Complete dissection of the Prophecy spoken by Sybill Trelawney to Albus Dumbledore, summer of 1979.

Summary: Just like it says in the title; this is not a story or fiction piece, it's me exploring the prophecy and picking apart what each word could mean, just because I'm like that.

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"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…

The one: may be a creature, an entity or a human. Also possible is that this 'one' refers to a particular object, such as 'The One Ring' (reference: Lord of the Rings). However, the use of the pronoun 'he' later suggests the One is a living being, and of the male sex.

Canon events: 'The one' refers to Harry James Potter, a human, if extraordinary, wizard. There is nothing to suggest that he is either a creature or some superhuman entity, although this is not impossible. Before Voldemort marked Harry on Halloween 1981, 'The one' may also have referred to Neville Longbottom.

The power: may be a talent, may be a level of strength, may be powers encased in a magical object (although this style of magic is uncommon for this society, there is nothing to suggest it is impossible). It may be an emotional, mental, influential, physical or magical power. 'Power' is also a measure in science of the rate of work, watts (or kilowatts), and so may refer to a certain degree of strength in one area. In a similar vein, powers in mathematics are exponential values, such as 'squared' or 'cubed', 'to the power of two' or 'to the power of three'. This is unlikely though, as 'the power' here is a noun, not an adjective.

Canon events: 'The power' has yet to be identified, although Albus Dumbledore believes it to be Love. Evidence for this is that it was supposedly Lily Potter's sacrifice and love that saved Harry as a baby, and that prevented Quirrel from touching Harry without burning. This protection was tied to Harry's blood, as when Voldemort used the blood in his resurrection ritual it cancelled out the protection and allowed Voldemort to touch Harry – although if the protection were tied to the blood and burnt the touch of evil, Voldemort should have been burnt from his veins and arteries outwards as the blood burnt him. Harry's mental defences of love are still alive and active, as Voldemort was forced from his mind in the Order of the Phoenix by Harry's thoughts of Sirius.

While there is certainly evidence for it, Love as 'The power' is still debatable, and most likely only a defensive power or alternatively an aid to another offensive power – for example, fuelling an Avada Kedavra by love instead of hatred.

Vanquish: In its simplest form, vanquish simply means to 'beat' as in to 'win over' or to 'come out on top'. It has come to mean 'defeat' or 'destroy', most often in the sense of an evil being vanquished where the evil is not human enough or sentient enough to die, such as a malevolent force, or an evil dragon. It often means 'kill' but here could also mean that 'the Dark Lord' would be prevented from being a Dark Lord, for example, stripped of his magic. It could mean a mental vanquishing, where Voldemort is vanquished in favour of Tom Riddle, who does not happen to be bent on world domination and is not a Dark Lord.

Canon events: 'Vanquish' is taken to mean 'kill' or 'destroy', although this is not certain as it is yet to happen.

The Dark Lord: may refer to a variety of people, not necessarily Voldemort. The use of the article 'the' as opposed to 'a' suggests that at the time this occurs there will be only one Dark Lord. The position or identity of Dark Lord appears, by general consensus, to be Lord Voldemort; the specifics of what being a Dark Lord entails however are unclear. Some would argue that merely extensive use of the Dark Arts and sheer power grant this position; others that the Dark Lord must be chosen either by his predecessor or a higher being – such as the Dark, or Magic etc. Voldemort appears to be a 'Lord' by assuming the title and declaring himself such; his claim may be strengthened by the deference his Death Eaters give him, or by the Dark Marks they carry. However, other definitions of 'Lord' allow for religious connotations, hereditary connotations via blood and nobility, the position as the head of a family, the rights granted to a land holder, etc.

'The Dark Lord' is most likely to be Voldemort, as in her second true prophecy, Trelawney again referred to a 'Dark Lord' who turned out to be Voldemort (unless the prophecy was fulfilled twice, and we do not know of the second Dark Lord it referred to).

Canon events: 'The Dark Lord' is Voldemort, as he is the one who attacked Harry on Halloween and therefore marked him as his equal. His claim to the title 'Dark Lord' is not specified; if anything, it appears to be because no one else has challenged him for it yet.

Approaches: may talk of approaching magical maturity, birth, knowledge (for example, Harry could be said to 'approach' the wizarding world when he is introduced to it and gains knowledge of it) or merely travel and distance.

Canon events: 'Approaches' refers to the fact that Harry, or Neville, is soon to be conceived (in approximately three months from the time the prophecy was spoken) or born (in approximately a year from the time the prophecy was spoken).

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"Born to those that have thrice defied him,

Born: seems to be an adjective rather than a verb, such as 'will be born' or 'has been born', and as such has no timescale, so may refer to anytime in the past, present or future. It does not necessarily refer to the act of giving birth; 'born' can also mean 'brought into existence', although this rarely refers to objects and more often to ideas, societies, positions (for example, it could be said that 'a saviour was born' on the night that Harry Potter temporarily defeated Voldemort in 1981) etc.

Canon events: 'Born' refers to Harry being born as a baby, in the physical sense.

To: note the difference here between 'to' and 'of', where 'of' implies that 'those that have defied him' are either the biological parents or the creators/inventors; 'to', on the other hand, merely implies that 'the one' is in their possession, perhaps given to them in some way by another(s).

Canon events: Despite the wording, 'To' here simply means that 'Those that have thrice defied him' are Harry's parents, ie Lily and James. Before Voldemort marked Harry, this could also apply to the Longbottoms, Alice and Frank.

Those: may refer to an extended family or clan, may refer to parents, may refer to a species or ethnicity. It might not refer to living beings in any way, although this is unlikely.

Canon events: 'Those' refers to a married couple, Lily and James Potter.

Defied: may be interpreted in many ways, from battle to politics, to any conscious uncooperative act. It could refer to 'them' defying 'him' either individually, three times each or three times in total, or together in a partnership or as a group.

Canon events: It is not specified where and when Lily and James 'Defied' Voldemort, though as they were active members of the Order of the Phoenix, it can be assumed that this was in a battle sense.

Him: may refer to 'the one', although most likely referring to 'the Dark Lord', as 'they' seem to have already defied 'him' by the time 'the one' is born. However, if 'born' refers to an awakening of a concept or power in an already existing entity, 'the one' could be the one defied.

Canon events: 'Him' refers to Voldemort.

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"Born as the seventh month dies…

Born as: may refer to the exact moment of death, or during a long process. It must be taken into account that while, for many, death is instantaneous, birth is not. It may be that the month begins to die and ends dieing coinciding with the labour duration or pregnancy duration, or other action of being born duration. It does not appear to refer to a long spanning time period (for example, a month 'dieing' from the sixteenth day onwards, similar to how a moon wanes from the middle of the cycle to the end), as the grammatical wording is 'dies': a completed, finite action. However, the month may have been previously dieing and completes its death at the moment of birth.

Canon events: This refers to the moment of birth at the end of the labour, rather than taking into account the conception, pregnancy or entire labour. Alternatively, 'Born as' could be a loose interpretation, and so not need to be so specific. Either way, it is irrelevant.

Seventh month: most obviously referring to July, the seventh month of a year, although this may be referring to a different cycle, such as an old or outdated calendar beginning on a different day. However, it is only assumed that 'month' refers to the periods of time during a year; it may refer to a species of creature, an object, a power or concept, or a longer or shorter period of time. In some cases, 'month' can measure things other than days, such as 'a month of Sundays', or 'a month's work'. May also refer to a sequence other than a year, for example, the seventh month to be defined, created or named, either in the present calendar in the over all view of months throughout the world. It must also be taken into account that different species may have different calendars.

Canon events: 'The seventh month' is July, the seventh month in the year.

Dies: may refer to an object breaking or being destroyed, or even transformed so that it is no longer recognizable as the object it was previously. May refer to the magic or life leaving an object or being. May refer to coming to an end, such as July dieing before August rises, although this is only a temporary death as July returns again the next year. However, some may argue that a different July returns next year, in which case 'seventh month' could refer to the seventh July of such a sequence. Could also refer to an outdated month being forgotten or no longer used, for example if the last being or person to use this month dies.

Canon events: This seems to translate to 'vaguely near the end' as both Harry and Neville are acceptable candidates, and Neville was born at least a day before the end of July. It could, however, be more specific; Harry was born at midnight, so could be born just as July ends and August begins (unless, of course, he was born on midnight between the 30th and the 31st

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"And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal,

The Dark Lord: see above. May refer to a different Dark Lord, though the inclusion of the specific 'the' makes this unlikely.

Canon events: 'The Dark Lord' here and throughout the prophecy is Voldemort.

Mark: may refer to a physical, mental, magical or emotional mark. May refer to mark as a target.

Canon events: Voldemort marks Harry with a physical scar, although it also has mental and magical parts of it – the connection to Voldemort, and (according to Dumbledore) transferring Parseltongue.

Him: see above. May refer to a different 'him'.

Canon events: 'Him' refers to Harry.

His: see above.

Canon events:'His' refers to Voldemort's.

Equal: may refer to physical, mental, magical, emotional, spiritual, social etc. May refer to potential or achievement. May create new powers or statuses (such as how Harry supposedly gained Parseltongue from Voldemort) or acknowledge existing powers or statuses (such as the both of them being or having the potential to be powerful wizards). May be merely a theoretical status, such as Voldemort viewing Harry as his main enemy and in this way his equal, where as, for example, Lucius Malfoy is merely a minion and thus not equal.

Canon events: The extent to which Harry is Voldemort's equal is not fully explained during the books. Harry is supposedly a powerful wizard, despite his average class grades, although both his parents were as well, so this may not be caused by the prophecy. He is a Parselmouth, explained by Voldemort transferring some of his powers during the failed spell, and has a mental link to Voldemort so he can feel some of Voldemort's emotions (whether Voldemort can feel his is not specified). Both Harry an Voldemort are half bloods, though of different strengths as Lily was a muggleborn but Tom Riddle senior a full muggle. However, Voldemort used Harry's blood in his resurrection ritual, so may be equal in that sense. It is also possible that Harry is one of Voldemort's horcruxes, although this is not specified.

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"But he will have power the Dark Lord knows not…

But: may be a reference to the fact that it is not expected for 'him' to have this power, or that in spite of being marked an equal he has this power. In this case, he may lack other powers the Dark Lord possesses, in order to maintain an overall equality, though the wording suggests that he has or will have knowledge of the Dark Lord's powers, while some or all of his own remain unknown to the Dark Lord.

Canon events: Not explored.

He: see above.

Canon events: Refers to Harry.

Power: see above. Note – here 'power' is generic, not specific (ie 'The power') as it was before. May refer to general power, or more than one powers. May refer to power that cannot be specified as 'the' such as an ability to feel a certain depth of emotion.

Canon events: See above. This also suggests that the 'Power the Dark Lord knows not' is the 'Power to vanquish the Dark Lord', although this is not proven, only accepted.

The Dark Lord: see above.

Canon events: This is taken to mean Voldemort again.

Knows not: may refer to knowledge, capability, understanding or realising (ie, the Dark Lord does not realise 'the one' has this power). May refer to never having felt or experienced this power, either as a user or victim, such as the Dark Lord's inability to love and his lack of ever having been loved.

Canon events: Voldemort knows of Love, the supposed Power, but has never understood or experienced it. It is possible he lost all potential for love when he split his soul to create his horcruxes, though he may not have fully understood love before that as anything other than a weakness.

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"And either must die at the hand of the other

Either: most likely referring to 'the Dark Lord' and 'the one'. Not necessarily, but if it does not, it is unclear who else 'either' may refer to.

Canon events: This refers to either one of Voldemort or Harry.

Die: many meanings or degrees of 'die' may apply here. 'Die' may mean stop living or existing, it may refer to the death of a political career or attempt at world domination, it may refer to the soul passing on even if the body lives, or may merely refer to a state, however brief, where the heart does not beat, even if the one in question is later revived.

Canon events: This is taken to mean 'stop living' in a permanent way, although this is not certain as the event is yet to happen.

At the hand: may be by the machinations of, or assassinated/killed by in the flesh, even if unintentionally or unwillingly (eg, the owner of the hand suffering possession, mind control, imperious etc.) May refer to physically the hand, eg strangulation as opposed to a spell, or magic flowing from the hand to the wand as opposed to general wandless magic from the general body or magical core.

Canon events: Supposedly killed by in person, although this is not certain as the event is yet to happen.

The other: may refer to 'the Dark Lord' or 'the one', or it may refer to a third unspecified entity.

Canon events: Refers to the fact that either Harry must kill Voldemort or Voldemort must kill Harry, although this is not certain as the event is yet to happen.

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"For neither can live while the other survives…

Neither: see 'Either'.

Canon events: refers to Voldemort and Harry.

Live: May be in the most basic sense, as in the opposite of dead. Must take into account the existence of the 'undead' in the magical world, such as ghosts and (possibly) vampires – 'live' may be in the term of not having died, not having passed on from this world, or not having the soul disconnected from the body. 'Live' may also be a reference to experiencing life fully, or being freed from the path of destiny to live in the sense of conscious choice and freedom.

Canon events: This is not explained or explored fully, although some would argue that Voldemort isn't really alive anyway.

The other: see above.

Canon events: See above.

Survives: may be a paired reference to 'live', highlighting the differences between survival and life. May merely be a reference to living and not having died. May be a reference to success as opposed to an ultimate failure.

Canon events: 'Survives' refers to the state of not being dead, and is taken to mean that one of the pair must die, and that co-existence is not an option.

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"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord

Repetition of a previous line, see above.

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"Will be born as the seventh month dies…"

Will be born: suggests a future tense, implying that 'the one' is as yet unborn, in any of the varied definitions of 'born'. May also refer to 'the one' not yet having the power, but when he emerges he will have been born at this time.

Canon events: Harry is born approximately a year after the prophecy is spoken.

As the seventh month dies: see above.

Canon events: See above.

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A/N: If this inspires any plot bunnies or stories, feel free to use anything I've written, although I'd be really happy if you credited me with it somewhere. I'd also love to read any fics you write!

Also, if anyone can think of any other interpretations to the prophecy, please say so and I'll add them in and credit you.

Review!