Sirius Black is definitely a fan-favorite character from the Harry Potter series. While he was only a side character and only really in three of the books, his complexity as a character as well as his personality made many fans love him. While Sirius might have a lot of charm, he’s also a rather flawed character in many aspects. He goes through a lot in his life, and he’s also someone who doesn’t play by the rules. Because of this, he can sometimes be one of the most shameless characters from the series.
Here are the ten most shameless things that Sirius Black has ever done.
BECOMING AN ANIMAGUS ILLEGALLY
During Sirius’ time at Hogwarts, he was part of the group of friends known as the Marauders. Along with James Potter, he was the co-leader of this group. Because of their good looks and talent, these two definitely thought they could get away with a lot.
While they might have learned to be illegal Animagi in an attempt to help their friend, doing so was really dangerous. They never really thought of the consequences, and it was overall a very shameless thing to do.
BREAKING A TON OF RULES WHILE AT HOGWARTS
Along with being an Animagus which might have been the most egregious single example, Sirius was an overall rulebreaker while in school. Professor McGonagall notes that he and James were as much of troublemakers and tricksters as Fred and George.
While some rule-breaking is harmless fun, it’s clear that Sirius often took things too far. He could also be rather arrogant and seemed to think he was above the rules and others.
LASHING OUT AT PEOPLE IN THE ORDER BECAUSE HE WAS FRUSTRATED
When we see Sirius in Order of the Phoenix, he is having a rough time. Instead of finding solace in the fact that he’s no longer on the run, he feels cooped up and restless.
While having to still be in hiding would be frustrating, the way Sirius takes things out on other people around him isn’t fair. He gets into tiffs with Molly Weasley and acts moody around pretty much everyone including Harry.
TRYING TO KILL PETTIGREW IN FRONT OF THREE YOUNG TEENS
Given that Sirius spent 13 years in Azkaban with the Dementors, it’s somewhat understandable that he was a bit abnormal when he got out.
He definitely wasn’t in a rational frame of mind when he finally caught Pettigrew. However, trying to kill him in front of Harry, Ron, and Hermione was too brash, and it would have had bad consequences for everyone involved. This definitely isn’t the way to handle the situation.
TREATING HARRY LIKE JAMES
While Sirius starts out being a rather helpful and supportive parental figure to Harry, things devolve as Sirius gets more reckless and frustrated as a member of the Order.
Instead of remembering that Harry was still a teenager who needed guidance and support, he’s started treating Harry like he had his best friend James back. The blurring of who Harry was could be blatant at times, and it definitely wasn’t helpful.
DAMAGING THE FAT LADY’S PORTRAIT TO GET INTO HOGWARTS
This is another example of how Sirius is too brash and out of control when he is trying to get Pettigrew. Of course, it makes sense that he would be desperate and not completely thinking straight all the time. But, he does do a lot of things that make him seem like the criminal everyone says he is.
It was really not cool to attack and ruin the portrait of the Pink Fat Lady. Not to mention how shameless it was to hold a knife over Ron as he attempted to kill Pettigrew.
THINKING BEING RECKLESS AND DANGEROUS IS SOMEHOW A VIRTUE
Sirius Black might be super intriguing as a character in Harry Potter, but he’s also got a lot of personality flaws. He is someone who is rather arrogant who sees himself above the rules. He’s definitely rather full of himself, and he can be rather rude, too.
But, his most shameless personality traits have to do with the fact that he sees being reckless or taking risks as usually the best move. He gets so caught up in ideals of bravery that he acts rashly.
LEAVING GRIMMAULD PLACE AS A DOG EVEN WHEN TOLD NOT TO
Sirius is so desperate for a chance to leave Grimmauld Place that he does something really dumb and shameless. Even though Dumbledore tells him he shouldn’t, he transforms into his dog form and goes with Harry to the Hogwarts Express platform.
This action not only put Sirius’ own safety at risk, but it also put the Order at risk. However, when confronted about it, Sirius didn’t seem to have any remorse.
GETTING ANNOYED AT HARRY FOR NOT BREAKING RULES OR BEING RECKLESS
Because of the fact that Sirius seems to want Harry to be just like James, he starts to get annoyed and guilt trip Harry for not being reckless enough.
This is really messed up as the year before Sirius was trying to keep him alive. Instead of being a cautious parental figure, Sirius isn’t a good godfather at all and makes Harry feel bad for things he shouldn’t have to feel bad for.
PULLING A PRANK ON SNAPE THAT COULD HAVE KILLED HIM
While Sirius might be a good person in many ways, there is one thing he does while at Hogwarts that completely crosses the line into bad person territory. While Snape isn’t innocent by any means, trying to pull a prank on him that could have gotten Snape killed was an awful thing to do.
This is probably one of the most shameless things Snape ever did. While Snape was someone who was way too into the dark arts, it wasn’t Sirius’ place to try to get him killed.