The Realisation

Harry had woken up that morning with a sudden realisation. This realisation plagued him as he showered and dressed, as he went down to breakfast, and as he sat in potions class.

The realisation had coiled within him, getting tighter and tighter until finally it was allowed to snap loose.

'POTTER!'

'SNAPE!'

The throwback caused a moment of surprise, which was all Harry needed to plow on.

'A little tit for tat professor. You want to be addressed respectfully well so do I. And before you say a word about respect needing to be earned, it goes both ways! I didn't cast the first stone you did, so if you want me to be even remotely respectful to you then you're going to have to try hard to return the favour! Being a professor means nothing if you're going to be a bully!'

'You arrogant self centered boy just like your father!'

'MY FATHER IS DEAD!'

Again he caught the man completely off guard.

'So maybe I am arrogant, self centered and lazy, but how am I supposed to have learned these traits from a man I knew for less than two years?! You can't be born with your parent's attitudes, you have to learn by example, and I couldn't possibly have learned everything there is to know about my parents when I was still learning how to walk and talk myself! Understand something professor, I don't remember my parents! I was never told about my parents until I met Hagrid, and even then all I've ever heard about them is that I look like my dad with my mum's eyes. How am I supposed to live up to everyone's expectations that I should be just like my parents when I don't even know the simplest things about them?!'

Harry pinned the man with a glare.

'Grow up sir, because I had to a long time ago!'

Snape looked for all the world like a fish out of water. A fish that was quickly turning a Vernon shade of angry red.

'Get. Out'.

'With Pleasure'.

He packed up his things and walked calmly out the classroom, ignoring the looks of horror and glee from his fellow students.

Later that day Professor Snape, Professor McGonagall and the Headmaster all headed up to the Gryffindor common room. Harry had ignored Dumbledore's request to come to his office, ignored the negative points and the scathing looks from his head of house, and ignored the slip of parchment detailing Snape's detention, so of course they were coming to him.

However when they reached his bed they were in for a shock. Neatly made and completely empty but for a piece of parchment.

"Dear everyone.

I honestly can't believe it's taken me this long to figure things out. You'd think after first year that I'd sussed it out, but no. I came back time and time again, always the hero, always the one to risk his life. Well I've finally realised something.

Why is it always me? Why am I so special that I have to be the one to charge into danger year after year?

Well I woke up this morning and suddenly realised what was going on.

Let's start at the very beginning, shall we:

- My parents were targeted by a mad man. Why? Why did he want me? Why did he spend all that time and effort trying to kill a baby?

- I am the only one to ever survive the killing curse. Why? What godlike powers did I have that allowed me to live? Failing that, what did my parents do that was so different from any other parents trying to save their children?

- I was left with an odd scar on my forehead. Why? Was it part of a ritual done to save me, or kill me? If the later, why didn't it work? If the former, why is it supposedly a curse scar if it was done to save me? Why does it hurt when Voldemort is near? Why am I kept in the dark about something that could be killing me?

- I was left on the Dursley's doorstep. Why? Why leave me like a bottle of milk when I could have frozen to death or wandered away? Why not go inside and explain things to the Dursleys? Why the Dursleys in the first place? I won't believe that my parents wanted me to go there, and if they did why wasn't anything put in place financially to help the Dursleys support another child?

- Sirius was thrown in Azkaban without a trial. Why? Why couldn't he have been given truth serum like every other prisoner? Why couldn't Dumbledore, as Chief Warlock, not override the decision to throw Sirius in prison without a trial?

- I get a visit from Hagrid. Why? Why wasn't a qualified teacher sent to get me? Why did I get no contact from the magical world until that day? Why did Hagrid have to fetch the stone on the same day he got me, he couldn't have done it earlier? Why was I left blind to my so called fame, leaving me to be crushed by crowds looking to see or touch the Boy Who Lived? Why didn't Hagrid tell me how to get onto the platform, did he think I already knew how or was he, under orders perhaps, deliberately not telling me?

- I, along with several others, are bullied and tormented not only by other students but by professors as well. Why? Why do we have a potions professor that routinely torments students not in his house and gets away with it? Why does said professor then single me out and mentally abuses me right under the noses of the other teachers? Why is the disciplinary system so bad that words like mudblood and hexing in the halls are punished by a simple detention or a small amount of point deduction, or at times left unpunished entirely?

- I and my friends are given detention in the forbidden forest. Why? Why were first years expected to go into a place they were forbidden to go, and look for something so evil that it was killing Unicorns? Why did we have to split up?

- The defense professor is possessed by Voldemort. Why? Why the hell is this man in the school when surely there are wards to detect things like this? And if not, then why aren't there wards to detect things like this? Why did the philosopher's stone get put, for safekeeping, in a school? Why was it so easy for first years to get past the traps leading to the stone, traps that were designed to keep out adults? Why was the whole thing kept behind a simple locked door, the unlocking spell being first year material of course? Surely something like the fidelius spell or whatnot would have worked far better than a lousy locked door and a single warning to "stay away from the third floor corridor on pain of death", which on it's own was a stupid way to broadcast the fact that something might be there. Why wasn't I given any counseling, I killed a man after all? Most importantly, why wasn't I told the reason why Voldemort was after me? It's my life, no one else's.

- A fraud was brought in to teach defense. Why? Why didn't anyone check his records before hiring him? Why didn't anyone notice that his books were pathetic with intermingling dates and more beauty care advice than anything else? Why didn't anyone seem to care that he wasn't teaching us?

- Ron and I are sent into the forbidden forest, again, to look for giant man eating spiders. Why? Why was it so important that twelve year olds solve the mystery of the runaway spiders while the adults run around like headless chickens?

- A Basilisk is set loose in the school. Why? Why couldn't the adults figure out what was terrorizing the students when a second year could? Why wasn't the school closed down after the second attack? Why didn't anyone speak to Myrtle, since she was the girl killed the last time the Chamber of Secrets was open? Why was Hagrid sent to Azkaban without a trial? Once again surely the Chief Warlock could have forced the issue of truth serum? Why after braving into the chamber and coming across the Basilisk did Fawkes just happen to arrive with the sorting hat? Couldn't Fawkes have sent the Headmaster down, allowing an adult to do what a twelve year old was risking his life to do? Why wasn't Ginny given any counseling for her possession by Voldemort?

- Dementors are sent to Hogwarts because Sirius is on the loose. Why? Why in hell did the Minister think that sending those things to a school would solve the problem? Why weren't aurors sent, either alongside the Dementors to keep them in line or on their own? Why did no one tell me why Sirius was supposedly after me, once again it's my life we're talking about?

- Buckbeak is sentenced to death because of a stupid boy who wouldn't listen. Why? Why weren't proper procedures taken to ensure that the actual guilty party got punished? Why can a high class pureblood get away with bribery when things don't go his way? Why did the same pureblood not get punished for bringing a cursed diary into a school, and for making claims that the filth would be cleansed by his actions?

- A Werewolf is brought in to teach. Why? Why weren't more security procedures in place to ensure Remus took his wolfsbane on time for the full moon?

- Sirius is almost kissed without telling his side of the story, Pettigrew is allowed to return to his master, and no one believes me when I say Sirius is innocent. Why? Why were the orders to kiss on sight, when plenty of other deatheaters were dragged back to Azkaban? Why weren't children listened to when they told the adults what they saw? Why wasn't a pensive, or truth serum used, to get the real story? Why did Snape, if he suspected Remus hadn't taken the potion, not bring the potion with him? Why was it left to children to ensure that two innocents were freed from death?

- A riot occurs at the World Cup, caused by deatheaters. Why? Why didn't people attack back? Why were the aurors using stunners on people who frequently killed others? Why was a House Elf given into trouble for her master's mistake? Why was the whole thing made to look like some drunks who'd taken a prank too far?

- The Tri Wizard Tournament comes to Hogwarts after years of being banned. Why? Why was a dangerous competition that had killed people being brought back? Why wasn't a deatheater, disguised as a dear friend of the Headmaster, not uncovered long before he could cause problems? Why was a fourteen year old allowed to compete when the rules stated that only those of age were allowed? Why was the fourteen year old not given any training or help from adults, like the other champions? Why bring mother Dragons, and more importantly their eggs, to a school? Why didn't anyone believe me when I told them what happened after Cedric and I grabbed the cup? Why, once more, could the Chief Warlock not call for truth serum to be administered or my memory to be shown? Why was Crouch Jr killed before giving him truth serum? Why was I not given counseling for witnessing Cedric's death? Why was I branded a liar when a simple truth serum would have solved everything?

- I was brought into trial for underage magic. Why? Why was I put on trial for saving the life of my cousin, who knew about magic? Why was I tried as an adult, when clearly the magical world sees me as a child, never mind the fact that I should be an adult thanks to the tournament? Why wasn't I properly defended?

- Umbitch comes to Hogwarts. Why? And no I won't call the she devil by her real name. Why was she allowed to torture students? Why didn't any of the other teachers do something when students came to them with proof of their abuse? Why was she allowed to bully me, bully anyone who didn't agree with her? Why was she allowed to rule the school? Why didn't the Headmaster do anything about it?

As you can see, I have a lot of questions, and so far not a lot of answers from the responsible adults. I've had to suffer through all this and more, and I've been given very little help. Sure my friends were there, but that just makes me ask more questions.

Was it a coincidence or just luck that the Weasleys were right there to help me when I couldn't find my way onto platform nine and three quarters?

Is it common for a first year student to be put down so much by everyone around him, students and professors alike, to the point where he has no confidence in himself, resulting in several blown up cauldrons and problems casting spells?

How is it that a third year was allowed a time turner when clearly it was taking a toll on her health to go to all of the classes? Why wasn't she discouraged from taking all the classes in the first place, did she really need to do them all?

Has society really been built upon the idea that Slytherins are ruthless and evil, Gryffindors are hotheaded and idiotic, Ravenclaws are snobbish and stuck up, and Hufflepuffs are pathetic and weak?

Why? Why does all this happen? Why is magical Britain stuck in the Victorian ages while the world around them moves on?

I realised you've probably started making excuses for why you can't answer these questions, or you can answer them but decide to turn a blind eye to the corruption, greed and general stupidity of your world.

Either way, this will be the last you see of me. Good luck with Voldemort, cause I sure as hell won't bother helping you again.

Oh and one more thing, don't bother turning to Sirius or Remus to help track me down, they're coming with me.

Harry Potter"

Neither Harry Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, or Hedwig were ever heard from again. It took several years and several more deaths before magical Britain finally got its collective butt in gear and did something about problem. Harry by this point was far away, living peacefully and happy with his family. His scar had been seen to by a specialist, and quite frankly any guilt he might have had about leaving Britain to its fate was lost when he discovered he was being led like a lamb to the slaughter by one Albus Dumbledore.