Harry Potter © J.K. Rowling

Introduction

It was so cold.

I wasn't speaking like air conditioning cold, but a kind of coldness that would make you feel depressed. This kind of cold made me want to give up, like I could never feel happy again.

But I guess that's how death goes. Whether you died quickly or slowly, it doesn't matter. The feeling that you'll never be happy again stays the same.

I don't know how to take of death. I feel alive, yet I cannot see. Maybe this has something to do with how I died. It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't pretty either. Mum must be screaming her head off at home, seeing the bloody mess I made in my room. Thank heavens I'm already dead, because if I survived that, I would've been killed via frying pan.

Death wasn't much to describe. I expected to feel this cold and empty for all eternity. There was no way out of it.

… or so I thought.

I never thought that even in the afterlife I could still feel pain.

Do you know that scene in the Lion King, when Pumba got his butt stuck in a tree root while escaping Nala and Timon had no way to get him out of there and tried squeezing his fat arse into the small hole? I think I know perfectly well how it feels like.

It was horrible. Pushed, squeezed, forced, and kneaded like a slap of yeast. Honestly, did Death somehow lose me on the way to the afterlife or he hired an intern how thinks that fragile souls should be handled like molding clay?

I don't know how long it took, but it finally ended. Only then did I calm down. I breathed in air and— wait, what?

I could breathe! I inhaled and exhaled, finally being able to suck in fresh air into my system. I could smell! I smelled smoke, dried blood, and possibly dirt. I could feel! Someone was holding me close to their chest. I could hear! The sound of clipped breathing and heartbeat close to me gave me comfort.

This feeling… I was alive! Alive!

I wasn't aware of the danger I had come across that night, neither did I realize who I was. All I wanted to scream out was the fact that I was alive and well! I was so happy being alive again, because I realized once more how amazing it is to become a full human being!

But while I was celebrating, there was only one thing that puzzled my mind;

How?

How many days, weeks, months has passed?

I don't know. I fell asleep on the person who carried me, and soon after when I woke up, I was no longer in the dark. Instead, I could see my surroundings clearly. I never knew that infants can have perfect vision. How peculiar.

From what I saw, I think I was lying down on a small bed. I was staring at the ceiling, and the temperature around me was cold. Air conditioned cold. It wasn't dead cold.

I was comfortable in my place, but the fact that my body isn't as mobile as it was before was stressing. Also, for some deranged reason, I couldn't stop drooling no matter how many times I used my mitted covered hands to wipe it off.

I woke up each day in the same room, doing nothing but plan what I can do now that I have a chance to start over.

It was boring, but I was grateful for this new life of mine nonetheless.

Someone soon found me.

I figured I must've been an orphan. After a long time, a nurse came and picked me up from my bed. I was sad, because I really liked my bed.

I was then placed it in the hands of a woman. She looked very strict. Her features were very sharp, especially her nose. Contrary to her appearance, where she had gentle brown hair and green eyes. I was intimidated by her, but then she smiled at me. I was surprised by how… gentle she looked.

There was a man beside her. Instead of looking as sharp as she was, he looked exceptionally calm and lax. He had a pudgy nose, which I found amusing. His hair was black, but there were a few gray strands. His eyes were blue, which looked very interesting.

It was very sad that I won't be able to see my real parents, but my new family looked at me with love and kindness in their eyes. Realizing that I was probably an infant in their arms, I decided to giggle and laugh as cutely as I could.

They looked overjoyed by this. The woman even cried and held me tight to her chest, swaying from side to side.

"Welcome to the family, Arlina."

Arlina?

I like that name.

[A/N:] Short introduction, I know. But more is to come, I swear. ;) Patience is a virtue, my fellow wizards.

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