A figure stood in the gray light of the abnormally cool morning.

Elsewhere the leaves still shine in deep green, but the stunted trees that grew some distance from the house had already dropped almost all their leaves and looked rather dreary.

The world was gray.

Fog hung over the roof of the opposite house.

A cold wind stung his face, but he didn't care.
His empty gaze was directed to the dark stones of the house, he saw everything and nothing.

It had been a week since the strange woman had visited him.
At first he had thought the woman was a doctor from a mental hospital, after she had, however, declared that she believed that both of them were wizards, the boy's first instinct had been, that the woman herself must have escaped a mental institution.

But after the woman had given a small demonstration of magic, the boy's last doubts were dispelled.

''Hogwarts.'' He whispered.
It still felt so strange.

Of course the boy had already known that he was anything but normal.

Wondrous things happened around him, even more so, he found out that he could use them for his own purposes, could even control them to a certain degree.

That's why the other children were afraid of him.
Because he could hurt them...not that he necessarily wanted to...
But he had to do it, as long as weird things happened around him, the older children didn't bully him as much.
They laughed, whispered, and spread rumours about him, but left him in peace.

He still remembered the fear in their eyes, when he had climbed down the cliff that lead to a cave a few summers ago with Thomas Whales and the little Sophie Bishop.
He knew that they hadn't wanted to follow him and he knew that they had no other choice.

That was his power and now that power had a name: magic.

How would it be like to leave this place and begin a journey to a new home?

A home where he would learn to control his power, where he could quench his thirst for knowledge.
There was so much he didn't know of this new world.

Another cool gust blew him a few dark streaks in his eyes and he had to blink.
The world swam before his eyes briefly before it took sharp contours again.
He stood in a shabby and unkempt garden.

Alone.
As so often.
That's how it has always been.

Maybe that would change as well, at that place where everyone was like him, where he wasn't a peculiar boy anymore.

Always left alone, even by his own parents.
Maybe it would have been different if he had parents, maybe he would have been different.

He immediately rejected the idea.

He didn't want to be weak, he sometimes bullied the little ones, and sometimes felt bad about what he did.

He would, however, never admit it to himself.

A jarring shrill voice broke the silence, his peace.
"Aileen? Aileen! There's a package for you!"

The boy sighed deeply, but made no move to go to the house.
A few rays of sunlight made their way through the cloud covered sky and painted spots on the floor.

Another gust of wind ruffled his clothes, and blew through his short red curls.

Then he turned around and walked reluctantly back to the orphanage, to his prison.