Corvus had been quite busy lately. His mornings, evenings, and nights were spent either with the tutors arranged by his grandfather or testing and experimenting with his growing powers.
The gloom that once clung to Lestrange Manor in England was nowhere to be found at Château de Lestrange in Bordeaux, France. Endless wine plantations stretched for miles, untouched by random rains or dreary skies. And as the seasons shifted, the air became warm, steady, and alive.
The château even housed an extensive magical enclosure.
There were herds of Hippogriffs soaring gracefully above the fields, Kelpies lurking in the lake, Nifflers scurrying through carefully warded grounds, Mooncalves emerging under the night sky, Diricawls darting about, Crups patrolling loyally, Matagots prowling with sharp eyes, Fairies flitting between hedges, Demiguise hiding by the trees and Doxies buzzing irritably in controlled zones.
If a magical creature existed, chances were it could be found here, provided it could handle the climate, as not all creatures were native to France, or Europe in general.
It was also here that Corvus gained another companion.
Nyx.
A half-Matagot, half-Kneazle, gifted to him once again by his grandfather, this time as a reward for awakening his magic. Intelligent, sharp-eyed, and fiercely loyal, Nyx took to Corvus almost immediately.
All in all, the past few months had been… fruitful.
And for the first time in a long while, Corvus felt something close to peace. He was no longer constantly worried about his parents' reactions. Since, January he has been living here in France, and he found the place absolutely amazing.
Corvus trained his warging abilities extensively. On top of warging into Rook, he could now warg into owls and Nyx as well, though the latter only after seeking Nyx's permission. It was still difficult for him to warg into unfamiliar animals, especially magical ones.
For Nyx and Rook, he had to form a partnership of sorts to gain their consent. Corvus met their demands faithfully, food, freedom, and respect, of course. On top of that, he shared his magic with them daily, which allowed both Nyx and Rook to grow stronger.
Nyx had now awakened the ability to split into clones, while Rook had developed the capacity to predict the weather.
Even so, Corvus kept his warging ability a closely guarded secret. No one knew. Not even his grandfather. And he intended to keep it that way.
Rook had also managed to locate Aunt Andromeda. Through him, Corvus sent her a letter. Along with it, he sent a gift to his cousin, Nymphadora Tonks, a white Crup. Of course, its tail had already been docked to avoid issues with Muggles.
It seemed she liked it. She named the Crup Corby.
Corvus wasn't sure whether he should feel happy that a magical dog had been named after him, or offended that a dog had been named after him.
In any case, he asked his aunt to keep their correspondence secret. He also warned her that his mother was becoming increasingly unstable and advised her to stay safe. To ensure no suspicion fell on him, Corvus requested that they send him Muggle schoolbooks disguised with magical covers.
Better to appear ignorant kind kid than an oversmart one.
Better to be underestimated than exposed.
And for now, that suited Corvus just fine.
Corvus also experienced his first multiverse travel, which turned out to be anything but enjoyable.
He was dropped into the body of an Uchiha during the Second Shinobi World War. His mission had been simple in theory: survive the war.
He died on the very first day.
Sand ninja. An explosive tag.
The irony was not lost on him.
He still remembered how he had once considered Nawaki an idiot for dying to an explosive tag.
And then he died the same way.
The realization lingered far longer than the pain. Suffice it to say, he gained zero points.
Now, he was planning another attempt.
This time, it would be the same Naruto world, but after Christmas.. He has been training, improving and training again for months, to already survive in his next adventure.. Yet his Sharingan remained in one tomoe form. It seems, unless he absorbs .ore of the Shisui Uchiha template, the sharingan woukd remain like this, so, if 30% is 1 Tomoe, 90% would be 3, but, he needs to test the hypothesis when his acclimatisation reaches 60%.
Corvus also performed a ritual on Samhain with his familiars to strengthen their bond. The goal was simple: grow stronger together, and allow Corvus to acquire some of their abilities, especially Nyx's danger sense and cloning capabilities.
It would be something akin to a spider-man who could clone himself, but without webs shooting.
According to his extensive research in the library, this was possible. Thankfully, he didn't need to fully understand the ritual mechanics himself. Siri, his system, would handle the calculations. Having enriched its database, Siri could now determine the best permutations and combinations. Corvus only needed to provide the materials.
Which he did.
Convincing his grandfather to allow the ritual, however, took considerable coaxing. In the end, his grandfather agreed, not before checking the ritual himself and also arranging experts to be present during the ceremony.
Corvus believed that, may be Dumbledore had a similar ritual with the phoenix, but he did not have the system to design and customize as required.
Still, Corvus had to forgo attending the Halloween gathering with his parents, but he deemed the trade worthwhile.
The ritual itself was far less painful than expected. Perhaps after the initial debacle of assimilating the Shisui Uchiha template, a familiar-bonding ritual simply didn't compare.
It was, of course, successful.
Corvus gained several vital abilities, most notably danger sensing and clone constructs. At times, he wondered if he should have chosen Rook as a pet instead of a familiar, but he quickly discarded the thought. Rook had grown far stronger this way, and seemed happier for it.
Rook awakened affinities for wind and lightning. He could now fly at tremendous speed and launch feather projectiles charged with lightning. Nyx, on the other hand, gained affinities for illusion and fire.
In the Naruto world, Uchiha were known for their fondness for cats and feline summons. Choosing Nyx as a familiar had been deliberate, and Corvus had no regrets.
Nyx could now create both tangible and intangible clones, which could burst into flames at will. Rook gained similar cloning abilities, though sustaining them required Corvus's magic, as Rook's own reserves were limited. This time after the ritual, his template acclimatisation reached 50% directly, but he is yet to determine, how to use the Sharingan, it's like having a race car, yet not knowing how to drive. When he asked the System, system said, he needed to develop the associated moves or spells himself. Basically, he has been given a car, but there is no tutorial, or training program to learn how to drive the same, but the car stills coats him maintenance money, like the how sharingan, continues to absorb his magic, and post having sharingan his static state magic usage has increased, furthermore, one he turns on the power, his magic consumption is very fast as well.
However, good news is that both Rook and Nyx could warg into their clones, allowing them to remain safely perched while sending clones to carry out tasks. Although they didn't awaken Sharingan but, they did gain more intelligence, before Nyx could only meaw and hiss, now she can talk, in sentences.. which is good.
Another time Corvus asked Rook to deliver a letter, Rook simply created a clone and sent that instead. Nyx no longer needed to enter spirit form to create clones either.
Corvus made full use of these abilities.
He had been spying on Lord Voldemort's meetings… and on those involving his godfather as well.
In truth, he was worried about Regulus Black. Ever since being marked by Moldyshorts on last Halloween, an event Corvus had missed, Regulus had changed. Though Corvus sent him letters often, his replies were subdued, heavy, almost resigned.
So Corvus made a decision.
He would visit Regulus at the Yule Ball hosted by the Black family.
His parents would be there.
His godfather would be there.
And Corvus intended to see, with his own eyes, just how bad things truly were.
"Nyx, I need your help today," Corvus said quietly. "At the Yule party, you'll need to make a few clones when I tell you to. And spy. If meetings happen. You'll be my eyes and ears."
"Meaw," Nyx replied, tail flicking. "Why?"
She stretched, unbothered.
"I need two… no. Three catnips. The good ones. The ones you bought that day."
"And you hooman carry my main body when you go. Bully Kneazles. Bully cats. Boring."
"They avoid me now. Meaw."
"Why do you have to bully them, Nyx?" Corvus asked, tired already.
"They bully me before," Nyx huffed. "Didn't let me play. Now I play alone."
Pause.
"Revenge. Meaw."
Corvus sighed. Long. Deep. Defeated.
"Alright. Fine. I'll bring the catnip. But you can't just roam freely. If you're in danger, alert me immediately."
"Meaw."
Pause.
"And… and…"
Corvus braced himself.
"You take me to the place where pictures move. Pictures on wall. Pictures make sounds."
"…You mean the cinema?"
"Yes. That." Nyx nodded once, solemn. "After Yule party. Okay, Hooman?"
Another pause.
"…Fine," Corvus said.
As Nyx curled up smugly, Corvus rubbed his temples.
He deeply regretted ever taking Nyx to the movies in Bordeaux. His familiars were becoming far too troublesome. These days, he had to bribe them to get anything done.
"Cherry," Corvus called.
Pop.
Cherry appeared a moment later. He was wearing a whitish-pink floral frock, a crisp white shirt, and a pink bow perched neatly on his head. He looked… adorable. Long gone were the horrendous rags Cherry used to wear.
Corvus had convinced his grandfather that house-elves looking presentable reflected generosity, status, class, and refinement, qualities a true pureblood family should embody. His grandfather had agreed to try it as an experiment.
Now, all the elves in the manor were dressed at least professionally.
Cherry, in particular, had been glowing ever since.
Even Grandfather had started showing them off whenever he hosted guests, especially his longtime friend Abraxas Malfoy. He would proudly point out how his elves looked better groomed and better dressed, boasting that the appearance of one's elves reflected the taste and class of their master.
It sparked a strange trend in pureblood society. Elven etiquette and attire became yet another metric for judging how noble or refined a family truly was. Corvus even had the elves learn from Muggle cuisines to enrich their culinary knowledge, atleast he wanted his grandfather to remain on top, in this Shallow showboating competition among Purebloods.
Corvus was now convinced that he should never have been an IT employee in his previous life. Sales and marketing had clearly been his true calling. The way he had sold the idea to his grandfather still made him want to pat himself on the back.
"Cherry," Corvus asked, "is my outfit ready for today's ball?"
"Yes, Young Master. It is ready."
"Thank you, Cherry. Please bring me a glass of water and something light to eat. I'll have a small meal before we leave."
Cherry beamed and vanished with another pop, already humming to himself.
Corvus leaned back, satisfied.
Influence, he was learning, didn't always come from power.
Sometimes, it came from presentation, although he was not sure, how a 7 year old dressingly elegantly would matter in the long run, but he is going with his grandfather, he has to keep up appearances..
Soon, he was ready.
Nobles, Corvus realized quite early on, were truly devoted to dressing up. His doublet alone, if sold, could probably feed a few countries in Africa. It screamed I am rich without a hint of subtlety.
He took a quick look in the mirror. Ready.
His eyes still caught him off guard sometimes, especially now. After the familiar ritual, they had shifted into an unusual mix of dark purple and grey. Rook's and Nyx's eyes had changed as well. Both the raven and the cat now shared a similar gaze, eerily mirroring his own.
Conveniently, the purple pendant, the gift from his mother, rested perfectly against his chest, complementing the new eye color as if it had been chosen with this future in mind.
After admiring his increasingly Jon Snow–Targaryen-esque appearance in the mirror for a moment longer, Corvus exhaled softly.
Then, with a thought, he pulled up his status screen to review his stats once more.
Name: Corvus Marvolo Lestrange, Corvus VI
Father: Rodolphus Lestrange
Mother: Bellatrix Lestrange, née Black
Godfather: Regulus Black (since 1971)
Godmother: Narcissa Malfoy, née Black (since 1971)
Primary Template: Shihui Uchiha ( Three Tomoi Sharingan - 65% )
Level: 7
Class: Mage
Stage: Novice
Age: 7
HP: 100
MP: 100
Physique: 21
Spirit: 27
Perception: 32
Endurance: 25
Intelligence: 45
Charisma: 30
Luck: 15
Toxicity: 0
Bloodline Talents: Warg, Metamorphmagus (Partial)
Acquired Talents: Sharingan, (Maximum 3 allowed)
Skills: Tap to see all Skills( 6 shown )
Observe Lv.2
Basic Mage Skills Lv.2
Chūnin-level Ninja Skills Lv.2
Potions Lv2
Mind Arts Lv.2
Illusion Arts Lv.2
Affinities: Fire, Wind, Lightning, Yin
Current Role Play(s): None
Saved World Coordinates: None
World Visited: Naruto
Acquired Traits: Sharingan
Followers: None (Maximum 2 allowed)
Familiars: Rook, Nyx : Shared affinities (Maximum 2 allowed)
Pets: None (Maximum 2 allowed)
Current Location: Château de Lestrange
Purchase Points: 0
Stat Points: 0
EXP Points: 0
His stats hadn't increased by much since January, but that was fine. Without a wand, he couldn't practice conventional wizarding magic anyway. It would have increased more, if he could have cleared his first multiverse travel, but it was not meant to be, he had very less combat experience.
Still, after the familiar ritual, his Perception and several other attributes had jumped significantly, pushing his level up to seven. I
That alone made the ritual worthwhile.
Suddenly....
Pop.
"Young Master," Cherry said, appearing once again. "Master was asking whether you are ready."
"I am," Corvus replied. "Are we taking the Floo?"
"Cherry does not know, Young Master. Cherry is sorry."
"Never mind," Corvus said calmly. "I'll find out soon enough."
Moments later, Corvus entered the chandelier-lit main hall, where his grandfather was already waiting.
"Grandfather," Corvus asked, "are we good to go?"
"We are, my grandson," Mr. Lestrange replied warmly. "I was just waiting for you. The carriage is ready."
"We're not taking the Floo?" Corvus asked, mildly surprised.
"What for?" Mr. Lestrange quipped. "We're going old school."
He was dressed in a black party robe accented with gold, a flowing cape draped over his shoulders, and a cane resting comfortably in his hand.
Corvus smiled. "Sure. Let's go."
And with that, grandfather and grandson stepped forward together, bound for one of the grandest balls of the year, a place where politics flowed as freely as wine, where masks were worn out of habit rather than necessity, and where plots were unearthed, discarded, and forged anew with every passing hour.