The Death (total spoiler)- I'm feeling let-down.

[Claire]

Actually, I got the impression that Sirius fell through that archway which I'm assuming is some kind of archway to the 'land of the dead' or something, because he and Luna heard voices through it earlier, and Sirius went through it and died.

[Lily]

Yes, that's how I saw it. I think he was already dying when he went through. It wasn't like he went through then died for going through.

[APWBD]

As both Lizzie Bennet

I'm not exactly sure I understand fully what happened to Sirius . . .

It said he was hit with a curse . . . I'm presuming Lastrange did 'Avada Kedavra' on him? But if that's so, what was that bit about him falling into the veil? I'm really not being thick here . . . I just don't understand what exactly happened to Sirius (other than I know he's dead and knew that at the time

And Lily

I thought the woman he was dueling with hit him with some unspecified curse which killed him.

said, it doesn't seem to be that Sirius was killed with the Avada Kedavra Killing Curse.

Sirius duck[ed] Bellatrix's jet of red light...the second jet of light hit him squarely on the chest

The Avada Kedavra light is green. If that's so, and yet Sirius stilled died by whatever curse Bellatrix said, then does that mean that there are other curses that can kill people? And if so, shouldn't they be illegal as well?
Because I had read the recent interview with J.K. Rowling, where she had discussed crying to her husband about killing a main character, I kept thinking throughout the entire book that someone was going to die. First, I thought it was Ron when Mrs. Weasley faced the boggart, then Mr. Weasley, then Hagrid, then Hermione w/ the death eater, then Ron again with the attack of the brain. So by the time Sirius was killed, I was too numb to really feel the shock of his death.

[Lizzy Bennet]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who was confused!

I wish it weren't so vague! I'll have to re-read that part to figure out if he was dead before he fell into the hole (was it a hole? what was it exactly?) or if falling is what killed him. Harry seemed to keep thinking he'd come out the other side, but Lupin said Sirius was gone. I just don't know . . . maybe re-reading it will help.

It's odd . . . like you, APWBD, so much was going on at the time and so many people were potentially fatally wounded/dead, I didn't know what to think or feel! It made the death almost anti-climatic, additionally so with the fact that it seemed written vaguely, since a few of us are asking what hit Sirius and if he fell into the veil and what exactly happened to him. Don't get me wrong, I didn't want anyone to die, but I remember nearly racing through the book anxious to know who the big death would happen to and how it would happen, and then I felt like, "Huh? What? And, oh, so that's it and that's who dies." I just feel confused and deflated, at the same time.

I really liked Sirius, but some of the things he did and the ways he acted in book 5 made it a little difficult to feel a real connection to him and made it hard to like him (as opposed to, say, Lupin), if that makes sense. Again, I didn't *want* him to die or anyone else, but, for instance, had it been Neville who died, I'd have bawled like a baby! I already liked him before book 5, and book 5 *really* made me like him and champion his character! I was really afraid it'd be him (or Hagrid, another one who would have made me sad, though, not quite as sad, but very close!).

[Blaise Zabini]

I think that JK purposefully made the circunstances surrounding Sirius's death ambiguous. I read the book and was pretty confused as to exactly what happened during the MoM scene, so I went back and reread the last few chapters and there still isn't too much to be known about his death. The only way I could see it was that, as Sirius and Lily said earlier, the veil was there to symbolize the 'crossing over' to death. Either that, or it'll become a bit clearer in the last two books. Meh, it's hard to believe there are only two left...

But anyway, I thought Sirius's death was done quite well. Similar to what's been said, everyone seemed to be getting fatal wounds, which made the final scene less harsh than it would have been had it come out of nowhere, but it was good, nonetheless. Sirius may have acted like a jerk at some points in the book, but most of his anger was warranted. I don't think that this detracted at all from his character or made him a bad person. I mean, Sirius was copoed up in a house while his friends and allies were out saving the world, he had ample reason to be mad. And furthermore, I think that the fact that it was this that eventually caused his death, made it all the more sadder. It was tragically ironic that all of the precautions and protections taken to keep Sirius hidden from the outside world had a part in causing his death.

The death was also sad due to the fact that Sirius was all Harry had left. Ron, Hermione, Lupin, and all them are one thing, but Sirius was, in a sense, Harry's last remaining family member. Now that he's gone, there isn't anyone. Friends are one thing, but family is something quite different. I do suspect, however, that Lupin will now emerge as the so-called 'father figure' to Harry, seeing as how he's the last of James's friends left. But what made the death all the more sadder for me, was when Harry unwrapped the mirror Sirius had given to him. It broke my heart that he waited until then to open it and how, had Harry opened it earlier, he would have been able to communicate with Sirius and realise that LV was leading him into the MoM under false pretenses. And then Harry's futile attempts to call out his name, it was such an incredibly sad scene.

[Lizzy Bennet]

But what made the death all the more sadder for me, was when Harry unwrapped the mirror Sirius had given to him. It broke my heart that he waited until then to open it and how, had Harry opened it earlier, he would have been able to communicate with Sirius and realise that LV was leading him into the MoM under false pretenses. And then Harry's futile attempts to call out his name, it was such an incredibly sad scene.

I agree, Blaise! In fact, now that I'm out of all the insanity that went on around Sirius's death, I find myself much more sad . . . does that make sense? There was so much going on at the time and I was reading so quickly wanting to know what happened next (and, at the time, was confused about his death), it didn't really sink in. On reflection, it is really sad...particularly the aftermath, as you described.

I still don't quite understand the thing with the veil. Most people, when hurt, just fell to the ground, like Cedric did. I guess this archway must have represented the 'entrance' to an area where people who had died were, which was why Sirius didn't fall out the other side and didn't return. I think that makes sense. Whoever asked if there was another curse that could kill someone asked a good question...if Sirius fell into this 'place' where people who have died are, then falling into that place didn't kill him--the curse did. I wish it weren't quite so confusing, but then again, maybe it made you focus more on Harry's reaction to Sirius's death than the death itself. First the mirror, then the ghosts. Very sad indeed...and oddly, sad AFTER the fact...after I've had time to think on it and reflect.

And then there was Luna, who suprisingly comforted Harry...there's more to her than meets the eye...

[Nothlit]

Here's my take on Sirius's death, as well as the veil...

I was actually fairly annoyed with Sirius throughout the entire course of this book. Like somebody said above, he was acting pretty childish a lot of the time. Yeah, I know it's sad that he was all cooped up in that house all year when he wanted to be out helping the Order, but for some reason it seems like JKR just made him seem quite unpleasant fairly often in this book. I was bracing myself for Hagrid, Ron, or Hermione to be the one to die, so Sirius came as a bit of a surprise, but I didn't cry over it or feel particularly shocked... What saddened me more is what a couple of people have already mentioned...Lupin losing the last of his best friends from school, and Harry discovering the mirror at the end, which would have prevented the whole thing from happening.

Anyway, about the veil... Didn't anyone notice after Dumbledore dueled Voldemort in the Ministry Atrium, when Fudge arrived, Dumbledore told him that he would find the Death Eaters bound down in the Death Chamber? Obviously the room where all the battling was going on is used by the Ministry as some sort of execution room for criminals who are put to death rather than sent to Azkaban. One push through the veil, and they are sent into the next world, never to return. My take on Sirius was that whatever curse Bellatrix Lestrange used on him knocked him out and he simply had the bad fortune of falling back through the veil. The curse didn't kill him...where he fell was what killed him.

[EnderJK13]

I thought that they kind of Yodaized Sirius Black... By this I mean he's going to appear during Harry's times of need (like Yoda and Obi-Wan do in the original trilogy as ghosts). I thought that there were definetly some ideas the Rowling didn't really resolve. What exactly was the arch with the curtain? Maybe I was reading too fast during those fast paced scenes but I don't think it was ever explained.

Also, why didn't Harry feel like a total ass for not using the mirror to contact Sirius instead of the fire stuff. This book just made me feel that Harry was a total moron at some points. (Oh, everyone says I should continue my lessons, but being the hero I am, I'm not going to say anything to Snape). And what was the deal with the stupid cactus? It was mentioned tons of times and served no purpose.

[2F2Type_R]

lol~
yeah... i felt like total idiot thinking Sirius would appear through the mirror

[June]

Sirius did act a bit childishly at times, but as Hermione sid... he was very very lonely man, who had been shut in Azkaban for something he didn't commit. The only person on Earth that he really cared about was Harry, and he had to be shut in a house that was bringing bad memories back for him, while Harry was in constnt danger.... I think all that accumulated would leve any man totally frustrated... much less man like Sirius who loves attention and had been one of the most popular person in school. His behaviour was understandable in a way, though sometimes, it still irks me the way he's so reckless and goads Harry on...

[highsorcerer]

The real question is, why didn't Sirus ask Harry why he was using a fire instead of the mirror?

Obviously, the mirror will add to Harry's guilt feelings, but to be honest, the fire scene was necessary as it paved the way for one of the best scenes in the book... the attempted punishment of the Weasley twins and their absolute and complete defiance of Hogwart's authority. If Harry and Ron's arrival at Hogwart's via flying car in book two would be talked about for years, Fred and George's departure from Hogwarts will be talked about for decades.

[techjohn]

I did read a spoiler, but it gave nothing away!

On friday, someone put the chapter titles on the Warner Bros. msg board

It really convinced me it was either hagrid or mr weasley who would die!

What a shock!, although to me he didnt seem an important enough character...

maybe well find out more about him in later books?

[Lizzy Bennet]

Here's my take on Sirius's death, as well as the veil...

I was actually fairly annoyed with Sirius throughout the entire course of this book. Like somebody said above, he was acting pretty childish a lot of the time. Yeah, I know it's sad that he was all cooped up in that house all year when he wanted to be out helping the Order, but for some reason it seems like JKR just made him seem quite unpleasant fairly often in this book. I was bracing myself for Hagrid, Ron, or Hermione to be the one to die, so Sirius came as a bit of a surprise, but I didn't cry over it or feel particularly shocked... What saddened me more is what a couple of people have already mentioned...Lupin losing the last of his best friends from school, and Harry discovering the mirror at the end, which would have prevented the whole thing from happening.

Anyway, about the veil... Didn't anyone notice after Dumbledore dueled Voldemort in the Ministry Atrium, when Fudge arrived, Dumbledore told him that he would find the Death Eaters bound down in the Death Chamber? Obviously the room where all the battling was going on is used by the Ministry as some sort of execution room for criminals who are put to death rather than sent to Azkaban. One push through the veil, and they are sent into the next world, never to return. My take on Sirius was that whatever curse Bellatrix Lestrange used on him knocked him out and he simply had the bad fortune of falling back through the veil. The curse didn't kill him...where he fell was what killed him.

This explanation really makes sense to me! Now, it's all falling into place. You're right...I don't think Bellatrix hit Sirius with Avada Kedavra (as it would have been said if she did), it sounds like she stunned him and Sirius falling into 'the death place' is what killed him. He simply got...removed. In a way, a slightly more disturbing death, particularly when you go back and read the lead up to all that, when the kids are in the 'Death Chamber' before all the fighting begins and the foreshadowing of the veil occurs.

I also agree that it is the reaction and impact on the other characters which made it sad. Lupin, losing the last of his friends (although, Peter Pettigrew is still alive, he doesn't exactly count), Harry losing the last of his 'family', etc. Also sad was how later on you see how it all should have never happened, how many different ways it could be avoided, how it was all set up (with the elf, Voldemort knowing Harry would come save Sirius of all people, all the manipulation), and just the tremendous amount of guilt Harry's bound to feel at some point. It just seemed like such a waste...you could really feel Harry's longing.

I do hope Bellatrix, in either the 6th or 7th book, does get killed in a horrible way, and I'd love for it to be Neville or Neville or Harry who does it. Voldemort's penchant is for spreading dischord, and that certainly was evident in book 5. Although Sirius was not who most people predicted would die in book 5, I still think his death (particularly how it came about and what happened to him--how eerie that was and the aftermath of it) was a tragic one, particularly for Harry. Now, more than ever, Neville and Harry share a common bond, not only against Voldemort, but against one Death Eater in particular...

[Holly Golightly]

That is how I understood the veil and Sirius's death as well.. the curse just knocked him backwards, which caused his to fallt hrough the veil between the world of the living, and that of the dead... and this caused him to die, as you cant' be alive in the world of the dead, can you???

I do get the feeling that Harry will be able to communicate with Sirius in 6 and 7 though... maybe he will be able to talk to him through the veil, he did hear vioces there after all.. and Luna said something like that... But NHN did say that he didnt' become a ghost, so that's out...

So, do you reckon that Ron and Hermoine etce etc will be able to see the houses that pull the carridges when the get to Hogawarts now??? (I forgot their names, and am too lazy to look it up!!!) They were in the room too when Sirius died, no? Or was it just Neville?

[Nothlit]

Hermione was unconscious at the time that Sirius died. Ron was loopy and being attacked by brains. So Neville was the only one of the D.A. group besides Harry to witness the death, but he had already seen his grandfather die (or so he says), so he's seen the thestrals all along.