Return of the Canine

Some smart souls might figure out who I'm going to be talking about in this article from the title itself. Well…yes, I'm talking about the dear deceased Sirius Black or Padfoot as a few knew him.

We all know the sad circumstance in which he died (And if you don't, you're on the wrong site my dear unknown reader). Harry even blamed himself for his death. Many cried while reading the part where he fell. I know I did. We also know it was extremely difficult for J.K. Rowling to write about his death.

But some people strongly cling to the belief that Sirius is not dead, he will be coming back somehow or the other. Shall the canine we all love so much return?

Now, where did he 'die'? In the Department of Mysteries…"beyond the veil". Lupin told Harry he was gone and Harry believed him. Of course he did; I mean, why shouldn't he? But the most important question came into my mind after I finished reading the book. Where was Sirius's body? How did they not find it? Sirius had been cleared after the Ministry realized that it was Voldemort behind all the wickedness rather than Sirius. They could have had a decent funeral right? So why didn't they? The body cannot just disappear like that. It has to be somewhere. So where is it? Still in the Department of Mysteries perhaps? Waiting for a chance to feel again? Doesn't anyone else think it entirely fishy that not ONE mention was made of the body? Argh, I hate it when there's a loose thread. But this loose thread might have something to do with what's going to happen in the future books. Mark my words. (Or maybe not, coz if I'm wrong…I'll be proved a paranoid conspiracy-seeker! ;-))

Ok, so maybe Sirius is still waiting out there…but what about the Time-Turner? Harry and Hermione used it in PoA to save Buckbeak from the axe and Sirius from the Dementor's kiss. How come it can't be used again to save Sirius from falling to his 'supposed' death? Maybe there's some weird and complicated rule that doesn't permit its use here? But what if the Time Turner was used? Ok, let's think about it. In PoA, we found out that Sirius and Buckbeak were saved by the Time-Turner, right? Ok, what we realized afterwards was that they had already been saved by themselves when they were in the Hospital Wing. Understood? So it could be possible that someone has already saved Sirius from the future or something of the sort. But now a slight technicality arises. The Time Turner is used to go back in time. Is it possible for the Ministry of Magic to possess something to go into the future? Now, I think that isn't really possible because if they did, SOMEONE or the other would have known about Voldemort's reign of terror etc. They rely on prophecies only for knowing about the future. My point being that Harry is already into his summer holidays where we left off and to save Sirius after that point would mean to hide him for an equally longer amount of time. So I don't really see the Time Turner coming into play for the return of Sirius. Although I think the Time-Turner might be used sometime in the next 2 books…but not for this.

Another very oft-repeated theory is that Sirius can return, not exactly alive, but as a portrait. The portraits of many people have been hanging around (forgive the pun) and are immortalized in the frame. Harry could very well find some solace in the portrait of the man who is the nearest person he could consider a father-figure (And I see Dumbledore more as a mentor than a father-figure, so if my opinion differs from yours…that is good coz otherwise we'd have like-minded people in the world, which would be so boring). Although I imagine that people would like to see him in the flesh, this does seem pretty ok too. There is a slight hitch here as well. This suggestion may seem the most likely, therefore not possible.

Ok, now what about the veil itself? Harry and Luna could hear voices, whisperings. What's all the whispering about? Is the veil some sort of portal to another world? In my fantasy-world experience, most of the portals, whether it leads into another time, another world, another dimension, are separated from this world by a door, a curtain, a wall etc. And in this case, we have an archway. Now, Luna believes many crazy things, but she believed in Harry, she could see the Thestrals. Both of them could hear the whisperings, plus Luna believes they were lurking out of sight. If this is some sort of portal, perhaps in time, the Department of Mysteries will figure it out sometime. Or maybe the 'voices' behind the veil are waiting for a trigger to release them. One thing is for sure - we haven't seen the last of the veil yet.

Sirius was the last surviving member of the Black family, right? It seems extremely likely that Harry will inherit Grimmauld Place. How excited he might be about that prospect is very doubtful. Even though the Ministry has now come to believe Harry's story, Grimmauld Place would still serve as an important headquarters for the Order, although they need not be so secretive about it. The house is huge…Harry might just discover something there.

Until then…we have to wait, and look towards the skies at the Dog Star (and in my case, I don't know where it is, so I'll look at my huge stuffed-toy dog that I've called Sirius) for that is where our fallen hero is immortalized.

Woof.