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As we neared the conclusion of the final Harry Potter film, and after wiping away our tears, the enigmatic connection between Harry and his arch-nemesis Voldemort finally became clear. The source of his pain, his ability to converse with snakes—it all traced back to the revelation that Harry was a horcrux, housing a fragment of Voldemort’s soul within him. Remarkably, hints about this profound link could be discerned as far back as the third movie, if not even the first.
For devoted Harry Potter fans, it’s hard not to feel a tinge of frustration towards Dumbledore as the series comes to a close. This sagacious, lemon-drop-loving wizard, while undeniably wise, seemed to withhold a wealth of information that could have spared Harry considerable heartache.
Yet, Dumbledore wasn’t the sole character who potentially possessed knowledge about Harry’s pivotal connection to Voldemort. In “The Prisoner of Azkaban,” we encounter Professor Trelawney, the eccentric Divination teacher who isn’t exactly a fan-favorite character. Initially dismissed as either inept or fraudulent, it’s later revealed that she makes several accurate prophecies. One of her mistaken predictions concerns Harry’s birth date, suggesting he was born in mid-winter. However, this erroneous guess might hint at her ability to ‘see’ the Voldemort horcrux within him.
A Reddit user astutely pointed out that when Trelawney made this prediction, it was met with derision, as Harry’s actual birthday is in July. However, it’s a well-established fact that a fragment of Voldemort’s soul resides within Harry. This leads to the intriguing possibility that Professor Trelawney was, in fact, sensing this dark presence, given that Voldemort himself was born in mid-December.
Another theory posits that the Sorting Hat’s initial inclination to place Harry in Slytherin may have stemmed from its recognition of Voldemort’s soul within him. In retrospect, the signs were present from the very beginning of the series. Harry’s initial magical act was setting a snake free at the zoo, a feat he accomplished before even realizing he was a wizard or being introduced to the world of Hogwarts.
While it’s conceivable to assign some responsibility to Trelawney or the Sorting Hat for not fully comprehending Harry’s connection to Voldemort, it’s Dumbledore who bears the greatest share of blame for Harry’s trials and tribulations. In many respects, Dumbledore emerges as a figure almost as formidable a adversary to Harry as Voldemort himself.
The ability to revisit and dissect these subtle clues regarding Harry’s destiny is what elevates the Potter series to the pinnacle of fantasy literature and cinema. These are the intricacies that fans will undoubtedly be eager to scrutinize when the Harry Potter TV series finally materializes.