✘𝕤𝕚𝕣𝕚𝕦𝕤 𝕓𝕝𝕒𝕔𝕜: 𝖇𝖎𝖔
I saw SIRIUS BLACK in Diagon Alley, but at first I mistook HIM for SAMUEL LARSEN. The TWENTY year-old was in GRYFFINDOR at Hogwarts, right? Now I think they are a “ PART-TIME MUSICIAN ” ( UNEMPLOYED, FUNDED BY UNCLE ALPHARD’S INHERITANCE ). When it comes to the war the PUREBLOOD is WITH THE ORDER. I always liked that they were RIGHTEOUS and INDEPENDENT, but they always seemed PROUD and DEFIANT, which is unfortunate. ( Em/she&her/24/GMT ).
I. BLACK BLOOD
THE HOUSE OF BLACK are an aristocratic family. Strung tightly together by traditionalist beliefs & a misplaced proprietorship of PURITY, they are the picture of the snotty, self-centred elite, stamping on ants who dirty their marble paths. Sirius didn’t try particularly hard to like his parents. As the eldest male HEIR of the Black name, he didn’t have to try particularly hard at anything.
There was a vain attempt to educate him “ properly ”, with WEEKS spent tracing back the Black bloodline to its routes, learning the names & notorieties of every pureblood family ( a sharp hex shot for each snarky answer ). He revelled in wealth, slipped naturally into the ARROGANCE of affluence, but couldn’t shake the damned idea that the Black family’s archaic notion of “ pure ” was old news ready to washed away in the rain.
II. MUGGLE V MAGIC
Just as Sirius suspected the wizarding world had hit a standstill, the muggle world continued to EVOLVE. Sirius would sneak into muggle London after at tough day’s home schooling & revel in the bustle of it all. It wasn’t hard; whilst he was spied on like a hawk within the walls of Grimmauld Place, Orion & Walburga Black cared little for where he’d wander in the evenings – no heir of House Black would dare risk bring SHAME to the family name.
Muggle London was its own kind of magic, & it was clear that a rebellion of MIND, MUSIC & STYLE was quickly forming in the streets. Though too young to realise it at the time, it was a rebellion Sirius was fated to bring home.
III. THE SORTING
The more it was “ suspected ” that Sirius was DIFFERENT, the harder his parents fought to shape him into the perfect son of House Black. The punishments often fit the crime; a desire to learn about muggle technology required two nights locked in the dusty, dated library with nothing to do but research the intricacies of DARK MAGIC and blood purity; a painful curse for any question that dared UNRAVEL the faults in their obsession with fortune & family; a week spent on the streets when it became apparent that he idealised the littered cobble of muggle London more than the antique, mahogany woodwork of Grimmauld Place.
They pushed, and pushed, and PUSHED but, when Sirius Black was placed into GRYFFINDOR house – among those brave of heart and rich in principle – it became clear he was a lost cause. House Black had been aligned with Slytherin for centuries, and Sirius’ sorting was akin to SPITTING on the graves of his ancestors.
IV. FOUND FAMILY
“ They’re going to kill me,” an eleven-year-old Sirius said over & over as he gripped his new Gryffindor tie, unblinking. He wouldn’t put it past Walburga Black to have spies in the Hogwarts Dormitories, keeping a close eye on any of her pathetic son’s misdeeds. “ They’re actually going to KILL me. ” To the untrained eye, it would appear as if Sirius Black was panicking, but peer closer and you’d see a daring smile. This was it; the match that would like the FIRE of his rebellion. The beginning of a new era, away from the expectations of his overbearing, malicious mother. Sirius felt well and truly ALIVE, and his next step was to befriend every damn Gryffindor, blood traitor and muggleborn he could.
V. UP TO NO GOOD
Whilst Walburga & Orion Black petitioned Dumbledore to question the Sorting Hat’s decision, Sirius had one spoonful of freedom and decided he wanted the whole damn bucket. The energy of youth mixed with the arrogance of wealth made Sirius a force to be RECKONED with, and he had his best friends – shit, he’d never even had friends before – to encourage each and every titbit of revolt.
He had JAMES – beautiful James – with just enough bravado and brilliance to keep up with Sirius’ trouble-making plots. They were SOULMATES, brothers, and Sirius would unstitch himself from the Black family tapestry himself if it meant a lifetime with James bloody Potter by his side.
He had REMUS, the caged calm within the storm whose wit and wisdom humbled Sirius when it didn’t get him to push harder. He loved to TEASE Remus because there was a chance – a chance he’d never experienced with even the most educated of his family’s acquaintances – that he’d be stunned silent by the reply.
And then there was PETER, the butt of his jokes but the heart of the group, whose enigmatic easygoingness ( though Sirius would never say it to his face ) made him a friend for life. Whilst insulting Peter came as naturally to Sirius as straightening his collar, if anyone outside of the Gryffindor dormitory dared insult the lad, they’d get a HEX right where it hurt.
They were the MARAUDERS and – in the Summer of Sirius’ sixteenth birthday, when he was viciously cut loose of the Black name, family estate and vast inheritance – they were the only family he had left.
VI. MISSING PIECES
OF COURSE, there’s a lot not mentioned here. The muggle posters of motorbikes and bikini-clad women stuck permanently to his bedroom walls to ever-taunt his parents. The summers spent sneaking out of Grimmauld place to CAMDEN MARKET, haggling for leather jackets, anarchist pin-badges and menthol cigarettes. The Gryffindor scarves littered around the house, then burned to a crisp by his darling, vindictive mother.
His brother, REGULUS, whom Sirius wanted so much to stray from the rigid, malevolent path expected from a boy with his surname. Sirius watched as Regulus was sorted into Slytherin ( just as every good Black should be ) and felt his body deflate, so painfully desperate to free his sibling from the CHAINS of their household. Inside, Sirius burns with that hope still, but it reveals itself as bitter disapproval towards the COWARDICE of Regulus’ conformity.
The months spent training to be an ANIMAGUS ( Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot & Prongs ) to help their friend in his most vulnerable state.
Sirius’ betrayal of that friendship, as he thrust SNIVELLUS SNAPE into Moony’s best-guarded secret.
The summer spent at the Potter’s estate, learning what a REAL FAMILY could look like.
The INHERITANCE from his Uncle Alphard. A small fortune, enough to get a place of his own ( not to mention a motorbike of his own, a real leather jacket, a round of drinks for the misfits at the pub that taught him how to roll his own cigs and sing along to Black Sabbath ). Sirius Black is TRULY independent now.
And finally, the FUTURE. The war. The ORDER. Sirius, fuelled by all the found, fostered and fucked-up families he’s encountered, is ANGRY. When he’s not begging Dumbledore for a mission – anything to save those he loves – he’s serenading his mates in their places of work & getting pissed on muggle whiskey. It’s a dirty sort of perfect.
VII. PERSONALITY
(+) righteous, independent, quick-witted, unassuming, unbiased, energetic
(-) proud, defiant, arrogant, angry, selfish, egotistical, aimless, bitter
