Sybill's prophecy in early 1980. The births of Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom in July 1980. Are there other wizarding babies born in that month or around it?

1980

17th February 1980

Dear Gellert

I must ask you as a Seer how reliable spoken prophecies can be. I was interviewing a possible candidate for the post of Divination Professor when our interviewee went into a trance and popped out a prophecy. I would like to check how reliable this prophecy will be. The lady in question is a granddaughter of Cassandra Trelawney nee Vablastsky the Seer. We would normally ask her grandmother directly, but she has gone into seclusion in Bhutan since the 1960s. Miss Trelawney has no recollection of the prophecy once she was out of her trance and no way to provide us an interpretation. It concerns the possible birth of a champion who would defeat our current Dark Lord, whose parents have defied him thrice. This is of greatest concern as a few friends in my club who are expecting a child later this year.

May I check if you have been getting any hints from the Powers that be?

Yours sincerely

Albus


Spring 1980

Dear Albus

So nice to hear from you. Gee, you must be desperate enough to forget about those anti-Vision runes set up above my cell. Are we speaking of Madame Cassandra or her feckless grandkid? Cassie probably has the entire 21st century written down - until some child she was minding burnt the scrolls. That was probably why she took off for Bhutan. Tough luck there. You know she can only write it down once. By Sybill, are we referring to that hack who wrote the horoscopes for the Daily Prophet until recently? Who predicts doom and gloom for half the star signs and imminent death for the others? I bet you she would end up making a laughingstock by predicting the deaths of students and then having them outlive her predictions. Based on my study of Seers (mind, I did my studies back in the 1890s), she is a Type B Seer. They get 'blessed' by the Powers for a couple of minutes and then wake up with no recollection of it. If that prophecy hit her when she was alone, no one would be the wiser. To add on, she clearly has no idea how to refine her standard divination techniques going by how far off the mark her horoscopes and predictions in the newspaper are. Did she not predict your Minister will sit for a second term, right before she was voted out by the Wizengamot?

I suppose if that prophecy was genuine, it would be classed as top secret by now and you cannot share the contents with me. So good luck figuring it out without my help.

Yours sincerely

Gellert

P.S. Did you check out those wards in Godric's Hollow?


17th April 1980

Dear GG

I am in deep trouble this time. Remember that club I wrote to you about? Well, our great leader has decided to go after the family of a special someone I care greatly about. And I mean in the AK-sense of the phrase. This was not what I signed up for. Our leader promised not to harm my dear friend if she would not stand in his way, but I know that is never going to happen. I contacted an old former mentor for help and somehow ended up with being assigned to be his spy in the club, in exchange for protecting my friend. Should I trust my old mentor? Our club president does not take kindly to traitors.

Conflicted

Half-blood Prince


Spring 1980

Dear Half-blood

Yes, you are in deep trouble. First, let's admit that club you are in probably has ties to a Dark Wizard and your special lady-friend is not going to back down from challenging him. So, either way, she's as good as dead. And you are too, in all likelihood. About this old mentor, if he is Albus Dumbledore, you are better off trusting your friend's safety to a broomstick. The old coot cannot protect anyone, period. Take it from me. But I guess he has already sweet-talked you into joining his righteous cause (whatever that may be). If you still have a mind of your own, I will strongly suggest reaching out to your friend and convincing her family to move abroad. Bavaria is lovely in summer. There is a fortress in the alps I would strongly recommend as a safehouse, though winters can be punishing.

Of course, you might want to have a word with your mentor about pulling a few strings at the ICW to allow him to utilize Nurmengard's extensive warding network. With a bit of work, there should be enough space for three generations in the lower levels of the castle, given I was hosting weekend parties for three dozen in its heyday.

GG


16th May 1980

Dear Gellie

A nice young couple just moved into the village – the Potters. There hadn't been anyone of that name in the village since the 16th century. Both are wixen. James hails from a long line of wizards, his wife is Muggleborn. Lily is such a dear girl. Poor lamb lost her mother and is expecting her first child. I will have her come over to tea to keep her company. Menfolk have no idea of such female matters. To be on the safe side, I have extended my ward protections to include my invited guests.

It might interest you to know Albus sent them here. He thinks I am gaga already, but I am not. The couple swopped Secret Keepers behind his back. I can tell, and I am keeping it my secret. The Black boy was just loitering about in the town square until we ran into him the other day. If he is their Secret Keeper, he would be waiting in front of their house or at least on the correct lane. That boy has no sense of subtlety at all. I do hope they chose the werewolf boy as their Secret Keeper instead of that rat-faced sneak. I do not see why James or Lily couldn't fill in that role. It's not as though you cannot have a Secret Keeper residing on location.

Thanks to that pesky Fidelis Charm, I cannot share with you the exact location of the Potters' residence. Please find attached last year's map of the village (the magical bits) and my plot of the Peverell ward lines. I think Albus got something else wrong. I do not know what. However, I feel it is likely to have a huge impact on our young couple.

Take it as a challenge from your old great-aunt.

XXXX

Your Auntie Bathilda


Spring 1980

Dear Auntie

Contact Albus immediately and have the Potters move into his old cottage or your place. I am serious about this. After looking through the maps and warding lines. I have reached the conclusion that they are currently outside the old Peverell wards. The Fidelis Charm has its limitations. The family wards do not. The two village properties with the heaviest protections are your cottage and the Dumbledores'. If James Potter is a descendant of the Peverells, he should be able to draw on the wards to add another layer of protection on his residence if they are within the family wards. That said, he would also need to refresh the wards using the blood of a black cat (a few drops will suffice) to seal off the protection for his branch of the family lineage. This is to prevent the possibility of anyone in Voldemort's employ who might have descended from some illegitimate line from finding a loophole in. I trust you can advise them on the necessary rituals and runes if needed.

That Black boy you are referring to has a huge bull's eye painted on his back. I do hope he knows what he is in for and has the smarts to dodge being killed or tortured. For starters, what is the moron doing in public aka the town square? He should be on the run, or in hiding. Or is he acting on Albus' lousy advice?

To add on, please cut your fireplaces off from the Floo. Medieval wards cast before the 11th century do not work on those.

Your nephew

Gellert


30th July 1980

Dear Gellert

Please call off your Auntie. I have no time to go chasing after Peverell descendants or wards. Do you have any idea how much trouble Sybill's ambiguous prophecy is causing us? The Longbottom boy popped out early and we are scrambling to get him and his parents to a place of safety. We were expecting him in August. I trust the Fidelis Charm is enough to protect the Potters and there is no need to bother your Auntie or have James kill the family cat. Lily is rather upset after the old cat got run over by a bus and James offered to get her another one for company.

Next, I learn from Edgar and Marlene that their families have also welcomed new arrivals in the past week. They might not meet all the criteria in the prophecy, but we are playing it safe. It is fortunate the McKinnons and Bones have family seats with well-maintained wards they can retreat to. Do you have any idea how hard it is to round up all their children, cousins, and grandchildren and bring them to a place of safety? And there are all the additional precautions to be taken for those at school.

Albus


Summer 1980

Dear Albus

You never listen, do you?

About the McKinnons and Bones - make sure they refresh their family wards. Use blood. This is unavoidable for war-level wards of the older type. Make sure they disconnect all their hearths from the Floo network and cut off any family members not trustworthy. Limit the protections to immediate or close family only if using ancestral wards. If these are older wards, they will not cover the fireplaces and may extend to include distant blood relatives.

About the Longbottoms - is dear little Augusta 'Spitfire' Longbottom still around? I had more than my fair share of run-ins with that old gal. She should be able to provide some decent protection for her relatives if they can put up with that harridan. She still gives me nightmares about our little encounter on the Berlin Express back in 1940, and that incident on the Nile in the summer of 1935.

About the Potters - for Merlin's sake, check with them who the Secret Keeper is and change both the Keeper and their location. Have Mr Potter do the ward-renewing ritual and move in with my aunt or into your old place. Methinks their chosen Secret Keeper cannot be trusted.

You will regret not listening, Albus my friend…

Gellert Grindelwald

P.S. Please disconnect all your safehouses from the Floo. Brick up the fireplaces if needed.


15th September 1980

Dear Tante Giselle

I heard of you from a friend of my brother. You see, my brother and parents have decided to retreat to the old family pile near Swansea. They have requested I join them, but I have been offered a once-in-a-lifetime chance to do a two-year stint in our Jamaica branch office. I will not be alone as my other brother and his wife are based there since his posting to the branch ministry there in 1975. Francis and Liza also had a little girl recently and I am looking forward to meeting my niece, Suzy. Hearing of this Dark Wizard is gunning for Edgar and the folks is worrisome, even more so after we looked in on the family keep. The place is literally falling to bits from magical neglect. Pa and Ma managed to renew the boundary wards but that left them too knackered to fix up anything else. My sister-in-law refused to move into a crumbling castle, so they are still living out of the local inn. She is quite upset about having to leave London, being city-bred. Edgar would have a hard time of it now. I have dropped by to check on things. The old keep is a dump. No Floo even.

Will it be wise to leave Britain with my folks in such a state? I am trying to convince Edgar he and his family should come with me to Jamaica, or at least take Pa and Ma to visit their granddaughter, but he is not budging on that count.

Amelia S. Bones


Fall 1980

Dear Amy

Some folks clearly are not pulling their weight. Unless your family seat is already a pile of ruins, you should be able to get at least a few rooms habitable with magical charms, though it might take a few weeks' work. Get the children involved if needed. If it is already a pile of ruins literally, just find a remote cottage to fit the family and ward it up. Do not waste time on the wards of a too large castle. When your folks renewed the wards, did they update them to exclude distant relations? They sound like awfully old wards.

If travel abroad is an option, go for it. It might be safer for the family. Might you have better luck convincing your sister-in-law an extended holiday in the Caribbean is due for the entire family? I am sure the children would not mind taking a break from their lessons to immerse themselves in the culture of the West Indies? The entire thing will be one big adventure for them.

Your sincerely

GG

P.S. Whatever happens, it is not your fault. Your brother has made his own decision.

Author's Notes:

Things are heating up in the Wizarding War in Britain and someone is not taking his old friend's advice. Grindelwald as a true Seer has a very poor opinion of Sybill Trelawney. To be fair, he did try to get the Bones out of the firing line.