood. Additionally, there're hints that GH itself is the 
culmination of of as yet unknown happenings - there's that curious 
phrasing of Hagrid's in PS/SS - ".... the myst'ry is why You-Know-Who 
never tried to get 'em on his side before..."

Hmm. Before. As in previously. An overture made, just the once? Or does 
  it  signify "before Harry  was born" because afterwards it was too 
late? Is this where the defiance x3 comes in? Is this why there's that 
puzzling gap of 15 months or so between birth and Voldy coming 
a-calling? Was Voldy looking for some other outcome?

To  add spice there's the strange familiarity evident at GH - "He's 
here!" no name necessary; "Stand aside, you silly girl... stand aside 
now..." No exclamation marks, no vehemence - just an inevitable 
conclusion given what had gone before?

I have a liking for chains of events;  for one thing leading almost 
inexorably to something else; it's intellectually satisfying to tie 
things together. This chain's not complete yet. But if DD would just 
leak a leetle more it might be.
Two things -
1. DD knows much more than he's let on so far,
2. I bet there's more to come about prophecies; I bet there's another 
one somewhere, probably from Cassandra Trelawney.
Bet Voldy knows about it too; bet he thinks Sybill's adds to it.
The thing is, with a name like Cassandra did anyone believe it?

Kneasy

P.S.
I notice that while I was cobbling this together iris_ft put up a post 
that also wonders at events pre-GH. Good oh. Two  heads are better than 
one.