Think about Neville

[Eustace_Scrubb]

Kneasy wrote:

> Somebody in the Ministry shows a healthy scepticism for Sybil's 
> mutterings - there's that question mark in front of Harry's name. 

Eustace_Scrubb:  Well, isn't that just because the prophecy was filed
_before_ either Neville or Harry were born?  I don't know that I'd
call that skepticism...just cluelessness.  Interesting "technical"
question though--the prophecy "concerns" not just Voldemort and his
potential vanquisher but also the latter's parents...could they also
(if living) have raised the orb?...for that matter, is the "alarm"
system that allows only those the prophecy concerns to lift the orb
internal or external?  That is, does the DoM staff label determine who
can pick it up or is there something internal to the prophecy that
does this?  If the former, then the fact that Harry picked it up
doesn't necessarily mean the prophecy's _really_ about him.  Anyway,
as Magda points out, it may not be fruitful to spend too much time on
what the prophecy "really" means.
 
> [Voldy] knows part of Trelawny's mystic 
> mutterings, enough to affect his actions - and others may too. 
> It struck me a few days ago - one of the FAQs - why did the DEs 
> drop in on the Longbottoms for tea and torture? Usually the response
> is that Frank was an Auror and may have heard things, they may have 
> been at GH on the fateful night, all that sort of speculation. But 
> there's a canon fact that may be significant - Neville was the
other 
> alternative. It can hardly be coincidence that the only  family the
 
> DEs question is the one that Voldy would be visiting after he'd  
> dealt with the Potters. You don't really think that he'd take the  
> risk of leavingone of the only two possible contenders for top spot
 
> gurgling happily in his cot, do you? Not Voldy; he'd nail both of  
> 'em to make sure. And the DEs must have known. Note that the  
> Longbottoms were attacked "when everybody thought they were safe" -
 
> had they just come out of hiding, perhaps? Did the DEs leave it so  
> long because they couldn't find them until they did?
> 
> All that emotive guff from DD about Voldy choosing Harry because he 
> identified with his Muggle origins is a load of tripe. He chose  
> Harry because thanks to a traitor he could find him, something he  
> couldn't do with Neville.

Eustace_Scrubb:
Ah, now this is very much to the point.  The "why" of the DEs visit to
Frank and Alice seems very likely to be Neville.  Someone else on
HPfGU has named this the "King Herod strategy" and I think it makes a
lot of sense.  I've argued elsewhere that "just when everybody thought
they were safe" is probably quite soon after Godric's Hollow, given
what we know of the reaction of the WW within hours of Voldy's
vaporizing.  We don't even have to postulate that Bella and company
knew anything about a prophecy...Voldy knew _why_ he was going after
the Potters and the Longbottoms.  His minions probably only knew
_that_ he was doing so.  But when he disappeared they went after the
second target--possibly because with the Potters dead they assumed
that the Longbottoms _must_ have been the ones who stymied their boss.

We don't know that the Longbottoms were in hiding...maybe they were,
but as aurors, maybe not--although they may have had Neville sent out
to the country for the duration.  He may simply have needed to wait
until the Potters were betrayed to go after both families.

Of course, this assumes a level of subtlety we haven't necessarily
seen from Voldemort yet--especially the assumption he may not have
felt the need to blab everything to the DEs.  But _I_ sure wouldn't
let Bellatrix in on secrets like that...she'd blurt it all out in the
heat of taunting some auror who'd then manage to escape her.

Anyway, I agree with you that Neville has an important part yet to
play.  I suspect he'll provide Harry with invaluable aid in the final
battle/quest/confrontation/thing.  And if Harry survives to the end of
Book 7, I'm afraid Neville may not.

Cheers,

Eustace_Scrubb