End of Sallow

Pilot

CW: CHILD ABUSE! VIOLENCE!

The man stared down at the baby. He'd never had to care for a proper newborn before, and this baby was already fussy.

"The fuck is wrong with it?" Podex hissed, holding the bundle of blankets out towards Snape, who in turn took the child.

"It's a baby, they're needy," Snape muttered, rocking the infant, though a look of disgust was on her face, as if she didn't want to deal with the baby either.

"Where did it come from?" Podex asked, wiping his hands on his shirt, as if worried something might have transferred from the baby to his hands.

"A whore. Died during childbirth."

"Any name?"

"She only went by her first name, Annabelle. She never gave the father's name. She probably doesn't know either." Snape said, finally relived that the baby had stopped fussy. When she looked down at the baby she was startled to see how grey the baby's eyes were. Weren't they supposed to be blue?

The baby's eyes were wide, blinking rapidly against the light.

"I never said I'd take on infants," Podex muttered.

"You don't have a choice, it's an orphanage. And if the muggles investigate you, that'll bring the ministry as well. Is that what you want?"

Podex huffed and waved his hand. "Handle it, then. I'll be in the basement, don't let anyone disturb us," he muttered, grabbing the boy near them by the collar of his shirt and yanking the child with him.

Snape rolled her eyes and turned to find another boy staring up at her.

His bright blue eyes glared up at her with an unusual amount of ferocity for a five-year-old. "Is that a boy or a girl?" He asked, his Scottish lilt almost impossible to understand. He was one of the newer charges, his mother had been unable to take care of him any longer. Kid had adapted though, no tears, just pure anger.

Snape blinked before realizing she'd never checked. She lifted the swaddle to see. "Boy."

"What's 'is name?"

"You name it." She answered flatly.

The five-year-old took his job very seriously, pondering for so long that Snape turned to go look into getting baby formula for the parasite.

"Hawke."

She turned to give the boy a side-eye. "A bird? That can't be his first name."

"Fine, it'll be 'is last name." the boy shrugged. Snape sighed.

"It needs a first name, Alec."

"Why? I'ma just call 'im Hawke. We aren't friendly enough to go by firs' names yet."

Snape rolled her eyes. "I fucking hate children," she muttered, moving past the boy and into the shared living quarters. There were about ten children in the room, including Gunn now that he'd entered behind her.

"Need a name."

"For what?" A girl asked, her brown frizzy hair done in pigtail braids. If Snape remembered correctly, her name was Abbigail.

Snape held up the infant who was still blissfully silent. "Boy."

"Oh, Malcom!"

"George!"