Explain this passage

[Angel Lima]

No: HPFGUIDX 180630

Mike:
First off, I wanted to correct the attribution: the above was
written by RL, not Potioncat. PC's good, but she's not *that*
good. So let's not put words in her mouth.

Angel:
Thanks for the correction.  PC was kind enough to correct me on the quiet ;) - I have a terrible flare up of pterygium as a not so fond reminder of my recent excursion from the seriousness of life :) so please once again, pardon the transgression :)  the eyesight is still sore but I owe you another reply Mike so will start with this :)

Mike:
Now, on to your question; Someone pointed out, on a different thread 
I think, that Voldemort would not have stopped with Harry if he had 
succeeded in killing him. He would have taken out Neville, too. He 
just picked the Potters as his *first* victims, he wasn't thinking 
there was anything to stop him from proceeding to the Longbottoms 
after that. I'm sure the Longbottoms were in hiding too, maybe LV 
just hadn't found them yet.

Angel:
Yet something propelled Voldemort to seek out Potter first.  The way the Fidelius was whispered by the group in Rosmerta's bar in PoA spoke of a serious spell difficult to carry out and impenetrable.  Dumbledore in this talk with Harry promised to out the secrets (well the ones relating to the prophesy anyhow) and I agree with him that Voldemort chose Harry to be his adversary.  Even if Voldemort planned to off poor Nevvy also, he chose Harry first and thus Harry was the chosen one.  Why he did so, is the dilemma methinks :)

Mike:
But as far as the whole blood thing; I don't think Voldemort really 
cared that much, despite what Dumbledore said. I think the pure-
blood mannia was for his followers consumption. He needed a hook to 
recruit them and to keep them focused on their tasks, a reason d'etre
if you will, giving them something *they* believed in to pursue 
Voldemort's goals. Give the DEs somebody to lord over and they won't 
notice how much self determination they've lost to Voldemort. Another
Hitler parallel, with the DEs playing the part of the Gestapo.

Angel:
I'm of two minds about this.  First of all, my reply was to the "pureblood" content of Harry and Volders in the prophesy and as explained by Dumbledore in RL's question.  Also I think Voldemort did seriously care about tainting the purebloods even though he was as far removed from a pureblood as possible barring Muggles. Having killed his own father and family, feeling responsible for the death of his mother, he was full of self-loathing (was he a psychopath or sociopath?) The "them" he blamed was himself, I guess in someway it was a form of self-purging?  (here again though I won't bang my head against my desk as I write it this time, but just how daft are these people who followed a halfblood to restore purebloodism???  Honestly!)  At the same time I do think you're right - purebloodism was a means to an end if we are to take Voldemort at his/Quirrell's word that there is only power.  He only sought power.. What exactly those powers he gained were that were beyond the scope of Dumbledore's conscience let alone the abilities of a baby, I still have to discover, marvel, gasp and quiver at!... okay will stop this now before I resort to banging head on desk again.


> Angel:
> <snip>
> 
> The prophecy was another farce, I've tried everywhich way to
> scramble sense out of it, and it hurts my feeble brain, lol. I
> gather JKR meant for Voldemort to have seen himself in Harry
> long before his soul latched onto Harry, however both her and
> Dumbledore aren't doing a good job of 'splainin :)

Mike:
Actually Angel, I don't think the prophesy had anything to do with 
*how* Voldemort saw himself in Harry. His choice of Harry over 
Neville, if he really made that choice (see above), was irrespective 
of what the prophesy said. As Dumbledore 'splained, both boys fit 
the prophesy description. Dumbledore thought Voldemort picked Harry 
because of their similar heritage.


Angel:
I have the terrible propensity to hide my actual point in subtexts lol.  I meant the prophecy itself was beyond ambiguous and I guess once again I vented at the wrong spot ;)...still I do think Voldemort chose Harry.  I cannot remember the actual prophesy, but do recall, that the dark lord will himself mark... ra ra ra the little twit who will bring him down...so the prophesy did speak of the dark lord CHOOSING his own adversary and like Dumbledore I believed Voldemort chose Harry because he saw himself in Harry and knew what he was capable of, a half-blood!  He saw himself in Harry because of the blood connection I suppose - Muggle blood.  He chose that which he loathed and he loathed that which he feared or feared that which he loathed?  Either way, that was Voldemort.   Of course, Voldemort not being particularly bright, I strongly suspect Harry was chosen because of the messenger, i.e Severus.


Mike:

Maybe DD didn't want to dishearten Harry any more by telling him, 
"Sorry mate, it was the luck of the draw." Trying to, I don't know, 
make Harry seem special, like he's not that much different from 
Voldemort and that he can be just as great as he is? I'm floundering 
here. ;) Because DD's story doesn't make sense to me either.


Angel:
But Dumbledore here said he would speak to Harry as an adult and reveal all that he had blanketed him from in the past years.  Which again brings my head very close to my desk in force :) and to another track.  Using people was okay as long as it was Dumbledore doing the using, according to Dumbledore.  He used Harry, yet recoiled at the idea of McScrooge using Harry to buffer the wizarding community.  So Dumbledore fed Harry with "you're special ideas" but refused to allow others to share in the same notion?  Yes Dumbledore makes sense to me but not very good sense <bg>


> Angel:
> But I'm saying it now if I haven't so before, this story is not
> Harry's it's Snape's!!! It always was :) Any explanation that
> excludes the Snape factor in Riddle gunning for Harry over
> Neville will undoubtedly fall short.

Mike:
Whoa Angel, You can't do that! ;) You can't just leave us hanging 
after a statement like that. C'mon girl, dish. LOL

Angel:

Oooh!  You didn't know?  (beg...the kind Voldemort the twat is incapable of beaming lol) Well what are the chances that Lily's closeted wannabe lover brings Volders the prophecy?  An incomplete prophecy to be exact! :) Voldemort is of course spurred to hunt for Harry's head all because Severus asked to spare Lily?  What if it was Severus who translated the prophecy and passed Voldemort his interpretation?  Voldemort did ask him to explain the flounders of the almighty useless wand, so Voldemort held a certain respect if not dependency on Severus' brilliance.

 don't have time to draft this out especially as am at work, but here are a few points:

It was Snape who gave Harry reason to seek out the philosopher's stone.
Snape who provided the answer to the secret in the chamber (Draco and Harry's duel)
Snape who caused Peter to escape from the shack and thus cause the Harry/Hermione timetravelling and all it contained
Snape the Death Eater????  Whoo!
Snape who weakened Harry's mind (not intentionally but by the nature of occlumency itself!) that led everyone to the MoM including Volders
HBP all about Snape!!! Yeeeee!
Then in Deathly Hallows ... well I won't go there :)

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