Sirius's death

[Athena Appleton]

Hey, I'm almost done re-reading the OotP, and I have yet another question... what spell did Bellatrix use on Sirius, and was it the spell or the falling through the archway that killed him?

His death is described like this:

Only one couple were still battling, apparently unaware of the new arrival. Harry saw Sirius duck Bellatrix's jet of red light: He was laughing at her. "Come on, you can do better than that!" he yelled, his voice echoing around the cavernous room.
The second jet of light hit him squarely on the chest.
The laughter had not quite died from his face, but his eyes widened in shock.
Harry released Neville, though he was unaware of doing so. He was jumping down the steps again, pulling out his wand, as Dumbledore turned to the dais too.
It seemed to take Sirius an age to fall. His body curved in a graceful arc as he sank backward through the ragged veil hanging from the arch...
And Harry saw the look of mingled fear and suprise on his godfather's wasted, once-handsome face as he fell through the ancient doorway and disappeared behind the veil, which fluttered for a moment as though in a high wind and then fell back into place."

It was the jet of red light that caught my attention. This sounds like a stunning spell, not a killing curse. The words used aren't mentioned. Was it the actual falling through the archway past the veil that killed Sirius?

[Sacred Guardian]

yes, it wasn't the spell, i assume it was a simple stunner, the veil is what killed him, it is widely accepted that the veil is the passage into death/afterlife/hell/etc./whatever and once you go through it you die, and cannot come back

[hagrid_fang]

the only killing spell that we know of is of course Avada Kedavra and that shoots out a green jet of light!

[wizard_gurl4ev]

hagrid_fang is right there is own one kill curse and it is a green light not red

[Ferrus]

I agree with Sacred Guardian, I always understood the veil as a pathway to Death_Underworl thingy...

[hagrid_fang]

I think the veil may have caused sirius's death. The way that JK writes, there is more than what she leads you to believe.
I believe that this veil is a passage of death, the murmurs behind the veil signify this. And lupin confirms his death as he tries to restrain harry, we saw as a veil that sirius fell through it wasn't until lupin confirmed it that we believed it.
ps. the red jet of light is the stunning spell, it is described as a jet of red light when hermione casts stupefy.

[Athena Appleton]

I wonder if the veil is kinda like the thestrals... only people who have seen death can see the thestrals, and Luna talks about hearing the voices behind the veil like she's not completely sure he heard them...

[Jotomicron]

This could be a little ambiguous. See:

Harry saw Sirius duck Bellatrix's jet of red light: He was laughing at her. "Come on, you can do better than that!" he yelled, his voice echoing around the cavernous room.
The second jet of light hit him squarely on the chest.

It's said that the second spell hit him. It could very well be the second red spell, but it could be another differente spell! That's what I think, anyway.
And just passing through the veil would kill him? I just can't belive it's like that. I mean: you could have an accident and die, you could be old and die... but diying just because you pass though a veil, even if it is a magical one? It's just so strange, to me...

[hagrid_fang]

I believe after rereading OoTP, that this veil is a passage of death. It passes you on to another world so to say. And when sirius fell backwards and passed through the veil, he then became a part of this world. I believe that the spell that bellatrix cast just stunned sirius. It was when he fell back that he crossed that line between life and death, and that he has passed into this new world. This new world being death. If that makes any sense!

[Sacred Guardian]

yeah, it's not the acutal veil that kills, it would be like falling through a veil off a huge cliff on the other side, not the going through, but where you end up after you are through

[Ferrus]

Yep, the veil didn´t do anything to Sirius, it merely transported him to some other world/dimension. Thats how I uderstand it anyway...

[hagrid_fang]

there you go... sacred guardian has it! i just explain things very long winded! sorry guys!