A/N – Warning for Walburga's A+ parenting, I guess.
She wasn't really cut out to be a mother. She didn't have any maternal instincts to speak of; when other little girls had been playing with dolls, she'd scoffed at the very idea. She'd never wanted children.
And yet, here she was. At home while her husband worked, two small boys running underfoot and making nuisances of themselves. Yes, they were mostly taken care of by the House Elves, but she was the one responsible for them; she was the one held accountable for their misdemeanours. The older one even went purposely out of his way to embarrass her.
"Mu-um," he managed to stretch the word into two syllables, "Regs' hurt." She looked down at the boys with mild annoyance. The younger of the two had tears staining his cheeks and a trail of blood began at his knee and was staining her carpet.
"Be more careful," she snapped. "Go see the House Elf; you're making a mess." She supposed a better mother might have kissed the child; attempted to comfort him in some way. She excelled at many things, but motherhood was not one of those.
"O-okay," he sniffed wetly. It was disgusting, really, the things these children managed to produce.
"But, Mum! He's hurt!" Sirius yelled; and honestly, did that child ever do anything calmly?
"Yes, I can see that," she replied in an even tone, though they were both testing her patience. "Get it seen to."
"Yes, Mother," Regulus replied meekly; she wasn't sure how she had managed to produce something so weak, relying on his brother for everything.
"Why can't you make it better?" Sirius challenged. She'd heard that some mothers found parenthood overwhelming; that wasn't something she experienced, but she certainly wanted to throttle the little brat – she had no idea where he'd learnt to speak back to her like that.
"You will do as you are told," she pronounced each word carefully.
"Aunty Druella's a lot nicer than you," Sirius sulked. He should be thanking his lucky stars she wasn't slapping him, rather than wasting his time wishing she was more like that woman. What had she named her youngest daughter? Some flower; Walburga shuddered at the thought.
"C'mon, Sirius," Regulus whispered, probably in the hopes that she wouldn't hear. "Kreature'll help." At least the boy was good for something, as Sirius allowed himself to be dragged away.
When her husband returned she'd ensure the boy was properly punished, but for now she was happy to be left in peace.
That is, until a few hours later, when a loud scream of "Muuum," echoes through the house.