Well that screams "Look at me i'm special", but yea, a character can have magical abilities pre-ritual, but I did express my disdain for it. The thing about magic being used for non-war purposes is just an idea, I mean, it isn't war all the time.

By the way, the reason the other dorms got filled up is because they didn't know how many students there was going to be, AKA, your the first students at this school. ever.