Hey everyone. This story was brought to you by Herbology Hangout, Pop Figure Collection, The Insane Prompt Challenge, and March Writing Club's Book Club on Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. For Herbology Hangout I wrote for pairing Walburga/Orion, and dialogue of "Oh no, hide!". For Pop Figure Collection I wrote for Agent Melinda May Black hair - (feature) dark hair, and hand on hip - (trait) sassy. For the Insane Prompt Challenge I wrote for prompt number 83. Character: Regulus Black. For March Writing Club's Book Club I wrote for Amilla Traynor's prompts of (trait) strict, (relationship) Mother, (scenario) keeping a promise, and (word) control. I hope you all enjoy Broken Promises.

Walburga Black heard the giggle of her two small sons from the other side of the door even before she was close to it. A part of her raged that these children would make a mess of her nice clean sitting room. This was the room she and her husband would usually receive guests in after all. Another part of was trying desperately to calm herself down. She'd made a promise to herself after the last time she'd punished Sirius that she'd at least hear them out the next time they did something like this.

Opening the door quietly she was shocked to find her eight year old son Sirius and his five year old brother Regulus standing over a broken lamp. Normally a broken lamp wouldn't have bothered Walburga. Normally that is. But this lamp was special to her. It used to belong to her mother and was a family heirloom.

The door creaking with her weight upon it sent both black haired head up staring at each other in fear. Walburga had realized how afraid of her her sons were until this moment.

"Oh no, hide!" Regulus whimpered in fear as he grabbed Sirius's hand and tried to pull him away.

"It'll okay, Reg," Sirius said in that sassy manner that Walburga wondered where came upon it from. "I'll take the blame. She's already hacked off at me anyway for the last time."

Walburga backed out of the room closing the door quietly. Sometimes she wondered if she would have been better off not becoming a mother after all. She certainly was making her children happy. Her children, as she had just seen, feared her more than loved her. But she had to be strict. Didn't she? That was the way her mother was with her. And as far as Walburga was concerned, or knew, her mother's mother was that way with her.

"What happened now?" Orion's chuckling voice asked as he watched his wife back away from the door leading to the sitting room. "I'm sure the house elves will have it set in order in no time, dear."

"Am I a good mother in your mind, Orion?" Walburga asked her voice trembling from the tears she was trying to suppress.

"What's brought this on?" Orion said opening his arms and pulling his wife into a ready hug. "You're one of the best mother's I know, love. Why would you ask such a thing?"

"The children..."

"Know that you love them dearly. It's just harder for you to show it than it is for me." He kissed the top of Walburga's head rubbing her back soothingly. "Now what happened?"

"Sirius, and Regulus knocked over one of the family heirlooms in the sitting room. I happened to be opening the door at the time and Regulus, my baby, sounded so afraid that I'd walk in and find them..."

"Walburga," Orion stopped her mid-sentence, "our sons aren't afraid of you. We'll just go and have talk with them about being more careful with other people's personal items. Problem solved." He smiled at his wife hoping that would make her smile again.

A watery smile formed on Walburga's face as she followed her husband into the sitting room. She wishes she could say she was as calm as her husband wanted to her to be but seeing Regulus cower behind Sirius put her in a different head space. She'd broken her promise to herself about not being harsh on them. But what was one more broken promise to add to the pile anyway.

I hope you all enjoyed Broken Promises.