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by David Haber, Wizard News Managing Editor

According to Andres of HarryLatino.com, Nimbus Network is reporting that Isabel Nunes, the Portuguese translator of the Harry Potter books in Portugal, has revealed the full name of the mysterious R.A.B. who's note is discovered in the emotional climax of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

According to the report, J.K. Rowling told Nunes that the full name of R.A.B. is Regulus Arcturus Black.

While the exact middle name has not been previously known, this revelation won't come as a surprise to most Harry Potter fans, who had already deduced that it made sense that R.A.B. was Regulus Black, Sirius' younger brother, who had been killed by Voldemort.

In January 2006, the name Arcturus appeared as the name of one of Sirius and Regulus' ancestors in a hand-drawn sketch of the Black family tree made by J.K. Rowling herself, but until now there has been no info to believe that Regulus was that ancestor's namesake.

Other middle names that have been previous discussed by fans as logical possibilities included Abraxus, which was the name of Lucius Malfoy's father, and Alphard, the name of Sirius' uncle.

According to Nunes, she originally inquired of J.K. about only the gender of R.A.B., but J.K. replied with the full name. In the past, Ms. Nunes has also learned in the course of her Harry Potter translation work, and revealed to fans, other details the books do not contain, including the facts that Blaise Zabini was a male and that Professor Sinistra was a woman.

While the source of this revelation appears credible, it's not official until we hear it from J.K. Rowling herself, or, of course, read it in Harry Potter Book 7.

More information:
• Who is R.A.B. and where is Slytherin's Locket?

Published October 8, 2006

This article is Copyright © 2006, David Haber, and may not be reproduced on other web sites or in print, in whole or in part, without expressed permission

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