There were quite a lot of things Alphard was prepared for. He was a Black, after all. He had been raised for a number of things. While he wasn't nearly as good at maintaining his composure as his brother and sister were, he had it in him to mask a good portion of his emotions. It was how he managed to hold his features in a neutral expression as he watched Walburga polish off her glass of scotch before reaching for another one. Whatever it was she had to tell him, it seemed like it was worse than he'd originally thought.
The moment the word disowned left her mouth, he felt his heart stop and his stomach bottom out. After all, that could not be correct. He was 28 bloody years old. He had survived in their family for 28 years. Yes, he had his secrets and yes they were massive, but how could it be that he would be disowned after keeping them all under wraps for almost 3 decades. Tightening his hold on his tumbler, Alphard's knuckles went white as he continued to stare at his sister. He was disowned. Disowned. The one thing he feared most in this world, losing his family, and it had happened. How? Alphard felt sick, but he held it in check. His heart continued to pound relentlessly in his chest though, mind scrambling to make sense of what she had just said. "Disowned." he repeated, feeling numb as he shook his head and took a sip of his own scotch. "And Sirius?" he added, brow furrowing for a moment regardless of his effort to keep his face neutral.
"I don't- understand." he admitted after a long moment, licking his lips as he tried to keep himself calm. Maybe she was joking. Perhaps she was simply mistaken. There was no way he could have been disowned. He had already overcome the obstacle of marriage. There were heirs already in place. His parents had long since given up forcing him into a union. Perhaps the issue came back up or ... perhaps they had discovered his inclinations. Did Walburga know what he was? Had she any idea? Alphard's skin felt too small, mouth dry as he sat there waiting for her to further elaborate. If Walburga knew, surely she would have said something. Finding out your perfect baby brother fancied sleeping with blokes on the sly was not something she would keep quiet about. Then again, she had held her tongue about this. Perhaps she was under the impression that if she did not speak of it it would simply go away? He had spent years trying to make it go away though and it was just not possible. Still, could he have been so stupid as to get caught and lose everything?
His stomach churned. His mind spun. All he could do was stare blankly at his sister, waiting for another blow.