Hey everyone!
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. In this video we’re going to be discussing
what is arguably the most important date in Harry Potter lore as a whole- and that is the day that
Lord Voldemort travelled to Godric’s Hollow to murder the Poters. I’m covering this video today
in commemoration of the day that it happened, 39 years and 1 day ago. Most of you probably know why
Voldemort travelled there on that fateful night- to kill baby Harry- but what some of you might
not entirely understand is why it HAD to be done. Why did he HAVE to kill the Potters? Wasn’t he the
all powerful dark lord with legions of followers? What immediate threat did this family pose to him?
The answer to this question lies inside of the famous ‘prophecy’. ‘The prophecy’ of course
refers to the prediction foretold by Sybil Trellawny in Hogsmeade pub in the year 1980.
We know Sybill as the professor of divination at Hogwarts, and we know that she has a track
record of successful predictions- predicting at the end of the 93-94 school year that Pettigrew
would escape, and that Voldemort would return. However, she was not always so successful,
and in 1980 found herself in the Hogsmeade pub with Dumbledore, interviewing for her post as
professor. While her poor reputation preceded her, Dumbledore gave her a chance because she was the
great grand-daughter of famous seer, Cassandra Trelawney. During her interview, a disappointed
and unimpressed Dumbledore began to lose interest, when suddenly Sybill entered in to a trance. In
her trance-like state, Sybill spoke of the famous prophecy that we all know, explaining
that Voldemort would be defeated. It spoke of a boy, that would be born at the end of July,
that possessed the power to defeat the dark lord himself. What Dumbledore and Sybill did not know,
however, was that Snape (who was then a death eater), was eavesdropping at the door. This simple
fact immediately placed Sybill in great danger from Voldemort- and in an effort to protect her,
Dumbledore hired her for the position at Hogwarts. The entire prophecy is as follows:
“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…” What’s interesting about Snape eavesdropping
is that he did not hear the prophecy in it’s entirety, and only told Voldemort
what he remembered. Because of this, he missed out very important details, like the fact that
Harry would be marked as his equal, and that he would possess unknown power. Snape also
almost immediately regretted his decision to tell Voldemort, as he quickly realized
that it would place the life of Lily Evans, the only girl he ever loved, in jeopardy.
Severus Snape had gone down a dark path, and he was a death eater, but he had also always
been infatuated with Lily, Harry’s mother- and actually took action to protect her
from Voldemort’s attack on the Potter residence. He knew that he would have to do something
if he wanted to save her life- and with nowhere else to go, Snape turned to his enemy at the time-
the leader of the opposition - Albus Dumbledore. “Well, Severus? What message does
Lord Voldemort have for me?” “No — no message — I’m here on my own account!”
Snape was wringing his hands. He looked a little mad, with his straggling black hair
flying around him. “I — I come with
a warning — no, a request — please —” “What request could a Death Eater make of me?”
“The — the prophecy… the prediction… Trelawney…” “Ah, yes,” said Dumbledore. “How
much did you relay to Lord Voldemort?” “Everything — everything I heard!” said Snape.
“That is why — it is for that reason — he thinks it means Lily Evans!”
“The prophecy did not refer to a woman,” said Dumbledore.
“It spoke of a boy born at the end of July —” “You know what I mean! He thinks it means her son,
he is going to hunt her down — kill them all —” “If she means so much to you,” said Dumbledore,
“surely Lord Voldemort will spare her? Could you not ask for mercy for the mother,
in exchange for the son?” “I have — I have asked him —”
“You disgust me,” said Dumbledore, and Harry had never heard so much contempt in his voice.
Snape seemed to shrink a little, “You do not care, then, about the deaths of her husband and child?
They can die, as long as you have what you want?” Snape said nothing, but merely
looked up at Dumbledore. Snape was a desperate man,
and at this point in time would have done anything to protect the woman that he loved- LIly Evans.
Snape told Dumbledore that he would do ‘anything’ to ensure that Lily was protected, and this was a
testament to Snape’s devotion to Lily. He dropped his death eater status, and the life that he had
built for himself in an instant, when he found out that Lily was in danger. However, Snape’s
last-ditch effort to protect Lily was too little too late, and ultimately proved unsuccessful.
With the information that had been provided to him by Snape, Voldemort came to the conclusion that
Harry Potter was the boy that the prophecy was talking about. Lily and James Potter were some of
Dumbledore’s most powerful Supporters and integral members of the order of the phoenix, which meant
that Voldemort already had them on his radar. Snape, who hated James Potter vehemently, helped
him with this intel. The only other option for a child that posed this threat to him was Neville
Longbottom, who was born on the 30th of July, but Voldemort firmly believed that it was Harry.
This brings us to Voldemort’s next move. Partially driven by ignorance, and partially by foolishness,
Voldemort believed that he would be able to circumvent the prophecy by murdering Harry.
On Wednesday October 31st, Voldemort travelled to the town of Godric’s Hollow where the Potter
family lived. It was here that Voldemort, in an attempt to murder Harry, ended up murdering
James & Lily. Voldemort did not go there with the intention of murdering Harry’s parents,
as to him they were no immediate threat- however, they did get in the way- which meant
that he would have to dispose of them. He had a very specific goal, and that was to kill Harry.
When he entered their home he first ended the life of James Potter, and then began making his
way towards Lily and baby Harry. When Voldemort approached Lily, he asked her to step aside,
and let him have Harry- to somewhat honour Snape’s wishes. He told Lily that if she stepped aside,
that he would spare her life, but obviously Lily’s main priority was protecting Harry.
Because she would not get out of the way, she was murdered by Voldemort’s killing curse. Next,
Voldemort turned his wand on Harry- he knew that he was moments away from killing the only boy,
or wizard, that was a threat to him and his regime. However,
what would happen next is something that he never could have predicted, as after firing a killing
curse at Harry, his curse rebounded back at him. This was the result of a loving sacrifice that
Lily had made - sacrificial protection. When the curse came back at him, it destroyed him, and it
marked the end of Voldemort, for a time, but it also tragically marked the end of the Potters.
This date, October 31, marked the end of the First Wizarding War,
secured Harry’s reputation as ‘The Boy Who Lived’, and marked the point at which Snape’s allegiance
completely shifted. This was a prominent date in history as it allowed the wizarding world,
at least for a time, to get back to normal. During the first wizarding war, Voldemort really peaked
in terms of power. Sure, he was able to secure followers and get his body back in the second war,
but in the first war he really had a strong, secure, confident grasp on the wizarding world-
he knew that he was in control, and everyone else knew it too. That is what makes this date
so important, as if the events of this day didn’t occur, Voldemort’s rule over the
wizarding world may have just lasted forever. That’s it for this video! Do you guys agree
that this is the single most important date in Harry Potter lore? Let me know in the
comment section below Until next time
It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live