[HPforGrownups] Re: Prophecy wording - why not Neville?

[elfundeb]

No: HPFGUIDX 128223

Greatelderone asked, days ago:
> And interesting enough, you seem rather intent in
> ignoring the overwhelming amount of evidence that
> shows Harry not Neville is the One. Is it so
> important that he has to be a prophecy child in
> order to play a part in the story when he already
> has enough reasons to be against Voldemort?

This is an interesting question, that gets at the heart of what we do
here and why we do it.  Why *do* so many of us (myself included)
devote so much time to speculating on why or how Neville could be a
prophecy child?

I have some possible answers --

CANON.  There must be something to support the theory if so many have
raised it. <g>  And there is.  As Geoff has already mentioned,
Dumbledore's phrasing leaves the speculation door slightly ajar, as
saying he's "afraid" there's no doubt it's Harry is not the same thing
as saying there is no doubt.  It *is* possible that LV marked Neville
as well as Harry, and we don't know it.  No I don't think Dumbledore
deliberately lied about the meaning of the prophecy, but being human,
he ought to make a mistake every once in awhile, and this would be a
Really Big Mistake.

LOOKING FOR A BANG IN OOP.  Some of us were disappointed with the
ending of OOP.  We were deprived of the now-expected plot twist; no
surprise villains turned up in the DoM.  If the prophecy itself was
intended to be the Big Bang of OOP, it fizzled, because we'd pretty
much figured it out in advance.  The closest thing to a bang was the
revelation that Neville also matched the description.  Dumbledore's
explanation was like a bucket of cold water -- why have a prophecy if
there's no mystery attached to it?  As a result, we want to cling to
the tantalizing possibility that Neville *could* have been the subject
of the prophecy.  After all, the prophecy would be really dull if
there wasn't some wiggle room for alternative interpretations. 
Besides, Fallible!Dumbledore is appealing from a number of angles.

NEVILLE DESERVES SOME GLORY.  Other than Harry himself, Neville may be
the most universally appealing character in the book.  Oh, JKR tries
hard to make him *seem* like a loser.  He has a bad memory.  He has
trouble with magic; Gran berates him about it constantly.  JKR even
invites us to compare him with Peter Pettigrew ("[Harry] watched, as
though somebody was playing a piece of film, Sirius Black blasting
Peter Pettigrew (who resembled Neville Longbottom) into a thousand
pieces." (POA ch. 11)).  But perhaps no character exemplifies better
doing what is right rather than what is easy than Neville.  Not flashy
stuff, of course; his courage involves things like admitting he wrote
down the passwords.

So, reason three is simply that positing Neville as The One feeds off
reader sympathy and reader identification (how many of us see
ourselves as talented as Harry, anyway?)  In other words, readers are
rooting for Neville.

On the other hand, it may well be Harry.  LV clearly marked him,
though we only have Dumbledore's word that he marked Harry "as his
equal."  Besides, do we really want Neville to slay Voldemort?  Can
you see Meek!Neville ever wanting to do such a thing?  (Especially if
Gran has been nagging him all his life telling him that it's his
*duty* to avenge his parents' torture and this is the reason why he
has tried to deny - consciously or unconsciously - his magical
ability)

So perhaps Harry will vanquish the Dark Lord after all.   And, when
that happens, the meek shall inherit the earth.

Debbie
wondering if she missed any other rationales