The Longbottoms were purebloods The Potters were not.

You are making the assumption that Harry is the chosen one. Neville may still be the chosen one. Harry may die and Neville (sans memory charm) may step up and kill LV himself. This may have caused some of DD's sadness re: Harry. Maybe he knows that Harry is a necessary diversion.



Chiron

JKR has said that Harry is the chosen one, and she basically explains this in the quote below, about how Neville was nearly the 'Chosen One' therefore if he was 'nearly' that means Harry 'is' the Chosen One'

Taken from JKR's site :

What is the significance of Neville being the other boy to whom the prophecy might have referred?

Finally, I am answering the poll question! I am sorry it has taken so long, but let me start by saying how glad I am that this was the question that received the most votes, because this was the one that I most wanted to answer. Some of you might not like what I am going to say – but I'll address that issue at the end of my response!

To recap: Neville was born on the 30th of July, the day before Harry, so he too was born 'as the seventh month dies'. His parents, who were both famous Aurors, had 'thrice defied' Voldemort, just as Lily and James had. Voldemort was therefore presented with the choice of two baby boys to whom the prophecy might apply. However, he did not entirely realise what the implications of attacking them might be, because he had not heard the entire prophecy. As Dumbledore says:

'He [the eavesdropper] only heard the beginning, the part foretelling the birth of a boy in July to parents who had thrice defied Voldemort. Consequently, he could not warn his master that to attack you would be to risk transferring power to you.'

In effect, the prophecy gave Voldemort the choice of two candidates for his possible nemesis. In choosing which boy to murder, he was also (without realising it) choosing which boy to anoint as the Chosen One – to give him tools no other wizard possessed – the scar and the ability it conferred, a magical window into Voldemort's mind.

So what would have happened if Voldemort had decided that the pure-blood, not the half-blood, was the bigger threat? What would have happened if he had attacked Neville instead? Harry wonders this during the course of 'Half-Blood Prince' and concludes, rightly, that the answer hinges on whether or not one of Neville's parents would have been able, or prepared, to die for their son in the way that Lily died for Harry. If they hadn't, Neville would have been killed outright. Had Frank or Alice thrown themselves in front of Neville, however, the killing curse would have rebounded just as it did in Harry's case, and Neville would have been the one who survived with the lightning scar. What would this have meant? Would a Neville bearing the lightning scar have been as successful at evading Voldemort as Harry has been? Would Neville have had the qualities that have enabled Harry to remain strong and sane throughout all of his many ordeals? Although Dumbledore does not say as much, he does not believe so: he believes Voldemort did indeed choose the boy most likely to be able to topple him, for Harry's survival has not depended wholly or even mainly upon his scar.

So where does this leave Neville, the boy who was so nearly King? Well, it does not give him either hidden powers or a mysterious destiny. He remains a 'normal' wizarding boy, albeit one with a past, in its way, as tragic as Harry's. As you saw in 'Order of the Phoenix,' however, Neville is not without his own latent strengths. It remains to be seen how he will feel if he ever finds out how close he came to being the Chosen One.

Some of you, who have been convinced that the prophecy marked Neville, in some mystical fashion, for a fate intertwined with Harry's, may find this answer rather dull. Yet I was making what I felt was a significant point about Harry and Voldemort, and about prophecies themselves, in showing Neville as the also-ran. If neither boy was 'pre-ordained' before Voldemort's attack to become his possible vanquisher, then the prophecy (like the one the witches make to Macbeth, if anyone has read the play of the same name) becomes the catalyst for a situation that would never have occurred if it had not been made. Harry is propelled into a terrifying position he might never have sought, while Neville remains the tantalising 'might-have-been'. Destiny is a name often given in retrospect to choices that had dramatic consequences.

Of course, none of this should be taken to mean that Neville does not have a significant part to play in the last two novels, or the fight against Voldemort. As for the prophecy itself, it remains ambiguous, not only to readers, but to my characters. Prophecies (think of Nostradamus!) are usually open to many different interpretations. That is both their strength and their weakness.

Wikipedia defines self-fulfilling prophecy as: in the beginning a false definition of the situation evoking a new behaviour which makes the original false conception come true. In other words a false prophetic statement - a prophecy declared as truth when it is not - may sufficiently influence people, either through fear or logical confusion, so that their actions ultimately fulfull the false prophecy. Where as a true prophecy would come true no matter what actions were taken. Wikipedia goes on to use Macbeth and Harry Potter as false prophecies that were self-fulfilled.

I find it interesting that Trewlany's prophecy is considered a false and thereby self-fulling prophecy, which LV himself has set in motion through his actions. I would think that the Centaurs' prophecies regarding Harry's ultimate fate (death) are a better example of a true prophecy. The Centaurs themselves do not feel that it is up for interpretation.

Why did LV chose Harry? The obvious answer remains: Wormtail turned him over to LV. Harry was literally the chosen one, but Neville may still cause LV a lot of harm.

Chiron

We all know the prophecy could have meant either Neville or Harry, so why did this come out to Harry and not Neville?

Did Voldemort just not know about Neville? And if that was the case then why did he imediatley know about Harry?

My guess is that it had something to do with Lily. We all are also aware that Lily and the past of the wizarding world play important roles in the next book. That we will find out why Voldemort asked Lily to move instead of killing her instantly. We know there is something special about Lily. Was this something special how he found out about Harry?

And how could he not have known about Neville if this was the case?

I think you would remember a family if they had escaped your grasp three times already. Did Voldemort already know for a fact that Harry was born in July and immediatley go for him? And again how would he know this.

What do you think?

I prefer to think that perhaps Voldemort was going to 'off' both boys, you know, cover all his bases, i mean what kinda of evil genius would leave one kid alive and only kill one when there was a 50/50 chance he chose wrong? Instead, i think he was going to kill Harry and the Potters first, then make his way over to the Longbottoms' to kill Neville, but he just didn't get there. I don't think that this makes either of them particularly 'special', they were both targets, it's just Harry's bad luck that Voldemort dropped by his house first on the way to Neville's, and not the other way around.

Ok... well... back to the whole this doesn't have anything to do w/Lily thing... We know Snape was the one to hear the prophecy right??? Well if Snape and Lily did have something going on... wouldn't Snape be jealous of James and hate him even more? Couldn't that jealousy lead him to tell LV that it was the Potter's son mentioned in the prophecy??? Yes the other things do count but what if this was one of the big reasons? Snape was one of LV's "faithful servants".

I'm not saying he was going to keep her alive

ES: This is one of my burning questions since the third book - why did Voldemort offer Lily so many chances to live? Would he actually have let her live?

JKR: Mmhm.

ES: Why?

JKR: [silence] Can't tell you. But he did offer, you're absolutely right.

I think Rowling says Voldemort intended for Lily to live.
See here:


And yes, maybe part of why Voldemort needed Lily had something to do with choosing Harry over Neville.

I prefer to think that perhaps Voldemort was going to 'off' both boys, you know, cover all his bases, i mean what kinda of evil genius would leave one kid alive and only kill one when there was a 50/50 chance he chose wrong? Instead, i think he was going to kill Harry and the Potters first, then make his way over to the Longbottoms' to kill Neville, but he just didn't get there. I don't think that this makes either of them particularly 'special', they were both targets, it's just Harry's bad luck that Voldemort dropped by his house first on the way to Neville's, and not the other way around.

This very well could be. And maybe that's why the Lestange's went to the Longbottom's because they knew that is were Voldemort would be heading next.

but how did he even find out about Harry before ever seeing him? Was he having both families watched and then chose which one to go to? Or did he just learn about both families through the prophet, both were supposed to be very influential.

And since when does Voldemort listen to his servants, faithful or otherwise? "The Dark Lord will not be persuaded, and I am not stupid enough to attempt it," Snape, from 'Spinner's End'. Wormtail tried topersuade him to use some other wizard's blood instead of Harry's. But Voldemort makes his own plans himself, without anyone else's advice.

I prefer to think that perhaps Voldemort was going to 'off' both boys, you know, cover all his bases, i mean what kinda of evil genius would leave one kid alive and only kill one when there was a 50/50 chance he chose wrong? Instead, i think he was going to kill Harry and the Potters first, then make his way over to the Longbottoms' to kill Neville, but he just didn't get there. I don't think that this makes either of them particularly 'special', they were both targets, it's just Harry's bad luck that Voldemort dropped by his house first on the way to Neville's, and not the other way around.

This very well could be. And maybe that's why the Lestange's went to the Longbottom's because they knew that is were Voldemort would be heading next.

The Lestranges have nothing to do with this, they were not targetting Neville but tried to get information about Voldemort's whereabouts

We all know the prophecy could have meant either Neville or Harry, so why did this come out to Harry and not Neville?

Did Voldemort just not know about Neville? And if that was the case then why did he imediatley know about Harry?

My guess is that it had something to do with Lily. We all are also aware that Lily and the past of the wizarding world play important roles in the next book. That we will find out why Voldemort asked Lily to move instead of killing her instantly. We know there is something special about Lily. Was this something special how he found out about Harry?

And how could he not have known about Neville if this was the case?

I think you would remember a family if they had escaped your grasp three times already. Did Voldemort already know for a fact that Harry was born in July and immediatley go for him? And again how would he know this.

What do you think?

Maybe Voldemort's choice had to do with what he was told the prophecy said. We already know that Snape did not tell VD the last part of the prophecy even though, according to Sybil's recap in HBP, he heard it in it's entirety.

The problem I see with the 'summoning the sword' scenario is that if I understand Rowling correctly, Voldemort planned from the start to kill James and spare Lily - which means if the sword was the reason he preferred Lily to summon the sword over James. This does not sound at all like Voldemort. I would have expected him to think James would have a better chance to summon it, being pure-blood rather than Muggle-born. And we still need a reason for Lily's wand to be a 'nice wand for Charms work'. Which is why I prefer HPSpec's suggestion, that Voldemort wanted Lily to cast a Fidelius Charm over the newly made Horcrux.

I can't imagine that Voldemort would ever employ the Fidelius charm because he would never trust another sufficiently to believe he or she would keep his secret under any circumstances.

Voldemort is certainly evil and certainly intelligent, but he isn't without his own flaws and lack of foresight what with his hubris and all. Completely neglecting the pureblood wizard and going after Harry proved to be his downfall, as we all know. Also, he attacked the Potters on Halloween of 81, I think? (If we go by the timeline people have fleshed out on their own) And Harry was born in '80. . . why wait the year?

As aforementioned in other posts, Voldemort could have put too much in store by the prophecy, but I am not just refering to Harry's birthday. The exact day the prophecy is made on is never said, so, what if, by pure dumb coincidence, it was made the same day Neville was born, on July 30th, or close to that time. What if, by chance, Neville was already born by the time it was made, or by the time Snape reported it to Voldemort?

The prophecy was most likely made quite a few months before the boys were born. We know that because in OOTP when Umbridge inspects Trelawney in September, Trelawney says she had been teaching for almost 16 years, but when she is fired in March she says she has been at Hogwarts for 16 years. And we have Dumbledore's description of 'a cold wet night'. The prophecy was made either in the fall of 1979 or the winter of 1980.

I do believe that Lord Voldemort chose Harry cause Lord Voldemort saw himself in Harry and thought that he would be the most dangerous to him.

And that's what I don't get. If he saw himself in Harry, and saw similarities, it doesn't make sense to fear him. People usually fear what they don't understand, what's different from them. Somebody who's like you normally isn't seen as dangerous. It just doesn't make sense to fear somebody who's in the same circumstances as you and who you identify with or view him/her as dangerous.




The only thing I can think of is that Neville was pureblood, so presumably he would less of a problem with the pureblood elitist views of Voldemort than Harry whose mom was muggle born. We know that while not everybody supported Voldemort, there were those who thought he had the right idea with the pureblood elistist thing. Maybe he just thought there was a chance Neville would be ok with it, and less likely to want to kill him.
But that doesn't seem like a satisfactory reason to me.

So before LV decided to kill him, Harry's situation would have been a lot different: He was a young boy from a well-respected family with mixed wizarding and muggle background, growing up in a loving environment. From that POV, what would be the special threat to LV as opposed to Neville? I can find nothing but the fact that he gave Lily the choice to stay alive, whatever the reason. Maybe Lily was really the threat, or at least whatever Harry might have learned from her?

just out of curiosity, when were the longbottoms tortured? could that play a part in it? Like, i dunno, maybe lv felt sympathy for neville the orphan(or almost orphan) or maybe thought the orphan was less of a threat.

He was supposed to "mark himself as his [Harry's] equal" and he must have thought they were equal because they were both half-blood.

Voldemort never heard that part.

All he knew was:
The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches...
born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies...

I don't think LV intended to kill both boys. We have no indicator that the Longbottoms went into hiding and then LV would have killed Neville before he killed Harry, because he wasn't hidden.
I think LV killing Harry could be because he saw himself in Harry OR it has something to do with what exactly Lily and James did for living, that could also have something to do with why he wanted to spare Lily.

The Longbottoms were Aurors. They may not have been able to go into hiding. They could, however, have hidden Neville.

I was thinking now that I have read all 7 books that maybe Voldemort went after Harry because of the love Snape had for Lily a mudblood! Maybe he didn't want Snape to have any love, and be like Voldemort Loveless and no family. I also think it had a lot to do with the family going into hidding it may have told Voldemort that was the right family because like everyone has said it doesn't say that the Longbottoms went into hidding...

How much talent did Harry display at the age of one? Riding a toy broomstick?

So it's most likely going to be the half blood factor, (but maybe not the hair... Voldy had never seen Harry before! how would he have known what color hair he had!? )

Maybe he chose him because it was a shorter walk? lol

I do believe that Lord Voldemort chose Harry cause Lord Voldemort saw himself in Harry and thought that he would be the most dangerous to him.

I agree. I wonder if VM had chosen Neville if things would have happened the same way. Or would baby Neville have died. I'm sure his mother would have died for him, but because of... things we learn in later books... perhaps Neville's parents wouldn't have been given the choice of whether to live or not.

Also, I could see VM, if things had gone "well" with the Potters from his POV. In other words, if he'd sucessfully killed the Potters and Harry. I could definitely see him heading over to the Longbottom's to finish them off... just in case.

ETA: Oooh DLS I love your speculation about Neville being the one VM should have gone after all along. *giggle* Very cool.