Sirius Black: Biography, Loyalty and Secrets

Sirius Black spent twelve years in Azkaban for a crime he did not commit. When he finally gets out, all he wants is to see his godson. What he gets is a couple of years of half a family, locked inside a house he hates.

Who he is

He was born in 1959 into the Black family, one of the proudest pure-blood houses, and broke with all of them. He was the first Black in ages to land in Gryffindor. At sixteen he left home and took refuge with the Potters (Order of the Phoenix, ch. 6). He was James's best friend, one of the Marauders, and became an Animagus to keep Lupin company on full-moon nights. His form is a huge black dog, Padfoot.

Key moments

• Prisoner of Azkaban, ch. 3: Fudge confirms to Harry that Black has escaped from Azkaban, and the whole wizarding world is hunting him.
• Prisoner of Azkaban, chs. 17 and 18: in the Shrieking Shack the truth comes out. The traitor was Pettigrew, not him.
• Order of the Phoenix, ch. 6: Harry arrives at Grimmauld Place, the Black family home, and Sirius shelters him in a place that reminds him of the worst of his childhood.
• Order of the Phoenix, ch. 35: Bellatrix hits him with a spell and he falls behind the Veil in the Department of Mysteries. Harry tries to run after him.

Relationships

With Harry there is deep affection, and at times Sirius seems to see James in him. With Lupin he shares an old, quiet friendship. With Dumbledore, an enormous debt. With Kreacher, his house-elf, a bad relationship that nobody comes out of well. With Snape, mutual hatred since their teens.

What almost nobody notices

In Prisoner of Azkaban (ch. 18) we hear about a "prank" of Sirius's: he told Snape how to get into the Whomping Willow tunnel, knowing Lupin was down there transformed. James had to pull Snape out. It is a hard piece to forget.

And in Order of the Phoenix (ch. 37), Dumbledore says Sirius never saw Kreacher as a being with feelings as real as a person's. That attitude had consequences that came due later, and Kreacher tells his side in Deathly Hallows (ch. 10).

Are you the type who gives up everything for your own? Take the house quiz, or read Gryffindor House Explained: What Nobody Tells You to see why Gryffindor courage has an uncomfortable side.