The man behind the mask

“What is he doing?” Sirius Black demanded watching as his godson walked right up to the manor gates. They had followed him for miles loosing him several times. They moved on in grim perseverance. Harry may try to loose them, but they were both determined to stop him. The order was only a day behind them. A day too late, his foolish godson was going to get himself killed. One just doesn’t walk up and knock on the Dark Lords door and expect to live. Not much scared Sirius, he had faced down life without fear. He’d even spent years in Azkaban without the fear that was now swamping his body.

“He’s doing it for us. He thinks to spare us whatever fate awaits him in there.” Remus replied watching with grim determination as the gates swung open. He turned to his best friend and looked back at the boy they both loved like a son.

“This is Dumbledore’s fault! Why would he let him do it! That curse is evil and he let Harry perform it! It’s warped his mind; he’s going to get himself killed. I swear to god Remus if anything happens to Harry, deal or no deal I’ll kill Albus my self!” Sirius declared heatedly. He drew his wand and watched as Harry took a step through the gates.

Instantly the world went to hell.

Devils snare shot out of the ground, it was as if the earth itself had been charmed to halt any intruder’s progress. Death eaters appeared from mid air to surround him. There were flashes of light and screams of pain as the battle began. He had tried to leave them behind; his foolish brash godson. He should have realized that these two men at least would fallow him into hell.
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He had come alone unprotected except for two? Albus’s mighty order had sent a teenage boy and only two men of no particular talents to defeat him? Assuredly not, more likely Harry had decided that instead of working with Dumbledore to get around his traps he was going to go by himself. The most foolish move anyone could make. As he watched his loyal Death Eaters surround the boy he reached out to touch him.

That first touch of Harry’s mind sent a shock of sensation like a bolt of lightning into his mind. It was like he had reached out to touch pure energy and grasp it in his hands. Warmth, there was blessed beautiful warmth in him. Tom could feel it, and him Eros ever present, ever locked inside Harry. He was seeking every waiting to be awakened.

Tom pushed aside the storm of colors and feeling invading his body, he would examine them later right now he needed to see. It was impossible, it was like he was sinking into the very thing that was Harry.

(( Listen to me dark on! You hold the key. Give it too me. I am incomplete like this, I will not be incomplete.))

Tom shuddered as that voice washed through his body. It was Harry yet not, Eros but not. It was a fragmented form of both. Harry without Eros was incomplete and vise versa. To unite the two halves would be to fulfill the Prophecy. He wasn’t ready. He shut out the voice setting his will.

Eros was powerful but in his present fragmented state he had no hope of commanding Tom. Even complete he had one major disadvantage.

((Do not seek to command me ancient one. You will have to wait to be complete. If I complete you now you’ll destroy yourself. Your human body is not strong enough to hold you. Always so impatient Eros. ))

(( Oulixes?)) Tom felt Eros’s shock and barely resisted a smile. Eros had always been put off by him.

(( Alive and complete, unlike yourself, and I’m called Lord Voldemort these days.)) He taunted. He could feel Eros’s spurt of anger which was quickly cooled.

((You are never complete Tom, you’re hate and death. How can one such as you ever be complete.)) Eros replied. Tom conceded the point to him. He was right. Eros chuckled.

((Always nice to be right. Foolish one call off your little minions of Death they will not last long.))

((Why not just surrender to me Eros.))

((Do you think me a fool Tom?)) at Toms wince at the use of his first name in that dripping disrespect, Eros laughed. (( you seek to deny your humanity with the name of the dark lord. You have not changed in all our centuries of waiting have you. You still think to call yourself master of earth, to drive out what you see as weakness. Even in yourself. Tom is your given name, I do not recognize the name of Voldemort.))

((You never recognize truth when you see it Eros. I think love is a foolish emotion, one I can not afford to put any stake in. But I do not think it is weak; you are love are you not? Far be it for me to call you weak. Surrender to me Eros, and things can be as they were before. )) Tom tempted him. Eros replied with a force of anger

((My surrender to you caused all this or don’t you remember? You have to pay for your transgressions, and that is my duty! I neglected it in our last life and caused ruin for all that I loved. Do not think to play me for a fool!))

((Admit it, you fear me you always have. You fear the loss of control)) Tom accused him. It shouldn’t hurt, being rejected should not feel this way. He could not feel, he had no feelings.

((You would fear it too. I am all that is love and passion you are all that is hate and darkness. My love could not redeem you, and yes you do search for redemption whether you wish to acknowledge it or not! I made the mistake of fallowing you once. I shall not do it again.)) Eros retorted heatedly. Tom could feel his resolve.

((I’m not giving you a choice.)) Was Toms only reply. He wasn’t, if he depended on Harry to know what was best the world would be run by Albus! Of course Eros would not want to repeat their past. He thought to prevent it by denying him. The past would not be repeated because he refused to let Albus interfere this time!

He would keep a tight watch on Harry. His mistake last time was letting Eros have free rein, in actually trusting in the love that was so much apart of his making.

((No Oulixes, it was in refusing to love at all.)) The last tired whisper Tom heard before he appeared on the front lawns were Harry was fighting for his life.

He wasn’t doing to bad a job of it, admittedly he would do a lot better if he wasn’t so concerned with yelling at the two men fighting beside him. That was always going to Harry’s downfall this emotion everyone took so much stock in. Love itself was not weak, Eros was love. Love in a god was different then that in a human, love in them was a weakness. A weakness he would use to his advantage again and again.

“Greetings Harry, welcome to my home. I have been waiting along time for this visit.” Tom smiled flicking a finger. Instantly everything stilled, everyone stared at him unmoving. Except Harry, he was not held in place by the spell Tom had cast. Tom smiled inwardly; Eros really wasn’t one to take being commanded well. He had best get used to it then.

“Voldemort, I have wanted to do this for a while now too. Why don’t we do this on our own then?” Harry suggested, casting a worried eye to the two men. Tom let a chilling smile form on his lips.

“Actually Harry I can’t let your little friends go as you would wish. You see I need them, if I let them go you would seek to destroy me. As long as I have them I know you will come with me quietly.” Tom replied, with a wave of one finger the two men magically appeared in front of him in chains.

“Harry don’t, just forget about...”

Tom silenced them with a muttered crucio, and watched as Harry grew steadily angrier.

“Stop it! Leave them alone!” He shouted clenching his wand and taking a step forward.

“I could kill them right now Harry, and we could finish this you might succeed in destroying me, but then you would have sacrificed your little friends. What will you do Harry.” Tom taunted. He knew the answer, what else could Harry do after all he was Eros and Eros relied on love.

Foolish.
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He knew he was dreaming but it was a dream like nothing he’d ever experienced. The colors hurt his eyes, the dimension was off. He was in a world familiar yet unfamiliar. He was different. The man in the dream was him, but yet not. It was strange it was frightening, but it was better then reality. In reality he knew he was inside Voldemort’s Manor. That he was chained and would probably wake to torture.

He liked the dreams better.

In the dream the man who was him but yet not was sitting on a dais. There was another man a shadowed man.

The table of three has been broken. Gennadios, Eros, and Oulixes. Honor, Love, and Hate. Your selfishness and pride has unbalanced the fate of the world. For your foolishness you will become men, no longer gods but not wholly human. You will live cursed lives until you undo what you have wrought!

Eros because you were divided in your loyalties you will be divided in your next life. Incomplete a shattered being, just as you have shattered the heavens with your foolishness. You will never be complete again until you can learn to see the man behind the mask he wears.

Gennadios, because you have chosen to show no honor for your brothers you shall have no honor and have no brothers in the life to come. You will seek to use your power for ambition and ambition alone but are cursed with not the will to use it! And because you have done so grave a wrong as to harm your own kin for greed and greed alone he shall strike back at you. I give him the choice of vengeance.

Oulixes because you have let love misguide you, and in turn destroyed it you shall be complete yet incomplete. I sentence you to the coldness you so seek to name yourself. You think you are all that is hate, all that is darkness, then so be you. You shall never be free of the monster you have named yourself until you too can look behind the mask you wear. The voice hurt, it was like listening to the judgment of god. The three men were engulfed in light and torn from their bodies.

And sent where? To do what?

Reform the table of Honor Love and Hate?

Harry shivered and turned in his sleep, who were these people, he had never dreamed anything like this before!

((Don’t be afraid Harry, although we are not one yet this is my doing. And I shall right it. No one will harm us. Do not be afraid to look behind the mask he wears, as I was.))

Harry fell back into dreams comforted by the voice of Eros.


A/N: I noticed I spelled Eros with an A last time, thats the Latin version of the name but I realised I prefer it with an E. As in the Greek text. Eros was the god of love in greek mythology where in Rome Aros was a hunter. That was a fub on my part. I'll go back and fix it but I just wanted to explain the change for those who have already read the first chapters.