Prompt #483 – Affinal – A Mother's Reflections – slashluv18 – Harry Potter

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Title: A Mother's Reflections
Fandom: Harry Potter
Prompts: #483 – Affinal
Warnings: None
Pairings: None
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 761
Summary: Violetta thinks about her children.

Violetta looked at the elegant family photos in silver frames. They were of different times in her family. In some of them, her husband was a mere child. In others, he was a grown man, stern and distinguished, a true Pure-blood wizard, an excellent representation of what a member of the Black family should be like.

Violetta knew the husband chosen for her by her parents was well picked. She couldn't have asked or a better husband. And she was proud of who she was related due to an affinal relationship.

Her gaze traveled to the more recent photo. They were the ones that included her and her children. She looked at the photo of the wedding ceremony. Neither Cygnus nor Violetta were smiling, but they held their heads up high in pride, knowing they were matched perfectly for each other. Their beliefs were similar and neither one of them were afraid to speak their mind to the other, making the relationship equal in every way.

It didn't matter that they weren't in love. They respected each other, and that was all they needed for a successful marriage.

The next photo she looked at was of her, Cygnus, and baby Pollux. Even as a baby, Violetta knew he would be a strong one. He very rarely cried and was an independent tyke since he was able to walk.

She completely ignored the next photo, moving her eyes to the one that showed her and Cygnus with their first daughter, Cassiopeia. She was a quiet thing like Pollux, but it was in a different way. It was as if she was quiet because didn't desire anything, not because she could take care of herself.

Pollux took to being an older brother quite well, and he took care of Cassiopeia more than Violetta or Cygnus did sometimes. And Cassiopeia absolutely adored her big brother. She used to follow him around and beg him to read to her.

The next photo depicted Cygnus and Violetta with their youngest child, Dorea. Her younger daughter was the exact opposite of her older daughter. While Cassiopeia loved books and experiments, Dorea loved dresses and dolls. While Cassiopeia loved her oldest sibling, Dorea loved her second oldest sibling.

Violetta sighed sadly, turning to the photo she had avoided looking at. It was a photo of Marius, her second oldest child, her youngest son, and her biggest disappointment.

It was one of the few photos they had kept of Marius. She wasn't sure why since it reminded them of how Marius never lived up to the family's expectations.

Marius was gone, put in a Muggle orphanage. He never showed signs of magic, and Cygnus had demanded he'd be taken to the healer. Violetta did that, and their worst fears were confirmed: Marius was a squib.

She remembered the day well.

"Cygnus, there's nothing that can be done; he's a squib, and there's no reversing that."

"How can any of my children be a squib?"

Violetta shrugged, flicking her bangs out of her eyes. "No one knows how it happens, but we can't just ignore it. The problem won't go away unless we make it go away." She paused, taking a steadying breath, steeling herself for what she had to say. "You know what we have to do. We can't let him taint the Black family tree." It didn't matter that she wasn't born a Black; she married into the name, and she'd protect the family's rich history.

Cygnus nodded. "He'll be gone by the morning. What are we going to do about Dorea? You know she'll be heartbroken."

"She'll get over it when she realizes we're doing what's best for the family." Her voice was uncompromising; it had to be. Otherwise, she'd allow her own heartbreak to shine through the cracks.

Dorea had been heartbroken, but she had grown up after being forced to face the reality that life wasn't pretty and nice.

Violetta focused on her other children, pretending that she had only ever given birth to three. It was easy with most of the photos of Marius being nothing more than ash.

She reached out to the photo of a smiling Marius standing with his whole family. She caressed the face she still remembered if she closed her eyes. And with a shuddering exhale, she placed the photo facedown, no longer able to look at it.

And she turned away, ready to continue on with her duties as a Pure-blood wife and mother. She had children to tend to, three of them, no more and no less.