A/N: This story is almost 900 words! Woo! Yeah, that might not seem like a lot to you, but it is to me :) Okay, so, this story is just about some serious points that I thought the Wizarding World was dumb not to see... if that makes sense. So, enjoy!
Rating: K, because it only mentions things that happened in the real books, and the Harry Potter books are made for kids, so...
Disclaimer: Really, if I owned Harry Potter... well, the books would be different, let's just say ;)
Everyone saw him as a great hero, the savior of all, invincible to everything. He could fight any battle that forms, because he is indestructible. No matter how much you thrashed him, he'd get right back up and defend his people. The perfect solider.
They saw a person that defeated the most powerful dark lord to ever live and named him the bane of all evil. They saw a person that protected the greatest wizardry school and called him strong.
They saw a person who slayed a basilisk and decided he was unbeatable. They saw a person who chased away a hundred dementors and thought he was an angel.
They saw a person who claimed Voldemort was back and labeled him insane. They saw a person who, along with some friends, fought Death Eaters and, once again, bowed down to his heroics.
They saw a person who ran after the man that murdered the leader of the light and said he was brave. They saw a person who destroyed the dark lord, completely and utterly this time, and suddenly he was the salvation of them all.
Yes, that is all they saw, but what they didn't see was far more important.
They didn't see an infant orphaned when he parents were murdered and left with a family that despised him. They didn't see a scared little boy with overly large, threadbare clothes shakily going throughout each day, simply hoping he'd get a meal that night.
They didn't see a devastated child cry himself to sleep because he killed a man. They didn't see the confused look that planted itself in his eyes when they shunned him for speaking to a snake. They didn't see how his eyes would constantly flicker between Ron, Hermione, and Ginny after the Chamber of Secrets incident.
They didn't see the hope that swelled in a young boys heart at the prospect of living with someone who loved him, and they didn't see when that hope was crushed. They didn't see that boy grow into a man after the Triwizard Tournament and they didn't see the haunting fear that was forever imbedded into his eyes, either.
They didn't see the young man as the back of his hand bled for what he believed in. They didn't see the raw panic attacks he had every time he felt Voldemort inside of his head. They didn't see when the mans' soul was shattered at the death of his only father figure and they didn't see him yell, cry, and break things afterwards.
They didn't see the helplessness on his face as the man fed a terrible potion to his mentor. They didn't see the horror when he learned about the Horcruxes and what he must do. They didn't see another part of his already broken soul (though, broken in a different and worse way than that of the Dark leader) fall off when he watched his self-named grandfather die, without being able to do anything to prevent it.
They didn't see the many rough days and sleepless nights spend searching for the keys to destroy Voldemort. They didn't see the crushed expression he donned when he best friend walked away and they didn't see the tiny smile grace his lips when said friend returned.
They didn't see a fierceness build inside the man when he heard his other best friend being tortured. They didn't see the flame that burned away another bit of his soul at the death of his friend, Dobby. They didn't see the momentary excitement that had been missing for so long spread through him while riding a dragon and they didn't see it fade away into his usual despairing-ness soon after.
They didn't see the frightfulness mixed with determination as he hexed as many Death Eaters as he could while still scouting to make sure his loved ones were okay. They didn't see that determination double, even as a few more pieces of his soul were lost, when he counted all the dead in the Great Hall.
They didn't see the sorrow fill his heart for someone he never thought he'd care about, someone who had unknowingly aided him throughout his years. They didn't see the shock he felt when he learned that he must die.
They didn't see the calmness that radiated around him while he walked to his death with his parents, real and figuratively, at his side. They didn't see the anxious magic begging to be released as he stood in front of Voldemort.
They didn't see the dread fill his stomach as he shouted out his final spell against the Dark Lord, even though he knew he'd be the victor. They didn't see the tears that spilled down his cheeks that night as he thought about the people he killed and the people that died for him.
They didn't see how it took many years after the war for him to finally be able to smile again. They didn't see that the first time he spoke after the war was at his wedding. They didn't see his soul slowly patch itself back together – never again full, but fixed.
All of them witnessed the events that made him the person he is, yet they all missed the parts that truly mattered.
He wasn't Harry Potter, Boy-Who-Lived, Chosen One, Conquerer of Death, Slayer of All Evil. He was just a boy that was forced into manhood far before his time.
One: If you didn't understand, the "sorrow fill his heart" part was about the death of Severus Snape.
Two: I meant his "real and figurative" parents are Lily and James (real) and Sirius and Remus (figurative). That's probably misuse of the word, but oh well.
Review for the sake of destroying the blindness of the world? (Even if this particular story was about a fictional world).