Walburga: Part I
She was four, and her young father was becoming an adult. He had been betrothed to her mother since birth they told her, his disgrace of impregnating a girl before their marriage day, over ruled by the beautiful, pure, daughter they would bring. Her little brother Alphard, came exactly two years after their hasty marriage before her mother had begun to show. Now mother was expecting again, still so pretty at 20.
All her cousins were there for her fathers' birthday. Lucretia was her own age, they had been born mere days apart, and little Orion, he was so small and pink, having been born only a week ago. Her aunt Cassiopeia had announced herself as too old to play with the babies, being all of fourteen. Aunt Dorea was there, and at nine, had no qualms about playing with the younger children. 'Where is uncle Marius?' She thought to herself, Hogwarts didn't run during the summer. Last she remembered he had been desperately awaiting his letter. "Father?" She tugged on his robes, "Where is uncle Marius?"
Fathers' eyes went cold, Aunt Cassiopeia scowled, Aunt Dorea's lips wobbled for a moment before settling into a frown. "You don't have an uncle Marius." Grandfather Cygnus informed her.
"But…" She tried to refute.
Her father patted her on the head, "Walburga, you really must learn to differentiate between your imaginary friends and the real ones."
Grandfather Cygnus sneered at his son, "You are too soft on her, next you know she'll be a blood-traitor. You must take a firmer hand with your children."
She stared up at her grandfather, "I will never be filth like them!" She announced.
Grandfather Cygnus looked down at her, "Then you shall certainly accept punishment for your insolence."
She wavered, but trusted her grandfather so she acquiesced, "Of course Grandfather, please punish me."
"Diffindo." He incanted, pointing his wand just above her elbow.
She gasped as the spell slit into her flesh, failing to fight back tears as her blood dripped on the floor. She looked up at her grandfather "Thank you for punishing me Grandfather." She cried.
"Yes, well now. Your father is seventeen today." He healed the cut. "We should be celebrating."
She was six, learning the history of her noble and ancient family. Looking at the tapestry she found her name, and traced it upwards to her father. 'Strange,' she wondered, 'Here it says father had three siblings. Who is this one burnt off?' Upon closer inspection she found a not quite scorched M and what could have been an A. 'Uncle Marius…' She nodded to herself. 'He was real. Though now, he is not. He doesn't exist anymore.' Looking along the tree she found more burn marks. "Father?" She asked, "Who were they?"
He thrust his wand at her and dragged her to the fire place. Thrusting her toes into the fire he told her as she screamed, "Isla married a filthy muggle creature."
She cried as her toes blistered and burned.
"Phineas thought we should cease hunting them."
She screamed in pain, squirming to get free.
"Cedrella married into a bloodtraitor family."
She yelled and kicked, tears streaming down.
"Your dear uncle Marius was a squib."
Shocked, she stopped squirming, stopped sobbing.
"All of these are unforgivable sins," He told her taking her toes from the fire. Then, reaching for his wand he told her, "Muggles are useless freaks, all errs of those burnt were in support of such useless creatures. Marius dared to be no better." Wand in hand he cured each and every one of her toes. They looked as if they had never been thrust into the flames. "Muggles fear fire because it harms them; no true wizard ever would; only we have the power to repair all damages it would cause."
He handed her powder and ordered that she toss it into the fire, then thrust her toes into the flames herself. She did so, hoping her father would heal her again, only to be astonished, when the fire turned green, and her toes experienced not the burning agony she had expected, but rather a soft tingling sensation.
"Wizards are superior to the fire muggles fear. Wizards are superior to muggles. It is a crime befitting only peasants to sympathize with such animals."
Walburga giggled madly, she was eight, and father was instructing her on how to properly discipline unruly children. Little Cygnus had been running in the hallways, and crashed right into mother. Mother was still lying in bed hours later recovering. Father was furious.
"You have killed two pureblood children with your actions!" He had shouted.
Cygnus had cried, distraught over the death of his future siblings.
Elladora and Regulus; never to be born because of her brother; mother, now too fragile to bear replacements.
Aunt Cassiopeia was there with her wand as father grasped Cygnus' wrist.
"You shall bring the Black's three children to amend for the pure blood you spilt." Father told him.
Cygnus had agreed instantly, binding the first ring of his vow.
"You shall suffer four months for each child you have killed, the length of their existence."
"I will." Cygnus sobbed, a second fiery ring had formed.
"You shall never speak of this bond, and raise each child you bring us as if it were never made."
"I will." Cygnus nodded, the final ring settling in.
After the vow, father had turned to her, "It is time to teach you how to punish children."
Walburga grasped her aunts' wand. It felt cold and lifeless in her hand, but it was the only way to learn.
"Do as I demonstrate." Father instructed. "Crucio."
Cygnus thrashed on the ground, wailing his apologies.
"Crucio." Walburga repeated shyly.
Cygnus twitched and gasped.
"You must mean it daughter. Say it with all the grief he has caused you. Wish for him to suffer for his mistakes."
"Crucio." She repeated.
Cygnus yelped.
They continued along this line for many minutes, Walburga slowly learning to harness the small amount of hate she had to dispense. The magic felt cool and rigid, soon she found it flowing through her, prickling through her arm and out the wand. She learned to cast it in a quick stab; like a knife into a muggle corpse.
"Much better, now make him suffer for the pain he has caused your mother and I."
"Crucio!" She shouted at her brother.
He screamed and cried.
"Very nice," Father had complemented her. "Now try this spell,…"
They had continued the lesson for nearly three hours before father had agreed that she had made sufficient progress for the day. They would continue the punishment the next afternoon. The spells she had used settled in her core, darkening the previously sweet child. Before she departed to her bedchamber, father promised her that at the end of the eight months, he would bring her to receive a wand of her own.
She was nine, standing with her father down Knockturn alley in a little shop. The wandcrafter was of the Yaxley's; the cousin of her great uncle Arcturus' wife. He brought her a thin brittle wand first, it had felt so cold in her grip she nearly dropped it. He neatly plucked it from her hand not a moment after. Then he brought her a short wispy wand, it felt limp in her hand, she placed it back onto the counter herself. The third wand he brought her was it, a rigid wand of Blackthorn, 8 inches in length, with a dragon heartstring core. It was a beautiful wand in her opinion. The moment it had brushed her fingers she felt complete, warm, and sure of herself.
"This is my wand." She told her father.
He paid for the wand and they apparated home. It was the last day of Cygnus' punishment; he was sitting, cold and composed, waiting for them to arrive. She greeted him with a Crucio, the first spell she had learned, the first to leave her wand.
She smiled in delight as her brother writhed on the ground, screaming out his agony. How simple magic was, when you had a wand that agreed with you.
AN: First chapter of a new story. Don't worry, Marauders Pact will still be updated once a week. This is merely going to be a 10 part sidestory of the events that shaped Walburga's life.