Black Dawn – Book 1 (War, Peace, and Ghosts of the Past)
Prolog
I look at the smooth, polished rock face of the monument. It has been fifty years since a hand touched the rock, fifty years since the carvings were done. Fifty years since it all happened.
My mind wanders as it always does when we come here. The faces of the past, the hopes, the dreams, the graves. If I turn just so, I can't see the rows of small white stones in even rows that are laid out before the monument. Each witch or wizard buried in the grave has a spot on the monument.
But perhaps here is not the place to start. Perhaps the place to start would be, well... The beginning, yes, that's a good place to begin, June. I remember the summer so well. Harry had just returned with the body of Cedric Diggory, and I was there for him. He didn't know it of course, but I was there for him. I am sure he felt my presence even then. My heart broke for him, standing there with Cedric in his arms. Harry Potter was the master of my heart then even.
I was there when he talked to Dumbledore and that blind bastard Fudge, I was there when he broke down and my arms were the ones to surround him, my shoulder was wet with his tears, my voice comforted him. My heart melted for him, broke for him, and fused iron-hard for him, giving him something solid to regain his balance. I was rewarded that night with the burden of all that was Harry Potter. I learned everything that night. There were no more secrets between either of us. We spilled out our secrets, dreams, and desires and we acted on them.
Do you hate me for this? I don't care. You weren't there. You didn't see what I saw, hear what I heard, and dammit, you didn't feel what I felt. I was there for him while you were at home having a warm meal. Your pathetic excuses for "honor" mean less to him than they mean to me, and I could give; now how did that American say it? "Two squirts of cold rat piss." Yes, that's it. That's how we felt about the titles, the honors, the ceremonies.
Well, I guess some of us are still bitter. And we have every right. We fought your damn war. We made Voldemort's victories empty, and his defeat final. We did what was needed; you sat on your fat asses reading about us.
I would like to apologize to any of the Companions who read this. You know, you were there. But you never learned it all. Now it's time for the whole story to come out. As I pen this, Harry and I are leaving. Some of the Companions are staying behind, some are coming with us. We are dangerous, we are deadly, and now you don't want us around. We can't work beside you, we can't live in your neighborhoods, and we can't shop in your stores. Well, a well-earned fuck you to all of you. We are leaving for a place that you will never find us. Never.
Ginny Weasley-Potter - Companion