Review Replies:

Ariel Night: thanks, I'm glad to know you enjoyed last chapter

KyuubiChild717: wow, it's great to see somebody enjoying the book enough to have so many questions. To answer them: for Walburga, well you'll see this chapter; as for Dumbledore you'll find out this chapter too (sorry but you're going to have to ready and find out ;)); yes, Corvus still has Voldemort's soul inside of him/is a horcrux; no Aunt Cassie will not be dealing with the horcrux, at least not anytime soon, as no one (bar Regulus) knew of the horcruxes existence; as for Ceres Malfoy that will also be answered during this chapter along with how and why Corvus was born, but her and Sirius will be in next chapter; yes, Harry was adopted, which you'll find out more about in the next chapter and as for him being the Potter Heir, no he isn't, but there will be a Potter Heir … You'll get some hints as to whom in this chapter ;), if you look closely that is. I love how into the book you are getting and please feel free to ask as many questions as you want, I love seeing how much people are thinking into this book.

Grin like the Cheshire Cat: Thank you for your support, I do hope you will enjoy this chapter as much as the other two.

PS. There will be A LOT of introductions in this chapter as Corvus meet families Black and Malfoy. Oh, and I became an Auntie Yesterday for the second time, shout out to Harry and Maverick 3

The Black Heir

Chapter 3: The White Sheep

Walburga Black had never thought much of her eldest son. He was a trouble maker, a hooligan and a Gryffindor. Nor had she ever or will ever approve of him; or at least not like she had of her darling Regulus.

But she knew as well as any that the ancient line of Blacks was dying out; and her marauder of a son had been able to preserve it, thus she at least had an inkling of good will towards him. Or at least more so than Yesturday, especially as her new grandson was the son of a Black and a Malfoy, such lines were the most ancient in the entirety of Wizarding Britain, the Blacks were the purest and most ancient of the Wizarding World. And as a result Walburga was more than eager to get her hands on her grandson, to raise him as her heir even if he had to pry him from Cassiopeia sunken in claws.

Wearing a dress that would have, perhaps, been fashionable in the early 20th century she climbed into the fireplace of the Romanian Home to which she had been living in on-and-off since Orion's death six years previously.

"Number 12 Grimmauld Place," her sharp voice declared and she disappeared with a swirl of green flames.

-THB-THB-THB-

31st December 1985

It was one hour until the party of his arrival was to take place at Grimmauld Place and the five-year-old Corvus Black found himself fidgeting under the very itchy, though mightily grand, wizarding robes that Cassiopeia had all but forced him into.

He sighed as he looked in the mirror, observing his own appearance. He watched as eyes that apparently mirrored his mother's, Ceres Dione Malfoy, stared back at him; wondering where she was now and saw a face that was apparently so similar to his father's looking back at him.

And in that moment the young boy felt terribly alone, for while he had his Aunt Cassie his parents were nowhere to be seen.

His thoughts were cut off by the calling of his Aunt, "come, Corvus, we mustn't be late."

And with that the heavily dressed Heir to the Black family tottered down upon his Great-Great Aunt's call.

-THB-THB-THB-

Grimmauld Place

Upon Corvus' arrival everybody was already there, from a family of platinum hair (a hair colour that much resembled the one his mother's image had, therefore he presumed it was Abraxas and Aurora's family) to a family of hair so dark it put the night sky to shame; a hair colour that he much possessed.

When he had rather ungracefully (much to Cassiopeia's ire) stumbled out of the floo all had gone silent for a moment; eyes of onyx, silver, stormy grey and even all the varied eye colours of the portraits were situated on him, causing him to shift rather uncomfortably until a rather fearsome looking woman approached him.

He found himself wondering if all women within the Black family were so foreboding.

"My name is Walburga Black," the said woman introduced rather stiffly. Looking at her he saw exactly where both him and his father had got their looks from, for despite being undoubtedly scary Walburga Black was beautiful, the only variance in her and him being the features he had gained from his mother and the fact that her hair was a mass of curls rather than wavy like his and his father's, he suspected she must be a very close relative, "and I am your grandmother. You may call me grandmother."

Being intimidated by the woman he was to call 'grandmother' he looked to his Aunt Cassie for support who motioned for him to do the protocol she had constantly reminded him of during his etiquette lessons that she had quickly enforced after the arrival of the letters.

He kissed Walburga's hand and stated, in a voice that he hoped didn't give away his slight fear, "I am overjoyed to meet you, grandmother."

She regarded him for a moment through narrowed eyes, as if she were sizing him up, before nodding curtly and slowly moving away. Corvus had a feeling that that was her sign of accepting him, she did not seem like a woman of great affection.

The next to come forward was a woman who also had dark hair, though it was a glossy black rather than the silky black of his grandmother's, and her eyes were more so a startling silver than stormy grey of which belonged to his father and grandmother. Despite this her eye shape, nose, lips and startlingly high cheekbones much resembled the image of Ceres that had appeared above his head upon Cassiopeia's tests.

Unlike his grandmother this woman offered him a much larger and warmer smile, "Hello, Corvus, I am your mother's mother. I am Aurora Malfoy nee Gaunt, but you may call me Nana. Granny and Grandmother make me sound too old," her last part made Corvus giggle slightly as it caused Walburga to roll her eyes and glare at the Head of the Ancient House of Gaunt.

This time Corvus felt himself truly smiling at the woman, not in the least part intimidated, as he repeated the protocol.

The man who stepped forward next had platinum blonde hair and eyes of ice, looking much more like his mother than his Nana though his nose was sharper and slightly longer than Aurora, Ceres and Corvus' more button noses; his eye shape was slightly smaller and narrowed than their wider, more almond ones; his lips thinner and cheekbones just as high yet less sharp, "you definatly lok like your father, though I see so much of Ceres within you… I am Abraxas Malfoy, you may call me grandad or grandfather, whichever you prefer."

"It's nice to meet you, grandad," and with that, as custom, Corvus shook his hand, even if his much smaller hand felt slightly strange in the older wizard's much larger one.

"This is my son, your uncle, Lucius," Abraxas informed him, pointing to a man that was much like Corvus in the fact that he possessed his mother's eyes but other than that was all his father – in fact he was more like Abraxas than Corvus was Sirius and he couldn't help but think it was a shame that neither his mother nor uncle looked more like their mother, his nana, "his wife Narcissa, who is also ypur father's cousin," he pointed to a rather lovely looking older witch, even if her hair, a mix of platinum and black that he recognised must be dyed, made her look a bit like a raccoon, but the woman gave him a small smile that made him feel a little more confident, "and my their son, your cousin, Draco."

The youngest of them all was very much like Narcissa in facial structure and build but had his father (and the one that his mother and he had) exceptionally pale skin tone with the startling silver eyes that belonged to Aurora and Lucius and platinum hair that seemed a trademark amongst the Malfoys.

The boy, Draco, however did not look overly pleased to see Corvus, choosing to scowl at him as if he had broken his favourite toy making the young boy once more feel rather uncomfortable.

After greeting all of them and trying to pretend he could not see the death glares worthy of his Aunt Cassie that Draco was sending him he turned to the next members of the family.

"I am Pollux Black," the haughty man introduced, looking much as though everyone and everything here was beneath him; Corvus thought that his personality, and looks, much resembled Walburga's (whose name, he knew without even trying, that he would not be able to pronounce), "and I am Walburga's father, your great-grandfather. You may call be great-grandfather."

Next to him was the only woman with chocolate brown hair in the entire room, her eyes being of a peridot green, much like Draco, whilst Walburga had had her hair, eye colour, much of her personality, skin tone and build from her father it seemed her fearsome beauty was from her mother, "I am Irma Black nee Crabbe," she stated in the same stiff, and rather stuck up, voice that Walburga possessed, "and I am your great-grandmother and you can address me as such."

Kissing her hand and thanking her and Pollux for their hospitality, Aunt Cassie had informed him that Grimmauld Place was the residence of Irma and Pollux, he turned to the last remaining couple there.

The woman's smile was as kind as Abraxas and Aurora's, whereas Arcturus' was stiffer but he looked to be trying, much like Aunt Cassie did.

The woman's hair was a strawberry blonde that seemed to be greying, her features were welcoming except for her a sharp jaw that Corvus knew to be present upon himself and his father whereas the man had some resemblances but Corvus realised that these must be the parents of Orion Black wheras it seemed he had taken more after Walburga's side – though Arcturus did possess his hair colour and it was in waves rather than curls, which is where he presumed his father and he had inherited it from.

But, of course, there was a general overall resemblance, after all, Orion and Walburga had been second cousins.

"My name is Melania Black nee Macmillian," the friendly looking woman introduced, "I am also your great-grandmother through Orion, but you can call me Granny if you like."

Arcturus was silent for a moment, observing the boy before Melania nudged him, causing him to clear his throat, "I am Arcturus Black, your great-grandfather."

Melania gave her husband a smile before turning back as Corvus greeted them both.

That day he learnt a great deal about his new family. Melania, much to the disapproval of Cassiopeia, Pollux and Walburga (who he learnt rarely agreed on anything, preferring to turn the kitchen into a battle zone) was a Hufflepuff of whom used to tutor Arcturus in History of Magic, causing the two to eventually end up loving one another, much to the chargin of Arcturus' parents; he had also learnt that his father was a Gryffindor, something that had never happened in generations and was only not minded by Melania out of the Blacks; he had learnt that the truth behind Narcissa's raccoon hair-du was her attempt to fit into both families (not that she would tell Lucius that, who seemed less than fond of sentimental actions); and that one never wanted to get Irma Black, Walburga Black, Pollux Black and Aurora Malfoy into a fight. Such a thing had happened earlier that day.

Corvus could not even remember how it begun only to find himself hiding behind a rather too human-like plant.

"ut interficiam," Walburga cast at Aurora who easily shielded it, causing it to bounce off and head towards Melania who was attempting to get them all to stop.

Irma grinned maliciously as she joined the fight, shooting at her husband, Pollux, "deformare!"

Pollux narrowed his eyes, "Reducto!"

"Confringo!"

"constituent lustrantes!"

"Crucio!"

"Dolor!"

"Stop!" Arcturus finally bellowed, "as the current head of the most ancient and most noble house of Black I command you to stop."

Everybody stopped their fighting and received a lecture about what an impression they were making on Corvus, to which the boy could hardly hide his embarrassed face as Aurora, or nana as he now called her, apologised profusely whilst Walburga and Irma wore identical 'not my fault, apologising is beyond me' looks; Pollux's not dissimilar.

Corvus, Cassiopeia and all the current inhabitance of the house stayed the night – with Arcturus' promise that the New Year celebrations of tomorrow would bring with it a much better day.

But that wasn't Corvus' last conversation of the night.

Whilst he was admiring his room – the one of which had once belonged to his father and, unlike any other room in the entirety of the large house borderline mansion – was decorated entirely in red and gold with muggle world posters all upon the walls.

Before he got a chance to examine any further he heard a knock on his door and quickly travelled to open it only to come face to face with his grandad, Abraxas, who was offering the young boy a small, hesitant smile as he levitated what seemed like a very large canvas (that was currently covered up) behind him.

Corvus stared at his grandad for a moment, waiting for the man with his and his mother's eyes and hair, to begin to talk.

Eventually his grandad let out a long sigh, "Ceres was always my favourite child. We had had three. Meissa, Lucius and Ceres. Meissa was a squib of whom my father was quick to expel from the family, Aurora and I were given no choice for Brutus was Head of the Malfoy family. Lucius was four when Meissa was disowned at seven after Brutus made some inquires at Hogwarts, finding out she was a squib. I didn't want to feel the pain I had had when Meissa left again, so I distanced myself from Lucius," Corvus stayed silent as he listened to his grandad's story, watching the pain pool in his eyes.

"And by the time I realised how stupid I had been, how much I had probably pained Lucius by my absence he was six and growing up to be as cold and secluded at Brutus was, who died later that year. But Aurora was pregnant once more, and I decided that to this child I would try to be the best parent I possibly could to, as I'd already failed little Meissa and Lucius. Meissa. She had looked so much like Aurora," at seeing his grandad's tear filled eyes, a stray tear falling down the man's pale face Corvus found himself having to quell his own,

"and then your mother was born, named Ceres Dione for her eyes of ice, just like mine. And she grew and I had never been more proud, for where Lucius was cold and unreachable she was warm and welcoming. And I tried to be the best parent I could.

"but in the December of 1979, when she must have been pregnant with you, we got into a massive row, for I wanted her to join the side of the dark, they seemed so much like they were going to win, and I wanted her to be safe. I had raised her to be independent and independent she was, she fled to France after I said some things I really shouldn't have, that she wouldn't be able to protect the people she loved from him if she wasn't with him; and she was desperate to protect you.

"and in the February of '81 she was dead, killed by Death Eaters. Killed by the people I pressured her to join, killed by the people I worked for; they said she defied him, that they gave her three chances, and she defied them each and every time. So they killed her. And I had abandoned her so much so that she'd never even told me of her marriage, never even told me of her son," by the end of those words Corvus found the tears pouring out of his eyes, his mother was dead.

"Never have I been able to face the portrait I had created of her just three months before she fled, she would most likely not want to see me. But she'll want to see you, Corvus."

Magically Corvus' grandad made the portrait fly to be stationed upon the top of his fireplace with a flick of a wand, and caused the cover to come flying off to display a simply stunning senery of a beautiful, towering marble house in the sunshine of September, majestic peacocks strolling casually around the grounds.

And with that Abraxas made him leave, "to call her, simply say her fully name."

Once the door was closed Corvus stared in awe at the portrait, if Abraxas was telling the truth – to which Corvus knew no reason for his grandad to lie – then he would soon be able to talk to the mother that he so longed for. Whilst on the topic of parents he made a mental note to as her or Aunt Cassie of his father's whereabouts. He sincerely hoped he wasn't dead too.

Summoning all the courage and strength he had he called out, "Ceres Dione Malfoy," with the best pronunciation he could muster, when there was no reply he called out, "mummy?" feeling insecure as he awaited the woman's answer.

Not half a minute later a beautiful woman entered the portrait – platinum hair cascading down her back, eyes that rivalled the colour of a blue ice staring back at him, skin a stunning porcelain as the golden sun made it seem as if it were shining.

As she looked at him her eyes became wide, staring at him in something akin to disbelief, her eyes shining with the same insecurity – the same fear of being rejected – as Corvus, "Corvus?"