Chapter 3: The Sweet Taste of Power
One year later (8 years old Lumina):
Lumina silently walked down a long corridor of the orphanage, all the walls painted in the most unassuming shade of green. The heavy and moist air made her almost caught.
Everything was dark, only a few rays of moonlight entering through a window at the end of the hallway.
The hushed voices of children came from the crevices of almost closed doors lined on both sides of the corridor.
"Look, the burner freak is passing, hide."
"Tommy, I am scared."
"Devil's child..."
Occasionally a child's eye peeked at her, only to quickly vanish into the room as she glanced back.
Lumina could feel their fear and disgust—they were scared of her, 'It isn't my fault... they were just accidents.'
Suddenly, a stern yell froze her on the spot, "Lumina, go back to your room. It is late." she could feel a slight trace of fear masked by its stern tone.
The caretaker, a middle-aged woman with short hair, stood behind her, pointing at the only wide open doors.
'Why no one believes me... I didn't burn those kids.'
Lumina sighed to herself as she sheepishly walked in. She hated how she was ostracised, 'It was their fault—they started it. Then...' The memories of waking to shrieks of children with burned hands made her hair stand up in horror.
'Still, I didn't do it...'
Her room was small and plain. The only furniture inside was an old bed, a table, and a single closet containing all her possessions. Old, tattered, but clean curtains obscured the only small window.
With another sight, Lumina threw herself on her bed. She could only stare at the crack in the old ceiling.
At last, the lock of her room clicked closed from the outside, leaving her alone.
'My, only time of peace.'
She raised her hand and aimed at a worn-out diary lying on the desk. Her face paled, and her pupils dilated as she focused.
The world around her darkened and quieted down, only her own heartbeat perpetrating through the dark silence.
Shadows deepened and prolonged with each moment, threatening to swallow her whole, but she didn't stop, the fingers of her outstretched hand slightly trembling with the palpable warmth of energy flowing through them.
The diary lifted into the air the next moment, levitating slightly above the table.
A smile beamed on her face, 'Easier than before.'
She wanted to train and get better; it was one of the few things that brought her joy in her dull life, 'If I improve, my father will appear and praise me again.' Even though she doubted and questioned her sanity, she didn't care as it made her happy.
The old book jumped into her awaiting hand with a flick of her wrist. With joy in her eyes, she flipped it open, her eyes sliding between lines, 'Today, I will read another chapter.'
It was too dark in her room to read, but she didn't care as night was her time, and shadows were her friends—her eyes piercing even though the darkest shades.
Under her eyes, the contents of her diary morphed from her cursive handwriting into the printed text of the story she loved to read. No matter how often she saw it, it was still a magical sight.
'Oh, a troll in a bathroom!' She envied the children in the books given to her by her father. She wanted to be like them, freely practising her powers without fear and having to look over her shoulder.
Back in the present:
In the large hall, with a tall stone pillar supporting its arched ceiling covered in the stars. The students, professors, and even the transparent figures of the ghost all focused on a single spot in its vast space—on the black-haired girl in the chair and the ancient, pointy hat resting on her head.
'What is the father thinking?'
At last, the old professor, with long white hair and a beard, stood up from his high chair, "Ehmm, everyone, please calm down. Even though this is an unprecedented situation, there seems to be no danger."
'This must be the legendary Dumbledore.' Lumina immediately connected his appearance with the character from the story she had read and became even more wary of the situation.
'The most dangerous person in the entire school.'
His voice was filled with nothing but kindness, but it did nothing to drop her guard, "Come with me, to my office. It looks like we need a long, private discussion." He looked at her with his blue eyes glinting with the wisdom of age—something in them unsettling her.
Lumina could only meekly stand up from the chair, the eyes of students and professors drilling into her from every direction. Yet, she didn't even flinch, already used to such treatment after years of living through it.
'No, I will not let this get to my head. I will finally be free here, free to fully grow my powers.'
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone