Hall of Prophecy

"They were there, they had found the place: high as a church and full of nothing but towering shelves covered in small, dusty, glass orbs. They glimmered dully in the light issuing from more candle brackets set at intervals along the shelves. Like those in the circular room behind them, their flames were burning blue. The room was very cold"

- Description of the Hall of Prophecy from the point of Harry Potter 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.

Description
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 about Harry was located a short distance down row 97.

Prophecies
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
"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..."

- Sybill Trelawney

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.

"...and none will come after..."

- Unknown young woman (from smashed prophecy at the Battle of the Department of Mysteries)

"...at the Solstice will come anew..."

- Unknown old, bearded man (from smashed prophecy at the Battle of the Department of Mysteries)



Battle of the Department of Mysteries
In an attempt to obtain the prophecy, Voldemort sent Harry a false vision of his godfather being tortured in the Hall of Prophecy, predicting that Harry would rush to his rescue. Harry did, and was accompanied by five friends and fellow D.A. members: Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom, Ginny Weasley, and Luna Lovegood. Once inside the Hall of Prophecy, Harry picked up the orb that had his name on it, and twelve Death Eaters emerged from the shadows, demanding that Harry turn it over. On Harry's signal, all six D.A. members used Reductor Curses. These knocked over the shelves while the students fled and were pursued. At least one Death Eater, Nott, was injured by the collapsing shelves, since he had been stunned by Hermione.

It is possible that as a result, all of the prophecies in the hall were destroyed.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince