𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑹𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝑶𝒇 𝑳𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝑩𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌 ~ 𝑊𝑎𝑙𝑏𝑢𝑟𝑔𝑎 𝐵𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑘

chapter fourteen

December 1942,

Two whole months have passed and Sirius still hasn't come home. He keeps assuring her that it'll be over soon and Walburga believes him. She knows he's right deep down, she's sure she'll see him again soon. Her pregnancy is starting to show if she wears tight dresses, but she makes do with loose dresses which allow her to hide her slightly bulging belly. She's worried that her belly will end up being huge and that her parents will discover her secret, especially since the wedding is so close.

She caresses her belly and stares at the ceiling, she wrote to Sirius early in the morning to finally reveal to him that she's pregnant. She didn't have the courage to do it before and she wonders what his reaction will be. They're young, especially her, but she'll never abandon a child of Sirius's.

She sighs and gets up as Prunella enters gently and brings her a glass of milk. The little elf looks at her mistress and she smiles at her, gently patting her arm. She would never have dared to do it before, but Walburga behaved as an equal with her.

"Mistress Walburga," says the creature, "your father is asking for you. He says it is very important."

"Thank you Prunella," she answers.

Walburga gets up and sighs, it is never a good sign when her father asks for her. She takes a look outside, the snow covers everything and she smiles, she loves the snow. She puts her hair back in place then she leaves her room and heads to her father's office before knocking.

"Father, you wanted to ...," she begins.

Walburga freezes when she sees her parents, her brothers, Sirius' parents, Orion and two men she does not know. Her heart falls back into her chest, her legs start to shake and she has a movement of recoil, but Kreacher closes the door and she is a prisoner.

"What is happening?" she asks the.

A thought crosses her mind, Sirius is dead. But she chases it away quickly. They don't care about Sirius, they wouldn't be here together and she would know if something had happened to her boyfriend. Walburga's eyes widen as she sees her father put a box on his desk. The box that contains her correspondence with Sirius.

"How dare you," her father begins. "You are the shame of the family. You betrayed your people!"

"Dad, I can explain everything to you..."

She is cut off by the enormous slap her mother gives her and she brings her hand to her cheek. She opens her lips as she feels the tears running down her cheeks and she is unable to speak, to make the slightest sound.

"Do you think you can run away?" he shouts, "do this to me? You leave me no choice, you're going to be sent to the cave."

Walburga staggers, shaking her head as she cries. The cave is a terrible place, Orion has explained to her. It is where members of Death Eater families who do not want to adhere to the dark arts are sent. They are broken until they become Death Eaters.

"Now, we will take care of you," Pollux finishes. "These gentlemen will rid you of this thing."

She does not understand what he is talking about. She steps back as the two giants approach and she struggles, screaming as they grab her by the arms. Pollux gets up from his desk and she looks at her mother, her brothers, Orion, and even Sirius’ parents, but none move, none show mercy. The man advances towards his daughter and leans towards her face.

"You didn’t really think I wouldn’t find out about your outings?" he says. "This doctor was very talkative when he felt death approaching."

"What did you do?" Walburga cries.

She gets no answer and the door opens, dragging her away. She screams, cries, begs and struggles, but nothing works, she is dragged into a room and her screams die down when the door slams. A silence then falls on the house, sometimes interrupted by screams that manage to pass through the walls and then everything becomes calm again.

*

A broad smile lighting up his face, Sirius starts laughing and looks up at John, holding Walburga's letter in his hands. He has never been so happy and his best friend waits for the rest, for him to announce what makes him smile so much.

"I'm going to be a dad!"

The two young men take each other by the shoulders, their laughter mixing with the wind while Walburga lets her tears flow. How to tell Sirius the news? How to tell him what happened? Did he get the letter yet? She hopes not, that it hasn't arrived at its destination yet.

Sirius holds the letter in his hands and shakes it.

"I'm going to be a dad!" he repeats. "I'm going to..."

A gunshot then rings out, cutting off the laughter in an ear-piercing whistle. The blinding dust gradually clears, revealing a frozen smile on a happy face.

Walburga jumps up, a pain in her chest and she falls to her knees, gasping for air.

"Mistress Walburga," worries Prunella, "what's happening to you?"

"I .. I don't know," she says. "I .."

She remains on her knees, troubled while miles away, Sirius smiles at the sky. And Walburga's worries are no longer necessary. He will never know the sad fate that befell their baby. Tears roll down her cheeks as she tries to get up.

Prunella helps her as best she can and widens her two big round eyes. Walburga looks down and notices the blood on the ground. She lifts her dress as she bleeds and grabs something to wipe it. This pain is nothing compared to what she feels in her heart.

"Lie down," says Prunella. "I'll come back with some medicine."

The little elf crosses the room and Walburga calls out to her before she closes it. She smiles at the creature and watches her, Prunella is cute and she refuses to leave her there, when Sirius comes back, she will take Prunella.

"Thank you Prunella," she says. "You are the only one who understands me. I promise you that one day, you will be free."

The house elf blushes and smiles before closing the door. Walburga starts crying again and she leans against the wall, closing her eyes. She falls asleep and does not wake up until late. She frowns, not seeing the medicines and she gets up with a groan. She would have preferred that Prunella leave them here rather than take them back when she saw that she had fallen asleep.

Walburga sighs and she opens the door to her room. She doesn't want to see her family, but she doesn't want to show herself even weaker, if she has to face them, then she will. She goes down the stairs slowly, trying not to be too lively and she breathes once downstairs.

Everything is much too quiet and it makes her anxious. Walburga enters the living room and she closes her eyes. Lizbeth died months ago so why is the corpse still in the same place? Why does this vision surprise her now? She inhales slowly and opens her eyes.

The same scene repeats itself and she has a sob that pierces her throat. Lizbeth is dead and it's not her, lying on the floor, but it's just as painful. Walburga feels her legs give way and she falls to the floor in a cry of agony. She screams and hits the parquet floor.

"Why are you doing this to me?" she screams. "I hate you! Do you hear me? I hate you!"

She screams until her voice breaks and she crawls towards the small body lying down. She hates this life, she feels like she is dying as she holds Prunella close to her. They want to break her and it works, they take everything from her. Lizbeth, her baby and now Prunella. She only has Sirius left.

Sirius whose fate she does not know. Sirius who has been lying for hours in the snow, his body practically covered in powder snow. Sirius who smiles, still holding his letter in his hand.