Sirius Black

## Sirius Orion Black

**Sirius Black III** (b. 3 November, 1959), also known as **Padfoot** or **Snuffles** (in his Animagus form) is an English pure-blood wizard, the older son of Orion and Amelié Black, and the brother of Regulus Black. Although he was the heir of the House of Black, Sirius disagreed with his family's belief in blood purity and defied tradition when he was Sorted into Gryffindor House instead of Slytherin at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, which he attended from 1971–1978. As the rest of his family had been in Slytherin, he was the odd one out.

As Sirius' relationship with his relatives deteriorated, he gained a lifelong friendship with James Potter and Remus Lupin. He was also friends with Peter Pettigrew and Isabell Goldfinch. 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 was named the godfather of Harry James Potter, the only son of James and Liliana Potter. When Dumbledore betrayed the Potters to Voldemort, Sirius sought to get revenge on Dumbledore. However, Dumbledore was able to frame Sirius for his betrayal of the Potters, the murder of twelve Muggles, and the staged murder of Pettigrew before Sirius could accomplish this. Sirius was sent to Azkaban, and became a famous Azkaban Convict accused for causing the Attack on Godrics Hollow in 1980.

And after twelve years became the only known person to escape the prison unassisted. He did it by transforming into his Animagus form of a massive black dog often confused with a "Grim", an omen said to cause death. Sirius exposed Pettigrew's treachery to his old friend Remus and his godson Harry. After Lord Voldemort returned in 1995, Sirius rejoined the Order.

He distrusted Nathara and her younger sister, Snowbell purely because they were the daughters of his most hated rival, but slowly warmed up to them.

## Biography

### Early life (1959–1971)

**Harry Potter**: "*Were — were your parents 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 regarding his family's beliefs
Sirius Black III was born on 3 November, 1959, in the London borough of Islington, England, to Orion Black and Amelia Black, both of whom were Dark Wizards and second cousins. He was the last remaining heir of the House of Black, a once-notable pure-blood wizarding family. Sirius had a younger brother, Regulus. Sirius did not share a close relationship with his brother, calling him a "better son" than himself.

"Sirius" was 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.

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 his family. He even put permanent-sticking charms of Gryffindor banners, as well as pictures of Muggle girls in bikinis and motorcycles, as well as a picture of himself and his Gryffindor friends on the walls of his room to emphasise his differences from the family and annoy his parents. When his cousins Star, Bellatrix, and Narcissa made the desirable pure-blood marriages, to Sirius Pikeman, Rodolphus Lestrange and Lucius Malfoy respectively, Sirius held them in contempt. His 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 his family.

### Hogwarts years (1971–1978)

**James Potter**: "*How’d the exam go, Snivelly?*"
**Sirius Black**: "*I was watching him, his nose was touching the parchment. There’ll be great grease marks all over it, they won’t be able to read a word.*"
**Severus Snape**: "*You — wait. You — wait....*"
**Sirius Black**: "*Wait for what? What’re you going to do, Snivelly, wipe your nose on us?*"
— James and Sirius tormenting Severus Snape in their fifth year

Sirius had an unhappy childhood; by adolescence he had come to hate most of his relatives, in particular his mother, Amelie and his cousin Bellatrix Black. Whereas all other members of the Black family were Sorted into Slytherin, Sirius was placed in Gryffindor during his Sorting in 1971, showing that his views had already diverged from those of the rest of the family before he came to school. Sirius also took great care in hanging Gryffindor banners all over his room at Number 12 Grimmauld Place to show his difference from the rest of the family. Aside from the shrine to Godric Gryffindor, Sirius did the rest of his room akin to a Muggle boy of his age. He put up pictures of motorcycles and fighter jets, as well as posters of bathing beauties. Honouring Muggle accomplishments annoyed his family, but none so much as angering his mother that Sirius considered Muggle women attractive.

By contrast he greatly enjoyed life at Hogwarts, where he was inseparable from his best friends: James Potter, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew. They later discovered that Remus was a werewolf. To support him, Sirius, James, and Peter secretly — and illegally — became Animagi. This 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 his 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 came from their three Animagus forms and Moony after his lycanthropic condition. They also created 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 he later considered himself "an idiot" during this time, Sirius, along with James were immensely popular. Teachers respected his intelligence (though not his behaviour) and girls adored his dark handsome looks. His especially rebellious attitude made him ignore them, therefore making girls fawn over his bad boy attitude, as well as his looks. Many teachers regarded him and James as troublemakers or practical jokers. Hagrid once compared them to the mischievous twins Fred and George Weasley, saying that the Weasleys could "*give them a run for their money*".

Sirius' popularity was not universal, however. 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. 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. He was one of the many people who hated Snape, with the exception of those in Slytherin.
Sirius and James often went out of their way to bully Snape. One time Sirius and James physically bully him simply out of boredom. Though Sirius did admit that he a nd James were "*arrogant little berks*" and that he was not proud of his behaviour, but had done nothing to rectify it. He and James eventually ended their campaign of ill-treatment towards Snape, but they apparently never apologised. The only time James ever stopped was in front of Liliana Evans, a beautiful red-head who disapproved of such behaviour, whom James later married right after they left Hogwarts.
However, the Marauders got to see another side of Severus, a maternal and caring side as he comforted one of the younger Slytherin students, who ended up falling asleep in his arms. Remus even heard the child whisper, "*Ama te, mammam*", which was Latin for 'Love you, Mommy'. In his fifth-year at Hogwarts years, Sirius played a potentially lethal practical joke on Snape. He 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 his own actions, explaining that he had simply told Snape what he wanted to know about the tunnel while omitting crucial information. He simultaneously claimed it "*served Snape right*." The resentment Snape felt for Sirius was never healed. Snape was not the only student whom Sirius and James tormented during their years at Hogwarts. They also used an illegal hex on a boy named Bertram Aubrey that caused his head to grow twice its original size. It is unknown why they hexed him.
At age sixteen, Sirius finally broke away from his Pure-blood family and took refuge with James Potter and his parents. Fleamont and Euphemia Potter generously adopted Sirius as a son. His outraged mother blasted his name off the family tree, as was the tradition for those who did not support the family's supremacist ideology. Sirius's Uncle Alphard, Amelie's brother, sympathised with his young nephew and left him a large inheritance in his will, most likely causing Amelie to blast Alphard's name off, as well. Sirius was left financially independent by his uncle’s generous bequest, and eventually got a place of his own.
## After Hogwarts and Imprisonment

After graduating from Hogwarts Sirius became Secret-Keeper for his best friend James Potter, Although he made a huge mistake when he told them that Dumbledore would be a better Secret-Keeper. Unfortunatley, Dumbledore had recently been placed under the Imperius Curse by Voldemort and betrayed the Potters when the changed it. Dumbledore had sufficiently told the Ministry that Sirius had betrayed them and Sirius was placed in Azkaban as a result.

## Escape

**Sirius**: "*Snivillus?! What are you doing here?*"
**Severus Prince-Slytherin**: "*For your information, Black, it's Prince-Slytherin now. Second, those two girls you were barking at earlier, were my children.*"
**Sirius**: "*CHILDREN?! You're married?! Since when?!*"
**Severus Prince-Slytherin**: "*I was married a year after we graduated from Hogwarts. And yes, they were my daughters: Nathara and Snowbell Prince-Slytherin.*"
**Sirius**: "*Bugger..*"
— Sirius and Severus's conversation after they meet
Sirius was eventually able to escape using his Animagus abilities, using this he was able to escape toward Hogwarts to find Dumbledore and blame him once and for all. Afterwards he was successful in tracking his way to Hogwarts, but Harry and his friends were strolling the grounds at the time. In hope that he could reach Dumbledore without anybody not noticing him he attacked one of Harry's friends and dragged them to the Whomping Willow into the Shrieking Shack. Afterwards he transformed back, although he was stopped by his old friend Remus Lupin and Aurora Pikeman, Nathara's best friend. Afterwards, Severus Snape, (now Severus Prince-Slytherin), and explained everything. Then, Sirius and Remus caught sight of the ring on Severus's finger. Severus answered that he was married and a mother to two daughters, and that Voldemort was actually a wizard named Adalbert Gaunt, who was a cousin to Marvolo.

#### Years in hiding

"*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

Sirius fled Europe beyond the Ministry of Magic's jurisdiction. He communicated with Harry, but very seldom to retain the secrecy of his location. However, due to his use of exotic birds, Harry suspected him of hiding somewhere in the tropics. Harry grew to greatly rely on Sirius' advice in time of need. Sirius returned to Britain when Harry gave him 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, where Harry, Ron, and Hermione occasionally visited him. He did this in order to provide Harry with moral support and advice during this hard time. He 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. This, in turn, caused Karkaroff to land himself on the wrong side of Death Eaters still loyal to Voldemort, one of the names he gave up was Augustus Rookwood. Harry told Sirius about seeing Barty Crouch when he was working on the second clue on his way to the prefect's bathroom. 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.

After Harry followed Viktor Krum to the edge of the Dark Forest, as Krum wanted to talk to him about his relationship with Hermione Granger, Harry encountered a delusional Barty Crouch Snr. When Barty Crouch mysteriously disappeared in the castle grounds after Harry left to retrieve Dumbledore, Sirius warned Harry that someone did not want Crouch to get to the headmaster. He advised Harry to continue his practice of defensive spells and to never wander off on his own, as times were dangerous.

Following the final task of the tournament, Dumbledore summoned Sirius to his office to meet with Harry, who had barely survived an encounter with Lord Voldemort. Sirius wished for Harry to be allowed to rest for his ordeal but was overruled by Dumbledore. As Harry explained the night's events Sirius nearly interrupted twice and was greatly angered. He also showed signs of strong emotion when he learned that shades of his old friends James and Liliana had returned and hid his face in his hands.

Sirius was allowed to stay with Harry in the hospital wing in his dog form — Dumbledore telling Madam Pomfrey that he was very well trained — and remained so even as he heard Cornelius Fudge besmirch Harry and question his credibility on Voldemort's return. Once the Minister had left Dumbledore began making plans to resist the Dark Lord. He asked Sirius to resume his human form and make his peace with Severus, although neither was pleased (Sirius also frightened Molly Weasley when she first saw him as she believed him to be a murderer). Dumbledore then asked Sirius to retrieve Remus Lupin, Arabella Figg, Mundungus Fletcher, and lie low at Lupin's house until Dumbledore contacted him.

Sirius promised to see Harry again soon, and left to fulfill his instructions.

### Second Wizarding War (1995–1998)

#### Rejoining the Order of the Phoenix

"*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 his family home

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 his family home at 12 Grimmauld Place in London as Order Headquarters. Unfortunately, as he was still wanted by the authorities, Sirius could never safely leave the house and became quite bitter over his perceived "uselessness". When he 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 that the Malfoys recognised Sirius in his Animagus form. 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.

During Harry's fifth year, some of the adults discredited Sirius' ability to parent Harry and often insinuated that Sirius acted like Harry was James, rather than being a proper father figure to Harry. Throughout Harry's hardships with Umbridge, Sirius encouraged him to oppose her reforms and strongly approved of Harry's secret defensive tutorial group for students, Dumbledore's Army. His vigorous support of Dumbledore's Army worried Hermione, who thought that Sirius was attempting to live vicariously through them. He 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. He also urged Harry to contact him if Professor Prince-Slytherin gave him a hard time during their Occlumency lessons.

During his time confined to the Order's headquarters, Sirius fell into a deep depression. When Harry and the Weasleys arrived at Grimmauld Place just after Arthur was attacked by Nagini, Sirius was unshaven and still in his day clothes late at night. He 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.

Eventually Aurora Pikeman, The same student who had caught him with the trio, told him that she knew about Voldemort's Horcruxes and that Harry had an Ambition to destroy them. Sirius warned him that a Horcrux Hunt could be dangerous, But Harry ignored him and preceded to Destroy all the Horcruxes and defeat Voldemort for the final time.

## Physical Appearance

Sirius had shoulder length brown hair

Harry also noted that as a teenager, Sirius always had a slightly haughty look on his face. This vestige of aristocratic beauty and haughtiness is apparently an attribute passed down through the Black Family. When Harry entered into Severus' memory, he saw a sixteen-year-old Sirius finishing his exams while being ogled by a girl who sat a few rows behind him, due to his considerable good looks and casual yet elegant attitude.

Unfortunately, Sirius' handsomeness - much like his imprisoned cousin, Bellatrix - suffered due to the depression and maltreatment he underwent during the twelve years he spent in Azkaban. As a result, Sirius had prematurely aged beyond that of a man in his thirties. He had a gaunt, sunken face, waxy skin, yellow teeth, and long, matted hair. Harry thought he looked as a corpse might. By November, after his escape, he visited Harry in the Common Room fireplace, and he was described as having short, clean hair and a fuller, younger face, though his physical appearance had yet to fully recover from his imprisonment.

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