Name: Sirius (?) Black

Age: 40 (From a JKR interview: Severus Snape was 35 years old in the Philosopher's Stone)

Animagus form: Large black dog (called Padfoot)

Appearance: Formerly extremely handsome with black hair, Sirius now sports long locks to go with a skinny frame and a generally dischevelled appearance.

Mythological reference: Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, also known as the Dog Star.

Biography: Born into the "Most Noble and Ancient House of Black", a family of dark wizards, Sirius was constantly at odds with the rest of his family. He joined the Hogwarts at the age of 11, and formed a close friendship with James Potter right from the start. He was always seen as part of a foursome with James, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. In their first year, he and James figured out that Lupin was a werewolf, and spent the best part of the next three years working on becoming Animagi. In their fifth year, they were successful: James would change into a stag (Prongs), Sirius into a large black dog (Padfoot) and Peter into a rat (Wormtail) and keep Remus Lupin (Moony) company as he transformed into a werewolf once a month. At the age of 16, Sirius ran away from home, unable to tolerate his family any longer, and was taken in by James Potter's parents. He was promptly blasted off the Black family tapestry showing the entire family tree.

After graduating from Hogwarts, Sirius probably became an Auror. At that point in time he was living on his own, with the help of an inheritance from his uncle Alphard (who also got blasted off the tapestry in his turn). Sirius, James and Remus were also part of the defence league against Voldemort formed by Dumbledore called the Order of the Phoenix. It is unclear whether Peter was in the Order as well. At James Potter and Lily Evans' wedding, Sirius was James's best man, and a few years later, when Harry was born, he was named Harry's godfather.

At about this time, the 'First War' against Voldemort was at its peak, and the Potters came to know through Dumbledore that Voldemort was after their son Harry. They quickly went into hiding, and using the Fidelus Charm as suggested by Dumbledore, they concealed the secret of their hiding place in one of their friends. Sirius was the Potters' first choice as the Secret Keeper, but Sirius suggested that as a decoy, they make Peter Pettigrew the Secret Keeper, because Voldemort was sure to come after Sirius. Nobody but the Potters, Sirius and Wormtail himself were aware of this switch.

As Wormtail had for some time been spying for Lord Voldemort, he promptly betrayed the secret to the Dark Lord. Voldemort reached the Potters' hideout, killed James and Lily and was defeated while trying to kill Harry. Sirius found out about Wormtail's betrayal and tracked him down in a street packed with Muggles, but Wormtail shouted for everyone to hear that Sirius had betrayed the Potters, and with the wand hidden behind his back, killed 13 people with one curse, cut off his finger, turned into a rat and disappeared.

The Ministry of Magic and the entire wizarding community, including Dumbledore, believed that Sirius had killed those 13 people and Wormtail, and locked Sirius up in Azkaban for life. Sirius knew he was innocent, and this thought kept him sane through his stay in the wizard prison... it was not a *happy* thought, so the dementors could not suck it out of him.

12 years later, one day, Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic, was visiting Azkaban. Sirius said hello, and asked if he could borrow his newspaper to read. Headline news that day was the Weasley family winning the grand draw prize of a thousand galleons, and there was a photograph showing the entire Weasley family, including Harry's friend Ron, who had his pet rat on his shoulder. Sirius noticed that Scabbers, the rat, had a toe missing, and became obsessed with the thought that Peter Pettigrew was now in Hogwarts, perfectly positioned to strike when Voldemort regained power.

He managed to break out of Azkaban, an unheard-of feat, by changing into a dog and slipping through the bars, and set off for Hogwarts. Throughout the year he kept a watch on Harry in the shape of a dog, all the while looking for a way to get his paws on Ron's rat. At around the end of the year, he managed to drag Ron with his rat into the Shrieking Shack, with Harry and Hermione hot on his heels. Coincidentally, Lupin had been teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts that year, and he, too, joined the far-from-jolly company at the Shrieking Shack.

Lupin immediately figured out that the presence of Wormtail (still masquerading as Ron's rat) meant that the Potters had switched their Secret Keeper, and helped Sirius explain the situation to Ron, Hermione and Harry. As a final proof, they forced Wormtail to show himself before they turned to kill him. Harry stopped them, and convinced them that turning Pettigrew in and letting him rot in Azkaban was what he deserved. They bound Wormtail up, and were walking towards the entrance hall of Hogwarts when Lupin started to change: it was a full moon night and he had neglected to take the potion that made him safe. To protect Harry, Ron and Hermione, Sirius turned into a dog again and led Lupin off into the Forbidden Forest, but soon lost sight of him. When he changed back and started towards Hogwarts again, he was cornered by a hundred dementors, all gliding towards him to suck his soul out.

Harry's Patronus managed to save them all in the last minute from the dementors, but unfortunately, the Ministry of Magic swooped in and locked Sirius up in one of the school's offices for questioning. As Wormtail had managed to escape in the whole commotion, there was no proof to corraborate Sirius's and Harry's story. Just when all hope seemed to fade, Harry flew up to Sirius's window on Buckbeak the Hippogriff and Sirius managed to escape on Buckbeak.

He went into hiding somewhere in southern Europe and kept in touch with Lupin, Harry and Dumbledore throughout the summer. He came back to be near Harry, pretending to be a stray in Hogsmeade village, when Harry mentioned his scar hurting, and met Harry, Ron and Hermione the very first time they were allowed to visit Hogsmeade. At the end of Harry's fourth year, when Harry came back to Hogwarts after witnessing the rebirth of Voldemort, Sirius stayed with Harry for the first few hours of his return, listening to his story along with Dumbledore. Later, on Dumbledore's orders, he went off to alert the old members of the Order of the Phoenix that Voldemort was back.

Prevented from being seen openly in public, Sirius was confined to the Order Headquarters, the Black family house at no. 12, Grimmauld Place. He spent almost the whole year feeling restless about being of no use to the Order, frustrated with his sinister and defiant house elf, Kreacher, and depressed about having to stay in the house he hated. He was still there for Harry, supporting him as he struggled with his cryptic dreams and visions, and his new DADA teacher, professor Umbridge... but he was itching for a break in the monotony of serving as host for the members of the Order who continually went in and out of Grimmauld Place, nobody staying for long.

When he heard that Harry had gone to the Ministry of Magic's Department of Mysteries believing that he (Sirius) was in danger, Sirius rushed there with some of the other members of the Order to protect Harry from the Death Eaters waiting there. In the fierce duelling that followed, Sirius battled his first cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange, one of Voldemort's most loyal supporters, and she hit him with an unidentified spell (probably a Stunning spell). Sirius feel backwards through a mysterious curtain on an archway in the Room of Death, and is believed to have died.

But is Sirius truly gone? Click here to find out the truth about the big death in Book V!