HBP: Discrepancy with timeline, help

[Barry Arrowsmith]

--- In the_old_crowd at yahoogroups.com, "Amanda Geist" <editor at t...> wrote:
> > Pip:
> > No, they do add up. Trelawney made the prophecy before Harry was
> > born.
> > 
> > Then it took nearly a year after Harry's birth for Voldemort to find
> > the hidden Potters
> 
> No, they don't. Because according to this book, the event that pushed 
> Snape back to our side was remorse about the *outcome* of his 
> reporting the prophecy. That outcome was the attack on the Potters--
> but that was also Voldemort's downfall. So how could Snape have come 
> back to the good side, before Voldemort's downfall, when it was the 
> events of that downfall that caused the remorse?
> 
> What am I missing?
> 

Good thinking. Well spotted.

A bit of totally unsupported speculation - mostly - though I have considered
these points on HPfGU in isolation.

First Hagrid in PS/SS - 
"... the wonder is, he never tried to get 'em on his side before..."
Before? the implication is that Voldy tried to *recruit* the Potters at some time.

Secondly- the strange coincidence of all of Harry's grandparents apparently
dying within a very short time frame not long before he was born.

Thirdly - Petunia's paranoia about magic and wizards. It seems much more 
than just sibling antipathy. Much deeper - maybe tied to points one and two?
"Wanna join my gang?" might have been backed by threats and action when
Voldy got an answer he didn't want. 
Could Sevvy have felt responsible?

Cor! With a bit of luck he can claim credit for knocking off three generations
of Potters! Bet that'd make him feel proud!

Kneasy