Title: Playing with Magic
Author: Lord Avaritia
Pairings: Harry/Tom(Voldemort)
Summary: We as humans do not have souls, we are souls, we have a body. But what if the Gods tore apart our souls? What if we're condemned to spend our lives in search of our other halves? Lord Voldemort would not submit to the whims of the Gods. He would be whole, powerful, and immortal. The price of such freedom be damned.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and am not making any money from this (obviously).

Key:
'Thoughts'
Written text
"Voice of a God"
:Parseltongue:

-Chapter 4-
Pains of the Past

They walked together for what seemed like a small eternity- side by side in a comfortable silence. Harry took great comfort in the flow of Fate's power- it gently lapped at the edge of his senses, just barely there, before rolling over him in an a rush of power that made him feel alive, only to slowly recede once more.

"Are you ready?" asked the many voices at once. Harry nodded, closing his eyes, and then that rush of Fate's power crashed over him once more, this time bringing with it a vision.

Harry opened his same emerald eyes to fire and smoke. He was in the middle of a pyre alight with flame. Before him stood a man in robes saying something he couldn't make out over the screaming- a woman was screaming somewhere. He reached out for the man with his hands and he saw that on his hands- small feminine hands- runes were carved into the skin. What was going on? Then Harry felt a sense peace wash over him.

"Relax Little One, I have you. You are Seraphina, remember?"Fate spoke in a soft soothing tone, her many voices calming him greatly. And She was right, he did remember, slowly at first, and then all at once.

He was Seraphina Sinclair. He was sixteen years old, and he was not a he, but a she. She had a father and a mother who she adored but should listen to more often. And the man before her was Nathair- a noble man with a charming smile and even more charming words. And she has fallen for his tricks- the snake!

The voices of Fate broke the stream of remembrance, "I am going let go of you now. You need to see this through." With that the sense of peace was gone and she was back to the pyre and the screaming. But this time she knew who was screaming- it was her. The flames lapped at her body but more painful yet was the runes burning in her skin hotter than the flames. They pulled at her Magic, ripping it from her core, passing her Magic through the runes to Nathair. She screamed louder. She screamed until her throat bled and she gagged. Then she screamed more. She wished for death to take her. For darkness to take her away. But Magic kept her conscious. She prayed for the flames to take her but she knew they would not be her end. She would not perish until Nathair drained her dry of Magic. And in that final moment when the soul was leaving Seraphina's body piercing emerald met abysmal garnet.

Abruptly the pain stopped and in its place was that sense of peace and rightness that came with being in Her presence. The change was shocking and left Harry breathless. But the peace did not last long and before he could catch his breath Harry felt himself be dragged away into another vision of pain and betrayal.

And so it went, vision after vision of the past. Each life was different, but in each of them there existed a dark presence so similar to Nathair. In these past lives Harry saw himself grow wiser, stronger, more courageous. He watched as he learned lessons- hard lessons- but ones that fostered within him a sense of peace and rightness. However, the dark presence never changed and within it Harry sensed desperation and corruption. In each life Harry found himself a victim of that dark being- a lover betrayed, a solider defeated, a brother murdered, a friend deceived- again and again he was victimized. And as he felt himself be pulled into another replay of the past he said a little prayer that maybe this time would be different.

Harry opened his eternally emerald eyes to a flash of green. He watched as a young woman fell before him, her fiery hair pooled around her like blood. He could not tear his eyes away from her and in his chest he felt a deep sadness and pain.

But it wasn't long before another flash of green appeared and with it came a different kind of pain. It was excruciating - beyond the comprehension of the human mind – it was the pain of having something bury itself in the depths of your very soul. Harry screamed.

The vision blurred then – a kind of fast forward that left him disoriented. It quickly stopped and settled into place. Around him Harry could see the remnants of a great battle and he heard the cries of that war which still seemed to rage on.

"Dumbledore was trying to keep the Elder Wand from me!" The shriek of those words drew Harry's attention to the being before him, meeting the being's blood red eyes. Internally, Harry was shocked by the grotesqueness of that creature (for it surely could not be considered human) and in his disgust missed the rest of the frantic words that were spoken. But then from his own mouth came words he had not thought.

"Yeah, it did." said Harry. "You're right. But before you try to kill me, I'd advise you think what you've done . . . . Think, and try for some remorse, Riddle. . . ."

Harry didn't know where the words came from but he listened to himself speak with great attention.

"It's your one last chance," said Harry, "it's all you've got left. . . . I've seen what you'll be otherwise. . . . Be a man. . . try. . . Try for some remorse. . . ."

What was happening here? Who was he now? Who was Riddle? Why was it that when he spoke his words were filled with pity and sorrow? His thoughts were frantic and he could no longer focus on the exchange playing out before him.

"Shh Little One, all is well." Fate's peace washed over him once more and soothed the frenzy of his thoughts. "You are Harry James Potter, remember?" and when the many voices of Fate asked he again remembered slowly and then all at once. And with that memory sinking in Fate slowly pulled him from the vision and back into the dreamscape from which they had come.

The brightness of Harry's dreamscape flooded his senses for a moment until his eyes adjusted and looked tentatively at the Goddess beside him.

Fate smiled softly and reached out with a pale hand to lift his chin so their eyes met, "You have questions Little One, ones you have not dared to ask me – you should ask them now."

Harry shifted uncomfortably but did not look away from the Goddess, "My Lady, I am not sure I want the answers." Harry had wondered a great many things about his life but he had never dared to question them in worry about what the truth might hold. Now, with the knowledge of his past lives, that worry was intensified. When Harry did not continue Fate let out a light sigh, the sound was almost musical in Her many harmonized voices. She had forgotten how young Her Little One was in this cycle – age was such distant concept to one as infinite as Fate.

"The vision we just left was your last cycle Little One," She began, answering the questions that were unspoken but known, "and you are right in thinking that the man from that past life is a part of the same soul as your dear friend Marvolo."

Harry cringed at the revelation and stepped away from the Goddess, "Is it…am I." He could not finish the sentence, could not finish the thought, and he looked into the eyes of Fate with a desperation he had never known in this life.

"Peace Harrison, you are not what you fear. I would not let such an affront to the Gods happen again." Fate spoke calmly, reassuringly, but somewhere in the sound of Her many voices Harry was sure he heard anger. "Marvolo's soul is this time wholly entwined with yours in a bond – it is not a mere shard entombed within your own soul."

Relief flooded the young boy and gave him the courage to ask why Fate would show him these things.

"Do not question the designs of Fate, Little One, but be assured in my favor of you. Think on the past that I have showed you so that I may better guide you in the future." With those words Fate faded away and Harry was left to ponder his lives alone in his dreams.

AN: I have written and rewritten this chapter so many times – it really was challenging. I just hope this version is easy to follow. This is my first story, so please let me know your opinions. I welcome any and all reviews. Thank you so much for reading!

*This chapter contained excerpts from the chapter "The Flaw in the Plan" from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling