She slept in a motel along a dirt road that lead to nowhere. The employees were glad to have someone visit the motel; not too many travelers came out their way.

Cassandra was glad that no one questioned her age. After all, what was a sixteen year old doing alone in the middle of nowhere? She was also glad the people seemed nice because if she used a spell before her seventeenth birthday, the Ministry of Magic would stop her quest before it even began. Luckily, she only had a week left to wait.

The next morning, she said farewell to the staff and continued walking along the path. Her mother had gifted her with astrogoggles—binoculars that allowed her to see the stars in the mask of daylight. She followed their directions onward for miles until they lead her to an ocean.

She watched as the stars showed her an image—a boat sailing southwest to towering cities.

How was she supposed to get there? A voice in her head said "magic," but it was such a far distance to Apparate. She had a fear of Splinching, but if she didn't try, she'd never finish her quest.

Her quest would end before it even began.

She raised her wand and prepared for the worst.