Walburga Black

"Stains of dishonour, filthy half-breeds, blood traitors, children of filth!"

- Portrait of Walburga Black screaming at members of the Order of the Phoenix

Walburga Black (1925 – 1985) was a pure-blood witch, the daughter of Pollux Black and Irma Crabbe and sister of Alphard and Cygnus. Walburga was born when her father was no older than thirteen, thus she probably was raised by another relative while her parents attended Hogwarts Her other two siblings were born before Pollux even turned of legal age. Walburga was probably raised in Grimmauld Place, since she called it the "House of my fathers". She married her second cousin Orion Black and had two children, Sirius and Regulus Black. She died in 1985; her portrait still remains at 12 Grimmauld Place.

Early life
Walburga was a member of the traditionalist pure-blood House of Black, who looked down on any except other "respectable" pure-blood wizards. She was the daughter of Pollux Black and Irma Crabbe, and sister of Alphard and Cygnus. She married her second cousin Orion and they had two children, Sirius and Regulus.

Family life and death
Her elder son Sirius Black 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 blasting people from the Black family tree which stood in the hall of the family home at 12 Grimmauld Place if they displeased her; she did so to her brother Alphard simply because he left gold to Sirius. According to Kreacher, Walburga was heartbroken by this abandonment.

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", until they saw that Voldemort was ruthless in his pursuit for power, at which point they got cold feet. Regulus was killed in 1979 after trying to destroy Voldemort's Horcrux. As Regulus forbade Kreacher from telling this to anyone, Walburga thought Regulus died trying to leave the organisation. Walburga's husband Orion and brother Cygnus also died in the same year. She died in 1985.

Post-mortem
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 happened 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 seemed equally deranged due to his parroting her beliefs, until Harry Potter came to know and treat him better one year after inheriting him.

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.
 * Walburga was also the given name of the mother of Josef Mengele, a Nazi doctor who conducted horrific experiments on prisoners in concentration camps. She was said to have been extremely cruel and a Nazi supporter, rather like Walburga Black's views on retaining blood purity.

Behind the scenes

 * In the film version of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Walburga's portrait was not heard screaming, but she could be heard muttering behind her curtain, and Kreacher still talked about the "scum" in 12 Grimmauld Place, such as "Mudbloods" and "Blood-traitors".
 * Walburga's father was only thirteen when Walburga was born, although it is possible this is a mathematical error on Rowling's part.
 * On the tapestry from the film, Walburga and Orion are depicted together, and their heads looking in different ways, although they are in marriage. This is likely because both Walburga and Orion were born into the House of Black.
 * Walburga was probably educated at Hogwarts as Horace Slughorn mentions that he has taught the whole Black Family.
 * Walburga may have known Tom Riddle as he was one year younger than her so she could have encountered him at Hogwarts.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Notes and references
Walburga Black Вальбурга Блэк Walburga Zwarts Walburga Musta