Linus Mortan

## Linus Arcturus Mortan †

"*Even a traitor may mend. I have known one that did.*"
— Linus to Andromeda

**Linus Arcturus Mortan** (b. 27 July – 7 July) was a dark half-blood wizard of the Potter and Mortan families, the only son born to Corvus and Astoria Mortan (née Malfoy-Potter). He was also the younger maternal half-brother of Wendy. The son of a prestigious school governor and incisive journalist for the *Daily Prophet*, he cultivated an extremely spoiled, nosy and entitled nature as he was growing up, thinking very highly of himself and his family.

Upon attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Linus was Sorted into Slytherin House for his guile and distinctive ideals surrounding self-preservation. Throughout his school years, he was regarded as being a popular yet controversial wizard, cultivating a vast number of both friendships and rivalries as a result of his brazen temperament and supercilious attitudes. Though a talented wizard, he was often unmotivated with proficiencies that manifested themselves more in his social networking skills across the wizarding world. Linus was a Seeker on the Slytherin Quidditch team as well as a brief member of Charms Club and Choir up until partway through his third year, at the end of which his father was stripped of his governor title and faced imprisonment in Azkaban.

Linus became most prominently known for the apparent lack of allegiance he extended towards his family, being secretly affiliated with the Dark Arts and the Knights of Abaddon. He then gained notoriety in his early twenties as an integral member of the Firm and a noteworthy villain within communities of the social elite and magical underworld. His actions culminated in a two-year Azkaban sentence that finally led to his abstention from Dark Magic.

In his adult life, Linus married Megaera Alder, with whom he fathered Andromeda despite a series of unsuccessful pregnancies. He followed in his father's footsteps through his work at Mortan Apothecary, distributing wines, potion ingredients and herbal remedies. The three lived a private life in spite of the antipathy that their relatives gave them, but eventually met their tragic ends after being murdered by Xanthas Jordan. The portraits of the late family reside inside the Potter Mausoleum. Though there was no goodness in his death, Linus had a legacy of learning and repentance for the magic that eventually came to corrupt his life.

## Biography

### Later life

"*Most of all, I want to believe that the past is done with us the moment we are done with it.*"
— Linus expressing his desire to move on from his past actions

### Death and post-mortem

"*Wendy... your brother was not a wise wizard, and your brother was not a good wizard. If he had been, perhaps he might still be alive.*"
— Inny debating with Wendy over the death of the Mortan family

## Physical description

"*There's something ugly about a pretty boy who knows he's pretty and assumes everyone else know it too.*"
— {{{2}}}

## Personality and traits

"*As far as I can tell, you are still just the same lost, boring, power-hungry and self-indulgent spoiled brat that you were the very day I met you.*"
— Damien commentates on Linus's negative qualities

## Magical abilities and skills

"*That's what none of you seem to understand! We all go to the same hell, so there are no sides, there is no good or bad. There's only weak or powerful. And I want to be powerful.*"
— Linus and his impartial view on light and Dark magic

* **Dark Arts**:
* **Non-verbal magic and wandless magic**:
* **Occlumency**:
* **Ancient Runes**:
* **Quidditch**:
* **Unforgivable Curses**:
* **Acting**:

"*Entrepreneurship is living a life like most people won't, so you can spend the rest of your life living like most people can't.*"
— Linus and his ideals on entrepreneurship

* **Literacy skills**:
* **Salesmanship**:
* **Social networking**:
* **Love**:

## Possessions

* **Walnut wand**:
* **Apollo**:
* **Mortan ring**:
* **Two-way mirror**:
* **Mortan Manor**:

## Relationships

### Family

#### Parents

"*You have your mother's common sense, but your father's devilment. I see them fighting. Let your mother win.*"
— Lily to Linus on his parents

#### Megaera Alder

"*There's only one thing that can blind a man as smart as you, Linus. Love.*"
— Wendy to Linus about Megaera

#### Potter family

**Gwendoline Mortan**: "*Brother, at times you make me wonder whose side you're on.*"
**Linus**: "*Sister, you wound me. You know how much I love this family.*"
— Wendy questioning the authenticity of Linus' loyalty to the Potters

### Lily Leander

**Linus**: "*I don't like you.*"
**Inny**: "*I'll get over it.*"
— A hostile exchange at a family gathering

### Sirius Leander

"*You once said to me that men like us can never be loved. It's power or love. One or the other. But I have power. And she loves me. She told me. She loves me. And all you got was a crippled leg and a fucking wolf head cane. It's what you deserve.*"
— Linus confronting Sirius at his wedding

### Maksim Yakovich

"*Linus? I don't see the same thing in your eyes that I see in theirs. You should get out.*"
— Maksim privately advises Linus to leave the Firm

## Etymology

The name **Linus** means *"flax"* in Greek, possibly indicating someone who was blond or flaxen-haired. Some sources say it is Etruscan for *"one who mourns."* In Greek mythology, Linus was the son of Apollo, and a talented musician on the lyre.

**Arcturus**, also designated Alpha Boötis (α Boötis, abbreviated Alpha Boo, α Boo), is the brightest star in the constellation of Boötes, the fourth-brightest in the night sky, and the brightest in the northern celestial hemisphere. Arcturus is also part of the Spring Triangle asterism and, by extension, also of the Great Diamond along with the star Cor Caroli. Loosely it can be translated from Greek as *"guardian of the bear."*

The surname **Mortan** may have several meanings. It could be seen as a variant of the Scottish habitational name Morton, meaning from the farm near the moor. However, it is believed to be a surname of French origin, taken from the old French word morte meaning "*death"* or *"to die".*

## Notes

* Linus's theme song was I Want It All by Arctic Monkeys.
* Linus's specialised soundtrack, titled *sell your soul*, can be found on 8tracks.

## Trivia

* Linus's surname Mortan is derived from the French word *morte*, meaning death or to die. This may have been potential foreshadowing towards his own death, as he, his wife and his daughter (both of whom also took the name) died after meeting terrible fates.