it's all the same, another time and place
ALPHARD BLACK
Throughout his childhood, Alphard Black harbored a deep-seated disdain for his two siblings, Walburga and Cygnus. They were insufferable, carrying themselves with an air of superiority that grated on his nerves, especially his sister, the future matriarch of misery. Even from a tender age, he resolved never to emulate their haughty ways, determined to forge his own path.
While Cygnus and Walburga buried themselves in books, striving for academic accolades, Alphard seized every opportunity to stir up mischief among the first-year Hufflepuffs or steal quiet moments with some girl or boy in the deserted corridors. While they settled into domesticity, he roamed the shadowy alleys of Hogsmeade, peddling potions under the moonlight.
Alphard reveled in his rebellion.
His siblings had long sought reasons to expunge him from the illustrious Black family tapestry, yet being a "bachelor" and a "scoundrel" hardly constituted treason against the family name. Walburga's vindication came when, following Cygnus's untimely demise, her son Sirius absconded from the family estate. Two months later, Regulus divulged that Alphard had transferred his entire fortune to Sirius's coffers. A perfect pretext! One less Black upon the tapestry, ostensibly for his misguided benevolence toward his wayward nephew. Absurd!
"That's the crux of it, dear Druella," Walburga remarked that same evening. "Alphard bestowed his entire fortune upon the whelp I so recently expunged from the tapestry. Can you fathom my mortification? He understands it perfectly! When a Black is excised from our lineage, the rest are to sever all ties, lest they suffer a similar fate."
"And do you not think that was his intention, Walburga?" Cygnus' wife ventured.
"Bah!" she retorted. "It's conceivable, but I find it improbable... Do you recall his stance during the scandal sparked by Orion's discovery of Narcissa's attendance at the 'other woman's' nuptials?"
Druella arched an elegant eyebrow but refrained from challenging the matriarch. She knew from Andromeda that Alphard had long yearned for his expulsion from the tapestry... Yet she saw little point in pressing the matter with Walburga. Let her revel in her delusions of grandeur. After all, there were already two she was eager to erase from the family legacy.