I felt like there was a lack of mention of Sirius Black in book 7. It seemed like all of a sudden Sirius was disregarded as Harry's caretaker, as if he was deemed unimportant. Is it just me?

And speaking of Sirius, was there ever a straight answer to the 'mysterious veil' question? What was it (I don't read fan sites, and am not sure if she acknowledged this part in an interview or something)? I kept looking for the answer in the 6th and 7th books, but I had no luck. :)

true, i did wonder that... i always hoped it was like, he fell through and popped out somewhere terrible, but still alive... that is one thing i wish rowling'd clear up...

That's a very good point, Alyssa. I did wonder whatever happened to Sirius...he was one of my favorite characters! I mean, I didn't think she would just let the character go like that. I guess he did walk with Harry through the Forest, but still...

And I hope JKR clears up the mysterious veil thing, too!

I was always under the impression that Bellatrix LeStrange used the killing curse on him and he died. The veil was like his entrance into "heaven".

It wasn't clear what kind of a curse Bellatrix used, but it wasn't a killing curse. With the killing curse, you just immediately die where you stand. She must have used a curse meant to push or throw something, probably just to get him out of her way, because he wasn't dead when he went through the veil. He was still laughing as he was flying through the air, until he realized what was happening, and then he was just gone.

The veil represents death, which is a mystery. There could be anything beyond it, but the only way to find out is to go through it.

Now I'm going to have to go back and reread that scene, to make sure that I'm not confusing the book with the movie. Good points, Becky.

"The veil represents death, which is a mystery. There could be anything beyond it, but the only way to find out is to go through it."

Good point, Becky...I guess I never thought of it that way, despite the face that they were in the Department of Mysteries haha :)

And I guess there just wasn't a way to work him into the story in the 7th book, but I won't lie, I would have liked to see more of him seeing as he was one of my favs.

Me too, Jess. I was crushed when she killed him off.

i think the curse bellatrix used was described as red (i could be wrong) and the killing curse is green, so he wasn't dead prior to hitting the veil...

Bellatrix does not use Avada Kedavra on Sirius. I think that you are right Monolith, and that the spell she uses is described as red. In the movie it is different. Bellatrix uses the killing curse, which is what pushes Sirius in the veil, but he should have been dead anyway. I don't really remember, but I think the movie shows something like his soul going into the arch. I also agree with you, Becky, on the arch. It is being used by the ministry to study death. I think it is like a passageway between life and death. Dumbledore does call the room the Death Chamber. I did expect to see the arch again in the Deathly Hallows, but I'm not bothered it wasn't included, as it didn't really to the plot. Maybe it was left ambiguous on purpose. I liked Sirius, but he wasn't one of my favorite characters. Since Deathly Hallows is the second book after his death, I feel that Harry's occasional thoughts about him and the scene in the forest were enough.

If you remember Luna and Harry could both hear voices beyond the veil that the others could not. Beyond the veil are their dead loved ones attracting them to it. Religiously, people talk about life beyond the veil as symbolic of the veil over ones eyes that prevents us from seeing those who have moved beyond death. Rowling took this metaphor and made the magic community possess a physical veil of death. Once you pass it there is no coming back. I didn't feel that the veil needed anymore explaining to justify its reappearance.

As far as Bellatrix's spell, it actually doesn't say. It says she hit Sirius with a red stream and he jeered at her. "Come on, you can do better than that!" "The second jet of light hit him squarely on the chest. The laughter had not quite died form his face, but his eyes widened in shock." And then he fell through the veil. I had always thought she had used the avada kedevra curse on him because he had egged her on. The fact that they showed so in the movie makes me think that it was so and Rowling had worded it in a way that emphasizes Harry shock watching the death happen in slow motion.

I didn't feel there was a lack of Sirius in book 7. Like Pandy said, he died in book 5. They're at his house and they miss him, but there is no reason to bring him back. That's the great thing about Rowling is that she's not afraid to kill off characters and then not bring them back (although Dumbledore is in 7 an awful lot).

what do u mean? Sirius was dead in the 7th book.

I thought she used a stun spell - as that's red and avada kedavra is green from what I remember.

Although a strange spell to use for her, though perhaps she knew what she was pushing him into or it was another kill curse. I think he was alive as he went through the veil though, had she used the avada kedavra curse he'd have been alive.

I need to dig out that book and read it again, but that's how I've been reading it at least. Doesn't mean I'm right though, of course.

As I have already said, I don't think Bellatrix used Avada Kedavra, but, as Annalisa said, it doesn't really say. The first red spell Bellatrix uses is a stunning spell. The reason I don't think the second spell is the killing curse is that right after Sirius falls through the veil, Harry expects him to come back. Harry was watching this whole scene and recognizes Avada Kedavra, but at this point he does not think Sirius is dead. He waits to see him re-emerge from the other side of the veil, but Lupin tells him that Sirius can't come back - that Sirius is gone. I know Harry is very upset at this point and is not thinking clearly, though I think if he had seen a jet of green light hit Sirius, he would have realized what had happened immediately and begun to chase Bellatrix then, instead of after Lupin tells him Sirius is dead. (I know the time difference is very small, although I do think it is there.)

i always thought that JK would resurrect sirius but then when i saw him in the resurrection stone scene, i knew it couldn't be

in the book they never actually say he's dead, just that he should be dead. i guess i needed to see a body

When I read the book and he died I screamed "NO!" When I saw the movie I cried. Why let such a nice man die? I HATE BELLATRIX . I might need to print that on a t-shirt!

lol, im sure they already have a t-shirt that says that

I LOVE HARRY POTTER!!!!
I LOVE HARRY POTTER!!!!
I LOVE HARRY POTTER!!!!
I LOVE HARRY POTTER!!!!
I LOVE HARRY POTTER!!!!
I LOVE HARRY POTTER!!!!
I LOVE HARRY POTTER!!!!
I LOVE HARRY POTTER!!!!
I LOVE HARRY POTTER!!!!
I LOVE HARRY POTTER!!!!
I LOVE HARRY POTTER!!!!
I LOVE HARRY POTTER!!!!
I LOVE HARRY POTTER!!!!
I LOVE HARRY POTTER!!!!
I LOVE HARRY POTTER!!!!
I LOVE HARRY POTTER!!!!
I LOVE HARRY POTTER!!!!
I LOVE HARRY POTTER!!!!
I LOVE HARRY POTTER!!!!
I LOVE HARRY POTTER!!!!
I LOVE HARRY POTTER!!!!

good to know...

Why would you be in this club if you didn't?!

Alyssa wrote: "I felt like there was a lack of mention of Sirius Black in book 7. It seemed like all of a sudden Sirius was disregarded as Harry's caretaker, as if he was deemed unimportant. Is it just me?

A..."

Wow! That's going to make me think about it...

In the book it describes it as a "veil" in the movie it's like a rock-type thing that Sirius falls back into. I was always under the impression that Bellatrix used a killing curse. The more I thought about it and watched the movie again and again I realized that it wasn't a killing curse. When somebody does a killing curse you die right where you are. However when Bellatrix did this spell it pushed him back into the "veil". I have always wondered if Voldemort put it there knowing that Bellatrix would kill Sirius that night.

In the movie, Bellatrix does use the killing curse - she says the words, Avada Kedavra.

The Room where Sirius dies in the Department of Ministeries is known as the Death Chamber. Death, as Nearly-Headless Nick says is one of the complex subjects studied there. Voldemort had nothing to do with the presence of the veil.

yea

Whoops! GTG