Readers of J.K. Rowling’s infamous series won’t soon forget the perplexing way Sirius Black, Harry’s godfather, dies in The Order of the Phoenix. Upon being hit by Bellatrix’s curse in the Department of Mysteries, Sirius falls through an eerie, enigmatic veil that flutters in an archway. He disappears; he is gone, dead for the rest of the series.
Here, I’d like to suggest a theory as to what the veil in the archway might be, and how exactly Sirius Black might have died. I believe that the veil and the archway are the literal threshold between the world of the living and the world of the dead. A living person cannot access the world of the dead, so when Sirius passes through the archway, he dies.
The veil in the archway appears in Chapter 34 of The Order of the Phoenix, when Harry and his friends are frantically searching the Department of Mysteries for Sirius. The group enters a strange, rather frightening room, in which, “unsupported by any surrounding wall, [an] archway was hung with a tattered black curtain or veil which, despite the complete stillness of the cold surrounding air, was fluttering very slightly as though it had just been touched” (1005). Immediately, the veil and the archway feel unsettling, and questions instantly arise: What is this archway, this veil? Where did it come from? The archway and the veil are shrouded in the unknown, which is the first clue that the world past the veil is a world inaccessible to the living.
Despite its disquieting nature, the veil also seems to have a gravitational pull on those who look upon it--especially those who have seen death. Harry and Luna are particularly mesmerized by the veil, and hear whispering voices coming from behind it: When Harry asks the group, “Can’t anyone else hear it?” Luna answers, “I can hear them too [...] There are people in there!” (1006). Of all the members of the group, only Harry and Luna are able to hear the voices, a fact that points to the veil’s linkage to the realm of the dead. In an earlier chapter, Harry and Luna are shown able to see thestrals, the mystical creatures that one can only see if one has seen death; it is possible that Harry and Luna are able to hear the voices beyond the veil for the same reason.
Another clue that the veil in the archway is the border between life and death manifests thus:
“Sirius?” Harry spoke again, but much more quietly now that he was nearer [...] He had the strangest feeling that there was someone standing right behind the veil on the other side of the archway [...] All that could be seen was the other side of the tattered veil. (1005)
Here, Harry calls his godfather's name, as though expecting to find him on the other side of the veil. Not only does this foreshadow Sirius’ death--it also reveals that Harry’s dead loved ones can reach out to him via the archway. When Harry hears the whispers from beyond, he could be feeling the presence of his parents. This helps explain why Harry “thought the archway had a kind of beauty about it” and “felt a very strong inclination to climb up on the dais and walk through it” (1006). Perhaps Harry is attracted to the veil because his soul is being attracted to the souls of his deceased loved ones.
Sirius’ own death is sudden and shocking. In a duel with Bellatrix, “The second jet of light hit [Sirius] squarely on the chest” (1121). Subsequently, the text describes how “His body curved in a graceful arc as he sank backward through the ragged veil [...] which fluttered for a moment as though in a high wind and then fell back into place” (1122). That the curse is unspecified could serve to emphasize the veil itself as the sole explanation for Sirius’ death. Further, it is not Bellatrix’s curse that is vividly depicted, but Sirius’ transition from one side of the veil to the other.
Veils obscure; that is their nature. Archways are portals between spaces, else they would not exist. When Sirius fell through the veil he crossed into another realm. Sirius’ death is not ambiguous; for the rest of the series, it is confirmed again and again that Sirius is dead. What killed him? The crossing between worlds; his voyage from the now to the hereafter. The passage through the veil.
