neville

[rory]

Here is my theory on what's gonna happen and what has happened.
neville is the chosen one
Dumbledore knows and has been protecting neville by allowing LV to believe that is his mortal enemy
neville knows as he pleads with Harry not to hand over the prophesy.
Dumbledore was at the Potters death and gave Harry his scar to both protect Harry and fool LV that Harry has been marked as per prophesy.
re gleam in Dumbledores eye theory in Gob. This is because Dumbledore realises that LV has failed to make himself immortal because he has taken the blood from the wrong boy.
this tale will end with Neville killing LV (note-Nevilles increasing powers). Dumbledore reveals all to Harry of how he, Lily and James protected Neville by keeping LV's focos on the stronger boy.
sorry if I ruined it for you, I ruined it for myself

[Colin]

I was under the impression that LV himself gave Harry the scar. Harry remembers the moments of his parents death and the spell intended to kill him.

But you have some good theories!

[Sacred Guardian]

that is true, harry does remember it, and dumbledore said it could have been either of them, but it was harry b/c voldemort chose it to be

and just on a note, the ritual in GoF wasn't intended to make voldemort immortal, it was intended to give him back his body, and by using harry's blood, he got the protection of love, but IS mortal, and can be killed, that is what the gleam in his eye was about

[Eol]

The propecy says Voldy will mark the one as his equal. Voldy chose to go after Harry, so Harry is the one.

[rory]

But maybe Lv chose Neville by not trying to kill him. Or maybe he had already left his mark on Neville before the attack on Harry.

[Dink Meeker]

We're assuming that Harry's scar is the mark referred to in the prophecy. The mark could be anything and not neccesarily a physical mark.

[Mumbleberry]

Plus we're all assuming the marking has already taken place. There may, for all we know, be a scene in bk7 at which we all say "Ooohh! of course! Mark him as his equal!" (aagh suddenly having Mark Evans flashing into head.)

I'm seeing three possiblities.
1) Harry is and always was the chosen one and we find more compelling reasons why he is.

2)Neville always was the chosen one and we find out why everyone thought it was Harry

3) It's not at this point in the story decided/fixed to whom the prophecy applies. Dramatic events incontovertably fix its meaning.

[highsorcerer]

there are two ways to look at it - Harry is the chosen on, and and proved it by his actions.

But another way as well - Neville ie the chosen one, but without talent, shows it in a different manner. He used a wand not as a physical weapon, but as an actually one. He admitted to being a Longbottom, and knowing the price his parents paid for being Aurors.

He accepted it. His parents fate was good enough for him in order to stop evil. With his eyes open, he went for their fate.

[Pheonix_Reader22]

I think you have some interesting points. Neville's part in the prophecy sure does raise a lot of questions.

[Centaur Lord]

Well, Neville cant be the one the prophecy is talking about. Dumbledore specifically states this somewhere near the end of the book (cant remember exactly where). He says that when Voldemort tried to kill him, he marked him like that. Harry actually asked whether it was referring to Neville, and Dumbledore said no.

[Eol]

Harry actually asked whether it was referring to Neville, and Dumbledore said no.

That's exactly right, Neville can't be the one in the prophecy. If we can't trust Dumbledore, who can we trust?

[muggle number 6]

Hey, it could be Neville.
- Why the question marks in the prophecy?
- How do we know Neville isn't already marked in a less obvious way than Harry?
- The part in OoTP where Dumbledore tells Harry it is him would be consistent with Dumbledore being involved from the start as well. If you read it carefully it is rather ambiguous in any case. As I remember Dumbledore is very pained when he tells Harry that he is the chosen one. Why is he pained - it's not like it's news to Harry after all? Or perhaps the pain is because he knows he is lying to Harry, but he must keep up the pretence to protect Neville?

Come on Nev!! You're the man!!

[Eol]

Why wouldn't Dumbledore be pained? He just told 15 year old that he has to kill a wizard who has caused the deaths of his parents and his godfather or be killed himself. On Harry's shoulders rest the fate of the rest of the world. This is a burden that many adults would not be able to handle and yet this adolescent must for the sake of everyone else.

Neville is a great character i agree and has come a long way in his skills, but he will not be able to bear that burden. He hasn't been prepared in the same way. Yes he has suffered as much, if not more due to the loss of his parents, but I doubt that he would have been able to do all of the things Harry has done, i.e escape from Voldemort, kill the basilisk, rescue Sirius and escape from Voldemort again.

[highsorcerer]

Oh, I agree, Neville isn't ready for the burder of kill or be killed yet.

And consider what Voldemort and his DEs have done to Harry as opposed to Neville. Harry lost his parents and Sirius, and almost lost his best friends sister, not to mention his own life. Bellatrix, her cronies (including Barty Crouch Jr) tortured Neville's parents into insantiy.

Still, Neville and Harry are fundamentally alike. Not in talent (though Neville's has grown a LOT), but in their willingness to take huge risks to fight evil. Maybe that is the true mark of a Grffyindor - the willlingless to lay down their life in fighting evil. Sirius had it right when he shouted to Pettigrew that he should have DIED for them, like they would have for them. Neville has always stood up for it - in book 1 (trying to keep Ron, Harry, and Hermoine out of bounds), and book 4 (working HARD at DADA so not only spare his parent's fate, but also avenge them). It's a contrast - standing up to his friends in book 1 when he believed what he was doing was right, and standing by them by rule-breaking in book 5. Neville has matured into childish belief in rules being what is right to and understanding that fighting evil (despite rules) is right.

Nevillle shows a different kind of bravery, one first to stand up for rules, and then for what is right. A high contrast to Percy (who always stood up for rules) and Harry (who always stood up for what was right).

[muggle number 6]

Simple really.

Harry takes on all the tasks because he's able to. Neville isn't ....YET!

If you were Dumbledore wouldn't you want to protect Neville until he'd older, even if it meant sacrificing Harry?? After all it's the world at stake, just as you said.

Finally, we really don't know what happened when Harry was marked. Who says it was LV? Dumbledore does. So how does he know? Was he there? If so why didn't he do something about it? There's a lot more about that night we have yet to find out.

Let's face it, there are 2 books to go and there have to be more revelations to come.

Go Nev Go !!!