"Remember this, Susan. The way people perceive you to be is the basis for their reality. They look at you, and they have this image of how you should act, what your personality should be, how powerful you are. In many cases, it doesn't even matter whether or not you are like they believe you should be. The reality of an individual is not defined by the true reality of the world around them, but by their own perceptions of what they deem real."
"For example, you are the niece of Amelia Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. I bet people expect you to be this amazing woman who is calm in the face of danger and believes wholly in the law. Who is stern, yet fair, and who believes in the laws put in place are their to protect our society. They most likely expect you to follow in your aunt's footsteps, becoming a top class auror and climbing to the top to become head auror if not the head of the entire DMLE." He paused for a moment, taking that time to look at Susan's wide eyes. "Am I right?"
"Yes..." Susan breathed, her voice laced with shock. "Yes, you're exactly right. Everyone thinks I'm going to be just like my aunty. Every time I've ever met with aunty's friends they always say things like 'oh, you look just like Amelia when she was your age' or 'I bet you'll be just like your aunt when you get older'. It drives me insane!"
"I'll bet," Harry nodded sagely, masking his relief at being right. "This is exactly how it is for me. People expect me to be a certain way because I am the 'Boy-Who-Lived'." He put quotation marks in the air when he spoke his moniker, as well as gave a slight snort of derision.
"How do you deal with it?" Susan asked lowly.
"By striving to break out of my own shadow," Harry locked gazes with Susan, passion burning in his eyes. "By proving to everyone that I am more than just the stories they've been told. That I am more than just the Boy-Who-Live. When people look at me, I don't want them to say 'look! It's the Boy-Who-Live!'. No, I want them to say 'look! It's Harry Potter!'. So I try to be the best I can be so that when people look at me, it's my name they are thinking of and not that silly moniker I was given before I was even out of my nappies."
Susan giggled, causing Harry to crack a small grin of his own. He was glad to have at least gotten her to feel good enough to giggle. Yet even as he thought this, the red head's laughter eventually died off as her cheerful expression was replaced by a pensive one.
"I don't think I can do that," she admitted, her left hand coming up to rub her right arm. "I'm not like you. I'm not brave, or strong, or smart, or anything like that."
"I think you might be selling yourself short," Harry hesitated for only a moment before grabbing her hand like he had done during dinner. The action forced Susan to look at him, as well as gain a light dusting of pink on her cheeks. "You might not be smart like a Ravenclaw, or brave like a Gryffindor. And you may not have the cunning of a Slytherin, but you know what? None of those traits are actually needed to achieve greatness."
They certainly helped, as Harry could attest to. But just because they helped did not necessarily they were needed to achieve greatness.
"The only thing a person needs to become great is hard work. The ability to put all of your effort into accomplishing your goals. Intelligence can be acquired through learning, bravery achieved by facing down the things you fear, cunning can be learned through experience, but hard work is something that can only be acquired naturally, or through the experience of many failures."
"A lot of people degrade the Hufflepuff house, believing it to be the house of left overs. But you know what, they're wrong. Hufflepuff is the house of hard work. They are the ones who understand that by putting their all into everything they do, they too can achieve greatness."
By this point, Harry knew he had Susan's complete, undivided attention. She was staring at him in rapture.
"Just take your aunt for example. Wasn't she in Hufflepuff? Now look at her. She is the only female in the history of the Ministry of Magic to become the head of the DMLE, and the second female to ever hold a high post in office. And she didn't get their through cunning and ambition, but through hard work and gumption."
"Harry..." Susan breathed, her voice barely a whisper.
"And you can become just as great as your aunt," Harry continued. By this point in time, he had actually worked himself into a bit of a frenzy. Adrenaline was pumping through his veins almost like when he was sparring. He could feel the blood pounding in his ears as he let his passion for this subject get the best of him. "It doesn't even have to be in her field like everyone expects you to be. There are many ways to serve your country than protecting them from dark wizards. You could become a healer, or a teacher, or any other number of important careers. The only thing limiting you is this," Harry finished by poking Susan's forehead.
"Wise words."
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