Harry Potter: What Is the Lost Prophecy?

Highlights

The Lost Prophecy in Harry Potter reveals Voldemort’s motivations for trying to kill Harry as a baby and foreshadows Harry’s defeat of the Dark Lord.
The Prophecy was made by Sybil Trelawney, an infamous Seer, shortly before Harry’s birth.
The Prophecy states that the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord would be born at the end of July to parents who had defied Voldemort three times. Both Harry and Neville Longbottom fit this description, but Voldemort chose to apply the Prophecy to Harry.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix first introduced audiences to the ‘Lost Prophecy’, which ultimately became the most important part of the franchise. During the fateful Battle of the Department of Mysteries, the Death Eaters are attempting to obtain the Prophecy to deliver to their master, Lord Voldemort. In Order of the Phoenix’s book, Harry questions the Death Eaters about the Prophecy’s importance, to which Lucius Malfoy responds with “Haven’t you ever wondered why the Dark Lord tried to kill you as a baby?”. It is here when Harry first realizes the Prophecy’s value.

Significantly, the Lost Prophecy reveals Voldemort’s motivations for attempting to murder Harry as a baby and ultimately foreshadows Harry’s defeat of the Dark Lord. However, Harry Potter fans have often wondered what the Prophecy specifically states, and why is it so important.

RELATED: Harry Potter: What Is The Difference Between Legilimency and Occlumency?

Where Did the Prophecy Originate From?

images/news/2023/11/5/harry-potter-lost-prophecy_1.jpg

According to Dumbledore, the Prophecy was made shortly before Harry’s birth. In Order of the Phoenix’s book, the Headmaster explains that it was Sybil Trelawney who made the infamous Prophecy. As Harry Potter fans may remember, Sybil Trelawney was an infamous Seer, meaning that she had the ability to see into the future. Trelawney first appeared in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Throughout the third installment, Trelawney was the Professor of Divination at Hogwarts – a subject which notoriously irked Hermione Granger. When Trelawney’s character was first introduced, nobody expected that the Divination Professor would have such a colossal role in the series.

Dumbledore explains to Harry that he first heard the Prophecy in a room above the bar at the Hog’s Head Inn. The Headmaster had gone to meet Sybil Trelawney to interview her for a job opening at Hogwarts – he was never expecting to hear such a fateful Prophecy.

Sadly, the Hog’s Head Inn is notorious for its shady visitors, meaning that catastrophe was waiting to happen. Trelawney’s Prophecy was overheard by a Death Eater, who promptly reported it to his master, Lord Voldemort. However, the eavesdropper did not wait to hear the full contents of the Prophecy, which ultimately resulted in Voldemort’s first defeat when he attempted to kill Harry Potter.

What Does the Lost Prophecy State?

images/news/2023/11/5/harry-potter-lost-prophecy_2.jpg

In the movie, Harry first hears the Prophecy whilst in the Department of Mysteries. However, in the book, the orb containing a copy Prophecy smashes before Harry can listen to it. It is only in the aftermath of Sirius’ death when Dumbledore informs Harry of Trelawney’s infamous prediction. The book recounts the Prophecy in full:

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 the 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.

This means that Voldemort’s equal was born at the end of July and would be born to parents who had already defied Voldemort three times. This boy would be known as ‘The Chosen One’ and would be capable of defeating Voldemort as ‘neither can live while the other survives’. As Harry Potter fans will know, Harry was born on the 31st July and his parents were loyal members of the Order of the Phoenix, an organization which outwardly defied Lord Voldemort. Because of this, Harry assumes that the Prophecy is about him, but Dumbledore corrects him:

Sibyll’s prophecy could have applied to two wizard boys, both born at the end of July that year, both of whom had parents in the Order of the Phoenix, both sets of parents having narrowly escaped Voldemort three times. One, of course, was you. The other was Neville Longbottom.

Like Harry, Neville Longbottom was born at the end of July and his parents were also courageous members of the Order of the Phoenix. The Prophecy could have been referencing either of the two boys, but Voldemort decided to apply the Prophecy to Harry. When Harry asks why Voldemort chose him, Dumbledore explains that “He chose the boy he thought most likely to be a danger to him”, and proceeds to showcase a significant detail in Voldemort’s decision:

And notice this, Harry. He chose, not the pureblood (which, according to his creed, is the only kind of wizard worth being or knowing), but the half-blood, like himself. He saw himself in you before he had ever seen you.

Neville was a pure-blooded wizard, meaning that both of his parents were from wizarding families. Significantly, Harry was a half-blood because his mother was ‘Muggle-Born, meaning that she was the first witch in her family. As Harry Potter fans will know, Voldemort preached that pure-bloods possessed the ‘superior blood type’. This is ironic because Voldemort himself was a half-blood – something which he detested about himself. Dumbledore highlights this hatred as the reason why Voldemort targeted Harry, rather than Neville, making him the notorious ‘Chosen One’. The Chosen One would either have the power to kill the Dark Lord or would ultimately be defeated by him. Because of this, the Prophecy is arguably the most important factor in Harry Potter’s narrative.

Harry Potter	Neville Longbottom
Born 31st July	Born 30th July
Half-Blood	Pure-Blood
Parents were killed by Voldemort	Parents were tortured by Death Eaters

Why Is The Prophecy So Important?

images/news/2023/11/5/harry-potter-lost-prophecy_3.jpg

After hearing about the Prophecy, Voldemort believes that the Chosen One will be the cause of his downfall. Because of this, Voldemort decides to target Harry and his family on the fateful Halloween night of 1981. After discovering the Potter family’s whereabouts, Voldemort brutally murders Lily and James Potter. However, when he attempts to kill Harry with the Killing Curse, the spell notoriously backfires, killing Voldemort and saving Harry’s life. The Prophecy describes the Chosen One as Voldemort’s ‘equal’, which explains why the Dark Lord was unsuccessful in his attempt to kill the infant.

If Voldemort had never heard about Trelawney’s Prophecy, then the events of Harry Potter would’ve ever taken place. Because of this, the Prophecy forms the backbone of the entire series, ultimately culminating in Harry and Voldemort’s final battle in the Deathly Hallows. As the prophecy famously states ‘Neither can live while the other survives’, meaning that Voldemort’s defeat was placed in Harry’s hands from the very beginning.

The infamous Battle of Hogwarts ultimately fulfilled the Prophecy. In the Deathly Hallows, Harry defeated Voldemort, ending his reign of terror once and for all. Interestingly, the Prophecy was also fulfilled by Neville Longbottom. During the culmination of the Battle of Hogwarts, Neville infamously killed Nagini, Voldemort’s final Horcrux. Because of this, Voldemort’s immorality was suddenly revoked, allowing Harry to kill him. Significantly, the Prophecy was fulfilled by both Harry and Neville, emphasizing Neville’s importance in the franchise. Ultimately, Trelawney’s prediction both started and concluded the events of Harry Potter, highlighting its importance.