"We've all got both light and dark inside of us. What
matters is the part we choose to act on. That's who we really are."
—Sirius Black
I don’t know if there is a Potterhead
out there who can fully escape developing a special love for Sirius
Black. I couldn't. Sirius was born into darkness. Truth be
told, he was born into Blackness. The
world around him was as dark as his last name. Most people know enough about
Sirius to know people though he was bad, but then figured out he was good
(eventually). He became close to his godson, Harry, and started to create
the family both of them never had…just in time for him to be killed.
If you've seen the Harry Potter movies,
you probably know a little bit about Sirius. If you've read any of the
books, you may know a little more. If you're a die-hard Potterhead
complete with Pottered-out apartment decor, you may know the most. You
may also spend portions of your free time searching for more. We all have
our healthy little obsessions, right?
Sirius, born November 3, 1959, was born
a pure-blood wizard and attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
from 1971-1978. During his time there, he became lifelong friends, even
brothers, with Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew and James Potter. The clan of
friends became known as the Marauders.
Wormtail (Pettigrew), Padfoot (Black)
and Prongs (Potter) earned their nicknames by acquiring the ability to turn
into Animagi, a witch or wizard with the rare ability to transform into a
particular animal at will. The spell itself is very difficult and
dangerous to perform and all Animagi must be registered through the Ministry of
Magic. The Marauders became Animagi after learning that Remus (Moony) had
been transformed into a werewolf. The Marauders took it upon themselves
to use their animal forms to keep Remus company (as well as keep him out of
trouble) during the nights he was in wolf form. Wandering the Hogwarts
grounds at night, the Marauders made sure that the Muggles, Wizards and Remus
stayed safe.
As the Marauders grew older, they
joined the Order Of The Phoenix in the fight against Lord Voldemort and his
Death Eaters in the First Wizarding War. Sirius and James remained close
friends into adulthood. After James married Lilly Potter, the couple
asked Sirius to be the godfather to their first-born son, Harry. In the
years to come, Sirius would be thrown into Azkaban Prison after being framed
for the murder of twelve Muggles, the staged murder of Peter Pettigrew, and the
betrayal of the Potters to Lord Voldemort.
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| Original Order of the Phoenix |
Sirius stayed in prison for twelve years and became the only known
wizard to escape the foul place. People on the outside assumed that his
reason for escaping was to find and kill Harry Potter. Since he was
framed and betrayed, this was untrue. His real intent was to be reunited
with Remus so that the pair could find and exterminate Peter Pettigrew, who had
been disguised at Ron Weasley's rat for..you guessed it..twelve years.
The pair was able to find Pettigrew and prove the betrayal by turning him
back into human form in front of Harry and His friends. Unfortunately,
Pettigrew escaped.
After the failed assassination, Sirius rejoined the Order and
reestablished a relationship with his beloved godson. Almost too soon was
Sirius killed by his cousin Bellatrix Lestrange during the Battle of the
Department of Mysteries.
The life of Sirius Black is a unique story. Sirius was born
into a family that strongly agreed with pure-blood elitism. The Black
family rejected and refused to interact with Muggles, Muggle-borns and Squibs
(Wizard-born Muggles). They only believed in the pure-blood line and
insisted family members be married to other pure-bloods. The Blacks would
cast out family members who were Squibs or blood traitors.
The Dark Arts were highly revered and respected within the Black
household, but the dark beliefs were rejected by Sirius from the time he was
little, until his dying moment. During his time at Hogwarts, Sirius made
sure to spread the pride of Gryffindor House throughout the Black home.
It was unacceptable for a Black to be in Gryffindor House over Slytherin.
Sirius decorated his room with Gryffindor paraphernalia that was made permanent
by a charm. He also had pictures of scantily clad Muggle women, pictures
of Muggle items and interests, as well as pictures of himself with his fellow
Gryffindors. The items are later inspected by Harry, Hermione and Ron
during their stay in the Black home. Sirius wanted to demonstrate how
different his values were from the beliefs of his families, and since he was a
teenager at this point, he wanted to go against his parents will. The
ploy worked and Sirius’s mother burned his picture out of the family tree when
he was sixteen.
Sirius Black is one of the most important yet emotion-invoking
characters in the Harry Potter series. His life had dark sadness
that made his death so very unfair. His childhood days were spent being
rejected by his family, while his adult days were spent imprisoned for a
terrible crime committed by someone he considered family. His final
days were spent trying to protect, love and support Harry Potter, only ending
up in his death by cousin Bellatrix.
His
story may be sad, but his role was necessary. Though their relationship was
kept in secret to protect from his return to Azkaban, Sirius earned the trust
of his Godson and protected, loved and guided Harry during his life and after
death. To me, his story is brave.
Works Cited:
Muggles Guide to Harry Potter/Magic/Animagus. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Muggles'_Guide_to_Harry_Potter/Magic/Animagus
Sirius Black. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Sirius_Black
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