The cause of Sirius's death is also very odd. Sirius and Lestrange are the only two left fighting - all the other death eaters have been rounded up. Harry said there was plenty of time to watch Sirius fall from the spell he was hit with - I imagine it was NOT Avada Kedavra since there was no flash of green light - it was probably Stupefy. And Dumbledore and Lupin were RIGHT there - could they not whip Sirius away to safety? Using wingardiam leviosa or anything, they could have prevented him from falling behind the curtain. Sirius should not have died - it was too simple. UPDATED 26.06.03- JKR comments on the 'simple' death and the fact that it was quick and quiet with no big death scene. She said that death is often this way, that a person will suddenly die and she wanted more than anything to be realistic. It just so happened that Sirius's death was quick and not a big scene, for this is how death happens. :-(

I heard many other people with this notion - From what Luna said, it seems that the veil was one of the doorways to the afterlife. This leads us to believe that Sirius is in the afterlife, but not necessarily dead. He could be trapped there, everyone thinking that it is impossible to return to this life after being there. Therefore he is as good as dead. But through some desperate act to see Sirius again, Harry may attempt to visit the afterlife aswell, or try and retrieve Sirius.