The Ministry Of Magic

∆ hall of prophecy

     The Hall of Prophecy is a chamber within the Department of Mysteries, on Level nine of the Ministry of Magic in London, England. It features shelves containing records of prophecies, though many of these records, if not all, were destroyed when part of a battle between Death Eaters and Dumbledore's Army members occurred in the Hall in 1996. Its existence was long rumoured within the general wizarding community, but never confirmed by the Ministry itself until 1996.

     The Hall of Prophecy, which is entered through the Time Room, is described as a vast, cold chamber with a ceiling as high as a cathedral. It is filled with row upon row of towering shelves. On these shelves are hundreds of small, dusty, glass orbs (Prophecy Records), each with a yellowed and dusty label affixed below. Candle-brackets set at intervals along the shelves hold blue-flame candles.

     The row of shelves directly in front of the door from the Time Room is number 53. Number 54 is to the right of that, then 55, and so on. The light is very dim in the Hall. The candles are located on either end of each row, which means that from one end, the far end of each row is lost in darkness. Some of the orbs glow with a faint inner light but others are cold and dark. The prophecy regarding Harry Potter was located a short distance down row 97.

     Each glass orb that contains a record of a prophecy is labelled with the name of the person who made the prophecy, the person whom the prophecy concerns, and the year the prophecy was made. A few of these prophecies glow a dim, "weird," liquid white from within and are warm to the touch, while others remain "dull and dark as blown light bulbs."

     The orbs are also magically protected so that the only people who can lift them off their stand are the Keeper of the Hall of Prophecy, and the subject or subjects of the individual prophecy. Anyone else who attempts to inspect the orb with their hands will be afflicted with instant madness, which is what happened to Broderick Bode when he was forced to attempt to steal one by Death Eaters while under the Imperius Curse.

Known Prophecies
Sybill Trelawney's first prophecy
     "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... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives...The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..."

     During the height of the First Wizarding War, Sybill Trelawney made a prophecy predicting the birth of a person who would have the power to defeat Lord Voldemort. Two couples in the Order of the Phoenix had infant sons that fit the description, but Voldemort targeted Harry Potter after learning part of the prophecy's contents from Severus Snape, then one of his Death Eaters. After his return to power, Voldemort sought to learn the entire prophecy, but was thwarted.

     The first one was made by a male seer, and it was about something "new" that would come at the Solstice.

     The second one was made by a female seer, and it was about "none will come after" something unknown.