In doing so, Dumbledore isolates the one person who needs guidance the most. It is a painful lesson for the reader: the adults you idolize can be wrong. Dumbledore’s tearful confession at the Ministry—“I cared about you too much”—doesn’t excuse the silence, but it humanizes him. It also sets up the massive burden Harry will have to carry alone in the final two books. The silver lining of Umbridge’s tyranny is the creation of the D.A. (Dumbledore’s Army). In a year where the official curriculum is useless (thanks to the Ministry), Harry steps up as the teacher.

Unlike Dumbledore’s death in Book 6, Sirius’s death is sudden, random, and senseless. There is no grand funeral. Harry doesn’t get to say goodbye. He simply falls, and he is gone. This is the moment Harry’s childhood officially ends. The godfather he planned to live with is ripped away by the cruelty of a battle he never should have been in. It is the brutal reminder that in war, not everyone gets a heroic death scene. Order of the Phoenix is a difficult read. It is long, claustrophobic, and often suffocatingly sad. But it is also the bravest book in the series.

Did you love or hate Order of the Phoenix on your first read? Have you changed your mind since? Let me know in the comments below.