Tuesday, 15 August 2023

SIRIUS ORION BLACK, GODFATHER OF HARRY J. POTTER

Today, The Weasleys and The Grandma have met Sirius Black, an interesting wizard who has suffered an unfair imprisonment in Azkaban. Sirius Black is one of the most important characters in Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban. He is one of the Marauders and the godfather of Harry.

Before meeting Sirius Black, The Weasleys have been doing a new Cambridge Key English Test A2.

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

More information: Wizarding World

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.

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 often confused with a Grim, an omen said to cause death.

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 on 2 May, 1998, 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.


Sirius Black was born in the London borough of Islington, England, to Orion Black and Walburga 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, 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 his brother, calling him a better son than himself.

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.

More information: Wizarding World

Filled with the desire for revenge and concern for Harry, Sirius took his Animagus form and, thinned from undernourishment, 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.

Sirius was a tall, well-built, darkly handsome man with fair skin, medium, lustrous black hair, which sometimes appeared light in the sun, 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.


Sirius was true to the ideal of a Gryffindor student. He was true-hearted and brave, as shown by his participation in both wars and willingness to die for those he loved. He was particularly loyal to his best friend, James Potter, a fellow Gryffindor.

In his youth, he was a witty and talented wizard, but also quite an arrogant and mischievous troublemaker. He bullied and humiliated those he particularly disliked, namely Severus Snape. He was vicious towards those he hated, sometimes unjustifiably -deliberately sending the teenage Snape off to the Shrieking Shack when Remus Lupin was a full-fledged werewolf, while knowing that it could be fatal for Severus. He, along with James, were acknowledged to be some of the most brilliant students Hogwarts had ever seen, as proven by their ability to become Animagi as underage wizards and by the creation of the Marauders' Map.

The name Sirius Black is a play 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.

More information: Wizarding World

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. His full name is an oxymoron of sorts, as his first name, Sirius is referring to the brightest star in the night sky, and his last name, Black, is referring to the darkest colour, which is the result of the absence of light.

Padfoot refers to a spectral Hellhound, Most commonly known as Black Shuck, 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.

 
 
 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.
If you want to know what a man's like,
take a good look at how he treats his inferiors,
not his equals. 

Sirius Black

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