The two versions of the Prophecy

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 143180

Allie wrote:> 
> I think you answered your own suggestion.  If your conclusion about 
> using a popup memory rather than a dive-into-the-pensieve memory is 
> correct (which it well may be), it is most likely because Dumbledore 
> did not want Harry to see that Snape was the eavesdropper.  He didn't 
> want Harry to know that Snape is the reason the Potters are dead.


Carol responds:
Well, yes and no. (I know you're addressing Ceridwen here, but since
the original post was mine, I'm taking the liberty of answering.) DD
didn't want Harry to know about Snape's involvement, true, but it's an
oversimplification to say (like McGonagall in the PoA movie but with a
different character) that Snape is the reason the Potters are dead.
Snape reported part of the Prophecy to LV before he knew who it
involved or how LV would interpret it (attempting to kill a baby
rather than waiting for the child to grow up and reveal himself as a
threat). Snape also (apparently) tried to prevent their deaths by
going to Dumbledore with the information that LV was after the
Potters. *Voldemort* is the reason the Potters are dead, with Peter
Pettigrew, the traitor/Secret Keeper, as chief accomplice. Snape is
involved, of course, but he's not guilty of the actual murders. And
unlike LV and Wormtail, he showed what DD believes to be genuine remorse.

But my original question wasn't why DD showed Harry only Sybill
herself, not the complete Pensieve memory, which would have been more
useful to *us* as readers. Obviously, DD knew that doing so would
incense Harry, who would have reacted exactly as he does in HBP when
he hears Trelawney's version of the story, placing all the blame for
his parents' death on Snape, whom he already blames (unfairly) for the
death of Sirius. (DD's death is, of course, a separate matter not
relevant to this discussion.)

What I wanted to know is why the two descriptions (DD's and
Trelawney's) are so different and whether they can be reconciled. I
don't see how Trelawney could have seen Snape if he was listening at
the keyhole and "thrown out" less than halfway through the Prophecy.
OTOH, if she saw him when the door opened *after* she came out of her
trance, as she implies, he must have heard the whole Prophecy (or the
second half rather than the first). Also, the Prophecy as Sybill gives
it in the Pensieve memory is not interrupted, so she can't have seen
him if the door opened halfway through the Prophecy. She would still
have been in her trance when he was hauled away by Aberforth.

Since her time frame is confused (she seems to think young Snape was
applying for a job almost two years before he actually received the
Potions position), her entire memory may be confused. All I'm saying
is that the two stories don't fit together to make a coherent whole.
Or if they do, I don't see it.

Carol