Sybill Trelawney: Encyclopedia II - Sybill Trelawney - Prophecy

Sybill Trelawney - Prophecy

Trelawney has been at Hogwarts since 1979 (seventeen years, by the end of Harry's sixth year) and has made only two real predictions. Both of them involve Lord Voldemort. The first prediction was made during her interview for her teaching post at Hogwarts. She told Harry that initially Dumbledore did not seem encouraging, but by the end was much keener to employ her. She is unaware that she made a prophecy, and only remembers feeling slightly faint and unwell, which she attributed to not having eaten. She then recalled being interrupted as the Barman and Severus Snape burst into the room. The first prophecy is:

This prediction is believed to refer to Voldemort ("the Dark Lord") and Harry Potter (who was born on July 31). At the time it was made, it could have also applied to Neville Longbottom (born July 30). Part of the prediction came to pass on the night of October 31 1981, when Potter unknowingly stripped Lord Voldemort of his powers by surviving the Avada Kedavra, or 'killing curse'.

At the end of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Professor Dumbledore reveals that he understands the prophecy to refer to Harry as opposed to Neville. However, he believes that the exact choice of who was meant was made by Voldemort himself, when he chose to go after Harry rather than Neville, thereby marking him as his equal. Dumbledore also believes that the power the dark lord knows not, is love.

This interpretation was called into question. The phrase the one is used twice, but may not be the same in both cases (Neville, also born at the end of July, may have a role to play yet). The phrase either must die at the hand of the other... is less than clear. There were speculations in the Potter fandom, that 'either' refers to two people (Harry and Neville), while 'the other' refers to a third party (Voldemort). But JK Rowling denied this, clearly stating that the prophecy is not about Neville. Dumbledore answered Harry's questons at the end of 'Order of the Phoenix', with his own belief that this line means either one of Harry and Voldemort must kill the other.

Part of this prophecy was overheard by Severus Snape, and a complete copy of it (from Dumbledore's memory) was placed in the Hall of Prophecy in the Ministry of Magic. The recorded copy was destroyed during the fight when Voldemort tried to steal it, at the end of 'Phoenix'. Dumbledore tells Harry, inside a broom cupboard at the Weasleys' house, that he and Harry are the only two people who know the full prophecy. He also states that the eavesdropper was ejected from the building by Aberforth before Trelawney had completed the prophecy. Dumbledore's and Trelawney's versions of events are contradictory, and can not both be true. Trelawney had no reason to lie, since she was not even aware of having made the prophecy, and could not in fact have known that Snape was listening had he been ejected while she was in the trance. It is not clear how much of the prophecy Snape actually heard, or whether he reported everything he heard to Voldemort. Dumbledore stated that he only reported the first half of the prophecy, so that Voldemort acted without benefit of the warnings in the latter part.

The second prediction was:

This prophecy was fulfilled when Peter Pettigrew's true identity was revealed and he escaped to rejoin Voldemort and nurse him back to health in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

A passing reference in the most recent book- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince suggests that Trelawney's abilities as a seer may have been underestimated. Towards the end of the book, she is heard complaining that Dumbledore has been ignoring her frequent warnings of death and destruction. In a brief encounter with Harry, she produces a tarot card and murmurs "...the lightning-struck tower...Calamity. Disaster. Coming nearer all the time...". This appears to be an uncharacteristically accurate description of the invasion of Hogwarts, which occurs in a later chapter entitled 'The Lightning-Struck Tower'. This Tarot card is generally considered representative of disaster or life-altering change. JK Rowling's sceptical treatment of Trelawney as seer appears to have mellowed.

A further scene, earlier in the same year and which may or may not have been humorous coincidence shows Trelawney trying to predict the future with tarot cards and coming up with "A dark young man, possibly troubled, one who dislikes the questioner." She dismisses this as nonsensical, but unbeknownst to her Harry is in fact hiding to avoid her as she makes this prediction.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Prophecy", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki