Sirius' House

[kiricat2001]

No: HPFGUIDX 73761

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, A Featheringstonehaugh 
<featheringstonehaugh at y...> wrote:
> Forgive my memory lapses... I think I need to do some re-
reading...but do we know that Sirius was a Gryffindor? 

There is nothing in canon that definitively says what house Sirius 
was in.  

 I guess I've always assumed that he was. given his friendship with 
James; but considering his family history/relationships/attitudes, as 
well as all the serpent 'memorabilia' in his family home, perhaps he 
was a Slytherin?.?   Consider this: perhaps he hadn't always been on 
the outs with his family; hadn't had the miserable upbringing many 
assume, but had been a normal boy living a normal wizarding life. 
Perhaps at first he had been quite the fair- haired boy when he left 
for Hogwarts and was chosen for Slytherin. But if he later became 
disenchanted with Slytherin House, forged strong friendships with 
Gryffindors and opposed his family's views about Muggles et al, maybe 
his family turned against him. 

His mother's reaction would have had a profound effect upon him - a 
most fundamental rejection - which I think explains more adequately 
his almost visceral hatred of the
>  Grimmauld Place house. This resulted not from mere differences of 
opinion but from a betrayal of what should be unconditional love and 
acceptance and a parent/child bond.  Had he always been the family 
odd- man -out, he most likely would have reached acceptance of this 
status quo by adulthood. But to be turned against by the people who 
should have offered unquestioning support during adolescence would be 
devastating.
>  
> Just an idea...forgive my arm-chair psychiatry if it seems far 
fetched.
> AF   

It doesn't seem far-fetched at all.  I think you can go either way 
here.  One, that Sirius was sorted into Slytherin and began to 
actively reject the pure-blood line that is espoused by that house, 
thus leading to more and more conflict with his mother. But, I think 
the only way that he would have developed strong Gryffindor 
friendships in this scenario would be if James was already a close 
friend from before school. I can just see Mum Black being ever so 
pleased that her eldest was sorted into Slytherin, thinking that 
whatever possible bad influences from that Potter family would be 
mitigated by the influence of all those wonderful pure-blood sons and 
daughters.  And, then, much to her revolted dismay, her son persists 
in hanging with the Gryffs.  Now, I know we've never seen any 
evidence in canon that students can (or are allowed to) switch 
houses, once they've been sorted, but if Sirius got himself 
transferred out of Slytherin and into Gryffindor, can you imagine 
Mrs. Black's apoplexy?

Or, scenario number two, against all the long history of the Blacks 
as good Slyths, Sirius gets sorted into Gryffindor.  That starts Mum 
on her ranting about blood traitors when her eldest is only 11. 

This is not a happy family...

Marianne