Why not let Harry destroy the Prophecy from the beginning?

[slgazit]

No: HPFGUIDX 132674

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "davenclaw" <daveshardell at y...>
wrote:
> I have another question about the Prophecy:
> 
> Since it was ultimately of little consequence that the orb recording 
> the prophecy was destroyed, why didn't the Order just have Harry go in 
> and destroy it from the beginning, rather than have people risk their 
> lives to guard it?  Can anyone think of a plausible reason for this?  
> Were they trying to prevent Harry from learning about the prophecy?  
> Was it really smart to risk people's lives instead of just letting 
> Harry in on the secret and foiling Voldemort's attempts to get the 
> prophecy?

I can think of several possible reasons:

1. As others have said, draw the DE's and LV out of hiding.

2. Distract LV and his DE's by having them divert a lot of efforts to
trying to get the prophecy.

3. So long as Voldemort does not know the full contents, he will
hesitate launching a full fledged attack to kill Harry. Recall that
his three (at that point) failed attempts to do just that ended each
time with disasterous results to himself (first one of course the loss
of his body, second one the loss of his host and the stone, the third
one, prematurely reveal his return and reduce his status in the eyes
of his DE's).

4. The only way to destroy the prophecy is to get Harry into the DoM,
let him take it off the shelf and then destroy it. The order has no
means of doing that, not legally in any case.

5. Since the order can't destroy the prophecy, they must prevent LV
from taking it, because knowing the full contents will cause him to
focus all his efforts into killing Harry (LV does not know Harry is
the only one who can kill him and that one can't live while the other
survives).

Salit