Sirius' death (was: Dept of Mysteries Veil Room)

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 114882


Mac asked: 
> > But why is there a whole book devoted to Sirius? (PoA) What was
the purpose of this book? Was it just to acieve Pettigrew being outed
as scabbers, have him escape and, moreover, in wizard's debt to HP? <snip>

Carol responds:
I'm not sure that I agree with your statement that the whole book is
devoted to Sirius. To be sure, he's the title character (as the H-BP
will be in Book 6), but he himself doesn't appear in it until the end
except as a Grim-like dog in the distance, a photo in a newspaper, or
a portrait/bedcurtain-slashing invader who terrifies the students and
then disappears. In other words, he's a plot device like the
Philosopher's Stone, the Chamber of Secrets, the Goblet of Fire, and
the Order of the Phoenix--controlling the action to some degree (for
example, preventing Harry from going to Hogsmeade without resorting to
the invisibility cloak and Marauder's Map) and indirectly shaping
Harry's responses to the information and misinformation Harry hears
relating to him, but Sirius himself, as a character, is no more in
evidence throughout most of the book than, say, Voldemort is
throughout the series. He's a shadow and a threat but not a living,
breathing character--until Harry and his friends finally confront him
in the Shrieking Shack and we get one of JKR's astonishing reversals
(which I should have been better prepared for, but I only guessed that
Sirius was the dog). 

As for the purpose of the book, it certainly (as you suggsst) makes
possible Voldemort's reembodiment by revealing Scabbers' true identity
and setting up his escape, but it also provides our first hint of
Harry's father's backstory (the MWPP/Snape connection, if you prefer);
it introduces Dementors and gives Harry a chance to battle them; it
gives him his first opportunity to consider killing a perceived enemy
(Sirius) and choose not to do it (though I don't know how he'd have
done it any way since he's not familiar with Avada Kedavra at that
point), and a moment later oppose the murder of a real enemy on moral
grounds. And, of course, it introduces us to Sirius and Lupin, future
members of the Order, and (as a side issue) the predicament of
werewolves in a world that (rightly) regards them as dangerous (at
least during a full moon).

So the overall purpose of PoA, it seems to me, is to move Harry a few
steps further down the path toward his full magical, moral, and
emotional development, as well as to introduce characters, creatures,
and spells that will prove important later (even if their chief
importance will be to help Harry deal with the death of people he
loves). And, of course, to tell an entertaining story that will bear
rereading even after the mystery is resolved and the title character's
identity is reshaped by subsequent books into the godfather Harry
loved and lost. ("As a father you shall be to me," said Merry. "For a
little while," said Theoden.)

Carol, who really doesn't see any resemblance between Sirius and
Theoden other than as father-substitute, except for the (to me)
incomprehenible joy of battle that both seem to experience

Carol