Dark Academy
He wasn't always like this. At one point in his life, he was a happy child, capable of laughing, crying. At a glance he was entirely ordinary.
But there was always something off about him. A certain affinity for the darker aspects of magic, a lack of empathy towards those in pain.
As he grew older, his powers grew. Uncontrollable spats of magic became more frequent, and his parents feared for their lives.
They abandoned young Henry in the forest lining the outskirts of their village, in hopes that the young boy's wayward spells would harm none but the caster.
Unfortunately for them, Henry met a particularly friendly murder of crows who were more than happy to lead the boy back home. And so he returned, entering the village in an unholy swirl of feathers, scaring more than a few of the residents.
His parent's second attempt at abandoning the boy fared no better. Henry did spend a few weeks in the forest this time, and in the process befriending a wolf who dutifully trailed Henry wherever he went.
Eventually, Henry decided to return home, his new friend in tow. However, before Henry could introduce his companion to the villagers, he found an arrow lodged in the wolf's throat.
A shocking homecoming for the 10 year old. Enraged, the spike in emotion allowed Henry to avenge his fluffy friend, and in the process he killed more than a dozen of the villagers in his way.
Fascinated at the glimmering red that dripped slowly down his small pale hands, a smile crept onto Henry's face. And this is where his parents found him. Laughing in a puddle of stranger's blood, as a good portion of the village burned behind him.
Terrified, Henry's parents scrambled for options. Throwing him to the wolves obviously wasn't working, and attempting to kill the boy just wasn't an option.
Instead, they decided to ship him off to an elite magic school. Perhaps honing Henry's magical abilities wasn't the best idea, but as long as he was far away, they didn't care.
And so Henry found himself being sent to the premier magical academy in Plegia.
Without as much as a backwards glance, his parents placed him on the next convoy to the academy.
Young Henry watched as his hometown grew smaller, unaware that this was the last time he would lay eyes on it.
Days of traveling past, and Henry grew bored. Luckily, the crows he'd befriended decided to follow him. He found some comfort in watching the murder circle slowly over the convoy.
Arriving at the academy was a shock. The looming stone castle was the largest structure he'd ever seen, and he thought that the spiked gates were a nice touch. Certainly creepy enough to live up to his expectation for a "dark school for dark boys" as his parents had called it.
Unsure how to greet the other students at the academy, Henry kept his smile on at all times. The others found it odd, but said little. They were all here to learn to become wizards, so why did it matter is one small boy decided to be excessively cheerful?
Henry quickly showed his prowess, mastering complicated spells and injuring more than one classmate in the crossfire.
As fantastic as his powers were, hurting other students was frowned upon.
Each infraction was met with discipline, a slap on the hand or a missed meal.
The punishments did little to curb him. The thrill he felt when he was others writing in pain was worth any punishment the administrators could dole out.
It wasn't until he killed another student that he finally experienced true pain.
Roughly shoved into a dark cell, which he was sure was some sort of dungeon, Henry spent a week in the musty room.
"Nyahaha. Well this is new!"
With little to eat and nothing to do, Henry was pretty sure he was going to die.
However, before he could perish, he was hauled back out of the cell and allowed to return to his classes. He did have to promise to not kill any more students though.
Henry reasoned that he could keep his hands clean of any more deaths. That way he could at least participate in duels, maybe keep the bloodshed to a minimum.
At least until he was allowed on a battlefield.
His return was met with little enthusiasm. His roommate merely glanced at him and noted, "Well looks like you aren't dead."
Beaming, Henry laughed. "Of course not! It's going to take more than that to do me in."
Shrugging, his roommate returned to his studies, leaving Henry to his own devices.
He could follow orders. Clear this place in a few years. Then he'd be allowed to join the ranks of the Plegian army. Henry practically glowed at the thought of being allowed to slaughter countless lives on a daily basis.
Thus he decided to be a good boy, a model student. For the most part.
AN: An intro? The actual academy starts next chapter.