Sirius Black

Sirius Black (c. 1958 - 1996) was the last living member of the House of Black, living in number twelve, Grimmauld Place, London. He had one brother, Regulus.

Sirius attended Hogwarts, where he - unlike the rest of his family - was not sorted into Slytherin but Gryffindor. There he befriended James Potter, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew; he and James were described as exceptionally gifted students. Because of the notorious obsession with purity of blood in his family, Black often spent long periods of time at James' house during school vacations. In his fifth year Black became an Animagus, to help restrain Lupin, who was a werewolf, acquiring the ability to turn himself into a large black dog at will. When James' son Harry was born, Sirius was named his godfather.

In 1981, James and his wife Lily went into hiding by means of the Fidelius Charm; contrary to popular belief, Pettigrew, and not Black, was their Secret-Keeper. After Pettigrew betrayed the Potters to Lord Voldemort, Black tracked him down. Subsequently Pettigrew blew up the entire street, killing thirteen Muggle bystanders, cut off one of his fingers, changed himself into a rat, and fled. Sirius was arrested for the murders of James, Lily, Pettigrew and the Muggles, convicted and sent to Azkaban for life. After twelve years of imprisonment he escaped in 1993, after having seen Pettigrew in the form of a rat on the shoulder of Percy Weasley in the Daily Prophet. By this time, Pettigrew has been hiding for 12 years as Scabbers, Percy's rat. Black managed to gain entrance to the heavily guarded Hogwarts through a secret passageway from Honeydukes to the castle, after which he once ripped up the painting of the Fat Lady, and during a second break-in he gained entrance to the Gryffindor common room, causing hysteria and panic.

Eventually he abducted Ronald Weasley and took him to the Shrieking Shack along with the hidden Pettigrew. Harry Potter and Hermione Granger followed him, believing Sirius was intent on killing Harry. Ultimately the situation was explained properly, but Pettigrew managed to escape and Sirius was once more arrested and sentenced to receive the Dementor's Kiss. He was rescued by means of Buckbeak the Hippogriff, and sought sanctuary at his old home in London, which was later to function as the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix.

In 1996 Sirius travelled with Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks to the Ministry of Magic, where the prophecy regarding Voldemort and Harry Potter had been retrieved by the latter and a fight had ensued between the Death Eaters and Harry and his friends. In the Battle at the Department of Mysteries Black fought his own cousin Bellatrix Lestrange, who killed him with an Expellarmius Curse, knocking him backwards into a ghostly veil. Albus Dumbledore retrieved his will, and accordingly Grimmauld Place and everything in it was passed onto Harry Potter.