Sabrina Prasinos was not having the best of Samhains. Ever since she moved to England in December of 1981, life had been a veritable roller coaster ride of highs and lows. Not that many of the local wixen even knew what a roller coaster was, with how utterly archaic British Wixen tended to be. "Backwards racist pigs" became a phrase she was often heard saying, usually when she was beyond earshot of anyone who would actually be offended by said words, though the fact she tended to curse in Greek tended to limit other's ability to figure out how really angry she was. She had moved to England as word of the local terrorist activity came to an end, though how the locals tended to call it a war really made her question why she decided to stay in the first place. She arrived safe in the knowledge that the locals would need every potions expert available to help with reconstruction. She brought her ICW credentials with her and applied to get the local certification and licensing to start selling potions in the magical community and helping out the locals. But things just couldn't go as planned, could they?
Just before she received her license as a potions mistress and authorization to run an apothecary either in Diagon Alley, any of it branching streets, or any other of the scattered wixen enclave in Britain, the bloody Wizengamot had to pass a legislation banning foreigners from running businesses in said areas, without having the backing of a Noble House or higher. The entire history of the Wizengamot and its houses only goes as far back as 1200 years, while her family, The Prasinos, are one of the oldest unbroken line of wixen in the history of Europe, stretching back to the city-states of Ancient Greece. Though sure, the name has changed with the evolution of the spoken and written word, but their blood has held magic longer than any of the so called "blood purists." As a foreigner she was initially unfamiliar with any of the members of the Wizengamot and while she did look up who was who, she wasn't going to put herself in a precarious position that could get her indebted to, or worse, forced to marry any of the less than "noble" members of society, no matter what their family's title says. Regardless, her initial plans were amended and instead of running a legitimate apothecary in any of the wixen only areas, Sabrina was now running a borderline, questionable "herbal medicine" shop in non-magical London, though the fact that wixen could come in and "acquire" potions was certainly never overtly broadcasted.
The shop was more than just her business, of course. It was home. A 3 floor, brick and mortar house, its color and size indistinguishable from the other half a dozen houses that were wall to wall against each other in the narrow slip of a street. Her shop, "Natural Herbs and Ointments'' (Sabrina blames her father for her less than perfect track record on naming...well...anything) took up half of the lowest floor, the other half being her lab and workstation in the back. The second floor was just your typical family room, dining room and kitchen packed as tightly together as possible, with the third and final floor being her bedroom, a guest room that acts more as a storage room, a laundry room and a bathroom, with just a sloped attic rounding out the place. Sure, she could spell her home to be bigger on the inside, but the fact that she tended to both magical and none magical clients (and the fact that the building, while heavily warded, is registered with the none magical government) meant she needed to be as careful as possible so as to not run a mock of the Statute of Secrecy. Her notice-me-not enchantments on the shop were the only thing keeping none magical eyes off of her more "exotic" wares.
Of course, if she were always careful, she wouldn't be walking the dark streets near her home on Samhain, of all the bloody nights. The area, while not as dangerous as the more rundown sections of London, was still quite...nerve wracking at night, especially with quite a few street lights needing replacing. She had had the distinct pleasure of playing midwife to a less than financially stable wixen couple and managed to safely deliver them their baby boy a few hours after sundown. Sabrina let out a deep sigh, her breath visible in the very cold night, letting the warming charm she hastily applied to her coat chase some of the cold away. Noting the thin layer of snow on the ground, an oddity this soon in the year and deep in the city, she changed directions, taking a more roundabout route home in order to be in the more well lit streets just before home. Her careful steps did little to stop her mind from returning to the happy couple and their little boy.
Sabrina knew she would never experience the horror yet absolute miracle that was childbirth. Her family, while long standing and blessed with many branches of healthy sons and daughters, also had a habit of producing sterile members. Unlike the racist pigs of Britain, the Prasinos almost never intermarried specific magical families, constantly mixing themselves all across Europe with those their members fell in love with. Unlike most Ancient Houses, and the Prasinos could call themselves The Most Ancient of Ancients if the Family Head ever grew too prideful, her Family never really held a single Ancestral Home. Sure, there are some really massive and old properties across all of Europe and North Africa, but the family itself was scattered throughout most of their lives, only having gatherings when changes were made to who was Head of Family, who would be Heir and a few when new members were added through marriage or birth, mostly both. Her own mother, Selene Prasinos, had jokingly called them the Roma of the magical community (though Sabrina had met some magical Roma and their reaction to said statement was...loaded, to say the least). Still, despite the fact that the family was genetically as diverse as possible on continental Europe, there were a few cases of sterility among its members, herself included.
Sabrina gently ran her hand over her abdomen and sighed, thoughts of bronze haired, blue eyed children that would never be dredging up years worth of pain and loneliness as she approached a small park just a few blocks away from home. She looks across the street and smiles slightly, remembering her own childhood in West Germany, the snow covered ground and trees reminding her of many a Yule morning with her parents, both presently sharing a grave long before she ever crossed the English Channel. Her next step stilled as something caught her eye in the park. In a few quick movements, she crossed the street and looked closer, her heart all but frozen in terror. There in the park, on a field of fresh snow was a small body, its hair as black as fresh ink, its clothes tattered and ripped. What made her dash across the park and straight to the body, faster than she thought herself possible, even with the aid of magic, wasn't the state of the clothes or the odd hour of the night, but what she saw pooling into the ground around it. There, in one of the innumerable parks doting the city of London, a child's body lay still on the ground, the snow around it stained crimson with its blood.
Sabrina smashed her shop's door open after unlocking it with her wand, her control over the wards being the only reason the door closed itself behind her as she cradled the body of a little girl against her chest. She did everything she could with her wand at the park, stabilizing the girl's life before rushing her home with the aid of her potions. She delved deep into her Occlumency, desperate to bury her emotions while she did everything to save the little girl's life. Her healer's diagnostic spell had shown her a glimpse of every mother's deepest nightmare; a body rife with scars new and old, an unholy number of broken and poorly healed bones, severe malnutrition and internal bleeding, including deep vaginal and anal tearing. Had the girl been a normal child she would have long since been dead. Even as she ran across her lab, picking and gathering every potion she needed to save her life, she could feel the girl's magic. It felt feral, wild and desperate. Instinctually her magic was doing its best to keep her alive, even with the girl's mind being inactive. Sabrina wasn't sure if the girl being unconscious was a good thing or not. She hoped the girl wouldn't freak out as soon as she woke. She had seen and read enough descriptions about the damage an Obscurial could do and she desperately hoped that the girl would be spared such a fate.
The next few hours became a blur in Sabrina's mind as she finished her last bout of dry heaving. Hours of diagnostic and healing spells, countless potions that she had to carefully select and feed the unconscious girl in the correct order, lest she ended up poisoning her. She washes her face safe in the knowledge that the girl would live. Though in what state her mind would be was another question. She thought about taking her to St. Mungos but quickly dismissed it. When she saw the girl was magical, she did what any healer worth their salt should do (not that she had a healers license in Britain, only back in West Germany, and running the shop for almost seven years wasn't the best way to study to update it again) and ran magical trace spells. What she found made any thought of taking her to any official magical healers mute. Traces of parasitic magic in what appeared to be a cursed scar on her chest, an uneven and tattered magical core that suggests someone tried to strip her of her magic and failed, traces of monitoring spells tied to her blood. Someone magical had gone through a lot of trouble to keep the girl away from magic and had clearly known she was living in danger for her life but did nothing. How all the foreign elements of magic were purged out of the girl was a mystery she was happy to leave alone, the traces on the cursed scar alone were enough to make her feel ill. Now all she needed to do was figure ou-
The sound of a whimper and some breaking vials snap Sabrina's attention back to the little girl as she opens the washroom door tied to her lab. Her eyes take in the room until she spots the little girl underneath her desk, her side facing out, hands loose, ready to cover any attempts at hurting her. Sabrina's heart broke further at the obvious signs of abuse. She did her best to bury any signs of anger, she couldn't add more fear to her. "It's ok, I am not going to hurt you little one. You have nothing to be scared of here", Sabrina finally managed to say as calm and gentle as she could.
The girls eyes, a very vivid shade of green, looked straight at Sabrina's eyes, clearly looking for any sign of deceit. The eyes then turned to look at something away from Sabrina and she herself turned to see what was bothering the girl. She sees the broken glass on the floor and understands. She turns back to the girl and smiles, "nothing to worry about. I can clean it up right quick. You mind?" The last words she says as she pulls out her wand, making extra sure to keep it pointed away from her and as non threatening as possible. The girl looks at the wand, concern written on her face as well as curiosity. As Sabrina guessed, this was the first wand the girl has ever seen. With a gentle flick, Sabrina silently vanishes the broken vials on the floor.
The little girl's eyes are full of wonder, though the fear remains. Sabrina smiles at her, "See, all gone." She puts the wand away, so as not to make the girl any more worried. "You can come out now. There are no bad people here and I promise, I won't hurt, yell or punish you for anything you have or haven't done." Sabrina can see the girl's eyes studying her again. She could see that the girl wanted to believe her, but her fear of whatever those monsters did to her kept her from accepting. Sabrina runs through her mind what she knows about how to show care and affection but most are physical contact, which this girl has likely never known and would probably respond badly to. Maybe…
Sabrina stretches out with her magic, keeping it as warm and gentle as possible. She sees when the girl feels it as it touches her and her own magic. At first the girls magic seems to coil inwards, seeking to keep itself, and the girl, safe. But as more time passes and Sabrina's magic remains pleasant and comforting, both the girl's magic and the girl herself seem to open up, as two bright green eyes, now clearly filled with the presence of magic look into a pair of equally bright blue eyes. Sabrina keeps her voice gentle, letting her magic act through it as well making her feelings clear to the girl, letting her feel the truth through the magic. "I promise, you are safe here with me, no one will hurt you."
The seconds turn to minutes as Sabrina waits, keeping her magic wrapped gently though loosely around the girl. Then, something breaks the silence. Something that all but melts Sabrina's heart. "Promise?" Softly spoken, as if she hasn't spoken in a very long time, but filled with equal parts hope and resignation. Sabrina looks at the girl deep in the eyes, "Promise." The next thing Sabrina knows is that a tiny body launched itself at her, her arms hugging the little girl back as the child cries herself hoarse on her shoulder. From that moment on Sabrina knew that her once impossible dream was now all too real. She had a daughter. Their magic wrapped around each other and came to the same conclusion, binding the two lives together. The child was hers now and Sabrina would do everything in her power to give her a better life. Sabrina began searching through her memories for everything her own mother had done for her when she was young, storing her version of "The Talk" away for much, much later, as she carried the little girl up the stairs towards her bedroom. The guest bedroom is going to need a thorough cleaning.