I just got this theory when I was reading the 3rd book. Trelawney says something about the "Vieled mysteries of the future". There is a veil, its in the Department of Mysteries so could it be the future? Also, look at the part of the DoM it was in. There was time turners, prophesys etc. It was in a place where the future is studied. When I sugested it to my friends they diddn't buy it but I was wondering what other people think.

I think it is entirely possible that the veil could represent the future. but even Dumbledore referred to sirius as "Dead" after he passed through the veil. the room is also referred to as "the death chamber" toward the end of OotP. it would be interesting to see if you are right though because that would open up a brand new world of possibilities. for all we know, Sirius may not be dead and could pop up in the last bit of book 7. something to think about.

whoo! that's some deep thinking... that is possible, because i do not think Sirius, nor Dumbledore, are actually dead. and your theory about the veil could be a way to bring Sirius back. though it doesn't help wit bringing Dumbledore back.

I don't think it represents the future but the past because harry heard voices in the viel that lured him closer meaning he had to have some kind of memory of them so I think it was his parents calling to him. I think it represents the past.

This is a really good idea, but I think the veil means death. For one, people used to cover their dead with veils before they buried them. It actually came to be called "falling through the veil". I found this in Uncle Tom's Cabin -by HBStowe. Plus, the voices Harry heard, I believe, were the voices of the dead (his parents, and others) who were calling to him. He felt a desire to go through the veil because he felt like he couldn't continue. Almost like what a lot of teens go through with the suiside stuff. Of course, Harry wasn't thinking about killing himself, it is all symbolic I think.

I agree with you that the veil is reresentative of death rather than the future. Harry seemed drawn to it because of the voices which were most likely those of the ones he loved, his mother and father. Also the fact that Luna was drawn to it and not the others adds more credit to the fact that it represents death. Thou we can never fully understand the meaning of the viel, unless J.K. Rowling tells us, then I believe the viel was in the department of mysteries so that they could study death and perhaps find a way to overcome it without the horrendouse crime of the Horcrux.

Yes, I read about something like that in one of those Harry Potter books..."The Plot Thickens," I think, where they explained this theory in GREAT detail, suggesting that Sirius is still alive. He just probably can't get out. But Dumbledore's pretty sure that he's dead. Since Harry was passed down the Black house? If I'm correct. (Because sometimes I get my fan fics messed up with the series)

But this is an interesting topic to study, but if the veil Is the future, and if Sirius manages to get out, think of what HELP that would give the order with the future information. They'll know Voldemort's strategies and tactics, and they'll be able to plot against them.

Well, I just think that it was a cool theory, and I dont really think its death, although I am not sure how this theory could make Sirius come back either. If he does it would be cool though. Maby seeing someone die helps to see the future? i don't know, I'm guessing now. I just wanted to see what evryone else thought.

i really like this theory...especially because you backed it up with info from the actual books! Very possible I think...but i guess only the seventh book will tell

i don't think the Veil is the future; how can a thing that represent death could be the future for other?no....i don;t think that is tha pourpose of the Veil.

The veil has been playing on my mind since i first read about it.

Not religious at all myself but I originally saw it almost as a type of hell; a place where the dead live on and some evil power tries to draw others in with tricks such as hearing a dead relative.

Then I started to wonder if maybe it was more of a heaven type place where the dead can live on forever and want their loved ones to join them because it is lovely.

I have also considered that it may be an evil weapon which uses tricks to draw innocents in or even a tyoe of ultimate prison that you can never return from, maybe something that will be destined to hold Voldemort for ever. I don't see how Harry killing Voldemort would make sense, as we are to believe that he is totally good. I don't see that Harry would truely want to kill anyone, whatever his motivation, and maybe the veil and wherever it lead would be a good alternative.

Sorry bit heavy!

I think each room represents a different mystical element. The problem with your theory is, that there is already a room dedicated to the future - and that is the room filled with prophecies. So, although your suggestion is rather plausible, I still believe that it has to do with death (as it's name suggests) and that the future is solely the purpose of the room with all the prophecies in it.

I don't think that the veil it the gateway to the future. We won't know for sure until Jo tells us, but since Dumbledore and Lupin think it is the veil of Death then I would tend to agree.

I dont know how Lupin or Dumbledore could know anything about the veil unless they were Unspeakables I think they we're just expecting the worse and didnt want to get Harry's hopes up by saying that he may not be dead

Sirius may come back but as for Dumbledore I have a feeling that he is 100% dead

There would be no other reason for Dumbledore's picture to show up in the Headmaster's Office like the other -Dead- headmasters

and this isnt the topic but im pretty sure that Snape is still on the Order's side even if most the members dont know it

Dumbledore obviously had a iron-clad reason to trust Snape as he didnt miss a chance to remind Harry about it
wether it was that he loved Lily and regretted getting her killed or some other reason Dumbledore Voldemort and Snape are all highly accomplished Occlumens though so there is no way either of them could tell 100% where Snapes loyalty was as both Voldemort and Dumbledore trusted him

I'm assuming the reason Dumbledore died for snape was so Snape didnt die by breaking the un-breakable vow by not helping Draco out when he couldnt kill Dumbledore (wich is also why Dumbledore petrified Harry so he couldnt save him)
and thats what they could have been arguing about in the forest when Hagrid over-heard them

Snape was obviously telling DD that he didn't want to do something and DD was telling him that he agreed to it and he would do it
I'm guessing the thing he agreed to was either the 'un-breakable vow' or
he agreed to kill Dumbledore should the time ever come.

I believe that Harry will still be able to talk to Dumbledore's portrait in the Hogwarts castle. I believe he will need Dumbledore's help in finding the remaining Horcruxes.

He also has no idea how to destroy a Horcrux once he finds it

but it has been said by JK and some people on the forums that the portraits arent the person itself they are just a memory of the person that uses its thoughts and conveys them into words therefore Dumbledore wont be able to use the information Harry is giving him and tell him to go here or do this

One on the last part when you say that the pictures are just memories. That might not be true, because when Harry comes back from the DoM one of the portraits say that it has been dull without Dumbledore, so...

What do you think?

This is a really unique theory! I like it alot. Personally I don't think the veil leads to the future but I do think that maybe is transports the person to another place/universe/etc. Just because nobody has ever come back from the veil, doesn't mean that they necessarily die. Maybe they are just transported to the realm of the dead. If so, maybe Harry can communicate with Sirius via the mirror (if he gets it fixed) and Sirius can relay important information from DD and RAB!

I think that the veil is simply death. I think that beyond the veil is the "afterlife". Harry was just hearing the voices of the dead. I do not think we'll be seeing Sirius or Dumbledore again.

Probably just a coincidence with JK's choice of words, and if Sirius is alive I hope I forget this stuff and I will be suprised.

I agree that the veil is the portal or something to the afterlife, but not really. I think that once you go into the veil, it is in between life and death. Also I think that Sirius will be able to come back or let somebody else come back, like Dumbledore!! what do you all think??

sort of agree with you mate! but i was thinking that it could be sort of impossible for sirius and dumbledore to come back... but then, my mind's a bit undecided for this... coz' the other part of my mind was also thinking that, since it is a magical world, then probably all things are possible to happen... so there could be a possibiilty that sirius and even dumbledore may come back... i would be happy is the both of them as well as harry's parents we'll alive again! and voldemort totally dead! ehehe!

Hmmm... I agree with the first theory. If it is true, though, does that mean there's another veil in the future somewhere? If there is, can people fall into the past? Could Sirius fall back into a future veil and come back? I'm so confused ! It sort of would make sense, though! I also agree with what The One is saying... we couldn't all be somewhat right, could we? Man, that would be weird.
-T-

harry could toss one of the mirrors into the veil alowing him to talk to dead poeple such as James, Lily, DD, and Sirius. if that is the link to the afterlife or something like that right?

I for one think that the key to understanding the veil is Voldemort. Think; NOONE has been so close to death or eternal life as Voldemort has been. He has seen and experienced the entire cycle of life, minus the actual death, and actual immortality. And as we all know, he doesn't rush into things. He showed us that just because something isn't taught or spoken about at Hogwarts, doesn't make it impossible to find (the horcrux's for example). If the veil symbolises death, and Voldemort fears death, don't you think he would find out everything he possibly could about it? It's not like he's lacking in the resources department either. He's essentially the Al Capone of the wizarding world, meaning everything is at his fingertips. All this being said though, if we're going to learn anything about the veil in the seventh book, it would mean Harry and Voldemort having a heart-to-heart (for lack of a better term). Comments anyone?

i definately agree voldy knows a lot about this veil. He must have many spies in the DoM and that seems like a thing voldy would want to know more about. I also think some of the DEs would know a good bit about it such as Bellatrix. Bellatrix's look of triumph at blasting Sirius into through the veil suggests to me that behind the veil is death.

Sirius is dead a Stupefy Jinx hit him in the chest and he wasnt exactly Young

So he died and the Veil Might be the future and i think it is. He Could hear voices but no-one there

Sirius wouldnt die just because a stunner hit him in the chest, Minerva survived multiple stunners to the chest in OoTP and she is way older than Sirius.

I believe that the veil is an execution device that transports people to the realm of the dead directly, i mean, why else would it be in an amphitheatre so people can watch?

I definately agree that one stunning jinx would not kill Sirius. The veil is not an execution device however as JKR said it wasn't. She said it was a study area. I would imagine wizards and witches would listen to lectures there as the room is set out that way. This would mean someone (The lecturer) knows what it is and what is behind it.

I dont think that the veil is a pathway to the future. though if it is then it could prove worthwhile. but as for the question of sirius's death, he is definitely dead thats why the house and kreacher passed into harry's ownership. thats magic at work itself. so if sirius is really dead, then that means that after passing through the veil he died, and if passing through the veil he died then the most obvious conclusion that can be put up is that the viel cannot be the future, how can it be when death is waiting on the otherside. the other side of the veil as few people have said could be the afterlife or something like that.

i have to say, i dont think the veil is a pathway to the future. I'm just curious about what those voices behind the veil are and what happens to the people who walk through there. Besides, how could sirius die if he just went through the veil and it was a pathway to the future?

i'm not too sure about the veil being the future but if it was that would mean that sirius is not dead and that he may turn up in the 7th book. maybe the voices harry heard from the veil were bits and pieces of what was to come in the future..? who knows. but i do think that you've got it 100% right about the hall of prophecy somewhat representing the studying of the future. great work.

havent read OotP for a while so forgive me if I'm not making sense! Does Dumbledore say Sirius is dead, or just gone?

I think the veil leading to the past is a good theory, that would explain why certain people were drawn to it, and others weren't. Think there is a possibility Sirius could find a way back in the 7th book, although I don't know how! Do time turners allow you to travel forwards in time? if so, maybe he could make his way back

Thats some deep thinking. It could be true and it could not. Personally I don't think Sirius is going to come back 'cause Dumbledore said he was "gone". But maybe he meant gone as in for a while. And Dumbledore makes mistakes too you know. Otherwise he wouldn't have died in HBP.

Well back on subject, I think it is very possible that it is the future. Like you said there were prophecies etc. "Work of the future." Therefore I don't know. And Harry heard voices so maybe you're right. I'll just have to wait and see. I think Sirius might come back as a ghost but I'm unsure.

Wow I never really paid much mind to the the veil, I just thought it was just like there. but now after reading all of your theries I would have to say I think the veil is sort of like "the beyond". I mean now that I think on it the voices Harry heard must be like his family and Sirius (possibly Cederic Diggory) calling out to him. I think the veil being likethe passage to the future sounds a little far-fetched, but who knows with JKR. On an unreleated/related note, DD and Sirius are dead. Otherwise Harry wouldn't have inherited Grimmwauld Place or DD portrait wouldn't have been hung up.

P.S. Can't Harry just use a Time-Turner to go back in time and save his parents/Sirius/DD or go back in time to kill Voldemort???? Just Wondering. Would save a heck of a lot of trouble though.

Ok, here is a crazy thought! I do not believe it is a veil to the future, but JKR books have surprised me before...however, i do not believe it is death either, not entirely anyway. What if it is a kind of purgatory/holding chamber/ limbo? And after being there for awhile, Sirius finds his way back to Harry because of the love between them? THat would kinda fit in with JKR theme of love conquers all, as for his parents and dumbledore, I don't think they are behind the veil, at least not entirely, it may be their voices echoing from the afterlife. Just a thought though...I am sure Rowling will surprise us with something that none of us could guess...lol

Im sorry to burst your bubble, but i recall a sentance in the OOTp book that has one of the characters asking where are the other people and one replies: "The Death Chamber," or soemthing along the lines of that.
The Death chamber being the place where the veil is.
Speaking of the veil, how did you picture it? I picutred it alot differently to how it looks in the film. I noticed in the film it was massive ad any poor soul could fall into it.

AHHH, you can't burst my bubble, they may call it the death chamber because noone has yet to come back...but sirius was the first to break out of azkaban too..so we will see...lol..as for the veil..i pictured it as a thin arch with a dossymer veil/curtain hanging over it...but thats just me.

Though the veil may not be a execution device it might as well be, because the way i remember the scene described the look on sirius face as he fell in sure seemed like he knew it was the end for him.

Hey guys and gals I was just reading OoTP again to refresh my memory [ie. the two-way mirror and the DoM]so i could make some more posts. Anyway PumkinPrince is right in the OoTP DD refers to the veil as the Death Chamber. DD is always correct as yo can see from HBP but mos of the time he is like with Voldemort's past and the Horcruxes. So i strongly believe that if DD thinks he is gone he must be. Plus Harry and Luna were the only ones who heard voices beyond the veil. Harry and Luna were the only ones who could see the threstrals. Harry and Luna saw people die!!! That must be why only they heard the voices, the veil represents death!!! ANother thing, I remember someone saying that DD said that Sirius was "gone". I specifically checked for him saying that but he didn't he said "dead".

Also I still think Sirius and DD are truly dead. If Sirius didn't die Harry couldn't command Kreacher nore would he have inherited #12. As for DD, if he was still alive i don't believe that his portrait would have been hung nor would Fawkes have sung his lamenent. [Also I think Fawkes might reappear in Book 7, to save a life!]. Oh and i Just noticed what the letters on the propecy meant. Haha im soo slow. Oh and now i realize why Harry can't use a time-turner. It's because they broke the whole stock the MoM had. That's pretty much all i have to say. So bye for now hopefully someone will come along who can convince that the veil doesnt represent death! And I will be so mad if JKR doesn;t reveal the truth about the veil. I might go and start an angry mob against her!

i sure hope she tells us more about the veil i would have to say of all the books besides the horcruxs the veil is so mysterious and you have no clue what it is other then if you go in your not coming back out. I think that in the 7th book harry will try to find more out about it as a way to communicate with sirius.

I do not think the veil represents the future. I think represents death, but I do not think that Sirius is dead and I think that somehow he will find a way to communicate with Harry in the next book. I also think that Lupin knows more about the veil because after Sirius fell through it, Lupin held Harry back saying that Sirius was gone. So maybe Lupin will help Harry rescue Sirius from the veil in the next book??

Why indeed? Could it have been possible that when wizards and witches were still doing illegal Muggle hunting, they'd bring them to this room to torture them and then to push them through the Veil in a room full of people? It probably does kill people. Hopefully J.K. will explain its significance in Deathly Hallows, I really do not think it would be fair if she answers every single question except the one that comes with the Department of Mysteries! Sirius obviously didn't die because he was Stunned. However, the only way to come out of it is with the Enervate spell. I do believe that it's safe to assume that there are no wizards or witches who were just walking around in whatever dimension Sirius landed, at which point he probably died of starvation. But seeing as he was already Stunned, at least he didn't suffer the pain that starvation brings. Only J.K. knows exactly what the purpose of that Veil is for. Past, death, limbo, or all of the above?

I really can't see why anyone would think that Dumbledore is still alive. I mean, Snape used the Killing Curse on top of the astronomy tower, and then Dumbledore fell down and landed on a weird angle. If the Killing Curse didn't kill him (and lets face it, there's a reason it's called the KILLING CURSE), then falling down all those stories without a spell to slow him down, Fawkes to fly him to safety or a wand to make some cushiony thing appear out of nowhere for him to land on surely did. I think that we're all just HOPING that J.K. didn't kill off one of our favourite characters out of pure human selfishness. *still cries whenever she reads the scenes where he dies and is buried*

I don't want to sound so negative, seeing as Dumbledore and Sirius are two of my favourite characters, but there's no plausible way I can see them coming back except as a memory in somebody's Pensieve. RIP Dumbledore and RIP Sirius.

its a good theory but i dont think its a gate to the future..i think it is some unknow piece of ancient dark magic that could just hold people like a prison ( some thing like the phantom zone in superman) the people in there are not dead only locked in and no one knows how to get them out so maybe sirus will make a come back i'm hoping

hmm... maybe... I don't really know, at first it seems far-fetched, but then I think yeah, it could hapen, so I'm not really too sure.

I dont think that its a passageway to the future, how ever cool that sounds. I belive it takes you where you go after you die. JK already said how she had to kill dumbledor and sirius, and i really think that they are dead. Harry went through such a rough time, and i just cant emagine her bringing them back into the story. Mabey we will see their ghosts, but i think thats all well see of them.

That is an amazing theory!!! And perfectly logical, we're talking about magic here...
And can you imagen the repurcusions this could have on the seventh book!! Harry might find Sirius again!!!

mmmmmmm....interesting, but i srsly don't have a clue, if the veil is a passageway to the future, but I sure hope it is, cause' then sirius would be back! I spose' I can't really deny the theory, cause' who knows, the department of mysteries is a weird place.