Dumbledore and the psychic magic (was: Prophecy)

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 187581

Mike: 
> My question: How much stock does Dumbledore put in this kind of magic? 
<snip> 
> So does DD believe it takes magic to make a prophecy and that's as far as the magic goes, that the prophecy could be true and still be thwarted by the actions of the players, or that the prophecy, if true, emparts a magic of it's own to ensure it becomes fulfilled in some way, shape, or form? 

Pippin:
I think Dumbledore believes there is a rare but genuine magical power of divination. Those gifted with that power can make predictions that they could not produce of their own knowledge or even sometimes of their own accord.  

Such predictions can be tremendously powerful. But Dumbledore considers the power to be inspirational rather than prescriptive. Prophecies don't have any power to make themselves come true, though some people believe they do and act accordingly. No event becomes inevitable simply because it was magically foretold, in Dumbledore's opinion, but it may become inevitable because people disregard their other options, whether in response to a prophecy or not. 

Voldemort could have ignored the prophecy, or decided that it referred to Neville rather than Harry, or that its subject could not yet be determined. The prophecy had no magical power to make Voldemort believe that Harry would be the one with the power to vanquish him. It was entirely Voldemort's choice to believe that, and, yet, according to Dumbledore, if he hadn't believed it, Harry would never have acquired that power. 

Pettigrew was unaware of Trelawney's second prediction, yet he fulfilled it. He made the choice to return to Voldemort, though he could have let himself be taken to the castle or tried to find another hiding place. He considered those choices unviable because of his character and experiences, not because of Trelawney's magic. 


Pippin