I was bored and wrote this, I kind of like how it turned out. Hope you like it.

Tw: depression

As the portrait to the gryffindor common room opened the inhabitants exploded with cheer. Just as suddenly as the noise started though, it stopped as the boy they had all been waiting for climbed into the room. His gaze was distant, there were tears silently running down his face, he shambled forward like an inferi.

"Harry? What happened?" George asked cautiously. The boy didn't even look towards him. He just answered in a flat dead voice.

"The contract is binding. I have to compete." The crowd parted for their champion not knowing what to do. Just a few minutes ago they had believed Harry had entered his name on purpose, but if that was true, why did he look so broken. Was it cold feet? Or something more? To their knowledge Harry had never backed down from a challenge. But watching the broken boy enter his room, they all felt there was something wrong.

Harry closed the door quietly behind him as he entered his dorm. Nothing mattered anymore. Nothing was right. Everything was wrong and it was all because of him. Something was wrong with him! That was the only explanation.

"So, congratulations." The words rang through his mind. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations! Like this was some bloody honor. He looked toward the sound of the voice that was now repeating in his mind. Congratulations, freak, congratulations, boy, congratulations, useless, congratulations, orphan

Why wouldn't the voices stop? He could barely understand what Ron was saying to him.

“Well . . . no one else got across the Age Line,” said Ron. “Not even Fred and George. What did you use — the Invisibility Cloak?”

Harry stared at his friend. Did his friend care so little for him? "Ron. The contract... it's magically binding." He forced out trying his best to stay in the moment.

His friend just kept smiling at him. But it wasn't a real smile. It was hollow and lifeless. "Well that's brilliant then isn't it? They can't take it away from you. You will get the glory, the prestige, the money. And there's nothing they can do"

Anger started to raise in the pit of despair that was Harry Potter. "You don't understand Ron, this tournament was only for of aged wizards. In order to compete, they.... they emancipated me."

Ron's lifeless smile turned to a scowl and his face flushed as red as his hair all the way to the tips of his ears. "Well thats just bloody great isn't it? Now you get to be an adult too? The boy who lives just gets everything doesn't he?"

The emotions raged in Harry. "I WAS GOING TO BE ADOPTED YOU BLOODY PRAT!" I WAS FINALLY GOING TO HAVE A FAMILY!"

Ron looked to his friend his anger transforming into confusion. "What are talking about Harry?"

"Sirius. After he was freed this summer he petitioned to adopt me. All the paperwork was through. We were going to make everything official over winter break." Thinking about what he lost Harry moved over to his bed as the negative emotions continued to rage. His eyes spilling over with tears the boy didn't even notice.

Ron was looking uncomfortable now. "You are still only 14. Sirius could-"

"Sirius can't do anything" Harry interrupted. "Dumbledore confirmed it. You can't adopt an adult." Ron was shifting on his feet unsure of what to say. He suddenly felt like a complete ass. He knew how much Harry was looking forward to this.

"Look, mate. You can choose where you live now. You won't have to go back to the Dursleys. I'm sure Sirius will still let you live with him." Ron tried to reason as Harry was drawing the curtains around his bed closed.

"Yeah, he will. I can live with him as a friend, as a friend of my parents. But not as my dad. Not as family. The boy who lived is not allowed to have any family. He doesn't deserve it." With that Harry shut his curtains and Ron was left staring at the place his friend was. He didn't know what to do. What could anyone do? Harry just had everything he ever wanted ripped from him. Ron crawled into bed himself. He would have to talk to Hermione tomorrow. She would know what to do.

Harry just stared at the curtains above his bed. The tears wouldn't stop flowing. What was wrong with him that everything always had to turn out so wrong? useless, freak, boy, burden, congratulations