It's been six months since I woke up. Mark and Kelly, now my adopted parents, have taken me in and decided to raise me as their own. And even though they're not my birth parents, I've never seen anyone look at me with such love.

They named me Kayla, Kayla Burns Prodvere. As soon as they gave me a name, apparently these magical objects called the Quill of Acceptance and the Book of Admittance wrote me down in the Hogwarts registry. Give it about eleven years and I'll be training to be a witch!

As for the present time, I've barely begun walking on my own. I'm proud to announce that crawling was something I was able to successfully do after my first few weeks! The first thing I did since becoming mobile, was go straight for the books in the house. I needed to track down some know-how about magic!

I may be going to a magic school in a little over ten years, but I'm not patient enough to wait before learning how to utilize magic!

I have no idea when canon starts, or if it even already happened, and I'm finding that I don't care all that much right now. I'm just ecstatic about the idea of magic! As every other Harry Potter fan, and the character of what's practically her own fanfiction, would be in my situation!

From scouting missions I gave myself while being carried around in Kelly or Mark's arms, I was able to identify the location of my targets: books on an old shelf in their room.

Because Kelly grew up in the wizarding world, and because she loves reading, she had a sizable collection of books on magical knowledge. Granted, most of them were on magical creatures, but I can't even complain about that!

Because of my race and heritage, I'm extremely curious about the existence of dragons and angels in this world; chimeras too, but I haven't found anything on them. I've been able to read up quite a bit on dragons. Evidently Kelly has been participating in studies on them. But I haven't found anything about angels. Only ghosts as far as celestial/other worldly beings go. Maybe Dementors too, but they're more like spawns from hell.

Speaking of Mark and Kelly Prodvere, my adopted mom and dad, they found me on their doorstep in a basket about a day before I first woke up here.

Mark is a "muggle" who works at a drill company, and Kelly is a witch who works with the Ministry of Magic in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. For the next little while, however, she's only going into the office or the field when specifically called on so that she can focus on taking care of me.

But back to the important stuff here. Magic!

Kelly's first year book on charms was on the bottom shelf (thank goodness), so I grabbed that one first. I opened the book, laid on my stomach and turned the pages.

Here's what I learned from the book:

It first went on to describe how magic in this world is depicted as a supernatural force that can be used to override the usual laws of nature. Many magical creatures exist as well, while ordinary creatures also sometimes exhibit magical properties.

In humans, magic or the lack thereof is an inborn attribute. It is usually inherited, carried on 'dominant resilient genes.' Magic is the norm for children of magical couples and less common in those of muggles. I still find the term 'muggle' a little weird, but it is what it is. Exceptions to these rules do exist, proven by the existence of Muggle-borns and Squibs.

Okay…good to know, but I already knew all of that. There's not much detail on where magic comes from, or how one manifests it. The only real details regarding those subjects are how and why wands are necessary.

You can do unfocused and uncontrolled magic without a wand, but to do really good spells, you need a wand. 'A wizard or witch performs at their best only when using their own wand,' according to the book.

So much reliance on a stick with a feather or string in it; is this really necessary? I sat up from the book, thinking. This text gives a very basic introduction to what magic is before going into further detail about basic level charms. Interesting, but not the information I'm looking for right now.

How does magic manifest in a person? Is there an internal pool of power of some sort? Is it a supernatural force utilized in the environment that some are able to harness while others aren't, like how a Jedi uses the Force? Or is it something else entirely. From the sound of it, it seems like genetics are the source of it all. So I guess its more like Chakra?

My genetics are passed on from a literal divine being and the most magical of the dragon race. Does this mean the rules are different for me than they would be for a normal human? But then there's also my 'human magic blood' running through my veins.

So it stands to reason I'll be able to still use a wand. I have access to Ancient Magic for crying out loud! Only question is how to truly manifest it…

Good things to think about. Now how in the world do I go about find the answers to these questions?


I'm two years old now, and fully functional as far as a little person goes. My silvery-white blonde hair barely reaches my shoulders.

I've been reading up on magic as much as I can. Kelly and Mark don't mind me looking at all their books. They think it's adorable; Kelly is ecstatic about it, claiming I'm a natural born bookworm (to which Mark playfully rolls his eyes). They haven't taught me to read yet, so there's no way they think I'm actually reading and learning from the books.

When I wasn't with Mark or Kelly, and I not reading, I attempted to practice magic myself.

I spent many nights in my room, holding out my hand as I chanted, "Incendio, incendio, incendio…" Over and over again.

I chose this spell because my magma affinity means I should have a knack for fire and earth magic, but no matter what I did, I just couldn't seem to make even a spark with this spell.

On one of these nights, I was getting fed up with having no results. It seemed as though that book was correct, wandless magic was near impossible to do.

I held out my hand again, giving it a reprimanding look as I thought of fire. My mind then drifted to lava. I wonder what magma magic will look like.

As thoughts and memories of active volcanoes sifted through my mind, I started feeling a warmth build up in me.

Suddenly my outstretched hand started steaming, straining as it shook a little. I clamped my other hand on my wrist, confused and a little panicked!

A spray of orange liquid erupted out of my palm, as if a small bubble of lava popped.

The liquid landed on my clothes and bed sheets, sizzling and setting them on fire, but otherwise cooling rapidly.

I yelped, quickly patting the flames, nearly full on slapping them as they started dying down.

I stood there dumbfounded, before hollering and jumping for joy. As much as a crispy two year old could, anyway.

I started in fright, however, when a familiar textbox suddenly popped into my vision.

Skill Acquired!
Magmamancy, LVL 5

Skill Acquired!
Fire Magic, LVL 1

Skill Acquired!
Earth Magic, LVL 1

I blinked, before remembering that Katie said it was possible for me to obtain new skills. My mouth formed an 'O' as I recalled the memory. I haven't looked at my Character Panel since coming to this world; better correct that.

Name: Kayla Burns Prodvere
Race: Chimera (Draconic-Angel-Human Hybrid)
Racial Traits: Ancient Magic, Darkvision, Drakotounge, Heritage of Dark, Magma Affinity, Natural Armor, Wings

Skills:
Magmamancy, LVL 5
Fire Magic, LVL 1
Earth Magic, LVL 1

A new category was added! This is awesome! I wonder if I can unlock anything else? The Magmamancy skill isn't starting at level one, is that because of the affinity I inherited? Probably.

Either way, I'm finally able to utilize my magic!


As proud as I was at that moment, however, magic is still extremely hard to control.

I sneezed once when I was in the tub, and ended up shooting a small drop of magma out of my mouth, about the size of a teaspoon. Gave poor Kelly a heart attack! Luckily she was able to whip out her wand and repair the sizzling tub in an instant, but it was still rough on her!

And okay I admit it, there have been a lot of instances like this since I unlocked magmamancy.

I've accidently set Mark and Kelly's bed on fire, burned up my own sheets (again), and turned a frying pan into a pile of dirt. That last one was unintentional.

Okay, all of them have been unintentional mistakes, but I didn't mean to turn that pan into dirt! I just really didn't want dried prunes…

And I may or may not have sealed the door to my room shut on accident with some rapidly cooling magma that turned to stone, but what's the big deal?

Haha…

Luckily for me, every incident like that was able to be explained away with a beautiful term known as "accidental magic." It happens to magical children all the time in this world!

Of course, it might be suspicious that most of my "accidents" involve some kind of fire magic, but what can I say? I have the easiest time with those spells!

I've tried using water magic; I read up on the Aguamenti spell, but no matter how much I chant the spell and focus power into my hand like I do fire, I'm not able to get even a small drop to form. Aside from the sweat I build up from focusing and tensing my body so hard.

Ventus is a spell that conjures wind, but I haven't had any luck with that either. And yes, I was putting a lot of effort into elemental magic, but all I've been able to accomplish so far is conjure fire and create small rocks; I thought that maybe I'd be able to utilize other elements too.

Though that brings on another thought. Maybe I can't utilize these elements because my affinity for magma (which is practically a combo of fire and earth) is the complete opposite of water and wind. I guess my genetics play against me in this instance, assuming this is the case.

Or maybe I can't use any magic from Kelly's spell books because I don't have a wand.

Either way, I'm not able to learn much about it, cause everything Kelly's books go over requires a wand. Which I do not have, so I'm having to improvise a lot.

Oh, and I faint when I use too much magic. It's weird. Kelly nearly had a heart attack when she saw me faint after sneezing out flames once (an actual case of accidental magic) when I finished secretly training that day.

I must say, it's nice to have people who worry about me.


I felt so stupid. I finally figured out how to properly manipulate magma, earth, and fire, and it was so obvious.

Magic is a product of imagination just as much as it is incantations and wand movements! I have to picture in my head what I want to create! Imagination is the blueprint, you're the engineer, and magic is the material you have to work with!

Let's ignore the fact it took six months for me to make this discovery and surprisingly accurate metaphor.

With this knowledge, I was able to shape the magma, fire, and earth I created!

Though after setting my room on fire for the tenth time, I decided that creating actual lava with my magic was a bad idea while I was in the house.

And seeing as how I'm barely three years old, my chances of getting out of the house unsupervised, as the young daughter of a protective mother and witch, is absolute zero.

Mark may be even worse in that department, he takes his role as the protective father of a young daughter very seriously.

It's honestly nice being able to have a father in my life again.

As for what little magic I could perform, the problem is that I can only create fire or rocks outside of magma. I couldn't shoot it out at all, only manipulate its shape. Which is handy for practicing earth magic, but not so much for fire. The amount of fire and rock I make is also pretty miniscule in the grand scheme of things.

Right now, to train the magic I had in hopes it would grow and get stronger, I would either create a flame in my hand and carefully use up all my 'energy' by making it bigger or intensely hot.

Because I feel so tired after practicing my magic, I suspect I have a sort of internal container of magic, a pool of mana, or MP if you will. Whether or not this is in other wizards, I don't know. My body is very different from a human's.

To train earth magic, I've been 'sculpting' the rocks I conjure, making them into different shapes. So far it's just basic ones, like a triangle or rectangle, but even that much is straining. I'm trying to work up to creating more complex shapes, like a heart or star.

Now that I've accomplished this, I'll figure out how to make my magic shoot out.

Hm…maybe I'm missing something else.


I learned something about myself just after I turned five (Mark and Kelly decided the day they found me would be my birthday). That morning, I woke up to a notification from my 'System.'

You have successfully survived to age 5!

Magmamancy has risen to LVL 15

Apparently abilities related to my racial skills have the potential to rise in level as I age. Seven is a weird number for that to happen, though…

And yes, my magma is a lot more potent now.

I found this out by melting some through the floor of my bedroom. Accidentally.

I decided to take a chance that day and see if I could create magma and manipulate it safely with the rise in level. Bad idea to do that in the house. Usually when my lava gets on stuff, it would solidify quickly, leaving scorch marks at most, barely even burning through anything.

This time, the lava didn't cool and harden until it landed on the dinner table Kelly was setting while Mark grilled steaks. Poor Kelly…I'm so grateful she loves me. And that she knows the Reparo spell. So is Mark.

After that debacle, I decided I needed to find a safer place to experiment and develop my magmamancy. It was clearly starting to get more powerful. Luckily for me, our house bordered a small grove of trees where I was able to find an isolated place to practice.

While out there, I even tried other basic spells not related to fire, earth, or magma, but got no luck in making them work.

From Kelly's first year charms book, I learned how to perform the hovering charm, Wingardium Leviosa, but I wasn't able to do anything with it. Not even make a leaf float.

Here's some good news though! After I started conducting my outdoor practice sessions, I figured out a way to shoot the rocks or flames I made!

If mana, or magic power, was the material and my imagination was the blueprint, then when I build up power to create the spell, I have to cast it with a goal, and end result in mind. I have to 'design' the spell to shoot itself! I was making the shape and not giving it trajectory!

We're really lucky that Kelly knows the Reparo spell, otherwise this house would've been destroyed a long time ago! First time I tried this method and theory out, I made the mistake of using earth magic and ended up shooting a rock straight through the wall!

As for learning other spells, they've been way more of a challenge! I've tried so hard to get the Wingardium Leviosa spell to work many times, but to no avail. It seems casting those kinds of spells really will require a wand at this point.

It makes me want to study wandlore to find out why this is. It's very frustrating! I was looking forward to being able to use magic for little mundane things.

Hm…you know, maybe I should start writing my discoveries down. By the time I get to Hogwarts, I probably won't be able to remember all the details of this time period. Good thing I like writing in a journal.


"Kayla!" Kelly called out, "Time to get up! It's nearly time to go!"

I was already up, but she doesn't need to know that. She especially doesn't need to know I had climbed out my window onto the roof. I love feeling the wind through my hair as I write.

It's now been six years since I woke up in this world. And despite the frustrations I have with wandless magic, it's already leagues better than my old life. I live in a decent house, I get three square meals a day, and I've got magic school to look forward to!

Most of my days, when not reading or writing up on magic, have actually been spent with Mark and Kelly. I couldn't have picked better parents if I tried. We loved doing stuff together, be it a simple walk down the street, cooking a meal, or going on a trip.

"Coming, mom!" I cried out, closing my notebook.

I jumped back through my window, tossing the journal on my bed as I walked by.

Today was my first day of "muggle" school, as Kelly called it. Mark thought it pertinent to send me there so I'd have at least a basic understanding of mathematics, english, and other similar topics. He also claimed it would help me develop learning and social skills.

Kelly, on the other hand, offered to just homeschool me. She even said most of the things I'd learn in Primary School would be useless, though Mark disagrees. Quite frankly, I agree with Kelly, but she and Mark came to an agreement that I'd attend "normal" school before Hogwarts.

I stretched as I made my way to the bathroom, where I began washing up for the day.

My childhood so far has been anything but normal. Growing up with a muggle father and a magical mother, I've experienced the best and worst of both worlds. The magical side is so much better! Their politics are just as bad though.

I love going over to Kelly's parent's house; they live far out in the country, and have a myriad of magical objects and oddities that I love studying. In my old life, I wasn't much of the studying kind, but this is magic!

I also had some aunts, uncles, and cousins on that side. They're all blondes. Hair so golden that when they all get together, a birds eye view would make you think you were looking into a pot of moving molten gold. Then there was me with this silvery-white hair. Not too out of place, but it still stands out.

As I began washing my legs, I noticed a smooth, hard feeling on the outside of my thigh.

What the heck? I thought as I looked closer.

Oh no…

With trepidation, I looked closer. On my upper thigh, a patch of small scales the same color as my skin had formed. I checked my other leg, confirming it was happening on both of them.

"NOO!" I cried out.

I was hoping these particular genes would be diluted or something, but it looks like I'm going to have scales on my body…At least they're not visibly noticeable…yet.

I slumped.

Growing up in this body has been a bit of a challenge.

I manifested my wings, letting the water run over and through them; it felt nice. Though they were starting to get too big for me to completely spread out in the shower here. I was a little worried about how they'd turn out with how frail they were when I was a baby, but they were beginning to grow and fill out quite nicely.

I haven't let anyone see my wings, not since the day I woke up. I've grown to love Mark and Kelly; they're my adopted parents! But I'm not going to let anyone know what I really am. It's too embarrassing! What will anyone think of me if they knew I was some freak of nature, barely classified as human?

The only upside is that my race does give me some pretty special abilities. Being able to see in the dark has been especially nice for sneaking around the house at night.

I turned off the water and hopped out of the shower. I inspected my silver hair in the mirror a bit; I still find it a weird hair color on a kid, but it was smooth and shiny. It made me smile.

I finished getting dressed and went down the stairs, peeking into the kitchen.

There was Kelly, in all her beautiful glory, wearing an apron over her nightgown. She was cooking what smelled like eggs. Seriously, I'm convinced she's part angel herself, no way can any normal human look like that! Mark appears to have already left for the day.

"Morning, mom!" I cried out, walking over to her. They still haven't told me I'm adopted, so I figured it'd be better if I call her mom and Mark dad.

"Good morning, my baby," She hugged me tight, before turning back to the stove. Instead of a spatula or fork, she was using her wand to make the eggs. The stove wasn't even on, the pan was floating above it with small flames underneath it, "Did I hear you scream, earlier? Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I nodded, staring at the floating pan.

I promise I'm not jealous. Not one bit.

"You remember what we've been talking about this last week?" Kelly asked me as I jumped up to a chair on the table. I was still quite small for a six year old.

"Don't tell anyone about magic," I stated. That's another reason Kelly was so concerned about me going to a muggle school; I guess most children who grow up around magic would have a problem with not telling others about it. It's a natural part of their life, and kids have no filter. Maybe that's why wizarding parents don't send their kids there.

"Do I have to go to muggle school?" I said, imitating a whiny child voice. I wasn't even acting. I really didn't want to go to this kind of school, not again.

"Unfortunately, yes," Kelly giggled, floating the eggs onto a plate, which floated toward me, "This is something that'll be good for you, despite what I said to your dad. And make sure you don't call it muggle school."

"Fiiine…" I trailed off, eating the eggs that landed on the table in front of me. I couldn't help but slump at the thought of going to school like this again, and for another five years. I went to high school in my last life, and though I didn't do great, I never failed any classes either! Lowest I ever got were C's! Never finished with an A, but I'm proud to say no F's!

Though while my mind is in great shape, my body is another story. I suppose I shouldn't expect too much from it, seeing as I'm six. I've got good hair, at least!

The last six years I've spent relearning how to use my body, along with my magic. My mind is as sharp as it was the day I died, even for my body's young brain. But my motor skills were horrible! At least by my standards.

My wings seemed to be developing quite nicely though, especially considering how small and frail they seemed when I was a baby.

About a year ago, my wings had grown strong enough to allow me to glide. I still haven't managed to fly, but I can use them to jump real high!

One night, I was bold enough to try climbing onto our roof so I could glide down.

It didn't work.

I slipped and fell, and couldn't spread my wings fast enough to catch any air. I thought I was going to break something, but then I felt cool (yet somehow warm) tendrils of something solid and supple gently catch me.

When I turned around to see what happened, I couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. To this day I'm still not sure what happened.

My mind drifted back to the present as my tummy rumbled.

When Kelly sat down with her own plate of food, I started gobbling up my eggs and drinking my orange juice. Kelly followed suit at a much more graceful pace, smiling softly at me as I wolfed on my own food.

When we finished, I jumped down from the chair as Kelly charmed the dishes to wash themselves.

"I'll go change and then we'll leave," She began walking to the stairs, "Make sure your bag is still ready!" She called out.

"Yes, mom!"


The first week of school was uneventful. Scratch that, the first few months were uneventful. I didn't interact with the other kids very much. Most of the girls made fun of my white "old lady hair."

Little brats. I didn't need some stupid six year old's approval anyway.

Hmph.

I did all my work, which was so easy. Take that you stupid six year old's! I already know how to read and write! And the math was so easy!

Needless to say, I was doing awesome in 1st grade and acing it. What wasn't awesome was how boring it was. After a while my teacher noticed and began giving me more advanced work, though advanced for a kid this age was still basic for someone who already graduated high school.

It felt like I was wasting time after the first month. To help myself feel more productive, I used my extra school time to write in my journal.

I felt most productive at night, when I'd continue to practice magic. Though it was harder to get out of bed in the morning as I started growing more and using more energy. It got to the point where I was late to school some days, which Mark and Kelly regularly scolded me for. So I decided to change my routine a bit.

Instead of staying up super late, I'd go to bed earlier, meaning I'd be able to wake up earlier as well.

With proper rest achieved, I was able to put full effort in the morning to a magic training routine! I've been able to level up fire and earth magic twice, and Magmamancy three times!

As for muggle school…well, it was going okay. I didn't enjoy it, and though I wanted to make friends, I just wasn't feeling up to interacting much with the other kids. They're…childish. And make fun of my hair.

I can't say it's all bad, though; I hate to admit it, but I started liking my English class.

On a slightly related note, there was one kid I appreciated; a kid named Sue. She sits near me and I overheard her talking to her friends about how she was attending a dance class after school with her big sister. I stood up and asked her where this class was held. She told me it was by "the ice cream store." Not much to go off of, but I guess that's what you get when you ask a six year old for directions.

When I got home from school that day, I asked Kelly if I could attend dance classes. She thought it was me being silly at first, but I insisted we look into it at the very least.

A couple weeks later, I was enrolled at a dance course for kids known as 'Kore's Choreography.' This was the first 'normal' girl thing I've done in well over twenty years now. I gotta say, it feels good.

Dancing brought another thing into light. I'd like to be in at least decent physical shape. I couldn't exercise to save my life though, I tried it with Mark one time and got so bored…

Which is why I appreciated the dance lessons even more! Dancing is a fun way to exercise!

In my lessons, I asked the instructors as many questions as I could regarding physical health; the biggest takeaway I got from them was that if I wanted to be healthy, I had to watch what I eat.

Typical. "You are what you eat," they said.

I don't know why I was expecting a different answer.

So one day I asked Kelly to help me eat healthy. She was confused when her six year old daughter began refusing sweets and treats after dinner.

Mark was almost offended when I refused bacon one Saturday morning. I couldn't even blame him, I was offended too! So much so, that Saturday was dubbed bacon day. I tried, but I just couldn't give up bacon. The weeks I went without were like the weeks after a break up. Horrible and heart wrenching!

The dance lessons were going as well as they could, and after I started eating better, I could tell I performed better. I learned the basics of how to properly move and use my body. I wasn't very strong, but I was getting more flexible.

I even started doing yoga with Kelly on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Mark joined us soon after, but I think he just likes staring at his wife in yoga pants.

When I got home from school and dance lessons, I continued to read the spell books I could get my hands on. Because they thought I was learning to read, Mark and Kelly sat and read with me, though I could tell they were confused with my choice to read what were essentially textbooks rather than the picture books they bought.

Kelly loved it though; I was officially dubbed her "little bookworm."

This routine of 'normal' life continued for a while, and even though I didn't appreciate muggle school very much, I still found that I loved coming home to Kelly, and welcoming Mark home in time for dinner.

I had a family again, and it felt amazing.


One day, after a particularly tiring dance lesson, Kelly was late picking me up, and with my magic practice time dwindling before I went to bed for the day, I decided to walk home.

Big mistake when you're a little girl in the city.

The sun was beginning to set, elongating the shadows and bringing an orange hue to the world. I was going through in my head what I wanted to practice when I got home, when someone ran around the corner of the alley I was passing, running right into me.

Bam!

"Ouch!" A young voice reached my ears as I too went tumbling down! I got up rubbing my head, a little annoyed.

"Watch where yo-" I began to accuse, but then stopped short.

It was a small girl, younger than me, being followed by an even younger boy. They couldn't have been older than five. The boy was blonde and the girl was brunette. They were wearing torn clothes, and covered in bruises.

"Sorry!" They meekly bowed their heads, standing up before taking off again, running as fast as they could. Which wasn't very fast. They soon turned down the next street, which was even less busy than this one.

A few seconds later, three men and a woman turned out of the same alley corner they came from, barreling in the direction the two kids went, and shoving me out of the way.

I went flying to the ground again. Very annoyed, more than a little suspicious and with a sore rump, I got up as I watched them run. I looked around, trying to see if anyone else saw this suspicious scene.

There was no one else on this street. What the heck? Weren't people just here?

I looked to where they had all run, and sighed. I really don't want to play the hero here, but if this situation looks like what it looks like, I can't ignore it either.

What could a little girl like me do, anyway? Despite my doubts I ran after them.

When I turned the corner, I was just in time to see the three men and the woman catch up to the two kids, who were being held down by another woman I hadn't seen before. A red haired woman.

"You idiots!" Red hair yelled, "You can't even hold on to a couple of kids?"

"Sorry, ma'am," One of the men bowed their heads.

"Great, there's another one!" The red head gestured at me, turning to the other woman, "I thought you charmed this area?"

"I did!" the woman retorted, "Not a problem, we'll just kill it!"

Woah, hold up!

"You idiot!" Red hoisted the two little kids to their feet, brandishing a stick in their faces.

A stick…?

Wait, that's a wand! These guys are wizards!

"If we do that, the Ministry will be on our heels before we know it! Get her ALIVE!"

I realized a little too late what was happening. I reached out my arm, but it was too late. One of the men pointed their wand at me, "Stupefy!"

My body seized! I couldn't move at all! Another one of the men came over and picked me up; he was a big guy, and was easily able to hoist my small body up. I mean, sure I'm not even seven right now, but geez!

They brought me over to Red and the other two kids.

"Obliviate her and let's get out of here," Red looked around nervously, "Quick, before the Aurors show up!"

The other woman brandished her wand...

I can't believe this. If they want to avoid Aurors, that must mean they're dark wizards! I hadn't even had a chance to make a single move…

I'm powerless

The woman lifted her arm…

I've been so utterly defeated, and I won't even remember it? No…

She pointed her wand at me…

No…no…no, no, NO!

My blood boiled. Without realizing, I reached in myself, pulling at my magic like I had so many times before. But this time it felt different. I felt heat build up in my hand, traveling up my petrified, extended arm. My magic seemed to unleash as hard as it could. Two things happened at once.

In a flash of wispy, white light, my wings burst forth, ripping through my shirt. Not a second later, white lightning thundered out of my body, shocking and scorching everything it touched. Including the murderous woman and two of the men nearby.

"What…?" Red froze in fear, along with the last man remaining. I could move again. The one who froze me was nothing but dust after coming in contact with that white lightning.

I was furious. I turned toward the survivors. My vision somehow seemed more focused and delirious at the same time. Unbeknownst to me, my blue eyes turned a dark fiery-red, and my pupils were slits.

The two kids were terrified from the thunder; the smaller boy hid behind the young girl.

But I was blind to that. I spread my wings in a blind rage, flapping and leaping on the last man, who was nearest to me. He went for his wand, but I grabbed his hand in mine. I'm not very strong and know he'd break away from me quickly, so I pulsed magic through my palm, releasing a flow of magma, destroying his wand and hand.

He screamed in agony; this seemed to wake Red out of her shocked and horrified stupor.

"What the hell…!" Her eyes were wide as she grabbed the two kids and ran, but not before firing a spell at me. Seems she decided to screw all precautions in favor of getting away from me.

"Avada Kedavra!"

I wasn't quick enough to dodge. I'd never be fast enough to dodge light!

But I didn't have to.

Tendrils of what looked like black light launched from the nearest shadows in an alleyway, ramming into the killing curse, resulting in a concussive sound emanating around us.

Pa-Fwoom!

A strong gust of wind made everyone in the vicinity blink for a moment; except me. The wind didn't bother my eyes. At that moment I rushed forward, trying to close the distance between me and Red. Unfortunately she still had her wand, and I was still a seven year old girl.

"Stupefy!"

I halted mid stride, barely bringing my wing in front of me. It was hit with the spell, and I couldn't move the wing after it was hit, but the rest of my body still could. This threw me off balance, sending me flat on my face. Red grabbed the kids again and started to run.

"What the hell is this freak!?" She screamed.

"Oh no you don't…" I hissed out, pain lashing at my lip, which was bleeding slightly from the fall.

I ran after her, using my remaining wing to propel myself forward. I wasn't gracious at all, but when I built up momentum, I jumped after her. Despite my attempts, I was in no physical shape to catch up to her, but my magic is another story.

My magma is too slow moving at current level to get to her if I shot it, and my earth magic would be too easy to dodge or deflect. She's also moving faster than me, even with those two kids in tow.

I reached out with my hand, willing her to stop as I tried firing flames at her.

Suddenly, those tendrils of black light came from the surrounding shadows, stabbing through her arms and legs. She released the girls in a scream of agony, just as I sent more flames at her.

She was a much easier target while not moving. The flames hit her right in the back of her head, setting her hair on fire.

She slumped forward, and the two kids screamed as they staggered out of the way.

Red screamed in pain as she turned her restrained wand arm at her face, sending water streaming down her head.

I caught up to the kids and pulled them back as the strong stench of burnt hair and flesh filled the air. Red hadn't even finished putting herself out before apparating away with whirl and a crack.

When she disappeared, the tendrils of black light retreated back into the shadows.

I sighed in relief, feeling myself calm down. I retracted my wings; they vanished in a wisp of black light. I'll have to figure out what that was later.

"Are you two okay?" I turned to the two kids behind me, "You're not hurt, are you?" I looked them up and down; both seemed terrified. They had tears in their eyes. But other than a few extra bruises, they seemed just fine.

Just. Now that I had a closer look at them, they were very thin. Definitely malnourished.

The blonde one slumped to his knees, crying and sobbing, but he seemed to be trying to keep it quiet.

Just what the heck have these two been through? As I approached them, the two tensed up. I slowed my approach, offering words of encouragement.

"It's okay," I smiled at them as my wings disappeared and my eyes returned to their normal blue color, "I'm not going to hurt you."

The blonde one sniffed, looking up at me. I stopped moving.

After a moment's hesitation, I opened up my arms. He stood there, before running up to me, slamming into my hug. The brunette slowly made her way over, before she too embraced the smaller blonde.

"You're safe now…you're safe…"


I never did get their names. Authorities showed up a few minutes after Red disappeared. Though they claimed to be with the local authorities, I could tell they were Aurors.

They asked who we were, but the two kids wouldn't even look up. They were terrified still. I told the Aurors who I was before telling a revised version of the story.

I told them I saw three men and two women chasing down the two kids, that I decided to follow them, and then described how they got into some kind of fight with other people. My rendition of the story was flawed and full of holes, sure, but I used my status as a young "uneducated" child to the fullest to sell it.

Soon after they heard my name, Prodvere, they contacted Kelly.

She was worried sick. Turns out she had come to pick me up about ten minutes after I started walking home. She had been scouring all over the place looking for me. She was frantic when she saw me.

At the time I didn't notice, but my clothes were all burned and shredded. My lip had blood on it, and then there were the crispy bodies nearby. I'd be worried if she wasn't concerned.

The Aurors took the girl and boy away, which took time. They were slow in letting me go.

And I never got their names.

I did get another notification from the system, though. It showed up during the scuffle, but I didn't even notice at the time.

Ancient Magic mastery has risen to LVL 1!


"Kayla," Kelly smiled at me softly as she came up to my door, "Would you come downstairs, please?"

It had been three days since the scuffle with the red haired lady and the two kids. Mark and Kelly wouldn't let me go to school unattended, and even then, they had me stay home the first day after the incident.

They gave me a thorough scolding for wandering off on my own. That was followed by a conversation about how dangerous the world is, especially if you're a young girl wandering alone.

I couldn't even fault them for it. They're right.

I wonder what it is they want now.

"Sure," I said softly as I stood up, closing my journal.

Something has been bothering Mark and Kelly the last few days. They've been talking in hushed tones, even arguing a little. Whenever I came into the same room as them, they would stop talking and then smile at me.

Maybe I'm about to find out what they've been talking about.

Kelly stood behind me as we made our way downstairs. Mark was waiting for us in the living room on the couch.

"Hey, squirt," He smiled at me, patting on the cushion next to him, "Have a seat."

"What's this all about?" I asked as Kelly and I sat down.

Mark looked up at her, "Go ahead," he said. Kelly took a deep breath.

"You're going to be a big sister soon!" She announced, almost shouting. Excitement began rolling off her in waves.

"...Wha…WHAT?!" I exclaimed. This is huge news! I thought these guys were sterile, how in the world did they manage to get pregnant? Well, I mean, it's obvious how, but still!

"Yep!" Mark smiled big! "We're having a baby! Your mom's pregnant!"

"That's amazing, mom!" I'll have another family member…my very first sibling.

"We know, this is exciting news! Which is why your father and I have been talking, baby," Kelly said, "And we think it's time I taught you how to control magic."

"Really?" I slowly asked. I've been working to learn everything on my own; having a tutor of some kind would be a massive help! But, why would they do this now?

"Yes," Kelly nodded firmly, "We've noticed you've had a lot of incidents with accidental magic. Many of them relating to fire. I'm worried about you hurting yourself or those around you."

I get it. They want me to be safe around the new baby. I want myself to be safe around the baby!

"Be honest with me, sweetie," She looked me in the eye, "You burned those people who attacked you, didn't you?"

I was afraid this would happen. I've had too many incidents with fire occur, of course she'd connect the dots. My adopted parents aren't stupid.

"Yeah, I did…" I hesitated. Kelly is agreeing to help me learn magic…maybe I can trust them…but how do I even bring it up?

"Mom?" I asked, "Are people born with…affinities?"

"Affinites?" Kelly tilted her head, "What do you mean?"

"Where'd you even learn that word?" Mark questioned out loud.

"Like…do some magics come easier to people than others?" I clarified.

"Yes, they do," Kelly smiled in understanding, "Though the term 'affinity' isn't really used, some practices of magic come easier to people than others do. I myself am rather good with Stunning Spells," There was an undertone of pride in her smile when she finished explaining.

"Well…" I took a deep breath, before holding out my hand, "I think I have one."

A fire lit in my palm, causing Mark to jump and Kelly to intake a sharp breath.

"But…no wand…?" Kelly held her hand near the flame, feeling the warmth radiate from it, "You're not hurt from the heat?"

"No…" I put the flame out, "Is this not normal?"

I already knew it wasn't, but I wanted to hear Kelly's take on it. Maybe she could help me. In light of a new baby on the way, I'm not going to leave my training to chance anymore. Fire is dangerous, and I don't want to hurt my upcoming sibling.

"Not that I've heard, but don't worry," Kelly smiled softly at me. It seems like she's aware of how I'm feeling, "You're still our little girl, and we love you."

"More than you can know," Mark smiled, rubbing my head.

"This is all the more reason I start tutoring you on magic," Kelly giggled. Though there was some concern in her laugh.

"No kidding," Mark smiled, an undertone of nerves in the movement, "We know it's early, but we've discussed it and we feel like this would be for the best."

"Does this mean you're going to take me to get a wand!?" I exclaimed, ecstatic at the possibility!

"Not so fast, missy," Kelly flicked my nose, "You'll be using my wand, and then I'll teach you some meditation exercises."

"Meditation?" I asked, ignoring my disappointment at still having to wait for a wand, "How will that help?"

"Magic comes from the mind and imagination just as much as it does incantations and wand movements," Kelly smiled. She was definitely getting excited. I sometimes forget how much of a bookworm she is, "Meditating will allow you to gain some control over yourself. My father did it with me when my own accidental magic became a problem."

"Oh, yeah…" I keep forgetting how Kelly's dad works in the Accidental Magic Department.

"We're starting immediately!" Kelly announced, straightening in her seat, "Now, when meditating, you want to keep your posture firm and straight…"


And so a new routine was established.

Kelly taught me basic wand movements, as well as how to meditate. On top of these lessons, I continued going to school and dance classes.

Early in the morning, I would sometimes sneak out to practice with my magmamancy, though now that Mark and Kelly knew about my unique abilities, they would help me most of the time.

As I incorporated the things that Kelly taught me, I will forever be mad at myself for not discovering this sooner!

While I was meditating, I was able to almost physically see my magic within myself! It was by these means that I learned I do have an internal pool of magic, or 'mana.'

On top of that, I discovered I could expel my magic into the environment around me without casting a spell of some kind! Only when I focused though.

When I did this, I emanated a lot of heat; but sometimes the magic would do crazy things, like create warm white or black light, cause my body to glow like it was on fire inside (exactly like my wings) or it would even cause plants to grow quicker!

My mana is full of life energy, evidently.

But the greatest discovery of all when I did this, was that it made my internal pool of power grow nearly exponentially quicker than before.

I no longer fainted or felt quite as exhausted after a training session, and I felt so much better mentally and physically after meditating!

But what came as the biggest surprise to me was when I first used Kelly's wand.

She 'taught' me the hovering charm, Wingardium Leviosa, and with her wand I was able to perform it, but only just. It took days of practice, and even when I accomplished casting the spell, I struggled to make a quill hover even an inch.

This was a little surprising to me. Kelly wasn't surprised and said it was impressive I accomplished this at such a young age, but I've tried practicing so many of these spells without using a wand (let's ignore the fact it was unsuccessful).

But no, what really shocked me was what I discovered when I successfully cast the spell. It took me casting it multiple times to confirm.

When I use magic with a wand, my mana won't drain. It isn't being used. This prompted me to ask Kelly how a person is able to use magic. She gave much the same answer as the textbook I read a while back, so I asked a more specific question.

I asked if witches and wizards have an internal source of power that lets them use magic, or if the amount of magic they could use was limited.

Kelly had to think about this question for a while. She told me that no, witches and wizards don't have an 'internal pool of power.' While magic does come from within oneself, she has never run out of power or 'exhausted' her magic, even when working with dragons.

As long as a wizard has his wand, and the proper knowledge, magic is nearly limitless. She then went on a whole spiel about how pompous, stubborn, prideful brats in the wizarding community are limiting society's knowledge. She got pretty passionate about it.

Mark had to kiss her to shut her up.

Wow, this magic system is soft! I'm guessing that I'm different because of my race if this is the case.

Man, there have been a lot of ups and downs, but I'm loving my new life.

Days blended into weeks, which turned into months, and it wasn't long before Kelly's baby bump begun to show.

Mark and I spent a lot of our free time hugging her tummy, to which she could only smile and role her eyes. Especially when Mark and I began arguing whether it would be a boy or a girl.

Yeah, life is going good. I couldn't help the bright smile I woke up with everyday.

I only wish it lasted longer.