Chapter Three: Raven Thoughts and Speeding Train Tracks
Once upon a time there was a girl, bright and vivacious with hair the color of flames. A pretty young girl who learned she was magical and held such close to her heart. Even when as she grew and learned within a magical castle and she saw just how cruel and hateful other magicals like her could be because she was an outsider, she still kept that warmth close to her heart. The girl grew up into a stunning young woman and soon married a young man that had loved her for years, but had only learned how to catch her eye when he finally grew up into someone she could stand. Together they had a babe, a son and while darkness of war and violence swirled in the world around them they were for a short time happy.
Then one day they were told by a man both thought wise and that they could trust to go into hiding because their child was Destined. The parents took head and hid themselves away hoping that despite the heavy cowl of Prophecy they would be able to protect and love their child for years to come. That is until the young woman stopped for a moment and thought, showing just how bright she was, she started to question everything that she had taken for granted out of fear for her child.
Determined to not leave it all up to chance and steadfast in her vow to allow her child to live she soon began looking into things that most that knew her would have balked at. In her mind if doing so meant her child could be safe and happy then she would destroy her own soul if need be. How great a Love she had for her child.
Weeks were spent toiling in the dark of the night to find an answer in protecting her child when something stirred within her mind. Following the odd pull of strings and the deafening sound of gears going tik tik tik as they rotated and moved found the young mother stumbling across a monstrous looking raven lying bleeding and dying in a dark part of a forest near her home. Not knowing how or why she felt this was important for her task and thus she collected as much of the blood, and the heart of the raven before hurrying back home. Never realizing the rest of the creature and disappeared like black smoke as wild orange eyes seemed to watch the entire scene in amusement.
Once upon a time a desperate mother became entangled in the strings of despair when she found herself following a ritual that infused the blood of a magical creature into a child to give them new strength and to use the heart of the same creature in a potion fed to said child a temporary shield against foul intent.
In many cases such would have faded away leaving only a 'blood ward' a man of Greater Good would use to tether the child to a home he would grow up despised in. The raven however was one that was solely created by a Story Spinner long, long ago and used once more in order to allow the Destined child to become entangled in fates far more cruel then just a prophecy already fulfilled.
Once upon a time there was a young boy with raven's blood flowing through his veins and raven's power carved as a rune upon his brow.
Green eyes blinked opened on the morning of September First when there was barely any light to be considered actual dawn. Groggy and confused as a brain not fully awake attempted to figure out why it was awake and why they weren't going back to sleep before a small hand finally reached out from underneath worn but well cared for covers to snatch up a pair of cheap frames in his eye prescription and placing them on the bridge of his nose. The world came into gloomy but stark clarity and his sight soon landed on the steamer trunk resting near the door to his room like a slumbering animal.
In a rare feat Corbin was suddenly and fully awake at a time where he would normally be sleeping or wishing to be back asleep. Being more attuned to the night he had always felt more energized under the moon and stars then the sun, but the rest of the world sadly did not follow him in such. Differing opinion regarding the best time to be up was forsaken on this particular morning as green eyes already bright seemed to almost glow as he shifted himself to the walk over and run a pale hand down the varnished wood top of the steamer trunk. Their tips lightly tracing his initials in a pretty dark red color that stood out against the lighter brown of the wood. The trunks were one of the few things he had splurged on when he learned about his inheritance and decided to use it for both him and Arianna to have their supplies. His argument that if it had been Duck that had found out she had a lot of money she would have done the same for him making it easy to do so after that. He even convinced the professor easily about getting something other then the 'standard' trunks when he mentioned that they would have to keep everything magical in them when they came back to the children's home during school breaks so they would need good trunks to not only hold all of their magical items but keep them safe and hidden.
Something all children in such places learned was worth more than any actual toys because a toy is worthless if a bully or overly greedy child could find it and snatch it away when you're not looking. He was also certain that reminder caused an odd emotion to flit across the stern professor's face briefly when he pointed out they didn't have homes and thus their own rooms to keep their things in.
Those thoughts led to him picking up the neatly folded uniform, without the robe that would cause questions to be asked, and taking it with him down the hall towards the bathrooms as his roommate turned over in his sleep quietly. Those had also been bought new and of good quality because he knew how others acted when he and Arianna would start a new school year in clothes that were second hand and looked it, and thus knew that new uniforms were the best way to go. Their 'normal' clothes were still worn, but both could say they didn't want to bring any nicer clothes with when they likely would only be worn to play or explore dusty sections of the large castle. Corbin had already figured out his excuses and half lies for any children attempting to pick and find a reason to make fun of him or his best friend in this new place. Second hand books because it meant if they marked them up or tore a page a little it wasn't a big deal since the books were already worn and old, and it meant they could buy even more books since the old textbooks were cheaper then new ones, equipment also second hand but in good condition for the same reason. After all what if you knocked your telescope over and it got cracked when carrying it up and down stairs or such?
His thoughts would have instantly have pegged him for Slytherin if any magical had been privy to such as he finished his morning ablutions and double checked once more that everything he needed was packed carefully and safely in his trunk, with the things he didn't want to be noticed by anyone taking a quick peek in to notice artfully hidden within clothing folds and shadowed spaces. He may not be an active prankster but he was a trickster that took opportunity and revenge seriously, thus supplies at the ready. Perhaps McKinnon would actually unbend enough to help him sometime, especially if he had to take a sneaky pot shot at someone that upset Duck. Actually, he was certain the older boy would happily make whatever he came up with even more mortifying if anyone did make Duck cry. He had noticed how much the other had watched and basically been wrapped around Arianna's little finger from the moment she had seen him and thought he looked lonely. Corbin had looked and seen someone that maybe wouldn't judge him for sometimes being too casually cruel in regards to protecting himself and those he cared for, something he felt would be desperately needed when he realized how much like a fairytale hero magicals wanted him to be like and thus would not understand his slight bloodthirsty leanings that made him just as logically cruel as his namesake. Because crows and ravens could be fierce and deadly when their ire is invoked and he had felt since as long as he could remember that was the best way to make certain people wouldn't hurt him a second time.
It also made it easy to protect the only one that didn't see that as a bad thing. Little Duck was his best friend, the sister of his heart when he was feeling particularly sentimental, and the only family he actually wanted or claimed in this place. She seemed to realize he wasn't just a curious trickster harmless and polite like most adults, she seemed to understand he was meaner then he appeared, but only when someone forced the whisper of wings in his mind to flap particularly harshly when they did something that was a threat to him and his. She also didn't seem to care that he was stupidly possessive of the few people and possessions he allowed himself to really care about, which was mostly just her and some of his books, and thus never seemed as alarmed as others when he would direct her away from those he did not like. Sometimes he wondered if she knew what caused such in him, as sometimes her eyes seemed older and he could almost see the glow of a regal swan in her place sometimes when she would look at him with too old eyes for a moment before it would pass and she was back to being chattering Duck.
He paused to look at the clock on the wall and went to get his trunk down and to the front hall in wait for the taxi as he realized he would need to be even more wary on how he acted. The way adults were acting in Diagon Alley meant their children would be even nosier in regards to watching him at school. This also meant he really needed to make certain whatever happened he ended up in the same house as Duck, because he had seen how some of those adults had sneered at her when they realized she was with him and Professor Mcgonagall. Adults he knew could be dangerous and scary in their own ways, but children were cruel and often overlooked when being cruel so he knew if adults already acted that way to her some of their classmates would be worse and think they could hurt her without thought.
As he sat on his trunk and lightly dozed, for the excitement that had driven him was now gone he was unaware at the blood in his veins that was not naturally his bubble and hiss as his thoughts took such turns, only to settle when the protection of his mother soothed it again. For now the knife edge of his morality remained in balance but Hogwarts may prove the tipping point in whether his mother's protection or the raven's blood would win out in the end.
Kings Cross was a hive of activity at ten in the morning and the hustle and bustle of people moving to and from stations was chaotic and frenzied to those not used to navigating such. Or did not have a luggage cart holding two sturdy trunks to help bulldoze the way for them. That alone is likely why two eleven year olds managed to make it to 'rest' on the pillar between platform nine and ten before a blink later they were both gone as if never there, and none the wiser to the busy travellers in the station.
However, what the masses did not see were the two children melting through said pillar and finding themselves upon another busy platform with a scarlet steam engine awaiting the time to depart. Blue and green eyes stared for a moment in wonder before both hastily moved to find a seat. Arianna excitedly exclaiming over how it looked exactly as the book said it did and wondering if Fakir was already here and if not if one of them should stay on the platform and look for him or look for him on the train itself. Corbin listened with half an ear and an amused air when he realized how fixated the small red head had become regarding the older boy that they had only known for half a day. He wasn't worried about such considering he and Arianna had declared themselves best friends in an hour after meeting on the playground the home had in the back of the property. Arianna was really good at knowing who was a good person without even realizing she was doing so and Corbin had learned to use her to figure out who potential bullies would be when they had gone to school and thus keep her away from such.
The litany of questions came to a halt after they had managed to get their trunks onto the train itself, fervent thanks were mentally made that Corbin had gotten that feather light charm rune on both trunks as both likely would never have been able to do that much on their own with both being small for their age, as they had barely gone two cars down from the engine when Arianna somehow homed in on a Fakir that had been sitting in the corner of a compartment reading a book that looked like it was written in runes. Forest green eyes looked up in surprise when the tiny missile that was Arianna managed to fling herself in and next to Fakir, amazingly only clipping the door frame with a shoulder while doing so, and began to chatter, asking him about his summer and talking about how she had read everything he had recommended and had even taken notes. Corbin snickered as he shoved the trunks into the room and waited for the older boy to realize what he wanted while trying to keep up with an excited Arianna talking a mile a minute at him.
It took ten minutes and two others looking in curiously before Fakir managed to weave around the vibrating girl and almostly smugly place both trunks up in the luggage racks as easily as one would put a book on low shelf. Corbin just gave a flat look that spoke how much he hated the other for being so tall before flopping down opposite of the other two and getting his revenge by also aiding Arianna in forcing Fakir to actually talk and engage in conversation instead of just listening or ignoring them as he likely wanted to do.
Because of their early arrival and the older students knowing to ignore the compartment Fakir was in meant the three were left alone mostly, Corbin only had to duck in a corner twice to hide. Once when a gangly and freckly red head had popped his head in only to leave when he could only see Fakir and Arianna from the door, and again when a snobbish looking platinum blond boy with two larger boys flanking him looked in sniffed at Arianna and attempted to ignore the heated glare from Fakir before leaving as well.
Corbin wondered what that was about, but he didn't really want to know outside of the fact that he hoped he didn't have to deal with either boy too much during the year.
I know some people will be raising eyebrows at how Harry/Corbin is acting mentally though I hope my repeating that he has the same Raven's Blood that was used on one of Mytho/Siegfried's heart shards and, in my belief, to Rue to allow her to be Kraehe and thus what I patterned some of his behavior off of when you look at how both acted at times. Both being more aggressive and even cruel to keep that which they wished to keep or protect from being stolen by others and thus having twisting so to speak canon Harry's trait of jumping recklessly and thoughtlessly head first into protecting his friends from anything.