History Characters / TheBlackSheepDogSeriesTheBlackFamily

* IllBoy: Several people note that he looks unhealthy, and he often has difficulty breathing. Since the Franchise/HarryPotter Canon established he died around 1979-1980, it could be a hint of his imminent demise.

* SecretlyDying: It is implicitly stated that he's afflicted with an ailment that he would soon die of, and no one else in the family knows about it.

* {{Workaholic}}: Orion spends most of his time locked up in his study, and even during the family Christmas party (which he's hosting), he prefers to seclude himself in the study to work on the logistics and finances of the event instead of socialising with his family.

* HateSink: Given that his default mode of communication is apparently to insult the people he talks to, it's no wonder that nobody likes him. The only person who willingly spends any time with him is probably Orion, and he does it only out of [[TheDutifulSon familial obligation]], rather than any fondness towards Arcturus.

* {{Workaholic}}: Orion spends most of his time locked up in his study, and even during the family Christmas party (which he's hosting), he's holed in his room to work on the logistics and finances of the event instead of socialising with his family.

* CoolOldLady: Subverted. She's deaf, domineering and extremely rude. Sirius is only too happy not to run into her when [[spoiler:undercover at Arcturus' birthday party]].
* EvilMatriarch: Not really but her status as TheDreaded in regards to Walburga makes her seem as such. She's the only one who intimidates her daughter.

* FemaleMysoginist: She secretly agrees with her father's poor opinion of women and sees them as spiteful cats, although she considers herself and 'Burgie an exception to the rule.

* DeceasedParentsAreTheBest: She's the only one of Sirius's grandparents to be talked of in a positive light, and is also the only one not still alive. Sirius's other grandparents, Arcturus, Pollux and Irma are consistently described as irascible and domineering.

* HonorThyParent: Orion will never speak a word against his father, and insists on giving the man the respect he is due, even though he isn't particularly fond of him. In the past, Alphard would frequently try to get him speak ill of Arcturus and finds amusement in the creative ways Orion would deflect the bait without resorting to telling an outright lie.

* UnexpectedVirgin: Sirius has dated lots of girls during his school days, and he likes to brag about his "conquests" to his peers afterwards, but if his conversation with his aunt is to be believed, his past flings had never gone beyond kissing, and his views on marriage and romance are surprisingly conservative.

* TroubledAbuser: He outright blackmails his eldest son and often considers hitting him (but dismissed it since it would let Sirius pose as a martyr). Everything hints at his father using the same methods with him.

* InsecureLoveInterest: He believes that Walburga only married him out of family obligation and would have preferred to marry Lysander Yaxley instead. It wasn't until Sirius pointed out how ridiculous this notion is that he might even consider otherwise.

* SpoiledSweet: She's proud and vain like most of her family, but she's otherwise quite harmless (unlike her husband), and seems to genuinely consider Colette as a friend, and tries to help her grow out from her shell.

* UnexpectedVirgin: Sirius has dated lots of girls during his school days, and he likes to brag about his "conquests" to his peers afterwards, but if the conversation with his aunt is to be believed, his past flings have never gone beyond kissing, and his views on marriage and romance are surprisingly conservative.

* ExtremeDoormat: He's very quiet and timid, and usually gets dragged by Sirius into whatever mischief his older brother thought of, but otherwise does whatever his parents tell him to do.

* HenpeckedHusband: His father accuses him for indulging his wife's whims too much, and Orion does usually let her make the decisions in the family, and only stepping in if her wishes clashes against his father's. Sirius also seems to think that Walburga rules the household in his stead. It helps that Walburga is 4 years older than Orion.

* [[EvilMatriarch]]: Not really but her status as TheDreaded in regards to Walburga makes her seem as such. She's the only one who intimidates her daughter.

The former matriarch of the Black family, and the late mother to Orion and Lucretia.

* ExtremeDoormat: She lets her family walk all over her, and she's more intimidated by her ''daughter''-in-law, than the other way around. It's implied that her son Orion and grandson Regulus inherited the same disposition.

[[folder:Lucretia Black Prewett]]
Orion's older sister, and a childhood friend of Walburga. Known for her headstrong personality, her love for gossip, and her tendency to shock her family with her callously frank attitude.

* TheConfidant: She seems to be the only person Orion can honestly open up to, because she knows him best. She's also best friends with Walburga, and the two often "scheme" with each other.
* CoolAunt: Sirius holds a grudging respect towards his aunt for her brash outspokenness, though he's not overly fond of her due to her gossipy nature.
* DirtyOldWoman: She discusses her brother's sex life while attending a public event. She also flirts with much younger men despite being over 50 years old and married.
* LooseLips: The main family can't trust her with their current difficulties since she's an unrepentant gossip.
* ManChild: Her flighty ways can appear childish, and the way she imagines herself sticking her tongue out to her father behind his back (although she didn't dare to actually do it) certainly demonstrates her immaturity.
* MarriageOfConvenience: She all but admits that she only marries Ignatius Prewett to get out of her father's thumb and not from any sort of affection towards her husband.
* TheNicknamer: To her family, at least. She calls Orion "'Rion", Walburga "'Burgie" and Sirius "Sob", which are nicknames all three have ought to outgrown.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Lucretia is rather jolly, enjoying to shock people and nose into their private businesses. Yet when her father visits her, she becomes downright submissive and fearful.
* TheTease: Like the [[TheBeautifulElite rest of her family]], Lucretia is quite a looker (even if she's not as beautiful as her mother), and she shamelessly flirts with anyone she takes a fancy to, including her own nephew (although she doesn't know it was him at that time), and Remus.

[[folder:Cygnus Black]]
Walburga's youngest brother, and the father of Bellatrix, Andromeda and Narcissa.

* DirtyOldMan: He's first introduced putting the moves on a girl barely older than his daughters, in spite of being married already.
* FatBastard: Downplayed. He's not evil on the same level than Voldemort, but he blatantly cheats on his wife and envies his relatives. As for his figure, Alphard notes that his diet and drinking habits had noticeably thickened his middle.
* GreenEyedMonster: He doesn't like Orion and often badmouths him to his brother, Alphard. Alphard thinks it's because he's jealous of their cousin. He isn't overly fond of Alphard either, for being [[ParentalFavoritism their parents' favorite]] despite his rebellious ways.

[[folder:Alphard Black]]
Walburga's deceased (and disinherited) younger brother who works as a writer when he was alive. He is Sirius's favourite uncle.

* CantLiveWithThemCantLiveWithoutThem: A platonic example towards his family. He finds himself succumbing to homesickness when WalkingTheEarth, only for his relatives' bickering to quickly get on his nerves and make him leave when he visits.
* ChildHater: Downplayed. He doesn't loathe his nephews and nieces, but doesn't see the appeal of interacting with them unless they happen to develop an interesting personality.
* ConfirmedBachelor: Alphard never marries, because he's got too much of a wanderlust to settle down in one place with a family.
* CoolUncle: He's one of the few people in the family that Sirius actually likes, and he was the one to left Sirius with the money he needed to live off on his own after his death.
* ADayInTheLimelight: The {{Prequel}} side-story, "The Black Sheep", is told through Alphard's POV as he tries to ease himself back into the family during their 1966 Christmas gathering after almost a year of absence.
* TheGadfly: He's a self-proclaimed provocateur who takes joy in annoying his younger brother, and trying to get his brother-in-law speak ill of his father.
* PetTheDog: In "The Black Sheep", he allows himself to get into trouble with Walburga and Orion by claiming that he had encouraged Sirius to visit him and even Confunded the nursemaid to do so, in order to protect his nephew from his mother's ire, and the nursemaid from being sacked. He surprises himself with his actions, as doing so gives him no benefit, and is [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness uncharacteristic]] of someone as selfish as he is.
* PosthumousCharacter: He's been dead for two years at the start of the series, but Sirius is still living off his wealth, and the HardTruthAesop he tells Sirius about [[ThickerThanWater the undeniable bonds of family]] is one of the main themes of the entire series.
* WalkingTheEarth: He spends most of his time traveling around the world, never staying in one place for more than several weeks, and apparently makes a living by writing travelogues.

[[folder:Narcissa Black Malfoy]]
Sirius's cousin, the youngest daughter of Walburga's brother Cygnus, who has married Lucius Malfoy some time before Sirius ran away. Is currently expecting a child, whom she plans to name Draco.

* DumbBlonde: She's one of the few Blacks who doesn't have dark hair, and is described by her sister as "silly and vain", although not malicious.
* TheFashionista: She's shown teaching Colette how to tastefully do her hair.
* TheMentor: She takes it upon herself to take Colette under her wing and teach her to become an esteemed member of the high society Wizarding Britain, and a suitable bride for the Black family.
* ShipperOnDeck: She believes Colette and Regulus would be perfect for each other, and explicitly brought Colette to England for this.
* SpoiledSweet: She's proud and vain like most of her family, but she's otherwise quite harmless (unlike her husband), and seems to genuinely consider Colette as a friend, and tries to help her grow out from her shell.

[[folder:Andromeda Black Tonks]]
Narcissa's second older sister who has been disinherited for marrying a Muggleborn. Sirius says that she's his favourite cousin.

* DisinheritedChild: Unlike Sirius, she well and truly was disowned by the Blacks at large. Apparently, within the family's entail, marrying a Muggle or Muggleborn automatically disinherits one from the clan.
* GoodIsNotNice: Having [[DefectorFromDecadence turned away from her family's bigoted views]] does not make Andromeda a NiceGirl. She retains some of her clan's characteristic haughty stubbornness, and was rather cold and imperious towards Colette when the two meet for the first time.
%%* GoodParents: For her young daughter Nymphadora.
* ICanChangeMyBeloved: Discussed. Andromeda muses that, had she not fallen in love with Ted Tonks all those years ago, she might actually go through with her ArrangedMarriage to Rabastan, and that she might even grow to love him and influence him to become a better man, as he wasn't the unsavory character then as he is now.
* RunawayBride: She was intended to marry Rabastan Lestrange, only for her to elope with Ted Tonks.
* StrongFamilyResemblance: She looks a lot like Bellatrix, and when she first comes to visit Regulus, he mistakes Andromeda as her older sister.

[[folder:Bellatrix Black Lestrange]]
The eldest daughter of Cygnus Black, and the older sister to both Narcissa and Andromeda.

* BigBrotherBully: Well, Big Sister. One of Narcissa's flashback to her childhood shows Bellatrix taunting her youngest sister for being a crybaby for protesting against the winter cold, then throwing a snowball at her.
* BrokenPedestal: Implied. Walburga notes that as a child, Sirius practically worshipped Bella and tailed after her all the time. Of course, he no longer views her in such a high esteem ''now'', and is offended by the idea that he ever had in the first place.
* TheCorrupter: She was the one who dragged her impressionable cousin Regulus into the Death Eaters, preying on his desire to please his parents.
* DaddysGirl: Cygnus apparently enjoys her willfulness and daring, seeing her as the son he would rather have than being saddled with three daughters.
* DynamicEntry: In chapter 26, she arrives at a party her cousin is hosting by blowing up the front door off of its hinges. Considering that this also marks her first in-person appearance in the story, it also serves as an EstablishingCharacterMoment to show her wild and uncontrollable streak.
* EvilCounterpart: To Sirius. Both are rebellious and headstrong, and breaks away from their family's usually restrained manners by their blatant disregard to the norms of courtesy or the opinions of others; but despite their disdain for their family, both still retain the haughty entitlement that their privilege and upbringing allows. However, unlike Sirius, Bellatrix is vicious and cruel who delights in causing harm to others. Sirius, despite his love for troublemaking, will not allow others to be harmed by his actions.
* TheGhost: Even though she's frequently discussed by the family, Bellatrix never appears in person in the story, until chapter 26, that is.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: The Black brothers cannot help but be incredulous when she doesn't appear to some social events, since she never was ill in her day and as such ''should'' attend.

[[folder:Phineas Nigellus Black]]
A former patriarch of the Black family, and a former Headmaster at Hogwarts. Although deceased, Phineas Nigellus lives on as a painting on both Grimmauld Place number 12 and the Headmaster's office.

* TheTease: She shamelessly flirts with anyone she takes a fancy to, including her own nephew (although she doesn't know it was him at that time), and Remus.

* SpoiledBrat: Discussed. Both Andromeda and Regulus state that Sirius is spoiled and the reason he's allowed to get away with many of his childhood antics is because the rest of his clan indulges on his whims due to his status as the family's hair. However, Sirius denies that he is spoiled, and claims that his family's lavish attentions only mean more scolding and punishments.

* TrueLoveIsExceptional: Claims he enjoys blondes with loose morals. However, he ends up falling in love with CuteBookworm and ProperLady Colette Battancourt.

* SoProudOfYou: His unexpected reaction to Sirius achieving the Animagus transformation while he was barely fifteen years old, and on his own.

--> '''Lucretia:''' You know, I think that's the real reason other wizards rarely warm up to you, 'Rion. They never know what you really think--and probably assume the worst

* GreenEyedMonster: He expresses jealousy against his brother when he sees the painstaking amount of effort their mother expends in order to [[TheMatchmaker set up Sirius with Colette]]. Justified, considering how much attention Orion and Walburga had given their eldest son ever since their reunion, while almost forgetting about Regulus, despite the fact that ''he's almost died just the week before''.

* EvilCounterpart: To Sirius. Both are rebellious and headstrong, and breaks away from their family's usually restrained manners by their blatant disregard to the norms of courtesy or the opinions of others; but despite their disdain to their family, both still retain the haughty entitlement that their privilege and upbringing allows. However, unlike Sirius, Bellatrix is vicious and cruel who delights in causing harm to others. Sirius, despite his love for troublemaking, will not allow others to be harmed by his actions.

* BigSisterBully: One of Narcissa's flashback to her childhood shows Bellatrix taunting her youngest sister for being a crybaby for protesting against the winter cold, then throwing a snowball at her.

* DefrostingIceKing: Orion is well-known for being aloof and cold-hearted, even by the standards of his family, that even his wife and children don't always know what to make of him. The discovery that his youngest son is an ex-Death Eater, the family's sudden reunion with his wayward eldest, and all the baggage that comes with it forces him to be more open with his feelings and give them the affection and encouragement they need if he doesn't want to lose them.

* LikeFatherLikeSon: Many people have commented on how much of Regulus's personality takes after his father. Both are emotionally reserved, passive and obedient to a fault; but they both are fiercely devoted to the people they love and are willing to make great sacrifices to protect their family, although they prefer to act in secret.

* CantActPervertedTowardALoveInterest: Despite his reputation of being a Casanova who has been romantically involved with pretty much every pretty girl in Hogwaers, Sirius treats his LoveInterest, Colette, with such an unprecedented chivalry and prudishness. Regulus is surprised that he hasn't kissed her yet, despite having taken her out on 3 dates.