Who was Harry Potter? Depending on whom you asked, it would seem there are many Harry Potter's out there.
According to one greasy potions master and several Slytherins, The Boy-Who-Lived is a privileged arrogant boy with no skill, power, and brains.
If you asked his head of house she would say he was a nice young man that needed to be a bit more motivated in class.
His bushy haired best friend would say he's the best kind of friend someone could ask for, if he would just spend a little more time studying instead of playing chess and quiditch. Then again his redheaded best friend would say he's a great best mate, if he would just play more chess with him and stop there bushy haired friend from dragging them to the library so much.
Even his headmaster would say he's a nice boy who finds himself in the strangest of dangers in the safest place in Britain, so it's a good thing he goes back to his nice relatives every summer, he needs to have a normal childhood after all.
The strangest thing, the nice, arrogant, and mediocre, Harry Potter thought while he was musing about what people thought of him, was why no one just took the chance to get to know him. The stupid potions master held some strange grudge with him that he just couldn't understand, and no one deemed it necessary to inform him why he needs to be hated so much.
Then again he thought, "I'm used to this kind of abuse, only lived with it my whole life. Wonder if he's related to me somehow?"
His head of house once said, "While you're here, your house will be like your family."
Harry found this odd because, she never acted like it. Come to think of it, none of his house ever acted like a family should. Turning on him whenever it suits them. Looking down on him for being different scared of him for it even.
"Not much of a family" he thought.
His 'best friends' were the thing bothering him the most. Out of all the people that 'know' him, they should be the closest to actually knowing the real him. But even they only see what Harry wants them to see.
You see there was a real reason the Sorting Hat wanted to put him in Slytherin. It didn't have anything to do with his scar, or being connected to Voldemort. It was because Harry Potter has been hiding his real self since the first months of Hogwarts.
When Harry came to Hogwarts he couldn't believe his luck! It was like a second chance at life. He didn't have to hide how smart he was in fear of a beating. He didn't have to dumb down for Dudley, he could finally prove to everyone how good he really was!
But then he got his first friends. Ron never wanted to spend any time actually working just goofing off playing chess and talking about quiditch. Harry didn't mind relaxing every now and then, but there was Magic to learn! It was his escape from that place he had to call 'home'. He couldn't let himself be bad at it, he had to do is absolute best in fear they would send him back. He couldn't fail!
Hermoine had other ideas about that though he quickly learned. Never having friends before Harry didn't want to lose them no matter what. He quickly learned he couldn't be great in class and have his friends. Hermoine though, refused to be shown up in class and wouldn't accept anything but number one. For a week she wouldn't talk to Harry after he did better than her on an essay in Transfiguration. So Harry stopped doing well in class again. He couldn't be alone again, so he decided to be dumb again.
"Well," he thought, "I'll let them think I'm dumb."
Those were Harry's final thoughts before the cannon blast, signaling his turn to face the dragons.
Harry bravely strode from the tent, ready to summon his broom and get that golden egg. But as he stepped out, all he could hear was the sound of booing.
He looked around the stands at the crowd and could see students from every house booing and jeering at him. He even saw Ron, stuffing his face with food from his pockets and booing him. Hermione was just sitting next to Ron with her face in a book, not trying to stop Ron, or seeming to care about Harry's fate.
"I guess I don't have to worry about losing my friends any more. They're already gone."
Something inside Harry finally snapped. He'd had enough of this two timing and lack of support from his friends, his house, the staff; everyone that he thought mattered to him.
Harry raised his wand to his throat, eyes blazing with green fire, his magic flaring around him cackling with electricity and energy. Before he even cast the silent sonorous on himself the crowd was silenced in awe of the display of magic coming off the raven-haired boy.
"IS THIS NOT WHAT YOU WANTED!?" Harry's voice roared at the stunned crowd.
"I didn't put my name into this stupid fucking tournament, but I'll show you dumb cunts why I deserve to be here!"
With that Harry turned back to the middle of the ring, using a wingardium on a boulder he stepped onto, raising him five meters into the air. Across the arena directly in front of him, was the fiercest creature he had ever laid eyes upon.
Jet black scales stronger than steel covered every inch of the magnificent beast. It stood on four legs, with meter long razor sharp claws. The tail looked like it came from a nightmare; spikes as long as his body protruding near the end.
Harry was not afraid though. As the beast looked into his eyes Harry spoke to it, ~Hello great one, forgive me for coming into your nest. I am not here to take any of your hatchlings from you. The foolish weaklings who brought you here have planted a fake egg in your nest and tasked me with retrieving it. With your permission I would like to come collect the fake and leave you in peace.~
The audience was blown away! Harry was speaking parsletounge to a dragon. Then several of them went and fainted when the dragon seemed to reply to him.
~A Speaker!? How interesting. It has been many years since a flesh bag has spoken me to.~
The dragon looked around the crowd, seeing only fear and stunned faces looking back at her.
~These other flesh bags are weak and cower at my power, but you do not. I can feel the power in you. I understood what they were doing when you came in here. I will give you your egg young one. Before that, let us give them a show they shall never forget! Show them your power speaker! Prove yourself worthy to take this egg from me!~
With that the dragon let out a deafening roar, that made Ron wet himself in the stands, and let loose with a great breath of fire.
Harry stood on his floating boulder, eyes gleaming mischievously, raised his wand and let loose with a powerful stream of water colliding with the inferno racing towards him.
The streams of fire and water collided in the middle of the arena, sending scalding steam into the air. For the first few seconds the streams didn't move, then slowly the fire started overtaking the flood of water Harry was sending out.
As the fire crept closer to Harry, a wide grin nearly split his face. When onlookers were asked later what they saw, they would say Harry looked scarier than a Goblin making a profit.
Harry planted his feet better and pulled deep into himself. In the depths of his being Harry let loose the magic he had hidden away many years ago to hide himself from the world.
Green flames engulfed his body and aura destroying the boulder he was standing on, however, Harry stayed in the air.
The lemon drop Dumbledore was sucking on fell to the floor with his jaw. Never in his decades of life had he ever seen such a display of power. He could never dream of doing such a thing, he could get an aura certainly, but this he had never seen in his life.
Next to the bearded man Snape sat with eyes bigger than his ego. He had to be hallucinating. This…boy…couldn't possibly be this strong. Neither of his masters could even match that power and they had years of development on the boy.
While the potions master was flabbergasted, the fight between the two power titans in the arena raged on. With Harry's new release of power the tide of the fight had shifted, pushing the match back to the middle of the arena and slowly creeping towards the dragon.
~You are quite the showman great one!~ Harry yelled across the hiss of the steam coming from the water and fire.
~But it is time to end this!~
With a mighty yell, Harry pushed all his magic in the tower of water he was sending at the dragon. Forcing the battle into the dragon's mouth, extinguishing the flames and knocking the dragon back head over heel.
When Harry saw the dragon flip he stopped his stream of water and floated to the middle of the field, letting his aura drop, as the dragon righted itself and looked at him.
~Good show young one! I yield, come claim your prize.~ With those words she bowed to Harry, who returned the gesture. He returned to the ground and walked calmly over into the nest and grabbed his egg. He patted the dragon on the side as he passed heading for the exit.
When he entered the tent the headmaster, tournament staff, and the champions met him. Before he could speak all three of the other champions blurted out, "We yield."
As Ludo and Dumbledore started bickering over whether the champions could concede or not, Harry walked out of the tent and started heading towards the quiditch pitch, he had been looking forward to flying. On his way there Hedwig came flying down and landed on his shoulder, nibbling on his ear affectionately. Harry laughed at his familiar and his only true family.
"You're the only one I can always count on Hedwig."