Just Beyond the Stars

Prologue

"Please, you must take care of her, she´s what he wants and I can´t bear to think of what would happen if she fell into his control...she´s too precious to let that happen."

The woman´s eyes were now filled with tears as she looked down at the newborn baby she held in her arms, her bright sleepy eyes staring back.

"Yes, I understand, but what will happen to you?" said the man in a hushed tone.

"I will do what must be done, to protect the well being of my daughter."

Off in the distance another man's voice could be heard, screaming for the woman to stop being foolish and hand the child over.

"No, there must be another way, you can´t do this! She needs you...I need you."

"You know there is no other way. In order for her to live...I must die."

Before the man could protest further, the woman turned and ran into the woods behind her, calling out to the man in the forest.

Loud shouts, curses, and bright lights could be seen from deep in the woods. The man turned and began to run the other way toward his horse when he heard the screams of the other man and the woman...and then all was still.

He looked down at the child, who had fallen asleep, not knowing what had just happened to her mother. Not knowing what circumstances had brought her into this world. And not knowing the importance that she carried in her blood.

`She must be protected´ he thought, walking the rest of the way to his ride before and heading for his home a couple miles away, where he knew that, for the time being, she would be safe.

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Just Beyond the Stars

The sun had just risen over the mountains outside the young woman´s window. She would normally had been bothered by this and brought the covers over her head in an effort to drown out the light, but today was different. Today she welcomed the morning, for today was the day she would begin her new life. Today was the day she was to join the elite student body of `Hogwarts´.

Her name was Nissaya Tarogon. She was smart, funny, beautiful, a little unsure of herself at times, but able to overcome anything she put her mind to. Her eyes were bright and a lovely deep ginger color. Her hair was a dark shade of brown, and although she tried to keep it as neat as possible, it always tended to mess itself up, especially around her face.

On her lap was her cream colored Siamese cat named Bentlin. Bentlin was a gift she received when she was seven from a woman who lived across from the orphanage she had been living in at the time. He rarely left her side, extremely loyal, and seemingly able to communicate with the young girl, which aggravated as well as frightened a few people.

Nissaya had been living in various orphanages and homes for as long as she could remember. The only clue she had to her past was a note that one of her parents had written to the operator of the orphanage she had been left at, three books of spells, and a small hand made plush cat that she had originally named Bentlin before receiving the Siamese.

Although she was one of the most seemingly happy young people you could ever come across, her life was filled with hardships as well as heartaches. Nissaya was gifted, or cursed according to some, with the ability to see into a person's past and future as well as perform various measures of magick. As she got older her skills matured until she was able to focus her "seeing" ability to see specific events in peoples lives and had completely mastered almost all of the spells that were in the books she was found with. Which wasn´t a major feat to most of the people she came in contact with, and who felt that the books were almost as wicked as the girl herself.

`Witch´ was the most common word she was called. `Hell Spawn´, and `Cursed Wretch´ were a few others that adults and children alike called her. She never let it show that the names and taunting bothered her, but they naturally did.

`I´m no different than anyone else´ she would think to herself, trying to hide her tears. `I can´t help that I´m a little different´.

She was also usually blamed when something bad happened to someone because she constantly tried to warn others if she saw something awful in their future. Most saw these warnings as idle threats and when they happened the `witch´ was most likely the cause of all the turmoil, which resulted in transfer or banishment from orphanage after orphanage.

After years of being dragged and switched between various children´s homes all over Europe Nissaya was taken to the "Evermore Orphanage" in the northern part of England when she was fourteen. The woman in charge there, one Mrs. Dismore, and the other children saw Nissaya´s added abilities as a gift as well as a trait to be envied, and were more amazed than frightened whenever Nissaya put them to use.

Now sixteen years of age, Nissaya and the rest of the inhabitants were ecstatic as well as surprised when she received her acceptance letter to Hogwarts, especially at such a late time in life.

"Nissaya," came Mrs. Dismore´s voice from downstairs, "The cab is here to take you to the train station."

"Coming, Mrs. Dismore." she yelled back down, grabbing her stuffed cat and Bentlin as she ran down the stairs in a joyful hurry.