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 Nine

The morning dawned bright and early and the guests at The Sanctuary prepared for the day, still in a daze after arriving the previous night. Hericles had actually been telling the truth about the place being real and where he had been living for all those years. It was nothing like how they had been expecting; the place was almost reminiscent of Hogwarts with the saturated magic in the air but it was also… different. It was practically like living in a dream.

They had not met anyone when they had arrived, having arrived directly in the parlour of Hericles' manor, or castle really; it was huge. Travelling through shadows was an experience they felt conflicted about. In a way it was creepy how they had been swallowed through shadows before appearing in the parlour the next time they had fallen away from them. On the other hand it was exciting to experience such a novel way of travelling, not to add that it was less uncomfortable than the other magical travelling methods. Immediately after they had arrived they had each been directed to a room where they crashed, the excitement of the night finally catching up to them.

When they finished preparing for the day – and was it not wonderful that every room had its own adjacent bathroom? No more waiting and fighting for using the shared bathroom – they met outside their rooms, which were thankfully near each other in where Xanthus had called the Guest Wing the previous night. There Xanthus found them and directed them to the dining room.

After following the shadow-shifter through many twists and turns, the group of mesmerized magicals was certain they would never be able to find their rooms without some help. Like they had realized before the place was huge.

A grand set of double doors allowed them entry to a large room with a long dining table that greeted them in the middle of the room. The table would have allowed more people to sit at, maybe even a good fifty, but only a small part of it was prepared for breakfast where Hericles was sitting at the head in a large throne-like chair. A huge chandelier hung overhead, made of some unknown stones that reminded them of precious stones and was most likely expensive like the rest of the place.

To say they all felt intimidated would be an understatement, even for those who had lived and grown up in rich families like Neville and Sirius. However, the smile Hericles greeted them with relaxed them as they settled in different seats near him.

"Good morning," greeted he. "I hope you have all slept well?"

"Yeah, this place is huge!" Ron immediately said, making the young Feim smile in slight amusement.

"I can't believe you actually live in a place like this!" added Ginny, her eyes shining in wonder.

"Where is Albus?" Molly cut in anxiously, her eyes darting everywhere and taking in the luxurious, simple yet extravagant, décor. She was definitely not used to this much… posh, and to think the young teenager in front of her had accepted to stay at Grimmauld Place with no complaints! It was quite obvious he was of a great noble descent; if his manners and way of talking had not already clued her then his… home definitely did.

"Headmaster Dumbledore," explained Hericles, "has left last night while you were all sleeping. He had work to complete. He also asked me to inform you that the Order shall meet in the near future here, at the Sanctuary."

"Are you sure it is alright with you, Hericles?" asked Remus worriedly. "I mean, it is one thing to give us a place to stay, but it is another to allow the Order to meet to your home."

Said teenager smile warmly at the werewolf, "Worry not for I, myself, have asked the Headmaster to use my manor for Order meetings. As I have explained earlier, those who wish harm to the inhabitants of the island shall be immediately removed by the wards. As such there is nothing to fear."

"I see," Remus conceded. "If this is what you wish then I guess it is alright."

"Argh! Enough with the talk! I'm ravenous!" Sirius cut in with a moan. Remus and Molly shot him a disapproving look before they heard Hericles chuckle.

"You are right," their host nodded. "It is time to eat."

As if on cue the great door behind Hericles opened and a woman pushed in a trolley of food. The woman was quite beautiful and the male guests could not help but stare, even Neville and Arthur. She was a tall woman with a perfect figure, her chest not too large or too small, her waist slight and curvy and her hips giving a slight swing as she walked to the table. She was dressed in a knee-length old-fashioned maid dress and her long blond hair was carefully pinned away from her peach-coloured face. Ginny, Hermione and Molly could not help admire her beauty, even as they glared at the other males. Hericles on the other hand seemed indifferent, so it was a plus in the three females' books.

As the woman stopped not far from Hericles, the teenager said, "This is Empousai, a female deamon who also works for me." The woman, Empousai bowed respectfully, her face keeping the same blank expression.

The guests immediately became either intrigued or wary. They had never heard of a deamon before, and though it no longer surprised them that Hericles was surrounded by so many magical creatures, they were still surprised that another of his servants – or was it protector? – was of an unknown species.

Hermione, of course, was the one who asked the question that was on their minds while said deamon was serving them breakfast, "What is a deamon?"

And that was how they learned of one of the most impressive creatures of the magical world, a creature that had never been known by anyone but those of The Sanctuary. Deamons, like Empousai, were also known as Succubi by the muggles in myths. They were much like the regular humans in appearance and the difference was mainly in their heightened senses and strength, and that they did not need food to survive. Instead they survived by having sexual relationships with mortal man.

When Hericles had explained this little tit-bit, it was the first time they had ever seen him lose his composure. He flushed to the tip of his ears and became so flustered even they were stunned by the uncharacteristic behavior, though they did not miss getting a good laugh at his expense. It was unexpectedly adorable to find him lose his poise in such a manner.

"Can I see the library here?" asked Hermione as breakfast continued. "I am sure there must be some awfully good books on the different magical creatures that live here."

The other teenagers groaned but Hericles only smiled, "Yes, we do have quite an extensive library, and, yes, quite a few of the tomes contain information on the different magical beings. However, I believe you would all appreciate it more if you actually meet them. We could all go out and meet a few of the beings who live on the island and I could give you some quick common information about them; if you so wish it, of course."

"Yeah, that would be great!" Ron burst out.

"Sounds fun," Ginny added.

"Oh, yeah – " Fred started.

" – Really fun," George finished.

"Ooh! Yes, yes! I agree with the kids!" Sirius practically bounced in his chair.

"Is this going to be safe?" Molly asked the question on the other responsible adults' minds.

"Of course," Hericles smiled. "The inhabitants are particularly friendly and they would love to meet other wizards and witches. Oh, and before I forget, the Headmaster has asked me to inform you that the Order shall meet later in the afternoon."

After breakfast Arthur Weasley left via a portkey handed to him by Xanthus for work, as much as he wanted to stay. He was already late as he was when he left so no one said anything. Meanwhile the others went to change into more appropriate clothes and shoes to go exploring such a legendary place.

Hericles was aware that the mere fact that he was allowing the Order access to The Sanctuary was far from a neutral action and that when Tom, or Voldemort as he now insisted to being called, would find out – because he would; there was no hiding something so big from him when the whole truth of his identity came out – he would be furious and Hericles felt more than apprehensive of his reaction, especially since he was still debating whether to tell him about being Harry Potter or not. Not telling him would make Hericles feel awful about hiding the truth from his soulmate but he was quite terrified of his response.

Tom, much like Hericles though the latter hid it better, had a nasty streak a mile away and it was no surprise really that he had it in him to be a Dark Lord. Tom was highly possessive, it was true, but he was also vindictive. As proven by when he had hurt Hericles so badly when he had been Salazar, he had no qualms about hurting his soulmate (even if at that time he had refused to believe it. But Hericles had still been his brother, and if not as a lover, he had loved him as a brother and that much Hericles knew.).

To say Hericles was terrified was a slight understatement. It took all his self-control not to forever hide himself in The Sanctuary until his life as Hericles Feim ended in a natural death. However, he knew he could not act so cowardly. It was not only his life that was on the line but magic itself. If he, who knew what true magic meant, did not try to bring order back to its natural harmony then it would literally be the end of the world or the apocalypse as the mundanes said.

He had to offer those people a place at The Sanctuary, the magical place given to him by Death Himself. How else were they to understand that the wizards had truly done wrong to magic during all those centuries before? How else would they get the initiative and aspiration to change the world? True, he had offered them a place there because he was fond of them, but he was a Slytherin, by blood and soul. He knew how to make the best of a situation and manipulate events to achieve his goals. He needed them to see the life – the utterly peaceful life – the other magical beings had lived in The Sanctuary while prejudice ran rampant through the Magical (more like Wizarding, really) World.

Hericles was utterly petrified at the thought, at knowing, what Tom reaction to this would be. He would be furious and Hericles would be the one at the receiving end of his wrath. Such was the fate of his soulmate after all: to always be by his side, in the right and wrong.

However, Hericles was still himself. Tom might wish to take his anger on him but he also had Lily Potter's temper, James Potter's stubbornness, Belle Malfoy-Black's devotion, Aquilae Black's nasty streak, Capella Slytherin's will to go to any end for his goals, and Selwyn Slytherin's vindictive mind. He was a Potter, a Malfoy and a Black, and a Slytherin. They were all his parents and he had received a little of them each when Hericles Feim was born.

Hericles might love Tom to the point that he would gladly give his life again and again for him, but Hericles was still Hericles. He might allow himself to be crushed and trampled upon to a certain extent but even he had a limit when it came to Tom. It was not as if he had forgotten Salazar's actions in his first life, though it was true that any animosity he might have felt had been demolished during his second life when Tom had loved and devoted himself to Heri.

That did not mean he would let him forget though. He could hardly forgive him so quickly without the other feeling any remorse. Tom was going to recover his memories of Salazar and Hericles would accept him only if the other asked for his forgiveness. If he had to make the other kneel and beg then so be it. He would not let Tom use him as he had used him in his first life. It would hurt him greatly, emotionally and physically, but he knew that for them to actually have the best future, for Tom to actually listen to his views and help him in his goals, for his future child whom had not been born yet and would not for a few years, it was the only thing he could do. He knew that at the end, through the many obstacles in their relationship, through the tears and wounds to come, the best future, for the world and for them, would come if he did not fail in his self-imposed mission, if he did not stop mid-way through as much as he would want to, and if he did not let Tom's will crush his.

And to start was to offer a place to the Order, to show them what such a life and world would offer and to convince them, through their friendship, to listen to his opinion and consider a truce with the Dark side. It would be a hard road ahead of him and many things he would have to go through alone. Many pains were coming his way, but he could not back down now; now that his plan had started and everything was going as well as it could with the Light side. He was going to work unknowingly in changing their prejudiced views and then… then it would be time to approach Tom. The time to see him after so long was not far after all.

Oh, not far at all…

So here's the update I promised you so long ago. I know I took a good while but I had so much planned for the chapter and when it was written everything was clustered together in a big mess and I had to do it all over again with less information and actions. I wanted to add Hericles' view point for a good while and I know that if I missed this then the story would not exactly be what I want it to be. What I had planned will have to happen either in the next chapter or the one after that, since I also want to include a little more of what is happening on Voldemort's side.

Well, do leave behind a review and tell me what you think. Besides that a good 'thank you' to all you wonderful reviewers. Every time I read what you have written make my day and encourages me to write more. So again, thank you.