One day in March 1993, a Muggle by the name of Alexi Cantata ventured into one of the many forests of Scotland.  Alexi had moved to Great Britain to take a position with an up-and-coming film production studio in London.  She decided to spend two weeks vacation in Scotland, researching the life of William Wallace and other historical figures, and to explore the Highlands.  Alexi was an imposing figure – standing 5 feet, 10 inches, her dark grey eyes were fierce.  Reddish-brown hair framed a stubborn chin and high cheekbones, cascading past her shoulders in a glossy sheen.

          Even though an American by birth, she had quickly adopted Britain as her home, working hard to develop the accent and mannerisms to better fit in.  Her family was very proud of her, and she talked to them often.  Her mother, Michelle Bickingham, lived alone with a clowder of cats, and Alexi knew it brightened her day to hear from her only child.  Her father, Michael Cantata, and stepmother, Iris, were at first resistant to her leaving the United States, but now completely supported her.  However, Alexi had never felt like she had completely fit in with "normal" people, and relished the opportunity to be somewhere else for awhile.

          While walking the Scottish countryside, where there were numerous ancient castles, she sensed something that didn't feel of this world – something that could be called magical.  At first she believed it to be a reaction to the majestic scenery around her, but it didn't dissipate.  That night, she called her parents to let them know she would be hiking for several days and not to worry if they could not reach her.  After packing enough rations for five days, she set out the next day into the nearby forest, where the feeling had been strongest.  She soon became lost, but didn't care; she was focused on finding the source of that strange feeling.  Several times she had the sense that danger lay ahead, or that she had forgotten something important, but somehow she knew these were just diversionary tactics and she strove ahead. 

          Five days into her journey, she came across a small cottage.  A squat spirited woman answered the door at her knock.  This woman was Wendu Noctfornal, and she was a hermit, having moved to the forest to learn from and commune with the magical creatures there.  Wendu was curious about her and seemed surprised to see her out in the forest on her own.  Over dinner, she questioned Alexi on her motivations concerning the forest.  Alexi didn't feel she could explain the sensations, so simply answered that it was something she needed to complete.  Wendu (who was actually a witch – and Hogwarts alum) tried to deter her from going into the forest, for she knew of the terrible and strange creatures that resided there.  But Alexi was determined.  As Alexi slept, Wendu did some scrying in her mirror – the things she learned surprised her.  With a smile, she retired to bed herself.  The next morning, Wendu gave her several more days' worth of food and wished her luck on her journey.    Unbeknownst to Alexi, she called on the friendly creatures of the forest to watch over her. 

          The next two days were uneventful, but Alexi started to sense something following her.  The forest had become more wild and ancient, and strange noises called in the night.  On the third day, as she was drinking from a small stream, she was suddenly overcome by terror.  Turning around, she saw numerous horrible monsters approaching her.  Running from them, she slipped and fell.  Dragging herself behind a large boulder, she noticed the creatures had disappeared.  Standing, she started to progress forward again when they reappeared.  Hunkering back behind the boulder, she noticed that everything was normal beneath a tree that had fallen over the stream.  She realized that this was just a screen – essentially a type of hologram or vision and the fallen tree had disrupted it.  As long as she stayed under the tree, she would see no creatures and feel no terror.  Laughing to herself, she waded back into the stream, crawled under the tree, and proceeded. 

          After two more days, the food was gone and she was becoming dejected.  Not believing she had allowed herself to get this deep into unfamiliar territory while running out of provisions, she decided to turn back in the morning after resting.  That night, as she wrote in her journal by the fire, she felt someone watching her again.  Rising, she called out, "Who's there?  I can hear you!"  With no response, she became disgruntled and yelled, "This isn't funny!  I am in no mood for games!  I'm hungry, tired, cranky . . ." her voice broke, ". . . lost . . . and terribly sad.  I cannot cope with this!"  Crying, she sat back down, tossing her journal aside as she stared into the fire.

          Her sleep that night was unrestful.  Strange dreams haunted her – an elderly man with a long white beard, a black-haired man with a sneer on his face, mysterious creatures, a bay horse running from a fire, and then a cold snake-like face with red eyes staring unblinkingly.  Disturbed, she awoke suddenly.  Lying beside her was a pile of fruits, nuts, and greenery.  Looking around, she noticed strange hoof-like prints in the ground around her.  Evidently her watcher was not dangerous, and she had the feeling he wanted her to continue with her quest.  Resigned, she packed up the food and continued.

          Several more days passed, until she had lost all track of time.  Every morning a fresh pile of food awaited her, added by a jug of water when the stream petered out to a mere trickle.  Eventually she heard things – laughs, strange whooshing noises, roars, chiming, banging.  Several hours later, she came to a great lake, behind which lay a giant ruin of a castle.  It appeared this castle could fall down at any point, but Alexi still heard the noises.  She believed this castle was magical, and the ruins were a screen meant to keep people like her out.  Not sure about how she knew this, she simply accepted it.  She settled on the bank of the river and concentrated on the noises, focusing her energies on bringing alive the visions that accompanied the sounds.  She concentrated all night, the entirety of the following day, and into morning of the third day, not sleeping, eating, or drinking.  At last she succeeded, and her mind and body overcame the Confundus Charms and other spells.  She saw the wondrous Hogwarts in all its glory, the giant squid swimming in the lake, and a path leading up to the courtyard.   

          Alexi smiled, watching the sunlight sparkle off the turrets and towers.  Then, the vision began to waver, returning to the image of the dilapidated ruin.  "Nooo!" she screamed, quickly standing.  With the last of her energy, she closed her eyes and directed all thought onto the glorious castle she had just seen.  Something snapped in her mind, knocking her to the ground.  Looking up, she saw Hogwarts in its glory again.  With a weak smile, she rose to her knees, and then collapsed, mentally and physically exhausted. 

          During her vigil, the centaurs of the forest, including Firenze and Bane, approached her and stood guard.  They had been the ones watching over her, responding to Wendu's call.  They believed they had foreseen her arrival in the stars, and anticipated that she was meant to discover the castle and that she would be elemental in the downfall of Voldemort.  When she collapsed, Ronan sent Firenze to find Hagrid.  They knew she was very weak and needed immediate assistance, but would not help until they knew she could defeat the spells by herself.

          The day was Saturday, and there was a Quidditch match.  The entire student body was there at the time, and the castle was pretty much deserted.  Firenze galloped to the edge of the Quidditch pitch and called to Hagrid, using special sounds known only to him.  Hagrid excused himself from the match (which wasn't too hard, as it was a Slytherin/Hufflepuff match and the Slytherins were very much ahead).  Meeting with Firenze, he was curious as to what would have brought him out of the Forest, especially during the day.  Firenze wouldn't say, but led him to where Alexi lay.  Hagrid was dumbfounded to see a young Muggle there, watched over by a herd of centaurs.  He started to question them, but was silenced by Ronan, who ordered him to take her immediately to the hospital wing.  He also left a cryptic directive with Hagrid, telling him to inform Dumbledore not to make any hasty decisions concerning the woman. 

          Completely confused, Hagrid picked her up and carried her to the hospital wing.  After she was secured in Madam Pomfrey's care, he went to Dumbledore.  Soon after, the headmaster arrived with Severus Snape, Minerva McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, and Professor Sprout.  They were very surprised that a common Muggle could have found her way to the castle and recognized their spells, much less defeat them.  Dumbledore wished her to remain with them.  Snape disagreed, believing they should perform a Memory Charm on her and return her to the Muggle world.  Dumbledore decided to give it some thought.  He discovered her journal and read it aloud to the faculty.  In it, she had described the sensations she had felt, her journey, her meeting with Wendu, the terror of the holographic creatures, and the gifts of food (she didn't know it was the centaurs).  Dumbledore believed she might be more than just another Muggle, especially after what she had already accomplished.  Flitwick was especially impressed at her having escaped the Hologram Charm, as it was fairly powerful, and had never failed before.  McGonagall thought it interesting that Wendu (whom she remembered – a Ravenclaw) had assisted her.  "She would not assist a Muggle in learning about our secrets unless she thought that Muggle might be of assistance, Headmaster."  When Dumbledore spoke to the centaurs, they gave him vague comments, but they were enough to cement his own beliefs.  ("Have you seen how Venus is in her apogee tonight?  Amazing, is it not?  Yes, we know about the human we stood watch over.  We know that she is not what she seems.  She will be a force for good.  Do not make a rash decision.  Yes, Venus is wondrous tonight," they said).  Ultimately, Dumbledore felt she came upon Hogwarts for a reason, and deemed she stayed.