Harry Potter and Oedipus: Fate or Free Will?

 Hey y'all! Sorry but this is gonna be yet another Harry Potter post. As we discussed in class today, the reason the prophecy about Oedipus was fulfilled was because of Oedipus himself - namely, his tragic flaw of hubris. When the drunk man insulted him and questioned his legitimacy, Oedipus just couldn't let it rest, and he proceeded to seek out the prophecy. His pride was wounded at the insinuation that he was born out of wedlock. After hearing the horrors of the prophecy, he then fled Corinth; had he stayed, he may never have encountered his father and killed him in a road rage incident or married the woman who was his mother. If Oedipus had never heard the prophecy, it likely would've never been fulfilled. (By definition, in Aristotelian tragedy, the hero falls into misfortune by his own mistake, not by fate, so he was not necessarily destined to kill his father and marry his mother had he not had excessive pride.) 

Similarly, in Harry Potter, Snape barges in during Professor Trelawney's interview at the Hog's Head and hears the prophecy she tells Dumbledore. He then relays it to Voldemort, not realizing that he has just signed the death sentence for his beloved Lily. However, he didn't have to. The prophecy simply states that "the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches...born to those who have thrice defied...born as the seventh month dies...and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have the power the Dark Lord knows not...and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives..." (J.K Rowling, from this website: https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Prophecy) Neville Longbottom was also born at the end of July (July 30th), and his parents had also defied Voldemort three times, but Voldemort chose Harry to be his "equal" because Harry was a Half-Blood, like him, whereas Neville was a Pure-Blood. However, Harry then took it upon himself to fight Voldemort because of his designation as the Boy-Who-Lived. In the Half-Blood Prince, Harry wonders, "Had Voldemort chosen Neville, it would be Neville sitting opposite Harry bearing the lightning-shaped scar and the weight of the prophecy. . . . Or would it? Would Neville's mother have died to save him, as Lily had died for Harry? Surely she would. . . . But what if she had been unable to stand between her son and Voldemort? Would there then have been no "Chosen One" at all? An empty seat where Neville now sat and a scarless Harry who would have been kissed good-bye by his own mother, not Ron's?" ((HBP pg 139/133), from this website: https://www.beyondhogwarts.com/harry-potter/articles/neville-longbottom-the-other-chosen-one.html) If Snape had never told the Prophecy to Voldemort, Voldemort would've never targeted Harry and his parents. (Snape carries this guilt with him for the rest of his life. I do believe he has a redemption arc in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, however.) Granted, Voldemort still might've killed them (Harry and his family) on principle, but not specifically. I thought this related to Oedipus because when Oedipus hears the prophecy, he seals his fate to fulfill it. Anyway, here's my impassioned rant. Let me know what y'all think!