Sirius Black of Harry Potter was nothing if not a complex character. Introduced initially as a Voldemort fanatic who betrayed the Potters and was out for Harry’s blood, he quickly transitioned into a good-hearted godfather who’d been severely misunderstood in the past. But despite his new-found status as good guy after Prisoner of Azkaban, he was seriously complicated and steeped in many shades of grey.
Some of his decisions didn’t always make sense — even some of his personality traits.
How He Managed To Become Such A Decent Human Being
Sirius did not seem prejudiced against non-magical blood in the slightest, nor did he hold any ill-will towards anyone who opposed the blood purism that plagued Pure-blood society. It’s hard to imagine how he ever turned out like this though. He grew up in the Black family, who considered themselves Pure-blood royalty and were deeply entrenched in the mania. Even by the time he attended Hogwarts at age eleven, Sirius was skeptical about this, but it’s difficult to imagine where he got it from.
How He Stayed Sane In Azkaban
The technicalities of him enduring Azkaban and emerging with an intact brain are explained — sort of. He was able to transform into a dog when it got too much, and the knowledge he was innocent kept him sane.
But even so, it’s hard to imagine how that could have been enough. Sirius endured a potentially very abusive childhood and when he was only twenty-one, his best friends were murdered in a fashion that he considered to be his own fault. That’s plenty of dementor material.
How Such A Good Person Could Have Had Such A Dark Streak
He may have been a good person, but he was much darker than James. It’s implied many times that James Potter was forgiving of his friends and might even have forgiven Peter Pettigrew for his betrayal. Sirius, for all his good-heartedness and loyal nature, was far darker and would have stabbed Peter to death given half the chance.
Why He Tried To Kill Snape
When he was just a Hogwarts student, Sirius tried to kill Snape by leading him into the path of a transformed werewolf — his best friend, Remus Lupin. While it’s understandable that he wanted rid of Snape (if still an awful way to go about things), he would have turned Remus into a murderer and surely would have caused his best friend a lifetime if not only guilt, but serious consequences. Was he seriously not considering Remus in all this?
Why He Didn’t Step Up For Harry
Harry and Sirius’ relationship was complicated because Harry wanted a father, and Sirius wanted a best friend. Ultimately, he should have stepped up for Harry because of what his godson was going through but he didn’t seem capable of doing it. Instead, he persisted on treating Harry like James had returned from the dead.
Why He Had Such Little Regard For Safety
Sirius had absolutely no regard for his own safety and didn’t seem to value his own life, but he didn’t seem to value the safety of others either. Even Harry was encouraged to be reckless, and encouraged to join the Order. He wasn’t protective in the way a parent-figure should be, though perhaps it was because he missed his friend so badly that he just wanted to think he had James back.
Why He Thought Changing Secret Keeper Was EVER A Good Idea
Sirius was James’ Secret Keeper and it was his idea to make the switch to Peter. His logic was that Voldemort would never hunt Peter down, never think to — therefore, the secret was safe.
But, presumably, the Fidelius charm makes the location immune to Legilimency and Sirius is strong-willed enough to withstand torture or threat of murder, so why even switch to a much weaker person? The plan had far too many holes in it.
Why He Didn’t Know His Brother Better
Sirius and Regulus may never have been close, but surely Sirius should have known his brother even a little better. He had no idea that Regulus was intelligent enough to figure out a secret only Dumbledore could. For Regulus to be so brilliant as to discover the Horcruxes, his intelligence surely shone, and yet Sirius only thought of him as ‘soft’. Ouch.
Why He Was So Accepting Of Lily
Lily’s blood may never have been a problem for Sirius, but it is odd he was so accepting of her and James. Sirius tended to be a tad immature and when it came to Hogwarts, extremely so. Wouldn’t he have seen Lily as taking his best friend away from him? And surely he didn’t love her being a stickler for the rules either.
But maybe Sirius was more mature than audiences gave him credit for. Seems unlikely, though.
Why He Gave Up The Black House As Headquarters For The Order Of The Phoenix
Sirius didn’t seem to think this one through. He gave up 12 Grimmauld Place as an Order base for headquarters — which makes sense in theory, because he didn’t want the house. Except Sirius was part of the Order and also a wanted criminal, so he ended up stuck there. Was there nowhere else the Order could possibly have used?
