Did JKR cheat with the prophecy?

[vmonte]

No: HPFGUIDX 124883


bboyminn wrote:

Next, Prophecies are vague and mysterious. The Prophecy in question
says that a boy born as the seventh month dies with have the power to
defeat the Dark Lord. Dumbledore has many many choices here. First, is
to choose to assume that the Prophecy means the seventh month of THIS
year; maybe it's not this year. Given the vague nature of prophecies,
it could mean in a 100 years. It mentions the Dark Lord, but never
mentions Voldemort by name. I'm sure there are dozens of Dark Lords in
the world.

The most ambiguous and unclear part of the Prophecy is that neither
can live while the other survives; except that they are both living
and surviving right now. How much weight can you give to a prophecy
that seems to be self-contradictory?

Even Voldemort had choices and free will. He could have waited to see
how big a threat the 'Prophecy Boys' were, and waited to see which one
was the greatest threat. But he didn't, he made a free-will choice to
act immediately, and by doing so actually seal part of the Prophecy,
or at least, it has been /interpreted/ that he seal the Prophecy. It's
still possible that Voldemort has or will mark Neville by some less
obvious and less dramatic means.

vmonte responds:
"Neither can live while the other survives:"
Someone on another site mentioned the fact that JKR mentioned that 
she and Trelawny worded the prophecy carefully for a reason. This 
poster mentioned that if this line had a comma after the word live, 
then we the readers would realize that the prophecy was about three 
people.

"Neither can live, while the other survives."

The poster stated that by leaving the comma out, Trelawny's prophecy 
becomes more ambiguous.  And she believes that the prophecy is about 
3 people.
 
Vivian, who unrealistically wishes that the present day Voldemort 
will time-travel to the past (in book 7) and be killed by his past 
self who does not recognize or believe that that "thing" is his 
future self. And that the "hand of glory" belongs to what is left of 
Time Traveling Voldemort. (It would give new meaning as to why Harry 
wretched his hand away from the hand, and why Draco wanted his father 
to buy it for him.) 

BWAHAHAHA