Out of Reach
Disclaimer: All characters besides the ones I made up belong to J.K. Rowling. I am only borrowing them for my pleasure
and intend no harm to Rowling or her characters in doing so. In other words, please do not sue.
This story idea came from one of my favorite authors (other than Rowling) L.J. Smith. If any of you have had the pleasure of
reading The Secret Circle then portians of this story may sound vaguely familiar. If you have NOT read the books, then I
advise you do so and then continue on to read The Vampire Diaries. Another great series!
Prologue
The summer before her third year at Durmstrang School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Lily Evans spent at her families cabin with her Mum, Dad and older sister. Nothing out of the unusual for them. For as long as Lily can remember certain events in her life she can remember taking the family summer trip to the cabin. It was her favorite place to go and she always felt the most at peace when there. Her sister, Petunia, who was four years older than Lily, always hated it. She was always counting down the days until they could return to their home. She did nothing but complain about the hot air, the bugs biting her and the night noises of the forest surrounding them.
Lily loved the nightly noises and as long as she can remember taking these vacations she can remember sitting on the back porch at night, listening to the animals in the forest. The wolves that would howl, making Petunia cry out in fear, always showed themselves at the edge of the forest, their eyes glowing up at Lily before they would run back off after dinner. The owls would swop down on a nearby tree and sing songs to Lily that always had the same words with a slightly different tune. It wasn't until later in the evenings when Lily would see her favorite animals, the fox, with it's bright red hair and padded white paws that matched the white surrounding the tip of its tail. Lily always brought out a snack for the fox, feeding him from a distance. Her other favorite animal, a beautiful stag, always appeared just before Lily would go inside for bed. The first time the stag let Lily pet it, they both were shocked as the stags big brown eyes stared into Lily's bright green eyes.
Each night after that the stag let Lily get to know him a little bit more until one night Lily found herself sitting on the ground telling the stag about her life and how wonderful it had become when she had received the letter the summer of her eleventh birthday. The stag was laying beside her, its head laying on its front paws, seeming to nod at all the right moments.
Lily told this stag about her school report she had written on Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and how she dreamed of transferring to his school to be one of his students. She also spoke about how impossible it was to get such a transfer and how she didn't dare to dream that her transfer would actually come through.
It was two nights later when the stag appeared with an owl on one of its antlers, an envelope in the owls mouth. Petunia, who had been standing with Lily on the back porch, cried out in fear, running back into the cabin as Lily rushed to the stags side, immediately taking the letter into her hands. The letter was addressed to her and had a H stamped on the back where the letter was sealed. With her heart pounding in her ear Lily tore open the envelope to find a letter from Headmaster Dumbledore himself inviting Lily to continue her studies at Hogwarts. Lily let out a squeal of excitement as she rushed into the cabin to show her parents.
Her dreams were coming true. Finally, she was going to the school of her choice, instead of the school that had choose her.