The Fallen Ginny tripped over the hem of her robe and tumbled, hands outstretched, onto the loamy earth. She could make out others, dim shapes behind bushes and thickets, obscured by the twilight of trees in the Forbidden Forest. No one noticed when she fell.

She leaned back and sat for a moment, relishing the relative peace of her stolen solitude. No one was allowed outside alone anymore, since Voldemort and his Death Eaters had taken possession of Hogsmeade in preparation for an attack on Hogwarts itself. The familiar hallways had become oppressive; students clustered together like newborn kittens for warmth, sustenance, and comfort. It was always clear who was the runt of the group, lingering at the fringes, laughing too shrilly in a desperate plea for acceptance and belonging. The atmosphere was stifling enough to lure Ginny, despite the vigorous protests of her friends, into this volunteer expedition into the darkest parts of the Forest. Here, in the face of the threat of centaurs and dementors, the few who dared searched for herbs, supplies, and food of any sort. The Hogwarts cupboards were bare, and no real person of authority remained to fill them.

She dimly remembered fairy tales of magical tablecloths that spread feasts before their happy owners. Such magic had long been lost to a wizarding society intent on obscuring the past. Her kind had remained in stasis for decades.centuries even.when the only innovations were in faster broomsticks and the occasional potion for dandruff. No real magic had been developed; nothing created in Ginny's lifetime.

So now she.an entire generation.was reduced to gathering what the Forest, grim and friendless, could provide while her people, a magical nation within an oblivious one, tore itself apart. They would be fortunate to make it back to the castle alive; her heart burned with the shame of it. Voldemort in his madness was ensuring that Muggles would inherit the earth.

She stood, brushing bits of dirt off her robes and where it had embedded into her palms, one fingernail briefly tracing what now seemed an impossibly short life line.