[HP] Complex Touch

"I'm back! Meg, I'm back—"

She steadied herself and let out a stifled sob.There were dead bodies on the floor, the dead bodies of everyone she knew.what happened?right!No!It must have been an attack.Hogwarts has been attacked again.She was too late, she took too long!Everyone is dead!Voldemort attacked—

"Mom?" Ginny screamed when she saw her mother's body. "I got the book, I got it!"

Ginny sobbed harder, covering her face with her hands, unable to look into her mother's lifeless eyes.She started to sway when a hand grabbed her shoulder.Ginny struggled to turn around, feeling tears covering her face.

"Harry..." She reached out and grabbed his hand.

He was bleeding and his eyes were blank.

"I've got the book," Ginny said softly, shoving a heavy book to Harry. "We can still defeat Voldemort."

"No, we can't," Harry replied, before falling to the ground.

Ginny tried to grab him, but fell under his weight.He was cold to the touch, and Ginny gasped at his sudden change in temperature.

"Harry?"

"Hey?"

Ginny looked up in confusion.Who was talking just now?Not Harry, because he's closing his eyes, he's not breathing...

Oh, Merlin, he's dead—

"Wake up!"

She couldn't breathe either, she failed, oh, she failed, everything was ruined by her!A sudden thrust knocked her head to the ground, but it didn't hurt, and she opened her eyes, unaware that she was so close to someone else.

"Someone just entered the common room and you're still in such a deep sleep," said an amused voice.

Ginny blinked, wondering what had just happened.She's lying on a couch, and a group of... students are walking into the common room.Ginny sat up and continued to stare blankly at the scene in front of her. Then, someone sat down next to her.

For the past 24 hours, Ginny had just wandered around the Hufflepuff common room.Breakfast with Dumbledore was important, and he explained her condition and the tragic death of her family to the other staff, and none of them thought much of it.Even McGonagall took Dumbledore's word lightly.After breakfast, Ginny returned to the common room; Dumbledore let her rest.

She did.Apparently, she slept through the sorting ceremony.How stupid is she?

Ginny's attention came back to reality when she realized a girl was sitting next to her.The girl with light brown hair smiled beautifully at her, happy to finally have her attention.

"I'm sorry," Ginny blurted out, realizing it was the girl who woke her up. "I'm so tired."

The girl raised her eyebrows at her happily.

"We haven't done anything yet!" the girl replied with a smile.

Ginny hastily covered her actions with lies, and having grown up with Fred and George, she was pretty good at it.

"The sorting ceremony was kind of boring," Ginny explained. "And the food... swear to Merlin, I think it's going to kill me."

The girl smiled and stood up.Ginny also stood up, held out her hand, and introduced herself.

"Genevia Styles, I'm a freshman," she said, and the girl laughed.

"I noticed. I was wondering who you were. Dorcas Meadows." They shook hands, and Dorcas said, tilting his head. "I'm a sixth grader."

"Me too," Ginny replied.

"Then why did you come to Hogwarts all of a sudden?" Dorcas asked curiously.

"My family..." Ginny paused, frowning. "They were killed."

Dorcas's happy face darkened instantly, and she apologized awkwardly.

"I live with my aunt, it's closer to her," Ginny went on, and Dorcas nodded.

"Hogwarts is a huge school! You'll love it here," Dorcas promised. "I'll show you the dorms and introduce you to the girls!"

Ginny followed Dorcas up the girls' dormitory.She hadn't been upstairs yet, and she felt she had no right to explore unless there were other Hufflepuffs with her.She looked back into the common room to see several puzzled faces looking at her.Strangely, the steps only extended a few steps, revealing the first-year dormitory, and then began to descend.

The older you get, the further down your room goes!Ginny followed Dorcas down the bright stairwell in amazement.At last, when they reached their destination, Dorcas opened the door of the sixth-grade dormitory.She turned and smiled at Ginny.

"It's amazing here," said Ginny, still marveling at the difference between the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff stairwells.

"You haven't seen anything yet," said Dorcas.

Dorcas and Ginny entered the room and saw two other girls climbing into bed.The girls looked up, surprised by the unknown girls.Dorcas pushed Ginny further into the room.

"This is Genevieve—"

"Oh, call me Ginny!" Ginny interrupted Dorcas. "Genevia is a terrible name."

"I like it," said a girl. "Genevia . . . has a ring."

Dorcas shook his head.

"She's new here," continued Dorcas. "That's Marlene McKinnon."

Marlene, who liked Ginny's full name, looked up with a weary smile.She was climbing into bed and didn't seem too suspicious of Ginny's appearance.

"That's Emily Burns."

Emily Burns... this is Susan Burns' aunt.She was stalking Harry when the dementors attacked him.Voldemort killed Ginny in her fifth year... Ginny frowned and lowered her eyes.

"That's my bed," continued Dorcas. "Then this must be yours. What a beautiful suitcase!"

Ginny walked to her bed, tried to catch her breath, and ran her fingers over the suitcase.She opened it to find two stacks of new robes and clothes, as well as some books, quills, and parchment.Ginny sighed, then turned to find Dorcas looking at the contents of her own trunk.

"Can't believe we're back at Hogwarts," muttered Dorcas. "Summer goes by so fast."

Ginny watched Dorcas' movements out of the corner of her eye.Ginny can adapt to the Queen of Hogwarts, this is the first test.Even if everyone was dead in her day, she could lie and gain their trust.The thought made her stomach twist painfully.Dorcas caught Ginny looking at her and smiled at her.

"Really, take it easy. Hogwarts will become your home before you know it. We'll find some charming folks here."

Ginny bit her lip and climbed into her bed.Emily appears to be asleep and Marlene is holding a book and not listening to their conversation.

"But you should sleep," Dorcas warned. "Classes start tomorrow, and if you have a lot of work... well, you're going to feel bad tomorrow night."

Ginny knew it was all right.She nodded approvingly and got under the covers.They were as thick as a Gryffindor dorm quilt.She lay down and closed her eyes, surprised how tired she was still.Dorcas said a spell, and the candles in the room went out; Ginny could smell the smoke in the air.

Will these girls all die?Does she go to school with their children?Are they supporting the Order of the Phoenix or fighting for Voldemort?Would her presence affect their future?She closed her eyes tighter.She has met people who died in her day...

She nearly let out a sob at the thought of her nightmare, but she put her hand to her mouth just in time.What if she comes home too late?She doesn't know how the Time-Turner works.What if her family had died by the time she got home, or had she missed something important by staying here?Ginny hadn't worried before, but now...

Tears welled up in Ginny's closed eyes, and her breathing became labored.She wants to go home, let her go home!