Surprisingly it wasn't the invitation from the Malfoys that she received first. It was her aunt's.
Their first meeting had been for tea and for the tapestry to recognise her as a Black. It put her under her father and her mother in the tree, with a small painted picture of what she looked like, a few branches above a small picture of Draco. The picture would age with her, and when she died the magic would place the date next to the one of her birth. Soon after more tea invitations followed from the House of Black and while Maia had an idea what was going on, she never said it out loud, not until her aunt mentioned it first.
Today was another Sunday afternoon in May that she spent in the presence of her aunt, and just like any other time she floo-ed into the house, arriving in the kitchen's fireplace. She gave Kreacher a quick nod before making her way up the stairs towards the hallway.
The house of the main Black family was in the center of London; Grimmauld Place number twelve. It was an old house, filled with antiques and the complete opposite to the Matthieu's, or Malfoy's, in colour pallet. The walls were dark and most were covered with detailed wallpaper, chandeliers shone and hung from the dark ceilings, portraits of old Black family members hung from the walls, most of them moving and sentient. Throughout the whole house dark accents could be seen, the focus on green, black, and metallics.
The hallway was aligned with different paintings of older Blacks, and before moving up the stairs she moved into the hallway to give them all a polite nod in greeting. If there was anything the Blacks were strict on it was etiquette and manners, and while she sometimes ignored them in her own home, she didn't dare to behave any less in front of her aunt. The woman wasn't bothered to point out every mistake that she made and Maia quickly adjusted her behaviour when visiting.
Moving up the stairs, past the mounted house elves that had all served the Black family at some point, she arrived at the first floor. The first floor didn't have many interesting rooms, just a guest bedroom, toilet, and the drawing room. Every doorknob was decorated with a metallic snake.
Together with the dark colour pallet, there were snakes incorporated in everything. Snakes carved as decoration in wood, metallic snakes on doorknobs, a framed picture of a literal pet snake, the same snake that apparently killed one of her cousins hundreds of years ago when he decided to keep it as his pet.
Before knocking on the drawing room doors, the room her aunt was already in, she made sure her outfit was neat. Long black pants, a cream long sleeved blouse, and a dark green sweater vest. A few pats to her head made sure her hair was still styled neatly, and only after she knocked on the door.
"Come in!" Her aunt's voice rang out from inside the room. Opening the doors, the interior of the room came in her view, which by now was very familiar.
Aunt Walburga and her usually had their tea in the drawing room on the first floor, which was designed like the rest of the house. A detailed carpet lay on the floor, but there were no portraits on the wall, just moving pictures and a few newspaper cutouts. A grand black piano stood in the corner, with a large seat in front of it. Aunt Walburga had taken it upon herself to teach Maia how to play, and most of their tea time was preceded by some time sitting in front of the piano.
Maia never mentioned her grandmother was also teaching her the piano and just let her believe she was a natural. Who was going to tell her aunt any different?
"Right on time." Her aunt stood up from her spot on one of the couches and moved towards her.
Aunt Walburga was like the female version of her father, almost as tall and the exact same hair and eye colour. All the things Maia had inherited too. Today she was wearing a dark blue dress, with an open robe in the same color over it, and with a belt binding it together. Maia could see the wand holster on her right forearm, one made of silver with the Black crest carved into it.
"Finally, you're here. Let's see if you remember anything from what I taught you a few weeks ago." Her aunt was never one for small talk, already moving to sit on the bench in front of the piano.
"Good afternoon, aunt Walburga." Was all she said, before sitting down next to the older woman. If there was anything she learned was that she couldn't keep her aunt waiting and didn't have to bother with small talk.
They played piano for just over an hour, but her aunt was satisfied with her progress. Maia already knew that satisfied was an understatement, but her aunt wasn't someone to compliment quickly or often. She could have been playing Chopin's Fantaisie-Impromptu and her aunt would be 'pleased'.
After they sat on the couches in front of the fire, a teapot floating in between them and their cups in hand. The fire was burning and the room was well lit from the chandelier on the ceiling and the lamps on the wall. Aunt Walburga spend most of the time talking, 'teaching' her the values of the Black family. She knew her father wasn't happy with it and he did always tell her she didn't have to listen to her aunt. Maia found that their opinions weren't that much different than the other, they just handled them differently. Her father was more passive and lenient, her aunt more active and strict.
Sipping on her tea Maia let out a little sigh. She always like her tea piping hot, rather than lukewarm, and Kreacher had gotten it just right.
"That's why those half-breeds shouldn't even be held in the same concept as us. Why would anything that shares their blood with animals be even remotely the same as us?"
Her aunt finished her sentence and turned to her, the topic finally moving on from her opinion on the hunting of werewolves.
"Maia, I am concerned where the future of the family is going." Walburga eyed her over her tea, with the same grey eyes most of the Black members possessed. "I'm going to be direct; this family has only two options for heir, you or Sirius."
Walburga stopped at that, waiting at her to respond. Maia knew it wasn't in her benefit to react to a statement, and said nothing, looking at her aunt while raising her eyebrow. Walburga's mouth twitched a little at that. She was never angry when Maia managed to do something she considered 'Black behaviour', even if it was used against her.
"What are your views? Do you think you can be heir?" Walburga's mouth went back down and she looked serious again, waiting for her answer.
Still sipping her tea, she thought about her aunts' question. Logically she would be able to be heir easily. She had the drive, the ambition, and the discipline, but being Lord Black wasn't just a walk in the park. It involved being the literal face of the family name and the family fortune. There would be no time for slacking off, not showing any weakness, being a competent wizard, taking care of her appearance, holding the family values high and advocating them, being able to handle politics, continuing the family line, and it all had to look effortless. She would have to be perfect all day, every day. Marrying outside the family wasn't that much better, but it was less pressure and less responsibility for sure.
"If I may aunt, I want to ask you a question first." She pulled herself out of her thoughts and looked at her aunt, who nodded, giving her permission. "What are the most important qualities of the Black heir?"
Her aunt put her tea cup down on her saucer rather harshly.
"If you are implying you want to throw away everything I taught you, just like…"
She interrupted her aunt, something she never dared to do, but she rather have her aunt be mad at her for cutting her off, than getting it inside her head that she was like Sirius and Andromeda.
"Of course, not aunt. I would never." She spoke calmly, putting her own cup down. "I merely wondered if you would truly consider Sirius over me?"
Walburga's eyes narrowed as she waited for Maia to continue. She was putting herself on a slippery slope, but she still continued without showing any hesitation. Confidence was key.
"Cousin Regulus is dead, Narcissa is married, and Bellatrix is married and in Azkaban." She looked her aunt in the eyes. "It is clear that our family name is slowly dying out. Before Sirius went to Azkaban he was a traitor, but can you be sure he won't go back to his old ways when he gets out? If he ever gets out?"
She lifted her tea cup again and took a sip. Walburga looked at her for a moment, a suspicious look in her eyes.
"It is clear Sirius killed those Muggles." Walburga spoke firmly, her hands properly folded on her lap. "The only reason I haven't put him back on the family tree is because I can't be sure he truly reversed his ways. If he ever gets out I will address him and if he rejects his former ways, I will make him Lord Black."
It looked like she wanted Maia to recite it back to her verbatim.
"And I fully agree, aunt." She said, nodding to show she did understand.
Of course, Walburga was going to pick her own son over her niece if he was welcomed back into the family. The heir of Black being disowned was bad enough, but to welcome him back and then make her niece, not her own blood, Lord, would be even worse. It would basically be saying that while her son was accepted back into the family, he wasn't fit to take his rightful spot as Lord. It had the possibility to create a lot of family drama, and maybe even political if they both had to fight it out in court. Worst come to worse one of them would have to die for the other to take the spot. Best was to either leave him disowned, or to not give her the title of heir.
"Sirius was a true problem when he was young, and Orion and I always thought he would grow out of it eventually, even when he got sorted into Gryffindor and made friends with those blood-traitors and mudbloods." Aunt Walburga pulled up her nose in disgust.
"Countless lessons, punishments, opportunities, all wasted on that ungrateful brat. Had he just followed our advice he could have been Lord Black by now, with a high position in the Ministry, and not stuck in Azkaban because he couldn't even get away with killing Muggles."
"I agree, aunt Walburga." Maia said again, sipping her tea, but aunt Walburga wasn't done yet.
"If he could just focus all that energy on the right path, he could have made something of himself. Regulus became prefect for Slytherin in his fifth year, all while having perfect grades and being Seeker on the Slytherin team. Yet Sirius ignored all of that and used his time to associate with mudbloods and reject our name." Walburga pushed a lock that had fallen out of her bun behind her ear, her tone harsh.
"I have never been more embarrassed than to hear Sirius talk about Muggle rights during his father's birthday party, with the Minister right there standing next to him."
At that Maia raised her eyebrow. No wonder Sirius had been sorted into Gryffindor if he was daring enough to not only talk back to his strict parents, but to reject their views in front of other people. In front of influential people.
"Muggle rights, as if those animals could come anywhere close to us." Her aunt's voice rose in anger, her eyes narrowing. "Surely even Alphard has explained to you how we physically differ from Muggles, and he is the least assertive Black out there."
Aunt Walburga didn't wait for her to answer and continued.
"Muggles don't get older than a mere seventy, their bodies break like twigs, their stamina doesn't even allow them to stay awake for a night, and they carry diseases with them everywhere, dying at the smallest inconvenience." Her aunts' hand waved in the air rather aggressively, as if imitating a wand movement.
"They are genetically inferior, and now imagine our superior blood mixing with something like that. The only thing that would come out of something like that is more incompetent wizards. As if we don't already have enough of those."
Her aunt's face was a bit red, but Maia kept her mouth shut and just let it wash over her, never breaking eye contact. This wasn't the first time her aunt had gone into one of these rants and it wouldn't be the last. The only thing she had to do was keep her mouth shut, stay calm, and let it run its course.
"We live for centuries, our bodies can handle more than anything they can handle, and we have been blessed with magic. Those mudbloods are the exact same as their Muggle parents and they don't deserve magic. Filth will only weaken the magical bloodline and before we know it wizards will die at seventy. If that blood were ever to mix with the Black line I would rather have the whole family extinct and dead in the ground."
Letting her tense shoulders drop, Walburga broke their eye contact, calming her breath, and picked up her tea cup. The redness in her face subsided slowly and she took a slow, calming breath, before taking a sip and continuing.
"We are not the same as those Muggles and mudbloods. Even half-bloods are weakened by their mixed blood." Her aunt sounded a lot calmer now, her eyes going back from her tea to look at Maia's. "It is important that the next heir will hold on to our values and then, when they become Lord, our family name and our magic will not be sullied."
Maia nodded at her, holding out her cup so the teapot could pour her another, and Walburga made another gesture with her hand.
"It's horrible enough that the Malfoy family accepts half-bloods into their family line. I can only hope Narcissa raised her son to be better than that. Blacks only marry purebloods, not half-bloods, and most certainly not mudbloods."
At that piece of information Maia felt her eyebrows come together in confusion.
"Aunt Walburga, what do you mean?" She asked, her eyes coming in contact with her aunts, her head tilting in question. "Do the Malfoys marry half-bloods?"
Her aunt waved her hand again, as if batting away an invisible fly.
"The Malfoys are purebloods, no need to worry about that, but they believe that more 'diversity' in their bloodline is better. As long as the child born with the Malfoy name and doesn't have Muggle or mudblood parents or grandparents, they're technically pureblood."
Blinking, she turned that new fact over in her head.
"So, Draco would be able to marry a half-blood, as long as the Muggle or muggleborn blood was only from their grandparents?" Maia said, realisation setting in. "That would make the child out of that union have only pureblood or half-blood wizards as parents and grandparents, right?"
Walburga scoffed. "Technically yes, and they would be able to call that child a pureblood, but I certainly hope Narcissa has raised her boy to be better than that. Her son already has Malfoy and Black blood, it would be a shame to have that potential mixing with something inferior."
Now her aunt was suddenly looking at her rather sternly and she sat up a bit straighter, observed by the strict eyes.
"The Black family doesn't do that, we marry purebloods only. It makes our blood and our magic better than anyone else's, so if you want to be heir you need to accept that. Your family comes first."
Maia nodded dutifully, not shying away from her aunts look. "I will aunt Walburga. Family is the most important."
Mentally shrugging she couldn't really get herself to care so much about the selectiveness. To follow the rules of her family and to enjoy everything her family name could get her, she had to marry a pureblood. It was a sacrifice she was more than willing to make. How was it any different than looking for a partner with a certain religion, noble status, or financial background?
Her answer made her aunt lean back in her chair a bit, her eyes relaxed and the corner of her mouth raised. She looked proud. Maia looked at her aunt, thoughts flying through her head.
"I want our family to continue on," she began, her voice halting at her aunts change in expression. Walburga's eyes turned downward, while the small smile remained, her head turned to the tapestry of the family on the wall.
"The Black family must stay alive, yes." Aunt Walburga voice sounded distant, almost sad. "Over the last ten years many Blacks have fought for what they believed to be right and gave up their lives. It's time we retake our rightful position."
Maia hesitated, but her curiosity was too much. Her father still wasn't answering her every question, most certainly not about the war and not about all of their family members.
"Aunt Walburga," she questioned slowly, "what happened to cousin Regulus?"
At the name the distant look disappeared in her aunts' eye, but she didn't look mad at her question, just resigned.
"I don't know," she said, her voice breaking in the middle. "One day he went to follow an order from the Dark Lord and the next day he was dead. No body, nothing. We had to place an empty sarcophagus in the Black tomb and some family members didn't even show up for his funeral."
Walburga clenched her jaw and her fists, her eyes becoming cold, as she pulled up her nose and her eyebrows lowered, her emotions turning around in a mere second.
"Not even Bellatrix knew where he had been, and she didn't want to 'bother the Dark Lord with it'." Walburga hissed.
It was silent for a moment, Walburga glaring at the wall and Maia sipping her tea. Eventually Walburga calmed herself again and turned her face back to her.
"Well, I'm glad you don't have the same views as my blood traitor son. He has made my life difficult enough." Walburga said as she picked up her own teacup. "But remember Maia, no matter what anyone tries to tell you, it's the family name that lives on. That is all that lives on. Not your personal glory, not your honor, but family."