Taking names and kicking ass
The man stood in the shadows, watching. Waiting. The place he had arranged for the ritual was almost complete. He just needed the last few ingredients and the finish translating the chant. It had taken him a year to get this close. He could wait a little bit longer.
The boy seemed to grow stronger each day. Showing more abilities that could only aid him in his goals. People had laughed when he had shared his goals. They said he was too weak. Well, they weren’t wrong. He had been weak. He had grown since then. He might not be powerful yet, but he had learnt a few things since he was kicked out. But he would show them. They would kneel at his feet or die defying him.
The boy was on the move again. It had been a stroke of luck that he had been able to tag him with that tracking spell a year ago. Now, the boy would never escape. Just a few more weeks, and everything he had ever dreamed would be his.
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A whole year. A whole year had passed for Harry, since he had crashed in to Skulduggery, and his life had changed for the better. And weirder. He had people he consider his family. Not like Vernon or Petunia. He didn’t even Dudley anymore. He was a product of his parents’ hatred and fear. Harry just pitied how he would grow up. He had people he cared for, that cared for him in return.
Skulduggery, was the sort of irresponsible guardian. He would never be a father figure to Harry, he already had 2 dads, thanks! He tried to do right by Harry, but wasn’t always there, especially if he was wrapped up in a case, but he checked in once a day without fail. He had even brought Harry out on a stake out for his birthday. Harry had said that he wanted to see some of Skulduggery’s work, and he had agreed. He had even helped take a small time murderer! The guy happened to run past the car Harry was sat in, after Skulduggery went to make the arrest, and he trapped him in a loop between portals! Skulduggery later mentioned that it was supposed to be a really quiet night and Harry should have been so bored that he wouldn’t want to join again. It hadn’t worked.
Doctor Grouse had become a sort of grandfather figure for Harry. Sometimes Harry would just go see him so that he wasn’t reading alone, or to discuss some magic Harry was trying out. It was nice that Doctor Grouse always spoke to Harry like he was an adult, and if he confused Harry with big words, he never made Harry feel bad for having to explain himself.
China had managed to worm her way into Harry’s life, which Harry could begrudgingly admit he didn’t mind. It was nice to have an aunt-like figure in his life. She could be terribly insightful in regards to every magic, wizardry or not. She was able to understand the concepts of Merlin’s journal incredibly quickly, not like she could use any of it. Wizardry seemed to work only for Harry. There were crossover abilities and similarities with some branches and spells that sorcerers used, but then there were things like transfiguration or general purpose spells that didn’t have a sorcerer equivalent. Still, China lapped up any information Harry decided to share.
Harry had also met Skulduggery’s friend, Ghastly Bespoke. Things hadn’t gone brilliantly to begin with. Ghastly had originally berated Skulduggery for dragging a child into the world of magic. How it was too dangerous for Harry to be around someone who lived an even more dangerous life and that Skulduggery should return him to his parents. Harry had snapped at that. He didn’t really remember what had happened, but Skulduggery had told him that he told Ghastly that he must want Harry to die then, before his necromancy went wild and tendrils smashed up most of the shop. He only stopped because Skulduggery had fought to get close enough and calm him down. They had left quickly after that, and a few days later, Ghastly had turned up at Skulduggery’s house with a whole wardrobe of special clothing in various styles and colours, and an apology. He explained that, during the war, he saw far too much death. Adults and child alike. He didn’t want to see another child hurt, but after seeing Harry’s magic go wild, he wanted the chance to talk with Harry and get his story. The thing to truly break the ice, was when Harry had said they were at least similar, while showing off his scar. It had gotten a startled laugh out of Ghastly. It was safe to say that while they weren’t super close, Ghastly had become an acquaintance at least.
Morwenna had given Harry only a couple more lessons on necromancy techniques and beliefs, before declaring that she had taught Harry everything she could. She had told him about the Passage and the Death Bringer, the necromancy belief that one day, someone with unstoppable necromancy magic would arrive and wipe out half the life on Earth, clogging the passage between life and death, preventing any further life being made on Earth and no-one being able to die. It was this belief that caused her to leave the temple, with a few other like-minded necromancers. Unfortunately, even some who leave the temple, still follow the beliefs. She warned Harry to be careful who he revealed the extent of his powers to. Since the final lesson, Harry had only seen Morwenna a few times. On his birthday the previous year, twice, seemingly randomly to see how he had progressed and then at Christmas. She had also visited a few days after his outburst when he met Ghastly, but she had never heard of such a thing happening. She guessed that it had been part of his wizard heritage, which would mean it was accidental magic.
Finally, there was Gordon. He was honestly Harry’s best friend. He never acted fatherly, but he would always make time for Harry, if he called, and made a point of either seeing, or taking Harry out for “kid shit” as he called it, once a week. He had even come through for Harry in getting him a reptile that he could speak to. Between them, Gordon and Harry had decided on a young male Royal Python, that Harry just felt he had an instant connection to. When Harry had asked the snake it’s name, it claimed that only humans used names, but would accept whatever Harry chose. Gordon had snorted when Harry decided on the name “Monty”, but wouldn’t explain what was so funny.
Gordon had also begun insisting that Harry meet his favourite niece, but Harry always declined, and for good reason. After his incident at Ghastly’s shop, his necromancy had become far more intuitive. Black tendrils almost be keen for something to do. If he wanted to grab something that he would have to get up for, a black tendril would shoot out of his body to grab it. If he was practising other magic, his necromancy would feel almost jealous, and occasionally react, interrupting whatever it was he was doing. Harry had quickly found a solution though. He found that, if he used his necromancy to create “shadow constructs”, his magic wouldn’t react to his other magic being used or attempt to do things for him, unless he directed his shadows to do so. So Harry had taken to using his shadows to create a black jacket, that flowed to just past his knees. He found that if he made it any shorter, the jacket would occasionally spout tendrils to do things for him. It was because of this, that Harry didn’t want to meet anyone who wasn’t in the know about magic, just in case his control slipped.
That brought him back to today. It was his 8th birthday and he wasn’t sure what to do for the day, and unfortunately, nearly everyone he would like to see, were busy. Skulduggery had been away on a case for a week. He had uncharacteristically apologised quite seriously, but Harry waved him off. Skulduggery was on the tail of a very prolific serial killer, and Harry would never take him away from keeping people safe.
Gordon was on a signing tour for his latest book, but had promised Harry that he would take him out the week after for “the most fun a kid can have”. Harry wasn’t sure what that would be, but he trusted that Gordon might have done something similar with his niece before.
Harry considered, just doing some more work with Merlin’s journal. He had been working through it at a steady pace, and been able to perform a decent amount of spell from all of the branches. There was one spell he had been working on for weeks with no luck. The “Patronus charm” was a spell that Merlin had created to ward off soul eating demons, called Dementors, that existed in his home dimension. There was also a hidden second use that Merlin had never taught anyone, to send brief messages to people. Merlin had claim that if he had shared that part of the spell, people would never leave him in peace. If Merlin was as powerful and famous as Harry suspected, he couldn’t blame him for wanting to keep his peace.
The main reason Harry wanted to master this spell, was because the spell would take the form of a guardian spirit, that was shaped by Harry’s true animal form. Harry still hadn’t had much success with the animal form and was finally resorting to cheating a bit. He knew his form had black, glossy feathers and had some kind of relation to death. He had figured that last part out in his latest attempt to reach his form. It just gave off a feeling that was uncannily similar to his necromancy. A cold, comforting feeling, coming from the animal’s body. He couldn’t get a sense of size, but it had helped him narrow his form down. He knew his form could only be a bird that was often related to death. He had visited China’s library to immediately find out what this narrowed his animal down to. He had found that the only birds that fit his criteria were; Blackbirds, Ravens, Crows, black Swans and possibly a black Owl of some kind. The last two were least likely as he hadn’t had any sensations to do with water, which would relate to swans and hadn’t had a sense of wisdom, which was often related to owls. He wouldn’t rule them out yet though, as he just might not have gotten those sensations yet. Honestly, Harry was leaning more towards a crow or raven form. Whether that was because it was what he wanted, or what he instinctively knew, he wasn’t sure.
Harry was broken out of his thoughts by a knock on the door. Harry wasn’t expecting visitors, but he assumed it might have been Ghastly arriving with a present for his birthday. It was the sort of nice thing he would do. When he opened the door, it wasn’t Ghastly. Stood at the door, was a rather unassuming man, dressed all in black, with black sunglasses perched on his face. He was of average height and build and just screamed, boring. But then he spoke.
“Harry Potter.” Two words. In just two words, Harry was rendered helpless. Harry felt panic rising in his gut and his mouth went instantly dry. He wasn’t supposed to feel like this. He had left this helplessness behind him. In a whole different dimension! And yet, here was this man, so painfully average that no-one would ever mark him as dangerous, had completely undone all of Harry’s progress.
“Come with me, Harry. It’s time.” And he turned to walk away from the house. Knowing Harry would follow. And he did. Harry could only watch helplessly, trapped inside his own body, as he followed the man from the house, towards a car that had gone completely unnoticed. Ironic really.
“Get in, Harry. We’re going somewhere special. Just for you, on your birthday.” The man said, his voice cracking in an unhinged manor. After Harry had unwillingly climbed into the car, the man entered the front seat and suddenly stopped. “Oh! I almost forgot. Your present, Harry. Hold out your wrists” and as Harry did, he felt something cold snap round them and Harry felt so painfully hollow. “Suppression cuffs. I hope you like them. I got them special for you.” Harry felt the panic finally take over, and tears stream from his eyes. He was trapped. He tried to will his magic to the surface, but it was like it was stuck beneath his skin. He could feel his necromancy try and worm it’s way out to protect it’s master, but all it could do was feebly crash against the inside of his skin pathetically.
“Sleep now Harry. I will wake you when we get there.” And suddenly, Harry could no longer keep him eyes open.
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No longer hear anything. But it wasn’t true sleep. He was too panicked for that. He lay there, his thoughts and emotions as his only company. His emotions were wild like they had never been before and Harry reign free for a while, before wrestling them under control. He couldn’t do much right now. But he could plan. He could assess the situation and do whatever he could to survive.
He took stock of what options were available to him. His magic was bound, which while it hurt, it wasn’t gone. Maybe there were things he could still do? The wriggling under his skin from his shadows as comforting and proof that he could do something. The problem was, he was still trapped. He wasn’t in control. He wasn’t free. He thought back again over the past year. He had felt free getting out from under the Dursley’s control. He felt free when his magic had been unbound. He felt free when his shadows helped him, even if it wasn’t ideal in public. He felt free and cared for from the family he had gained. Skulduggery, Doctor Grouse, Gordon, even China and Ghastly. They had all flocked to him. He even had family that weren’t with him anymore. James and Lily Potter, the parents whose sacrifice he wouldn’t let go to waste. Sirius Black. The man who had loved him like a son. The man who brought him a broom to fly around the house on, playing chase as a big black dog. The man who had physically made him his son through magic. Had made him a Black. The name resonated deep with him. It had since he had first heard it. Like it was a big piece of the puzzle that made up Harry.
The deeper Harry thought, the deeper Harry travelled deeper into himself. Skulduggery had always compared it to falling into himself, but Harry always felt like he was rising deeper into himself. That’s when it had finally clicked for him, and he finally saw his true animal form. Beady black eyes looked back into his own emerald ones. The intelligence on display in those eyes was as clear as day. The feathers were a deep black, with a strong purple sheen, separating it from another of it’s kind. He had looked up this species of bird on a whim. A gut feeling. Or maybe it was his magic guiding him where it could? The animal cawed at Harry, before bursting into his shadow fog and flew into Harry, settling under his mental skin.
Harry thought about everything he knew about his true animal form. The Carrion Crow, or Corvus corone, could grow to around 20 inches tall, usually had a subtle green and purple sheen to it’s feathers, had a strong beak and legs for it’s size and it was a predator animal. It wasn’t the peak avian predator like other birds, but that suited Harry fine. He would never go out of his way to kill, but if it meant his or his loved one’s survival, he would achieve that. By any means necessary.
With his form revealed to him, and accepting each other, Harry realised the last piece that made him Harry. He was a Potter from birth, his name given to him from his parents. He was a Black, being adopted into it by his godfather by blood and magic. He was a wizard, different from the sorcerers of this world but still accepted by them. He was a necromancer primarily, his necromancy taking the form of his crow in his mind. He WAS Harry Potter. He always would be. But now he was something more than the sum of his parts.
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Harry had been so deep in his meditation, he didn’t realise that they had arrived at their destination until the man spoke.
“Wake up, Harry” the man said. He still sounded slightly unhinged, but the terror Harry felt from before was gone. Harry slowly opened his eyes and raised his head. Taking a subtle look around, he appeared to be in an abandoned warehouse. His arms were still cuffed in front of him and he was tied to a wooden chair that was place in what looked like a giant pentagram, with additional little symbols at the end of each point.
“Inspecting your present? I do hope you like it.” The man said, his face suddenly breaking into a creepy smile.
“Who are you? You clearly know me.” Harry asked, taking the opportunity to get a good look at the man. He had similar symbols on his hands and forehead, to the ones at the points on the floor.
“You’re awful chatty all of a sudden.” He replied, raising an eyebrow.
“I’m an awful chatty guy, when I’m not being blindsided.” Harry shrugged.
“Fine, my name is Shiftless Drab.” The man began, and before Harry snorted, interrupting him. Harry lost the fight with himself and let out a peal of laughter. The man was red in the face with fury, and he ripped a black pen out of his pocket. Harry was laughing even harder at what he thought was a stupid weapon, before he was quickly silence by a black tendril shooting from it and whipping him in the face.
“I WILL NOT BE MOCKED!” Shiftless screamed, the full depths of his insanity on show. He took a breath and he quickly regained his composure. “I was mocked for dare dreaming big in the temple. But now. I will absorb your magic. Your life energy, and I will ascend. Ascend, and become the Death Bringer. Those who thought I was nothing would be beneath my heel. And I will be A GOD!” The composure didn’t last long. Harry was now slightly worried, some people were easy to predict. Insane people were not.
“So that’s what this is then?” Harry said, nodding to the symbol on the floor.
“Partly. It is also a containment field, keeping us in and anyone else out, keyed only to me. The knowledge in China’s library truly is impressive, if you know where to look. Now, do be quiet, Harry. I would like to begin.”
Harry smirked. “No, I don’t think I will.”
Shiftless’ face grew red once again. “What did you say?”
“I said, I will not be quiet. You do not control me.”
“You will OBEY me, Harry”
“No. Did you not think to ask my name after introducing yourself? That was dreadfully rude.”
“Then, by all means. Introduce yourself” the man grit out.
Harry grinned, “My name, is Corvus Black. And it is truly a displeasure to meet you.”
“Oh, yes. Well done. You’ve taken a name. You’re still trapped. Your magic is still bound. You CAN’T STOP ME!” He lost his composure towards the end. Clearly Corvus was getting under his skin. Good.
“Taken a name? Yes. Trapped? I suppose. Magic is bound? Sure, but it’s not gone. But you did make one, very major mistake.” Corvus taunted. He tensed his body, readying a potentially stupid idea. Since the moment he was in control of himself again, Corvus had been trying to get his shadow tendrils to do anything useful. He still had access to his magic, it just couldn’t leave his body. So what if it did something to his body? Something safe but beneficial. Corvus knew if necromancy had healed him during his fall into this dimension, it just didn’t click for him how it worked. It fixed the injuries that would have debilitated him. It healed his eyes after glass got in them. It healed his bones after they were broken. It had even undone Dumbledore’s spells that made his eyesight crippling and his bones weak.
So what if they could go further? He directed his tendrils to fill his entire body. From head to toe, beneath the surface of his skin, his tendrils lay. Reinforcing his muscles and skeleton, to make him more durable and to hit harder. He didn’t know how much stronger it would make him, or how much more durable, but this was all he had until he could get the cuffs off, at least in the best case scenario. In the worst case, this wouldn’t work or it would break him.
Luckily it had worked, he felt like a building could fall on him, and he would be fine. He felt like he could crush a car with his bare hands. He felt like he would survive. He felt free. And so, as he finished taunting the unassuming man, with the unassuming name. He stood up from the chair, snapping the rope, chair and chain of the handcuffs with ease.
The man looked shocked for only a second, before he screamed in rage, and sent a jagged black tendril straight at Corvus’ chest. Corvus only meant to dodge of the way, but the rushed step to the side broke the concrete on the floor and sent him flying to the side. He crashed and rolled on the floor, before quickly, though much more gently, raising to his feet.
“How?!” Shiftless screamed again. His eyes were bulging and he was literally frothing at the mouth.
“You locked my magic inside me. I just made that useful. I probably never would have thought to do this without that, so thanks, I guess.”
“Well, it doesn’t matter either way. The ritual will begin in 5 minutes, and you won’t be able to leave without me letting you out. And I would rather die first.”
The doors to the warehouse suddenly burst open, and Corvus was surprised to see Skulduggery, Ghastly and China of all people, come storming in. They all made it barely 5 feet, before noticing Corvus was there too. China even muttered a soft “shit”, that Corvus really shouldn’t have been able to catch.
“Ah, detective and friends. Come to enjoy the show?” Shiftless mocked, before sending another surprise wave of jagged tendrils at Corvus. Corvus, taken by surprise managed to all but one, which caught him on the shoulder. Shiftless looked victorious for a moment, before Corvus grabbed the tendril and crushed it with only slight effort. Corvus had a large gash on his shoulder, and he was sure it would scar, but the tendril didn’t go deep. His impromptu technique had prevented the tendril from doing anything more than a relatively minor flesh wound.
Corvus could hear Skulduggery banging on an invisible wall, preventing him from getting in the ritual circle. He was sure Skulduggery would be willing to kill the man without a thought, if he could. He risked a glance at his family. As predicted, Skulduggery was bashing the invisible wall with his gun. Ghastly was trying fire at a different part of the wall, and Corvus was surprised to see China looking slightly panicked. Sure, she was looking at the ritual symbols and cross referencing them with a stone tablet in her hands, but China’s whole thing was about being in control. He would file that away for blackmail later.
Corvus turned back in time to see Shiftless launch a wall of shadow at him. There was no way to dodge it, so Corvus launched himself at the wall, and smashed through it with a punch. When he landed, he realised his mistake. He hadn’t even considered how draining this technique would be, and with his magic bound, he couldn’t draw in any natural magic either. He couldn’t afford to let go of this technique because it was his ultimate defence, and if he broke the cuffs and couldn’t maintain it, he would be vulnerable. The only real reason this technique worked in the first place was because the cuffs were helping keep his magic in place. Otherwise, it would have broke lose ages ago and he would be safe. He was running out of time and options.
“China! He said the only way I could escape was if he let me out. Is that true?” He called out. He maybe had a minute before the ritual started and probably only 2 minutes left of his technique at best.
China double checked the tablet before confirming what would have to happen. “The ritual and shielding will fail if he is dead. I can maybe break the shielding. But I would need 5 minutes at least.”
“She’s lying! You have no escape! I WILL BE A GOD!” Shiftless snapped. Corvus almost felt sorry for him. Almost.
“Guys. Please don’t hate me for this.” He was really worried that his family would look at him in disgust for what he was about to do. But he was not losing his magic. And he certainly wasn’t dying. Not today. He tensed his legs and squatted, before launching himself at Shiftless. Faster than anyone saw, he appeared in front of his kidnapper. His fist plunged all the way through the man’s chest, clutching his heart. Corvus couldn’t help it. He hated this man, but he also pitied him. So he cried, for the life he had to take. There was no better outcome for Corvus here. It was kill or be killed, and he was not letting everyone that cared for him down.
Corvus pulled his arm out of Shiftless’s chest and dropped the man’s heart. He honestly didn’t realise he had been holding it until he saw it. Finally, the walls fell and everyone rushed to him to check him over. As they got there, he snapped the cuffs with the last of his enhanced strength, and a single tendril broke free and stroked his face, as if to reassure him. It the flowed back into him, before the shadows formed him regular jacket.
Skulduggery was the first to reach him. He didn’t try to invade his space, or ask any questions. He just looked him over and then used his water manipulation to clean Corvus’ arm. Ghastly was walking around the warehouse, seemingly gathering evidence. Corvus appreciated not being fretted over by him. He reckoned Ghastly could be quite smothering when he wanted to be.
China completed surprised Corvus though. Once he was clean, she barged Skulduggery out of the way and pulled him into a fierce hug. The amount of unexpected emotion and affection she was showing. He was also surprised at how strong the petite woman was. “I’m fine, auntie China” He muttered softly. She froze for a moment, before she snorted and he shoulders started shaking in silent laughter.
“Is Skulduggery dad then?” she asked around quiet laughter.
Corvus grimaced. “Good lord no. I already have 2 dads and a mum. I don’t need more parents”
She drew herself back up to her usual haughty and regal self. Though Corvus could see through it now. The slight tightness in her shoulders and eyes, but also the slightly more natural smile on her face, rather than her usual half-smirk.
Corvus realised that while they were having their moment, Ghastly and Skulduggery had moved the corpse of Shiftless and gathered any evidence they could find, and were waiting at the exit for China and Corvus.
“So, I take it this was the case about the missing tablet?” Corvus said, after they had all climbed in the Skulduggery’s Bentley. He and China were in the back, while Ghastly had taken Corvus’ usual seat upfront.
“Yep. I tracked down the tablet to Shiftless’ apartment yesterday. I had China study the tablet, while Ghastly and I investigated any places that suited the ritual. China called this morning with the translation, and we picked her up in case it needed breaking down. We didn’t even realise you were the target. What did he want with your magic anyway?” Skulduggery asked. He sounded frustrated. Whether that was down to Corvus being the target, or not having all the answers, he didn’t know.
“He wanted to become strong enough to be the Death Bringer. Yes, I know about the Passage. Mrs Crow even told me to avoid showing necromancers specifically how strong I am with it.” Corvus said quickly, knowing that, while he respected Morwenna, he didn’t really trust her. He had admitted that he only allowed her to teach him because she was the least worse option in his mind.
“So what did we miss?” China asked. And Corvus went through everything, from Shiftless turning up to Skulduggery’s house, to Corvus’ true animal form. “So you finally picked a name then?” China jumped in, her eyes sparkling.
Corvus gave her a fake glare. “Yes. And I will tell you all together. It’s my birthday and I have been through something traumatic. I want everyone to meet up at Doctor Grouse’s. Gordon too if possible, otherwise I will settle with calling him.” Corvus said pompously, even raising his nose in the air.
China raised a delicate eyebrow, while Ghastly snorted and Skulduggery sighed. “You’re taking this all rather well” Ghastly said, sceptical of how Corvus was acting.
“It’s not that I’m not upset that I had to take a life. I am. But do I regret it? No, because it was him or me. And I will not waste my parent’s sacrifice. They died so I could live. I’m not letting anyone take that from them or me. I know that if it comes down to me or some bad guy, I’ll choose me every time. If my family or friends’ lives are at stake, then I choose my family.”
The car was silent after his accidental rant. After a moment, Skulduggery nodded his head, “Well said. And I can’t say I disagree.”
The car was silent again for a few minutes, until China pulled out her phone and called someone. The person must have only just answered when she spoke, “Meet us at Kenspecle’s, the kid’s been kidnapped.” And she hung up.
“Did you just call Gordon?” Corvus asked.
“Yep.”
“How panicked do you think he is?”
“Very.”
“Think he’ll be mad when he see I’m ok?”
“He’ll be over the moon and probably try and kiss me.”
“Ew”
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When they finally arrived at the Hibernian cinema, Gordon was already waiting outside for them. As soon as the car pulled up, he rushed to Corvus’ side of the car to help him out and check him over for injuries.
“Back up. I’m fine. Just a few scratches.” Corvus said, as he pushed Gordon back gently.
Gordon though, was still trying to see if he had anymore injuries, before deciding to drag Corvus through the cinema, to get seen by Doctor Grouse. When they finally entered the lab, Doctor Grouse entered what must have been his biggest rant to date. The amount he tore into the adults around him was spectacular, and it wasn’t until 15 minutes later that he finally stopped. And even that was to explain to Corvus about the special stitches and healing paste he was using. If it reacted as well on wizards, as it does on sorcerers, then there wouldn’t be a scar at all.
After filling Doctor Grouse on everything, Corvus finally decided that now was the moment for his two biggest reveals. First, Corvus transformed himself into his crow form and flew a few laps around the room, knocking off Skulduggery’s hat for good measure. To say that they were happy for him was an understatement. They all knew how much trouble he had with the druidic magic. They also knew what this meant. Corvus had explained to them that, due to the method of finding out your true from, then he would have finally taken a name.
“My name, was Harry James Potter. I was born to James and Lily Potter, and they gave their lives to protect mine. I was adopted through magic and blood by my godfather, Sirius Black, who loved and cared for me enough to make his son as well. I’m a Potter by birth, but I’m a Black by blood. My name is Corvus Black. And it is my genuine honour to have met you all.”