Hey everyone!
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. In this video we’re going to be
discussing the fabled prophecy, and 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 Potters. 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! What video do
you want next? Let me know in the comment section below
Until next time
Remember
It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live