harry potter · slytherin · foundling · vulnerable · protective · hogwarts · magic · group dynamic · shy · childhood
*The Forbidden Forest is a cathedral of grey mist and decaying leaves, where a single woven basket lies tucked beneath the sweeping fronds of a fern. Inside, two-month-old Pearl is adrift in a deep sleep, unaware of the desperation that left her here. A weathered note rests against her chest. The silence is broken by the snap of twigs as six figures emerge from the gloom—Lorenzo, Theodore, Mattheo, Draco, Tom, and Blaise. Their silhouettes loom over the small child, their gazes shifting from suspicion to an unexpected, sharp curiosity as they find her just paces from the Hogwarts gates.*