| Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter - Character | |
| Orion Black | |
|---|---|
| Gender | Male |
| Hair color | Unknown |
| Eye color | Unknown |
| Related Family | Black Family; wife Walburga Black, sons Sirius Black, Regulus Black |
| Loyalty | Purebloods |
Overview
Orion Black was a pure-blood wizard, husband of Walburga Black and father of Sirius and Regulus Black. He lived in the house on Number 12, Grimmauld Place, his ancestral home.
Role in the Books
Order of the Phoenix
The day after Harry arrives at Grimmauld Place, he is assisting the Weasley family with cleaning Doxies out of the sitting room. When they stop for lunch, Sirius shows Harry a tapestry of the Black family tree, explaining that this was emblematic of the Black family beliefs; to the Blacks, genealogy was paramount. The fact that they could trace their family back to the earliest wizards was a source of family pride, and anyone who did not agree was expunged from the tree. Sirius shows the burn mark that had replaced his name, and the one for Andromeda Tonks' mother, who had married "a Muggle," Ted Tonks. He also said that he had escaped from this house because his parents were possessed by pure-blood mania. Both his father and his mother agreed with Voldemort's plans for the purification of wizarding race, though they didn't seem to play a part in it.
Later, as they clean up the house, Sirius finds that Kreacher is trying to carry away a large golden ring. Sirius takes it from him and throws it away, saying it had been his father's, and that Kreacher was not as loyal to him as to Walburga.
Strengths
We are told that Sirius' father did enhance the magical protection on the house. As the house must have been standing for many years at that point, and the existing spells should have been reasonably strong, we expect that he must have been a reasonably strong wizard.
Weaknesses
Relationships with Other Characters
Orion was proud of his son Regulus because he was true to the family's Pure Blood beliefs. We are led to believe that both Orion and Walburga were proud of his becoming a Death Eater, and being in Voldemort's inner council. By the same token, Orion must have been disappointed in Sirius' pro-Muggle leanings. However, Sirius notes that it was Walburga who burned people off the tapestry of the family tree; Orion may have held out some hope of reconciliation.
Analysis
Questions
- Did Orion treat Kreacher well, or not? If not, why would Kreacher try to retrieve Orion's ring?