Lumos was originally called the Children’s High Level Group.
The organization was established in 2005 by J.K. Rowling and the politician Emma Nicholson. Its initial purpose was to improve the situation of children living in institutions and to promote family-based alternatives. The name came from the fictional Children’s High Level Group, created to campaign for children’s rights in Eastern Europe.
In 2010, the organization adopted the name Lumos, referring to the Harry Potter spell that produces light. Lumos works internationally to end the institutionalization of children and support systems that allow children to live with families or in family-like settings.
The name change can cause confusion because Rowling also established the Volant Charitable Trust, a separate philanthropic organization. Lumos is not a fictional Hogwarts group and is not the same as a general Harry Potter fan organization. Its focus is child welfare, deinstitutionalization, and reform of care systems.