Year 1: Breaking Traditions

Chapter 3: Given the Chance

Keith Krogane had honestly never really looked forward to Hogwarts.

He had many other aspects in life he was more focused on than school. Much to everyone else's displeasure. Life however gave him a curveball when he got his Hogwarts letter.

He had already known he was magic. He didn't have much memory of his father but he did recall magic in their little apartment growing up. He could vaguely piece together chasing a patronus as it darted around the kitchen. He could recall some plants that would try to bite him when he over watered them. He was pretty sure his favorite game when he was really young was simply watching his father create tiny lights from the top of his wand.

The memories were buried deep under dust and blankets in his brain but they were there nonetheless.

He never knew his mother. His father never mentioned her or kept photos of her around for Keith to know. He also had no knowledge of grandparents on either side.

But if at least one parent was magic he should be magic... right?

So when his father didn't come home one evening there wasn't anyone to check on Keith. In fact Keith's father always told him never to leave the house alone so it wasn't till almost two weeks later when someone finally broke down the door of their apartment to find a very terrified and hungry Keith hiding under him and his father's shared bed.

There was a short discussion in what to do before Keith was shipped off to one of the very few orphanages that specialized in future witches and wizards. So few that after some research Keith discovered there was only one in the whole country.

There Keith lived cramped with ten other boys in his room alone. That wasn't even counting the other rooms for the older boys and then the girls also had two rooms.

Magic there was rarely used. Why Keith never fully understood but it had something to do with the off chance one of the orphans didn't actually have magic in their blood.

Magic was typically used after hours when the kids slept and for special punishments that Keith was unfortunately well accustomed to. There were also two house elves that worked behind the scenes to keep things semi organized.

But the head caretaker was a horrible woman. A Squib herself she had no magic and often had to borrow what she could from special items. Keith never understood why she accepted this position because she rather seemed to hate children.

Keith often wondered if she just did it to feel a bit of power over those who had magic but he could never really prove it.

But given how life had essentially tossed him aside school became the last thing in his mind. He was more concerned about having enough to eat daily and not getting beaten either by the caretaker or older kids. The idea of going to a place like Hogwarts where there were even more kids and adults was disgusting.

Things had changed for him recently however. Just two months before he got his Hogwarts letter there had been an adoption event.

Adoption events were held twice a year. The idea was not only to raise money but also to help potentially adopt out some of the kids. The ministry had always made sure the orphanage at least had enough basic funds for things like food and they would cover any expenses for those going to Hogwarts but it still wasn't enough to keep caring for so many kids.