Potter Ponderings

The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches . . . born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies . . . and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not . . . and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives . . . the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies . . . (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, US Hardback p 841)

It has been more than two years since Potter fans first read those words. They begin to answer what had previously been one of the biggest questions in the Harry Potter Septology: "Why Harry?"

However, those words have provided us with as many questions as answers. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince has offered only small bits of clarification.

Obviously, before we can begin to understand what the prophecy means, we must understand what it says. So today I'll dissect the prophecy line-by-line and spell it out in simpler terms.

The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches (OotP 841)

This line is pretty self- explanatory. There is one person who has the power to vanquish the Dark Lord, which we can almost definitely assume means Voldemort. So, point one: There will soon be a "Chosen One" one with the power to defeat Voldemort.

born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies (OotP 841)

This line was clarified by Dumbledore: The child would be born at the end of July, to a couple who had defied Voldemort three times. Dumbledore tells us that the only two children that fit this description are Harry and Neville. Whether this is true or not, we can't exactly verify, but we should assume that it is, as Dumbledore is quite well-informed. Point two: The "Chosen One" will be either Harry Potter or Neville Longbottom.

and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not (OotP 841)

This line, as interpreted by Dumbledore, says that the child is Harry and not Neville. What it really says is that Voldemort will choose Harry himself. This actually makes sense, based on Dumbledore's comments in Half-Blood Prince that it is Harry and Voldemort's actions which make the prophecy work. Then, the "power the Dark Lord knows not," as Dumbledore insists, is love. There has been plenty of evidence to confirm this so far, so we'll take it as truth. So, point three: Voldemort will pick either Harry or Neville to be the "Chosen One," and he will have a power Voldemort doesn't understand.

The next line, I'll split in two.

and either must die at the hand of the other (OotP 841)

This line is quite strangely worded. It appears to say that the Dark Lord will kill the Chosen One, or vice versa. But this isn't necessarily true. If you look at the wording, it says "at the hand" and not "by the hand." Which means the Chosen One doesn't necessarily have to kill the Dark Lord, he just has to be present. Whether this wording is significant remains to be seen. Also, there's been some speculation among fans that this part of the prophecy doesn't refer to Harry and Voldemort, but Harry and Neville. While this is interesting, JKR herself has hinted that Neville isn't involved in the prophecy at all. So for now, we'll assume it talks of the Chosen one and the Dark Lord. So, point four-a: Either the Chosen One will die at the hand of the Dark Lord, or vice versa.

for neither can live while the other survives (OotP 841)

This line doesn't seem to make a lot of sense, because if taken literally, it would mean that the Chosen One and the Dark Lord cannot be alive at the same time. Obviously, Harry and Voldemort have both been around for years. Perhaps there is something to the distinction between "living" and "surviving." It's possible that you could say the Voldemort wasn't even "alive" during the time before Book 4. Perhaps it means that neither can live in peace, or live with themselves while the other is still around, which would make sense. Basically, though, this line just says one thing: "There ain't enough room in this town for the two of us." Point four-b: The Chosen One and the Dark Lord cannot co-exist indefinitely.

the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies . . . (OotP 841)

This line merely reiterates points already made, and it confirms that lines one and two refer to the same person.

Which leaves us with the following:

1) There will soon be a "Chosen One" one with the power to defeat Voldemort.
2) The "Chosen One" will be either Harry Potter or Neville Longbottom.
3) Voldemort will pick either Harry or Neville to be the "Chosen One," and he will have a power Voldemort doesn't understand.
4) Either the Chosen One will die at the hand of the Dark Lord, or vice versa, because they cannot cannot co-exist indefinitely.

It is also important to remember Dumbledore's comment about the Prophecy during Half-Blood Prince:

..."You see, the prophecy does not mean you have to do anything! But the prophecy caused Lord Voldemort to mark you as his equal.... In other words, you are free to choose your way, quite free to turn your back on the prophecy! But Voldemort continues to set store by the prophecy. He will continue to hunt you... which makes it certain, really, that--"

"That one of us is going to end up killing the other," said Harry. "Yes." (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, US Hardback p 512)

The way Dumbledore speaks of the prophecy, he makes it sound less like a set future and more like a recepie. Yes, a recepie. You should not think of the prophecy as a binding contract, but as a recepie. It states what gets put in, and tells you what will come out.

So, as long as Harry and Voldemort continue to play their parts as the prophecy dictates, one of them is going to die as a result. Whether JKR will have either character turn his back on the prophecy remains to be seen, although each of them seems completely committed to the game.

That's all for this week, but there's a bit of news I'd like to share: This blog can now also be accessed as a LiveJournal feed at http://www.livejournal.com/users/potter_ponder for the convenience of LiveJournal users, who can add the feed to their friends list for easier access.