During my post-HBP re-read of the whole series, I came to the infamous 'gleam of triumph' in Dumbledore's eye at the news that Lord Voldemort had used a trickle of Harry's blood to create his new body, and I was struck by a sudden idea: what if this blood transfusion (of sorts :)) fulfilled a part of the Prophecy? Let me explain.

The Prophecy

This is where the story starts, with Trelawney's first prophecy. Its exact wording goes thus:

"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..." OotP p741 (UK hardback)

As we all know, Voldemort heard part of this prophecy from Mr. Greaseball (no I won't get over it :)) and, one Halloween night, set out to Godric's Hollow to fulfill the terms of the prophecy (although, mark you, not in the way he thought). During the following confrontation, Lily Potter took an AK curse while trying to shield Harry. This act gave Harry a lasting protection.

The Protection

The protection given to Harry by his mother's sacrifice had many effects. It deflected the curse meant for Harry back upon its originator, giving Harry his lightning scar and forging the connection between Harry and Voldemort that has been both blessing and curse; and it gave Harry a sense of such strong love that he endured 10 years under the Dursleys' thumb and 6 years (maybe 7?;)) of Hogwarts education under 'more burdens than any student who has passed through this school' (Prof. Dumbledore, OotP p740 (UK hardback)) and still came out a good man (Harry's lessons with Dumbledore, HBP). We know from Voldemort (graveyard scene, GoF) that this protection existed in Harry's blood, and that by using Harry's blood in his rebirth Voldemort has this protection as well. 'So what?' I hear you say.

'...and neither can live while the other survives...'

According to my reading of the situation, both Harry and Voldemort have a lasting protection from Lily's sacrifice, a protection that we know is powerful enough to deflect AKs (though could that have been a one-time only?), a protection that we may have seen in action (at the beginning of OotP, where Harry is being strangled by Vernon. Electric shock, indeed... :)). These two are the only ones ever to receive such protection (as, according to Rowling herself, no one has ever taken an AK for someone else, after being given the express option of moving out of the way and living). We know that this protection no longer counts between Harry and Voldemort (as Voldemort can now touch Harry (!)). No one else can hurt either of them. Sound familiar?

Conclusion

Therefore, my theory is this: that the sharing (or rather stealing :)) of Lily's protection has served to provide a tangible enforcement of the 'either must die at the hand of the other' rule stated by the prophecy (as we know from Dumbledore that the prophecy itself cannot directly affect things, except by being made and believed). It is reasonable (in my mind) to assume that Dumbledore, already being familiar with the prophecy and its implications, figured this out when Harry told him about Voldemort's rebirth. Thus the 'gleam of triumph' in his eye - once again, Voldemort has taken steps to avoid the fulfillment of the prophecy (once he's got the protection, along with his Horcruxes, he has only to kill off Harry, and he's in the clear!), and once again, he has inadvertently contributed to its fulfillment. Neither Harry nor Voldemort can rest until each finds and attempts to kill the other (due to the botched AK); and neither can be harmed by anyone else (due to the resultant protection and its subsequent stealing).

If anyone wants to contact me to tell me how wrong I am, tell me how right I am, provide extra evidence for or against, tell me how good a theorist I am (I won't keep my hopes up on this one :)) or randomly insult me (please try to be original with this!), feel free to do so at appleface1236 at hotmail dot com.

9/9/05

Posted by: Katie