If Walburga Black was being honest with herself, she knew that getting Sirius Orion under control would never be a simple task. Unlike his younger brother, Sirius had a willful streak that refused to be broken and rarely if ever listened to his superiors. At one point this sort of behavior could be remedied if not lessened slightly, but not anymore. Now that Sirius was sixteen, it was becoming more and more obvious that unless something was done soon- the reputation of the Black family was at risk.
Walburga lay in bed that night alone-Orion had taken to sleeping in his dressing room per usual- and winced. The family couldn’t afford another blow to their reputation after Andromeda had run off and married that filthy what’s-his-name and got herself burned off the family tree. For a while after that happened Walburga had sometimes taken the opportunity to act more superior around Cygnus and Druella as if to say, “Oh, did you really think all your daughters would turn out to be utterly perfect?” She had taken a grim sort of pleasure in the look of irritation in her youngest brother’s eyes as she acted ever so smug over her two sons’ good standing in the Black Family(well Sirius could be…but Walburga refused to think about that too much) or when she made a reference to Andromeda that was so small only the family could understand it.
A more sympathetic woman might not have rubbed such a wound in her brother’s face, but Walburga wasn’t exactly known for her sympathetic nature. What she did know however was that she didn’t have to worry about that sort of behavior from either of her sons. Regulus Arcturus was well mannered and acted accordingly with the family’s standards and Sirius Orion…well everything would work out on that end as well. Somehow.
She had hoped that Orion would see fit to take a firmer hand with their wayward eldest son, but alas her husband seemed to find that his time was better spent in his study instead of making sure that Sirius Orion didn’t keep trying to disgrace his family. How many times had he ruined a family dinner by refusing to do what he was told? How many times had he caused a screaming match between mother and son when he refused to keep his hair the proper length or wear the appropriate clothing for a wizard of his standing instead of the disgusting Muggle clothes he tried so hard to insist on wearing?
At this point Walburga was certain that the only way for Sirius Orion to remain in good standing in the Black family was for her to find him a suitable bride. He needed a girl who could rein him in when he got to be too headstrong and someone with whom he could produce the next heir of the Black Family and stop concerning himself with the childish niceties.
Of course it wouldn’t be an easy task. It seemed that all the proper pureblood girls were either too young, already betrothed, or Sirius had burned that bridge himself. She shuddered slightly at thinking of a disastrous attempt with Isla Selwyn. Sirius had wasted no time in telling the girl that her nose resembled that of a squashed tomato and that her eyes were too close together and in turn Isla had quickly dissolved into tears and left the scene so after. Granted, Walburga wasn’t sure she’d even want such an emotional girl for a daughter in law anyway, but it was no secret that the incident would make it harder for her to find the right girl for her son. He seemed to want to make it as difficult as possible for Walburga to arrange the proper marriage for her son. The whispers of Sirius’s cutting remarks and snide attitudes about the other Pureblooded girls in his circle were becoming more and more apparent and Walburga knew that an arranged marriage for Sirius wouldn’t be nearly as simple as it would likely be for Regulus Arcturus.
But, she had to do something, didn't she? As the current heir to the Black Family, the importance of Sirius’s reputation within the family could not be overstated. Walburga closed her eyes and tried to sleep with the promise that she would keep trying to solve this everlasting problem the next day.
They never could make it a whole day without fighting. At breakfast and lunch, Sirius managed to remain civil(well civil for him anyway). It was only at supper when things took a turn for the worst.
“Sirius Orion,” Walburga said as she gently dabbed her mouth with her napkin, “Tomorrow, Agatha Flint will be coming over for tea tomorrow. I expect you to be on your best behavior when she and her parents arrive,”
Sirius glared at her suspiciously. “Why should it matter how I behave?”
“It matters Sirius Orion, because you and your father will not have you try to disgrace the family. Besides, the Flints are one of the few families around who are still willing to look into a betrothal for you. I won’t stand for you trying to ruin this one as well,” Walburga said firmly.
If Walburga thought that today would be the day when Sirius took this news amicably-she was sadly mistaken. His reaction was quick and snappish.
“It won’t matter how I behave myself, because I’m not having tea with her let alone marrying her! In fact I’m not marrying anyone you try to force upon me, so you might as well give it up now!” Sirius snapped as he dropped the fork he had been holding. Across from him, Regulus swallowed hard and seemed to focus intently on his goblet of water. Meanwhile Orion continued to eat his dinner nonchalantly and Walburga noted with a small jab of irritation that he didn’t seem to feel like stepping in at the moment.
“You will take tea with her tomorrow and you will be polite and respectful when doing so,” Walburga said in a voice of forced calmness.
“No, I won’t!” Sirius retorted. “When will you get it through your head that I’m not marrying any stupid girl you try and get me bethroted to?!”
“This isn’t all about you,” Walburga said through gritted teeth. “As the firstborn son, you are expected to carry on the Black Family name and I expect you to do so with honor. Finding you a bride is the first step.”
“Well, you might as well give that little dream up, because it’s not going to happen!” Sirius yelled and he actually stood up with a start making his younger brother wince.
“Sit back down!” Walburga snapped, finally raising her voice as well.
“Why?” Sirius demanded. “So you can keep trying to control me? I’m not Regulus you know- you can’t just do whatever you want with me.”
“DO NOT speak to me that way,” Walburga began. “And I thought I told you to sit down, Sirius Orion.”
“I think I’ll come to my room instead,” Sirius replied. He actually made a move to leave the dining room, but this time his father finally decided to step in as he said, “Sit back down Sirius.”
Sirius huffed, but after a few seconds of warring with himself- he slowly sat back down. The rest of supper continued in an interminable silence with a tension that couldn’t have been pierced with a knife.
Things only got worse after supper. Walburga had sent Regulus upstairs after he had finished eating, so she and Orion could speak to Sirius alone. Granted, Walburga couldn’t say that she was entirely certain that Regulus wouldn’t try to listen in, but she had more pressing concerns to worry about at the moment.
“Now Sirius,” Walburga said. “Agatha Flint will still be coming over for tea tomorrow and we still expect you to be on your best behavior.”
Sirius scoffed. “For the last time- no! I’m not coming to any stupid tea you’ve decided to conjur up and there’s nothing you can do about it!”
“You will not keep trying to disgrace this family Sirius Orion!” Walburga said in reply and Sirius glared at her.
“When will you get it through your head that I don’t care about this family? Everyone within it is just a stuck up pile of dolts who are too obsessed with money and blood status.”
Walburga let out a cry of anger at this slight against her-their-family and turned to her husband for assistance. “Sirius,” Orion said firmly. “You will do what your mother has told you. Everyone in this house is tired of your insufferable behavior over the past few years and we will not have you acting this way tomorrow either.”
“You’re just as bad as her!” Sirius shouted. “Neither of you will listen to me! Why can’t you just let me live my life!”
“Because I will not have you keep trying to disgrace this family,” Walburga said, losing control of her temper as well. “You make me utterly ashamed to have you as a son sometimes with all the grief you’ve insisted on putting us through. It’s as if you want our family to be completely ruined. because of your shameful behavior.”
Sirius gaped at her for a second, before turning to his father and snapping, “Why can’t you be on my side for once?!”
Orion Black looked sternly at his son and said, “You have not given me much reason to do so.”
For a second Sirius was silent and then he whispered, “I wish I had never been born into this family.”
Before Walburga could think about what she was going to say she said, “Right now, I wish that as well.”
For a split second she thought she noticed an expression of pain appear on her son’s face, before he wheeled and stormed out of the dining room. Walburga was too angry to even look at her husband who was standing next to her let alone call Sirius back down.
He was gone. Seemingly overnight, Sirius had packed up his belongings and left…somewhere. After he hadn’t come down to breakfast, Walburga had sent Regulus to bring him downstairs. Her youngest son was only gone for a minute, before he came back downstairs alone.
When he told her the news, Walburga hadn’t believed him at first. Instead she raced upstairs to her son’s room trying to repress the dread she felt building up in her system. She threw the door open to his room and saw an empty bed, open drawers, no clothes around, and his window was slightly open as well. “Sirius Orion!” Walburga shouted as though her son was just hiding outside for one of his more insufferable practical jokes. But, a deeper part of her knew that this was no joke. No joke at all.
“He’s gone Walburga,” Orion said from behind her. She turned around slowly to see him and a white faced Regulus staring at her.
“Go after him then!” Walburga screamed. “He’s still out there you know.”
“He wouldn’t want to come back,” Orion said slowly.
Walburga gave a cracked sort of laugh as she followed her husband down the stairs- leaving a still pale Regulus behind- and into the drawing room.
“Why does that matter?” Walburga asked him incredulously. “You are his father and if you ever took a firmer hand with him, then he wouldn’t have felt the need to run off like this!”
“He isn’t coming back, Walburga,” Orion said. “That boy has seen fit to try and disgrace our family for years now and nothing you and I or anyone can do would be enough to stop it.”
Walburga wasn’t sure if it was those words or just her emotions finally bubbling over, but she pulled out her wand and aimed it at the tapestry in the drawing room. She pointed it at Sirius’s picture and without thinking- she blasted his name off the tapestry. Orion stared at her and the tapestry in shock and even Walburga couldn’t comprehend what she had just done at first. She felt a grim sort of satisfaction that was just as quickly followed by shame and self loathing and she hurried past Orion and back upstairs to her bedroom.
She didn’t even spare a glance for Regulus who only managed to stammer out a brief, “Mother I-”, before she threw open her bedroom door. She quickly locked it with her wand and lay down on her bed. It was then that the tears started to come. First they were slow and then Walburga was all out sobbing. Memories of Sirius through the years were flooding her brain and the most recent memory of her burning his name off the tapestry seemed to be the most vivid as all. It was if someone wanted that image to taunt her.
What have I done? Walburga thought as she sobbed into her pillow. The regret she was feeling could not be overstated, but it seemed there was nothing she could do about it. Sirius Orion was officially gone and all of her attempts to keep him within the family seemed to have been in vain. None of it had ever been good enough and she was battling between fury and sorrow at thinking of how horrible it had all turned out. Walburga closed her eyes tighter and tried to block out all images of Sirius with little success.
Her son-no he had been blasted off the tapestry so she couldn’t think of him that way anymore- he had always had a knack for not doing what was expected of him. However, Walburga knew that deep down she had never expected this sort of behavior from him. She had always tried to get the last word in whenever they had an argument together, but in this case it appeared that she had at long last lost that battle.