Snape as the One in Prophecy

[Vera]

No: HPFGUIDX 136587

Directly from OOP...

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... born
to those who thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ... and
the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the
Dark Lord knows not ... and either must die at the hand of the other
for neither can live while the other survives ... the one with the
power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies
..."

My take on this...

I think this all relates to Harry (or Neville, but LV "fulfilled" the
prophecy when he marked Harry), particularly because of the last line.
 We know from the other true prophecy that Trelawney made in Harry's
presence that she speaks in a style markedly different from what most
people would consider normal when she is in the grip of her Vision and
I think the ellipses are just hesitations as the waves of Vision wash
over her.  What I think she is saying is that the birth of the person
who will be able to defeat LV is imminent, that he will be born at the
end of July to people who have fought against LV (3x apparently), and
that it will be known who he is by virtue of the fact that LV will
mark him (I'm not committing myself as to the "power the Dark Lord
knows not").

In reference to the either-neither-other controversy, all I think that
means (in the rather high-falutin' inflated language of prophecy) is
that neither of the two (Harry and LV) can live while the other lives
(Harry can't survive if LV survives, and vice versa -- one of them
must destroy the other one) -- "either [one] must die at the hand of
the other [one]."  I'm not sanguine about the phrase "at the hand of"
simply meaning "in close proximity to"  -- I'm certain that Harry will
play a major role in defeating LV (even if he doesn't actually *kill*
LV, he may be the one who makes it possible for *someone* to kill him
-- thus LV would have ultimately been vanquished at Harry's hand -- or
he may just avada kedavra the sucker after destroying the final
horcrux, assuming he himself isn't the item in question).

Just my $0.02 worth  :-)

Vera