Faking Sirius' Death?

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 91580

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Eustace_Scrubb" 
<dk59us at y...> wrote:
> :: Entropy :: started us all thinking by saying:
> <all but the battle discussion snipped>
> Of course, we are all aware of the mysterious second
> curse. We all know that Bellatrix cast the first, which Sirius
> dodged. But then "the second jet of light hit him squarely in the
> chest." Not "Bellatrix's curse", not even a "green jet" which 
would
> surely be an AK and would seal Sirius' fate. Just "a second jet".
> Given that Dumbledore has already appeared, and all of the 
Death
> Eaters except for Bellatrix have begun to run for it, who is it that
> took the time to stop running from Dumbledore to cast a curse 
at
> Sirius while he was already being held off by Bellatrix? 
Perhaps it wasn't one of the Death Eaters, but an OOP member, 
simply giving Sirius a convenient nudge.
> 
> Eustace_Scrubb whines gratingly:
> 
> Although JKR has not specifically attributed "the second jet of 
light"
> to Bellatrix, the circumstantial evidence certainly suggests it 
was
> her: 
> <snip evidence>
> If Sirius had fallen where anyone had been able to look at his 
body,
> it certainly seems likely that he would have had the classic AK
> victim's expression on his face:  eyes wide open, shock, fear,
> surprise.
> 
> Now this all makes sense to me, but I'm aware that there are 
gaps inwhat we've been told that lead us to question the 
evidence:  why didn't JKR tell us the jet was green?  Why didn't 
we hear the dramatic cry of "Avada Kevadra" from Bellatrix?
> 
> I'd guess that it's the combination of the chaos in the room, the
> arrival of Dumbledore drawing attention from everything else 
and the fact that we're seeing this from Harry's POV--he's 
exhausted, overstimulated and cannot possibly take in each 
detail--and perhaps would have blocked this out anyway.
> 
> From JKR's POV, I'd propose that she _wants_ us all to 
wonder whetherSirius is "properly dead" or not, and had we 
seen green light and heard "AK" we'd have no reason to 
doubt.<<

One of the rules of the "fair" mystery is that there cannot be false 
clues. They can be misinterpreted, but properly understood, 
every clue must lead to the solution of a mystery. The reader has 
been told that someone would   make an "unbearable sacrifice" 
(OOP front inside flap of the  US dust jacket). There has also 
been foreshadowing of death from the moment of Sirius's very 
first appearance as the Grim. To have the death be faked  would 
falsify those clues, never mind that no one would ever believe 
JKR's interviews again. 

The ambiguity around Sirius's death must be there for a reason. 
Drawing out the agony as Harry struggles to grasp that Sirius is 
really gone provides the necessary distraction from the 
ambiguity over who killed him. It works...I didn't realize there was 
any ambiguity  until it was pointed out on this list, and I was 
*looking* for it. 

So IMO, an Order member fired the curse that pushed Sirius 
through the veil. That's why he looked surprised...just like Cedric, 
and probably for the same reason--he recognized the killer and it 
was someone he thought was a friend.

Pippin