Gods, this didn't make any sense. None of it did. Alphard felt numb as the shock and horror of it all continued to wash over him, to lap up against him with every word she spoke. He had absolutely no idea what to make of this, of any of this. It was one thing for him to be disowned all by himself. He half expected it should anyone find out about his proclivities. However, they had nothing to do with what was to come to pass. Sirius would simply hold different ideals and because Alphard did not abandon him, he would be cut off as well. Walburga's own son and brother and yet she would...
Alphard knew his sister's temper well. He had seen it many a time in his youth. It was something he had learned to live with, but never had it been directed at him. He had never been made to suffer Walburga's wild and stubborn whims. He never thought he would have to given how close they were. How could she possibly do this to him? To her son? Alphard felt sick all over again, the grip on his tumbler almost breaking it before he tossed back the scotch in a single swallow. Every inch of him recoiled from her words and yet they were the truth. He could hear it in her voice, see it in her posture. Walburga would not push something so far and very rarely did she get emotional like this. It was funny in a sick sort of way since it was her future self that would be the cause of all of this.
The part of Alphard that so adored his sister, that used to and sometimes still did hang off her every word, longed to smooth the cracks from her voice and assure her it was all fine. The problem was that it wasn't all fine. Not even a little bit. It was wrong and harsh and Alphard hurt just to think of it. He would lose his sister, his brother, their children. Oh, he would have Sirius and that did go a great ways towards easing the pain, but Sirius would lose the same as him. He would actually lose more, because at least Alphard could keep them for a while longer. Sirius must have been so young. "How- could you?" Alphard finally managed to find his voice, the words rasping up from his throat as he clenched his jaw and tried to draw away from the pain to settle on his anger.
Walburga had thrown a tantrum like she usually did. That must have been what happened. She always threw them whenever she did not get her way and because of it she would lose her son and brother and they would lose everyone else. It made him furious and hurt and he wanted to reach out and shake her. Alphard never minded that part of Walburga. Usually he could deal with it, get her to calm down. Sometimes it was over the top, but it had never resulted in something as truly awful as this before. "You did not get your way and so you disowned me. Sirius. Both of us?" Any kindness or concern was wiped from his face as he put up a wall, not letting the one person he usually did in to how much he hurt. The pain was sharp and raw as he fixed his angry gaze on her, demanding answers as he reached for the bottle of scotch to pour himself another glass.