Whether in movies or books – Sirius Black from Harry Potter has a hard time. First, he spends a long time in prison, then he has to lead a life that amounts to another form of imprisonment. According to some fans, the blame lies with J.K. Rowling’s careless handling of her characters.
Warning Spoiler: We reveal details about Sirius Black and his story in the article.
Who is Sirius? Sirius Black is a popular character among fans of Harry Potter and was introduced in part 3, “The Prisoner of Azkaban”. There he initially appears as the titular prisoner and is considered highly dangerous.
However, as it turns out, he was the victim of a scheme by his old friend Peter Pettigrew and unjustly spent 12 years in Azkaban prison. After he and Harry have grown closer, Sirius reveals that he is his godfather.
The relationship between the two grows in parts 4 and 5 but ends with Sirius’s early death at the end of “The Order of the Phoenix.” By the way, he is also one of the strongest members of the Order.
According to fans, author J.K. Rowling has been anything but gentle with the character and has made “mistakes” in her treatment of him. Because his suffering did not end even after Azkaban.
A life in apparent freedom
How did Sirius fare? After escaping from Azkaban, things hardly got better for him. As a fugitive criminal, he could of course not move freely in the world. Therefore, he usually hid at 12 Grimmauld Place, in his family’s house. The Fidelius Charm makes the building hidden and virtually invisible.
Here, Sirius spent his time and left the premises to the Order of the Phoenix as a meeting place. However, it was by no means a life in freedom. The narrow, dark house with the family portraits stirred up unwanted memories of the past. In the end, the hideout became just another prison, and the character’s mental state deteriorated.
Sirius could have had it much better. On reddit, fans of the Harry Potter series express their irritation about why J.K. Rowling didn’t reach into the magic trick box to ease Sirius’s miserable life.
User OptimalCheesecake163 suggests using a Polyjuice Potion, which allows one to assume the form of another person. This way, Sirius could have transformed and gone outside unnoticed – normally this would have only been possible for him in the form of his Animagus. However, that would have startled random witnesses, as Sirius appears transformed as an intimidating dog.
Another suggestion is to use an invisibility cloak to become invisible. It seems Rowling had several options, but deliberately chose against them. Sirius was not meant to lead a normal life – this is incomprehensible to some fans.
What do fans think? On reddit, some users try to explain Rowling’s decision:
- “In 50% of the cases, the answer lies either in the plot or in inconsistencies caused by J.K. Rowling losing interest, or in another reason not really related to the story,” finds Robinsonirish.
- “I think Rowling just wanted to make his situation miserable for the plot, justify his recklessness towards the Ministry, and make his death through a wasted life seem even more tragic,” writes Silmarillien.
- “It’s because J.K. Rowling is a terrible author when it comes to plotlines and often writes herself into a corner. She either doesn’t think about the consequences or doesn’t care, and that’s why there are many gaps like this,” suspects mastergriggy.
In any case, it is a part of the Harry Potter story that raises questions even years after the books and films were released. What do you think about it? Feel free to let us know in the comments. In the films, Sirius is played by Gary Oldman, who owes a lot to the character: “I thank God for Harry Potter” – actor explains how 2 major film franchises saved his life
