The prophecy of the chosen one refers to the prophecy made by Sybill Trelawney to Albus Dumbledore at the Hog’s Head Pub early in 1980 –
“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….”
The prophecy of this chosen one refers to none other than Harry the son of James and Lily Potter. He was born, as the month of July was about to expire. His Parents had defied Voldemort three times and most importantly Voldemort himself marked him as his equal when he heard the contents of the prophecy from Severus Snape who worked for him at the time. The night Voldemort tried to murder Harry the “boy who lived”, he literally marked Harry with the scar that signified his destiny for great power as Voldemort himself transferred some of his own greatness to him when his killing curse backfired and his already unstable body and soul got destroyed and left a fragment behind in Harry known as a “Horcrux”.
The burden of being the chosen one was a heavy one as Harry was burdened to save the world not by the nobility of that choice itself but rather by the sheer force of circumstance. Harry wanted to be a normal teenager. He didn’t choose this life. Harry would rather be on the Quidditch pitch, and at least momentarily he would escape from the expectation that he must fight this war against the Dark Lord because he is the only one who can defeat him. Despite his incredible power, Harry got a lot of help from his friends and mentors. From Ron and Hermione to Albus and Severus, but Harry suffered from a desperate need to be noble and protect his loved ones by distancing himself from them. We saw Harry in Order of the Phoenix isolate himself from everyone causing him to be more susceptible to the mental attacks of Voldemort. Most burdensome of all is that he must die. Death is the ultimate sacrifice Harry must make as the chosen one. Mentally Harry deals with a very sensitive conflict between wanting to end his painful life and leaving the people he loves, because they saved him many times and exposed themselves to danger solely to protect him. He can’t keep putting them through this pain. Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape both protected him throughout the years and sacrificed their lives so that Harry is put in the best possible position when he finds out he must die. He must die at the proper moment and Voldemort must be the one to do it.
The self-sacrifice he must make to the man he hates the most is the biggest burden of all. The fame and popularity of being the chosen one brings with it responsibility, exhaustion, sadness, regret, empathy, pain and ultimately the burden of knowing that he must die in order for him to be what he was destined to be, the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord.
