𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑹𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝑶𝒇 𝑳𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝑩𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌 ~ 𝑊𝑎𝑙𝑏𝑢𝑟𝑔𝑎 𝐵𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑘

chapter sixteen

Present day,

Walburga looks at Orion as he is once again completely drunk. She hates him and gets up, getting dressed after what he did to her, then leaves the room. She hates him so much that she imagines slitting his throat in his sleep. She inhales softly as she crosses the hallway and something stops her in front of Sirius' room.

She puts her hand on the round handle and hesitates for a moment before opening it. She hasn't been here in years and looks around the room. There is too much red and gold, and she grimaces before approaching the desk and grabbing a picture of her son and his friends. A whole life she doesn't know.

Obviously, seeing Steviah and Sirius in the picture, there is no doubt that they love each other. Walburga shivers then puts the picture back before sitting on the bed and looking around the room in silence. The last time she came, she mentioned her past to her little boy, he wasn't even four years old.

Flashback:

Walburga makes sure Regulus is asleep before closing the door, then heads towards Sirius's. She frowns when she sees the boy buried underneath and the blanket shaking. She approaches and removes it to discover her boy crying silently, his face completely distorted by sadness. She recoils when he protects himself as if she was going to hit him.

She feels pain, but doesn't show it and kneels on the floor, stroking her child's hair in silence. She's not used to taking care of Regulus or Sirius, to being tender with them. She then notices the blood-stained bed and his knee all scratched.

"Sirius!" she exclaims. "Why didn't you come find me?"

"Fear," he cries. "Mean mother."

Walburga feels her heart pinch and her eyes sting, but she remains natural and lifts the child. She puts a hand on his cheek and caresses it gently before getting up to go get something to heal him.

"It's okay, my baby," she says in a soft voice.

Sirius sobs while she herself wants to cry. He's afraid of her and Walburga feels so bad. When she applies the disinfectant, Sirius's tears intensify and she takes his face in her hands, chasing away his big tears.

"Listen to me," she says, "big boys don't cry. You can cry when you're sad because you have a heart, but you can hide the pain. Do you know why your name is Sirius? I knew a superhero, a real hero who saved people. His name was Sirius and he never gave up. You're brave, like him. So when you feel like crying, remember that you have the name of a hero and that therefore, you are one too.

Sirius nods, surprised to see his mother so kind, but it doesn't last, since she raises her wand to make him forget, although deep down, she hopes that one day, one day, he will know. Then she leaves in silence, her heart broken.

Present day,

Walburga is pulled out of her thoughts by Kreacher. She hasn't seen him since Regulus disappeared and she stands up, ready to yell at her son when she sees the house elf acting strangely. She grabs him and grimaces at him. She has always hated him and he disgusts her.

"Speak," she says. "Now or you will suffer."

The house elf bends over, his nose curling on the ground. He looks uncomfortable which is rare, she has never seen him as anything other than a vile and cruel creature. She raises her hand, preparing to strike him, but he puts his hands in front of his face to protect himself.

"Mistress, mistress," he says. "Mister Regulus..."

She doesn't really listen to what he says. She only remembers Steviah's name and Regulus's. And one word repeats itself over and over, dead. The curse will never end, not as long as a Black is still standing. She remains in a fog until the evening, when she is about to go to bed.

That's when she wakes up as Orion, still under the influence of alcohol, tries to undress her again. Everything comes to her at once. Regulus is dead. She starts screaming before grabbing the big alarm clock and smashing it on her husband's skull.

She screams in rage, in grief as she hits him several times. She hates him. She hates him and she hits him without restraint until she stops, gasping. Orion lies beneath her, his skull shattered while there is blood everywhere. Walburga gets up, drops the alarm clock on the floor and staggers.

She will never find peace, never. Her face is covered in particles of blood, she walks to the floor that rises and she grabs her box. She puts the necklace Sirius gave her around her neck and takes the letter that John brought and that she has never read before, she finally opens it.

My sweet Walburga, I know, it's my second letter today, but I couldn't resist. I will send it to you tomorrow and now, I wait for your letter to arrive. I only watch the sky and I watch for the arrival of the owl. I have thought about it and you are right. I can't go on, I miss you too much and we will soon win, I am sure of it. I will go home. I will stay again today to help a little, but at nightfall, I will come, I will come to find you and I will take you far away from here. The letter is short because I have to help John build a new wall. I can't wait to see you, hug you and don't forget, never change my love. We will be happy forever, I promise you. I love you so much and I know you can face anything. You are strong and I am coming. Hold on, I will be with you soon.

I kiss you, Sirius.

She opens her mouth, he was going to come back. He was going to come back that same day he died. She feels the tears flow, this time, there is no doubt, her family is cursed. Her parents, her brothers, all died tragically. And she, she inherited seeing everyone she loves die, Lizbeth, Prunella, her baby, Sirius and now Regulus.

But maybe her child, Sirius, has a chance, he was never really a Black, he managed to escape, to be who he is and maybe she has a way to make sure the curse never finds him. Walburga turned to the wrong side, she chose the darkness, but maybe she can come back to the light to finish the story.

She gets up and blinks away her tears, she grabs her wand and goes out into the cold. Maybe Steviah is her son's Sirius Freylior and she will keep him in the light. Walburga raises her wand and whispers. Quickly, a blaze takes over the manor and she starts walking. She walks as the wind blows and she inhales deeply.

Arriving at the edge of the cliff, she looks at the horizon and smiles, she is free. Still holding Sirius' letter, she lets go of it and it flies away, it flies away just like Walburga before her body falls heavily on the rocks surrounded by roaring waves. And a smile floats on her inert face, forever free.

In the morbid silence, the crackling of the fire rises slowly and the manor collapses, reduced to ashes, because there, the noble and oldest house of Black is extinguished because deep down, Sirius was never a Black. He may have been born of Orion, but the light that Walburga kept, the one that Sirius brought to life, was in her son.