Okay, I brought this topic up briefly in another thread, but it wasn't the right place to talk about it. So, I did a search and couldn't find a topic like this, so here's my question:

Why didn't they have a funeral for Sirius?

He was an extremely big character, or at least big enough and close enough to Harry to deserve one. After the events that took place in the MoM, he was cleared of all his charged crimes by the Minister himself. So I don't see why there wouldn't be a funeral.

Do you guys agree that he should have had one, or is he too unimportant to deserve one (I sure don't think so)?

perhaps because there were people who believed he's evil (sirius) and if they saw Dumbledore and others on the funeral... i know, this isn't very good. Good question, though...
but wait, he was cleared of everyhting. now i really don't know why. of course he was a big character, one of my most favourites *sniff*. his death was even worse for m than dumbledore's. i'm waiting for what others have to say.

umm because sirius's body was never found unless you include a empty coffins funeral there was no need to show the funeral

Obviously, but I think Feeder meant at least "coffin funeral".
I mean... better than nothing, isn't it? He deserved funeral in my opinion, (as i said before.)

I don't think that it was that he wasn't important enough, it is just that there was no body and not enough time.

The only people who would have had any interest in going would be the Order, and

a. it was an extremely busy time for them

b. a funeral would make the order feel helpless and weak like it used to be.

c. i can't believe that Sirius would want a funeral

d. no body

Dumbledore's funeral was huge, and even if the order hadn't gone, tons of people would have still been there.

Well what I meant was they would just use an empty coffin as lutsija said. I don't think the actually body is very important, the funeral is supposed to honor his memory and leave a shrine to remember him; the bodie's unimportant.

Even though Sirius was cleared, some people still thought he was the crazy loony guy who blew up Pettigrew and killed all the Muggles. Also another thing is, maybe JKR purposely didn't write a funeral for him because he wasn't actually hit by the AK Curse but fell into the veil and he disappeared. Or maybe I'm just in denial because I liked Sirius so so so much.

That could be it. JK didn't give him a funeral because she wasn't done with him, and he wasn't actually dead. But as for your other statement:

Well, this is kinda confusing. Because the question was, why didn't they have a funeral for Sirius, but for every suggestion someone makes, they get told they're wrong and that there should have been a funeral! So I guess no suggestion is going to be the right one, but here's my attempt:

I think JK left it out. That's all. Instead of a funeral scene, she had the scene where Harry wants to talk to Nearly Headless Nick about the nature of death, hoping maybe Sirius could be a ghost and he wouldn't have to lose him. And then the following scene where he finally remembers the gift that Sirius gave him and realises he could always have communicated with him via the mirror--I think JK probably felt those scenes would have more emotional impact, portray Harry's grief better, than a funeral or memorial service scene would have done.

So she just didn't bother. Just my take on it.

What I had meant by every one thinking he was loony is that some people may think he is still on the loose somewhere with Voldemort. Not many people would come to his funeral. Maybe it was Dumbledore's decision not to have a funeral for Sirius out of respect for Sirius and respect for Harry.Yeah JKR could have forgotten it but how on earth could she forget that?! Sirius is an important character, and I'm not sure we got all the straight facts about that veil. I know Luna told Harry about it, but I think there's more to it.

I must admit I find it curious too, Feeder. There should have at least been a memorial service for him among the Order.

It was already an heroically long book, why not just a few pages for a nice send-off? You definitely have a valid point!

Thank you Aethonon, I just found a bit odd for JK not to, as you said, give him a "memorial service." So I brought it up here to see if any of you guys had suggestions.

Happy Holidays everybody!

Well, I think JK still has plans for Sirius...not exactly that he's going to "come to life" again or anything, but maybe it'll come up in the next book or something...hmm...you all have really great arguments, though...there has to be a reason for it...JK Rowling is too clever to just forget about something like that, or just leave it out...I think, and this is just my personal opinion, that they're going to find the body...whether dead or alive, they're going to. And if he's really dead then they'll have a funeral, and if for some reason he's not really dead then la~dee~da he's not. I can't wait to find out in book seven...

Bonjour! Ok. I was mad that after Sirius, ahh, left us, that JK didn't pay any tribute to him or anything. I mean Harry jumped from seeing his Godfather get murdered to Dumbledore telling him about the prediction. Harry had virtually no time to register that He was gone(sorry, but probably for good). Then in book six she finally had Harry mention Him and His departure, a good amount of times.
Thanks Harry for remembering Him, because it seems like so few others do. I mean I know that he is gone, and that we should move on with our own lives, but they had a service for Dumbledore. Why couldn't the Order get together for a small ceremony to remember the good times. After all Sirius had been through it's the least they can do.
R.I.P. My beloved Padfoot

Yeah you would think the Order would have held a little ceremony for him. The characters may think they are done with him but JKR might not be. I know some of the Order didn't really care for Sirius at some points but a lot of them really did like him. Lupin had been friends with him for a long time and I'm surprised he didn't hold a memorial service for his friend. I mean, Sirius was Lupin's last worthwhile friend that hadn't been killed. I dunno. Makes me wonder what sort of service was held for Harry's parents, but I don't want to send this too off topic.

I think there's no funeral at all. Well, there will be only few people who knew Sirius and believed he is innocent. Sirius Black's case is different from Albus Dumbledore. People around Dumbledore need a funeral for him. To pay tribute to a great man and to let the other wizards and witches to tell Dumbledore what he had done to them and how they respect the man. While people around Sirius don't need the funeral because they knew Sirius already knows how much they respect him.

But I hope there was a funeral for him.

I think people are right, JKR might be delaying a funeral for a purpose. Perhaps it will go along with the veil thing. However unlikley (must be on scale one to ten point five) that she was just happy to get the book finished and get on to the next one. I think she will however do some sort of a thing for Black. After all, who would underestimate JKR?

Lachy

well i know you can have a funeral even though he didnt leave a body behind. but i think that the majority of the wizarding world still thinks that sirius is guilty so if dumbledore organised a funeral it would attract to much attention. but yes i think you are right JKR still has things in store for sirius.

Hi everyone

Yeah ,


About the funeral well is true , u can have a funeral without a body ...it would be a kinda a service or something like that

I suppouse that Sirius did have a service and that he has been buried although this isn't mentioned or included in the book


With or without funeral ,I think JK might have another plan for Sirius .I dont think she just forgot about it she may have a good reason ( she is always full of surprises)

I think he is not completely off the story and thats what it matters after all , so the funeral thing (Im not saying that he didnt deserve it coz he did!) comes and go.

See u !

Like it's been said many times before, but you can't have a real funeral without a body. But Sirius might not really be dead, he just went through the veil. But wasn't the name of that room called the "Death Room" or "The Room of Death" or something like that? But do you die just from going through the veil? Will Harry go through the veil and talk to Sirius, or will he, Sirius, be able to come out of the veil? Plus I don't think many people (Other than people form the Order, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neveil, and Luna) knew that Sirius was even there. He might not have been cleared of being a Death Eater either.

because more important things were happening. its a possibility!

MOD EDIT : One-liners are not allowed in the forums. Please check your PM inbox.

It would draw too much attention to the Order and where Sirius was hiding.

MOD EDIT: *sigh* Again Darkmark13? ONe line posts are not permitted.

feeder,
please if you take this post the wrong way like i am embarrasing you or something i would just like to say i am sorry right off the bat.

ok,
well alot of people think sirius is a huge death eater. they think that he is the most powerful one out there. why think that sirius is bad he was not in slytherin and was not like deadly at school (this was not to you feeder it was to the people in the book)

but i do not think that people would be very happy if people mourned about sirius's death in public or have a big funeral for him in the middle of the day were everybody could see. they would think that they were death eaters

but i agree with you also in a way

i think they could have at least have a little funeral like in the woods or something were no people could see i mean he was a great person

but remember if you thought this was embarrasing to you in any shape or form i am really sorry i dont mean to embarrass anybody if i do i dont like being embarresed and i know some people are like that too

They couldn't hold a funeral for Sirius because there was no body to burry. Also they just didn't have enough time to do it. What with Voldemort finally showing himself and the hugh fight at the ministry. Besides who would have really gone to the funeral. Not very many people is my guess. Remember he is feared and hated by most of the wizarding community.

I am the same, I hated Sirius dying, I wanted him to live! All he had for a home was mountains, then he had a home which was an Order! What I don't get is..... how he died. He only got stupefied in the chest. That only knocks him out. Can someone please PM me with the answer of how he died if known please? Thanks.


Also, what happened to Hermione? Could someone PM me the spell that was used on her if known please? Thanks.

im sure there would have been SOME kind of news story about sirius being innocent.

it says in the first chapter of HBP:

Yes, well that really is Lupin's fault because Harry could of saved him but Lupin stopped him from catching him so..... so...... it is just Lupin's fault.

Maybe they didn't have a funeral because of his 'history'.

I think that Sirus's funerel was not held because his body could not be found. Since it fell into the Veil, it is lost forever. Also, his funerel wasn't held because of his history as a "mass murderer" and people would think it not right to honor someone as "evil and bad" as he was. I agree with Helena_723 though. This is a really good topic to talk about...

At first I thought it was because he was considered a murderer by many wizarding families but then I remembered what Fudge said to the muggle prime minister: That Sirius was innocent.
Then, the only possible reason is because his body could not be found. However, I believe that they should still have held a funeral for him.

Well, I think it's rather obvious that there was no funeral because he's not dead

Sorry guys... I really want this one to be true. Now, there was no body found because he fell behind the veil. Therefore, there would be no funeral. Think about it... why would JK create a death so instantaneous and mysterious that it left us without a trace of the supposed "victim"? I am convinced it was to immediately move us forward into other aspects of Harry's journey. If we forget about the possibility of Sirius being alive, then we simply accept his death as fact.

S.O.S. Save Our Sirius!

I'm not going to make another post along the lines of "there was no body" though that is definately true.
I think they didn't make a show burial for him because -honestly- what do you need an empty coffin for if it isn't for some cameramen like after 9/11. Yes, it makes a lovely picture to make front page with but unless this is not necessary what's the use of it? And what would it have looked like if they had buried an empty cascet of a sentenced mass murderer (I know he wasn't but that's the public opinion) and stand beside it shouting out "we were friends with him, he was innocent but unfortunatley we can't proof it. So just go ahead and suspect us to be death eaters too" Makes no real sense, does it?
So, if there's nothing to bury you can perfectly just sit down by your own and remember the person gone without much ado.

They've held funerals plenty of times when there's been no body to bury. Funerals aren't necessarily only to bury someone, though obviously that's what they're mostly for

They're held to honor the dead person, to help the family left behind come to terms with the loss. And so that the family can have a place to come and remember, lay flowers, feel close to the person they've lost. A focal point, you know? So there's really no reason for them not to have a funeral at all.

It was said in the first chapter of Prince that he'd been cleared publically, so the fact that he was thought to be a mass-murderer can't be a reason. Even if it was, mass murderers are usually buried and have a funeral when they die too

It would have been great to see some form of honor for him though, but I guess the real reason there wasn't a funeral is just because it wasn't necessary to move the story along. Simple matter of waste of pages, I guess. Though I wouldn't consider it a waste, but then I'm not publishing it, so...

Sorry, LilyPotter, but I think he's dead. Didn't Rowling say that in an interview somewhere?

Well maybe I'm hard-hearted or whatever but I think that's about the most useless thing on earth. You can perfectly take a fotograph of a person, gather your friends and maybe even have a priest speak a few words and afterwards just display a fotograph of your beloved person on your very livingroom wall. What would be the use of a fake tumbstone when there's nothing underneath it. I'm perfectly sure I'd never visit it again as I don't see why I should need a grave to remember a person

Spoiler warning!!!!










Those identifying the lack of body are correct, according to the books. In book six, it says that dumbledore was harry's first funeral. It says that there was no funeral for Sirius, because "there was no body to bury" (paraphrased). I read it last night. Whether or not you think that's fair is another question entirely.

-fish

I think if things would have ended diffferently than there would have been a funerla,,, but with LV coming back and all that kind of pushed the lesser priority of a no-body funeral to the back burner....

at the time there was probably too much happening. sirius's death, voldemort back, what happened at the ministry. they probably didn't havetime to deal with it or bury him right then and there. if they had more time they would have had a funeral but with too much happening it's very hard to accomadate a funeral plus dealing with all the other things at the same time.

I reread the The White Tomb chapter and Harry was thinking about this funeral, Dumbledores Funeral, as his first Funeral. He thinks the comment that for sirius' funeral there had been no body so there wasnt one, and dismisses it as that. I think it would be appropriate to assume that in the wizarding world when one dies and no body is produced, then they wouldnt hold a formal funeral but perhaps a special dinner one night and drik to his memory... or something of that sort

Yes perhaps instead of a funeral for Sirius they could have had a memorial built or just a simple rememberance dinner/meeting. something to remember sirius by even though non of them will ever forget him. even if there was no body i think that perhaps at one point or another they could have honored him or somthing but i'll stick with my original idea.

Well, they didn't have a body to burry. And they didn't want people to know that Dumbledore and the others were connected to Sirious. And also, a funeral is a muggle's habit, i don't think magicians have places to burry people (i don't remember the word in english now).

This is a very interesting topic. I have a theory, like everybody else, on why Sirius never got a proper funeral, or a funeral at all. Wasnt Sirius an escaped convict? His name was never cleared. He was still on the run, but he was allowed to be a dog, because not a lot of people knew his animagus. But maybe thats why he never got a funeral. Or it could be the fact that his body is behind the Veil and well, they couldnt put his body in a casket, seeing as how they didnt have it, but I see what you mean, by Harry, Dumbledore, and Lupin not having maybe a private memorial for Sirius...

Maybe JK left out his funeral or a memorial because Sirius isnt really dead? That's what I'm hoping anyways, because I was utterly devasted when Sirius died, fell behind the curtain, whatever...I cried like a 2-year-old. Maybe at the end they'll have something set up for him..like when everything is cleared and the truth finally comes out and everything. But thats just my theory...

well i don't get how they would have a funeral because well he fell behind the curtain and they could NOT find his body so i don't get and then he was never really a free man he had to keep hinding. so no one could have known about his funeral and or memorial

Well maybe that so phoenix_song that he isnt truly dead, but I think he is, but why would you have a funeral without a body, I mean you could do a private one but wouldn't you want more people to be there?

well you could do a private one with friends and family. but it is stupid to have a funeral with out a body then it would be like people standing watch other poeple lower a box in to the ground they has to be a meaning to the funeral. i don't know that is just me

Ya i think they didnt have a funeral because there was no body.Maybe its a sign from JK.Sirius died or alive?