A/N: Whoa it's been a long time! Ok a few things. Exhibit A might continue taking a while cause I have to get a chapter ahead of you all before I post a new one...right now I'm stuck on a chapter so...meow.

Another thing, Luna is Luna, therefore it stands to reason she would know random words in Japanese even if she's English. After all, I'm American, but I know a few sentences in Spanish, Japanese, and German. Who says she can't be just as knowledgeable? Anywho, I hope you enjoy ok guys?

Death's Heir- 9

-same night in the other room-

Luna watched her little brother go off with Severus Snape, knowing that he would get some of the answers that he needed. With a sigh she returned her attention back to her satchel and then pulled out papers she had buried under her homework. While Harry had been recuperating after his last bout with Gryffindor stupidity, Cedric had given her the task of seeking out information on the mass murder after Harry. He had a suspicion that maybe no one knew all the facts about what really happened the night that Sirius Black had supposedly killed Peter Pettigrew and numerous muggles. From what she had gathered from the newspaper clippings and such, this suspicion was well founded. First off, Sirius Black was accused of killing thirteen people. One of which was one of his fellow Gryffindor friends, Peter. The others were muggles that had been killed in the crossfire.

Supposedly, he'd been chasing after his former friend in a fit of rage. Witnesses claimed he had been screaming about how he was going to kill Pettigrew for his betrayal. Betrayal of whom or what was never specified. Then there was the rumor of Sirius being a Death Eater.

Luna scoffed.

Even without her Seer ability she could tell that was a load of bollocks that heralded straight from either the Ministry or someone with an equal amount of sway over the community. Especially when one actually took the time to read into Sirius' past.

Son of Orion and Walburga Black and big brother to Regulus Arcturus Black. He had been the first in his family to be sorted into Gryffindor and then outcast because of it. He had made immediate friends with James Potter and the werewolf, Remus Lupin.

They had been inseparable, even when Peter had been added to the group. Years later, James and Lily Potter had become married, Sirius Black was James' best man and both men were exceptional Aurors. Shortly thereafter Sirius had been named Harry's godfather and a year after that the whole fiasco with Voldemort went down. Sirius being accused of betraying the Potters, said family dead save for little Harry, Peter and twelve muggles are killed, and Sirius is shipped away to Azkaban for the next twelve years for numerous crimes he didn't commit without a trial.

Wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am. That's all she wrote. Thanks for all your service but fuck-you-very-much.

Luna tilted her head to the side, absently twisting a lock of her hair around her finger as she pondered all the facts. According to what she'd been able to dig up, it had been Dumbledore who had suggested he go to prison immediately, else poor little Harry could be targeted next. Revenge for the death of Sirius' supposed Lord. He even encouraged the Ministry into believing that Sirius had indeed sold out his friends.

What Luna didn't understand, was, if Sirius had indeed sold the Potters out, if he'd killed all those people, then why had he wanted to be as far away from his Slytherin/Voldermort worshipping relatives as possible? Why had he been through so much with and for James Potter, if he was just going to betray them in the end?

According to his Black relatives, Sirius couldn't have acted his way out of a paper bag. Though that was through numerous pureblood grapevines. So why betray? Why take out the people who took you in and were more of a family to you than your own? It made no sense.

Luna chewed on her finger nail as she went over the details in her mind. It made sense to her that Dumbledore would want Black put in prison. Without Black, the only relatives that could take Harry in we're his abusive muggle Aunt and Uncle. And there was no way the old man didn't know about it either. Harry had told all of the, about how his first Hogwarts letter had been addressed to 'The cupboard under the stairs.'

Cedric had flipped a bloody lid. In retrospect the scene had been rather humorous, even if the subject matter hadn't been. And with how horrible Harry's life had been, he would cling to the first bit of kindness shown to him. Enter the Weasley brat and Granger chit and sweet Headmaster Dumbledore.

"Something must have happened in Second year that changed his mind about keeping Harry as his in his defeat of Voldermort." Luna pondered aloud, irritation growing in the pit of her stomach.

But what? What had happened...wait. Second year was the year Harry found out he was a parslemouth. Maybe that had been the turning point? Possibly. The next question was, was Black really a danger to Harry? Personally, she didn't think so. However, this possibly innocent man had been incarcerated for almost thirteen years, surrounded by Dementors twenty-four-seven. In his years being slowly driven insane, he might have come to believe the hype about himself.

Frustrated at having obtained no answers, regardless of the amount of information, she debated if she should show Cedric what she'd found so far, or wait until she'd procured more. Gathering up all the notes she'd spread out on the couch, she decided it was best to keep Cedric informed, no matter the lack of concrete answers. Maybe they could all brainstorm together when they'd shared what they'd discovered with Harry.

She placed all of her papers in her satchel just as Severus finally left the room he'd taken Harry to. Closing her bag she raised a brow at the Potions Master's softer expression. He looked her over for a moment then tisked quietly.

"You and Harry are staying here tonight. He's waiting for you. Do try not to destroy my home, you heathens." Severus stated finally, casting an unreadable glance back at the closed off room he'd just exited.

Luna inwardly smirked, suddenly bombarded with images and flashes of his future in her mind's eye. Oh my! This was interesting. Outwardly she merely smiled serenely and stood, eyes dancing as he stepped away from her.

"Thank you for taking care of my aniki, and for answering what you could of his questions. Don't worry the rest he will be told later." With out another word she turned towards the guest room door and left the dour Potions Master behind, missing the look of confusion on Severus' face. Harry opened his eyes when she walked in and smiled warily.

"I didn't get all the answers I wanted. Plus the feelings I had in my dream are back, like I'm experiencing emotions that aren't mine. Am I going insane?" He wondered aloud, emerald orbs filling with slight fear.

Luna sighed and set her satchel by the bed before climbing under the covers with him. She brought him close in a tight embrace and allowed the beating of her heart soothe him.

"You won't have all the answers right yet. But I promise you'll have some soon. Just trust me when I say that those emotions aren't necessarily a bad thing." She replied as Harry wiggled to get comfortable. Harry sighed but hummed his agreement and they fell into a comfortable silence. Then:

"If I were to make a truce with Voldemort, would you guys still want me?' Was the timid question. Luna rolled her eyes.

"Hon, as long as what you do wasn't signing your death warrant, we wouldn't care. We'll follow you wherever your heart leads you."

Harry snorted.

"Some would say that talking to Voldemort was signing your death." He retorted.

Luna chuckled and tweaked his nose, causing him to yelp indignantly. He wasn't a child after all!

"Yes but you know better. Now you wanna talk about your problem?" She started, a mischievous glint in her eyes. Immediately wary, Harry fidgeted.

"What problem?"

Luna snickered.

"The one where you have a crush on every hot male that moves?"

Harry blushed a bright crimson and playfully swatted his sister on the shoulder.

"I do not!"

"Atropos, Cedric, Blaise, Professor Snape," she added the last name with a teasing grin. Harry's blush deepened and he pouted.

"I can't help how I feel."

Luna's eyes softened and she smiled good naturally. She understood how he felt if only a bit.

"Besides, Luna. Why are you complaining? You don't even like men!" He teased back, tickling her stomach and sides.

Shrieking with laughter, they began a tickle fight that lasted for a good five or six minutes, until both were too tired to move. Eventually Luna had caught her breath,they cuddled once more and Luna hummed a little tune.

"Am I a whore for liking all these guys and wanting them? Does that make me greedy and dirty?" Harry quietly asked, sobering up from his giggle fit.

Sighing sadly, her heart hurting for her big brother's self deprecating emotions, gently carded her fingers through his shoulder length hair.

"No. You aren't greedy or even dirty. Those men care for you, even without the sexual aspect. Atropos, because you are kin; Cedric and Blaise, because you are all friends; Professor Snape, because you are his student. And you care for the, because they all have given you something to cherish. Now, about this thing you have with the professor. How long have you had that crush?" She asked the last bit with just as much curiosity as she had the honest love in the words before. Harry buried his face in his hands and groaned.

"Since Second year. I realized that his voice was smooth. When he talked it felt like I was being intimately caressed. And when you look closely, his eyes aren't really black. They are just so dark of a brown that they appear black. And you know how everyone makes fun of his nose, skin, and hair? It's a glamour! Well, the skin and hair are. The nose really does appear broken. But his hair looks so silky smooth and his skin so baby soft..." Harry just stopped himself from fantasizing and Luna chuckled, mildly surprised at Harry's ability to see beyond Snape's glamour. Harry's magic must be stronger than they thought.

"Well. It won't matter if I like him now." That pulled her out of her thoughts and she scowled. What was her big brother on about?

"He knows Luna." He finished, seeing her look of irritation before she could stop it and he inwardly flinched. He knew he was aggravating when he said things like that, but still. How could his Potions Master ever want him? Luna winced at seeing her brother's masked hurt. Cedric wouldn't be pleased with her reaction.

"I know for a fact he will come to care for you greatly so get that bollocks out of your thick skull alright?" She stated firmly, causing Harry's eyes to widen. If she said 'I know for a fact' it meant she'd Seen something. Harry's eyes filled with such hope that she sighed in relief.

"Really?"

"Yes."

They were quiet again, each lost in thought. Then:

"We should tell Cedric and Blaise about your dream ok?"

Harry nodded and snuggled closer to his sister, delicious thoughts of the Shadow Demon eclipsing his excitement over Severus.

"Thank you, Luna."

Luna rolled her eyes again but smiled kindly.

"Anything for you, aniki."

Harry waited a full minute before smirking.

"So who do you like?"

A pillow to the face was his answer.

-The Chamber of Secrets, Second Year-

Tom Riddle watched as the boy left with the unconscious girl and sighed. Had he made the right decision in letting the child go? He wasn't sure. He knew that the kid was special though. And he also knew that his older self would want to know what information (plus those curious emotions) that he'd gathered. Sighing one more, he called for his Basilisk and glared at the diary. He didn't want to be stuck in that again...but...he could better share with his older self if he did.

::Master?::

::I need you to undertake, what will undoubtably be, a long journey. ::

The Basilisk tilted its head in thought before finally nodding for Tom to continue. Tom sighed in relief. Sometimes Basilisks could be so troublesome. However, he needed to make this quick. He had to be out of the Chamber before Dumbledore found a way down with his bloody flaming parrot. He was pretty sure the old man had used Harry with the hopes that the child would get rid of the diary with no hair coming to his old wrinkly paws. Bringing his attention back to the present, he pointed to the diary and locked his gaze on the lovely muzzle of the giant snake. Granted the beast had its harmful vision off, but he certainly wasn't taking any chances.

::I need you to locate and give this diary to the wizard that smells and feels exactly like me. You will probably be traveling far. I need you to protect the diary with your life until you reach your destination. Once there, my older self will take care of you alright?:: he asked, gently petting the Basilisk's large scales.

It hissed its pleasure at being pet but gave a snake nod. Tom gave the Chamber one last look-over then sighed and returned back to the diary. He felt when the Basilisk wrapped its enormous tongue around him and placed him share in one of its pocketed scales; a trick not many knew a Basilisk had. It was a way for them to store food for later. Then they were moving and he sat back for a long wait. During this time he went over what happened with Harry. All the things he'd learned, all the new questions posed. In a way he was excited. Very excited. He hadn't had this much of a challenge in a while. He knew that the older version of himself would positively salivate over this new puzzle.

Part of him wanted to protect this child though. They really did have similar pasts. Although this child seemed to have held onto most of his innocence regardless of the pain caused him. Were as Tom had become hard and angry, Harry accepted his lot in life and kept smiling. It was rare. He desperately wished to keep that innocence safe.

He was brought out of his musings when he felt a power similar to his own opening his pages.

Finally!

+Why did you instruct the Basilisk to bring me this?+ asked scrawl so like his own.

Tom chuckled within the diary and a wicked glee entered the memory's eyes.

+We need to talk.+ he replied, his answering scrawl almost identical.

He felt the curiosity in Voldemort's magic spike.

+Oh? What about?+

+Harry Potter.+

Another spike and Tom smirked in triumph.

+I'm listening.+