'Til Death Do You Part

I'm eerily calm. Content.

That's the first thing I become aware of.

Then I open my eyes, and I notice that I'm standing in the middle of a train station. But that isn't quite right, either. My surroundings are just burry enough -with just enough mist covering the walls- that hide the details, only allowing impressions to leak through and simultaneously making everything seem further away it probably is.

I say that because I can see people wordlessly drifting to the parked train, just as shapeless and obscured as everything else. Curiosity worms itself inside of me at the sight, along with the nagging feeling that I should be doing the same.

"Wait." A deep voice cuts into the silence, jolting me as I twirl around.

I realize, then, that I had stepped closer to the train without being aware. Forcing myself to look away from the train and the faceless people climbing aboard, I eye the man that had made himself known.

He's awfully tall, and with a dark hooded cloak that hides his appearance from sight. Despite his intimating figure, though, I can't bring myself to be afraid of the man. Not even when he walks closer, staying a respectful distance all the while.

"Yes?" I ask.

"You aren't to go there, yet," he tells me, head gesturing to the train behind me.

"I'm not?" I question doubtfully, somehow knowing that the man isn't quite speaking the truth.

"Not yet," he reiterates. "Tell me, Evelyn Walker, do you know where you are?"

'What an odd question,' I think. "I'm at a trains' station, of course. Where else would I be?"

I gain the impression that he's smiling based on the tone of his voice. "Where else, indeed. Let me ask you something else then; do you believe in the afterlife?"

I blink, mouth opening before snapping shut. That nagging feeling grows, becoming very insistent even as a new sense of wrongness begins to nip at me, slowly chipping away at the calm. I furrow my brows, thinking.

The hooded figure waits patiently.

"Where else, indeed," his words echo in my mind. I look around myself again, paying real, true attention on my burry surroundings and how unnaturally lifeless the others move. Not once do they glance towards us.

It's as if we aren't here. No, as if they simply can't see or hear us.

'...I'm not supposed to be here, am I?' "Where am I?" I finally ask the man.

"In limbo," he answers simply. He pauses for a moment, letting me digest the news.

"Oh," I respond hollowly. I stare at the train, numbness's icy fingers grabbing hold of me, creating an empty, gnawing hole in my gut at the revelation. "I died, didn't I?"

The man dips his head.

Yes, yes, it's all coming together now. My boss asking me to stay later, my poor decision to stay up reading most of the night -and morning- the time before, and the red truck ramming into my side-

I truly did die.

"What now, then?" I wonder, turning my head to face the man again. Because didn't he say 'not yet'? Does this mean he's going to send me back?

"Now you have a choice," he stalks forward, forcing me to tilt my chin up.

I'm slightly disappointed when, even as I peak from under his hood, all I see is pitch darkness.

"A choice whether to move on," he continues, gesturing to the train, "Or to accept my deal."

"...I don't think making a deal with you would be very beneficial for me. They have stories warning about that type of thing, you know," I frown.

He laughs, a surprisingly pleasant sound that sends a shiver down my spine. I can imagine the grin, the glinting eyes full of mirth that would follow His words; "I'm not the Devil. I would not be here if I were, and neither would you if you were meeting me."

"Who are you, then?"

"Death."

'Ah.'

He leans closer, bending down to almost my height. "The deal I'm about to propose to you isn't so unfair as what the Devil would trick you into, I promise. Would you like to hear it?"

I purse my lips. "I suppose so," I allow slowly. "It isn't like I got anything else to do, is it?"

He chuckles again, straightening to his full, impressive height. "That's the spirit."

I blink, mind reeling for a second. Did he -did Death Himself- just make a pun-?

"I require you to settle a bet for me," He goes on, sighing. "See, I've grown tired of Fate thinking Herself inevitable. She really isn't -it's only that the humans have fooled themselves into believing it, with all the prophecies She fancies writing, and it's caused Her to get a bit...Ahead of Herself."

"...Alright, so what do you want me to do about it?" I question, deciding against going into the fact that apparently Death and Fate have their own self identities, and have spats with each other for the time being.

"I need you to ruin one of Her prophecies," Death explains, sounding utterly gleeful at the mere prospect. "It'll drive Her nuts, and worse yet She won't be have any power over you, because you won't belong to the universe to begin with! You enjoyed the so-called Harry Potter series in your world, didn't you?"

"I was a big fan," I admit, now guessing where this is headed and not knowing how to feel about it. Disbelieve, excitement- "Are you sending me to the Harry Potter world? Like in the fan fictions?"

"Exactly," Death answers, sounding pleased. "I will allow you to experience the wonders of magic, and all you have to do is destroy that abomination before the so-called 'Chosen One' is able to in return."

I pause. Something about how easy He makes it sound and the implications of that same sentence being awfully unfit for each other..."You want me to kill Lord Voldemort, before Harry?" I clarify carefully.

"Or that Longbottom boy, yes," Death agrees.

I stare at Him.

He waits once more, ever patient.

"You want me to kill Lord Voldemort," I repeat, "So that you can prove to Fate that She isn't, in fact, invincible?"

"Yes."

I stare some more, disbelieve finally over taking me of how serious He's being. Right. Well. "...And if I were to get killed? If I fail to kill him and die early?"

"You don't need to worry about that," He assures me confidently. "I can simply send you back if you do end up dead before you're able to rid the earth of him."

'Surely that's breaking some sort of rule? Very important ones at that?' Then again, I'm sure there must be some kind of rule against sending a soul to another world. In the end, I can't bring myself to ask about them in fear of the possible consequences.

"...Will I be able to pick what family I'm born into?"

"No."

I bristle at His hard, unyielding tone, and open my mouth to argue when He continues:

"Sending you to the new world is not as easy as you're thinking. I am not Life, nor am I Magic. I cannot simply create an entirely new body for you. Neither will I take a soul only for you to replace it and keep the original soul's body."

Now I'm confused. "Will I be...Transmigrated, then?" I question, furrowing my brow.

He shakes His head. "I will place your soul in a stillborn. Unfortunately, the magical community being as small as it is, there are less stillbirths than even in the non-magical population, and even less that would offer you the right opportunities and position in life for the deal to have a chance of succeeding. There is only one that can do that."

"Oh, I see," I say, a little disappointed, and pushing down the raising discomfort of the surreal situation. "Who then?" I can't remember any stillbirths being mentioned in the books, but then again I suppose if it actually is an entire other universe, there must be more to it than what was written down.

There's that impression of a grin again. "Do you accept, then?"

"Yes. But who am I being reborn as?"

"Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer," is all He warns with an undertone of excitement and wicked glee, before a skeletal hand covers my face and everything goes dark.

Hello, everyone! I just wanted to thank you for checking out this story, and to inform you that I also have another HP work (100k words, thirteen chapters so far) called Sincerely, The Stranger You Call Sister if you're interested. It's about another OC of mine being reborn as Tom Riddle's (older) twin sister, and is a challenge response from Writer's Obsession Story Challenge: Brother Dearest. A warning for the OC's crude language, though!

If you'd like to review, but don't know what to say, please answer these questions:

1. Which family do you think she'll be reborn into?

2. What do you think of Death so far, and would you like to see more of him?

3. Do you have a favourite part?

4. Do you have a least favourite part?

5. Did you see any mistakes, and if so, where?

6. Do you have any questions?