DISCLAIMER: Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling.
Small warning: Not my usual portrayal of the relationship between Orion and Walburga.
~ Missing Pieces ~
"Running away?"
Sirius cringes a bit as the sound of his father's voice from the doorway interrupts his frantic packing.
"Not that I blame you," Orion continues, apparently not having expected an answer to his question. "And if you can actually get away from this god-forsaken family, more power to you."
This sentiment, so boldly stated, causes Sirius to turn and stare at his father in shock. Surely he doesn't mean that...? And now Sirius has so many questions that he wants to ask, but the only thing that makes it out of his mouth is a strangled "Why?"
"Son," Orion says slowly. "You know, your mother wasn't the first woman that I married."
"Who...?"
"You wouldn't recognize the name even if I told you. She was a half-blood, a year ahead of me at school. We eloped when I was seventeen. We had a daughter..." He trails off and his expression grows shuttered. "They're both dead now," he concludes, his face an emotionless mask.
"What happened to them?" Sirius asks, his own morbid curiosity overriding any concern he might have for his father's pain.
"Walburga hunted us down and killed them both. Afterward, I was given to her as her reward for helping keep the family tree pruned."
So many pieces of the puzzle falling into place... Sirius has a much better understanding of his family now, and why things were the way they were when he was growing up. He feels sorry for his father for having to go through that, and sad for the half-sister he will never be able to meet, but he is still leaving. He can't stay in this family anymore.
Well, he could. But he won't.
~end~