HP Timeline: Neville, Harry, Spoilery

[pippin_999]

"The destiny of mankind is not
decided by material computation.
When great causes are on the move
in the world...we learn that we are spirits,
not animals, and that something is going 
on in space and time, and beyond space
and time, which, whether we like it or
not, spells duty,"
--Winston Churchill, June 16,1941


Milz:

> Unless other children were born in late July whose parents deifed 
> Voldemort 3 times, there were only 2 babies in the UK (and perhaps 
> the world) that fit the prophecy description: Neville Longbottom
and  Harry Potter. The prophecy is pretty specific in that regard.  
> 
Pippin:
It's only specific in retrospect. After all, who decided what
constitutes defying the Dark Lord?  So far we've seen  the Minister
of Magic refuse to hand over power to him, Dumbledore refuse to 
grant him the DADA position, (did you notice the acronym has made 
its way into canon? ) Karkaroff refuse to go back to him, DE's try to
kill Harry in defiance of Voldemort's wishes,  Slughorn hiding out,
and 
so on. 

There's nothing in the prophecy either  to say that the one who 
vanquishes Voldemort is going to be a white wizard. The DE's think 
only a greater Dark wizard can do it. Voldemort might have 
started looking for traitors in his own camp.

Milz:
> That's what I think Dumbledore did: No one 
> knows who Voldie will pick, so let's just keep our fingers crossed 
> that he'll take a long time deciding? It's irresponsible. 


Pippin:
Was it irresponsible of Sam Gamgee to stay with Frodo instead
of going back to the Shire after he'd seen the vision of its 
destruction in the Mirror of Galadriel? 
Her words to Sam could fit right into what Dumbledore was 
trying to tell Harry, "Remember that the Mirror shows many things, 
and not  all have yet come to pass.
Some never come to be, unless those that behold the visions 
turn aside from their path to prevent them. The Mirror is 
dangerous as a guide of deeds." Substitute _prophecy_ for
Mirror and you've got Dumbledore's attitude in a nutshell.

The only responsible way to interpret a prophecy in the Potterverse
is to do exactly what you would have done if you'd never heard of 
it. The only reason it's about Harry is that Voldemort has decided
that it is. Would Dumbledore have sent James and Lily out of
the fray if he'd never heard the prophecy? Of course not. Once
Voldemort had heard it and decided it applied to them, that's another
story.

It's canon that Fidelius was used to hide Grimmauld Place. Ch 37
of OOP, Dumbledore explains that Kreacher could not reveal the
whereabouts because he was not Secret-keeper, and Snape also
gives this as the reason he  couldn't do it in HPB.

Pippin