Written for the Houses Competition: Round 7: Feel it Now
House: Hufflepuff
Position: Potions
Category: Drabble
Prompt: [Emotion] Disappointment
Summary: Harry might have turned his back on them, but they turned their backs on him first. What other way could it have ended?
Word Count: 654
Warnings: character death caused by suicide/murder?
They were disappointed in him first. Disappointed that the famed Boy-Who-Lived didn't live up to their standards of perfection.
Harry didn't mind it at first, as the ones who he heard talking were just strangers. He was far more concerned about the fact that magic existed and he was going to a magic school called Hogwarts than strangers being disappointed.
It hurt a bit more when his teachers were disappointed. He was far less talented than his parents, he heard him say, and Harry couldn't help but think, 'Isn't it a bit too soon to judge?'
He thought the teachers would be better at Hogwarts, but he was also disappointed. They were just the same. Ignoring those who were bullied and even punishing the victims. Or sometimes, just not listening and hearing only one side of the story.
It was the first disappointment Harry would experience, but it would certainly not be his last.
His second biggest disappointment was when Sirius was captured again and they had to rescue him. He was really hoping he could move in with him and escape the Dursleys once and for all. But maybe it was not meant to be as summer came and he was shoved back to the Dursleys for another miserable summer.
Maybe that was his second disappointment. No one saw past the Golden Boy, the spoiled Boy-Who-Lived to see the abused, scared, friendless kid that Harry was. No one could see it, and Harry had to ignore the disappointment once again.
The third major time was when he was entered into the Triwizard Tournament, and none of the teachers seemed to do anything. They did nothing when everyone at the school turned against him, they didn't even try to investigate who put his name into, they did nothing and that was the moment Harry lost faith in them forever.
The fourth major disappointment was when Cedric died, and Voldemort came back. No one believed him, and that hurt more than Harry thought. How could they see Harry, a scared fourteen-year-old boy, and think he was lying? Sure the story might have been unbelievable but Harry was not known to lie and why would he lie about something so important, anyway?
The ultimate disappointment came in his sixth year, though. Things were getting better, but Sirius was dead, and it was all Harry's fault. If he hadn't gone to the Department of Mysteries, Sirius might still be alive.
He remembered going to Remus, hoping to comfort the man and find comfort himself, but he was rejected. Harshly, too.
"YOU'RE THE PROBLEM HARRY!" Remus had shouted, uncharacteristically angry, "IF IT WEREN'T FOR YOU, JAMES AND LILY WOULDN'T BE DEAD! AND SIRIUS WOULDN'T BE EITHER. JUST GET OUT!"
And Harry fled. It would be the last time someone would see him alive. Summer passed and Voldemort invaded the Ministry of Magic. And in his hands, he was carrying the dead body of Harry Potter.
"Do you see what your so-called savior has become?" Voldemort declared grandly, causing everyone to go silent to listen to him. "Your savior begged for death. I wonder what could have driven him to this, but no matter. Harry Potter is dead and so is your hope."
And Voldemort was right. Most people lost the will to fight after that announcement, and Voldemort took over. But even after all that, no one thought about Harry Potter in a good way. They were angry at the boy and disappointed he just let Voldemort kill him.
And that was probably the biggest disappointment of all in the end. To them, Harry would always be the savior that didn't save them, and not a teenager who fought until people gave up on him first. Because that was what Harry was. A kid who was scared and who looked for help but who never got it in the end.
It truly was the biggest disappointment of all.