"Mira?" A small 9 year old girl looked at me, her pretty blue eyes slightly nervous. She was blond, with a sprinkle of freckles across the bridge of her nose. Considering her sweet demeanor and kind nature, she definitely wasn't going to be here long. The thought made me sad. We were as close I'd ever been to being friends. She was the only one who didn't cringe when she saw me, and was nice enough to tell me when it was dinner or lights out. She even sat next to me sometimes during meals.

"Yeah Sophie?"I was the exact opposite, slightly taller than average with thick black hair and dark brown eyes. Sitting up on my shabby bed, I looked orphanage was poor ,with six or seven kids to a room. My bed was pushed against a wall, with Sophie's next to it. Then across from us were more beds, with a narrow walkway in between. Everyone else was still fast asleep,the first beams of sunlight just beginning to shine through the curtains . I wasn't surprised that Sophie was up. She always seemed to be one step ahead of everybody else

"Miss Montgomery wants to see you."

I nodded and slipped out of bed, trying not to shiver at my feet hit the cold wooden floor. I opened the door walked into the hall, hearing Sophie scurrying behind me. There was really only one hall in the whole orphanage, with doors off either side leading to the different bedrooms or the living room, which in turn lead to the kitchen. At the end of the hall was a large oak door with a beautiful plaque hanging on the door knob:

"If you are a dreamer, come in

If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar

A hoper, a prayer, a magic-bean-buyer

If you're a pretender, come sit by my fire

For we have some flax golden tales to spin

Come in!

Come in!"

-Shel Silverstein

I loved that plaque. It made me think that someday, I'd be excepted, that someday, people would notice me and talk to me, and not treat me like a freak.

I knocked on the door. "Come in!" came a soft voice. I turned the knob and stepped in.

"Morning, Miss." I said giving her a smile. Miss Montgomery was the only person who didn't treat me like a smelly sock. She was the slightly absent-minded Head of the Orphanage. With a tall form and had wispy brown hair that fell down her shoulders she reminded me of an elf from a fairytale. She too hadn't gotten dressed yet, and was clothed in a spring green nighty.

"Good morning Mira." She was shuffling through her cluttered drawers, looking for something.

"Sophie said you wanted to see me?"

She nodded still looking, flinging random articles of clothing on her bed. "Talk to you..Oh yes!" Stopping abruptly she looked at me with eyes that matched her nightdress. "We're getting a new arrival today, he's eleven and I've been told that he's..." I

I knew that she was trying to find a nice word. She had trouble saying a bad word about anybody. Kids who were destructive "just needed a creative outlet". Children who were violent were "energetic." Sometimes, I wondered how she kept everything running. She seemed to nice to be in charge of us unwanted.

"He's difficult." She decided, finally pulling out a grey shirt. "and since you are the same age I thought maybe you could show him around. I'm trusting you with this, but I want you to promise you'll be on your best behavior."

That meant that nothing strange could happen. No exploding drawers, no plates moving by themselves. "my best behavior" meant I needed to try and be like the other kids, something I wasn't very good at.

A bell echoed through the house, chiming through the hall and into the rooms.

"Oh no, he's here! Could you answer the door, please?" She had forgotten that I was also still in my pajamas, but she nudged me out the door before I could say anything. Sophie, who'd been wait outside the door, followed me again as I made my way through the living room, the kitchen, and finally to the front door.

I opened it and there stood a burly man in a bowler hat, holding the arm of a rough looking boy. " 'Ere he is, the little brat." The man said gruffly shoving the boy into the kitchen. " Glad to be rid of 'im" The boy shot the man a mean look then smirked. "It's not my fault your wife's an old cow!"

The man grew red in the face and turned without another word, disappearing down the winding gravel drive. I knew immediately that this was not going to be pleasant.

My prediction was right. After just two day here, the boy, (whose name he'd cockily announced was Andrew) had already started wreaking havoc on everything and everyone. He pulled girls hair, ripped pages out of books, and hid Miss Montgomery's things just to watch her search for them. He was rude, arrogant, and had a blatant disregard for rules in general. He was especially vile to me. While other kids left me to myself, he made it is special duty to taunt me. He laughed at my hair, my shabby clothes (though they were no shabbier than his) and called me crazy when he caught me speaking the the snakes.

The last straw came when his wrath turned on Sophie. We were sitting in the garden lying flat on our backs, looking up at the clouds. I was just daydreaming about what it would be like to fly when I heard him stomping across the yard.

"Well if it isn't the freak." He stopped right in front of us, blocking the view of the sky above. "Don't you have a puppy to kick?" I asked getting to my feet. Sophie copied me. I guess we were actually friends now, since she had started spending more and more of her free time with me. She didn't even seem to mind when 'things' happened around me.

"Nope, I guess I'll just have to settle for a rat." His glare was of pure malice.

"Leave her alone!" Sophie stepped in front of me, surprising me, she wasn't one to get into a fight.

"Awww, does the little mouseling want to protect her rat queen? " He pushed out his arms, shoving her hard into the grass. "I guess she's the closest thing you'll ever have to a mommy, cause no family would ever want to adopt a rodent like you!"

Tears fell welled in her blue eyes, and her lip trembled.

Anger welled up inside of me. A hot uncontrollable rage that burned through me like fire, making my fists clench. "You're gonna pay for that Andrew."

He must have seen something in my face, because he began to back up, holding his hand up in Submission. "No need to be hasty, friend." I continued to advance on him, grabbing his shirt in my hand and pulling him toward me.

"Listen to me Andrew, because I'm only going to say this once. You ever touch her, or another kid here again and-" I didn't get a chance to tell him exactly what would happen to him because a shooting pain suddenly flashed through my hand and a blinding flash made me drop him. Andrew was writhing on the ground as fire flared across his clothes. He tried to put it out, furiously patting himself and rolling across the ground, turning it black. The flames just got bigger.

He started to scream.

All I could do was look on in horror. Had I done this? How? Why? Sophie looked up at me in fear and I tried to explain. "I- I didn't mean too. I just-"

At that moment Miss Montgomery rushed out of the the house, a gasp leaving her as she saw Andrew. I didn't speak, I turned and ran. My feet pounded the ground as I headed for the forest.

Since the orphanage was in the middle of nowhere, it was surrounded on by a thick forest. All kids were cautioned not to go there. There were legends of wild animals, and child snatcher that roamed the woods, searching for unwanted kids. Maybe I deserved that. I had burned Andrew.

What if he dies? That thought made me freeze in panic. What if I had killed him? I sunk down into the leaves, burying my head in my hands. and closing my eyes. Death was not something I was familiar with. I assumed my parents were dead, but that didn't really hurt me. I had never known them. But I had known Andrew, seen him everyday, and the thought that I had removed him from our world, made me want to stay here forever. Just rot her like the trees.

A loud popping sound made my gaze shoot to the forest. Maybe it was a child snatcher. Serves you right. My heart pounded as the footsteps echoed through the trees. A figure was approaching, but instead of a monstrous child stealer, it was a handsome young man in a black robe. In his hand, he held what looked like a stick and he had it pointed out in front of him. When he saw me he visibly tensed and pointed his stick at me.

"Wha-?" He seemed surprised for a moment, like he was seeing a ghost.I thought I saw something like fear in his eyes, but it faded quickly into curiosity.

He knows what I did! He's scared I'm going to set him on fire too! Tears sprung down my cheeks. Shaking my head to clear my eyes, I got to my feet. I needed to face my fate. They would probably take me to some prison for the extremely violent. "If your here to take me to prison, I won't fight you. I didn't mean to set Andrew on fire." I did my best to look brave, but I know my lip trembles slightly.

The man did something unexpected. He smiled. "I'm not going to prison." He said holding out his hand. "I'm Professor Longbottom, and I'm here to take you to school."

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