Ruddy star-gazers and The Prophecy (long)

[Barry Arrowsmith]

--- In the_old_crowd at yahoogroups.com, "dungrollin" <spotthedungbeetle at h...> wrote:

> snip> 
> Let me be clear (or try to be, at any rate): I don't think there is
> a way of interpreting the prophecy so that Harry doesn't have to
> kill Voldy and/or Voldy doesn't have to kill Harry. I don't think
> any of the straightforward reading is negotiable, but then syntactic
> gymnastics was never my strong point. It's the "neither can live
> while the other survives" that is ambiguous. DD explains all the
> other parts to Harry: "Power to vanquish the Dark Lord," "Thrice
> defied," "Seventh month," "Marked as equal," "Power the Dark Lord
> knows not," and "Either must die at the hand of the other" all get
> explained, but not the "Neither can live while the other survives."
> I assume this is what JKR was referring to in the FAQ answer.
> 
> more  snips>
 
> Damnation. Is it still only May?
> 

'Fraid so. Bit of a bugger, ain't it?

Since we're blighted by a lack of facts (and I suspect, a total inability
to recognise a clue even when it's staring us in the face) a little
desperate grasping at straws is called for.

It doesn't do to push parallels too far (oh, I don't know though) but
when centaurs are mentioned I can't help but think of Hercules.
*Made* immortal as a reward for his Labours, he was killed - by a shirt 
soaked in poisoned centaur blood.

And somehow I don't feel confident that Firenze is going to be around
at the end of the book. Just a hunch, though it could be considered
significant that he's busy accumulating enemies on all sides. His fellow
humano-equines would be happy to see him gracing supermarket shelves
in dog-food cans; he's the one centaur that the MoM can get at to wreak
some revenge for Dear Dolly; and as a DD supporter the DEs will have him
on their little list too.

As for Firenze and the Prophecy....
He's more than a little ambivalent when it comes to divination, implying
that humans don't understand, that centaurs do - sometimes. That it may
take a decade or more to wheedle meaning from the stars, smoke, whatever.
Forecasting trends is something they feel comfortable with, specific events
are something else again. If asked a question would he give a straight
answer anyway? Or would he answer a riddle with a conumdrum? That's what
Hagrid suggests.

And there's Hermione. Arch-sceptic of divination and the authors avatar in
many things. Should we be as sceptical as Hermione?

Worth remembering something else. When that dozy old bat did her "A tall,
dark stranger will cross your path.." bit, it was a future event. There is no
guarantee that it still refers to the future as of now. 'Cos there is one
interpretation of the Prophecy that would have allowed Voldy to knock off
Harry at GH and gone on his way rejoicing. The "neither can live while the
other survives.." being the key phrase. If the 'neither' are James and Lily and
'the other' is Harry, then the solution to Voldy's problem was to let either
James or Lily (or both) live - it's their deaths that will ensure Harry's survival.
And DD specifically uses the word 'vanquished' for what happened to Voldy 
at GH, just as the prophecy requires.

So - a genuine, accurate Prophecy, but largely irrelevant now?
But it would have been very relevant if Voldy had had it in his sweaty mitts
before GH. 

Yep; I know I've rabbited on about this in past posts, and yes, the syntax of 
the Prophecy can still be demonstrated to contain uncertainties even with
this reading, but I wouldn't put it past Jo to have a bit of fun with what would
be a combination of red herring and explication of back-story.

Kneasy