SIRIUS BLACK, ELEGANCE AND MYSTERIOUS ARTS

Sirius Black

Sirius Black, also known as Padfoot or Snuffles, in his Animagus form, was a pure-blood wizard, the older son of Orion and Walburga Black, and the brother of Regulus Black.

Sirius was a tall, well-built, darkly handsome man 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 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.

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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. As the rest of his family had been in Slytherin, he was the odd one out.

Sirius Black

As Sirius' relationship with his relatives deteriorated, he gained lifelong friendship in James Potter and Remus Lupin. Peter Pettigrew was a friend as well for ten years. 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 Lily Potter. When Pettigrew betrayed the Potters to Voldemort, Sirius sought to exact revenge on Pettigrew. However, Pettigrew 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.

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Sirius was sent to Azkaban, and after twelve years became the only known person to escape the prison unassisted by transforming into his Animagus form of a massive black dog confused with a Grim, an omen said to cause death.  

Sirius Black

Sirius exposed Pettigrew's treachery to his old friend Remus and his godson. After Lord Voldemort returned, Sirius rejoined the Order. 

He was murdered by his cousin Bellatrix Lestrange during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries and subsequently cleared of all charges by the Ministry of Magic, though he was too late to enjoy his freedom. He briefly appeared again to Harry through the Resurrection Stone, along with James and Lily Potter, and Remus Lupin. Harry later named his first son James Sirius Potter after him and his best friend James Potter I.

More information: HP Lexicon

Sirius was the last remaining heir 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 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 his brother, calling him a better son than himself.

Sirius Black

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, as he did not have children.

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.

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Sirius rejected these values, leading to conflict with his family. He even put permanent-sticking charms on Gryffindor banners, as well as pictures of Muggle girls in bikinis, and motorcycles, and 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 Bellatrix and Narcissa made the desirable pure-blood marriages, to 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 Black

Sirius would later share this designation and was held in contempt, even hatred, by some members of his family. 

However, in his later life, Sirius established friendships with his first cousin once removed, Nymphadora Tonks, as well as his godson Harry Potter, whom he loved as a son, Harry's best friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, his third cousin and his distant cousins in the Weasley family. He was distantly related to Arthur.

After leaving school, Sirius fought against Lord Voldemort, eventually joining the Order of the Phoenix. He 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. It is unknown whether they got into trouble with the Ministry of Magic.

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Sirius was arrested by the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and sentenced by Barty Crouch Snr to life imprisonment in Azkaban without a trial for mass-murder with the Blasting Curse, giving the information about the Potters' whereabouts which lead to their death and service to Lord Voldemort. 

Sirius Black

The surviving Muggles were Obliviated and given an excuse by the Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee that a gas-leak occurred before they could remember who really cast the Blasting Curse. Pettigrew was unjustly awarded the Order of Merlin, First Class for his confrontation with Sirius, which, along with the finger that they recovered, were posthumously given to his mother. As the time passed, due to misconceptions, many believed that Black drew his wand and killed Pettigrew before the other had a chance of even drawing. Even the other remaining Marauder, Remus, believed it was Sirius who betrayed their brotherhood.

More information: Muggle Net

Sirius became the first known person ever to escape from Azkaban. After receiving an issue of the Daily Prophet from Cornelius Fudge during an inspection, he discovered that Pettigrew was indeed hiding in his Animagus form as Ron Weasley's pet rat, Scabbers. 

Sirius Black

Filled with the desire for revenge and concern for Harry, Sirius took his Animagus form and, thinned from malnourishment, was able to slip through the bars of his cell and past the Dementors. He swam across the North Sea back to the mainland and to freedom.

Tragically, however, during a frenzied duel with his hated cousin Bellatrix, Sirius was struck with an unknown spell causing him to fall through the Veil in the Death Chamber to his 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. Harry Potter blamed himself for Sirius' death.

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Black was one of the four shadows that were summoned by the Resurrection Stone to speak to Harry as he went to what he believed to be his death. Black assured his godson that dying was not painful, that it was faster and easier then falling asleep. 

He also promised Harry that he and the others would stay with him as he went to confront Lord Voldemort and would stay to the very end. When Harry reached the fire, he allowed the stone to slip 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's memory.

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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. 

Sirius Black