Where does free will enter into that equation of supposedly infallible prophecies? There is obviously some kind of free will in the area of prophecies; because Voldemort chose to try to kill Harry instead of Neville. Couldn’t then have Harry decided that he didn’t want to face Voldemort? I argue that he should have been given that choice. But instead, Dumbledore thrust it upon him as what was going to happen, when he told Harry that he was going to have to kill Voldemort or be killed himself.
There is obviously free will involved because Voldemort chose between Harry and Neville – if he hadn’t chosen either, he would never have marked a boy as his equal and given them the potential to later defeat him. However, it was outside Dumbledore’s power to affect that particular choice, and once Voldemort chose Harry, the prophecy was set in motion. All Dumbledore could do was attempt to guide the chosen boy to the final conclusion.
Dumbledore himself has something to say about the fallibility of prophecies, “Do you think every prophecy in the Hall of Prophecy has been fulfilled?” He goes on to say, “the prophecy does not mean you have to do anything.” Voldemort and Harry chose to seek each other out, because they believed they had to, and that is what led to the fulfillment of the prophecy.
The prophecy did not have to be fulfilled, this is true, but if this particular prophecy were not then the likelihood was that Voldemort would go unchecked and cause a great deal of devastation. The prophecy names the ‘chosen one’ as ‘the one with the power to vanquish the dark lord’, which suggests that nobody else could succeed except Harry.
Had Harry known the truth earlier, he could have properly prepared himself for the challenges that lay ahead of him. Notice how Harry is often-times aloof and doesn’t take his studies seriously. This is evidenced in the Triwizard tournament. He ultimately needed help every step of the way. Moody/Crouch Jr. got Hagrid to tell Harry about the dragons and gave him a strategy, he had Cedric tell him how to find out what the egg said, and he gave Neville the information about gillyweed for the water challenge. Outside of the tournament, Harry seemed to survive his many ordeals through dumb luck.
Harry didn’t know how important he ultimately could be, and his inability to take his studies and the situations he was in seriously could have made the prophecy fallible in the end. This is because of Dumbledore’s decision to keep the truth from Harry. His desire to protect Harry could very well have led to the doom of the entire wizarding world.
I disagree – Harry’s success against Voldemort came down to his character and his selflessness, his ability to sacrifice himself for other people – he was anything but aloof. People offered him help for exactly this reason; he was a likeable boy and he had friends who honestly believed in him. In his studies Hermione always overshadowed him, but he was also a very good wizard himself and was considered Auror material, so he was hardly a slouch. His efforts in the Triwizard Tournament were lacking, but he knew all along that his entry was through foul play, so this was bound to make him feel unenthusiastic.
Prophecies do not have to come to fruition, the choices that are made determine the future. Harry ultimately chose to fulfill the prophecy, but he walked a razor’s edge to get there. One wrong choice could have led to an entirely different outcome. Dumbledore should have realized that Harry needed to be prepared if he were to save the wizarding world. His choice to hide the truth could have ultimately led to Voldemort being victorious, without ever needing to face Harry.
It’s true that the entire endeavour could have gone horribly wrong, but I believe Dumbledore picked the path more likely to lead to victory. The preparation that Harry needed was ultimately preparation of the soul, to be able to face going willingly to his own death. To do that, he needed to build up friendships, have loved ones he wanted to save. If Dumbledore had burdened him with the truth – that he should die in order to save everyone else – he might never have made those essential bonds and would have gone to Voldemort because he felt he had no choice, not because he knew it was the right thing to do. Harry continuously chose to keep facing Voldemort and his allies right from book one, despite the danger to himself, so by keeping the secret of his final destiny from him, Dumbledore simply removed the one piece of knowledge that might have stopped Harry from continuing his course.
