By popular demand, our first âš bi-weekly meme âš
đ - What is your museâs favorite emoji?
đïž - Does your muse even lift? Do they work out at all?
đ€ - If your museâs used the internet, what would their Google search history look like?
đ - How does your muse hold a cat? Do they hold it like a baby, or as far away from their person as possible?
đ - Would your muse try to lift a big dog to make them feel like a small dog?
đšâđł - Would your muse make pudding at 3AM because theyâve lost control of their life?
đŠ- How does your muse write? Do they use drawings, leave mistakes in, use shorthand or write everything out perfectly?
đ - How often does your muse lose their wand?
đ¶ - Does your muse like babies, or do they have a strong urge yeet/kick/punch one?
đ - Does your muse like pineapple on pizza? If not, whatâs the weirdest topping they like?
đ - Does your muse know how to tie a tie? How did they learn?
đ - Would your muse fight someone in a Dennyâs parking lot?
With a sticky slosh of overflow as Kreacher automatically released his iron grip on the firewhiskey bottle, duty-bound as he was, Tonks half-toppled backwards with it in hand, meeting the dagger-filled glare of the Black family house elf with equal measures of disdain. Kreacher figured her for the same abomination as her Great-Aunt did, Tonks had always figured, and it was always apparent in his dear, beady little eyes and the hate-filled twitch of his ancient lips (it was like disappointing a very angry raisin) before he disappeared with a resounding crack from the kitchen. Tonksâs nose wrinkled and they licked away the trails of firewhiskey crawling down the back of their hand before turning to regard their uncle-cousin-person with scratchy red eyes and an abundance of drunken composure.
âYou have no fo-od,â she began, in what sheâd thought was a perfectly reasonable tone that broke halfway through into another half-wail. Theyâd thought theyâd stopped crying at least an hour ago, in favour of stoking a fiery resentment instead over the days events, but now a new wave of fury-driven tears were beginning to well in their eyes. It was far easier to be angry about things than to be hurt by them and Tonks was still, undeniably smarting from the fresh wound. âWhâwho even buys crunchy peanut butter anyway? Everyâeveryone knows that smooth is better.â
With an ungainly slither she toppled off the kitchen table to her feet, stumbling a step or two to right herself before standing up with a flourish, as if completing a magic trick. âAnd â and your elf is mean,â Tonks sniffed, as if this was a grand revelation instead of a well-established fact. Why had they come here, again? Oh â because they couldnât go home. Not to a dire, largely empty flat devoid of interest because they never spent time there and certainly not to home, full of warmth and food and her parents and their concerns because they could never know about any of this. They could never know she was a failure.
Sirius had come through being the family disappointment rather unscathed, even if his family had been the greater disappointment in the equation. Perhaps some of that might rub off on her.
Perhaps he shouldâve done something other than stare at the scene in front of him, Kreacher glaring at Tonks like heâd somehow make them disappear through sheer willpower and Tonks reminding him of a toddler learning to multitask while they licked away the spilled firewhiskey and failed to balance well, but all Sirius felt he could do was watch the scene unfold. The house elf eventually vanished, glare doing nothing for his agenda ( whatever that may be ), and he turned his attention to Tonks completely.Â
She looked... well, she looked like a wreck. Their eyes were red, clearly from tears, and dried tear tracks on their cheeks were joined by fresh waves as new tears spilled from their eyes. âIâve got food,â he said slowly, heading to the fridge and opening it up. âThough I do need to restock. You just need to cook said food -- â He looked back to Tonks. â -- on second thought, Iâll do the cooking. Leave my peanut butter alone; howâs eggs sound?â Then she went and insulted his choice of peanut butter, and Sirius huffed indignantly. âOkay, first of all, I like the texture. Second of all, you no longer have a choice: youâre getting scrambled.â
He listened as she went on about how mean Kreacher was as he cracked two eggs into a pan, adding a bit of milk and scrambling it quietly. Sirius waited until she seemed to be done speaking, then turned his head to look at Tonks and asked, âSo I think Iâm at least owed an answer. What happened thatâs got you in such a mess? And donât say nothing -- I see right through that bullshit.â
âA watch..â Dedalus hummed as he eyed the trinket thoughtfully, attempting to spot any numbers that may have been etched upon the surface. âPossibly, but how could you tell what the time is? Well, I suppose that isnât so important when it looks like that.â He chuckled. It really was an impressive piece. Perhaps heâd get some solid answer about just what it was by the end of the festival. âMaybe it works like a sundial?â Heâd test that theory out later. As much as it was a mystery that he wanted to solve, in that moment he would much rather catch up with his old friend.
âYeah, well, I didnât really expect to be back here either.â He chuckled, running his free hand through his hair. âBut life happens, you know?â His dad needed him and he so he had to return to his childhood home. âGood to hear, good to hear.â His brow furrowed slightly. âElvendorkâŠ. what - who? - is that?â Had he known and just forgotten? It was hard to say after twenty years.
Dedalus shrugged. âBeen all over the place, really. You name it, Iâve probably been there. But my recently itâs been Paris. Only really been back to England to see mum and dad at the holidays, you know? Spent quite a bit of time in Eastern Europe⊠some beautiful places out there. You ever been to Prague? Absolutely stunning place. Would love to go back, reallyâŠ.â He was quiet for several moments. âYour godson⊠James and Lilyâs boy, yeah? Henry, wasnât it?â Names had never been something that Dedalus had been great at remembering, and he only recalled vague mentions of the baby whoâd been born mere hours after poor Neville Longbottom. âMust be in his twenties now, right?â
-
âWell, it could be a gear for a clock too,â he suggested after a moment, tilting his head to the side as if that would help determine what the contraption was better than looking straight on. Work as he did with muggle technology, Sirius still felt he was woefully inadept at determining what was supposed to be what, often making guesses that either turned out beautifully correct or horribly wrong. That was half the fun of his job, though: figuring out how the hell muggle technology worked, and how to integrate it with magic.Â
Not that that was necessarily part of the metal charmer job description, but he made it work to suit his needs.
Life happens. That phrase rang far too true, and Sirius nodded in agreement before bursting into laughter. âElvendork -- my bike. Itâs a, uh. A joke James and I made back when the muggle police were chasing after us, and the name just stuck.â The mood grew somber for a moment, his mind wandering back to his best friend in St. Mungoâs. Once again, Sirius wanted nothing more than to throttle his cousin where she stood. âItâs gender neutral. A very fashionable name, even.â
He listened contently as Dedalus went on about the places heâd visited, a part of him jealous of how well-traveled the man was. Sirius would never trade raising Harry ( save for an instance where James and Lily were okay ), but heâd never gotten the chance to travel beyond England. Maybe once the tides calm... âCanât say Iâve been away from home, really, but Iâm glad someone got to go abroad. Travel looks like it did you well.â He snorted at the butchered name and shook his head. âHarry, Eddie, but yeah. James and Lilyâs son. A grown man now, and doing well to make me feel ancient.â
Bellatrixâs fingers curled into a fist, nails biting into her skin to remind her to watch herself. She could hardly start a fight right here in Gilderoy Lockhartâs gardens, with everyoneâs eyes upon them. Sirius had a way of crawling right beneath her skin, his words lodging in her brain in the most irritating of ways. The only satisfaction was knowing that she had precisely the same effect on him.
Every meeting seemed to push them closer to the edge, tensions rising sharply. They were like a bomb that was ticking away quietly, but would one day explode and rain devastation on the surrounding areas.
One day soon, he would meet his maker.
In any fight or flight situation, Bellatrix would always choose fight. Sirius was the same, because she had raised him that way. Her influence upon him was still palpable, even after all these years of him trying to shrug her off and cast her out like an old coat. She still had her claws buried deep within his brain. He would never escape her, not as long as she lived.
âDonât you think the nickname Trixie is getting old now, dear cousin? Youâre not ten any more, nicknames are surely beneath you,â Bellatrix hummed, raising her eyebrow at him. âYou speak of azkaban as if you know of its horrors, of the never-ending pressure of dementors closing in. You make fun of my mental state, and yet I survived. Not only did I survive, and prove my innocence, but my mind remains wholly in tact. You wouldnât last five minutes there because you are weak, you have always been weak.â
Bellatrix reached into her pocket for a cigarette, lighting it with her wand. âIf I wanted to see you, dear cousin, I would invite you to dinner at the manor. Weâve redecorated,â she paused, taking a long drag from the cigarette before puffing the smoke in Siriusâ direction. Anything to make him more uncomfortable. âPerhaps Iâm just in the mood to reconcile after all these years? Perhaps I shall seek out Ted Tonks and make amends there too, and maybe I shall address my apologies to Mr Potter for my involuntary role in his parents unfortunate circumstances. Or would you rather I visited St Mungos and made my apologies directly to them, hm?â
-
The way her fist curled into itself, like she was restraining herself, would have made Sirius giddy if he wasnât nearly doing the same thing. He loved getting under his cousinâs skin, making her eye twitch when they were supposed to be showing propriety, but could anyone truly blame him for wanting to break her and fight her where they stood? It was decades in the making, their battle; surely no one cared about Lockhartâs gardens that much that a bit of destruction would ruin the evening.
Well... sort of.
âMm, but it sounds a lot like tricks, which really suits you doesnât it?â Not his most lavish comeback, but it was what he had. Sirius listened to her drone about what she suffered in Azkaban with little more than pure disinterest plastered onto his face, staring at her with one eyebrow raised. âWholly intact? Are we speaking about the same person here? Bellatrix, you are probably the least sane person Iâve ever had the displeasure of knowing, and considering some of the people our family was acquainted with, that says something, doesnât it?â His jaw twitched when she called him weak, but he refused to take her bait. Sirius knew he wasnât weak -- whatever came out of Bellatrixâs mouth was utter horseshit.
Unfortunately for him, Bellatrix knew how to poke his buttons, and the moment he mentioned the name Potter, he let himself forget propriety. At least a little bit.Â
He stepped closer into her space, knowing that it would take more than a step in her direction to intimidate her but frankly not giving a damn anyway. âCome near the Potters,â he started, voice low. âand I wonât be responsible for what happens next. Stay the hell away from them all.â
who: @padfcctblackââ
when: 20 march 2003
where: the bar, ostara festival
It was smooth process. Ted knew his role. He stood next to Sirius at the bar, not acknowledging his cousin-in-law and ordered a drink. A part of him wanted to get a scotch, dive into the part he was assigned, but he chose a champagne instead. Fingers tapping against the bar, he checked behind him and then to his side. No Harry. No Dora. Not even a Dromeda somehow. They were safe.
Dropping a few sickles on the bar and picking up his flute, Ted reached into his jacket pocket with his free hand and pulled out what he owed the dark haired man to his left. Or tried to. His elbow bumped against the bar top, spilling some of the champagne on both himself and the package he was so carefully trying to seem inconspicuous about. Not bothering to stifle the laugh that escaped him at his own idiocy.Â
A copy of Witch Weekly, the latest, was dropped onto the bar top as Ted grabbed a napkin to clean up the small spill he had made. âSomething about every kid trying to brew Baruffioâs brain elixir in their loos. You think theyâre doing that now?â
-
It was a process that, if anyone else were to see them, would have Sirius and Ted being the brunt of many jokes. Sirius could acknowledge that wholly. However, it was one that worked so far, the two of them meeting up when they were able for very important discussions about their children that, for everyoneâs sake, simply could not be ignored.
Namely: how the hell to keep up with them as they grew up.
Once upon a time, Sirius prided himself on being on of the coolest people he knew. He wasnât the coolest -- that honor went and still belonged to James Potter -- but he was up there. Everyone knew who he and his friends were during school; Sirius wouldâve had to have been oblivious not to see how peopleâs eyes trailed after their group, though whether it was in admiration or disdain depended on the person. Now he was forty-two, and while he believed he was still cooler than Ted, he didnât think he could keep up with Harry and his friends anymore.Â
That had to be rectified. Thankfully, Ted agreed.
He was already waiting at the bar when Ted came over, mostly-empty glass in hand and eyes on the bartender as they poured Tedâs champagne. His eyes kept on the flute, and when his companion spilled some of his drink, Sirius couldnât help it; he snorted. He didnât bother trying to cover it up.Â
âSpill any more and we wonât get to read the goods,â he joked, finally turning slightly to acknowledge him better while still playing his role. He listened intently to what Ted had to say, barely managing to stop himself from gawking at him. âReally? Next thing we know some second years are gonna brew Polyjuice in the bathroom.â He shook his head, the idea absurd, before he remembered himself; if the kids were doing this, he had to approve of it. âI mean... if they are, I want to check it out. Donât you, Ted? The loo though -- whatâs wrong with cauldrons?âÂ
The big old door of the Most Noble and Whatever House of Pissing Black was no match for the decidedly Black mood that Tonks found herself in as she slammed it closed behind her, hobbling on one foot and caught in the manic jaws of fury, panic and the soaring heights of shaking adrenaline. What had she done.Â
There was something foreboding about the old house that no amount of redecorating or life and laughter and hijinks could ever seem to scrub from its walls. It bled its history, like the floorboards and the ceilings and the creaky old stairs still remembered those whoâd lived there before her cousin had gutted the place. She loved Sirius dearly, but Tonks would take a hundred pokey little flats and warm, homely cottages over this old house. A panicked yell of, âSIRIUS,â echoed through the empty house, echoed by the stirring of the heavily-shrouded portrait in the front entranceway, her Great-Aunt stirring from her sleep to take up her customary shrieking of BLOOD TRAITOR and ABOMINATION and FILTH that Tonks usually fancied rather funny but today â today â
âOh, just shut it, would you?â
Tonks hobbled onwards, through the looming corridor and stumbling down the half-step towards the kitchen with the shrieking of the portrait echoing in her wake, the ominous stormy shade of her hair, curling with the rising emotional-humidity a fair indication that things were turning south as she peered around the empty room and huffed out a tearful, âPiss it.â
It was there, perched on the kitchen table amidst the ruins of the lone pumpkin pastie sheâd found in the cupboard, an open jar of peanut butter with a spoon buried in it and a bottle of Firewhiskey sheâd liberated from the liquor cupboard that Sirius really needed to work on his anti-detection spells for, that Sirius would find her some two and a half hours later, deeply engaged in a spirited match of tug-of-war with the cranky house-elf who was trying to take the bottle away from her.Â
Sirius wasnât expecting any visitors that evening.Â
It was supposed to be yet another lonely evening once he got home -- something he didnât do well with. Being in Grimmauld Place was bearable all these years when Harry was there, because rather than letting himself get consumed by his own thoughts, Sirius was distracted from the blasted home by what Harry wanted and needed. He spoiled that boy rotten ( as much as he was able to, at least ), and when he finally left it was like his home became even more oppressive than when heâd lived there as a teen.
So out he went.Â
He tried to stay out most nights because of this, going to a pub or a shop to waste his time if he couldnât go over a friendâs house. This night was no different, and he fully expected quiet when he unlocked his front door. Instead, Sirius was greeted to the loud complaints of his motherâs portrait and the clear grumbling of Kreacher from further inside the house. He automatically got his wand out, tugging the curtains of Walburgaâs portrait back over her in a vain attempt to shut her the fuck up before moving toward the kitchen.Â
âWho -- Merlinâs nuts, Tonks?â Well, that explained how someone got past his wards. Tonks was family, through and through; she was one of the few he didnât mind popping in unannounced. Still... âKreacher, let go of the bottle. Tonks, mind telling me why youâre drinking me out of my liquor?â He paused, taking in the scene before him more closely. âAnd eating my peanut butter?â
On the list of people she had expected to see at Lockhartâs farce of an Ostara Festival, Sirius was definitely near the bottom. In her mind, Sirius had always been far too dedicated to seeming cool to be seen at something like this. But there he was, standing near the food. For a brief moment she considered that maybe Polyjuice was at work, somehow that being a more likely scenario.
It was with a certain amount of hesitancy that she made her way over, almost doubting that it was really him. Perhaps it was another man with long hair and a beard who just happened to look like Sirius. However, as she got closer she became sure it was him and a surprised, slightly worried, expression crossed Narcissaâs face, somehow ending in a smile.
âSirius,â Narcissa began, almost immediately lost for words. âI didnât realise you were so interested in plants.â She was still smiling until a horrible thought dawned on her. He had been exposed to Ted just as much as she had, perhaps he had weakened. âYouâre not⊠youâre not here because of Gilderoy Lockhart, are you?â
-
There was no particular reason that Sirius decided to attend the Ostara Festival. Surely he could have skipped out on it and been none the wiser, carrying on at home like it was a usual day and not one for Gilderoy Lockhart to show off as he always did. He was bored, though, and despite his years of living in Grimmauld Place raising Harry he still hated being in that cursed place by himself.Â
Well, maybe not by himself, but Kreacher didnât count, and neither did the portrait of his mother (Â may she rot in hell ).
Festival it was, then. It was hardly the worst decision heâd ever made; save for a few people heâd much rather avoid speaking to, it actually wasnât that bad. Heâd even come across Dedalus earlier, to his surprise, and was happily reunited with his old friend. Lockhart didnât seem to skimp out on the food, either, and Sirius was more than happy to help himself at the other manâs expense. Maybe later heâd seek him out and give a cursory compliment, if he didnât mind hearing the man ramble about himself for hours.Â
... on second thought, maybe he wouldnât seek Lockhart out.
The sound of his name made him look up from the food table, and Siriusâ eyes widened slightly in surprise when he saw Narcissa. It wasnât that they were on bad terms -- she helped him tremendously over the years after he received her letter. It didnât stop the shock of being addressed by his family, though. He was certain that they could be ancient and heâd still be shocked every now and again that anyone from his family ( beyond Andromeda and her family ) even approached him civilly.
âCissa,â he said immediately, placing one more finger food onto his small plate and turning to face her fully. âNo, absolutely not. I was bored is all -- why not come for the free food? Itâs better than moping at home with Kreacher.â Sirius gave a tight smile, making himself relax a moment later. âI doubt youâre here for Lockhart either. Just making an appearance, then?â
Ostara Festival, Gilderoy Lockhartâs Residence
March 20th 2003, Day
@padfcctblackâ
Dedalus poked at a mechanical trinket with a finger, his brow furrowed in concentration. He had never seen anything like it. Little silver discs spun as cogs turned, each carefully decorated with filigree. He was absolutely entranced. The care and skill that had gone into such a contraption⊠it was simply breathtaking. It was the kind of work he could have only dreamt of if he had stuck with his brief fascination with crafting automatons. But as with many things in life, it had been merely transitory.
âCurious little thing, isnât it?â He mused as he raised the contraption in his hand. âWhat do you think it does?â He cast a glance at the person next to him, a slow smile spreading on his face as he realise just who it was who occupied the space beside him. âWell, if it isnât Sirius Black. Merlin, itâs been years.â The smile bloomed into a grin as he grasped Siriusâ shoulder with his free hand. This was becoming a common occurrence for him now, after having moved back to England the previous September. It had taken time to settle back, and even longer to get used to his new job. Ollivanderâs was far more entrenched in bureaucracy than his own shop had been in Paris, but then again he supposed that was because of how long Ollivanderâs had been in business.
âHow have you been? I canât remember the last time I saw you.â There were few places as fine to run into old acquaintances as the Ostara Festival, in his opinion, and this yearâs was far more decadent than the ones he recalled from his youth.Â
-
In some ways, Sirius was much like a magpie: attracted to shiny things. In this case, he supposed, he was more attracted to metallic things, or anything both muggle and mechanical, because the moment he caught sight of the little trinket in Dedalusâ hand, Sirius was crossing the room, ready to beg the poor fellow who brought it into view for the chance to poke and prod at it and see how it worked. It had been much the same back when he first caught sight of Elvendork in all of her glory, a broken motorcycle in a junkyard that Sirius had been determined to fix and make work. The feeling of figuring his bike out never went away; it was no surprise that metalcharming called to him, in hindsight. Nor was it a surprise that he... meddled with the profession to suit his own needs.Â
He barely registered the owner of the contraption speaking, stopping maybe a bit too close to be socially acceptable so he could see the discs and gears go âround in the manâs palm. âSome sort of watch, maybe?â he mused, head tilting to the side. âOr a piece of gear for something larger? Hard to say in the middle of a party.â Sirius finally glanced up at the deviceâs owner, taking a moment to register just who was in front of him before breaking out into a wide grin. âMerlinâs sagging ballsack, Dedalus Diggle. Never thought Iâd see your face again!âÂ
There were many people Sirius wasnât sure heâd see again, quite frankly -- his cousin unfortunately coming to mind -- but running into Dedalus again was a happy surprise. âIâve been alright! Other than my godson denting up poor Elvendork before I could get here, lifeâs been... yeah. Not bad.â His mind momentarily drifted to how it could be better: James and Lily being sane, Remus not getting the Kiss, Peter being alive... No, he wouldnât focus on that right now. âWhere have you been? Taking off like that -- didnât want me to visit, did you?â
ya lit meme: four deaths (2/4) sirius black, aged 36, born: november 1959; died: 18 june, 1996 Death Chamber, Department of Mysteries, Ministry of Magic, England, Great Britain.Â
Sirius had only just fallen through the archway, he would reappear from the other side any second⊠But Sirius did not reappear.Â
âSIRIUS!â Harry yelled. âSIRIUS!âÂ
 âHe canât come back, Harry,â said Lupin, his voice breaking as he struggled to contain Harry. âHe canât come back, because heâs dââ
ââHE â IS â NOT â DEAD!â roared Harry. âSIRIUS!â
Fifty-one years Bellatrix had lived on this Earth.
Half a century of bullshit societal events such as these, where purebloods put on a brave face and pretended that everything wasnât going to shit in front of the mudbloods, and the mudbloods swanned around as if they were perfectly entitled to their place. Sheâd hated these events at twenty, and now at fifty she found them just as distasteful. Still, there was an image that she had to maintain especially now. Druellaâs lessons still rang in her mind even all these years later, her motherâs shrill voice that it was expected of her to not only attend but to behave.Â
If Druella could see them now, sheâd surely have a heart attack at the state of her family.
Bella had already polished off two glasses of wine and was halfway through her third as she set eyes on her dear cousin. Sheâd suspected that her dearly departed family members would be here - in fact, public events were usually the only place they had the gall to try and talk to her. It was almost cowardly really, hiding behind the general public for safety.Â
Draining her glass, Bellatrix set the empty glass on the table before approaching Sirius. âBlackâŠcrawled out of your cave, have you?â Bellatrix drawled, raising her eyebrows. âYou rather look like youâve been dragged through a hedge backwards. Iâm surprised that godson of yours still leaves the house with you, Merlin knows I wouldnât want to be associated with you in public.â
-
Sirius wasnât sure why he attended these functions anymore.Â
It wasnât like he ever behaved himself at them --Â he could still hear his motherâs voice scolding him to represent the House of Black like he should, rather than slouching against the wall or dumping something disgusting into the punch. Nothing appealed to him less than attending a party full of snobs who acted like they owned the world, but a party hosted by Gilderoy Lockhart? Well, he couldnât help but be intrigued.Â
The last person he expected to see at one of these events ( willingly, at least ) was Bellatrix, but honestly running into her was just his luck. Once upon a time, Sirius wouldâve followed her around like a lost puppy, doing her bidding like she held all the answers and he just needed to copy her. Now the very sight of her triggered his fight instinct, and she knew it. He knew she knew it, yet Bellatrix would always remain Bellatrix and she walked up to him anyway.Â
Sirius really didnât intend on ruining Lockhartâs home this evening, but one wrong word and... well. He couldnât promise anything.Â
âTrixie,â he said right back, grip tightening on his glass and a fake smile plastering itself to his face. âAzkaban did wonders on you, dear cousin. I think it made the insanity look like it actually came from somewhere other than the pit where your soul should be.â His smile tightened when she mentioned Harry, and he took a hearty gulp from his glass to give himself something to do.Â
Deep breaths. Donât break the damn place.
âYou donât want to be associated with me in public, and yet you sought me out anyway,â Sirius commented, fake smile gone as he focused back on Bellatrix. âIf I didnât know any better, Iâd think you wanted to see me.â
Occupation: Metal Charmer⊠sort of. Sirius has been fascinated with Muggle objects ever since he was a teenager, as proven by him building a motorcycle that could fly with ease after years of hard work and research. Heâll never make the likes of Elvendork again, let alone for the mass public, but that hasnât stopped him from finding different ways to make Muggle electronics and technology work with magic. When heâs not messing with electronics, heâll do regular metal charming work as well, such as making golden snitches.
Affiliation: Light
3 Positive Traits:Â
Loyal: Sirius Black is loyal to a fault toward anyone whom he believes deserves his loyalty. When he was younger, this was his family despite how awful they were; he believed in needing to stay loyal to his family no matter what they did. Right before Hogwarts, this shifted to loyalty only toward Regulus and Andromeda -- they were his anchors in an otherwise awful way of life. During and after Hogwarts, his loyalties shifted as his world view did to James, Lily, Peter, and Remus. Peterâs supposed death broke him, as did Remus receiving the Dementorâs Kiss. Though they were driven to insanity, Sirius remains fiercely loyal to James and Lily, often taking Harry to visit them so he could at least see his parents while giving him the opportunity to visit with two of his best friends as well.
Intelligent: Sirius proved to be intelligent time and time again. He became an Animagus when he was a teenager, for crying out loud -- his mind ( and his intelligence ) works in mysterious, mischievous ways. He put his brain to the test when helping create the Marauderâs Map, and again when he figured out how to make a Muggle motorcycle work while infused with magic. Heâs a tinkerer at heart who likes to take things apart and put them back together in new, interesting ways. That worked well during the First War too, using his mind to make tactically sound decisions when things got dicey on missions.Â
Strong-Willed: Nothing Sirius had done in the past or continues to do in the present would be possible without having strong willpower. It was that willpower that let him see past what Walburga and Orion taught him as a child and run away when he was a teenager. That strong willpower let Sirius fight for what he believed in during the First War, just as it helped him move past Lily and James losing their minds and the deaths of Peter and Remus. It let him raise Harry in a way he hoped would make his best friend -- his brother -- proud. It continued to do so even now, as rumors of a Second War spread. If he had any less willpower in the course of his life, Sirius was sure he would have broken long before now.Â
3 Negative Traits:Â
Asshole: To put it plainly, Sirius Black is a Grade-A asshole. Whether or not he intends to be one depends on the person -- every asshole move he pulled on Snape, for example, was purely intentional, while any asshole move he pulled on his friend group growing up was usually him being an accidental dick. Itâs something he canât and wonât change about himself, even if it puts his relationships in jeopardy; Sirius wonât apologize for who he is unless itâs really bad.
Arrogant: With intelligence came arrogance, and Sirius would own up to that just as much as he would own up to being an asshole. To Sirius, this arrogance is well-deserved; he was smart and would brag about it or talk down to others if he felt the situation called for it. Raising Harry and having to be a good role model dimmed this trait down considerably, because while he knew he was arrogant, he didnât think James or Lily would want their son to be. That didnât erase it completely, though.
Selfish: Unless it was for someone he declared his loyalty to, Sirius was undeniably selfish. When he was younger this was plain for anyone to see -- he grew up the heir to a well-known pureblood family, after all, and he would get what he wanted. Befriending James, Remus, and Peter softened this somewhat, but he still wanted things to go his way and considered himself before anyone else; this was especially proven during the Whomping Willow incident when Snape almost died. Not once did he think of how Remus would feel because of that incident, just as he didnât think anyone would try to stop Snape from getting what was coming to him -- least of all James.
Raising Harry, though, softened him even more and made his selfishness more personal. He didnât care for selfishness in regards to material goods; he just wanted Harry safe. Perhaps even more selfishly, he wished another child had been burdened with what Harry went through so he could have the Potters back. He wished someone else had taught DADA during Harryâs third year so Remus would still be alive. He wished someone else had died rather than Peter. Selfishly, selfishly, he wished those atrocities on others, if only so his family would have remained safe and whole.Â
Headcanons:Â
- Sirius easily could have ended up just like Bellatrix, had things gone differently. In fact, being like Bellatrix was a very near possibility -- as a child, he idolized her immensely. She was everything that his parents said made up the perfect pureblood wizard, and as the heir to the House of Black, Sirius wanted to be just like her. This led to little Sirius imitating his cousin and following her around whenever possible, learning whatever he could from Bellatrix before going off to Hogwarts. He started having some doubts the older he got, but the need to please his parents far outweighed his doubts when he was ten. Meeting James, Remus, and Peter -- along with the countless others at school -- flipped his worldview on his head, and after his first year at Hogwarts, Sirius went from being Bellatrixâs shadow to avoiding her. This later turned into actively despising her and everything she, along with their family, stood for.
- Sirius spoiled Harry rotten from the moment he was born. He followed whatever rules James and Lily set in place for their child, of course, but to Sirius, Harry deserved the world and would get the world if he had anything to say about it. He never imagined that responsibility for Harry would fall onto his shoulders; he never imagined Harry would have to grow up without his parents at all. The first few years were⊠somber, to say in the least, and not without mistakes. Sirius could barely take care of himself, let alone a child, but he reached out to people he trusted and got help so he could be the best guardian possible for James and Lilyâs kid.Â
- The only reason he got a job at all was because of Harry. Sirius grew up spoiled -- he was the heir to a rich pureblood family, taken in by another well-off pureblood family when he ran away, and then inherited money from his disowned, rich pureblood uncle. Money was never something he felt the need to worry about, and once the war was done Sirius planned on taking a few years for himself to have fun. After Harry came to him, he knew that money wouldnât last forever, and he doubted James and Lily would want him to teach their son that jobs were worthless. He had no idea what he wanted to do -- briefly he considered being an Auror, but that was a default position more than anything -- until he was tinkering with Elvendork. Sirius wouldnât make motorbikes or magical cars for the rest of the wizarding world, but being a metal charmer would let him mess with Muggle inventions while figuring out how magic works with electricity more. He more or less fell into his dream job right then and there, and Sirius made it his own by expanding the occupation to include electronics as well.Â
- Harryâs time at Hogwarts was⊠stressful, but not nearly as stressful as Augusta Longbottomâs probably was. Even when Harry wasnât actively involved in the happenings at the magical school (Sirius swore he went grey from his fifth year trip to the Ministry alone), Sirius listened to each event and got more and more stressed: Death Eaters escaping from Azkaban, a Basilisk in the underbelly of Hogwarts, the seemingly ever-increasing push to bring Voldemort back from the dead. All of this read wrong to Sirius, and while Harry was off at school, Sirius began to plan for the worst: the return of Voldemort himself. He was a Black; he knew dark spells like the back of his hand, and he told Harry everything he could about these spells in case the worst came to pass. The wards of Grimmauld Place were strong, but he worked to make them stronger, then focused on making himself more prepared as well. He refused to be caught off-guard, and if his paranoia was just that, there was no harm in making sure their home was safe.
- Sirius immediately offered up Grimmauld Place as a meeting spot when the rumors of Voldemortâs return came in earnest, letting the Order of the Phoenix into his home whenever necessary. He insisted on being actively involved in any plans they made, though he kept in mind that he still had Harry to think about. Unlike the First War, he had family to keep in mind that (he hoped) needed him as much as he needed Harry. Whether he learned to strike the balance between being a member of the Order and being Harryâs parent remained to be seen.Â