Section: Harry Potter
Pairing: Voldemort/ Tom Riddle Jr. X Harry Potter
Genre: Romance/Supernatural
Summary: The summer after his fourth year Harry gets the memories and abilities of two different people who lived in different times. When he makes sense of them, he realizes that his life can never be easy.
Warning: Reincarnation, Slash, Incest, Necromancer! Seer! Harry, Mentions of Mpreg

Chapter Seven

As he curled up in Regulus Black's old bed, Hericles could not help but miss his comfortable bed back home. Nothing could compare to The Sanctuary after all. With a quiet sigh, he turned around and, trying to find a comfortable position, thought back to what had transpired earlier after Walby had made herself known.

When they all settled back in the drawing room everyone turned to Hericles expectantly, especially as Remus piped up and mentioned Xanthus' unknown origins.

"Cans Kreacher get the young master something?" Kreacher asked in his high-pitched voice.

Hericles smiled. "Some refreshments would be highly appreciated. Thank you, Kreacher." Said house-elf squealed excitedly and popped away. He noticed Hermione's disapproving frown amongst the others' stunned expressions but ignored it. "Is there anything you wish to ask me?" he turned to them, his voice mildly inquiring.

There was a moment of hesitant silence before Remus decided to ask what was on everyone's mind. "What really is your… protector? And what did you mean earlier when you said that you're used to magical creatures knowing what they are?"

Hericles smiled. There was no point in hiding the truth from them; they would find out anyway, and it would be best that they knew where he stood. Therefore, he said simply, "Xanthus is a shadow-shifter, a being with no concrete form, made of shadows and who can change his form into anything."

Hermione, interest peaked, leaned forward. "Really? I never read any magical creature like this in any book."

Hericles chuckled. "I would not be too surprised. Shadow-shifters rarely, if ever, show themselves. Xanthus is one of a kind and the only reason he is not living, hidden like a mere shadow, is mostly because he wishes to… protect and serve me."

"You mean like a servant?" Ginny asked this time.

"I prefer the terms protector or care taker. He is the one who has taken care of me for years now. In a way much like a parent."

Before anyone could say something else Kreacher popped in the room holding a tray full of light gourmandize. "Kreacher bring refreshments like the young master asks!" the old little elf squeaked happily. Hericles smiled warmly and thanked him while the house elf served him a good cup of tea.

Hermione frowned again, and the others, having already gotten used to the idea of the usually foul elf being the perfect puppy in from of the newcomer, shared a knowing and slightly apprehensive look. There was no way the muggleborns would stay quiet for long.

"You really should free Kreacher, you know?" said she finally.

Perfectly timed and thought out, Hericles 'startled' and looked up with mildly horrified eyes. "Why ever would I do that?" As much as Hericles loved the girl she needed to know just how wrong she was being. It was only fair after all.

Hermione scowled while the others shared anxious looks. It would seem this would not go well. "Because this is slavery!" exclaimed the girl passionately. "House elves should not be made to work like this. They should be freed!"

Carefully letting realization leak on his face, the reincarnated Seer asked not unkindly, "Are you a mund – muggleborn?"

"What if she is?" Ron jumped to his friend's defense. "Don't tell me you're one of those blood purists!?"

Hericles blinked, taking a sip of his tea (Totally did not compare to Xanthus', or even Helga's). "Of course not. Mund – muggleborns tend to come into our world with views and expectations that have no place in the Magical community."

"That's not true!" Hermione huffed. Hericles stifled a sigh. He was going to be… harsh towards her but for her to understand he had no other choice. A part of him hated having to hurt his once-friend like this, but the girl needed to be brought down to earth. Her pride could be her downfall after all. What he hated most was having to say this on their 'first' meeting. Well, it was for her own good anyway.

"Tell me, Miss Hermione, what do you think a vampire is?" asked he. Everyone else stared at him confusedly at the change of topic but no one decided to interrupt.

"Er – a vampire is a dark creature considered to be immortal and a being with no soul. It is dangerous and cruel and preys on human beings for their blood," she practically quoted from memory, sending a smug look to the young aristocrat.

With a 'clank' Hericles carefully dropped his cup on the ornamented saucer and turned firm but gentle eyes to her. "Wrong," stated him simply. "A vampire is a being like any other, with a soul and requires blood for survival. They are not truly immortal, only hard to kill and with a longer life span than any other being. The only ones they accept blood from are either their soul mates or, before they meet said mates, from humans willing to offer their blood. Taking blood by force is poison to their body and can lead to death on the vampire's side."

"That's not true! That's not what I read."

Hericles frowned disapprovingly. "Miss Hermione, you should know by now that not everything written in books is necessarily true. It is this kind of thinking that has pushed the prejudices of this time. Before every magical being lived in peace, be they human or otherwise. Then the muggleborns came to this world with their views and pushed others to see their way."

"How would you know?" Hermione huffed, crossing her arms with a glare. "Besides, forcing house elves to work is slavery. They should be freed."

Hericles mentally schooled his features. It would not go well if he let his irritation get the better of him. He could feel a headache coming and he resisted the awful urge to rub his temple. "In other words you are asking for their execution?" he could not help but ask. He loved the girl – truly, he did – but her constant pride and stubbornness was wearing his patience thin.

Hermione balked. "What? No! Of course not. It's their right to be free. I'm not asking them to be executed! This is completely out of subject."

This time, Hericles did sigh. "Miss Hermione, loath as I am to tell you this, freeing a House elf is equal to killing them." He raised a hand when he saw her open her mouth to protest. "No, wait, let me finish. This has more to do with the past and what led them to serve the wizarding kind. Centuries ago the House Elves were like any other being, free to do and live as they wished. Then a group of wizards decided to attempt to gain more magic. A ritual was performed and house elves were the recipient of the outcome. Their magic became chaotic and the only way for them to be stabilized was to bond with other magical beings, or their magic would literally eat away at their body and kill them.

"To show their gratitude, the House elves promised their eternal loyalty to those who saved them by serving them and their descendants until the end of time. When a house elf is freed, he is forever shamed and shunned by the others of his kind as the only way this is possible is if he decided to go against centuries of traditions, and the people they have pledged their loyalty to and because of whom their kind is still alive today. Freeing them also leads to their death as their magic is no longer being soothed by another's magic."

"That – That can't be true," said she, her voice quieter than it had been with a silver of doubt leaking in. "Dobby was freed by H-Harry and he's still alive. He even wanted to be free."

"Dobby?" blinked Hericles in fake confusion.

"Dobby is the house elf who worked for the Malfoys and was freed by our friend Harry – er, you know, Harry Potter," Ron decided to add.

"Yes! And he did not even die! He is now free and he likes it!" Hermione huffed.

Oh, goodie. The situation with Dobby was something else entirely. Hericles could not exactly say that the House elf had been his in his previous life, since he had been half-Malfoy and Abraxas' father had given him the elf when he was born like tradition dictated. When Hericles – as Harry – had 'freed' Dobby, what had been unknowingly done was hand over ownership back to him, ownership that had shifted to Abraxas when Heri had been killed. (Speaking of Dobby, he needed to find him before he told everyone who he really was…)

"Is the House elf working somewhere else?" asked he instead.

"Dobby works at Hogwarts and he is even being paid," replied Hermione. Hericles frowned inwardly. If the Dobby's ancestors knew that he was taking money from wizards they would be outraged. A house elf was never supposed to accept anything from those who were their 'masters'. This only showed ungratefulness towards those keeping them from dying. He would need to have a good talk with the elf. After all the only reason he still lived was because of them and instead he took something else from the wizards keeping him alive.

Schooling his features he said, "Hogwarts is a magical school. The ambient magic is quite powerful there, thus any house elf working at the school would have their magic stabilize by the magic of Hogwarts. Moreover, the mere fact that they work there, the Headmaster is usually the one who can be considered as being their masters since he is the 'Head' of the 'Family', so to speak."

"That – That can't be true," said Hermione again, stubborn in her beliefs.

"Um," another voice interrupted. Neville straightened his spine as he saw the others turning to stare at him. "Actually, Hermione, what he is saying is true."

"What?" shrieked the girl. "How can you say that, Neville!?"

Said teenager winced. "The Longbottoms have house elves too, you know. And every pureblood knows the History of the magical world and how it changed during the years. Um, what he is saying is one of the many little things that pureblood children learn before going to school."

Hermione gapped for a minute before she turned to Ron. "Why didn't you tell me!?"

"That's because," Fred started.

" - The Weasley family - ,"

" - has renounced the pureblood traditions – "

" – so we, too, did not know."

"…You mean I've made a fool of myself all this time?" Hermione murmured, feeling embarrassed, humiliated and largely confused. What other social faux-pas could she have done without even knowing as a muggleborn? What could others like her have done? Was that why the purebloods hated them so much? If Hericles was right then she could understand why the muggleborns were hated so much; if some foreigner came to her home and told her that the way she lived was wrong, she would be annoyed too after all. Turning to the newcomer she shot him an apologetic look, "I'm so sorry! I should not have talked to you like this."

The smile Hericles gave her made her heart skip a beat and jump in her throat. His lips pulled slightly, his eyes lit up and his features remained gentle and accepting. How Sirius of all people could be the father of someone like that was beyond her understanding.

"It is alright, Miss Hermione," smiled he. "You simply did not know." He took a sip of his tea and then added, "I believe I still have not mentioned what you wished for, have I, Mister Lupin? Then, I have a question for all of you; and yes, it is related to what you mentioned earlier to how I knew that you are not human. Have any of you heard of The Sanctuary?"

"Isn't it the magical equivalent of the Garden of Eden?" asked Remus.

"Oh, we heard about it!" Ginny chirped in.

"You mean in the tales mum told us when we were little?" asked Ron.

"OH! You mean – "

"- that place where it's said –"

"- to be hidden and –"

"- that all kinds of magical creatures live?"

"There's a place like that?" Hermione asked, surprised and intrigued.

"Nah, 'Mione," Ron dismissed. "It's a myth."

Smiling amusedly, Hericles asked, "And if I were to tell you that it is actually real? And that it is where I have been living for years?"

Everyone turned to stare at him, stunned.

"Now, that can't be true," Ron deadpanned.

Hericles let out a small laugh, "But it is." Dainty-looking fingers clasped together in his lap and he added, "The Sanctuary is home to every kind of magical being ever born to this world. They have gone to live there under heavy impenetrable wards centuries ago when prejudices started to run high in the magical world. If you wish, one day you can come to see for yourselves."

Sirius who had been quiet since the beginning of the talk finally snapped. "Okay! Stop with all this serious talk." Turning to the teens he added, "And stop hogging my son! I did not even say 'hello' to him."

"Ah, yes," Remus stood up and approached Hericles. "This is Sirius Black, your father, though I guess this is an… unorthodox way of meeting." He smiled sheepishly.

Hericles turned in the bed and could not help the smile from slipping on his face. The rest of the day was… entertaining to say the least. He 'got to know' Sirius a little as the man showed him around the house. They talked until dinner and until Mrs. Weasley got back from where she had been the whole day. He also got to know Sirius cousin, Nymphadora Tonks – "Call me Tonks!" – and he found her metamorphmagus abilities to be really intriguing - even if when he was Hericles Slytherin someone with her abilities had been able to change himself or herself completely into another person or even take the appearance of any being, magical or not, with no problem.

Mrs. Weasley was truly pleased to meet him, and a part of him secretly admitted that her cooking could never compare to Xanthus. It was too oily for one and too much magic had been used in the preparation; not to say that it was not good though. Her cooking, maybe not as good as Xanthus', was still great.

After dinner he was able to talk to his once-friends too. He played chess a few times with Ron (and got thoroughly trounced – he had never been particularly good at chess; it was always more Salazar/Tom's thing) and talked about his magical knowledge with Hermione – she was particularly fascinated with how different the magical beings at The Sanctuary acted to those living anywhere else in the world. He also talked with the other four - the twins' inventions were truly fascinating. With Neville and Ginny he told them some more about life at The Sanctuary.

Closing his eyes, Hericles smiled again. It was great to be with those he loved once more.

I know it has been a while since I updated this story and I apologize. I have a lot of work for University and it's rare that I even have a little free time but at least I was able to complete this one. I don't know when the next chapter will be ready as exams will start in a month or so and we have class tests coming up and assignments to return before, but I'll still try my best, I promise. And please don't think that I'm ever abandoning this story (unless something really drastic happens). On another note, I know that there are a few mistakes (mostly typos) and trust me when I say that I'll correct them. But I have to complete the stories first before. I'm usually tired and just want to post the chapters as soon as it's done...

Right.

Thanks you for reading. Review and tell me your opinion! (Even if nothing much happens here... Next chapter the REAL thing starts!)