Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. In this video, we’re going to be
discussing the Order of the Phoenix, Bellatrix Lestrange, The Battle of the department of
mysteries, and the death of Harry’s godfather - Sirius Black.
The battle of the department of mysteries was one of the most important in the series
- as it catapulted tensions between the death eaters and the order of the phoenix. It served
as one of the catalysts for the second wizarding war- and was the time when the lurking followers
of lord Voldemort revealed their true colours. Just moments after the battle of the department
of mysteries was the epic duel between Voldemort and Dumbledore- a moment in which the world
(specifically Fudge) could no longer argue that the dark lord hadn’t returned. However,
perhaps the most notable aspect of this battle was the death of Harry’s Godfather Sirius
Black. Harry was probably closer to Sirius than anyone else- he loved the man like a
father and he was one of the last close connections that he had to his parents. However, Sirius’s
death was a bit unusual in that it is depicted quite differently from book to film. Before
we dive in to this further, it’s also worth discussing where his death actually occurred,
as this comes in to play.
The department of mysteries is on level nine of the ministry of magic, and this department
is responsible for studying the mysteries of the wizarding world - mysteries associated
with love,space, thought, time and death- all manners of things. However, perhaps most
importantly, within the walls of the department of mysteries lies the death chamber- the location
of ‘The Veil’. The veil is a bit of an enigmatic object in Harry Potter, and if you
only watched the movies then you probably have even less of an understanding of what
the veil actually is.
The veil is an ancient, stone, pointed archway that serves as the barrier between the land
of the living and the land of the dead. It’s an ancient, crumbling relic that noone fully
understands, and is the subject of much investigation by the unspeakables. Though inviting, the
archway is a one-way trip, as if someone from the land of the living passes through it they
inevitably die. Sending messages through the veil is not possible, however, when the souls
of the dead recognize a loved one that approaches the veil, it has been expressed that they
will try to communicate. When living people enter the veil, they appear to experience
a relatively painless death- almost as if they are ‘in a high wind’ before simply
falling in. It’s also been expressed that once someone begins to pass through the veil,
they are beyond saving.
The reason that you need to understand the veil is that, from Book to film, the veil
plays a bit of a different role in Sirius’s actual death. First, let’s take a look at
the book:
“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.
...
It seemed to take Sirius an age to fall: his body curved in a graceful arc as he sank backwards
through the ragged veil hanging from the arch.
Harry saw the look of mingled fear and surprise 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, then fell back into place.
Harry heard Bellatrix Lestrange’s triumphant scream, but knew it meant nothing – Sirius
had only just fallen through the archway, he would reappear from the other side any
second ....
But Sirius did not reappear.
The book clearly indicates that Sirius Black’s death was the result of him falling in to
the veil- and nothing else- falling backwards in to it after being struck by Bellatrix Lestranges
curse. However, the film adaptation paints a bit of a different picture. In the film,
in only an instant, the battle turns from what seems like a flawless outcome for the
order, to one of the worst outcomes possible - the death of Sirius. After finishing off
Lucius, Sirius leaves his guard down for only an instant- and in that same instant- Bellatrix
Lestrange appears. “Avada Kedavra” she yells- shooting a jet of green light toward
him- and just seconds later, Sirius Black had a blank expression on his face- falling
backward through the veil. This confuses things a bit, because in the book it’s never mentioned
that Bellatrix uses Avada Kedavra- aka the killing curse. I’m sure that filmmakers
just added it in for dramatic effect, but the issue with this particular curse is that
it causes instant death. If you are properly struck with avada kedavra there is no grace
period where you are left to think, move or react- you simply die..instantly. But in the
film, after being struck with a curse that causes instantaneous death, he seems to stay
alive and look around for a moment before falling backward in to the veil. However,
the very fact that Bellatrix uses avada kedavra, a curse that we know to kill, sort of suggests
that her spell was responsible for his death- where in reality it was of course the veil.
In fact, in Rowling’s original notes for this scene, Bellatrix wasn’t even involved-
Sirius ‘chose’ death through the veil in lieu of being attacked by approaching dementors.
This confirms that the veil is capable of killing, and that Sirius was always meant
to die by the veil. In reality, all Bellatrix’s spell needed to do was push Sirius backward-
and for this reason I think that she most likely used some sort of stunning spell. Unfortunately,
this is just another example of the types of problems that can arise when bringing novels
to the big screen. Sometimes, in an effort to create dramatic effect, the context of
the original story is lost.
So, I think that we can quite reasonably state that Sirius died after being hit by a stunning
spell and falling in to the veil. However, one thing that might be on your mind now is
- what happened to Sirius? What happens to those who fall through the veil?
“He had reached the floor, his breath coming in searing gasps. Sirius must be just behind
the curtain, he, Harry, would pull him back out ...
But as he reached the ground and sprinted towards the dais, Lupin grabbed Harry around
the chest, holding him back.
‘There’s nothing you can do, Harry –’
‘Get him, save him, he’s only just gone through!’
‘– it’s too late, Harry.’
‘We can still reach him –’ Harry struggled hard and viciously, but Lupin would not let
go ...
‘There’s nothing you can do, Harry ... nothing ... he’s gone.’
After falling through the veil, Sirius was dead- I don’t think that you can argue that
(though I have heard some try). He fell in to a relic KNOWN to cause death inside of
the DEATH chamber- so I think that his fate is obvious.
We can also confirm that Sirius did in fact die, because the ‘shade’ of Sirius appears
in the Forbidden Forest when Harry has the Resurrection Stone. A ‘shade’ can only
be produced when someone has truly died- like Harry’s parents, and the fact that Sirius
appears destroys any theory that he is somehow still alive.
“Harry said it as loudly as he could, with all the force he could muster. He did not
want to sound afraid. The Resurrection Stone slipped from between his numb fingers, and
out of the corner of his eyes he saw his parents, Sirius, and Lupin vanish as he stepped forward
into the firelight. “
However, one thing worth noting is that Sirius’s soul was spared- it was never stripped of
him like those who suffer their fate at the hands of the dementors- and this means that
his soul went on to the afterlife. Because the soul is immortal, in a way, Sirius was
alive beyond the veil.
In a sense Sirius is alive behind the veil because one’s soul is immortal. However,
his body is dead and his soul has gone on to the Afterlife.
And that’s it for this video. Leave your comments down below.
Until next time
It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live