What Jo says about...
Prophecies & their implications

Please note: unless you see quotemarks, these are summaries, and not JKR's word themselves. Please see the linked article for the actual text.

• Voldemort went after Harry because he "identified more with the half-blood boy and therefore decided he must be the greater risk." [Read the exact quote from the World Book Day chat, 2004]
• Does the prophecy mean that both Harry and Voldemort need to die? JKR: "Both Madam Trelawney and I worded the prophecy extremely carefully." [Read the exact quote from Jo's website]
• The last part of the prophecy does not mean that Neville and Harry must kill each other. [Read the exact quote from Jo's website]
• What is the significance of Neville being the other boy to whom the prophecy might have referred? [Read the exact quote from Jo's website]
  • In choosing which child to kill (Neville or Harry) Voldemort was "choosing which boy to anoint as the Chosen One."
  • Refers to Neville as "the boy who was so nearly King" but does not tell us if he will ever find this out. Also refers to Neville as an "also-ran" and a "might-have-been."
  • Neville does have a "significant part to play in the last two novels and the fight against Voldemort."
  • The prophecy did not mystically intertwine Neville's fate with Harry's.
  • As in Macbeth, the prophecy was a "catalyst for a situation that would never have occurred if it had not been made." JKR appears to say that this is her opinion about prophecies in general.
  • JKR: "Prophecies are usually open to many different interpretations. That is both their strength and their weakness."
• Dumbledore’s line “the prophecy is significant only because you and Voldemort choose to make it so” is a key point in Book 6. [Read the entire quote from the Leaky Cauldron, 2005]
• Dobby did not know about the prophecy; he only knew what he could pick up in the Malfoy household. [Read the entire quote from the Leaky Cauldron, 2005]
• JK will not tell us if Lord Voldemort ever finds out what the prophecy fully said. [Read the whole quote from ITV, 2005]