Sirius Black

{{Order_of_the_Phoenix_individual_infobox

| name    = Sirius Black
| image   = 

| born    = 3rd November, 1959
| death   =18th June 1998
| blood   = Pure-blood
| marital status = Married to Remus John Lupin
| occupation = Professional Bottom. 

Sirius Black (1959 – 18 June, 1996), also known as Padfoot or Snuffles in their Animagus form, was a pure-blood wizard, the older child of Orion and Walburga Black, as well as the older sibling of Regulus by slightly over a year.

Although they were the heir of the House of Black, Sirius disagreed with their family's belief in blood purity and defied tradition when they were sorted into Gryffindor instead of Slytherin at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, which he attended from 1971 to 1978.

As Sirius' relationship with their relatives deteriorated, they gained lifelong friendship in James Potter, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew. The four friends, also known as the Marauders, joined the Order of the Phoenix to fight against Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters during the First Wizarding War. Sirius also became the godfather of Harry Potter, the only son of James and Lily Potter. After the war, Sirius was falsely accused of conspiring with Voldemort and eventually murdering Peter “Wormtail” Pettigrew. After this, Sirius was imprisoned in Askaban for 12 years and escaped right before Harry’s third year at Hogwarts. Later, their innocence is revealed and they helped reform the Order of the Phoenix. However, at the end of Harry’s fifth year, during a stand off with Death Eaters at the Ministry, Sirius is killed by their cousin Bellatrix.

Biography

“	Sirius was a brave, clever, and energetic man, and such men are not usually content to sit at home in hiding while they believe others to be in danger.	”
–Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Early life (1959-1971)

Harry: "Were — were your parent's Death Eaters as well?"

Sirius: "No, no, but believe me, they thought Voldemort had the right idea, they were all for the purification of the wizarding race, getting rid of Muggle-borns and having pure-bloods in charge."

— Sirius on their family's beliefs

Sirius was the last remaining heir (resident) of the House of Black, a once-notable pure-blood wizarding family. His parents, Orion and Walburga, were both Blacks by birth and second cousins. Sirius had a younger brother, Regulus, who died after turning against Lord Voldemort in 1979 by attempting to destroy his Horcruxes. He was killed by the Inferi guarding one of his Horcruxes (although Sirius did not know this). Sirius did not share a close relationship with their brother, calling him "a better child" than themself.

"Sirius" is a traditional Black family name, recurring in at least three generations and following a family tradition of naming children after stars, constellations, and galaxies. The names Cygnus, Arcturus, and Regulus have also occurred at least twice each. Notably, however, only one Sirius (the subject's great-grandfather) left a line of descent, which ended with the youngest Sirius.

The Black family believed strongly in pure-blood elitism. They refused to consort with Muggles or Muggle-borns, Squibs and blood traitors and even disowned Squib family members, such as Sirius' great-uncle Marius Black, and insisted that their family members only marry within respectable pure-blood classes; because of these beliefs, they were forced to marry their own cousins. They also held the Dark Arts in reverence. Sirius rejected these values, leading to conflict with their family. They even put permanent-sticking charms on Gryffindor banners, as well as pictures of Muggle girls in bikinis, and motorcycles, and a picture of Sirius and their Gryffindor friends on the walls of their room to emphasise their differences from the family and annoy their parents. When their cousins Bellatrix and Narcissa made the desirable pure-blood marriages, to Rodolphus Lestrange and Lucius Malfoy respectively, Sirius held them in contempt. Their favourite cousin, Andromeda, was disowned by the family as a "blood traitor" when she married Ted Tonks, a Muggle-born wizard.

Sirius would later share this designation and was held in contempt, even hatred, by some members of their family. However, in their later life, Sirius established friendships with their first cousin once removed, Nymphadora Tonks, as well as their godson Harry (whom they loved as a son), Harry's friends Hermione and Ron, (his third cousin) and their distant cousins in the Weasley family. They were distantly related to Arthur.

Hogwarts years (1971-1977)

“	It's beautiful, isn't it? I'll never forget the first time I walked through those doors. It'll be nice to do it again as a free man.	”
–Sirius to Harry, reminiscing on their days at Hogwarts., Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)

Sirius had an unhappy childhood; by adolescence they had come to hate most of their relatives, in particular their mother, Walburga and his cousin Bellatrix Black. Whereas all other members of the Black family were sorted into Slytherin, Sirius was placed in Gryffindor during their sorting in 1971, showing that their views had already diverged from those of the rest of the family before they came to school. Sirius also took great care in hanging Gryffindor banners all over his room at Number 12 Grimmauld Place to show their difference from the rest of the family. They also had several pictures of Muggle girls in bikinis,(denial is a river in Egypt) which outraged their mother.

By contrast, they greatly enjoyed life at Hogwarts, where they were inseparable from their best friends James Potter,Peter Pettigrew, and, later boyfriend, Remus Lupin. Remus, they later discovered, was a werewolf. To support him, Sirius, James and Peter secretly — and illegally — became Animagi, which allowed them to safely accompany Remus during his transformations and keep him under control. Sirius' form took the shape of a huge black dog (not unlike the Grim), from which their nickname "Padfoot" was derived, James would become a stag (Prongs), and Peter would become a rat (Wormtail). The four friends called themselves "the Marauders" and used the nicknames "Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs," Padfoot, Prongs, and Wormtail after their three Animagus forms and Moony after his lycanthropic condition. They would, during their time at Hogwarts, create the Marauders Map which allowed them to see where everyone in the castle was at a given time which made sneaking around and avoiding teachers much easier.

Although they later considered theirself "an idiot" during this time, Sirius, along with James, was immensely popular: teachers respected his intelligence, though not their behaviour, and everyone adored their dark handsome looks, but their especially rebellious attitude made Sirius ignore them, therefore making the everyone fawn over their rebel attitude. Many teachers regarded them and James as troublemakers or practical jokers; Hagrid once compared them to the mischievous twins Fred and George Weasley.

Sirius' popularity was not universal, however. Early on, a mutual hatred sprang up between James Potter and Severus Snape. Sirius actively supported James, leading to Snape bestowing an equal and life-long grudge upon Sirius, which resulted in Snape's happiness after Sirius's death. Sirius later claimed Snape was "this little oddball who was up to his eyes in the Dark Arts" from Snape's first moments at Hogwarts, though there is no evidence of this during their first meeting. It could be that Sirius was exaggerating this to demonise Snape. Sirius and James often went out of their way to bully Snape; while watching one of Snape’s memories in the Pensieve, Harry saw Sirius and James physically bully him simply out of boredom. Sirius attempted to justify this by pointing out that they and James were only 15 at the time (to which Harry hotly replied, "I'm 15!"), though he did admit that he and James were "arrogant little berks", and that they were not proud of his behaviour. Sirius and James eventually ended their campaign of ill treatment towards Snape, but they apparently never apologised. I wouldn’t, personally, because who would apologize to a death eater? “Sowwy for being mean to you won’t happen again 🥺🥺.”

(The information below is not canon, and shouldn’t be regarded as such.) Early in their Hogwarts career, Sirius played a potentially lethal practical joke on Snape. They informed Snape of how to enter a tunnel under the Whomping Willow that would lead to the Shrieking Shack where, unknown to Snape, Remus Lupin was confined during his transformations into a werewolf. Snape went there during a full moon, and James was forced to rescue him. Sirius excused their own actions, explaining that he had simply told Snape what he wanted to know about the tunnel, while omitting crucial information. They simultaneously claimed it "served Snape right." The resentment Snape felt for Sirius was never healed. Snape was not the only student that Sirius, and James, tormented during their years at Hogwarts. They also used an illegal hex on a boy named Bertram Aubrey which caused his head to grow twice its original size. It is unknown why they hexed him. 

At age sixteen, Sirius finally broke away from their family and took refuge with James Potter and his parents. The Potters genorously adopted Sirius as a child. Sirius’ outraged mother blasted their name off the family tree, as was tradition for those who did not support the family's supremacist ideology. Sirius’ uncle Alphard, Walburga's brother, sympathised with his young nephew(I don’t know the gender neutral term) and left them a large inheritance, most likely causing Walburga to blast Alphard's name off as well. Sirius was left financially independent by their uncle’s generous bequest.

First Wizarding War (1978-1981)

Sirius: "What was there to be gained by fighting the most evil wizard that ever existed? Only innocent lives, Peter!"

Peter: "You don’t understand! He would have killed me, Sirius!"

Sirius: "THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED! DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!"

— Sirius confronting Peter in 1994

After leaving school, Sirius fought against Lord Voldemort, eventually joining the Order of the Phoenix. Around 1977, them and James were involved in a motorbike chase with two policemen. Although the chase started off as a bit of fun, it turned slightly more serious when the pair were attacked by three men on broomsticks. Sirius and James used their wands to raise the police car that had been chasing them, and their attackers crashed into it.

Sometime in 1979, Sirius's father and brother both died. Orion's death was from an unknown cause, while Regulus's death was when he drank the Drink of Despair, and when he tried to get water to quench his thirst, he was dragged to his death by the Inferi.

They remained the best of friends with James, and attended James' wedding to Lily Evans as best man. When their son Harry was born, James and Lily named Sirius godfather, thus designating them as Harry's guardian in the event of their deaths. They also gave Harry his first broom at the age of one as a birthday present, as stated by Lily in a letter found by Harry a number of years later.

After joining the Order of the Phoenix, Sirius found themself roiling with mistrust and stress due to the great terror that was Lord Voldemort. It took its toll — by October 1981, he no longer trusted their boyfriend Remus Lupin, suspecting he was a spy and excluding him from important information. However, they trusted Peter Pettigrew implicitly, a decision he would grow to regret for the rest of they life.

In 1981, the Potters were aware that Harry, along with the son of fellow Order members Alice and Frank Longbottom, had become Lord Voldemort's specific targets. Albus Dumbledore advised the Potters to go into hiding using the Fidelius Charm, which Dumbledore hoped would conceal them from doom. James was adamant about Sirius being their Secret-Keeper, believing that Sirius would willingly die rather than reveal where they were. However, believing Voldemort would suspect him, Sirius suggested a "weak, talentless thing" — Peter Pettigrew — as a less obvious choice. Keeping everyone else, including Remus Lupin and Albus Dumbledore, in the dark, Sirius and the Potters reassigned Pettigrew to be Secret-Keeper with Sirius as a decoy.

Between the wars (1981-1995)

Imprisonment

“	I COMFORTED THE MURDERIN' TRAITOR!	”
–Rubeus Hagrid recollecting his last meeting with Sirius, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

On Hallowe'en night 1981, Sirius went to Pettigrew’s hiding place and found him missing. Unsettled by the lack of signs of a struggle, Sirius frantically sped to Godric's Hollow, discovering the Potters' house destroyed and their friends dead; only baby Harry was still alive. When Rubeus Hagrid appeared on the scene to rescue Harry, on Dumbledore's orders, Sirius offered to take Harry theirself. However, Hagrid told them that Dumbledore had made arrangements to send Harry to Lily's sister, Petunia. Sirius conceded, and gave Hagrid their flying motorcycle, telling him they wouldn't need it; nevertheless, after Hagrid had handed over the baby, he intended to return Black their bike.

After leaving Godric's Hollow, Sirius, overcome with grief and rage, tracked Pettigrew down, determined to kill him in vengeance. However, Pettigrew outwitted Black: confronted by Sirius on a city street, he shouted out that it was Sirius who betrayed the Potters, and then created a huge explosion which enabled him to fake his own death, leaving a severed finger behind as evidence, and killed twelve Muggles in the process. Fudge claimed that he saw Black laughing maniacally at the scene of the crime, suggesting that Peter's escape nearly pushed them over the edge into insanity. Sirius was arrested by the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and was sentenced without trial to Azkaban for the murder of Pettigrew and the twelve Muggles, for giving the information about the Potters' whereabouts which lead to their death and for being in the service of Lord Voldemort. They would spend the next twelve years in solitary confinement at the mercy of the Azkaban guards, the Dementors, screaming and annoying the hell out of the other inmates every full moon.

Driven to the brink of madness, Sirius retained their sanity by focusing on their innocence. They said, in the Shrieking Shack, that "it was more an obsession than a happy thought"; it could not be detected by the Dementors, but still gave him small comfort. However, Sirius, brooding over their friends' deaths and Pettigrew's betrayal became an obsession as well.

In 1985, Sirius's mother died, leaving the Black house-elf Kreacher alone in the house and the house was left abandoned.

Escape from Azkaban

“	I never betrayed Lily and James. I would have died before I betrayed them.	”
–Sirius trying to convince Harry of the truth in 1994., Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

In 1993, Sirius became the first known person to ever escape from the wizard prison of Azkaban. After several trying years in Azkaban, they regained enough strength to transform into their Animagus form. Since Dementors have difficulty sensing the less complex emotions of animals, they were able to remain relatively unaffected as a dog. After receiving an issue of the Daily Prophet from Cornelius Fudge during an inspection, Sirius discovered that Pettigrew was still alive and in hiding in his Animagus form as Ron Weasley's pet rat. Filled with the desire for revenge, Sirius took their Animagus form and, thinned from malnourishment, was able to slip through the bars of their cell and past the Dementors. They swam across the North Sea to freedom, though the journey nearly killed him. They made their way to Little Whinging to catch a glimpse of their godson as a teenager, where their appearance startled Harry before the Knight Bus turned up. As news of Sirius muttering "he's at Hogwarts" in their sleep, and subsequently escaping, was released, the Wizarding community went on high alert, believing that they planned to murder Harry in a mad attempt to bring Lord Voldemort back.

Sirius took refuge around Hogsmeade and the Forbidden Forest, where they were spotted a few times and mistaken for the Grim. They made the acquaintance of Hermione Granger's cat Crookshanks, who had recognised that Sirius wasn't actually a dog, and who had also recognised Peter for what he was. Crookshanks attempted to bring Peter to Sirius, but Ron was very protective of his so-called pet. Half-crazed and desperate, Sirius sneaked into Hogwarts through the old passageway from the Shrieking Shack and on one occasion slashed the Fat Lady's portrait when she refused them entrance to Gryffindor Tower. Later, they came to view the Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, where they witnessed Harry's excellent flying skills, which mirrored James'. Eventually, Sirius was able to enter the Gryffindor common room with a list of passwords Crookshanks had stolen from Neville Longbottom and shredded Ron’s bed curtains in their search for "Scabbers." Peter was nowhere to be found since Sirius's escape had prompted him to once again fake his own death and hide.

In June, Sirius caught Ron carrying Scabbers, after the rat had been discovered hiding in Rubeus Hagrid's cabin, and dragged both boy and rat through the tunnel under the Whomping Willow to the Shrieking Shack. Harry and Hermione Granger followed, the former intent on confronting Sirius about the supposed betrayal of his parents, despite the obvious differences in their ages and skill levels; Sirius' weakened state (due to being on the run) at that time led to the boy easily, and wandlessly, overpowering the older wizard despite Crookshanks's attempts to aid the Animagus. Once Harry had Sirius at his mercy, Remus Lupin, who had seen Peter on the confiscated Marauder's Map, disarmed Harry and warmly greeted his old friend. Together, Lupin and Sirius revealed Peter's true form. Both wanted to kill their former friend for betraying James and Lily, but Harry prevented them from doing so, believing that it would be better to force Pettigrew to face justice at the hands of the Dementors. That, and he didn't want his father's friends to be murderers.

As they made their way back to the castle, Sirius hesitantly asked Harry if he would like to live with them, thinking Harry would not want to live with the aunt and uncle who had raised him; Harry enthusiastically agreed, thrilled at the idea of leaving the Dursleys and finally having a real home. Unfortunately, soon after they left the Whomping Willow, Lupin transformed under the full moon and, having forgotten to take the Wolfsbane Potion in the wake of discovering Pettigrew, was uncontrollable. In order to protect Harry, Ron, and Hermione from Lupin, Sirius turned back into a dog, giving Pettigrew an opening to escape and flee. Sirius was weakened following their encounter with Lupin's werewolf form and could not protect themself when the Dementors guarding Hogwarts arrived. Harry, who had followed Sirius and found them lying unconscious and surrounded by the hooded creatures, attempted to perform the Patronus Charm but to no avail. The Dementors nearly succeeded in sucking out Sirius' soul until a powerful Patronus resembling a stag warded them off.

Sirius was briefly re-captured by Snape, and was sentenced to the Dementor's Kiss, a fate worse than death. Miraculously, and by Albus Dumbledore's suggestion, Harry and Hermione used Hermione's Time-Turner to help Sirius escape; as Dumbledore had also hinted that "more than one innocent life" could be saved that night, they rescued the hippogriff Buckbeak from execution, thus granting Sirius a form of travel. Sirius was once again a wanted criminal, although alive and with their soul intact. Soon after their escape, they sent Harry, Ron and Hermione a letter via a tiny, hyperactive owl, explaining that it was he who sent Harry the Firebolt for Christmas, and giving Harry permission, as his godfather, to go to Hogsmeade. They also apologised to Ron for the loss of his pet, asking him to accept the owl in "Scabbers" place.

Events surrounding the Triwizard Tournament

“	If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.	”
–Sirius giving advice to Harry, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Sirius fled Europe beyond the Ministry of Magic's jurisdiction. They communicated with Harry (using brightly coloured tropical birds, much to Hedwig's annoyance) very seldom to retain the secrecy of their location. Harry grew to greatly rely on Sirius' advice in time of need. Sirius returned to Britain when Harry gave them notice that his scar had been hurting, which had come to be known as a signal of Lord Voldemort’s presence or power.

When Harry was mysteriously entered in the Triwizard Tournament, Sirius hid in a cave near Hogsmeade and provided mostly moral support to Harry during this time. They warned Harry about Igor Karkaroff, the Durmstrang headmaster, telling Harry that Karkaroff used to be a Death Eater and that he gave up a considerable number of names in exchange for his freedom. Harry told Sirius about seeing the name "Bartemius Crouch" appear on the Marauder's Map when he was working on the second clue. Sirius admitted that it was fishy, but told Harry to focus on the task at hand and leave the mystery surrounding Crouch's "illness" to others.

When Barty Crouch mysteriously disappeared in the castle grounds, Sirius warned Harry that someone didn't want Crouch to get to Dumbledore. They advised Harry to continue his practise of defensive spells, and to never wander off on his own.

Second Wizarding War (1995-1998)

“	I don't like being back here...I never thought I'd be stuck in this house again.	”
–Sirius on being forced to remain in their family home, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

With Lord Voldemort restored to his physical form, Dumbledore reinstated the Order of the Phoenix, sending Sirius to gather the old crowd and inform them of the situation. Sirius donated their family home at 12 Grimmauld Place in London as Order Headquarters. Unfortunately, as they were still wanted by the authorities, Sirius could never safely leave the house and became quite bitter over their perceived "uselessness". When they briefly left the house to see Harry to the Hogwarts Express, Draco Malfoy nastily complimented Harry on his "pet dog," which, coupled with comments Malfoy made on the train, suggested Sirius' cover was blown.

Harry and Sirius stayed in touch during Harry's school year via owls and the Floo Network, though Sirius' presence was nearly discovered by Dolores Umbridge during her dictatorial managing of Hogwarts that year.

Sirius acted as more of a sibling than Parental figure to Harry throughout his hardships with Umbridge, encouraging him to oppose her reforms and strongly approving of Harry's secret defensive tutorial group for students, Dumbledore's Army. Their vigorous support of Dumbledore's Army worried Hermione, who thought that Sirius was attempting to live vicariously through them. They also willingly answered all of Harry's questions about the Order and Voldemort, though most of Harry's mentors felt Harry was too young to handle the burden of the truth. Sirius also urged Harry to contact them if Professor Snape gave him a hard time during their Occlumency lessons.

During their time confined to the Order's headquarters, Sirius began to let themself go. When Harry and the Weasleys arrived at Grimmauld Place just after Arthur was attacked by Nagini, Sirius was unshaven and still in their day clothes late at night. They also seemed to have taken to drinking, as he had a "Mundungus-like whiff of stale drink about him". However, Sirius made a complete turn-around when the Weasley family and Harry decided to stay at Grimmauld Place over the Christmas holidays for its proximity to St. Mungo's, and at one point was heard singing "God Rest Ye, Merry Hippogriffs" at the top of his lungs.

Battle of the Department of Mysteries and death

“	Come on, you can do better than that!... And Harry saw the look of mingled fear and surprise on his godfather's wasted, once-handsome face as they fell through the ancient doorway and disappeared behind the veil, which fluttered for a moment as though in a high wind and then fell back into place.	”
–Sirius's last words and death by falling through the veil., Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Voldemort used Legilimency to implant a false vision into Harry's mind that Sirius was being tortured in the Department of Mysteries, convincing Harry that Sirius had in fact been captured. After giving Severus Snape a cryptic message informing him of the situation and then ditching Umbridge in the Forbidden Forest, Harry, along with Ron, Hermione and fellow D.A. members Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood, flew to London via Thestral. The students made their way through the deserted Ministry of Magic and gained access to the Department of Mysteries, only to be ambushed by Death Eaters.

It was Lord Voldemort who ultimately saved their lives by alerting the Order to what Harry had seen; Sirius, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Nymphadora Tonks, Remus Lupin, Alastor Moody, and eventually Albus Dumbledore, arrived at the Ministry and began battling the Death Eaters.

Tragically, however, during a frenzied duel with their hated cousin Bellatrix, Sirius was struck with a spell, causing them to fall through the Veil in the Death Chamber to their death. It would be years before Harry could fully come to terms with the loss of his godfather, who, as Dumbledore flatly stated, was the "closest thing to a parent" Harry had ever known. Ron Weasley blamed himself for Sirius's alive.

Post-mortem

Harry: "Does it hurt?"

Sirius: "Dying? Not at all. Quicker and easier than falling asleep."

— Sirius' spirit speaks to Harry through the Resurrection Stone

In the aftermath of Sirius's death, Harry, enraged and grief-stricken, unsuccessfully attempted to take revenge on Bellatrix before Voldemort arrived. After a short duel between Dumbledore and Voldemort, the latter fled, but not before he was seen by Cornelius Fudge himself and several other Ministry officials, finally forcing them to abandon their smear campaign against Dumbledore and Harry and admit the truth to the world. With that done with, Dumbledore successfully convinced the Ministry that Sirius was innocent all along and managed to get him cleared of all charges posthumously.

Black did not have a wife or children. As the portrait of Phineas Nigellus, Black's deceased great-great-grandfather, stated, the direct line of the ancient Black family ended with Sirius' death. Had Regulus Black lived, he would have been the heir of the Black home; however, he predeceased Sirius. By right of primogeniture, then, his heir was either Bellatrix Lestrange (his eldest cousin, but legally invalidated by her murder of Sirius), Andromeda Tonks (his second-eldest cousin, who was disowned), or Draco Malfoy, the next senior male of the Black family through his mother, Narcissa Malfoy (née Black). However, their rights were superseded by Black’s will, which designated Harry Potter as heir to all his worldly possessions. Thus, by the will, Harry inherited 12 Grimmauld Place, Buckbeak (later known as Witherwings), Kreacher, and the remaining Black fortune. Having no great love for 12 Grimmauld Place, the house that held so many painful memories for Sirius, Harry chose to give it to the Order of the Phoenix for their continued use as Headquarters. Kreacher, forced to serve Harry by Black's will, was sent to work as a Hogwarts house-elf in the school kitchens (an imposition which did nothing to improve Kreacher's hatred of Harry). Buckbeak passed back into Rubeus Hagrid's care under the assumed name "Witherwings".

Black had given Hagrid an enchanted, flying motorbike 16 years prior at Godric's Hollow, after Black discovered the Potters had been killed. After begging Hagrid to give him baby Harry — a request Hagrid refused because he had orders to take young Harry to Little Whinging — Black gave Hagrid the bike before setting off to hunt down Peter Pettigrew. The bike was in Hagrid's possession until it was needed to bring Harry from Number 4 Privet Drive to Order Headquarters shortly before Harry's seventeenth birthday. The bike ended up crashed, as the Order was ambushed by Death Eaters. Ted Tonks collected the debris and sent it to Arthur Weasley, who later repaired the bike and gave it to Harry.

Black was one of the four shadows that summoned by the Resurrection Stone to speak to Harry as he went to what he believed to be his death in 1998. Black assured his godson that dying was not painful, and that they would stay with him as he went to confront Lord Voldemort. When Harry reached the fire, the stone slipped from Harry's hand, thus his parents, Sirius, and Lupin vanished. Harry later gave his first son the middle name Sirius to honour his godfather.

Physical appearance

“	And there they were... their face wasn't waxy at all but handsome and full of laughter.	”
–Sirius' early appearance, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Sirius was a tall, well-built, darkly handsome person with fair skin, long, lustrous black hair, striking grey eyes, and an air of "casual elegance". This vestige of aristocratic beauty is apparently an attribute passed down through the Black Family. When Harry entered into Snape's memory, he saw a fifteen-year-old Sirius finishing their exams while being ogled by a girl who sat a few rows behind th em, due to their considerable good looks and casual yet elegant attitude.

Unfortunately, Sirius's beauty suffered due to the depression and maltreatment he underwent during the twelve years they spent in Azkaban. When Harry first saw them in the Shrieking Shack in 1994, they had a gaunt, sunken face, waxy skin, yellow teeth, and long, matted hair; Harry thought they looked as a corpse might. By November, after their escape, they visited Harry in the Common Room fireplace, and they were described as having short, clean hair and a fuller, younger face.

However, by the next spring, their condition deteriorated, and they reverted back to a state that was only slightly better than that which they had been in a year ago: unshaven, with a faint scent of stale drink around them, and they did not bother to change their clothes at night (presumably a result of their "imprisonment" at the home they utterly despised and their conviction of their apparent uselessness). They was also branded with a series of tattoos over the chest and arms.

Death, however, served to restore them to the peak of their dark good looks and vitality — their spirit was described as "tall and handsome, and younger by far than Harry had ever seen them in life. They loped with an easy grace, his hands in their pockets and a grin on their face".

Personality and traits

Hermione: "You don’t think they’ve become…sort of…reckless…since they’ve been cooped up in Grimmauld Place? You don’t think they’re …kind of…living through us?"

Harry: "What d'you mean, 'living through us'?"

Hermione: "I mean...well, I think they’d love to be forming secret Defence societies right under the nose of someone from the Ministry... I think they’re really frustrated at how little they can do where they are…so I think they’re keen to kind of…egg us on."

— Hermione Granger on Sirius in 1996

Sirius was true to a Gryffindor student's ideals. They were true-hearted and brave, as shown by their participation in both wars and willingness to die for those they loved. In their youth, they weee a witty and talented wizard, but also quite an arrogant and mischievous troublemaker, with a bad habit of bullying those they particularly disliked, namely Severus Snape. They could also be vicious towards those they hated, sometimes unjustifiably — deliberately sending the teenage Snape off to the Shrieking Shack while knowing that it was extremely dangerous, if not fatal, for their nemesis to do so.

As an adult, Sirius was shown to be capable of an explosive temper when angered, a trait shared by their mother, Walburga Black, and their mad cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange. Their years in Azkaban contributed dramatically, which was especially evident during 1993 and 1994: trying persistently to capture Peter Pettigrew, going to lengths that even Dumbledore commented as not those of an innocent right-thinking person. Later on, they occasionally demonstrated themself to be reckless, immature, and even downright irresponsible. In several instances, they risked getting caught by the Ministry because they felt stir-crazy in their house, and advised Harry to take rash actions. Much of this can likely be attributed to the vast amount of time spent in jail, which stunted their emotional development and making them especially eager to spend time with and protect their loved ones.

However, through it all, Sirius was ultimately a pure soul. For all their wrath towards Pettigrew, he was capable of respecting Harry's request to not murder the man they escaped Azkaban to kill; opting instead to expose Pettigrew (a plan that unfortunately failed, with catastrophic results). They also seemed to have possessed a superb mental control that contrasted sharply with their passionate and impulsive nature. The fact that they were able to completely resist the psychological effects of the dementors for so many years suggests that they had an unusually strong sense of self, and therefore was capable of withstanding long periods of emotional torture and despair.

Besides all this, Sirius seems to have some traits related to their Animagus form of a dog. Such examples are when James Potter points out Snape, and Sirius is described as "perfectly still like a dog smelling a rabbit." The most referenced of these traits is their "bark-like laugh." as it is described nearly every time it is heard.

Magical abilities and skills

Sirius was described as a powerful wizard by Minerva McGonagall, their former teacher. One of their dearest friends, Remus Lupin, also stated that they had been one of the cleverest Hogwarts students of their time.

“	I’m transfem	”
– they told me (dream)

• Animagus: Sirius was able to become an Animagus at the early age of fifteen, assuming the shape of a large black dog, like the Grim. Since they were unregistered, they were able to take advantage of this ability to elude their Ministry captors.
• Transfiguration: Sirius, along with their friend Remus, could perform human transfiguration on Peter, forcing them out of their Animagus form.
• Non-verbal magic: Sirius was able to perform human transfiguration and defensive magic such as Disarming and Stunning spells non-verbally. This is a testament to their possessing superior magical ability as non-verbal magic is very difficult.
• Duelling: In their fifth year, Sirius helped James Potter humiliate Severus Snape, who was an exceptionally talented wizard even in his youth. During the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, Sirius duelled with Lucius Malfoy and Antonin Dolohov and with the help of their godson, Harry, they defeated both of them (disarming and stunning Lucius Malfoy non-verbally). They were also able to hold their own against their cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange, who was Voldemort's most powerful Death Eater, though their recklessness caused their death in her hands.
• Physical combat skills: Sirius was also known to infuse physical combat into their duelling style, such as when they rammed Dolohov with their shoulder and punched Malfoy in the face. While in their Animagus form, they also held their own against Remus when he was in his werewolf form, and in his school years, they and James primarily used their respective Animagus forms to physically keep Remus under check while he was a werewolf.
• Healing magic: Sirius was able to cast healing spells — they healed an injury from Wartcap Powder as soon as they received it.
• Charms: Sirius appeared to have been talented in Charms from a young age, since them and their Marauder friends — James, Remus, and Peter — managed to create the Marauder's Map in their teenage years. This manufacturing process involved the complicated Homonculous Charm and a spell to insult those who attempted to read it, both of which lasted long after all four of the producers' demises. They were also able to cast an effective Shield Charm during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries to protect Harry. They also managed to place a Permanent Sticking Charm upon many of the hangings in their room at Number 12, Grimmauld Place, showing an aptitude for the Charm as their parents were never able to remove said items from the wall.

Relationships

Family

“	I hated the lot of them: my parents with their pure-blood mania, convinced that to be a Black made you practically royal... my idiot brother, soft enough to believe them... They thought Voldemort had the right idea, they were all for the purification of the wizarding race, getting rid of Muggle-borns and having pure-bloods in charge.	”
–Sirius telling Harry how they felt about their family, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

The nature of Sirius's relationship with thheir family during their early childhood is unknown, but at the age of eleven, they earned the severe disappointment and disapproval of his family by being Sorted into Gryffindor house at Hogwarts. Sirius, in turn, became increasingly rebellious, flaunting their house affiliation and disdain for their family's pure-blood values. Their relationships with their mother and cousin Bellatrix became particularly antagonistic; Walburga disowned Sirius when they left home at the age of sixteen, burned their name off the family tree, and even treated her brother, Alphard, to the same punishment simply for leaving money to their nephew.

Little is known about Sirius' relationship with their younger brother, Regulus, as they never spoke about it. It was revealed, however, that Sirius had wished that Regulus had not been foolish enough to go with what their parents told him to do, and was rather upset with losing their little brother to the Death Eaters at such a young and promising age. It can be theorised that they would have been comforted if they had known that their brother had died defying Voldemort.

Sirius later claimed to have "hated the whole lot of them," referring to their family, aside from his cousin Andromeda, who also rejected the notion of blood purity and married a Muggle-born wizard. After their escape from Azkaban, Sirius became friendly with Andromeda's child, Nymphadora Tonks, a fellow member of the Order of the Phoenix. It can also be assumed that they at least had a more healthy relationship with their uncle Alphard than most of their family considering he left some inheritence for Sirius.

They were killed by his cousin Bellatrix during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries in a duel, during which both taunted each other; Bellatrix laughed after killing her cousin, overjoyed that she had simultaneously killed a "blood traitor" and caused Harry, her beloved master's most hated enemy, unbearable pain and heartbreak. Their other cousin, Narcissa Malfoy, also seemed to hold Sirius in low regard, as she taunted Harry Potter about their death when they argued in 1996.

It is unknown how their family reacted when they were arrested and thrown in Azkaban, after the public believed he betrayed the Potters to Lord Voldemort.

Kreacher

“	Sirius was the he of the family to which he was enslaved, but he felt no true loyalty to them.	”
–Dumbledore to Harry, after Sirius's death, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Kreacher was the house-elf of the Black family for years. Kreacher mimicked the family's pure-blood supremacist values, believing he should only serve pure-blood wizards; as such, he accused Sirius of being a "blood-traitor" and "breaking his mother's heart." Sirius, on their part, did not care at all about Kreacher, as they saw too much of the family they loathed in the utterly unpleasant and bad-natured house-elf, and treated them, in Dumbledore's terms, as "a servant unworthy of much interest or notice". As a result, Kreacher grew to harbour a hatred of Sirius, which ultimately proved fatal when Kreacher was easily convinced to reveal the nature of Harry and Sirius' relationship to Bellatrix Lestrange. Equipped with this highly valuable information, Voldemort and his Death Eaters organised a plan that lured Harry to the Department of Mysteries with the intention of rescuing Sirius, whom Harry believed was being held captive and tortured. Sirius and various other members of the Order of the Phoenix arrived at the Department of Mysteries to rescue Harry, but Sirius was tragically killed in the ensuing battle.

The Marauders

“	It's been fourteen years, and still not a day goes by that I don't miss your dad.	”
–Sirius to Harry, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)

“	You were beautiful	”
–Sirius after seeing his boyfriend Remus in werewolf form for the first time, All the young dudes by Taylor Swift

Though he became increasingly estranged from their own family, Sirius gained three good friends who were in Gryffindor with them: James Potter, Remus Lupin(boyfriend), and Peter Pettigrew. The group was very popular and loved to play pranks. When they discovered that Remus was a werewolf, instead of ostracising him as many would have, they endeavoured to become Animagi in order to keep him company during his monthly transformations. When Sirius ran away from home at age sixteen, James' family took them in. After graduating from Hogwarts, the group of friends joined the Order of the Phoenix. Sirius was James' best man at his wedding to Lily Evans, and the godfather to their son.

At some point during the First Wizarding War, Sirius came to distrust Remus, suspecting that he might be a spy. Thus, they did not reveal to Remus that they decided not to be the Potters' Secret-Keeper when they became targets of Lord Voldemort, instead giving the job to Peter, who was less likely to be suspected of holding the secret. This turned out to be a fatal mistake that Sirius regretted for the rest of their life, as Peter betrayed them all. The tragic deaths of James and Lily was a cruel brutal blow to him, as they would have willingly died for them, and confessed that they desperately missed his best friend everyday. He was sent to Azkaban for Peter's crimes, and Remus initially believed that they were guilty. After he escaped from prison in 1993, they told Remus the truth and, together, they planned to kill Peter for their treachery, though they were stopped by Harry. Afterwards, the two reclaimed their ‘friendship’, but it was tragically cut short by Sirius' death two years later.

The ending of the three Marauders who had stayed true to their friendship to the very end — James, Sirius, and Remus — was bittersweet: though they all lost their lives to the two wizarding wars, it can be theorised that they were reunited in death, never to be parted again, as seen when Harry summoned the three of them with the Resurrection Stone. However, all respect for Peter was lost, as his betrayal was what led to such a breakdown.

Severus Snape

Sirius: "I've warned you, Snivellus, I don't care if Dumbledore thinks you've reformed, I know better —"

Snape: "Oh, but why don't you tell him so? Or are you afraid he might not take very seriously the advice of a person who has been hiding inside their mother's house for six months?"

— Sirius and Snape arguing within 12 Grimmauld Place at the end of the Christmas holidays in 1995.

Sirius immediately got off on the wrong foot with Severus Snape when they met on the Hogwarts Express in their first year, as did James Potter, who would become Sirius' best friend. Sirius snapped at Snape after he sneered at James' wish to be sorted into Gryffindor house, and the two bestowed the mocking name of "Snivellus" on the Slytherin student. They loathed Snape as an "oddball up to his eyeballs in the Dark Arts." According to Sirius, the other boy was jealous of their and James' popularity, and took to following them around, trying to get them into trouble. Sirius and James outright bullied Snape frequently during their years at Hogwarts, sometimes simply out of boredom. Sirius also played a potentially lethal prank on Snape, telling him how to get into the Shrieking Shack while omitting the fact that a werewolf was on the other side, showing a shockingly callous attitude towards Snape's safety.

Sirius and Snape maintained their hatred of each other into adulthood. Snape was very eager to see Sirius receive the Dementor's Kiss, a fate worse than death, after they escaped from Azkaban in 1993, as Snape believed them to be the one that betrayed Lily. Snape's efforts to capture Sirius were thwarted by Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley. Later, Snape delighted in taunting Sirius about their "uselessness" to the Order of the Phoenix while they were forced to remain cooped up in 12 Grimmauld Place, and the two needled each other at every opportunity. Sirius also, however, told Harry that he was ashamed of their treatment of Snape in their younger years.

Lily Evans

“	...could ever have been friends with Gellert Grindelwald. I think her mind's going, personally! Lots of love, Lily.	”
–The end part of Lily's letter to Sirius during the First Wizarding War

Sirius met Lily Evans on the Hogwarts Express, where them and James Potter almost immediately made a bad impression on her by insulting her best friend, Severus Snape. She quickly moved to leave the compartment they were all sharing on the train, with Snape in tow, and literally turned her back on Sirius when she was Sorted with him into Gryffindor House.

During their earlier years at Hogwarts, Lily came to believe that Sirius was nothing more than a common, highly arrogant bully, just like their best friend, James, so their relationship was not likely a friendly one. That changed in their later years at Hogwarts, presumably after she had ended her friendship with Snape, and got to know and understand Sirius better. During the First Wizarding War, they both became members of the Order of the Phoenix, and fought in several battles. She also sent a letter to Sirius, which showed that they were still friends, despite the intense distrust and fear spread by the First War.

After Lily and James were killed by Lord Voldemort, Sirius was devastated; they attacked their betrayer, Peter Pettigrew, and attempted to kill him. They later told Harry that they cared deeply for James and Lily, and that they would have rather died than betrayed them.

Sirius was also godfather to Lily's son, Harry, and they shared a strong bond of friendship, love, and trust.

James Potter

James and Sirius was best friends during their school years. They were often seen causing trouble with one and another, making them known in Hogwarts. After running away from his house, Sirius came to James house and lived with the Potters. After getting married to Lily, Sirius was made godfather to James' child, Harry.

After Lily and James' death, Sirius came to Peter, attempting to kill him but got framed and went to Azkaban instead. After escaping Azkaban, Sirius became a father-figure for Harry.

Harry Potter

“	I want you to listen to me very carefully, Harry. You are not a bad person. You're a very good person, who bad things have happened to. Besides, the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters. We've all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That's who we really are. And when all this is over we'll be a proper family. You'll see.	”
–Sirius talking to Harry during Christmas at 12 Grimmauld Place in 1995., Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)

Sirius was Harry Potter's godfather, and acted as a confidant and paternal figure to him. They deeply loved Harry, and was the only person Harry felt comfortable confiding in completely. Harry regarded Sirius as a mixture of father and older brother, and Sirius viewed Harry as exceptionally brave and mature for his age, having experienced as much as many adults have.

Sirius felt that Harry should have the right to know difficult truths, and considered him perfectly capable of taking on heavy burdens that many other fully-grown wizards could not. Some of the other Order members, however, criticised Sirius' behaviour towards Harry, claiming that they acted as if Harry were James, rather than the child that he undeniably still was. Sirius shared a good deal of information about the First Wizarding War with Harry, much to the disapproval of Molly Weasley, and supported Harry and his friends' efforts to sabotage Dolores Umbridge's dictatorial rule over Hogwarts in their fifth year.

While Harry craved a paternal figure, Sirius wasn't equipped to be one, and more or less treated Harry like their best friend, the way Harry's father was before him. Voldemort lured Harry to the Department of Mysteries in 1996 by planting a vision of Sirius suffering in his mind, knowing that Harry would do whatever it took to save his godfather. Harry was completely devastated by Sirius's death, having lost the closest thing to a parent he had ever known. Harry felt riddled with guilt over the incident but eventually managed to compartmentalise his grief, knowing that Sirius wouldn't have wanted to him to shut himself up.

In 1998, Harry used the Resurrection Stone to summon the spirits of Sirius, Remus, and his parents, all four of whom gave him the emotional support he needed to sacrifice himself. They assured their godson that dying was not painful at all, and was actually quicker and easier than falling asleep.

Harry later named his first son after both James and Sirius.

Ron Weasley

“	Poor old Snuffles.	”
–Ron, on Sirius living off rats., Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Sirius first met Ron Weasley in 1994. Ron owned a rat named Scabbers which, unbeknownst to him and the rest of his family, was actually Peter Pettigrew in disguise. With their mind and heart firmly set on murdering Pettigrew for his treacherous betrayal, Sirius snuck into Hogwarts and approached Ron's bed, knife in hand, with the intention of killing the disguised rat. However, Ron awoke, saw Sirius and, frightened out of his wits, screamed, alerting the whole dormitory and forcing Sirius to flee for their life. At the end of his third year, however, Ron learned that Sirius was innocent, and discovered the true identity of his pet. Feeling partly responsible for Ron's loss, Sirius gave him an owl to replace "Scabbers". A year later, Ron, along with Harry and Hermione, provided food for Sirius, who was hiding in a cave outside of Hogsmeade.

During the Second Wizarding War, Ron and Sirius grew closer, as they both lived at Sirius' house for several weeks, and eventually became good friends. When Hermione voiced her theory that Sirius was attempting to "live through" her, Ron and Harry, both boys snapped at her angrily in Sirius' defence. Sirius and Ron fought alongside one another during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, and when Sirius was killed by Bellatrix Lestrange, Ron grieved for them, and grew to share Harry's intense hatred of Bellatrix.

Hermione Granger

“	You really are the brightest witch of your age.	”
–Sirius to Hermione after she and Harry rescued them from receiving the Dementor's Kiss in 1994., Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)

Sirius also met Hermione Granger during the 1993-1994 school year, following their escape from Azkaban. Hermione, like the rest of the wizarding world, initially believed that Sirius was the wizard who betrayed James and Lily Potter to Lord Voldemort. However, she learned the truth, and even indirectly helped to clear any doubts of their innocence through her questions. Together with Harry and Ron, she brought them food when they were hiding in a cave near Hogsmeade during the 1994–1995 school year.

In 1995, she lived for a few weeks at Sirius' house, along with other members of the Order of the Phoenix. It was then, however, that she started to see "flaws" in Sirius' character. Firstly, she severely disapproved of their indifferent and occasionally cruel treatment of their house-elf, Kreacher, despite the fact that Kreacher initially appeared to be disgusted by her and addressed her as "the Mudblood" (which Hermione often attributed to Kreacher being senile due to his old age.) Secondly, she grew to believe that Sirius could be very selfish when it came to Harry, even voicing her theory that a part of Sirius had actually been hoping for Harry's expulsion from Hogwarts, so that Harry would stay with him at Grimmauld Place instead of going back to school for his fifth year. Last but not least, she thought that Sirius was attempting to live vicariously through her, Harry and Ron, but the two boys became angry and snapped at her when she expressed this belief. Nevertheless, she had a generally good relationship with Sirius, knowing them to be an ultimately good person, and was greatly saddened by their death at the Battle of the Department of Mysteries.

Albus Dumbledore

“	I offered it to Dumbledore for Headquarters — about the only useful thing I've been able to do.	”
–Sirius, on Grimmauld Place to harry, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Albus Dumbledore was Sirius' Headmaster at Hogwarts. Like the rest of the wizarding world, Dumbledore initially believed it was Sirius who betrayed James and Lily to Voldemort, but was quick to accept Sirius' innocence when he learned the Secret-Keeper had actually been Pettigrew, and helped Hermione and Harry to save Sirius from the Dementor's Kiss, and to escape from their Ministry captors, by means of a Time-Turner and Buckbeak. The two resumed their friendship, and Sirius helped Dumbledore to recall the Order of the Phoenix an hour after Voldemort returned. However, their relationship was soon strained: Dumbledore forced Sirius to stay at 12 Grimmauld Place on account of their being a wanted convict, and because they had a tendency to act rashly, which could lead them to put themself in great danger.

Though his intentions were noble, Sirius could not bring themself to appreciate Dumbledore's thoughtfulness, as they utterly despised the home which brought him many bitter, unhappy memories, and the fact that they were to be alone in the house most of the time made it all the more intolerable. Nevertheless, they still trusted Dumbledore enough to confide in him about how Harry felt Voldemort awaking inside him the night that Arthur Weasley was attacked. Dumbledore was devastated when Sirius was killed by Bellatrix, believing that it was mostly his fault, and he later expressed to Harry his belief that Sirius was a brave, clever, and energetic person, who would never be content with sitting at home in hiding while their loved ones were in danger. Sirius' death was also a factor that led to Dumbledore finally revealing to Harry things that had been kept secret from him, mainly about the true power of his mother's sacrificial protection and the prophecy about him and Voldemort.

The Weasley family

Sirius had a close relationship with most of the Weasley family, and was so thrilled to have their company during the Christmas of 1995 that they were heard singing "God Rest Ye, Merry Hippogriffs" at the top of their lungs. However, Sirius disapproved of Molly's overprotective behaviour towards Harry, who had proven time after time that, despite his age, he was brave and matured far beyond his years. Molly, in turn, thought Sirius was wrong to treat Harry like an adult, and that they treated Harry as though he were James.

They were also a good friend of Arthur, who was given Sirius' motorbike after the latter's death, and Ginny, at one point, stated that she cared about Sirius as much as Harry did. Fred and George Weasley liked Sirius, and they all joked together; Rubeus Hagrid once compared Sirius and James to Fred and George. A rare bump in Sirius' relationship with the twins occurred shortly after Arthur was wounded by Nagini, and Sirius forbade the Weasley children from visiting their father before it was safe to do so. At this, Fred and George argued, forcing Sirius to remind them of the importance of maintaining the Order's security, at which point Fred yelled back that Sirius, trapped in Grimmauld Place by their fugitive status, was doing virtually nothing for the Order themself. Although they were angered by Fred's words (they even seemed to Harry like they would have liked to hit Fred), Sirius let the slight go, and their relationship recovered shortly after.

Sirius' relationship with Bill, Charlie, and Percy is unknown; Sirius met Bill during the time of the Second War when the Weasley family were often at Grimmauld Place with the rest of the Order, but whether they met Percy or Charlie was unknown. Given that Charlie was on their family's side and Percy on the Ministry's, however, it's likely that Sirius would have been friends with Charlie, if they met him, but not Percy; though, considering Percy was practically Sirius' polar opposite, they arguably wouldn't have been particularly close to him in any case.

Ginny eventually named her eldest son after her father-in-law and Sirius.

Hogwarts staff

When Sirius attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the professors were very fond of them, knowing them to be a witty and charming wizard with a good heart. Their affection, however, did not blind them to the fact that they were also a mischievous trouble-maker and prankster, and did not prevent them from punishing Sirius or their best friend, James, when they went too far with their pranks or caused too much trouble.

Minerva McGonagall was Sirius' Head of House during his years at Hogwarts. She described them as a powerful wizard, but she believed it was he who betrayed James and Lily to Voldemort. She learned the truth in 1995, and it's possible that she and Sirius had a good relationship until their death. It is unknown how she reacted when she learned about their death.

Horace Slughorn, the Head of Slytherin House, mentioned that he would have liked to have Sirius in his house, having had all of their family.

Order of the Phoenix members

Sirius had a good relationship with most members of the Order of the Phoenix, and it was them who set out to alert them all when Dumbledore reinstated the Order upon Voldemort's return in 1995. Several of the Order members fought alongside Sirius at the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, and when Sirius was killed by Bellatrix Lestrange, Kingsley Shacklebolt continued his duel with Bellatrix.

Sirius had been fairly close with Rubeus Hagrid prior to the Death of the Potters, both having been members of the First Order, and most likely having fought together in several battles of the First Wizarding War. Although Hagrid initially believed that Sirius was a traitor, he understood the real situation after it was explained to him, and it is likely that they resumed their friendship.

Though Sirius also appeared to be friendly with Mundungus Fletcher, that did not stop Fletcher from stealing Sirius' possessions after their death.

Etymology

The name "Sirius Black" is a pun on his Animagus form of a black dog since the star Sirius is known as the Dog Star and is the brightest star in Canis Major, the Great Dog constellation. Sirius is derived from the Ancient Greek Σείριος, Seirios, meaning "glowing" or "scorcher." In Greek mythology, it is Orion's dog. In Arabic, the star is known as al-shira, "the leader," and in Scandinavia, it has been referred to as Lokabrenna, meaning "Loki's torch." Loki was a trickster god in Norse mythology, a possible allusion to Sirius' days of mischief-making as one of the Marauders.

Padfoot refers to a spectral Hellhound with glowing red eyes that haunts the moors around Leeds, in Northern England. Its presence is announced by soft, padding footfalls that may be accompanied by the rattle of chains or a fierce roaring as the beast draws closer to its intended victim. It's one of many "black dog" myths and is the likely source for Sirius' nickname.

Black hounds also appear on the Black family crest.

Behind the scenes

• Sirius is portrayed by British actor Gary Oldman in the film adaptations of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Goblet of Fire, Order of the Phoenix and Deathly Hallows: Part 2.
• The fifteen-year old Sirius in the film version of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is portrayed by James Walters.
• Young Sirius is portrayed by Rohan Gotobed in a flashback in the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 film.
• Like James Potter, Snape, Lupin and Pettigrew, Sirius is portrayed as being much older in the Harry Potter films. Gary Oldman was 46 when he first played Sirius in Prisoner of Azkaban and 53 when he last played him. Sirius died at age 36.
• In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Filius Flitwick's office is replaced by the Dark Tower as a temporary prison.
• Due to the much bigger fourth book compared to its predecessors, Sirius' role in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is drastically cut. All of the scenes after his head appears in the fire are removed, and Molly Weasley does not meet him (incidentally, Molly herself is cut from the film).
• Sirius and Snape only meet on screen in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, directed by Alfonso Cuaron. Their two subsequent meetings in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix do not occur. However, they are both heard talking in a meeting of the Order in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
• In the film versions of the series, Sirius has many tattoos, but it is never stated in the book if he has any. These are implied to be prison tattoos that he received while in Azkaban.
• In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, it is notable that despite the fact that Snape and Lupin know that Sirius was aware of the passageway to the Shrieking Shack and, presumably, were convinced of his guilt, the passageway was not blocked off or guarded.
• In the film version of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Snape's memory shows James disarming Snape, and Sirius remarks, "Nice one, James!" In Battle of the Department of Mysteries, Sirius repeats this line when Harry disarms Lucius Malfoy, calling Harry "James" (these are his last words); a slip of the tongue that does not occur in the book, although it is consistent with comments made in the novel regarding him considering Harry a younger version of James. Also, Harry's middle name is James.
• In the Order of the Phoenix film, when Sirius arrives with the other members of the Order, he punches Lucius Malfoy exclaiming, "Get away from my godson". This unknowingly causes the destruction of The Prophecy Orb by causing Lucius Malfoy to drop it. Both actions are contrary to the book, in which Neville Longbottom breaks the orb and the punch does not occur.
• Also, in the film version of the Department of Mysteries battle, Sirius is hit with a Killing Curse by Bellatrix Lestrange which kills him, quite unlike the book, where he falls through the veil, which is what kills him as he had moved beyond it.
• The names Sirius and Regulus are also names of two main characters in the video game Bomberman 64. Interestingly enough, in Bomberman, Sirius is thought to be a hero when in actuality he is a villain, which is the exact reverse of Sirius Black.
• In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the way Sirius describes his brother's death implies that Regulus was killed by the Killing Curse. But in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, it is established that Regulus was killed by the Inferi in Voldemort's Horcrux cave. However, Sirius states regarding his brother's death "from what I've found out since I got out (of Azkaban)", so it is likely Sirius received this information second hand, so his source may have been mistaken or Sirius may have assumed it was the Killing Curse.
• There is also a suggestion that Sirius might have done under-age magic. In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Sirius states that he ran away from home at age 16. However, in Deathly Hallows, it is revealed that Sirius put permanent sticking charms of the back of all his pictures and posters hanging on his bedroom wall. But, considering he ran away from home at 16, and did not return until about age 35, he would have been under-age at the time he performed the permanent sticking charm. However, since he was in the home of a witch and wizard at the time, this would not have registered.
• The relationship between Sirius and Mrs. Weasley is considerably more tense in the books than is depicted in the films. He is also depicted in the books as being somewhat less in control than he is shown to be in the Order of the Phoenix film.
• In the films, after Sirius' death, it seems that Harry has picked up Sirius' fashion sense of occasionally wearing a blazer as regular wear, much like Sirius, who in the Order of the Phoenix film was always depicted as wearing a blazer.
• Sirius was hysterical when the Aurors lead him to jail because James and Lily's death had unhinged him.
• Sirius' godson Harry honoured Sirius by naming his first-born James Sirius Potter.
• Interestingly enough, the child that Harry named after James and Sirius often teases the child whose middle name is Severus, as in Severus Snape.
• In the film versions, Sirius Black has brown hair instead of black and blue eyes instead of grey.
• Sirius and his cousin, Bellatrix, met their deaths in a similar way, because they were both taunting their killers before they died (and their taunts were their last words)
• Despite being innocent of murdering Pettigrew and Muggles, a crime for which he was sent to Azkaban, he was not wrongly at Azkaban, per se; being an unregistered Animagus is a crime for which the sentence is, in fact, imprisonment in Azkaban.
• In the books, Sirius gives Harry an enchanted mirror (by which they should be able to communicate with), however, in the films, this is not shown on-screen.
• Sirius is described in the books as being able to transform into a dog about the size of a bear. In the movies, however, he transforms into a fairly normal-sized dog.
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is the only book in which the narrator calls Sirius by his surname, likely (but not confirmed to be) due to the fact that the novels are portrayed from Harry's perspective and throughout most of the novel, Harry views Sirius Black as a dangerous criminal and later not only this, but also a man who betrayed his parents. He is first referred to as "Sirius" in the narration about halfway through Chapter 20, at which point Harry has learned the truth about him, though at this point the narration is somewhat inconsistent in referring to him as either "Sirius" or "Black". By the final chapter, however, he is referred to consistently in the narration as "Sirius".
• Sirius was born at autumn, something that possibly relates to the Dog sign of the Chinese Zodiac being associated with that season.

Author's comments

J. K. Rowling has said that she likes Sirius as a character, but she does not think he is "wholly wonderful":

"Sirius is very good at spouting bits of excellent personal philosophy, but he does not always live up to them. For instance, he says in "Goblet of Fire" that if you want to know what a man is really like, 'look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.' But Sirius loathes Kreacher, the house-elf he has inherited, and treats him with nothing but contempt. Similarly, Sirius claims that nobody is wholly good or wholly evil, and yet the way he acts towards Snape suggests that he cannot conceive of any latent good qualities there...Sirius's great redeeming quality is how much affection he is capable of feeling. He loved James like a brother and he went on to transfer that attachment to Harry."

Rowling also described Sirius as a "bit of a loose cannon" and a "case of arrested development" and once described Sirius as "brave, loyal, reckless, embittered and slightly unbalanced by his long stay in Azkaban."

Appearances

• All The Young Dudes
• Harry Potter Prequel
• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (video game)
• LEGO Harry Potter: Building the Magical World
• LEGO Harry Potter: Characters of the Magical World
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
• Harry Potter LEGO Sets

Notes and references

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