Alot of sad things have happened in the Harry Potter books, but nothing is quite like what happens in the last few chapters of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I thought I was freaking out and in complete shock when I was reading how the Dark Lord was returning (I couldn't believe it!) in GoF, but that had NOTHING on my reaction to the end of OotP. I must confess, I did cry, but not because Sirius died. In fact, at first I didn't quite understand what I had read, and I had to go back and read it a few more times in order to grasp it- and then I didn't care. I know I'll get lots of hate mail for saying that, but lying would be completely counterproductive. I just never really formed an attachment to Sirius Black. Harry's pseudo-breakdown in Dumbledore's office is what got the tears flowing for me. That's when it hit me- his only parental figure (Hagrid and Dumbledore are NOT father figures, that's ridiculous) was gone. While many HP fans were sobbing, eating pints of ice cream and wondering why JKR had to kill him off, it seemed so obvious to me. Sirius Black needed to die.
I'll tell you right now that I'm a big believer in the Chessboard Theory (see here for details). I think it's significant that the loss of the first knight in that chess game comes as a real shock (a la Sirius Black's tragic demise). I think it runs a little deeper than that, though. It isn't just shock, it's the realization that the world isn't a safe place and that there are consequences for our actions. It's the realization that Dumbledore can't fix everything. It's the realization of human fallibility and mortality. Sirius's death functions as a tool to force Harry to confront his destiny (being, of course, the prophecy). The fact that the Dark Lord is back in business means that people are going to die and there are going to be casualties. The key thing is that this is, like Sirius said, a cause "worth dying for." Harry needs to be able to understand what this means in order to defeat the Dark Lord, and Sirius's death was the first step.
Dolores Umbridge was a horrible, horrible woman, but she needed to be there to show Harry that "the world isn't divided into good people and Death Eaters," and that things aren't so black and white. She needed to be there to show all of Hogwarts how the Ministry of Magic was wrong about so much. This way, the students could see that much of what was said about Harry and Dumbledore by the Ministry and the Daily Prophet was slander. Those realizations caused the formation of the DA, which is the first step towards inter-house unity. Remember what the Sorting Hat said: "And we must unite inside her or we'll crumble from within."
This is what brings me to my real point. In the HP universe (and sometimes in the real world as well), sometimes bad things have to happen in order to set other things in motion. What we might percieve as a bad thing can bring about a greater good. This knowledge is the strongest power the light side has against the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters.
Questions, Comments, or other feedback? You can contact me at DramaQueenLSG@aol.com |
User reviews
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| jmpm74 |
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| 2006.01.19 |
unlike you sirius was one of my favorite characters, he was right up there ...
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| another hp fan |
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| 2006.01.05 |
your positively right, and i must say that through you, i have realed somet...
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| Danielle Radcliffe |
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| 2005.11.30 |
I completely agree with the statement "sometimes bad things happen in order...
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| Elaine |
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| 2005.11.07 |
It was wonderful, I must say. Totally true and cool and I, like you, also c...
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| roxy |
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| 2005.09.19 |
I agree alot with you. Of course at first I was very sad and angry when I r...
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| sirius black rox |
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| 2005.07.24 |
as u can c by my name sirius black was one of my favorite characters but i ...
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| Reham |
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| 2005.07.11 |
Sometimes I feel that Sirius didn't have to die,sometimes I feel that he ha...
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| Christina |
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| 2005.07.07 |
I agree with the fact that Sirius had to die, but for a little bit of a dif...
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| joopjoop |
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| 2005.07.02 |
im glad to see that im not the only one who thought the actual death of Sir...
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| Kayla |
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| 2005.07.02 |
I won't say that I agree completely with the Chessboard Theory, but I agree...
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| Ransom |
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| 2005.06.29 |
This idea is completely right and reminds me quite a lot of what happens at...
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| siriuslover |
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| 2005.06.19 |
wow this was a great article. i too strongly believe in the chessboard theo...
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| Tonks |
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| 2005.06.01 |
i to agree with the chess board theory an that was a cool analogy. You did...
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| Lauura |
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| 2005.05.26 |
When I read the Chessboard theory, it really got me thinking. This is an ex...
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| HermyOwnPuckle |
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| 2005.03.10 |
I totally agree with you, Phoenix. It sucks that Sirius died and all, but g...
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| Pheonix |
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| 2005.03.03 |
that editorial was somewhat equivilant to my thoughts of that "episode" of ...
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| Julie |
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| 2005.02.13 |
This is an incredible theory, and your editorial was indeed brilliant. I be...
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| Haleigh |
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| 2005.01.22 |
Oh my gosh! This was a brilliant editorial. Thank You soooooo much for gi...
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| Alice |
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| 2005.01.06 |
When I read the title of this editorial, I assumed that you were very angry...
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| Hippogriffin |
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| 2004.12.23 |
Wow, great theory of yours. I too was also really moved by Harry's emotiona...
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| minxie |
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| 2004.12.03 |
You've made a lot of really good points here. I actually WAS very sad when ...
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| HermyOwnPuckle |
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| 2004.12.01 |
Does Harry care for Sirius as much as we think he does? Is the loss of Siri...
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