Cygnus Black did not like being summoned to Black Manor by his cousin and her misbegotten whelp of a son. He glared at the glowing wards as he waited to be welcomed to the home that should rightfully have been his own. He glared down at his hands and imagined casting every dark spell he could on Walburga.

"Mother will see you, now." Sirius leaned against the door jamb and waived his fingers to release the wards. "I wouldn't try any of the things you were imagining. She's wicked with a wand."

"I am not some lackey." Cygnus snarled at Orion's get. "I am a member of this family."

"Of course, cousin." Sirius bowed low and somehow still managed to leave him feeling mocked. "Please allow me to escort you to your audience with my mother."

Cygnus followed a half pace behind the younger wizard. He ignored the portraits. He didn't understand why Walburga kept them all in this gallery. He saw the ebony doors open before they had passed the last portrait and felt an odd surge of relief.

He stepped into the room and nearly stumbled as he took in the pair arrayed before him. Walburga watched him from her perch on the edge of her chair. He didn't let his eyes slide to the witch beside her.

"I've asked you here because it has come to my attention that you have treasonous and selfish heart." Walburga smiled at him like a predator. "You knew Sirius was innocent, and you knew that Regulus was killed by the thing that held your leash. You did not bring this information to the head of this house."

"You speak of the Dark Lord with such disrespect?" Cygnus glared at the witch before him with contempt. "He will rise again."

"He will have no use for you, cousin." Walburga waived her hand and his shirt and robes ripped displaying his marked arm for all to see. "Your allegiance should have been to this house, to this family. You made your choice. Perhaps the House of Riddle will have a place for you."

"You can not cast me out." Cygnus yanked his wand from its hidden pocket in his robe. The curse was flying from its top before he realized his error.

"The magic of our house is strong." Walburga watched as the curse seemed to freeze in midair. She stood and walked around him, pausing to examine the spell that was slowly deteriorating before his very eyes.

"How long does he have?" Andromeda asked from her chair.

"Not long." Walburga glanced back at his greatest disappointment. "I would have enjoyed having him suffer for centuries, but I suppose a week as less than a squib is better than nothing."

"You can't do this to me." Cygnus forced the words out of his mouth. "The Dark Lord protected me after Arcturus chose Orion."

"Your Dark Lord was a fool. All of that power and skill would have been welcomed in many a house. He could have revived the House of Gaunt and been beholden to no one." Walburga swept around him in a wide circle as he struggled against the paralysis holding him in place. "You lured my son into his service. You cast out your own flesh and blood. You sold Narcissa to Malfoy. You would see our house in ashes around us, but I will not let it come to that. Your wife will be a widow soon. Andromeda and Narcissa will help me to groom our next Matriarch."

"Sirius can't give you an heir." Cygnus forced his lips up in a smile. "I made sure of it."

"My heir will marry Draco in a partnership of equals. She will take on House Black from him. He will retain the power over House Malfoy." Walburga paused in front of him and smiled. "Take comfort that your line will eventually help make our House strong again."

"You won't be forgotten, Father." Andromeda joined Walburga. "We will hold your life up as an example for future generations. They will learn to value their House and their family, and yours will be the name they whisper in fear."

Cygnus felt as if weights were dragging at his body. Parts of his body were numb, but the parts that weren't bloomed with pain. He looked at his daughter and curled his lip.

"I cast you out." He snarled. "You have no right to be here."

"You were unable to cast her out. You disinherited her." Walburga settles back into her chair. "Only the head of a house can cast a member out. I am the head of this house, and I am casting you out. Your name will no longer sing in our hearts, your blood will no longer run with our magic, and your power will be reclaimed."

"You can't." Cygnus felt the bile rising in his mouth. He could smell his own blood as it raced through his veins. "The Wizengamot will not allow this."

"This is a House matter. The Wizengamot will do nothing." Her wide, malicious grin sent shivers through him. "Your attack sealed your fate. I do not sit in judgement here. I am but a mouthpiece for the magic we all share. Our magic finds you wanting."

"Andromeda, help me." He reached out toward his child, but she stepped back.

"Bad choice, there." Sirius chuckled. "I was all for simply killing you, but Mother said your magic needed to be cleansed. It seems that you are a blight."

Cygnus felt it then. He felt the weight dragging at his magic. He felt the fire where his body still fought and the numbness where it had already lost. He blinked as his memory unraveled. The paralysis gave way, but he fell to the ground unable to flee. An odd hum filled his mind and he focused on the stars painted on the ceiling. He looked to the stars that were his, the stars given in to his care at birth, and felt something break inside him. Tears slid freely from his eyes as every mistake was laid bare before him. He couldn't hide behind his own lies. He couldn't deny his own avarice. There was no respite. There was no salvation. He watched as his stars dimmed and let his eyes fall closed.

"We are the keepers of the light, guardians of the stars, preservers of fate. We must always stay true to our magic and our purpose." Walburga stood up slowly and looked up to the ceiling. "Toujours pur."

"Toujours pur." Sirius and Andromeda responded.

"He will need to be taken to Saint Mungo's. He has no name at all. He will not be able to recall it. No one will recognize him." She looked down at the man sprawled on the floor at her feet. "Sirius, make sure to leave a large donation for his care. He won't last long without magic."

"Why see to his care at all?" Sirius stepped closer to her. "He's hurt so many of us."

"We are not animals, my son." Walburga stroked his cheek. "Look what our girl has done."

She pointed to the ceiling where a new collection of stars blinked brightly. The shape of a daffodil twinkled down at them. Andromeda gasped.

"Our duty is to guard her. We thought this ability lost to us." Walburga smiled gently. "She will restore us in ways we can not foresee. Would that man have accepted her? Would that man have understood the blessing she brings us?"