MuggleNet | Voices From Beyond - An editorial by Kathy Lye.

Now, we all know that JKR rarely avoids answering a question if the answer is important. So this was too good a clue to pass up for me, as I loved Sirius and really want to hear from him again. I have come to terms with the fact that he has gone, but in the Potterverse, that doesn’t mean we won’t hear from him again.

The easiest and most obvious solution would be for Harry to discover a previously unknown portrait of Sirius Black. Magic portraits appear to be copies of the subjects’ appearance and character at a certain point in time that can interact with the ‘real’ world. The question is, do the portraits change over time? Do they take on their subjects’ personality traits as the subject grows? I would say no. Just take a look at Sir Cadogan -- he is stuck in the time that the portrait was painted and doesn’t seem to have any other ‘frame’ of reference (pardon the pun).

The question would then become, when would Sirius have had this portrait painted and why? If it was before he was captured and sent to Azkaban, then the Sirius in the painting would be a very different Sirius to the one that Harry knew. He would be the young, reckless and impulsive man that James knew and there would be even more danger that the advice/comfort he could give Harry would be coloured by his godson looking just like his best friend. If painted after his escape from Azkaban, the portrait would be just like the Sirius that Harry knew. However, this raises a problem -- when would Sirius have had time to have a portrait painted when he was on the run or in hiding? Who would be willing to paint a picture of a dangerous fugitive? And why would he take time out from hiding for a vanity break?

Also, the question has to be asked, why would any portrait of Sirius Black be anywhere else but 12 Grimmauld Place? If Harry were to discover a painting of his godfather, it couldn’t be in a house in which Harry had stayed for months because we would know about it -- the Trio have been over every inch of the house. Because of Sirius’ connection with the house and the history that meant he was practically imprisoned there, there is no reason to suppose that there could be a mysterious painting at 12 Grimmauld Place waiting for Harry to find it.

The next possibility that occurred to me is that Sirius somehow captured a memory of himself in case something happened to him, as Tom Riddle did. Unfortunately, the same questions apply to this theory as to the portrait idea. When would Sirius have done it and why? In this case (considering the danger he was in) the possibility of a memory being placed somewhere while Sirius was in hiding is less implausible than a portrait. He could very easily have done it while holed up at 12 Grimmauld Place. So, the question then becomes, why didn’t he tell Harry about it? Surely if there was enough danger of something happening to Sirius that he felt the need to create a memory of himself, he would not have neglected to mention it to the one person for whom it was intended.

Another consideration to be taken into account in this case is Sirius’ personality. From what we have seen of him, he was never really the sort to plan ahead. At school, he made Snape’s life hell, never considering what that might lead to in the future. He ran after Pettigrew himself with no back up. He escaped from Azkaban with no idea of where he was going, except to find and protect Harry. Sirius is the sort of person who reacts to the current situation and thinks about the consequences later. Bless him.

Anyway, this does not make the idea of him planting a memory somewhere very likely, as it would never occur to him that he could ever really die -- he survived Azkaban, didn’t he? Sirius’ own ego would have made the idea unnecessary. For Sirius, the risk was the thing that made life fun and there was no need to plan for the future because that just makes things a little more boring.

A Ghost We know from OotP that Sirius is not going to return as a ghost, but because I loved Sirius, I am just going to quickly put forward my theory on why. I think there is a very simple reason; Sirius wasn’t afraid of death, so there was no reason for him to turn away from it. Actually, I think there is another reason, but we’ll come to that later.

Just to make sure I have covered all the possibilities, I will present and dismiss this very unlikely possibility. Now, in order for this to work, Bellatrix would have to come up against someone in a duel who has the twin to her wand, has to throw a curse at the same time as that person and Harry has to be present to see it happen. I’m not going to discuss this, because the possibility seems highly unlikely.

Now, we come to the final few possibilities. I feel these are a lot more plausible than any of the others (although I will admit, the first one is a little ropey).

Initially, I thought that they were introduced by JKR simply to show Harry’s “saving people thing” in a more stark light. Despite being in possession of the easiest means in the world to contact his godfather, Harry didn’t even look at the mirrors until after Sirius’ death and had no idea he could use them. He launched himself and his friends into a complicated and dangerous plan that ultimately led to Sirius’ demise (I’m not blaming Harry for Sirius’ death, I’m just stating the facts). I dismissed the mirrors as being something more because Harry tried to contact Sirius with his mirror and nothing happened, so I thought this proved it could not work.

Then I started thinking that JKR made sure we were quite aware of what the mirrors were for and that Harry smashed his mirror. He still possesses it, but it is broken. Now, this is what I mean when I say this theory is a bit ropey. Just suppose the mirror has to be broken to communicate with the dead. You know, a sort of strange emphasis on ‘broken’, which is basically what death is -- the body broken beyond repair.

I know, it’s not good, but it is a possibility -- the mirrors are probably a red herring or perhaps pointing us towards a different future development, but it’s worth a shot. I just hope it doesn’t mean poor Harry’s going to have another seven years of bad luck.

Harry has already seen his godfather in a Pensieve memory and this is possibly the most likely chance for a future appearance of Sirius in the books.

Poor Harry’s lot in literary life is to suffer -- mentally and physically. I’m afraid we wouldn’t be interested if something horrible wasn’t happening to him every few weeks and this is why I think he will only see more of his godfather in a Pensieve. It will remind him of how close he was to a happy home with someone who cared for him; someone he lost suddenly and brutally. And it will give him the desire to seek revenge against Voldemort and the Death Eaters that took everything away from him. The experience would be all the more painful for Harry as he would not be able to interact with Sirius; he would only be able to watch the closest thing he ever had to a father and remember everything that is now lost to him. It’s making me sad just thinking about it. Seeing the person you have lost and not being able to talk to them or just give them a hug is heartbreaking and Harry may have to suffer it.

I also have a theory that both previous visits to the past through the Pensieve were carefully planned by Dumbledore. It seems very unlikely that the coolest Headmaster in the world would be unaware that Harry would be curious about a strange light coming from a bowl. It seems equally odd to me that if Dumbledore wanted to keep the secrets of his memories from Harry, he would leave the Pensieve invitingly available. Dumbledore may give the impression that he is slightly out of touch with the real world, but he is not so unaware as to leave a tempting sight such as that for Harry to discover by accident. My theory runs that Dumbledore wants Harry to know certain things to prepare him for what is to come -- things he needs to understand fully before he faces the final inevitable confrontation. Just telling Harry what he needs to know is not enough; he has to experience it first hand, and what better way than through another’s memories?

Unfortunately, this also means that Dumbledore mercilessly manipulated Snape as well. I truly believe that the Professor’s reaction to Harry seeing his worst memory was quite genuine (if I am wrong and Snape was in on the plan, then well done to him for submitting to that humiliation for the greater good). Harry needed to see that his father was not the saint-like figure he had always imagined; he needed to understand that everyone has their faults, but it doesn’t necessarily make you a bad person. Dumbledore knows that there is more that Harry needs to understand, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he uses the Pensieve again as a teaching tool for our hero. Maybe in a less underhanded way next time.

There is always the possibility that we will discover another, similar way to access a person’s memories apart from the Pensieve, but I believe this is the most likely way for us (and Harry) to see Sirius again.

My final theory involves the veil in the MoM that Sirius fell through. Many people seem to have grasped hold of the idea that this is the room that Nearly-Headless Nick mentioned in which wizards study death. I agree. I believe that this is the room that JKR has referred to -- the room that Harry has been in before and will be very important, though he doesn’t know it yet.

This is the other reason Sirius cannot come back as a ghost; he went straight from the mortal world through the veil and had no time for a choice in the matter. Even though Sirius was not afraid of death, if he had a choice, I think he would have hung around for the sake of his godson, whether it meant eternity in limbo or not. He was just that kinda guy.

However, my absolute belief in the veil being some sort of access to the dead is based on only a few facts:

Firstly, Harry and Luna can hear the voices coming from the other side. They can both see the Thestrals and therefore have a closer link with death than any of the others because they have witnessed it first hand.

Secondly, the Veil gives Harry the impression that there is someone just behind it -- it even moves as if someone had touched it. Death may be a pretty final thing, separating you from the people who have gone, but they don’t go very far. “To the well-organised mind, death is but the next great adventure” Dumbledore once told us and we all know that the Headmaster is on occasions the voice of the author. The dead stay with us because we have memories and emotions connected to them; they never truly leave us, but remain behind a thin and insubstantial barrier -- a barrier that is very easy to break through.

Thirdly, Harry finds the arch and the Veil strangely beautiful, despite its dilapidated state. He is drawn to it, fascinated by it and it is only when Hermione pulls him away that he remembers why he is in the MoM. We are constantly being told how much like his father Harry is -- at heart, he is the next generation of the Marauders, not afraid of breaking rules, getting into trouble or finding a new adventure around the corner. He has no fear of death; he would willingly sacrifice himself to save others and has proved it on many occasions. I am not saying that Harry was tempted to step through the Veil because he has some sort of death wish, I just think he has a connection with death because of just how many times he has been close to it. And if it is some sort of access to the dead, Harry has two very special people on the other side of it that he desperately wants to see; this may be why he had an urge to just step through it.

Unfortunately, I also have a theory that the fascination that Harry, Neville, Ginny and Luna had for the Veil may be some sort of foreshadowing. I think we really are facing a “bloodbath” in the next two books and I am afraid the only two people present who didn’t feel some sort of connection in that room were Hermione and Ron. I really hope I am wrong.

Anyway, back to the actual theory. I believe that there is a possibility that Harry may be able to communicate with Sirius through the Veil, but I don’t think it will be more than once. When Harry needs him the most, that is when he will be ‘allowed’ to access the room. I don’t mean allowed by the MoM, I mean that the strength he will need in the future will come from JKR allowing him to talk to Sirius one last time.

Posted by: Sara

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Voices From Beyond, Or, Will We Ever See Sirius Again?

An original editorial by Kathy Lye

Posted by: Sara

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