Snape and Prophecy and Harry

[juli17 at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 145453

 
Alla wrote:
Nevertheless, because of Snape IMO Harry is not just the ordinary 
boy  of the Light side. In many aspects Harry IS the fight, without 
him Voldemort  is undefeatable, so abandoning the fight IMO pretty 
much equals abandoning  Harry. And Voldemort promising to not to harm 
Harry is simply not possible.  Why? Because of Snape of course IMO. 





Julie:
It's *partly* because of Snape. And it's partly because Sirius picked
the wrong secret-keeper, and partly because James and Lily placed
their trust in that wrong person. If any of the above had done things
differently (heck, maybe if Abelforth had come up the stairs a minute
earlier instead of taking that long swig of whiskey behind the bar!),
then it would have all turned out differently. It's basically the  "butterfly"
effect. And it never ends as long as you keep it going, looking  for every
little action that eventually led to a specific event. (In this case it  may
go all the way back to the Mauraders taunting Snape--perhaps the
Prank incident was the last straw that sent Snape to Voldemort's
side. Then again, if Snape's mother had never gotten pregnant...
well, like I said, you can go on and on.)
 
As for placing actual *blame* for the deaths of James and Lily,
and Harry's "extra"ordinary status, I apportion it according to 
intent. Snape bears blame for informing LV of the prophecy, but
that is somewhat mitigated by his efforts to atone by telling
Dumbledore thus enabling him to hide James and Lily. Certainly
he bears far less blame than does Peter, or Voldemort himself, 
the two who had deliberate intent to cause the Potters  harm. 
 
BTW, it's always entertaining to wonder about those "what if"
scenarios. In this case, what if Snape hadn't heard/told LV of the 
prophecy--then what would have happened to Harry's life, and
where would he be now? My guess: The Order was outnumbered
and being picked off one by one. Voldemort was undefeatable
then, from everything we've heard. He would have eventually 
exterminated the Order, and taken over the WW. At which point
Harry would still be an orphan, with no parents, *and* no  Sirius,
Lupin, Dumbledore, Weasleys, etc, etc. Harry wouldn't be 
"an ordinary boy on the Light side" but an ordinary boy who
grew up in a WW ruled by the Dark side. He might well be
indistinguishable from Draco Malfoy!
 
In an ironic twist, it may be that Snape's actions, those that
were partly to blame for Harry being orphaned, are also partly
responsible for the WW being saved from defeat and descent 
into darkness when Voldemort was reduced to vapor at Godric's
Hollow by his own failed AK. 
 
So, if you want to say Snape played a part in making Harry
who he is, a boy with extraordinary gifts, who will save a
WW that still exists to *be* saved, then I agree. Perhaps
Harry should thank Snape? (Just kidding!!! But events play
out the way they do because of all the actions that went
before, with both good and bad actions and results--made
good or bad by our judgment--inseparably entwined.)
 
And maybe by the end of book seven, Harry won't be
known as "The boy who Lived" but as "The boy who
saved the Wizarding World--twice.")
 
 
 
Julie 
(rambling a bit from the original point)


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