What is a fanlisting?
A fanlisting is exactly what it says it is. A listing of fans for one
particular subject from around the world. The idea for them came from
Janine Mischor who decided to find out how many Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans
were out there. The idea expanded into
The Fanlistings network, where you can get more information on joining
thousands of other fanlistings, and maybe even build your own.
About Sirius Black
Although he is very briefly mentioned in the earliest 'Harry Potter' books,
the first appearance of Sirius Black is in the third book, Harry Potter and
the Prisoner of Azkaban, whereas Sirius is the "prisoner" in the
title. Convicted for murder, Sirius escapes in the beginning of the novel,
and it's that event that sets off the mysterious happenings at Hogwarts during
Harry's third year of school. Once the closest friend of Harry's parents,
and Harry's godfather, Sirius was also accused of informing Voldemort of the
Potter's whereabouts and causing the death of James and Lily Potter.
Between the Dementors that are patrolling the school's grounds, Harry's multiple
sightings of a black dog (an omen of death), and the over-the-top predictions of
Professor Sibyll Trelawney -- it becomes evident that someone is out to finish
what Voldemort could not the night that Harry received his scar. Suspicion
immediately falls upon the escaped Sirius, as Harry begins to fear for his life.
We find out at the end of POA, of course, that Sirius
is indeed innocent. He was falsely imprisoned for crimes that were
committed by another childhood friend -- Peter Pettigrew. Sirius flees
Hogwarts with one of Hagrid's favorite pets, Buckbeak, and even though he most
remain on the run from the law, he promises to always look out for his god-son
Harry.
In 'Goblet of Fire', Sirius again plays a fairly important role. Although he cannot expose his existence to the world yet, he remains steadfastly on Harry's side, and they keep in close communication throughout the book.
Sirius becomes even more important in the fifth book, "Order of the Phoenix". As a member of the Order, he lends his family's home to house Order members and hold meetings. Harry and Sirius grow even closer when Harry stays at 12 Grimmauld Place before heading back to Hogwarts. Once again, for fear of imprisonment, Sirius must remain under cover, even though the members of the Order are accepting of his innocence, the Ministry of Magic is still under the impression that he is a criminal. Sirius becomes frustrated with the fact that he isn't able to help in larger ways, and due to a betrayal by his family's house-elf, Kreacher -- Sirius leaves the house and engages in a battle with Death-Eater, Bellatrix Lestrange. A battle that, unfortunately, costs him his life.
Or does it? Such is the speculation of many fans, especially us die-hard Sirius fanatics. In a world filled with magic and mystery, anything is possible. And, I believe that we will see Sirius again, in one form or another. Not only did Sirius "death" break the heart of his god-son, Harry Potter -- but it also broke the hearts of fans the world over.
About 'Innocent'
'Innocent' was previously owned by Jen,
and was proudly taken over by me, Lisa in December of 2003. Jen did an
amazing job with this fanlisting for the time that she ran it, and I give many
many many 'thank you's' to her for doing such a great job. Not to mention,
I think I'm legally required to name my first born after her for letting me have
the honor of taking the site over. I am probably one of the biggest Sirius
Black fans you will ever dare to meet, and he is one of my favorite characters
of all time. (Not just in the Harry Potter universe, but in the many other
books I've read in my lifetime.) POA is my favorite Harry Potter book for
the simple reason that it is the book that introduces Sirius to the literary
world. (And the wonderful Remus Lupin too.) I can't really put my
finger on what it is about Sirius that drew me in, but I'm totally
addicted. There are just so many things to love about Sirius that it'd take
me a novel to explain it. I was a Harry Potter fan from the first two
books, but after reading POA, I *knew* that I was truly an addict, and it was
the introduction of this fascinating character that made me even more
HP-obsessed than I already was. Okay, I won't babble anymore... obviously, you're a fan too if you're
here reading this.
I renamed the site to "Reckless Hero" in May of 2004, because I thought it was a great phrase to describe Sirius. He has a tendency to be a bit reckless in his nature, but he is also very loyal and has the heart of a hero.
Graphics for this site were created in Paint Shop Pro with pictures from the IMDB, MuggleNet and The Dark Mark, and fanart is courtesy of Marta. The font used is called 'Cezanne'. Unless otherwise stated, all graphics and HTML are @ Hoppy, 2006.
I must also give a hearty 'thank you' to my friends, Morgan and Loren, who put up with all my crazy Sirius babblings, and supported me when the idea of owning a fanlisting for my favorite character was just a glimmer of hope. Like I said on the front page, I must also thank Morgan for helping me add all the old members to Fanbase... It was not easy work, but I hope it was worth it.