Thoughts on a strangely unsatisfying death(?) scene

[D.G.]

No: HPFGUIDX 69089


Okay, I'll come right out and say it:  either JKR lost her chops 
while writing the Ministry battle scene that culminates OoP, or there 
were more to the disappearances of both Sirius and the Dark Lord than 
met the eye.

1.  Sirius:  I originally thought Sirius had been killed by the spell 
that hit him -- somehow it seemed that he got hit, then immediately 
arced over 
into the chasm beyond the Black Veil, almost as if anyone who died 
got transported there automatically.  Others, however, have 
suggested that he was just stunned by the curse, and somehow fell 
into the chasm.  Re-reading the scene, I'm tempted to believe that -- 
except that there's something REALLY odd about how he "just happened 
to" stagger and/or somehow arc his body into that black hole.  It 
doesn't make sense that the guy who was canny and resourceful enough 
to survive Azkaban and perform all those acts of heroism after he got 
out would be so clumsy as to loop around in circles like a Grade-B 
actor in an old western movie until he "accidentally" fell into the 
Veil of Death.

My conclusion?  Sirius wasn't entirely stunned, and he certainly 
wasn't killed.  He may have been "surprised" at being hit, but only 
because he knew what was going to follow, he knew it was inevitable 
but he hadn't known when it was going to happen.  SIRIUS HAD TO DIE. 
We don't know why, yet, but he had to die, he KNEW he had to die, and 
something about the spell with which he was hit made him realize that 
this was the moment.  He staggered [or arced, or levitated, or 
something else] into that Black Hole under his own free will, as his 
final sacrifice for Harry and the Good Cause.  Maybe Harry needs to 
be fatherless for some reason, to prepare himself for his final 
confrontation with the Dark Lord [I continue to think there's some 
kind of familial connection between Harry and Lord V, perhaps closer 
than a lot of folks have heretofore imagined];  maybe something else 
is at stake [e.g., some kind of fatal weakness on Sirius's part that 
wound have endangered Harry or otherwise given too mucy power to the 
Dark Lord].  But I cannot believe Sirius's rather shabby death was an 
accident.  

2. Lord V. in the Fountain:  AWWW, COME ON!!!  After all we've seen 
and heard about the horrible, virutally unstoppable power of the Dark 
Lord, Dumbledore simply strolls in, waves his wand once or twice, and 
tosses Voldemort into a pot of water where he hisses down into 
nothingness like the twin brother of the Wicked Witch Of The 
West!?!?  If it's that easy for Dumbledore to get rid of Voldemort 
(even temporarily), then why doesn't he just tail the guy, give him 
the ol' "one-two" whenever/wherever he appears, and dispense with him 
like a minor inconvenience?  Sure, it would be a rather dull and 
repetitive assignment for Dumbledore to keep on offing an enemy who 
continually bounces back like a Joe Palooka punching bag (and they'd 
have to find someone to replace him at Hogwart's) but wouldn't it be 
worth it to save the Known Universe from the Power Of Unspeakable 
Evil?  Then Harry could be spared -- hell, he could concentrate on 
his studies and eventually HE could become Headmaster of Hogwart's, 
where he'd undoubtedly get rid of the entire Slytherin house -- and 
all could live happily ever after.

Or am I simply getting grouchy?