I don't know what will happen with Harry and hogsmeade and stuff. i mean he has proven time and time again that he can take pretty good care of himself and all previous attempts at "protecting him" don't work . plus now that he knows what will eventually have to happen between him and Lord V, it might be silly to keep him locked away. i think life at 4 privet dr will be much better this summer and i think he'll have much more constant contact with the Order. i'm curious how harry's feeling of deep guilt about sirus' death will effect his ability to act in either offense or defense.

With all the things that he already has to live with, to add the death of Sirius to them seems unbearable. At least his parents dying to protect him was not actually his fault. Sirius had to die protecting Harry because Harry was tricked into thinking that he was saving Sirius. I also think that Harry may blame a great deal of it all on Dumbledore which could cause even greater turmoil in the coming books.

I am re-reading the book, a whole lot slower this time.
I do think that Dumbledore had fault, but many times, Harry could have gone to Dumbledore with what he was experiencing. Yes, he is a 15 year old, a teenager that has too much pride than to ask for help when he thinks no one (Dumbledore) understands him. I guess it is the classic adult/teenager conflict. The adult thinks the kid can't handle things, the teenager knows more than anybody else. He refused to set aside his differences and learn occulmency (sp?) from Snape, he was going to run away instead of asking for help after Mr. Weasley's attack, etc.
Also, I strongly feel that we have not heard the last of Sirius, although I do not have a theory yet what 'role' he will play in book 6.

You know I so agree about Sirus! We didn't see the body. Somehow they have freed him from hiding in that house with that elf and have given him freedom to move around. No one is going to be looking for a dead guy!

There are always photographs.

I didn't mean that I thought Dumbledore was entirely at fault. Sorry if that's how it sounded. I just think that Harry will blame him at least to an extent for not revealing the reason behind Dumbledore wanting the lessons with Snape in the first place. (Like if he had explained that Voldemort would be able to show him things that were not real in order to trick his mind, it might have helped.)

Oh no, I didn't think you meant it that way. Sorry for my impression. I have read a couple of theories out on the internet and it's all starting to blur together.
I just think Harry should have said something to someone about how he felt whenever he was near or touched Dumbledore. I don't think the adults fully understood how far Voldemort had gotten.

Check this out. My sister had sent this to me and I suffer from many of these.

You're Too Big a Fan When...


You mutter nonsense latin words under your breath.

You call your least favorite teacher Snape.

Your computer says "You've Got Mail" and you run outside looking for an owl.

You get a broom for Christmas.

Every time you turn on a flashlight you mutter "lumos" under your breath.

You sort everyone you meet into four categories. (Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin.)

You were burned when you couldn't get through the flames of your fireplace.

You had to go to the hospital after you broke your nose running headfirst into the wall between platform's nine and ten.

You try to turn your brother into a bouncing ferret.

You point a normal things like parking meters and say "Look at the things these muggles dream up!"

You collect plugs.

You try on ever piece of silvery fabric your mom has to see if you turn invisible

Before getting up to get something, you always try to summon it first. Accio TV remote!

When it is windy you take a long branch up to a swaying tree and try to press a knot to freeze it

You try to install a flying device in your car

You spend hours tapping bricks in special orders hoping that a secret entrance to Diagon Alley will appear.

When playing chess, you yell orders to the chess players and get upset when they don't move

You poke pictures in the house hoping to make them move.

You try to find an article by Rita Skeeter in the newspaper.

You scream into the "tellyfone."

You go to antique stores searching for a clock that tells where people are.

Sad to say, but I have actually wondered which house I would be in. (Not Slytherin. Not Slytherin.)

hehehe i won't admit to which of those i might be guilty of... but man wouldn't the summoning charm be nice to have!
i've wondered what will happen with the whole veil thing anyway... luna talking about hearing the voices that harry heard too... we know whose voices he'd love to find a way to talk to.

I want to know more about the veil. She left it wide open with possibilities.

I've been sorted a couple of times (internet, Harry Potter Trivia Games) and its always Gryffindor. I'm very pleased with that.
The veil will come back in 6 as well. But what does it mean? Hmmmm. I need to find more clues in the book.

Here is an article that describes me:

Diagnosis: Potter withdrawal

by Linda G. Kincaid
Monday, July 7, 2003

What's sadder than an orphan boy marooned with relatives who despise him? More desperate than a Dark Lord who has lost all his powers? More ridiculous than a Blast-Ended Skrewt?


Try an adult suffering Post-Potter Depression.

You know who you are. You started counting the days the minute J.K. Rowling's publisher announced the release date for ``Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.'' You reread Book 4 (Oh, admit it: You reread them all) to prepare. You placed an overnight delivery order with amazon.com or, if you have kids for cover, went to a bookstore at midnight June 21 to get your copy ASAP.

You shunned family, friends and responsibility while you devoured the entire 870-page opus in five days, tops. And it was a terrific read, even though the experience was akin to swallowing an ice-cream cone whole.

But now . . . what?

Like a Martha Stewart wannabe who feels empty after pulling off the perfect Christmas, you're finding these post-``Phoenix'' days are a letdown. You're haunted by the knowledge that we waited three years for Book 5 to come out. How long until we get our next fix?

Most fellow sufferers I know have found that talking about the problem is the only way to cope. A friend at the office stops by my desk almost every day, and within minutes we're plumbing the mysteries of the magical world: How old is Dumbledore, anyway? Was James Potter really a teenage jerk?

Are younger readers suffering, too? I doubt it. Most kids who don't want to leave Hogwarts at the end of ``Phoenix'' will have no problem rereading the book the right way, or starting the whole Potter series again. But what grownup will do that when they ought to be reading a fluffy summer mystery, or ``The Dogs of Babel,'' or that new Ben Franklin biography?

Well, I know of at least one. Don't expect to hear anything more from me for at least, say, five days.

i concur! have we heard an mumblings if she's started work on book 6... i hope it's no three year wait again? there are so many questions i want answered! what did you think about the part with the veil when harry was standing on the dias and kinda felt a pull toward the veil?

Well, there hasn't been much said about book 6, except that she has started writting it.
Check out this thread from mugglenet.com that includes a transcript of the webcast with Jo.
Very interesting information. She describes Luna as the 'anti-Hermione', which is funny to me because Luna has a thing for Ron and Ron feels for Hermione.
The veil, the veil, the veil,.......
I'll be stuck on that one for a while.

O'kay, here's a start on the veil.
Doesn't the saying 'Beyond the veil' refer to near death experiences or conscious death?
It is apparent to me that Sirius was not afraid of death. Also Lupin seems to understand what the veil represented. I think that Lupin will shed some light on it in book 6. At least I am hoping.

I thought that the veil was the "shroud of death". (I probably massacred the spelling on that. ) It could create a way for Harry to converse with his dead parents and Sirius. I have a feeling we have not seen the last of it.

Me too!
Of course, I sorted everyone, my kids, my husband, mom, dad, and sisters. For some reason, my sisters have stopped playing the trivia game with me. I keep winning. Now I have no one to play with ::sob sob::

I would play it with you if I could Hermione.

Ahh, thanks! I feel so much better now!
You'll give me real tough competition too,

i was sorted into Gryffindor, though the questions were leading and you could kinda pick where you wanted to go... In real life I think I'd end up in Ravenclaw.
About the veil... I think you guys are right on the money. Intersting that it was in the department of mysteries that no one supposed to know what goes on in and yet Lupin seemed to know excatly what happened and Dumbledore refered to that room by name, though lord help I can't remember what he called it right this second. and adding in what Nearly Headless Nick said about choosing to stay or going on... and that he knew Sirus wasn't coming back... maybe once you go through the veil you can't come back in specter form... but then there is the voice thing... maybe it's a holding cell for heaven. i guess all we can hope for is that she's writing very very fast

Hey Hermione, someone seems to have transfigured you into a book.

Oh well, It's better than a bouncing ferret.

I started wondering why Sirius had never married. Thought maybe it was because it would be hard for him to find a witch who wasn't dark to take on the Black family name and reputation. Then of course going to Azkaban didn't help in the hunt very much either.

Then I leapt to Lupin. I guess a werewolf isn't the ideal husband either.

Snape, let's not even go there.

But then I realized most of the characters in the book with the obvious exceptions of the parents aren't married.

Just a coincidence or from the fact that J.K. was herself unmarried at the time of the initial writing.

Yes, I know this is off the subject of the book itself but unfortunately my mind does this type of thing.

And they all seemed to have their kids at the same time, as the parents are all around the same age and so are the kids. Very cyclical.
Good points kansayaku.
I did some more searching on veils in general. One thesaurus has it as
n. a deceptive outward appearance: (syn) disguise, facade, false colors, guise, mask, masquerade, pretense, semblance, show, slang: put-on.
Hmmmmm ::my hamster has started running again::

another thought: those that did marry seemed to marry only with in Hogwarts. maybe sirus never had a chance to fall in love... though from the "flashbacks" in the book seems like he was the cynical one already. but i agree that azkaban does put a cramp in one's style. and lupin... well unless he meets a lady werewolf i think he's out of luck... what about all the profs too... don't hear about any of them being married
so Hermione... with those thoughts on the veil what's your take?