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[doggo]

Character Name: Sirius Black
Series: Harry Potter
Canon Point: end of Prisoner of Azkaban, right after fleeing the castle on Buckbeak
Character Age: 33
Background: Sirius Black at the Harry Potter wiki; Sirius Black at Pottermore (ignore the part where it's basically a moodboard ok)

Personality: Pre-Azkaban, Sirius was a textbook Gryffindor. Brave and strong of heart, fiercely loyal to his friends, witty and clever and handsome and rife with self-confidence, Sirius was well-known at Hogwarts, especially in the context of his fellow Marauders, and especially in the context of his best friend, James Potter. Mischievous and prone to trouble-making and pranks, the Marauders flaunted rules left and right, breaking curfews and actual wizard law, all in the name of fun and friendship.

Being such a tight knit crew of a certain goodness and cleverness cast the Marauders at odds with many of their schoolmates - Sirius especially. Never one to suffer Slytherins, Sirius took up with James against Severus Snape. The two of them bullied and humiliated Snape, and Sirius displayed a particular viciousness when he sent Snape under the Whomping Willow after Remus during a full moon.

Sirius has narrow definitions of good and bad, right and wrong, and there is no room for those who would drift back and forth across that line. The strength of his anti-Dark convictions is rooted in his background. As the firstborn son of the Black family, Sirius long had the Pureblood superiority drilled into him - a strict teaching that he grew to reject thoroughly.

One of Sirius’ greatest traits is his loyalty. He views the betrayal of one’s friends as the greatest of crimes, and would absolutely choose death rather than give anyone up. Since he was disowned by his family, he has come to value his friends as a second and better family. His loyalty to the Order of the Phoenix is equally unquestionable. It’s only in the interest of protecting the Potters that Sirius disobeys the plan and elects Peter Pettigrew as the Secret-Keeper instead, reasoning that no one will suspect a “weak… talentless thing” like Peter. This choice also thrusts Sirius into direct danger, since of course Voldemort would first seek Sirius, but he makes the choice without second thought.

Which of course ultimately gets James killed. The death of his best friend has hurt Sirius badly. He states directly that he thinks of James every day, and in many ways, blames himself for James’ death, for not seeing the traitor. He becomes obsessed, too, with the thought of his own innocence; it is this thought that keeps him sane in Azkaban, even with the influence of the Dementors. The ever-present sadness of the prison does take its toll on Sirius, deepening his morass of grief and depression, but he derives brief and fleeting comfort from his self conviction and from frequent stints as Padfoot, his Animagus form.

The wrathful force of Sirius’ anger is also something to be reckoned with. Sirius demonstrates a quick and crazy temper, reminiscent of his mother’s. He is obsessed with visiting vengeance on Peter Pettigrew. Immediately after James’ death, as a wanted man, Sirius confronts Peter in a street in muggle London. Peter explodes the street, severs his finger, and flees; Sirius comes a little unglued and allows his capture. When he sees a photograph of Scabbers the rat in the Daily Prophet, Sirius realizes, twelve years later, what Peter has done. He’s at Hogwarts is then his constant refrain. He breaks out of Azkaban to protect Harry - and to kill Peter. After completing his impossible prison break, Sirius goes through great and crazy lengths to reach Peter. He commits a lot of weird and desperate acts - carves up a portrait, breaks into a dorm - demonstrating both his dogged determination, his will, and the convincing force of his anger. Also he probably eats rats at this time.

Sirius is restless when asked to remain still, and reckless when asked to be patient. He demonstrates profound fits of irresponsibility: he accompanies Harry to the Hogwarts Express (as a dog, sure, but also as a wanted man and a known entity to the Death Eaters), he chafes under Dumbledore’s instructions and Snape’s sneering dismissals; he argues with Molly Weasley over what’s best for Harry; he outright encourages Harry to break necessary rules and take risks, then gets sulky when Harry suggests otherwise. JKR has stated that Sirius suffers from a case of arrested development. Emotionally stunted by his brutal years in Azkaban and crippled with guilt, there is a great deal wrong with Sirius. As an escaped convict, his freedom is barely freedom, and his name is never cleared while he is alive.

But his endurance against the Dementors - however supplemented by his Animagus form and his innocence it was - demonstrates a profound and indomitable will and a strong self-conviction. And he does, it must be noted, forego his mad quest for revenge when Harry appeals to him - what’s more, Harry asks him to spare Peter in James’ name, which is key to Sirius’ acquiescence.

Sirius’ most supreme loyalty is to the people that he loves. He shares a great many traits with his Animagus form - his dog-like faithfulness, his devotion, and his protectiveness over people and places that he treasures. He is emotionally sensitive to the needs of his friends and loved ones. For Remus, he became an Animagus, treats him like a brother and staunchly defends him; for Harry, he offers to adopt him, he dispenses advice and, in the hospital wing post-Voldemort duel, Padfoot stays at Harry’s side. Sirius has always made great sacrifices for his friends, and has never thought twice about doing so. And even Azkaban has not managed to strip him of all of his personality. Once he has normalized a little, Sirius proves himself capable of the occasional joke and cheerful mood. His mercurial temperament can get the better of him and cast him into bitter bouts of depression, which he self-medicates by drinking.

As Padfoot, Sirius is much easier to deal with. The lack of complexity in a dog’s emotions is a welcome relief to the weight of memory. Padfoot is still Sirius, of course, so there are elements of the stress of Azkaban in him. Cagier, rangier, and tougher, Padfoot is nevertheless still a Good Dog who swam across a small sea to get to his godson and his best friend’s murderer. Whosagoodboy.



Powers/Abilities: He's a wizard, you guys. Both Remus and McGonagall note Sirius as a particularly clever wizard. He can be counted on for the standard spells in the HP universe.

- special abilities in Charms, Transfiguration, and his war-won abilities in Defence Against the Dark Arts.

- He can perform non-verbal spells, which is noted as a difficult skill; in the game, I will limit this to the simpler First Year type spells.

- also has some proficiency with wartime healing magic and countercurses. I can get more specific with this if necessary - please let me know.

- ANIMAGUS. On top of this standard magic, Sirius is an illegal Animagus, which means that he can transform into a large black dog at will. He has spent many of his years preceding his arrival in this form for survival. Prior to that, he was a dog for fun. All of this means that he's really comfortable as a dog by now. Wizards retain reason and more human composure in their Animagus forms, which means they're somewhat less prone to animalistic impulses and instincts and generally act like very clever animals. Sirius, along with James and Peter, became an Animagus at age 15, with only their own cleverness, skill, and hard work to thank for it. The process is uncommonly difficult and involves carrying a mandrake leaf around in your mouth for a month. The things we do for love.

- SPECIAL NOTE: his incarceration and subsequent escape from Azkaban has left him wandless. Because Sirius does a lot in PoA and has a wand in the Shack, I assume that he at some point has picked up a wand from somewhere, but as it isn't his (the wand, as we all know, chooses the wizard), his borrowed wand will be tricky and unpredictable until it, hopefully, settles.