Walburga Black

"Mudbloods and filth dishonouring my house!"

- Portrait of Walburga screaming at Harry, Hermione and Ron

Walburga Black (1925 - 1985) was the daughter of Pollux Black and Irma Crabbe. She married her second cousin Orion Black and had two children, Sirius and Regulus Black.

Walburga was a member of the traditionalist pure-blood House of Black, who looked down on any except other pureblood wizards. Her elder son Sirius was a severe disappointment to her because he did not agree with the ideology of blood purity and was sorted into Gryffindor house at Hogwarts, rather than the family's traditional house, Slytherin. He was disinherited and removed from the Black Family tree when he left home at the age of sixteen to live with the Potter family. Walburga maintained a habit of erasing people from the family tree which stood in the hall of the family home at Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place if they displeased her; she did so to her brother Alphard simply because he left gold to Sirius.

Her younger son Regulus followed the family traditions and became his mother's favourite, and heir to the wealth, position, and traditions of the Black family. Regulus became a Death Eater during the First Wizarding War; although neither Walburga nor Orion were followers of Lord Voldemort themselves, according to Sirius, they thought he "had the right idea". Regulus was killed in 1979 after trying to leave the organisation. Walburga's husband and brother also died in the same year.

Walburga's portrait remains magically fixed to the wall in the hallway of her family home, using a Permanent Sticking Charm. The picture shows an insane old woman, prone to screaming insults at anyone who disturbs the portrait. This happens several times when the Order of the Phoenix use Grimmauld Place as their headquarters after her death. She survived the deaths of her family, but the destruction of it may account for her final madness. After their deaths, she was alone in the house except for the family house-elf, Kreacher, who seems equally deranged.

Etymology
Walburga is a variation of the name Walpurga, who was a saint for whom Walpurgis Night is named. Historically, Walpurgis Night was considered to be a time when the barrier between the living and the dead was weak and when witches held celebrations. In history, Walburga was the name of Josef Mengele's (a Nazi doctor who conducted horrible medical experiments at Auschwitz during the Holocaust) mother. She was said to have been extremely cruel and a Nazi supporter, rather like Walburga Black.