THEORIES PLEASE. <333

[flexiblegenius]

Is there any proof that Sirius is indeed dead? I mean, there was no mention of Bellatrix saying the actual Killing Curse.

Only one couple were still battling, apparently unaware of the new arrival. Harry saw Sirius duck Bellatrix's jest of red light: He was laughing at her. "Come on, you can do better than that!" he yelled, his voice

Comments

[koneko]

[elizagolightly]

Yeah but if you are a fan who doesn't believe DD is dead... then that doesn't mean the same thing.

[mushroom18]

Well, if you're a very talented wizard you have the ability to perform curses even without speaking. All you need is concentration and the proper wand movements. Voldemort and Dumbledore actually don't say spells aloud sometimes.

I think that Sirius may NOT BE dead, just hiding in the veil, waiting for a chance to come out. I have complete faith in Luna Lovegood. :3

[flexiblegenius]

I'm rereading OotP and got to the part that you mentioned. Like you, I also have faith in Luna Lovegood. JKR wouldn't have written/mentioned that bit in the books if it didn't have a purpose, riiight? :D

Here's the Luna Lovegood part that I was referring to.

She shook her head in disbelief. "Oh, come on. You heard them, just behind the veil, didn't you?"
          "You mean..."
          "In that room with the archway. They were just lurking out of sight, that's all. You heard them"

- page 863, Order of the Phoenix

[snale]

I've got a mythological take on that veil. The way I imagine it is that it's a gateway to the afterlife, and that no one has ever found his way back through that door... yet. I see it as an Orpheus and Euridice sort of thing. My sister sees it as a riff on 'the paths of the dead' (Lord of the Rings), with an army of spirits waiting to be called forth from behind it. Even if there's another, completely different story about that veil, I'm terribly curious to find out what it's all about.
I'll only be disappointed if it's never touched on again.
So! I think Sirius is dead, but I don't think that means we've seen the last of him. Just like Harry's parents are dead, but he spoke with their spirits in the 'phoenix song cage' at the end of GoF, I think Sirius will return in some form before the end.

[giapet]

Dead as a doorknob.

Rowling has said he's dead; I think if she brought him back even in some kind of undead form it would completely nullify a HUGE theme in the books: basically, Voldemort does all these horrifyingly evil things because he is SCARED TO DIE. He wants to live forever. So she has to show several deaths in order to show that death is a natural part of life and something that Harry can deal with.

Additionally, and I can't stress this enough: Harry absolutely MUST be without his adult helpers in this last book in order to prove to the reader that he, himself, is actually worth beans-- or the reader will never know if Sirius or Dumbledore or someone else was helping him

How dead?

[akhekhu]

I agree with you that they are dead and staying dead--but what do you think about contact beyond the grave, so to speak? I'm not talking a ouija board or anything, and not necessarily even "speaking", but how the memory/made up memories of his parents help him (Harry) fight sometimes. Do you think Sirius could be used in this way?

I understand that Harry has to prove to us and himself that he can do this without help (well, he'll get a little help with his friends) of an adult. But a little friendly advice or guidance wouldn't hurt :) But I suppose any support like that could come from the Weaselys, Lupin, Etc. (sorry, this was just supposed to be a comment, I got to rambling!)

Re: How dead?

[giapet]

Aside from ghosts-- which I doubt Sirius would become one of --the only contact from beyond the grave we've seen was only quasi: when we saw the 'ghosts' of Harry's parents, Cedric, the witch, and the caretaker shoot out from Voldie's wand.

However, that occurrance happened on account of Harry and Voldie's wands being connected in an odd way (the phoenix feathers). But it was Bellatrix's wand that hit Sirius (although we're not quite sure what with), and as Fawkes only gave two feathers (Harry's and Voldie's), it seems unlikely that we'd see Harry's wand connect with Bellatrix's that way.

Is it possible that Sirius may find a way to talk to Harry beyond the grave, even briefly? Absolutely. JK Rowling is mistress of her world and she could do it. Do I think she will? No, I don't.

As I said, Harry must be on his own and relying on his own power when he defeats Voldie. Ron and Hermione may offer some support, but it really has to be all Harry.

[a_fallen_sister]

This is the interview I read that convinced me that Sirius is truly dead:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts/3004456.stm

About halfway down, she says, commenting on OotP: "Yeah. Well I had re-written the death, re-written it and that was it. It was definitive. And the person was definitely dead."But even though I believe he's dead based on that, I still wonder why she didn't just have Bellatrix kill Sirius with "Avada Kedavra" if she wanted/needed Sirius dead and out of the way for good. JKR has said that the point of her 'killing off' Sirius was 1) Because Harry, as the hero, has to go into the finale alone and 2) To show that death is often sudden and unexpected. 'Avada' could have accomplished that better, I think. It would have been just as sudden and it would have been clearer to both the fans and to Harry that Sirius was truly gone. Yet JKR confuses the issue by having Bellatrix's first wand blast be a red flash instead of

[elizagolightly]

I COMPLETELY agree with you about the clarity of death and the closure, we as fans, and Harry would feel with Avada. Why she chose not to use a differeny curse is beyond my thinking because it leaves so many questions about his death in my mind. Mystery consumes his entrie death scene, leading me to beleive there is so much more to it than that, but also wondering what it could all mean! You articulated my thoughts perfectly!

[akhekhu]

One reason that JK might not have had Bellatrix use the Avada is that death isn't always clear cut. Sometimes you don't see a body and you don't know for certain. I think as the reader, we are supposed to have this internal struggle of *isn't there still hope that Sirius is alive* just like Harry probably has when he thinks on it (whether he admits this, is another thing). Harry might have "given up" and come to terms with the death, but it makes it more psychological and realistic of not every death is clear cut.