3. Ginny

She knows him.

She knows him better than he realizes. Not better than he knows himself, because he has secrets, secrets he hasn't told her, and doesn't plan on telling her, not when there's a war going on.

And that's okay. Everyone has secrets. And who is she to expect him, 'The Chosen One', not to have secrets? He's in the middle of a war, and he's on a mission, a mission that is full of secrets.

And it really is okay because she knows him, and she knows he'll tell her when the time is right, whether it is before or after. Before he leaves or after he returns. Most likely after, because he will return.

Oh, she knows he's leaving, with the other two, for his mission sometime soon. Most likely after the wedding. She hopes that maybe she'll dance with him.

That would be wonderful, even though they're broken up and she knows it. And she knows why. It's because there's a war going on.

And it's just plain stupid.

Because she knew it was coming, sooner or later, she felt it. He has business to take care of, dark wizards to annihilate, a war to end, so that there won't be a war going on any more, so that people will be able to get back to their lives. That is, if they survive this thing.

She doesn't know how long it will last. Weeks? Months? Years? Who knows how long he'll be gone for, him and the other two, and so many others.

And she knows that some won't come back, she knows it, she just doesn't want to believe it. She also knows that he's the one to stop it, all because he has a heart. Sure, many people have a heart, but his is special, and she knows that because she knows him.

She knows when he's happy and angry and upset and nervous and embarrassed, but anyone could know that just by looking at him. She knows him because she knows what it feels like to be under the pressure of the Dark Lord. Of course, he has it much worse than she ever did, but at least she knows and doesn't just imagine.

She remembers that year. When her brothers had gone and flew that bloody car to his aunt and uncle's house to save him. She remembers him being there, in her house, it was as if a celebrity was staying with them. Many people do consider him a celebrity, but she knows that a real celebrity would never be able to take on a war. Not that he's doing it willingly, of course, he has to. Because it's either die or die fighting.

She also remembers the diary. And it's ironic that it would fall into the hands of a naïve little girl who just so happened to be infatuated with the object of the diary's desire. And she wrote in it, to him, about all the little first year things that she cared about then, and about him, yes, especially him. She had thought that the diary was only enchanted or charmed, she would never have imagined that it was evil.

Until, slowly, the diary became her best friend, she told him everything, her life was devoted to it. That was when it started to ask favors of her.

She doesn't remember most of them, not much, she doesn't really want to. But sometimes she has nightmares about them. The only reassurance is that she knows that he'll come and save her, like he did that night. She remembers opening her eyes and first seeing the venomous fifty foot snake, dead, and then her eyes traveling to him, torn and beaten and bloody, and she knew that her prince had come to save her.

It felt special to have such a thing between them. To know that they had seen the Dark Lord and conquered him, or at least he did. But really, it isn't so special, it's dreadful. It gives her nightmares and she knows he has them too, how can he not? Especially when there's a war are going on.

And sometimes she feels bad about yelling at him at Grimmauld Place when he was under so much pressure, after Cedric died. But he had forgotten. He had forgotten that she knew. It wasn't one of the other two, it was her, the one he barely knew. After he asked about it though, she did feel good knowing that she had made him feel just a little bit better after being under tremendous pressure, where just a little counts a lot.

After that he paid more attention to her, because she knew, they had a connection, and they became better friends. Until the day he slowly crossed the line she had crossed so long before, where she had been on the other side, waiting.

Because all that stuff about giving up on him was just rubbish.

And she'll never forget that day. That day at the party after the Quidditch match. It all happened in slow motion, and somehow she knew what was going to happen. And really, if that's how he acted when they won, she doesn't even want to think about what would have happened if they lost.

After that, it was something in a dream. It was better than all of her wildest fantasies, which she did have quite a lot of.

She liked it when she made him laugh. She knew that in the back of his mind anguish loomed, and for a split second it was almost forgotten, because laughter really is the best medicine.

However, that is not the case, not when there's a war going on.

And things only got worse, and the climax of it was when the most brilliant wizard of all time was killed by a coward who proved that maybe he wasn't so cowardly after all.

So she took his hand and she led him away. He had had a dazed look on his face, as if he couldn't really believe what was happening, none of them could. But you are forced to when there's a war going on.

And the time up until the funeral was spent in a daze, and she knew that it was going to be the last of the time she would spend with him for a long time.

And at the funeral, when he turned to her, while the other two cried with each other, she knew what he was going to say. And it still broke her heart, but that's what happens when there's a war going on.

And it just isn't fair. Generations before them suffered through this, and they fought hard to keep the next generations from suffering too, and it's a shame that they're suffering anyway.

And it isn't fair that he has to suffer, because he never did anything to deserve such torture, and he's battled it so many times.

But wars don't care. They don't care if you're man or woman, young or old, good or bad, they leave scars on everyone.

He has a mission, a mission that he doesn't want to go on, but has to anyway because there's a war going on. And when he comes out of it, he'll come back to her, she knows.

But first, he has a world to save.