The beginning
Walburga stared in the mirror, noticing the way her cheekbones were slanted and angular, like the rest of her pale face. Two freckles dotted her nose, one near her left eye, on the bridge, and the other on the right side. Long tendrils of dark black hair fell around her face, hiding the sharp angle of her jaw.
"Good enough," she muttered, giving herself one more look before stepping away from the vanity.
Her dress, a delicate design of silver shining fabric and golden swirling patterns at the hem, swished around her high-heeled feet as she swept from her rooms. When she opened the door, the music of her mother's latest party drifted up to her from her third-story room at 12 Grimmuald Place.
Walburga, knowing she was supposed to be down there twenty minutes ago, quickly descended the steps leading to the first floor. The downstairs was filled to the brim with people in fancy, expensive dresses and finely tailored suits, all of them with a glass of champagne in hand.
"Hello, Walburga," A voice purred behind her when her feet finally hit the glittering tiles of the ground floor.
She winced before turning around with a bright smile. "Hello, Druella."
Druella Rosier wasn't someone you wanted to mess with. With her blonde hair and blue eyes that shone like a wolves', Walburga felt somewhat inadequate beside her. Sill, it was her quick tongue and sharp words that made fear slither into her heart.
Fear was something Walburga was used to, however. She ignored it, plastering the smile onto her face as if her life depended on it.
"You look nice," Druella drawled, a hint of sarcasm in her words. Her upper lip curled slightly as she said it.
"Thank you." Walburga ignored it as she did so many other things, taking the compliment as best she could. "Kreacher did well finding it."
Druella snorted. "Kreacher couldn't tell his head from his arse if he tried."
Hackles raising at the insult to Walburga's house elf and perhaps only confidant, she forced herself to take a deep, calming breath before responding. "He tries his best."
"There you are!" Cygnus, Walburga's older brother and savior, said. He came up behind Druella, dropping an arm around her shoulder. "I've been looking everywhere for you. Oh, you look nice, Wally."
Walburga shot him a glare. "Don't call me that."
"Why not?" His eyes were filled with the challenge. "I've called you that our entire lives. Why stop now?"
"Because I'm asking you too." Instead of responding to the challenge, Walburga widens her eyes and fills them with a childlike innocence. "Please, big brother?"
He sighed. "Fine. No more Wally."
Walburga knew he'd call her that again, more than likely by the end of tomorrow. She knew Cygnus wasn't the best at listening, and he was god awful at remembering when he did. It didn't bother her much, if she was being honest. She kind of liked the nickname, it made her feel special. And, only her brothers called her it, so it was easier than having a lot of people who already thought they were better than her calling her something so...demeaning.
Well, Walburga thought to herself, it doesn't matter that much. I'll let it go for now.
Winter break was always hard for her. She didn't like change, and being away from Hogwarts was something she hated.
She loved the school. It was the only place where she was expected to do only as much as everyone else, and not a drop more. Even if her parents still expected more from her, since she was a member of 'the Noble House of Black'.
Druella and Cygnus slipped away through the crowd, leaving Walburga alone. She didn't know where she was supposed to be so she followed after them, silently praying that she'd find someone her own age to talk to that didn't annoy the living shit out of her.
Luckily, she ran into Leviticus Sailstream, one of her best friends, near the kitchens. He was sneaking a tart from the tabletop when she arrived, sliding it into his pocket.
She smacked his hand, startling him. "Naughty."
"Hungry." He grinned. "Where've you been?"
"Upstairs," She responded, smiling back. "Anything fun happen while I was gone?"
His bottom lip popped out. "Nothing, nothing at all. I'm bored half to death waiting for your parents to make their speech."
Walburga rolled her eyes. The speech would take place right before the party ended, as it always did. Some random pureblood speech about keeping the magic strong and banding together against the mudbloods and half-borns that were slowly finding their way into magic society. There were even a few at Hogwarts this year, much to her parents' dismay.
"Trash, the school is going to the wolves!" Pollux Black had exclaimed when he found out.
"Dear," Irma, his wife—and Walburga's mother—had said gently. She was always one to even out Pollux's anger with her calmness, her gentleness. Walburga sometimes wondered how their marriage worked at all—not that there was much they could do to not be married.
Married until death, Walburga thought to herself as she watched Leviticus run after the family dog, Jonha. How horrible for those with unhappy marriages.
Still, the small pang of sympathy she felt for those unnamed people was squashed under her own fear. She knew since birth she would have to marry someone of her father's choosing, she could only hope he picked someone who would be kind to her.
Just because she knew this didn't mean she didn't fight against it every chance she got, her own silent little battles. Being mean to the boys who came with their fathers to Pollux's meetings, for example, was one of those silent battles. She could only hope her efforts were enough to make her undesirable for at least a few more years.
Just a few years, she told herself. Then she would conform to her family's wishes. She just wanted a few more years of freedom, of happiness, of peace, before she was forced to pop out heirs for the Black family line. Legacy, she'd been taught, was more important than any one person's selfish wishes.
If only she believed it.
Hogwarts stood like a regal griffin atop the hill, welcoming as always with its lit windows and jolly music streaming down the halls. Walburga could see it from the train, and her heart immediately lifted at the sight.
"I really hope we don't have to mingle with those..." Konnie Lavender, another Slytherin pureblood, paused before spitting the word. "Tainted."
Mudbloods, she meant. Walburga could practically taste the hatred in her best friend's voice. She had grown up learning these things, and she knew them to be true, but to hear the blatant disgust from someone other than her father was shocking. Especially since it came from Konnie, who Walburga knew as open and kind.
Perhaps people are more than they seem, she mused as the train chugged along.
"Yes, well," Jaqueline Harvoni huffed, pulling her cloak tighter around her. "I'm sure the Headmaster planned for something this atrocious. I'm sure we'll be forced to mingle, as a sign of goodwill to the muggle-borns and half-breeds. We already have a few classes with them."
Walburga's lip curled on its own. "Yes, I know, and those classes are the worst! I can barely pay attention with all their talking and their 'trying so hard to be the best wizard' and all that. It makes me sick."
It wasn't that she was personally against them, but her family had drilled it into her head that she was better than them. She didn't always believe it, but that didn't stop her from acting like she did. Besides, who didn't like fitting in?
Leviticus blew out a breath. "It it really so bad?"
All three girls' heads snapped to him. He held up his hands. "I just meant that we don't have to like them to go to class with them."
Konnie barked a laugh. "I almost thought you meant you liked them."
Walburga saw the hesitation in his eyes before he said, "Of course not."
The door to their compartment slid open, and there stood Orion Black, Walburga's second cousin. With his found face, pale skin, and dark hair, he looked almost welcoming. But there was something Walburga saw in those pale blue eyes that struck fear into her heart, something...off about them.
"Hey, guys," Orion said, smiling warmly at them. "Mind if I sit in your carriage this year? I've had a bit of a falling out with my friends. Oh, hello cousin."
Walburga plastered another warm smile onto her face to match his. "Hello. You're welcome to sit with us, Orion, but I think you should patch things up with your friends eventually. It's never good to leave something hanging like that, especially not with old friends."
He thumbed his jaw. "Yes, I suppose you're right. I'll consider that later, though. Right now, I want to know how everyone's winter break was."
"Oh, mine was wonderful," Konnie breathed, eyes dreamy as she looked at the boy. "Our house elves made this wonderful dish called Shepards Pie that was absolutely delightful. Did you know it had beer in it? I didn't."
"How did you find out?" Leviticus asked, raising a brow.
"I asked one of the elves, of course." Konnie would never lift a finger to cook, much less remember recipes. "They were very helpful."
"I'm sure they were," Orion said smoothly, closing the door behind him. He sat next to Walburga, the cushions dipping as he did. She almost fell into them. "What about you, Wally?"
Merlin, she thought. That nickname will follow me everywhere.
Aloud, she said, "It was good. I liked my presents well enough, although Kreacher could have picked some better ones."
She had known since childhood that it was her house elf picking her presents and not her parents. They had always been very up-front about what they were willing to do for their children, and she knew that going somewhere specifically to pick things out for them wasn't something they were willing to do.
It might have hurt, if she cared. She'd stopped caring a long time ago, she had to in order to protect herself. If she cared as much as, say, Gryffindors, she would have a bleeding heart all the time, and that didn't sound very nice to her.
"What do you suppose the rest of term will look like?" Orion asked, breaking the silence that had befallen the compartment.
"The same as before," Leviticus mumbled, loud enough for everyone to hear. Only Walburga heard the hatred in his voice.
She made a mental note to ask him later what he had against Orion. For now, she contented herself with listening to everyone talk with Orion, as everyone always did when the boy was around. It was not often that he was found sitting alone in silence. In fact, Orion was something of a popular kid at Hogwarts, liked by all houses, but especially Slytherin. He was well known for winning multiple Quidditch games for their house, considering he was Slytherin's goalkeeper. No stray bludgers got past him, and the few that did were easily forgotten in the grand scheme of the game.
Walburga had to admit, he was pretty impressive, especially from the outside looking in. But, she'd heard about the cats that went missing around the halls, the rats found dissected in the dungeons, and knew something was afoot. She couldn't quite say that it was Orion doing it, but she had a gut feeling.
"I hope not." Orion laughed. "The first half was pretty boring. Hopefully, something new will happen. Perhaps a few of those mudbloods will go missing and cause a search, wouldn't that be fun?"
A bad feeling sunk low into Walburga's gut. She didn't care much about the muggle-born and half-bloods, but she didn't want anything bad happening to them either.
They were still people.
The train screeched to a halt, and everyone stood. Walburga began to gather her things but stopped when Orion held out a hand in front of her, stopping her from grabbing her own bag.
"I got it," He said, hoisting it onto his shoulder. "Don't worry about it."
"Thank you." She bowed her head in appreciation, and to hide the sneer. How dare he think he could hold her books without her asking him to. It was rude, and rude people made her blood boil.
She followed him off of the train and towards the carriages sitting along the road leading up to the school. He held open the door for her, offering his hand. She took it, stepping lightly into the carriage and taking a seat on the far side, the wall pressing into her shoulder.
"What do you suppose the Headmaster's speech will be this year?" Konnie asked lightly.
Leviticus rolled his eyes. "Something boring, to be sure."
"It always is," Jaqueline agreed. It wasn't often that she was spouting her own opinions; usually, Walburga noticed, she just agreed with whatever the others were saying. Sure, she added her own spice to it, but it wasn't her idea.
Walburga pondered the intellect of her friend as the carriage started, moving them up the dirt path one after the other. Their carriage was first, of course, followed by her second oldest brother and his friends, Alphard Black.
With his brown hair and brown welcoming eyes, he looked nothing like their parents. Walburga found this comforting, at times. He looked a little more like their mother than their father, which was something Walburga had wanted for a long time. Unfortunately, she was the spitting image of Pollux Black, as was Cygnus.
"Wally," Alphard called from behind them. Walburga turned in her seat to look at her favorite brother. "Wanna play a game of Quidditch tomorrow?"
"No," She said curtly. She wasn't made for broomstick riding. "Thank you."
He made a disappointed sound. "Fine, suit yourself."
When they were home, the two would fly together, playing two-player Quidditch all day long, but when it came to Hogwarts, Walburga refused to embarrass herself in front of the entire school by joining the team, even if she was one of the best players she'd known, if she did say so herself.
And she did; she had a very high opinion of her riding skills, to say the least. That didn't mean she would risk falling off her broom in front of crowds of people and bring shame to the family name anytime soon.
The carriages finally stopped outside of the great hall, and Orion once again offered his hand to the girls as they climbed out. Walburga was sure she almost saw Konnie swoon when their hands met.
"You like him," she whispered to Konnie as they followed the crowd inside. Orion had gone off to say hi to some of his other friends and was slowly being surrounded by a group of people, both old and young.
"No," Konnie denied, but her cheeks flushed pink.
"Liar." Walburga knew when people were lying, and she appreciated that Konnie was a bad one. "It's so obvious. You should ask him out."
Konnie looked horrified. "Why would I ever do that?"
She shrugged. "Maybe you have a chance. You are of high social standing, after all. And you're pretty. He'd be lucky to have you, Konnie."
Her friend's face flushed an even deeper shade of red. "I don't know about all that, but maybe I will ask him...eventually. He seems busy now, maybe when I catch him alone..."
Walburga could see the wheels turning in Konnie's head, a plan already forming to more than likely trap Orion so she could ask him out. It was typical of a Slytherin to plan to ask someone out instead of just doing it, but Walburga preferred having a plan, unlike the Gryffindors who just went for it.
Gryffindors, she thought wryly. So much bravery, so much stupidity.
They were good for some things, at least. Like fighting wars, or being loyal. In Slytherin, loyalty was something a scarce few valued, and something that wasn't easily given.
Walburga knew that she had her friends' loyalty, just like they had hers...to a certain degree. Her first loyalty would be, forever and always, to the Noble House of Black.