Deaths in OotP

Tue Jul 15 00:21:47 UTC 2003

No: HPFGUIDX 70328

And finally, here is the final part of this list examining the deaths of the
Potterverse.  Entire list is archived at
http://www.idcnet.com/~ivanova/writings.htm.  Please feel free to email me
with comments on this or any part if you don't want to post it to the list.

THE DEATHS OF HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX

REGULUS BLACK - This is one death of which I am suspicious. Here's the quote
from Sirius himself, "No, he was murdered by Voldemort. Or on Voldemort's
orders, more likely, I doubt Regulus was ever important enough to be killed
by Voldemort in person. From what I found out after he died, he got in so
far, then panicked about what he was being asked to do and tried to back
out. Well, you don't just hand in your resignation to Voldemort. It's a
lifetime of service or death." (OotP p. 112 U.S. edition)

First of all, this is a second-hand account. As with Wilkes, Sirius didn't
see the death, didn't cause the death, and never saw the body. Unlike
Wilkes, though, we don't even know Sirius's source for the information. Who
told Sirius? If Voldemort didn't kill Regulus, who did? What happened to his
body? Was it returned to his parents? Could Regulus be the third Death
Eater? Although, if he was, it would contradict Sirius's story of Regulus
wanting out of the Death Eaters, since it sounds like Voldemort's third
Death Eater was faithful. Is there more to the Regulus story than we (and
Sirius) have been told?

I say there are too many unanswered questions surrounding this death, and
speculate that we might not have seen the last of Regulus Black. Or, if we
have, we will find out more about how he died and who killed him (could it
have been Snape?).

MARLENE MCKINNON AND FAMILY - Both Hagrid and Moody say they died. All we
really know is that they were killed two weeks after the picture of the
original Order of the Phoenix was taken. I think it's safe to say that
bodies were found and that they are truly dead. Nothing in this to make me
suspicious.

BENJY FENWICK - Moody says all they found of Fenwick were bits and pieces.
Are we sure he's dead? All we ever found of Pettigrew were robes and a
finger, but yet he lived. Were these little bits and pieces, like a couple
of toes and maybe a hand? Or did we have some more telling remnants, like a
severed head? This could make a big difference between a potentiall living
and a truly dead Fenwick. I wouldn't write him off just yet.

EDGAR BONES AND FAMILY - This is pretty much the same as the McKinnon entry.
Moody and Hagrid both mention they're dead. The only difference between the
two is we are told Edgar had a sister, Amelia, who survived. Amelia has a
daughter, Susan, who is a Hufflepuff in Harry's year at Hogwarts.

CARADOC DEARBORN - Vanished with no trace of a body. I wouldn't be surprised
to see him pop back up one of these days.

GIDEON AND FABIAN PREWETT - Actually, there is more evidence that these two
are dead then there is for the McKinnons and the Bones. Moody says it took
five Death Eaters and that they fought like heroes. I get the impression
that the Prewetts did not fight alone, but that Moody may have been there
with them.

DORCAS MEADOWES - Moody says that Voldemort killed her personally. How does
he know this? He never says if he saw it himself, if reliable intelligence
told them that's what happened to her, or anything else, for that matter.
Although she probably is dead, I'm not 100% convinced of this.

MR. AND MRS. BLACK - We don't know anything about their deaths aside from
Mrs. Black dying after Sirius had been sent to Azkaban, but it seems to be
common knowledge. Most telling piece of evidence that they are no more is
that Sirius, the son they blasted from the tapestry, has complete control of
the house, and Sirius says he inherited it after they died. I'm not
expecting to see them again.

BRODERICK BODE - His death was reported in the Daily Prophet. An
investigation is being done into it. I'm convinced he's dead. If one needs
even more convincing, we saw the death being set up with the gift of the
potted plant at Christmas.

FRIDWULFA HAGRID - Hagrid was told by the giants he went to visit that his
mother had died some years ago. This is a second-hand account, as Hagrid did
not see the body himself. There is really nothing else one way or the other
about Fridwulfa. I place this in the same category as I do Dorcas Meadowes.
She might be dead, but there's a chance she could still be around.

KARKUS - Hagrid saw his severed head. Enough said.

SIRIUS BLACK- Thinking about this death is what prompted me to start this
whole project. There are tons of witnesses, so we don't have a second-hand
report. We watched it happen. However, we do not have a body. The body
disappeared. So, is he dead?
          Let's take a close look at this scene. Sirius and Bellatrix are
dueling. Sirius ducks Bella's first red light spell. He taunts her, then is
hit by a second jet of red light. We see his eyes widen in shock, although
the laughter has not yet faded. He is still alive at this point. He begins
to fall, sinking backward through the veil. As he falls through, his
expression changes yet again, going from the shock we saw a moment ago into
fear and surprise. This indicates that Bellatrix's spell did not kill him,
as his face was quickly changing expression the whole time he was falling up
to the time he disappears. Keep in mind, though, that the last expression we
do see is fear and surprise, two emotions that are commonly connected to the
face of a man who has just realized his moment has come and death has come
for him. This would indicate that we see the exact moment that Sirius knows
he is going to die, seconds before he passes through the veil.
     Immediately after he disappears, Bellatrix lets out a triumphant
scream. This is indicative of a woman who knows she has vanquished her foe.
She does not expect him to come charging back through the veil. She is not
preparing herself for a renewed threat from that corner, but considers it
over. We can take this to mean either she believes Sirius to be dead or at
least out of the rest of the fight.
Lupin then grabs Harry as he charges towards the veil after Sirius. Lupin
refuses to let him near the veil and tells Harry there's nothing he can do,
it's too late, Sirius is gone, he can't come back, and he's d-... Lupin is
cut off, but it appears that the final word would be "dead." Without that
final letter, we can conclude that Sirius is either dead or trapped behind
the veil and it's impossible for one to do anything about it (or at least
for Harry to do anything).

Harry becomes angry at Sirius for not coming immediately through the veil,
for making him wait. Harry then realizes that Sirius has never made him
wait, but has always been there for him when he has been in need. Sirius not
coming to his aid now is telling.

Dumbledore makes reference to a Death Chamber. It is in this chamber that
the captured Death Eaters are being held. This is also where Sirius was when
he fell through the veil.

Dumbledore was a witness to Sirius falling through the veil, and he says
that Sirius is dead. Dumbledore understands that chamber far better than any
of us do. There is no reason for Dumbledore to lie at this point, and
watching him with Harry, it seems he would do anything to be able to
mitigate some of Harry's pain. If there was any chance that Sirius could
still be alive, Dumbledore would have told him so.

One last piece of evidence that points to Sirius being truly dead. His
creator, J. K. Rowling, says he is. She is very adamant about it. It is also
known she cried when she killed off the person she was planning to kill. No
one else in this book was loved enough to evoke that kind of reaction. This
is the only person we can see causing that kind of a reaction from his
creator.

Sirius Black is truly dead. It is time we all admitted it and carried on.

Kelly Grosskreutz
http://www.idcnet.com/~ivanova/