Sirius Black

## Tropes

* Acquitted Too Late: He is **exonerated for the murders he went to prison for at the beginning of *Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince*, after his death**.
* Adaptational Attractiveness: In the books, he *did* look good before he went to Azkaban and his health deteriorated. The movies, though, cast him as good-looking but much older Gary Oldman.
* Age Lift: Sirius met Harry in his early 30s, and died at the age of 36. Gary Oldman was already 45 in the film version of *Prisoner of Azkaban*. However, Sirius is noted to look aged from the effects of the Dementors.
* The Alcoholic: He is implied to be this, at least by the time of Book 5. It's probably at least partially caused by being cooped up in a house he hates, not even allowed to leave the building. 12 years in a hellish prison for a crime he didn’t commit could also be a factor.
* Animal Motifs: Aside from being able to turn into a dog, he also has a lot of dog-like characteristics, most memorable being that his laugh sounds a lot like a bark. More subtly, Sirius is brazen and fun-loving but also reckless. He's devoted and loyal to the death with the people he trusts, and stand-offish and hostile to those he doesn't.
* Animorphism: 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 he was unregistered, he was able to take advantage of this ability to elude his Ministry captors.
* Anti-Hero: Even though Sirius is a definite good guy, he's also Hot-Blooded and can be quite the hypocrite.
* Badass Biker: Sirius owned his own motorcycle, a flying one with a sidecar, that was used by Hagrid after his imprisonment.
* Berserk Button: He's so Hot-Blooded that it's almost difficult to tell specific berserk buttons apart from his normal behaviour but he has several:
	+ Don't threaten Harry in front of him, *ever*.
	+ Don't accuse him of being a coward.
	+ Don't talk about James and Lily negatively.
	+ Don't rub his mistake with naming Peter Pettigrew as Secret Keeper in his face. Peter Pettigrew's name alone seems to fill him with murderous rage.
* Big Bad: Presented as this for most of *Prisoner of Azkaban* due to Voldemort's absence, especially when Harry discovers that Sirius supposedly betrayed James and Lily to Voldemort. Subverted when his frame-up by Pettigrew is discovered.
* Big Brother Mentor: Despite actually being Harry's godfather.
	+ This is actually a problem since he looks at Harry as a Replacement Goldfish for his father whom Harry never knew and largely sends mixed signals, sometimes serving as a Parental Substitute and other times trying to pretend that he's still at Hogwarts with James.
	+ It's worth noting that this is a major difference in his portrayal in Book 4 and Book 5. In Book 4, he is still on the run and very sharp about potential danger, and acts mostly responsibly toward Harry. He constantly reminds him to lie low, stay out of trouble, and not take risks to see him. Harry on several occasions in *GoF* expresses relief that he is nearby. In *Order of the Phoenix*, Sirius begins to behave more recklessly, in part because he is stuck at his childhood home, subject to taunts about his lack of "usefulness," and there are several hints that he is not mentally stable. It is in *Order of the Phoenix* that Harry begins to worry about Sirius doing something risky to see him, that Molly accuses Sirius of being unable to tell Harry and James apart, and that Sirius becomes careless about his disguise.
* Big Friendly Dog: When he's transformed. In the *Prisoner of Azkaban* movie, Sirius claims James pointed this out and joked that he should have made the change permanent.
* Brilliant, but Lazy: He was a bright student, but not very studious. When he complained about being bored after their last O.W.L. exam, Remus pointed out he could study for the next one with him. Sirius dismissed his offer because he "know[s] it all".
* The Bully: During their school days, he and James would often hex and humiliate classmates they didn't like, at least once attacking Snape *out of boredom.* They also treated their friend Peter Pettigrew with a dismissive cruelty.
* Byronic Hero: Sirius is very clever, still attractive (though not as attractive as he was before Azkaban), slightly mad, and a wee bit homicidal, with a melodramatic flair. He is also the last heir of a noble family from which he inherited a spooky old house.
* Celibate Hero: He was noted to be a Chick Magnet during his school days, but when Harry sees Snape's Pensieve memories he is either oblivious to or ignoring the girl who is eyeing him hopefully. Even after Azkaban he seems to have little interest in love, though that might be from lack of opportunity.
* Chekhov's Gunman: He is name-dropped in the first book as the guy who lent Hagrid the flying motorbike he needed to get baby Harry to Privet Drive. Then he becomes a major player in the third book.
* Clear My Name: Averted at first. Upon his escape, he's single-mindedly focused on simply "committing the murder [he] was imprisoned for." The practical course of turning Pettigrew in alive didn't occur to him until after Harry insisted upon it. His innocence is proven at some point between his death and the beginning of the sixth book, probably because he died at the hands of one of his supposed allies.
* Comedic Sociopathy: He and James lapse into a disturbing version of this in the "Snape's Worst Memory" chapter in the book. He considered it a joke to betray Remus's trust by telling Snape how to get past the Whomping Willow.
* Creepy Good: He's described as waxen and skeletal when first introduced, and generally behaves in a very sinister manner, but then he turns out to be not so bad as all that. Also, his Animagus form keeps being mistaken for a death omen.
* Cultural Rebel: Sirius was raised in a family of aristocratic pureblood wizards who loved the Dark Arts, but by the age of eleven, he expressed a desire to move away from that and got himself Sorted into Gryffindor. He spent his teenage years plastering his bedroom walls with photos of motorbikes and muggle girls before running away at the age of sixteen. Then he joined the Order of the Phoenix while his brother Regulus and cousin Bellatrix joined the Death Eaters. Ironically, it seems only the family he rejected believed Sirius was sincere in his beliefs since his mother continues hating him even after her death while everyone else came to think he had joined the Death Eaters as Voldemort's right-hand man after ten years of open rebellion.
* Dark and Troubled Past: Sirius (let's count!) 1) lost his best friend and his family, 2) lost his brother, 3) was disowned by his parents, 4) was betrayed by former True Companion Peter Pettigrew, 5) spent twelve years in prison for a crime he didn't commit.
* Dark Is Not Evil: His animagus form is a **dangerous looking dog, and he looks crazed and dishevelled, but he is a good and loyal man**.
* Despair Event Horizon: He hits it the night James and Lily die. He eventually snaps out of it when he sees Wormtail's picture in the paper and realizes that Harry's in danger.
* Determinator: Even after crossing the Despair Event Horizon he manages to endure a wizarding prison where people go insane and lose the will to live under the watch of soul-sucking wraiths for thirteen years. He then escapes said prison and swims to the mainland (implied to be a very long swimming distance), and then travels to Hogwarts on foot (again, a very long journey) in pursuit of Peter Pettigrew before managing to penetrate Hogwarts' heightened security multiple times. Say what you will about Sirius, the man will *not* give up.
* Didn't Think This Through: A very serious problem for him. This could partially be attributed to his Hot-Blooded nature but his time in Azkaban didn't do any favours for his mental state. In *Prisoner of Azkaban* as an escaped convict believed to be intent on killing Harry Potter, he breaks into Hogwarts and carries a knife into Harry's own dormitory to try and kill Peter Pettigrew. After being discovered this seemingly confirms his intent towards Harry until the finale.
* Disability Immunity: Sirius explains he maintained his sanity in the wizarding prison by magically turning into a dog, so his simpler intelligence would prevent the guards from forcing complex emotions like depression upon him.
* Disc-One Final Boss: Sirius is initially set up to be the antagonist of *Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban*, the titular Azkaban escapee who is suggested to have betrayed the Potter's to Voldemort. However, it turns out that the real traitor is Peter Pettigrew, AKA, Ron's rat Scabbers, and furthermore, that Sirius is chasing Pettigrew in order to prevent Pettigrew from having a chance to harm Harry, as well as to avenge James and Lily.
* Disproportionate Retribution: Had a pretty bad moment of this. In response to Snape's nosy inquiries into Remus's condition and his constant attempts to get the Marauders expelled, he told Snape how to get into the Shrieking Shack where Snape would come face-to-face with a werewolf. This might, however, have been a case of Didn't Think This Through. Sirius knew Snape suspected Remus was a werewolf, and he might have intended to taunt Snape by giving him information that would let him prove it, but only if he would risk his life and status as a human. He didn't realise Snape hated them enough to do it, though James did and went to rescue Snape.
* Distressed Dude: Near the end of *Prisoner of Azkaban*, he's locked up for the Dementors and Harry and Hermione have to rescue him with Buckbeak.
* The Dreaded: He gains this reputation due to Peter Pettigrew's frame-up and his own behaviour being taken out of context. When he laughs madly after Pettigrew's betrayal and escape the wizarding world concluded that he was an Ax-Crazy psychopath who killed Muggles for fun and laughed about it after betraying Lily and James Potter to Voldemort. Even the Muggle world was told that he was a violent and dangerous albeit ordinary criminal. After his innocence is posthumously discovered this seems to be toned down.
* Et Tu, Brute?: He was blamed for the murder of the Potters by Peter.
* Expository Hairstyle Change: Sirius's long, unkempt hair in the later scenes of 'Goblet Of Fire *and* Order of the Phoenix'' is a sign that living in caves and his hated childhood home is incredibly depressing fo r him. Moody explicitly compares it to the shorter hairstyle he sported back before the Potters were killed.
* Fatal Flaw: In general, his reckless, Hot-Blooded nature which leads him to act impulsively with Suicidal Overconfidence in situations where he's not in control. This leads him to be Out-Gambitted by the likes of Peter Pettigrew and his own house-elf Kreacher.
* Freudian Slip: In the fifth film while fighting Death Eaters with Harry. Sirius: *[to Harry]* Nice one, James!
* Friend to All Children: The first clue that Sirius isn't the bad guy is his concern for Ron in the Shrieking Shack scene. Sirius might be the one who broke Ron's leg in the first place, but that's a minor injury in the magical world and Sirius twice allows his concern for Ron to interrupt his plans, first by ordering Ron to sit back down when it looks like he's going to injure his leg further and then when he stops in the middle of his escape to ask Harry and Hermione if Ron is going to be okay. He's also the only adult who takes Harry, Ron, and Hermione seriously when they discuss their latest problems with him while everyone else tells them to let the adults handle it.
* Friend to All Living Things: The second clue that Sirius is a good guy is Crookshanks's loyalty to Sirius and Sirius's own attempt to dislodge Crookshanks when he tries to shield Sirius with his body. Sirius and Crookshanks remain fond of each other in *Order of the Phoenix*, and in that book, Dumbledore points out that in spite of Sirius's troubled relationship with Kreacher, he was otherwise kind to house-elves, something which few wizards and witches can claim. He also develops a friendship with the hippogriff Buckbeak.

   G-N

* Good All Along: Sirius is set up in *Prisoner of Azkaban* as Voldemort's Dragon, a mass-murderer who killed thirteen people with a single curse, later "revealed" to be a traitor to the Potter family after they made him Secret-Keeper. It turns out that Sirius was framed for these crimes by Peter Pettigrew, who is much less conspicuous and competent than Sirius was made out to be (Pettigrew is far from being Voldemort's Dragon, and was only secret-keeper for the Potters because Sirius suggested it), and that Sirius is in fact a Hero with Bad Publicity who ends up being a father figure of sorts to Harry.
* Good Is Not Nice: During the books he seems to be on the path to becoming a much better person, but as a teenager, he was known for being very reckless and wild (to which he does eventually admit he isn't proud of). He noticeably didn't see anything wrong in potentially feeding a fellow student to his werewolf best friend, regarding it as a "joke" (although most likely, he simply didn't believe his prank would actually work).
* Go Mad from the Revelation: His reaction of hysterical laughter to Pettigrew's betrayal and escape via display of hitherto unknown cunning and viciousness, leaving him unable to rationally defend himself against prosecution. The fact that he didn't get a trial couldn't have helped, either... nor could the fact that he may be a little unhinged—the Black family is noted to frequently intermarry with cousins and has been for at least seven hundred years, and there's his Dark and Troubled Past. Genetics would hardly be needed to make any rational person snap in the same circumstances.
* Guttural Growler: The book *Prisoner of Azkaban* describes his **voice as hoarse several times, and at one point as "sounding suddenly like the bear-sized dog he had been"**. Downplayed in the movie adaptation.
* Happily Adopted: Briefly, as a teenager. He ran away from his bigoted family when he was sixteen and moved in with the Potters, who treated him like a second son and made it clear even after he moved out that he was always welcome at Sunday dinner. He and Harry plan on doing this themselves; when Sirius suggests he take legal guardianship of Harry to take him away from his abusive household, it genuinely seems like one of the happiest moments in both their lives. Then he died before it could ever happen.
* Heroic Self-Deprecation: He apologizes to Remus for suspecting him for being the traitor, when in retrospect Peter was more psychologically consistent to do so and even admits that he and James used to be "the biggest bullies in the playground" in Book 3, before the revelations of the fifth book. He also acknowledges to Harry that he and James behaved, "like arrogant berks" and that they ought to have listened to Remus more often than they did.
* Hero with Bad Publicity: Most of the wizarding community (and even the Muggle community) believes him to be a dangerous and violent mass murderer despite being the only one to reprimand the real person behind the murders.
* Hoist by His Own Petard: Due to being unkind to his family's old house elf Kreacher, who takes an opportunity to pass information to Voldemort through Narcissa, leading Voldy to concoct a plan that gets Sirius killed. That's actually a part of it, since while it provided the context, Harry "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot by listening to Hermione and Sirius himself made the decision to join the others, despite Dumbledore's orders. His death happens because of Suicidal Overconfidence on his part in facing Hero Killer Bellatrix Lestrange, his own cousin, though he only died because of a magical gate and him passing through it. He probably would've won if it was not there.
* Horrible Judge of Character: Unbeknownst to anyone else, he had James and Lily make Peter Pettigrew their Secret-Keeper — thinking no one would ever suspect it and that Peter would never betray them. In Sirius' defence, nobody else in the Order suspected Peter of being the traitor either. It's implied that Dumbledore himself suspected Sirius, while Sirius suspected Remus.
* Hot-Blooded: As an adult, Sirius was shown to be capable of an **explosive temper when angered, a trait shared by his mother, Walburga Black, and his mad cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange. His 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 man. Later on, he occasionally demonstrated himself to be reckless, immature, and even downright irresponsible. In several instances, he risked getting caught by the Ministry because he felt stir-crazy in his 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 his emotional development and making him especially eager to spend time with and protect his loved ones.**
* Hypocrite: **Despite his axiom that the measure of a man is how he treats his inferiors, he behaves detestably towards Kreacher (since Kreacher reminds him of the house and the family he hated while growing up), though it should be noted that Kreacher hates him back**. Indeed, this is one of his least admirable qualities. It also bites him in the arse. *Hard*.
* Icy Grey Eyes: **Sirius has grey eyes, which originally tied in with his good looks as a young man (grey eyes were once considered a highly beautiful attribute). Later on in his life, they symbolically tie into the stoicism and loneliness he exhibits due to his life on the run.**
* I Hate Past Me: **He's not proud of some of the stuff he did back when he was younger, referring to himself as having been one of "the biggest bullies in the playground" as early as the third book.**
* I Have No Son!: His parents disowned him and burned his name off the family tree after he ran away. This was, admittedly, probably the reaction he was hoping for.
* In-Series Nickname: Padfoot to the other Marauders.
* In the Blood: Subverted. Sirius was disowned from his family for being a "dirty Muggle lover who has no respect for tradition" (read: a decent human being), and ended up in Gryffindor, whereas every member of his close family was in Slytherin. However, he still shows signs of the aristocratic arrogance and entitlement he shares with his cousins Bellatrix, Narcissa, and even fellow White Sheep Andromeda.
* It's All My Fault: When Harry confronts him and accuses him of killing his parents, Sirius does not deny it. However, it's because he considers James and Lily's deaths his fault since he was the one who suggested making Wormtail the Secret-Keeper.
* I Was Quite a Looker: Before he went to Azkaban, he was quite handsome, but after he escapes, he looks decrepit and emaciated. In the fourth book, he looks a little better after his health improves but later he stops caring for his appearance, presumably because of his house arrest in book 5. Remus Lupin's Pottermore profile includes a moment when Tonks comments on his remaining attractiveness, however.
* Jerk with a Heart of Gold: As an adult, he mellows out somewhat. He still hates Snape and Kreacher but is otherwise a very nice person. There are a few moments that indicate him maturing greatly, such as when he points out he's not proud of how he and James treated Snape in school.
* Kind Hearted Cat Lover: **He is friendly with Crookshanks**
* Kirk Summation:
	+ Sirius shows considerable insight into the psychology of Barty Crouch Sr., showing fairness to the man who sent him to prison without trial as well as the general Death Eater and pureblood mentality and culture, to which he serves as Mr. Exposition in Books 4 and 5.
	+ Sirius corrects Harry's assumption that Umbridge is a Death Eater by pointing out she doesn't have to be to be a prejudiced, evil woman.
* Knight Templar: Another way he's not that different from the people he criticizes. Like Crouch, Sirius expects absolute commitment and loyalty to friends and True Companions as well as absolute consistency in ideology, which makes it difficult for him to comprehend and tolerate the ambiguous situation of the likes of Severus Snape and Kreacher. On the other hand, this gives him significant insight into the character of Crouch Junior.
* The Lancer: Served as this to The Marauders with James being the leader.
* Last-Name Basis: Rowling does this with him for most of his first appearance. But when the truth about him is revealed, she suddenly switches to his first name, eventually permanently.
* Luke, I Am Your Father: A variation. When Harry overheard McGonagall and Fudge talk about Sirius as well as that he was his godfather, he broke down and wanted to gain revenge on Sirius for betraying not only his parents, but the parents that Sirius was supposedly friends to. However, it's also technically subverted in that Sirius, although still Harry's godfather, was also not only not that bad a person, but also not even the one responsible for betraying his parents.
* Madness Mantra: "He's at Hogwarts... he's at Hogwarts..." Subverted, in that it was the only thing that allowed him to become *sane* enough to escape the Dementors.
* Manchild: Getting locked away in prison left him with a pretty nasty case of arrested development. He often acts more like Harry’s buddy than his guardian and fails to understand the consequences of his actions.
	+ It should be noted, though, that before Dumbledore insisted he hole up in Grimmauld Place, he acts relatively responsible and level-headed, warning Harry to be more cautious. It's misery at being essentially locked up again (in a place he despises) and desperation to do anything of any consequence that drives him to more reckless, rebellious nature.
* Meaningful Name: Sirius is a star commonly referred to as the "dog star." And, of course, he turns into a *black* dog.
	+ The constellation it's in is in mythology a hound fated to always catch his prey... and Sirius, for better or worse, has the same determination when looking for his in his debut book *Prisoner of Azkaban*.
* Mentor Occupational Hazard: He was killed by Bellatrix during their duel.
* Metaphorically True: **His convincing James and Lily to make Peter the Secret Keeper was a betrayal in his eyes**.
* Mirror Character: Severus. Both are byronic heroes, and despite both being ultimately good people and regardless of how excusable it may be, both of them can still sort of be dicks and are presented as a Red Herring for a true villain (Quirrell for Snape, Pettigrew for Sirius) in their first appearance. He also serves as a foil to Snape when you take their backgrounds into account. Sirius was a member of a pureblood wizarding family known for their penchants for the dark arts, but Sirius turned out to not only be a pretty good guy, but also opposed Voldemort during the First Wizarding War. Snape is a half-blood wizard who ultimately chooses to side with the supremacists. Though Lily's death eventually makes him realize how wrong he was. They both played an unintentional role in the deaths of the Potters and dedicated their lives to protecting Harry out of loyalty to one of his parents, with said parent being the person Sirius and Snape loved most in the world (James for Sirius, Lily for Snape). That being said, both men are guilty of confusing Harry with his father and treat him as they would treat James, which occasionally caused problems for all three of them.
* Miscarriage of Justice: Victimized *hard* by this, having been held in Azkaban without a trial for 12 years for a crime he didn't even commit.
* Misunderstood Loner with a Heart of Gold: Sirius is initially presented as a suspicious character, who supposedly betrayed the Potters to Lord Voldemort and killed Peter Pettigrew, and supposedly planned on coming to Hogwarts to kill Harry Potter; not helping his case is the fact that he takes the form of a black dog. However, it turns out that not only was Sirius doggedly loyal to James and Lily, he had actually come to Hogwarts to avenge their blood, as the real traitor, Pettigrew, had framed Sirius both as a traitor, and as Pettigrew's murderer, and had been taking the form of a rat. Sirius also turns out to be a better adult figure than the Dursleys, taking care not to hide information from Harry.
* Mommy Issues: Considering his mother in portrait form is verbally abusive and bigoted, it's no surprise at all that Sirius has issues with matriarchal figures like Mrs Weasley.
* Mr. Fanservice: Before he went to Azkaban, **his good looks are frequently mentioned. A Pottermore profile of Remus Lupin by Rowling has Lupin noting that he was the ladies' man of the group.**
* No Body Left Behind: It is heavily implied that when Bellatrix knocked him through the Veil, **he was transported directly to the afterlife. As such, his physical body most likely doesn't exist anymore.**
	+ Outright stated in a later book that they didn't have a funeral for him because there was no body to bury.
* No Historical Figures Were Harmed: Sirius's story arc and backstory is inspired by Jessica Mitford, the daughter of an aristocratic family of Nazi sympathizers who ran away from home and became a Cultural Rebel and leftist. Jessica Mitford is also one of Rowling's heroes. In terms of appearance, especially in the movies, he bears a resemblance to this photo of Charles Manson◊ (except in Mary GrandPre's illustrations, where he is drawn as clean-shaven).
* Noodle Incident: "Usually, I have a very sweet disposition as a dog. In fact, more than once, James suggested that I made the change permanent. The tail I could live with - but the fleas, they're murder." Sirius's tone of voice implies that he *has*, indeed, on at least one occasion, *given himself a tail while he's in human.*
* Not Helping Your Case:
	+ Because of his **hot-blooded nature and his impulsive behaviour**, he is a major example of this. Despite the Miscarriage of Justice in not getting a trial, he is surrounded by an Orgy of Evidence and is Laughing Mad and doesn't put up a fight when the Aurors arrest him, all situations he could have avoided had he understood the situation. Then again, **finding out one of your best friends sold you and your friends out to have them killed, especially one you trusted to keep their location secret would cause a severe mental breakdown in anyone.**
	+ In *Prisoner of Azkaban*, he doesn't stop either, **sneaking around and infiltrating Hogwarts, carrying a knife all just to kill a rat - albeit a rat who happens to be a deceptively intelligent and powerful wizard, and in prime position to threaten his godson should he choose to do so. Either way, subtlety is not a strong suit. Dumbledore flat out states that, even if he believes Sirius innocent, he's done himself no favours.**

   O-Y

* Old Shame: In-Universe example. His reaction to Harry when confronted about his past actions in Snape's Worst Memory, admitting that he's not proud of his actions and that he and James behaved like "arrogant young berks".
* One of the Kids: Although he often gives Harry good advice, there are moments when he seems **irresponsible in comparison to Harry and his friends. Getting chucked in a prison that tends to drive people mad for twelve years (after losing his best friends due to his own mistakes) didn't do wonders for his maturity.**
* Papa Wolf:
	+ Malfoy threatens Sirius's godson in exchange for information, only for Sirius to bust into the room, skip magic entirely, and deck Malfoy before duelling with Malfoy's goons. "Get away from my godson!"
	+ There’s also the events in ‘’Prisoner of Azkaban’’ where he protected Harry multiple times, especially from Lupin, his own best friend, when he transformed into a werewolf and was attacking Harry and his friends. Not to mention the outraged response he gave Peter Pettigrew when he approached Harry while talking about James.
* Parental Substitute: To Harry. Although as Dumbledore says, **Harry regards Sirius as combination of both father and older brother.**
* Parents as People: Sirius isn't Harry's parent, but as his guardian, his good intentions are often muddled by his own issues—he gives into his desire for vengeance after the Potters are murdered and allows Hagrid to take Harry to the Dursleys' (though he only did so because Hagrid insisted, invoking Dumbledore's orders), and his mental and emotional development is all over the place due to his years imprisoned or on the run. Consequently, while he gives decent advice in GOF, he struggles to provide support and guidance for Harry during OOTP as he suffers from untreated trauma and implied alcoholism and as Harry's problems outgrow *anybody's* ability to deal with, and he is so desperate to escape the home where he was abused that he lashes out when Harry tries to keep him there, even though Harry only wants to keep him safe. No one doubts how much he loves Harry, but it is hard for him to express in a healthy manner.
* Pet the Dog: In *Goblet of Fire*, despite loathing Snape and knowing that most of the people he associated with at school wound up becoming Death Eaters, he admits he has no evidence to confirm Snape was one too and cannot condemn him as such.
* Poster-Gallery Bedroom: His childhood bedroom at 12 Grimmauld Place is covered in Gryffindor banners, photographs of Muggle motorcycles, and posters of bikini-clad Muggle girls, complete with Permanent Sticking Charms so his family couldn't take them down after he left.
* Pragmatic Hero: Despite **firmly having heroic motivations, he has no problems with murder and other unscrupulous methods.**
* Prophetic Name: He is a animagus with a black dog form named after the Dog Star, whose name in the original Greek means "scorching".
* Reasonable Authority Figure: Despite doubts of his competence by Mrs. Weasley and Hermione, Sirius serves as this to Harry in spite of considerable emotional strain and psychological stress. Immediately understanding Harry's needs and opposed to keeping him Locked Out of the Loop. Dumbledore admits that Sirius was right in that regard, and Dumbledore's fatal insistence on it led to Sirius's death.
* Red Herring: For most of Book 3, the reader is led to believe that he is a mass murderer, a loyal Death Eater, and that he betrayed Harry's parents. It's actually Wormtail.
* Red Oni, Blue Oni: Seems to have been Red to James' Blue while both are more Red than Lupin's Blue. To his disappointment in *Order of the Phoenix*, Harry is Blue to his Red as well, unwilling to take risks that would have been fun for his old man - though this is likely an artefact of his own frustration, as in *Goblet of Fire*, if anything he was more Blue than Harry, warning him to be careful.
* Revenge: Part of his reason for breaking out of Azkaban is to get revenge on Wormtail, that and avenge Harry's parents. He's also on the receiving end in *Azkaban* as far as Snape is concerned, not only for their bullying but because Snape believed that Sirius betrayed Lily to Voldemort.
* Revenge Before Reason: He intends to break out of Azkaban to stop Peter and protect Harry and then kill him in revenge, "to commit the crime he was imprisoned for." Rather than capturing said rat, exposing him to the authorities and clear his name. Harry is the one who takes control of the situation though ultimately it Goes Horribly Wrong anyway.
* Sacrificial Lion: His death in Book 5 was a major shock, since he was an important character that people expected would last longer and a Father Figure for Harry. It signalled the Anyone Can Die aspect of the series more than Cedric's death.
* Sanity Strengthening: Already driven mad with grief and rage after the murders of James and Lily, poor Sirius mentally snaps after his encounter with Peter Pettigrew on the streets of London. After being sentenced to Azkaban he's able to cling to sanity by focusing on his innocence. As this was "more an obsession than a happy thought" it could not be detected by the Dementors, but still allowed him to maintain a sense of self and regain enough strength to transform into his Animagus form in his cell. Since Dementors have difficulty sensing the less complex emotions of animals, he was able to remain relatively unaffected as a dog. This and subsequently the discovery that Pettigrew was alive and at Hogwarts helped him reclaim enough mental clarity to escape from Azkaban. He’s still pretty messed up but having his name cleared in the eyes of Harry and his closest surviving friend is what really brings him the peace of mind he needs.
* Shoot the Shaggy Dog: No pun intended. After breaking out of prison, Sirius is instead placed under virtual house arrest in his horrible childhood home with most of his colleagues on field duty, and Harry in Hogwarts with only a bitter old house-elf for regular company. He dies in battle before his name is cleared out of a mix of lack of field experience and Suicidal Overconfidence and does not play a major role to help Harry achieve his destiny. His mistakes with Kreacher are cited by Hermione as a cautionary tale instead.
* Shut Up, Hannibal!: When Peter Pettigrew tries to justify his treachery by way of Voldemort threatening his life, Sirius, quite bluntly, shouts that Peter should have died rather than betray his friends, as they would have done for him. In the film, when Peter tries using the same excuse, saying that Sirius should consider what the latter would have done, Sirius retorts, "I would have died! I would have died rather than betray my friends!"
* Tall, Dark, and Handsome: He is the tallest Marauder,note  black-haired, and so handsome his own godson comments on it repeatedly.
* Tall, Dark, and Snarky: He's also a Deadpan Snarker.
* Teen Genius: It does not come up often. But he (And the rest of the Marauders) are no less brilliant than Snape. Sirius became an Animagus at Fifteen, collaborated in the creation of the Marauder's Map and aced all of his classes in school.
* Those Two Guys: He and James Potter were a "double act" as noted by their former teachers, Flitwick and McGonagall. In the flashbacks we see in the Pensieve, they bond instantly on the Hogwarts Express and are inseparable.
* Too Clever by Half: This is perhaps Sirius' real tragic flaw. Despite being fairly smart and insightful, he's led astray by Suicidal Overconfidence and underestimates his opponents and even Peter Pettigrew, who managed to manipulate his friend into a trap that left him framed for mass murder and in prison for 12 years. His dismissal of Hermione and Dumbledore's concerns for Kreacher plays a role in the circumstances leading to his death. In the end, his bravado and Trash Talk to Bellatrix Lestrange gives her the advantage needed to kill him, albeit only by knocking him back into a gate whose magic kills him.
* Too Dumb to Live: He taunts Bellatrix Lestrange in the middle of their duel in the Department of Mysteries, distracting himself and giving her the advantage to knock him back into the Veil whose magic kills him. Not that Bellatrix is any smarter; two years later, she would meet her own end when she taunts an already-enraged Molly Weaselynote  in the middle of their duel.
* Too Spicy for Yog-Sothoth: Azkaban is guarded by joy-eating Dementors that normally drive prisoners insane or drain their motivation to escape. Sirius was wrongly imprisoned there for alleged mass murder and for the alleged betrayal of his best friends (and Harry's parents), James and Lily Potter. But he still manages to get past the Dementors and escape. This is partly because he escapes in the form of a dog, meaning he's less intelligent and his simpler emotions are harder for Dementors to detect and consume. Also, Sirius is so unhappy already, over the deaths of Harry's parents and over his own wrongful imprisonment, that there isn't really much joy left for the Dementors to eat. He also says that he was able to cling to his sanity because his knowledge that he was innocent was not an emotion and therefore not something the Dementors could take from him, giving him a lifeline to cling to. His escape is motivated by desire for revenge against Peter Pettigrew, who really betrayed Harry's parents and framed Sirius. Since his desire for revenge is fuelled by negative emotions, the Dementors can't drain his motivation to escape Azkaban.
* Tragic Hero: Perhaps the purest example in the series in terms of the classical theme of escaping one's roots. He spent his entire life trying to escape his family influence only to be framed for murder as a dark wizard and Muggle killer, something his family is known for. After escaping, he ends up under virtual house arrest in his childhood home and ends up being killed by his cousin, at the instigation of the family servant. Ironically, his tendency towards being a Cultural Rebel done him in.
* Tragic Mistake: Two major ones:
	+ Trusting Peter Pettigrew implicitly, a mistake that led to the deaths of James and Lily and which would haunt him for the rest of his life.
	+ His biggest mistake is his mistreatment of Kreacher. This is the main reason why he was killed after Harry was lured into a trap by the Death Eaters.
* Trauma Conga Line: He indirectly got James and Lily killed after they're all betrayed by their close friend Peter Pettigrew, realizes this, then realizes that his friend Remus (who Sirius had begun to think was Voldemort's spy) was the man he *should* have trusted, and that his own complete blindness to the kind of person Peter really was allowed him to be outwitted by him and set up for the murders of three of his closest friends (including Peter himself.) His response to this is to go completely hysterical, which doesn't help his case any (or at least it wouldn't have, had he gotten a trial.) No one believes him, and he promptly spends the next twelve years or so in Azkaban (where you have the joy literally *sucked out of you* by dementors, not that Sirius at that point would have made for a very appetizing meal.) And then he is rather abruptly killed off before his name is cleared or he even actually gets to do much good. The woman who killed him was his cousin who, had Sirius not lost their duel via his suicidal overconfidence, maybe wouldn't have gone on to kill several other characters before she was finally stopped (including his first cousin once removed/ the wife of his closest living friend, leaving his first cousin twice removed an orphan who never knew either of his parents.) We will not even count him being ostracized by his family (even though his younger brother died after having a heel-face turn Sirius never found out about) since he considered this to be one of the best things that ever happened to him. And he never gets be a guardian to Harry like both of them wanted him to. *Damn.*
* Troubled, but Cute: Definitely was this in his younger years.
* Troubling Unchildlike Behaviour: When Sirius was a teenager, he tried to trick Snape into meeting Lupin as a werewolf, who would likely have eaten Snape had James not drawn the line and saved his life, all because he didn't like Snape and thought it would be funny. It was a dangerously reckless and selfish prank at best since he never took how Lupin would feel about attacking someone into consideration, and outright attempted murder at worst.
* Undying Loyalty: He would give his life in an instant for his friends — Peter's cowardice being his excuse for betraying the Potters enrages him. Even more awesome when you remember his animal form: dog.
* The Un-Favourite: As opposed to Regulus, Sirius's rebelliousness and tolerance lead to him being disowned by his parents and wiped from the family tree.
* Unstoppable Rage: At Peter. Painfully justified though since Peter betrayed two of their friends to Voldemort and framed Sirius for it. When he forces Peter to transform back into a man, he is prepared to kill Peter. He was so mad at Peter that him approaching Harry while talking about James set him off.
* Used to Be a Sweet Kid: How Madam Rosmerta remembers Sirius, who along with James always made her laugh. She finds his Face–Heel Turn almost impossible to believe, even years later. Needless to say, her instinct is vindicated.
	+ Actually inverted. Sirius may have gotten up to some cruel things in his youth, but like James, has grown out of most of it.
* Walking Spoiler: It's impossible to talk about him without giving away spoilers about his true nature from the third book.
* When He Smiles: When he first appears, has a frightening, corpse-like appearance due to years of imprisonment in Azkaban taking a toll on his health. But when the truth is uncovered and Harry says he wants to live with Sirius, that's the first time we see him smile, and what a difference it makes. *Black's gaunt face broke into the first true smile Harry had seen upon it. The difference it made was startling, as though a person ten years younger were shining through the starved mask. For a moment, he was recognizable as the man who had laughed at Harry's parents' wedding.*
* White Sheep: A good version of a Black Sheep, excusing the pun: He was one of the only members of his family who was not a staunch blood supremacist, and a Gryffindor rather than a Slytherin.
* Would Hit a Girl: He fights Bellatrix in the climax of the fifth book, which leads to him getting killed.
* You Killed My Father: Subverted. It is initially believed that Sirius Black was the one who betrayed Harry's parents to Voldemort, but it turns out that not only was he in fact not responsible for betraying them, he was actually framed by the person who supposedly tried to avenge them and died, Peter Pettigrew.
* Younger than They Look: Typical for an Azkaban inmate, Sirius looks far older than thirty or so because of the despair he went through in prison. He looks a bit better by *Goblet of Fire* after he's spent some time taking care of himself but he still looks unnaturally gaunt.
* You Should Have Died Instead: See Undying Loyalty. "Then you should have died! Died rather than betray your friends, as we would have done for you!"

## Relationships

### Lyra Black

He didn't know about her. He favors Harry over her, much to her disappointment. She reminds him of Snape which throws him off and appears more like his family which gives him hesitancy. At her core she is just like him, and she is sad he is not emotionally equipped to be the father she always wanted. She is frustrated by his flaws but appreciates the familiarity of family and wants to live with him. He is impressed by her and appreciates her good traits. He feels guilty about her.

## Possessions

* **Wand**: Ebony and Dragon Heartstring
	+ This jet-black wand wood had an impressive appearance and reputation, being highly suited to all manner of combative magic and to transfiguration. Ebony was happiest in the hand of those with the courage to be themselves. Frequently non-conformist, highly individual or comfortable with the status of outsider, ebony wand owners had been found both among the ranks of the Order of the Phoenix and among the Death Eaters. In the experience of Garrick Ollivander, the ebony wand's perfect match was the one who would hold fast to their beliefs, no matter what the external pressure, and would not be swayed lightly from their purpose.
	+ Dragon heartstrings produced wands with the most magical power, and which were capable of the most flamboyant spells. Dragon wands tended to learn more quickly than other types. While they could change allegiance if won from their original master, they always bonded strongly with the current owner. The dragon wand tended to be easiest to turn to the Dark Arts, though it would not incline that way of its own accord. It was also the most prone of the three cores to accidents, being somewhat temperamental.