Sirius Black (c.1959-June 1996) was first mentioned briefly in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone as a wizard who lent Hagrid a flying motorcycle shortly after Lord Voldemort killed James and Lily Potter. His character becomes prominent in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, where he is the eponymous prisoner. Family and friends At the time of the Harry Potter story, Sirius is the last scion of the House of Black. His parents, Orion Black and Walburga Black, were second cousins and both were Blacks by birth. The name "Sirius" appears to be a traditional name in the Black family, recurring in at least three of its several generations. This is related to the tradition of having family members named after stars or constellations. The names Cygnus, Arcturus, and Regulus have also occurred at least twice each. Sirius has two maternal uncles, Alphard Black and Cygnus Black, and one paternal aunt, Lucretia (Black) Prewett. Cygnus' wife Druella (Rosier) Black is his aunt by marriage, and Lucretia's husband Ignatius Prewett his uncle by marriage. His younger brother is Regulus Black, and he also has three older cousins, Bellatrix (Black) Lestrange (who later murders Sirius), Andromeda (Black) Tonks (his favorite cousin and the mother of Nymphadora Tonks), and Narcissa (Black) Malfoy. Narcissa and Bellatrix were praised by the Blacks for marrying into "respectable" pureblood families, while Andromeda was disowned for marrying Ted Tonks, a Muggle-born wizard. Sirius's younger brother, Regulus, was also praised for joining Lord Voldemort's organization, the Death Eaters. Sirius and Andromeda were anomalies in the Black clan, and - like their uncle Alphard - were removed from the official family tree for being "blood traitors". Sirius was considerably ashamed of his family, and knew nothing but unhappiness at home. It is unknown whether he was always rebellious against his family and their traditions or if he was changed by his experiences at Hogwarts. Sirius was best friends with James Potter, Harry's father (who might have been related to Sirius through the marriage of Charlus Potter to Dorea Black, a great-aunt of Sirius'), and was also friends with Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. When the group discovered that Lupin was a werewolf, they studied secretly to become Animagi in solidarity with Lupin, to keep him company during his transformations. (Lupin was not compelled to attack non-humans when transformed.) In Sirius's Animagus form he was a large black dog, earning him the nickname "Padfoot." Sirius is said to have been quite handsome in his Hogwarts days, when James & Sirius were said to be inseparable and were very popular and, additionally, they had a reputation for being practical jokers. Sirius also shared James' intense dislike of Severus Snape - as Professor Quirrel said of Snape and James, "they loathed each other" - and in one of Snape's memories Sirius and James were shown bullying Snape in their fifth year. In defence of their apparent bullying, Sirius insisted that even as a teenager Snape had a mean streak and was not the "innocent victim" his memories would make him out to be, although what caused the intense rivalry is unknown. It is generally believed that the antagonism stemmed from James hatred of the Dark Arts and his hatred of those who felt that being "pure bloods" made them better than those who were only "half blood" or of pure muggle background, and unto that hated those of "lesser blood", a feeling that Sirius shared. Despite their arrogance, Sirius and James did not believe in discriminating or persecuting people based on their "blood" origin. At the age of sixteen, Sirius ran away from home to live with the Potter family (who might have been relatives of the Blacks by marriage), disgracing his family and prompting the removal of his name from the Black family tree tapestry (a fate shared by any Black family member his parents didn't like). Alphard Black, Walburga's brother, sympathized with his young nephew and left him a great deal of money. Walburga then removed Alphard's name from the official family tree. When James married Lily Evans, Sirius was his best man at the wedding and later became Harry's godfather. Imprisonment Sirius's family sympathized with Lord Voldemort's desires to "cleanse" the Wizarding world of non-purebloods, and his younger brother Regulus joined the Death Eaters. When the Potters went into hiding from Voldemort, they wanted to make Sirius their Secret-Keeper, but at the last minute he convinced them to appoint Pettigrew to the task instead, since no one would suspect such a move. Pettigrew immediately betrayed the Potters to Voldemort, and during the subsequent confrontation with Sirius, caused an explosion to fake his own death, leaving behind only a finger, which he cut off himself. the explosion killed twelve nearby Muggle bystanders in the process. Sirius was left framed for Pettigrew's "murder" and those of the bystanders, as well as the Potters' betrayal. In light of the overwhelming evidence against him, his guilt was assumed so completely (in particular by the ruthless Barty Crouch) that he was sent straight to Azkaban without trial and imprisoned there for twelve years, during which he endured relentless mental torture at the hands of the Azkaban guards, the dementors. His later escape from Azkaban led to the widest manhunt ever in the wizarding world (being the first person known to have escaped Azkaban, though in reality, he is second to Barty Crouch, Jr.). Sirius had simply changed into his Animagus form and the dementors, knowing only human minds, did not kill him as he left the Wizarding Prison. He then fled Europe for a time, only to return on Dumbledore's orders in The Order of the Phoenix, where he was forced to stay in his old family home, Grimmauld Place. It was impossible for The Order to reveal his location and prove him innocent for various reasons. Sirius did not relish being cooped up and wanted a part of the action so he was more than willing to fight when the chance arose. His death at the end of The Order of the Phoenix, in the Ministry itself, led to Dumbledore explaining his story to the Minister of Magic. Tragically, Sirius was only recognized as innocent after his death. Escape and redemption During the course of events described in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Sirius escaped from Azkaban after learning that Pettigrew was still alive and at large. After some confusion, Harry came to realize that Sirius was innocent of betraying his parents, and began to see his godfather as the father he never had. After he was captured at Hogwarts, Harry helped him escape with Buckbeak, a hippogriff which had also been unfairly condemned. As a fugitive, Sirius could communicate with Harry only sporadically. When Harry, Ron, and Hermione communicated with him in the fourth and fifth books, they called him "Snuffles" and pretended that he is a friendly stray dog. Harry continued to rely on Sirius as a father figure, and often turned to him in times of great need. During the events described in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Sirius allowed his family home to be used as the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. He was effectively confined there due to the manhunt for him, even though Kingsley Shacklebolt, the Auror assigned to his case, was also a member of the Order, but especially because Pettigrew had now informed Voldemort of Sirius's disguise as a dog. During this period, he seems to have become depressed and was frequently withdrawn. When he left for a short time to see Harry to the train station on his journey to Hogwarts, his Animagus form may have been recognised by Draco or Lucius Malfoy. Despite this, Harry made numerous attempts to contact Sirius through the Floo Network, a system by which wizards and witches could communicate through fire, which was eventually monitored by the Ministry of Magic and Dolores Umbridge. Voldemort used his growing power to influence Harry's mind, making him believe that Sirius was being held captive in the Department of Mysteries. Convinced that Sirius was being tortured by Voldemort at the Ministry, Harry and his friends flew to London on Thestrals, and were attacked by waiting Death Eaters. Harry then realized it was a trap. When things began to get desperate for the students, Order members entered the Department of Mysteries, and duelled with the Death Eaters. Sirius Black insisted on coming with them to protect Harry and the other students. In the ensuing battle, Sirius was hit by a curse from Bellatrix Lestrange, his own cousin. His body fell through the veil which hangs in the Department of Mysteries, behind which those who have seen death can hear voices whispering, and has not been recovered. As stated by JK Rowling during the BBC Paxman interview, 2003, Sirius Black is "definitely dead", though some readers wonder about this because of a mirror Sirius left his godchild with a note saying that if Harry ever needed him he was to use the mirror. Inheritance Sirius left all his property, the hippogriff Buckbeak, his house elf Kreacher, and the remains of the Black Fortune, to Harry. Independently wealthy and having no great love for the place that held so many painful memories, Harry immediately gave 12 Grimmauld Place to the Order's use. Kreacher the house-elf was now forced to serve him, which did nothing to help the elf's disposition, and was sent to help at the Hogwarts kitchens. Buckbeak passed into Rubeus Hagrid's care. The whereabouts of the motorbike are unknown. In point of fact, it has only appeared in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone thus far, although it was briefly mentioned again by Hagrid in Prisoner of Azkaban. Hagrid was lent the motorbike at Godric's Hollow after Sirius went to check on the hiding place of Peter Pettigrew, realised the danger the Potters were in and went to Godric's Hollow. After begging Hagrid to let him have baby Harry and Hagrid refusing, being he was on Dumbledore's orders, Sirius lent him the motorbike citing that he wouldn't need it anymore and then went off searching for Peter (Wormtail). J.K. Rowling has as of yet not revealed the motorbike's whereabouts, but has hinted that "the real sleuths" will be able to guess what happened to it. It is possible that Hagrid, like he did to some of his pets, left it to roam the Forbidden Forest; another possibility is that it fell into the possession of Arthur Weasley who has an obsession with enchanting Muggle artefacts and once owned a similarly capable car. It should be noted that, had Sirius died without having made a will, his possessions would have passed to his murderer, Bellatrix Lestrange (née Black), as his cousin and next-of-kin (which suggests that the British laws preventing material gain through murder do not apply to the Wizarding world: because Bellatrix murdered Sirius, his heir should not under Common Law have been Bellatrix but one of her younger sisters). Sirius's property would have been passed to his brother Regulus, but the younger Black died before him, and neither Sirius nor Regulus had children in possession of the Black family name (indeed neither appear to have had any children at all). Initially unsure of who inherited the property, Dumbledore had Harry give Kreacher an order; Kreacher obeyed, showing that Sirius' will was able to break any Black family enchantments on the property. Mental state Sirius is a rather tragic figure in the series. His life was not the happiest and never gave him time to properly mature emotionally, making him somewhat of a loose cannon. At Hogwarts, he was an arrogant but apparently quite normal youth, extremely popular, clever and good looking, but also a bully, in the opinion of some students. Sirius also despised his family for their interest in the Dark Arts and pure-blood mania. At the age of 16 he ran away from home and was left craving the friendship and acceptance of his peers. This he found, which made him fiercely loyal to the Marauders, the closest people he had left. He even lived with one of them and his parents, James Potter. At this point he was (later on self-admittedly) "an idiot". He, along with the before-mentioned James Potter, were immensely popular at Hogwarts as he was a brilliant student and extremely good looking. This popularity was by no means universal, as it was at Hogwarts that the life-long feud between Sirius and Severus Snape emerged. Sirius hated Snape for being an "oddball," being cruely predjudice against muggleborns and other people unlike him, and believed he was obsessed with the Dark Arts, which he undoubtly was. The dispute came to a head when Sirius told Snape how to get into the tunnel approaching the Shrieking Shack, a trick which could have resulted in Snape's death had he not been rescued by James Potter. Sirius, however, clearly stated that he wanted to know where the tunnel lead to, so he was simply giving him what he wanted. It seems that while at school Sirius had something of a "bad boy" image as a result of his dark good looks coupled with a reputation for being (along with James) a forerunner of the Weasley twins - i.e. a troublemaker. Sirius also had a sarcastic and biting sense of humor which often amused his friends - he shares this trait with Harry's best friend Ron Weasley. After leaving school, Sirius joined the Order of the Phoenix to take up the fight against Voldemort, putting himself into a high-stress environment where trust was scarce. This proved manageable until fellow Marauder Peter Pettigrew betrayed James and Lily Potter, causing their deaths, after Sirius had put him in the perfect position to do so, with the thought that Voldemort would come after him, so the secret was safer with Peter. When Pettigrew framed Black for his own murder, too, it was entirely too much to bear, and the wound would last for life. Sirius is reported to have laughed maniacally upon being accused, and according to J.K. Rowling this is true (not a fanciful story) as "he was absolutely unhinged by James's death." While in Azkaban for over a decade (twelve years, in fact), Sirius tried to hold on to vestiges of his sanity. His dog-form gave him respite from the Dementors' presence, but his guilt over James and Lily gnawed at him, and his desire for revenge became an obsession. Sirius resolved to find a way to escape from prison when he discovered by chance that Peter Pettigrew was using his animagus form to pose as a pet rat belonging to Harry's best friend, Ron Weasley. On escape, he had been greatly tainted by the prison. For the following year, he was directed by the fixation to commit the crime he had been convicted of, wild and desperate and alone. It was only when he had his target at wandpoint that, for the first time in many years something good happened. He was reunited with his old friend Lupin, but more importantly also with his godson, Harry. It was Harry who stopped both Lupin and Sirius from committing murder. The two formed a strong bond quickly, but Harry, terrified for Sirius's safety, found a way for him to escape Britain on a hippogriff. Although he was still a fugitive, Sirius had at last met Harry, and could now begin to heal. Though clearly still scarred by his years in prison, he started to resemble his old self. Imprisoned at the age of 22, he never had time to properly mature into adulthood, however, and retained some of his youthful recklessness. The relationship between Harry and Sirius was somewhere between father-son and brothers. Sirius was funloving, bold and reckless, and sometimes egged Harry on to do things in school (by letter or Floo powder-talk) that would be considered risky. He and Harry shared a similar sense of humour and their conversation sometimes sounded like two brothers or close friends talking rather than an older guardian to his ward. Molly Weasley accused Sirius of being unable to distinguish Harry from James because she was unhappy with Sirius's willingness to answer Harry's questions about the Order of the Phoenix and Voldemort. On Sirius's death, however, Harry painfully recalls how, whenever he was in trouble, Sirius would undertake dangerous journeys back to Britain to be with him, risking his life to help Harry. Foolhardy Sirius might have been, but Harry notes that he was a responsible and protective godfather. When Voldemort rose again, Sirius was forced into his family's home, which he hated, to avoid capture. Although he finally gained a social life, it made him bitter and morose, and increasingly frustrated as he felt he was being kept from doing his part in the war. He was unable to overcome his feud with Snape or his loathing for Kreacher, the demented house-elf of 12 Grimmauld Place. It is not surprising that when the Order sent an emergency team to rescue Harry and the gang from the Department of Mysteries, Sirius jumped at the opportunity. The Death Eaters were faced with a man who fought with exuberance and courage, so fearless that he was laughing, up to the point that he was indirectly murdered by Bellatrix Lestrange in the Department of Mysteries during their duel. Sirius died when a curse fired by Bellatrix hit him, knocking him backwards through an ancient veil. It is not clear whether the curse itself or falling through the veil actually caused his death, and the precise nature of the veil has become a subject of intense interest for readers. Sirius had no children to continue the family name; therefore, with his death, the Black family came to an end, as Phineus Nigellus, Sirius's dead relative in portrait form, stated. Name etymology As with many Rowling characters, Sirius's name reveals part of his nature. "Sirius Black" is a pun on his ability to turn into a giant black dog; Sirius is the name of a star (the brightest one in the sky) which can be found in the constellation Canis Major (the big dog). The star Sirius was called "dog's star" by some ancient cultures such as the Egyptians. Traditionally, Sirius is also the star that a Basilisk egg must be incubated under. Most (but not all) of Black's family is likewise named after stars (Bellatrix is in the constellation of Orion; Regulus is in Leo. Andromeda is a constellation in the northern hemisphere, as is Draco). "Black" is an obvious reference to the colour of Sirius' canine alter ego, which is often confused with the grim, a big bear-like black dog that brings death with its presence, and is often thought to be the devil's disguise or the travel compainions of an invisible she-demon of evil. Black hounds also appear on the Black family crest. "Black" may also refer to Sirius' tragic fate. Sirius Black's family tree Main article: Black family tree (Harry Potter) Sirius is the son of Walburga Black and Orion Black. His younger brother is Regulus Black. Book vs. film portrayal Sirius seems to have many tattoos in the film, though there's no evidence of this in the books. The Sirius Black fandom Sirius Black's death seems to have caused as much pain to the entire Harry Potter fandom as it did to Harry himself. There are a number of online Sirius Black fansites, most notably Immeritus. Immeritus has been so successful that J. K. Rowling chose it as the first ever site to win her Fan Site Award (posted on her website). Sirius Black memorials have been set up, even an online "Shrine to Sirius Black", and prominent Harry Potter fansites have written editorials discussing Sirius Black's character. A popular character to begin with, his death has made Sirius Black one of the most admired and unforgettable characters in the Harry Potter series. He is considered to be the Mercutio of the series. In fanfictions Sirius is frequently paired up romantically with Remus Lupin, a pairing that has one of the strongest fanbases in the entire series
Myspace Layouts by Pimp-My-Profile.com / Nature