Corvus Black

## Corvus Delphinus Black

**Corvus Delphinus Black** (5 October, 1775 - 2 December, 1848) was an early member of the House of Black; the third of four children born to Betelgeuse Black and Adeliza Black (née Rosier). He was the younger brother of Cygnus Black I and Adeliza Nott (née Black), and the older brother of Cetus Black IV. He attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from September 1787 to June 1794.

Corvus Black was best known for being an eternal bachelor; though he did father an illegitimate child by way of his kitchen maid, Louisa Walkin, in 1819. He never married, and Alexia Walkin Black was his only recognised child.

## Biography

### Early life

Corvus Delphinus Black was born on 5 October, 1775, inside 12 Grimmauld Place, a large terraced house located in the London borough of Islington that was owned by the Black family. He was the third child born to Betelgeuse and Adeliza Black, and he was five years younger than his sister, who was also named Adeliza, and four years younger than his elder brother Cygnus Black I. Like his brother before him, Corvus was baptised by Thomas Secker, a wizard, who was both Rector of St James's and Bishop of Oxford, in the first month of his life.

He and his brother Cygnus were privately instructed in several subjects inside the family home at Grimmauld Place. Corvus learned French, and he and his brother were taught to create commentary on the political events of the time as young as seven or eight years old. That being said, Corvus was the spare to Cygnus's heir, and he felt (as shown by family letters at the time) that his ability to slack off gave him special treatment.

#### Hogwarts years

Corvus received an invitation to study at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the summer of 1787. Sometime before attending, it is likely that he purchased or inherited a wand from Ollivander's or the vaults of the House of Black.

On 1 September, 1787, Corvus was sorted into Slytherin House, as was expected of all sons of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. Corvus, like his brother, was a talented student, and quickly learned to master Transfiguration, Potions, and Charms.

### Later life

Corvus Black left Hogwarts after his seventh year in 1794. It is unknown what he did in the years between leaving Hogwarts and the construction of Blackmere House, in 1817.

#### Blackmere House

Corvus Black paid for Blackmere House to be constructed in the year 1817. Known as "the Summer House" to modern members of the House of Black, the house was built in Castle Gate, located in the west of Cornwall. The estate featured six bedrooms and a most impressive and stately dining room. He made the new home his permanent residence in early 1818.

Corvus Black participated directly in the laying out of the estate, gardens and woodlands to prove his knowledge of forestry and landscaping. An earlier smaller house on the site was demolished to make way for a new and far larger house, though the original entrance portico survives as the main gateway to the walled garden.

#### Affair with his servant, Louisa Walkin

When he was about 43 years of age, Black became intimate with one of his young servants, Louisa Walkin, who was believed to be a half-blood witch. Walkin was employed as a scullery maid, and had been too poor to attend Hogwarts, but despite her lack of education and low status, Black found her sharp wit a welcome distraction.

The two had an illegitimate daughter together in October of 1819, and Black recognised Alexia Walkin as his own a few months after her birth. According to family letters from the period, Corvus Black claimed Alexia for his own when he "saw [Alexia's] dark hair and grey-blue eyes" as an infant in late 1819. Thus, she became known as Alexia Walkin Black.

Alexia was the only child that Corvus ever acknowledged, and over the years, there have been many rumours of individuals claiming to be descended from the House of Black- but none have had evidence. Nevertheless, it is possible that Black did father more children, but what is certain is that he only ever acknowledged one child.

Alexia's mother, Louisa Walkin, continued to work for Blackmere House and became the house's kitchen maid in 1821. Alexia was instructed by tutors inside the house, a relatively rare arrangement, in which Corvus Black promised that he would pay for Alexia's schooling at Hogwarts. His daughter attended from 1831 to 1838. Alexia was sorted into Slytherin House on 1 September, 1831. Her sorting reportedly "pleased" her father, as written in a journal penned in November of that year.

#### Decline of health and death

Corvus Black's longtime servant and romantic partner, Louisa Walkin, passed away in 1843. He was reportedly saddened by her death, and arranged for her burial on the grounds of Blackmere House, which she had spent nearly twenty-five years serving. The grave is located quite a distance away from the cemetery that was established later in 1848, and the headstone simply reads "*Louisa*".

His daughter, Alexia Walkin Black, was taken ill the following year, in 1844. She died of Cholera, at the age of 24, which saddened Black more than Louisa's death. Alexia was buried beside her mother, and her headstone read "*Alexia Walkin Black, born 12 October 1819, taken from this place on 19 July, 1844: step softly, a dream lies buried here."* Black chose the epitaph himself.

Corvus Black died on 2 December, 1848, at the age of 73.

### Post-Mortem

After his death the ownership of Blackmere House passed to his older brother, Cygnus Black I. Corvus himself was buried in what later became known as Blackmere Cemetery near a large oak tree on the estate.

His epitaph simply read "*Brother*".

## Etymology

Like many other members of the Black family, Corvus Black was named for a constellation.

*Corvus* is a small constellation in the Southern Celestial Hemisphere. Its name means "raven" in Latin. One of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy, it depicts a raven, a bird associated with stories about the god Apollo, perched on the back of Hydra the water snake. The four brightest stars, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, and Beta Corvi, form a distinctive quadrilateral in the night sky.