Sirius' Mirror

helenhorsley at hotmail.com helenhorsley at hotmail.com
Wed Dec 17 13:37:30 UTC 2003


No: HPFGUIDX 87256

cubs9911 wrote:
> I was wondering today what the purpose 
> will be of the mirror that Sirius gave to Harry.  
> I wonder if anyone thinks that Harry will need 
> this sometime in the future.  He never got a 
> chance to use it and I dont think that JKR would 
> put it there for no other reason than for Harry to 
> regret never using it. Any ideas.

Now dorapye:
I assumed the mirror was actually just a plot device, to present 
an 'if only...' to the reader. *If only* Harry had opened the 
present earlier, had used it to contact Sirius after the vision of 
LV torturing him in the DoM...then he would have been able to see 
Sirius was at home, perfectly safe, tending the injured Buckbeak; he 
would have evaded the treacherous Kreacher, not have had to use 
Umbridge's fireplace, not have been caught by the evil old hag, not 
have nearly killed his best friends in his mercy mission to rescue 
his godfather and not have lost Sirius for good...if only he had not 
forgotten Sirius's present, it all might have been avoided and 
Sirius might still be alive...

It could be true, as Carol states, that the mirror has the effect of 
proving to Harry (and/or to the reader) that Sirius is really dead, 
but does it do this?

OotP p756 (UK edition):
"He wiped the mirror clear again and said, so that every syllable 
rang clearly through the room;

'Sirius Black!'

Nothing happened. The frustrated face looking back out of the mirror 
was still, definitely his own...

Sirius didn't have his mirror on him when he went through the 
archway, said a small voice in Harry's head. *That's* why it's not 
working...."

Does Harry accept that Sirius is dead, but not understand the nature 
of 'wizard' death, imagining the mirror will let him talk to his 
godfather 'beyond the veil'.  He certainly doesn't seem to gain any 
further confirmation of Sirius's death from the mirror, 
rationalising that it doesn't work, not because Sirius is dead, but 
because Sirius did not have his mirror on him when he fell through 
the archway.  And if Sirius did have his mirror on him when he died, 
would Harry have been able to see him in the mirror? I guess we 
shall never know....

As to whether the mirrors could be used in future books, well they 
could certainly be useful...I am sure Harry would eventually want to 
put Sirius's last gift to some good use.  I expect they may come 
into the next books, but as I said at the beginning of my post, I 
believe their function in OotP was to reinforce the tragedy of 
Sirius's death with an 'if only..' (and exacerbate Harry's grief and 
guilt, poor lad!)

dorapye






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