His future had been laid out in front of him, he had no choice but to accept the responsibility of defeating a wizard more dark than any other, of obtaining and maintaining the three objects that would make a man more powerful than ever before, of keeping the strong friendships and relationship ships he had, of taking care of a child with whom he had absolutely nothing to do with as far as familial relations.
He did all of this, and much more, at the ripe age of seventeen.
He was a lot of things, he was dimwitted, oblivious with misconstrued ideas of the right thing to do, but he always had others to keep him in check.
How was he supposed to let himself get roped into a war, one that would not end unless he died, without mentally slipping? Where was the wiggle room for him to become absolutely insane?
Because the truth of the matter was just that; he had become insane, at a point of no return with no real interest in doing so. If his mind had finally caved after all of the wear and tear of seven years worth of torture and darkness, who was anyone to say that he did not have it coming?
So he accepted it with open arms.
The insanity, the craving to battle something else, the itchy feeling he got when his thirst was never quenched, the sickly feeling in his mind that crept up along a lonely, winding staircase that never ceased to end, echoing footsteps in his head taunting him, torturing him.
Because he grew up, and he no longer had that security. He no long had the familiarity of a threatening foe that kelt him sane. He had grown out of it, and it sickened him.
Yet, despite the treacherous waters that he had her to cross (after all, he himself had yet to get married and have his own children, and that was another thing entirely), despite the echoing voices that sometimes kept him up at night, the twitches in his fingers as he reached for his wand to battle a demon that wasn't there, he remained himself.
Because despite all odds, the gears in his head still turned on their own. A few creaks here and there, but other than that, a well-oiled machine.