Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Greek Mythology...I don't know who does honestly.

An Olympic Plan, Part 2

by: CyberArcRotarr

Hades leaned back in his desk as he waited for his guest to awaken. Honestly, why were mortals always so shocked when they met a god? Even when they were still walking around normally, the revelations could cause Spartans to fall flat on their faces. Though, they would usually then try and stab you. They always had a rather touchy relationship with the gods.

Hades sat back and sighed. This boy in front of him was more trouble than a dozen Spartans though. It just seemed that the boy couldn't stay out of death. He was always rushing headlong. IF he had been trained properly, he would have been an amazing hero. As it was...

Hades slowly began to laugh. It started out as a rusty chuckle, before quickly picking up speed. He had just had a wonderful idea for how he was going to solve is Potter Problem now and forever. He directed a few thought-messages out towards the furies and other gods. His laughter also had the benefit of jolting his guest awake.

Harry looked around wildly, before he slowly began to remember just where he was. He didn't know how long he had been out of it, but with his...host...laughing, he supposed he couldn't be in too much trouble.

"Harry, you are in more trouble than you realize." Harry jumped as Hades answered his silent thoughts. He grinned at the boy's discomfort.

"I'm a god, boy. I can read you in a hundred different ways. Don't worry though, I have a vested interest in making sure you make it out of all of this alive."

Harry let out a breath of relief. "So I'm..."

As usual, Hades didn't let him finish. "Yes, you are going back, but it won't be like the other times. Before, all memory of dying was removed and circumstances were arraigned so that you actually survived the stupid circumstances you found yourself in. Soul ripped out by Dementors, dueling a Dark Lord in a graveyard, rushing headlong through a doorway to my FREAKING CASTLE!" Hades paused to calm himself, then continued at a normal volume. "But we can't do that this time. I made some major changes after your escapade through my door. You went for almost two years before dying, I thought we were finally clear, but then you are back here again."

Hades stared at Harry over his clasped hands. "This will be your thirteenth life, boy. That means something." Hades waved his hand and a thread appeared in his hands. A portion of it was gold, and the rest was gray. "This is a lifeline. It is actually for that ponce known as Gilderoy Lockhart. The golden portion is his destined lifetime. He has to live that long to accomplish whatever he is supposed to, and after that, he can die. Some people live for many years beyond their destined lifetime, others snuff it with in minutes."

Hades played with the string for a moment, before swapping it out for a much longer one, this one was almost entirely gold. Several portions looked frayed at one end, and Harry felt oddly wary of those frayed portions.

"This is your lifeline. As you can see, you are destined to live for a very long time. The fates have many plans for you, the first of which was to kill Voldemort. It should have been simple. In all honesty, you and that survivor Dumbledore messed it up, but I will talk about that later."

"The point is, that your line can't take another death from you. Your thirteenth death will be your last. That is a Law. I don't know why, but if you die again, that is it for you. But, if you die while your thread is golden, not only your life, but your destiny is severed too."

That didn't sound all that bad to Harry. No more Boy-Who-Lived or Chosen One nonsense. Sure, the dying wasn't great, but maybe he could see his parents...

Hades fist slammed into the desk. "NO!" Harry jumped wide-eyed. Hades glowered at him, then sighed. "Look, I don't like the Fates. The destiny they have given you is too much for one as young as you to be asked to bear, but it is yours. If it is broken, it will not only affect you, but everyone close to you. Those whose strands are interwoven with yours, such as your soul-mate, would die instantly. Others would be twisted or changed. The darkest change would be to Voldemort."

Harry stared at Hades, not having heard much past soul-mate. "Ginny would die?"

Hades raised an eye-brow. "Ginny...maybe, she is rather close to you, but I don't know if she is close enough to be hit that hard by the backlash.

"But you said..."

"That your soul-mate would die? Yes, but it isn't Ginerva Weasley. It's some other girl, she's never darkened my door, so I can't tell you much. I am pretty sure you met her though. What was her name, Grangy-something?" Hades frowned as Harry's mouth fell open in shock. "Listen, you can deal with your love life once you're back, the point here is, if you die for good, Voldemort wins."

Harry was still trying to wrap his mind around all these revelations. He was dead, he was talking to Hades, Hermione was supposed to be his soul-mate. Harry felt like he was about to faint again. Hades wasn't having any of it.

"YEEOUCH!" Harry leapt up as his chair burst into flame. Harry stared in shock between his now flaming chair, and Hades, who was looking rather bored. With a wave of his hand, he extinguished the chair and motioned for Harry to sit.

"As I was saying, we don't have time for your angst." Harry took his seat while glowering at Hades. "Yeah, I love you too. Now, Voldemort."

A third life-line appeared in Hades' hand. This one was partially golden, but it was streaked through with veins of black that seemed to wrap around the thread as it turned gray and began to fray and fall apart. The black lines were thick and held the line together. Harry had a feeling that he knew who this line belonged to.

"Yes, this is Tom Riddle's line, known as Lord Voldemort. As you can see, he has held onto life with a tenacity I have never seen. And I mean never. Voldemort is the first man desperate enough to escape Death to rend his soul so many times. The Fates chose you specifically to be the instrument to sever his line. Unfortunately, Albus Dumbledore got involved."

"Albus Dumbledore is past his prime. He finished his destiny when he defeated Grindelwald and discovered the uses for Dragon's Blood. After that, he could live as he chose. He chose to stay involved in the world, good for him, the problem is his Phoenix. You see, Phoenix are creatures outside of our jurisdiction as gods. The Phoenix bonded to him and sustained his life, protecting him from an sort of accidental or incidental deaths, the most common type. And he is powerful enough to dispel any attempts for someone to end his life directly. That just leaves Old Age to claim him, but it looks like that might take too long."

"In short, when the Fates were weaving your thread and making their plan for you, Dumbledore was interviewing Ms. Sybil Trelawny, and so he got a snippet of the plan when she picked up on the Fate's muttering. ("Though," Hades thought to himself, "it's the Fates' own fault for not cutting that connection. Stupid bats.") A portion of that snippet made its way to Voldemort via Severus Snape. The way the plan was supposed to work was Voldemort would end up getting bested in a fire-fight with Aurors and have to lay low (Two Aurors had their destined portions lengthened so they could accomplish this). You were to live your life and end up getting involved in a fight in your Fifth Year. Voldemort would attempt a ritual during the battle that would basically use his Horcruxes to bind himself to Hogwarts, making him immortal so long as the castle stood. You interrupt and, completely by accident, botch the ritual and off Voldemort. The power that he knows not was an idea that was bandied about, but discarded in favor of fortune. Now, we are going to bring that back."

Harry stared as he digested what he had been told. His entire life had been ruined because of Dumbledore, or at least Dumbledore's rotten luck. He wondered...

"Could we just start it over? You said that you had turned back time. Just make sure Trelawny keeps her mouth shut."

Hades snorted. "We reset time by a few minutes, and that was almost too much. That is one of the reasons that you have been such a thorn in our side. Have you ever heard of Kronus?"

Harry slowly shook his head. Hades snorted, "Of course you haven't, you have that ruddy ghost for a history professor. Alright, so, Kronus is a Bad Guy, all capitals. He is the age-old enemy of us gods, and he would love to see us dead. Right now, he is trapped in the Pit of Tartarus in about a thousand pieces, though he is trying to return. He is the Titan Lord of Time, so, anytime that the gods use our power to alter time, Kronus uses those alterations to weaken his prison. Essentially, when time runs straight, he can't do anything. However, when changes cause time to 'ripple', so to speak, he can reach across the ripples and gather strength. That is why we can't just reach back in time and stop Voldemort and his ilk from rising, doing so would make ripples large enough to free Kronus."

Harry frowned, and then slowly nodded. "So, you are going to train me, and send me back to the woods to fight him?"

Hades snorted. "Nope, that wouldn't do much good at this point. Voldemort has too much power for you to best him baring a miracle. No, my plan is much better." Hades turned towards the door, and shouted, "Send him in."

Harry turned as the doors opened. The landscape outside looked black and barren, but Harry's attention was caught by the man who had just entered.

He was tall and fair looking, with short brownish-red hair and a sharp face. He was dressed in sports jacket and khaki pants, looking just like an wizard trying to pull off a 'posh-gentlemanly' look. However, his choice in clothes wasn't what made Harry pause.

"Harry, I would like you to meet..."

The boy interrupted. "Tom Riddle. I have been waiting to meet you Harry."

Author Note

HAHA, who saw that coming?