Welcome back! This is a very expected chapter, and it's not that long - I didn't even get to 4000 words, but I'm so tired from university and I wanted this chapter out as soon as possible.

This is, pretty much, a Walburga Black chapter... surprisingly. Even I wasn't expecting it.

I REALLY need comments in this one. I'm not very satisfied with this chapter.

Walburga Black scoffed at her brother's position on the armchair of the sitting room, sipping on the Italian wine her husband had brought home. His legs were spread, elbows on the arms of the chair, one hand holding the glass and the other resting on his own chest, on top of the very last button of his waistcoat – he had left his outer layer somewhere else in the sitting room and his tie was resting on the back of the chair.

"You look like a drunken, brother," Walburga said through her teeth. "We'll have guests in a few minutes, please, pull yourself together."

"I'm going through a breakup, sister dear, please, allow me to wallow in my misery for a few more minutes before pulling me into a social interaction I did not ask for," Alphard grumbled. "Had it been my choice, I'd be in my own apartment, covered in wine and paint; and yet, here I am. Preparing to meet guests that I asked not for."

Walburga crossed her arms, resting her side and hip on the doorway as she raised her eyebrows in amusement.

"I thought you enjoyed Miss Lupin's company," she teased.

Alphard looked at her through his eyebrows, cocking his head to the side in interest.

"Miss Lupin, you say? Oh, I see," he said. He looked away once more. "While her company is certainly entertaining, I doubt her intentions of coming here is for an enjoyable conversation rather than a few minutes alone with Regulus. Though, I'm assuming she'll be here with her chaperone of choice – Lady Potter, yes?"

"Indeed."

"Then I have my partner in conversation and shall leave the youngsters to do as they wish, and I advise you do the same," Alphard said, sipping more of his wine. He hummed as he pulled the cup away, rolling his wrist as if to announce he had more to say. Walburga watched the wine roll inside the cup, hoping he wouldn't spill it everywhere. "You should know the sacrifice your son is making for your safety, Bria. It's honourable, but not unforeseen."

As a mother, Walburga knew that her son had no business protecting her, when the acceptable situation would be of her protecting him. Yet, she knew that her son loved her far too much to allow her to go into the war he was walking willingly into, even if that meant that he would be left alone. As a woman, however, she knew that Bellatrix's warnings of Regulus' future prosperous positions were safer than anything Bellatrix could ever pull – women rarely thrived in war, and when they did...

Walburga hated to think what would happen to Bellatrix almost as much as she dreaded to think of Regulus' future.

"Last year, around this time, that man was barely getting a name for himself in his friendship with Abraxas Malfoy, now so many of us are willing to wage war in his name," Walburga said, voice soft. She walked further into the room and sitting in the sofa across from Alphard's sitting place. "I would say it was unforeseen."

Alphard made a little noise, shaking his head side to side, looking out the window into the muggle street.

"I dare say otherwise. While the war brewing so fast has taken me by surprise, Regulus' decision does not. The Boxing Day after Regulus starting courting Miss Lupin, an argument broke out between Cygnus and him, remember?" he asked. Walburga grunted, distasteful of being reminded. "He did tell me he would do anything for this family, anything at all. And here he is, doing exactly that. He's the perfect fucking Heir, isn't he?" he asked, bitterly.

Walburga looked down, unsure as to why her chest filled with guilt and shame.

"Sir Arcturus –" she started.

"I'm sure he would be proud of how Regulus is turning out in the name of defending this family's honour... your honour," Alphard cut her off. "You raised him exactly like Arcturus wanted you to, exactly like our father wanted you to. What about you? – Are you proud of how you raised him?"

"I –"

"You raised him to kill and die for this family, to believe honour is more important than safety and glory comes with blood – in any way that he can get it," Alphard said, cutting her off again. Walburga didn't dare say anything, though annoyance bloomed in her blood. "Now, he'll fight a war for those ideals your pounded and hammered into his head from the moment he could understand the world."

Walburga waited for her brother to continue speaking, but he kept silent. Slowly, she gathered her bravery and confidence to speak her own mind.

"I never meant for all of this to happen," she admitted. "War was never an option in my mind. I just wanted him to make the family proud, like I did. I gave this family everything, I gave them two healthy boys and years and years of my life for the sake of raising them right – chivalry, strength, pride. I taught them exactly what they needed to be, and both of them came out... different from what the others hoped they would be."

"Why does it matter?" Alphard asked, scoffing at his sister's confession.

"I'm a woman, Alphard. The only way I can make everybody proud is by making my sons good enough!"

Alphard looked at her.

For a second, he saw the thirteen-year-old holding onto his robes in her wedding dress that was too big around her waist and shoulders before one of their female cousins fixed that. She had looked like a child playing in her mother's clothes, but acted like a desperate lamb being led to the slaughter, holding onto his robes and throwing herself to her knees, begging and pleading for mercy that would not come from him nor anyone else in that family.

"I'm proud of you regardless of what Sirius and Regulus do, Bria," Alphard said. "Is that enough?"

She didn't answer out loud, but they both knew the answer.

"I failed Sirius," she admitted.

"Sirius is a stubborn boy, he'll fight his own shadow if he as much as thinks it is challenging him," Alphard dismissed with another roll of his wrist, moving his cup. He sighed, sipping the wine again. "Had he had more patience and waited, we would've found a way around the situation. But – of course – he had to be just like you were. No patience, no logical thoughts – only fight, spite and vitriol to keep moving."

Walburga let out a little, weak laugh.

"We are very alike, are we not?" she said, something like pain in her voice.

Once more, Alphard looked at her, eyes softening radically at the way she finally looked her age, Early thirties, but ignorant of the real way of the world, just keen on pleasing the only family she had ever known.

"You are," he agreed, voice gentle. "But that's not always a good thing, Bria."

Affronted, Walburga raised her eyes to glare at her older brother. She crossed her ankles under her dress, leaning forward to look deeper into Alphard's eyes as to dare him to repeat his harsh words.

"How come my own son being similar to me is a fault, Alphard?" she asked.

"Because he's like you only when you were unhappy. He reminds me of you in the worst moment of your life, he does not thrive in the same sense you did. He did not learn to lift his chin and glare down at the problem, he learnt to punch it – and he continues doing so in his adulthood if common gossip is to be believed," Alphard said.

There was a moment of silence and Alphard worried his sister had taken even more offense in his explanation, putting her teenage-self side by side with her son, but when he looked at her, assessing the trouble, he found only a confused and curious woman trying to hide her curiosity even from herself.

"Gossip?" she asked in a little voice.

"He signed up for Auror training alongside James Potter, they were accepted in the first call. His grades were impressive, according to Elijah Parkinson," Alphard said.

"Elijah Parkinson?" she asked.

Alphard pursued his lips. "A dear friend of mine that... decided our friendship should end," he explained.

"The reason for the wine you drank copiously yesterday and insists on drinking again today," she guessed, filling the blanks.

"Indeed. A dear friend that had a lot of control over my heart. Such friendships are hard for me to find after... Magnus," Alphard said.

Walburga softened. She didn't know what it felt to lose a lover; she had her husband and only her husband her whole life, but she did remember the feeling of being torn away from her friends from Hogwarts in third year to get married, and that had hurt enough to bruise even now. Losing someone a lot more intimate than that sounded like hell, and she couldn't bear the thought alone.

"I'm sure Magnus would've been happy to see you happy, dear brother," was her diplomatic answer. She took a deep breath. "But perhaps would be upset at the amount of alcohol you've been drinking, eager to chase after Cygnus is his dependency of the liquid. Dare I say you control yourself a bit better this evening? For the sake of Miss Lupin's sensibilities if not for our family's honour."

Alphard scoffed again, but seeing Walburga's careful eyes made him lick his lips, pensive. He knew far too well the effects of Cygnus' violence had over Walburga. Orion had confided in him the nightmares she would have every other day that would make her jump off the bed, breathing erratic and eyes wide.

"I dare say Miss Lupin's sensibilities are not easily offended, sweet sister. Yours, on the other hand, seem to be on your sleeve." He leaned forward, giving her a reassuring smile and putting the cup on the table beside him. "I'm not Cygnus, Bria. You are safe. I'd rather die than hurt you. Besides, I can hold my liquor a lot better than Cygnus ever could."

Walburga looked at the wine glass.

"I like that wine as well," she admitted. "But it does rise at once."

"Has my brother-in-law gotten you drunk on occasion? A miraculous notion!" Alphard laughed, leaning back on the armchair again and crossing his legs. "I cannot imagine you drunk, I'll admit."

"Drunk is such a hideous word!" Walburga said, laughing.

"One you do not deny."

"I cannot."

"Pray, tell me," Alphard said.

"There is nothing to tell, Alphie, please," Walburga said, dismissing the subject with a movement of her wrist. "It was hardly worth mentioning, but it is the wine we drank to celebrate our wedding anniversary the year after Regulus was born."

Alphard gave a fond smile at the idea. "A happy wine!"

"A happy wine, indeed," Walburga agreed, smiling as well.

Before the conversation could go on, the noise from the parlour made Walburga's smile drop and her body rise. She stood, walking to the table where Alphard's cup rested and drinking the wine in a single sip. She gave him a warning look before walking out of the sitting room to find the rest of her family to greet the guests.

By the time Alphard walked out of the sitting room without his outer layer, relying on Luna's muggle sensibilities to not comment on the overly informal attire, Walburga was already leading Euphemia and Luna down the corridor towards the dining room, where Orion stood, opening the door.

"Hello, hello! Good evening!" Alphard greeted with a smile.

Luna was the first to look at him and smile brightly.

"Mister Black, hello!" she said back. "Good evening."

"Mister Alphard Black, hello to you," Euphemia added, turning around to look at him with a smile. "How are you?"

"I'm well, Lady Black. And you, I hope the same?" he said.

"Indeed, indeed," she dismissed, putting a hand on Luna's shoulder as a way to say that being 'well' included Luna.

Regulus descended the stairs with a smile, fixing his waistcoat without as much as looking at his mother as he walked straight towards Luna and took her hand, kissing her knuckles gently in greeting.

Walburga herded the ground into the dining room, ringing the bell for Kreacher to set the table.

After the expected pleasantries, they were all sat. Walburga and Orion on each head of the table, Luna and Alphard on one side and Regulus and Euphemia, Regulus being right across from Luna.

"Regulus and my husband have mentioned you have a new member in your family, a cousin living with you," Walburga said, settling on a neutral conversation.

"Yes, my cousin Leticia. She's my mother's niece. She came from Spain to live with us with her daughter," Luna said.

Walburga opened her mouth to ask about Leticia's husband, but when Regulus gave her a look, she decided it was for the best to keep her mouth shut.

"Ah, Sophia," sighed Orion, delightful. "Such a beautiful baby."

Walburga turned to look at her husband. "You saw the baby?"

Orion nodded. "I went to chaperone Regulus when you couldn't, met the mother and child. Quite the wonderful duo, I'll admit."

"You always loved babies," Alphard said, chuckling a bit. He leaned forward to put some wine on his new glass. He leaned back. "I remember this instance when I went to pick you up from the Academy and you were talking to one of your clients, with her child on your lap. The child didn't want to leave your arms for a single moment – that baby-boy was –"

"Baby-girl," Orion corrected, frowning slightly. He clearly didn't like the conversation. "I remember who you are talking about. It was Mrs Naqvi. She and her daughters had just gotten to England, she was newly widowed and very lost with the paperwork even though her English was wonderful."

"Well, lawyer English is not common language, I fear," Euphemia said with a little laugh. "And Mrs Naqvi is very grateful to you even to this day Lord Black. As an intern, you did a much better job than any expensive solicitor would have."

"I wanted to prove myself, so I had to overwork myself to the bone, as many would say," Orion answered. "I was comforted with the presence of the baby as well, of course. I rather like children."

Regulus glanced up from his plate and pressed his lips together. He disagreed with the sentence, obviously, but he wouldn't dare say it out loud, especially in front of dinner guests, though he would usually bring up the scar in his back or the litres and litres of alcohol Orion needed to drink to go to bed up until the year before.

Alphard looked at Regulus with deep, meaningful eyes. He knew what Regulus was thinking.

"Sophia is a very well-behaved baby, too," Euphemia added, smiling at Alphard. "Barely cries and is very extroverted, goes to everybody's arms without a single whine of complaint. Leticia is grateful for the help, I'm sure."

"And her husband?" Walburga asked.

Euphemia turned to Walburga.

"There's no husband," she answered.

Walburga pressed her lips together to keep her words in, but her eyebrows twitched a bit, announcing her inner dialogue regardless of her careful consideration. She had not been Occluding this time around, thinking it wouldn't be needed.

"I suppose that's the reason she came over to England," Walburga was satisfied in saying so. "However, it is good that her child is calm. I hear girls usually are calmer."

Euphemia gave a little chuckle. "I wouldn't know, I only had a boy," she answered.

Luna sipped her cup of water, watching the interaction before putting the cup back on the table.

"I don't think that would be true. My mother said that I cried a lot more than Remus as a baby, but as a toddler I cried less than Remus – I suppose we are taught to be quieter and calmer, but I don't think it's natural for women in general," Luna disagreed politely. She took a deep breath. "Sophia is whiny with Florian though."

Orion raised his eyebrows.

"Florian?" he asked.

Euphemia turned to Luna as well. "Is that your mother's friend's son?" she asked.

Luna nodded, letting a smile slip to her lips. Regulus chuckled a bit.

"Yes, Florian. Quite the interesting fellow, he is," Regulus said, leaning forward. "He's in the muggle academy, I believe, yes?"

"University, yes," Luna corrected, laughing a bit of Regulus' mistake. The boy didn't seem to mind. "He's studying Physical Education, he loves children. He gets along very well with them according to Patricia."

Euphemia reached for her water.

Walburga sipped her own wine and served herself more.

Luna turned to Regulus once more.

"Oh, by the way, Patricia is a witch!" she announced.

Something shifted in the room.

Luna wasn't sure what was her mistake. For a moment, she thought she had accidently used Regulus' first name or perhaps said a cuss word in her excitement to tell him about her new information, but it hadn't been her fault – not directly at least.

"I thought she was a healer, like your mother," Euphemia said, frowning.

"She's a neurosurgeon and the Head of the Hospital my mother is working in, but they got along so well that they became friends outside of it as well," Luna explained. "Patricia told us she was a witch when she saw my mother receiving that Ministry permission you requested for her, Auntie. It's very nice to see her in such a position in the muggle world – she said that her father was a neurosurgeon as well, which was so nice to hear as well, because apparently he knew my grandfather."

Alphard looked at his sister through the corner of his eyes, face pale. One would receive his facial expression as fear for her, as if he was concerned for her health, but the truth was that he was terrified of her, horrified of the possible reaction that was to come.

Orion went so still that he looked like a statue in his seat, hand over his cup of water, but not taking it off the table to take a sip. His face was paler than Alphard's, his hand hovering over the cup was trembling. His eyes wouldn't leave Luna's face, which was smiling at Regulus as if nothing was happening – as if she had not noticed the sudden shift of the mood around her.

Euphemia gulped, opening her mouth to change the subject, but Walburga was faster.

"What is her full name? Perhaps I know her," Walburga said.

Orion turned to his wife, eyes widening. He couldn't find his voice as despair choked his throat from the inside.

Smiling sickly sweet to Luna, Walburga leaned forward to get more information.

"Oh," Luna said. She blinked. "Waters. Patricia Waters."

Walburga felt her whole world crash down around her.

Euphemia was quick to put her hand on the table, getting Luna's attention towards her again.

"Luna, dear, perhaps –" Euphemia started in distress, but stopped herself when Walburga's goblet of wine was put back on the table with a little clank.

Walburga took a deep breath, looking to the side and whispering the elf's name, ordering him to bring out more wine.

She made no other reaction than look over at her husband, eyes cold and attentive, trying her best to see any sort of reaction coming from him. But, otherwise, for a long moment there was silence.

It wasn't the sort of silence that settled, it was the sort that sliced through the room like finely sharpened dagger cutting through flesh. It carried weight, sending a ripple through the carefully constructed façade of civility that she felt the need to continue in front of the guests and in front of her own son.

Orion's breath finally came back, his chest moved as he took a deep breath after holding back his breath for so long. His grip tightened around his cup of water. He looked at his brother-in-law in asking for guidance, but Alphard's expression across the table was dark, his own gaze snapping right back at Orion.

Walburga did not react. She tilted her head and used a low blink to disguise the sharp calculation behind her eyes.

Patricia Waters.

She had heard that name just a handful of time, and only one of those came from Orion's own mouth. It was a ghost's name, which haunted her marriage and Orion's nightmares, making him jump off the bed in search of a crying and scared woman that no longer knew what he looked like.

She looked up again, taking in Orion's reaction – fingers curled around the cup, hand trembling slightly, how his jaw clenched just a fraction too tight, his breathing weighing and slow.

Euphemia licked her lips, pulling her cup of water once more and drinking it slowly, unwilling to deal with the tension.

Regulus, ever perceptive, cast a wary glance between his parents.

Finally, Orion cleared his throat and spoke.

"That is... surprising," Orion said. "I have not heard such a name for a long time, indeed. I had no knowledge she was back in the country."

"Yes, she went to United States for quite some time," Luna said, eyes narrowing. She, too, was feeling the tension around the room. "She has returned to deal with everything her parents left her now that they passed. There's some property that she has to get rid of, so she's dealing with quite a few barristers."

Orion was just grateful he was a solicitor.

"It is a difficult process," was all Orion managed to say.

"My mum wrote to my dad, I think he'll take care of it for free along a muggle barrister. Sort of exchanging the money and the property to the magical world as well," Luna said. "I'm just glad I have nothing to do with the area, it seemed quite complicated."

"It is," Orion grumbled.

Alphard cleared his throat.

Regulus filled his glass with more water and offered some of it to Alphard, but his uncle took the wine pitcher and served himself some more as well.

"She plans to stay here, then. How fortunate!" Walburga said, falsely distracted.

"She's living in Bristol, though. A pity it's so far away. The chances of us meeting her naturally are low," Euphemia said, trying to comfort everybody and move the subject along. "However, it's wonderful that your father took the case, Luna. I hear that he is back to work after taking some time to recover from his illness, I'm glad to hear he's feeling better already."

Luna frowned at the forceful change of subjects, finally understanding the mistake: mentioning Patricia's name. She exchanged a look with Regulus, whose confusion was slowly disappearing only for weariness to replace it... - until she saw understanding in his eyes. There was a silent promise to tell her everything later.

By the time Luna and Euphemia go away, Regulus watches the way Orion tries to reach for Walburga's shoulder, the way that she shrugged his rare affection off and walked up the stairs, leaving Regulus and Alphard alone in the sitting room.

Alphard scoffed.

"You might want to sleep in my flat tonight, Reggie. This is going to be bad," Alphard grumbled.

Regulus looked away from the stairs to look at his uncle.

"Is she the woman my father was in love with?" Regulus asked, curious, but fearful of the answer.

Alphard sighed, hand over his face before putting his hands on his lap to look at his nephew with pity.

"She sure is," he answered. "There's everything to be her, at least. The dream job she wanted, the name – her child's name."

"Florian. The name of the first of the family to change into the English surname after coming to England," Regulus said. "It's... -- Do you think that Florian has anything to do with our family?"

Alphard shrugged. "How old is he?"

Regulus felt his stomach heavy.

"Older than Sirius," he answered.

"Well, then I suppose you really should sleep over at my flat, because your parents have a lot to talk about, and you might have an older brother," Alphard said, voice suddenly exhausted. "But before we go, I'm taking your father's wine with me."

What did we think? I hope you all liked it!