Morrigan Nova Peverell was born under…strange circumstances.
Actually, strange couldn't even begin to describe them.
Not only had she arrived into the world at the very height of the First Wizarding War, and on the brink of Samhain, otherwise known as Halloween, her presence inside her mother's womb had gone completely unnoticed until it was already too late for her to get rid of the unexpected baby.
Even stranger, Katherine and Orland Peverell, for the life of them, couldn't remember how they had managed to conceive Morrigan in the first place.
They had known the dangers of the War, known that any child of theirs would instantly be marked a prime target for the prophecy of the Chosen One, the one who would defeat the Dark Lord Voldemort with a power he knew not. To add to their plight, the Peverell bloodline had been cursed, a very long time ago, with being able to only have one child per generation.
It was for these reasons that they took extreme care to avoid conceiving in the first place, going as far as isolating themselves in separate houses so that they would not be tempted.
Orland Peverell was a rebellious man, but even though he had abhorred the inherent Dark magic of the Peverell line, he was loath to be the one to let it die out: the Peverells were one of the most ancient and powerful bloodlines, not in just the British Isles, but in the entirety of the world.
Orland feared the wrath of the Olde Magick if it discovered one of the founding families of the Wizarding World was no more.
So, even though they were quite reluctant to do so, Katherine and Orland Peverell fled the Wizarding War, taking Morrigan with them, hiding deep inside an ancient manor that belonged to their family, waiting, watching.
However, they knew that they could not remain with Morrigan for long. Their purpose lay somewhere else — right in the midst of the action going around them. Morrigan needed a family, but they could not be that for her right now. They were simply too jaded, too angry. Their souls yearned to return to the War. They had gained too much of a reputation, too many responsibilities, too many losses to remove themselves from fighting just for one child.
They couldn't help but think, how many must have died by now, alone and terrified, simply because the Peverells weren't there to protect them? How many more would their negligence cost?
But still, the Peverells did not hate Morrigan.
Perhaps dislike the consequences her birth brought to them, yes. But never did the Peverells blame Morrigan for that. It wasn't her fault that she had been born, after all.
No, she was still completely their child, despite the strangeness of her birth. They loved her as much as any other parent, but knew that their harsh, war-like states were not the kind of behaviour she needed to see at such a young age.
If anything, Morrigan's birth strengthened the Peverells' desire to continue fighting. They had experienced the joy of having a child, and it connected them with the victims of the Death Eaters much more intimately.
And so, unable to deal with it all anymore, Orland and Katherine Peverell made the worst decision of their lives: they, in a moment of impulsiveness, entrusted Morrigan to Albus Dumbledore, trusting that he, who had been their trusted teacher and war leader for several years, could take her to a suitable foster family that could care for her while the War raged on, and then collect her from them after.
This was very wrong on many levels, but Albus Dumbledore did not protest. He had been interested by the child for quite some time — ever since he'd visited the Peverells in their hidden manor to relay the main events which had taken place while they had hidden away, and spotted the mark shimmering on her left hand.
It was a mark that only a few knew about, and it was not a good omen to find. Albus knew the moment that he saw that sign etched on a little girl's hand, that she was to become a formidable, formidable witch.
Now, hearing that the Peverells had entrusted the child to him, of all people, placed Albus in quite the pickle indeed.
He was an old, unmarried man. He had never had children of his own. How on earth was he supposed to find a suitable caretaker for a child this young, with so much potential for the Dark?
He did not delude himself thinking that he would be the best caretaker for little Morrigan. The whole fiasco with Tom Riddle made it clear that he could not 'steer' children destined for the Dark to the Light, for it would bring the Dark to the child instead.
So, to put it quite frankly, he did not understand children, and therefore thought himself as an unsuitable person to find a foster family for Morrigan Peverell.
So he did the next best thing: he took the child to Lily and James Potter, who were in hiding and had recently given birth to a child of their own. His ability as a child caretaker was questionable, but he placed faith in his abilities to cast magic — the Potters were under a Fidelius Charm which could not be broken unless their secret keeper gave them away.
And Albus knew who that secret keeper was — Sirius Black. He knew from the boy's days in Hogwarts that he would much rather get tortured by a thousand Cruicos than give away the location of his best friend's family.
Lily Potter, who had been Katherine's friend through Severus Snape, gladly accepted the responsibility. James, although hesitant, allowed the girl to stay despite his initial reservations on the matter. Slytherins and Gryffindors hardly got along, after all, but Lily convinced him to make an exception — to see them not as Slytherins, but as two of the fellow witches and wizards who were fighting against Voldemort, not for him.
Albus left them to their devices, relieved, only to be informed of their deaths a mere year later.
He had rushed to Godric's Hollow in a panic, searching desperately for the two children that must have survived the curse, they simply must have, and found the boy, Harry, wailing loudly in his cradle, a jagged scar across his face in the shape of sowilo - strength and courage, although Albus doubted anyone else would realise.
He started as a sudden movement came from the cradle, and Morrigan Peverell sat up, blinking calmly at him with eyes the colour of the Killing Curse. A lazy smile played across her face as she stared at him, as if nearly getting killed by the most feared wizard in all of Wizarding Britain was something that happened every day. She seemed remarkably unhurt, but Albus noticed her mark glowing an eerie shade of silvery-blue, casting shadows all around the destroyed house.
He looked at the pile of smouldering robes on the floor, and wondered again: what, exactly, had happened here?
The noise of a thundering motorcycle engine jolted him from his mind. He cast one last look back at the robes and shook his head, muttering a soft spell that lulled the children to sleep, before carefully separating Harry from Morrigan and taking him to Rubeus Hagrid, who would bring the boy to his new home with his aunt and uncle.
The girl would be returned to her parents, and Albus would do his best to forget this night until their days in Hogwarts were due to begin.
The girl would be returned to her parents, and Albus would do his best to forget this night until their dys in Hogwarts were due to begin.