As a child, his parents wanted nothing to do with him for unknown reasons, and had him sent to an elite magic school to get rid of him (in the Japanese version, he was sent to an orphanage). The institution that he was sent to was a cruel place, where they carried out painful punishments, where Henry likely endured great hardships, as he ended up becoming slow to feel any pain.

Due to being neglected, Henry enjoyed being in the company of animals, who all seem to be attracted to him many times for some reason. As a child, he was particularly close to a wolf, but one day, when the wolf attempted to visit him, the wolf was killed by the villagers, and Henry found the wolf's body while surrounded by other villagers. This made Henry snap and slaughter everyone out of blind rage.

Eventually, he grew into a powerful user of sorcery in Plegia, which earned him quite a reputation, even to Tharja, though Henry's identity was obscured to others due to always having a flock of crows around him. Henry had also befriended Mustafa and his family, where he would often times be invited over, where Henry would be given a bag of peaches by Mustafa, and that Henry reminded him of his son. Mustafa also wanted Henry to consider himself to be part of the family. Henry had also gotten to know Campari and Vasto, though for all of them, Henry never felt a true attachment as friends.