Five months later, Virginia received the
first-ever computer in her new life: At her eleventh birthaday, she was pulled
out of bed by Daddy into the hall.

She knew she should have behaved in a way
of ecstasy and excitement in facing this ‘antique’
, but when she glanced at it upside-down she found it hard to do so. Taking out
the instruction menu, she wasn’t surprised to find that it was even inferior
than handphones that are to appear several years later. Nevertheless, she had
to admit that she felt solaced to have witnessed the antique stage of computer.
It was her first time to see computers in such a state – in her memory of her
last life, even the earliest computers she had used in cybercafes, though big
as well, were a bit more advanced than this. At that time, cybercafes were
settled in a ground-floor flat with two rows of computers inside. She
remembered that at first she was intimidated at the idea of entering cybercafes
and when she wanted to do so, she normally had pretended to be just passing by,
surreptitiously putting her feet on the stairs leading up with her heart
beating like mad.

These memories again brought up her sorrow
for a small while.

‘Gini?’, asked Dad, clearly puzzled by
Virhinia’s reaction: Was it gladness or surprise?

Virginia took a deep breath, turned back,
and returned a perfect smile. Her light-red nosetip harmonized gently with her
fair skin. All these seemed so lovely in Dad’s view that he pulled her into a
hug and kissed her forehead: ‘My dear little girl, nothing matters more than
you being happy.’

Virginia’s tiny hands now tightly placed
themselves on Dad’s sleeves, head burying in his waist with mouth up. She
restrained the impulsion to say that owning such a dad was her happiest thing
in the world and no present will ever find a match.

The computer has been settled in Virginia’s
bedroom. Mum turned her head and scoffed at the pair: ‘Kindly prepare for
breakfast and don’t forget that we have to get ready to welcome Aunt Annie,
dears.’

The pair broke up reluctantly. Twinkling
their eyes towards each other, both made a peculiar grimace and then went to
wash seperately.

It was near noon. The family drove to the
cottage in the field and welcomed Aunt Annie, whom, by seeing Virginia from far
away, quickly rushed out and shouted: ‘Ohhh Gini! My little lovely Gini has
grown so much! Come here!’

Virginia lost her head on this, not knowing
whether she ought to run tiptoed and lung into outstretched arms of her aunt
who, though having lived out half her life, still kept herself in constantly
high spirits. Afterall, Virginia was not a kid of three or four years old
anymore, and she consoled herself by telling herself that she was still young
and lunging into a hug remained justifiable. Yet many years of departure had
witnessed Virginia’s stretched body, and she strongly suspected whether Aunt
would be able to lift her up. Above all, it was Virginia who hoisted herself up
everytime before.

Aunt Annie, as nicknamed by everybody,
being the sister of Virginia’s grandmother who has already passed away, is a
lovely old lady. Actually, calling her an old lady always seems odd, partly
because Aunt Annie possesses quite a different personality from Virginia’s
grandmother. Annie enjoys playing and loves travelling. She wears a face that
looks merely forty. It is said that foreign ladies grow old rapidly and in this
case, judging from either her appearance or her spirit, Aunt Annie has been
clearly segregated from her age. Her skin is soomth and tight, and only by
laughing can the crow’s feet near her eye corners can be noticed. Her perfect
hair is often curled above her shoulders, which makes her even more energetic. Such
an aunt can never be related with the word ‘old’.

It has been five or six years since
Virginia last saw her aunt, yet she did not appear even a whit older than
before but looked even younger. This is so inconceivable. Virginia thought of elixir of life, which seemed a bit too
implausible. Is it that Aunt Annie encountered vampires and then turned into
one of them to keep her eternal youth?

‘ My little Gini has forgotton auntie?’
said Annie with her arms still outstretched, seemingly on the edge of tears.
Mum pushed Virginia slightly from behind and she had no choice but to run
tipdoed into the long-waiting hug of her aunt. She hugged Aunt Annie tightly in
the waist, preventing her from attemptin to live her up again.

‘Hold up your head for me,’ said Aunt
Annie, stroking Virginia’s slightly curled hair, ‘Oh how beautiful our little
princess already is,’ sighed her; ‘It’s auntie’s fault that I didn’t come to
see you for so long that my little Gini does not remember me.’

Virginia was totally lost by this and
lowered head slightly, pretending she was shy, ‘How can I possibly forget you,
auntie? It's just you are younger than I expected.’

‘Oh please forgive me for being so
philistine,’ prayed Virginia secretly, ‘I really had no choice with such a dear
aunt.’

The car is parked well and Aunt Annie
shouted, ‘Lunch is ready. Now come in quickly.’

The family had a wonderful lunch. When her
parents are chatting vigorously with dear Annie, Virginia siezed the
opportunity and flew outside toward the river. Taking off her shoes and holding
her dress, she carefully put her feet into the running water. Wow! Virginia
held her slightly up with eyes half-open, sunlight gently stroking her face.
Greenish grass is just within her reach. She circled herself around in the
river water.

Suddenly a thought emerged: How can she
ever feel dissatisfied while living such a prominent life? She needs only to
embrace the present and value it whole-heartedly. Though she values it now as
well, she felt she has been too passive about life. What she needs is to be a
little more active.

At this precise moment she heard birds
flapping wind in the music of running river water. It seemed so close, though
she felt that something is deliberately seperating her and that sound. Then
suddenly a shirek ringed and there indeed restsed a bird. Opening her eyes,
Virginia felt that the sound came from the front of the house. She stepped out
of water and ran along with her shoes in her hand. Carefully stealing a glance,
she was disappointed to find noting there. She sighed and looked up. The cloud
has grown thick and seemed a bit darker. Maybe it was going to rain.

She came to the front of the door and sat
on the doorsteps, putting on her shoes slowly. She held up her head and sighed
slightly. At that moment she noticed a letter in the bush behind the letter
box. Virginia walked there and picked up the fate-changing letter.

This was a rather peculiar letter. The
letter used parchment that has a mysterious yellowish color, which engulfs you
with a sense of significance and appears rathor time-worn. There’s no stamp –
oh yes! On the upper side of the envelope writes the address and adressor.
Virginia felt confused. She turned it around and was again surprised to observe
that it was sealed by wax, and then she noticed the symbol – it took only two
seconds that she experienced the process of feeling familiar toward recognizing
what it meant – and then her foot was rooted to the ground – she was completely
confused now.

Holding the envelope in her hands, she
stood on the trial before the door. Then rain fell down as though it knew it
should now.

She came up to her sense and glanced at the
envelope. “It was just totally nonsense,” she thought semi-somnambulistly,” I
just didn’t remember it correctly. “ Perhaps she wasn’t familiar with the
symbol anyway; she just know the four animals on the symbol; it was just an
accident… maybe not.

Her other sense was shouting with all its
might – You are a Muggle-born!

Rain came down as though ice-cold water was
being emptied above her head repeatedly. She ran forward, conciously hiding the
envelope behind. The three adults was amazed to see her come in with her hair
wet. Aunt Annie aroused first and asked, “When did you go out…. Is it raining
outside? Go and find a blanket quickly.” So she stood up and went to find one.

Dad replied, “No need, Annie. Just let her
have a shower, and be careful not to catch a cold.” And he gave Virginia a look
that clearly indicated her to go upstairs and take a shower.

Unfortuately it was a bit late. Said Mum
quickly, “She must have gone to the riverside behind. You haven’t told us! You
have to drink a large bottle of hot milk later, as a punishment. Now go to have
your shower!”

Usually when Dad gave her such indications,
Virginia would immediately so as she was told to, but today she seemed a bit
dull. Usually after Mum said such things she would make a grimace befor going
upstairs, but she didn’t today. Instead she ran fast upstairs.

Dad and Mum exchanged a glance. “ Gini
seems a little quirky today, doesn’t she?” said Dad first. “I shall go upstairs
to check.” Said Mum.

Dad stopped her, “ Just let her have a
shower first. We may wait.”

Virginia, on the other hand, ran into her
room and shut the door and had half a mind to lock it. But her sense prevented
her from doing so. She went into the bathroom and locked its door, then turned
on the shower. The room was suddenly full of noise produced by water.

Now she took a deep breath and sat down.
She tried to clear her mind and began checking the letter carefully. It was
indeed her name on the envelope, but the adress is peculiar – she had’t been
here for months and had not ever told anyone about this address. How possibly
would people write to her?

And she shut her breath, turning it over
again. Indeed there was a huge letter H
in the middle of the symbol. On the left-up corner is a lion, right-up a snake,
left-down an eagle and right-down a badger, if she didn’t wish to deceive
herself.

She glanced at the letters she initially
ignored. The letters clearly read “HOGWARTS”, and below it is “DracoDormiensNunquamTitillandus”,
apparantly not written in English. It looked like Latin, but above it is surely
a name of a school.

Virginia hesitated: whether or not to open
it? If she chose not to, she may tell herself that it was perhaps only a hoax
made up by Rowling before her new books come out.. She knew it was only
self-deceiving, but if her house was buried in letters later, it would surely
make her birthday the worst she ever experienced.