Before Zinnia knew it the winter holidays were quickly approaching. With the holidays arriving soon came a letter from her Moony worrying over the fact that he and Grandpa Lyall had to go on a business trip to get a couple rare ingredients that could only be found in the Himalayan mountains. It was not a trip someone with Zinnia's constitution could make, however staying at Hogwarts was not an option for it was not safe with Dumbledore as Headmaster.

The solution came with dual letters from both her penpals. Fenrir had mentioned wishing to see her over the holidays since she mentioned she had connections with someone with a lot of power in the political scene. Zinnia thought perhaps that was just an excuse, despite his rough exterior she wondered if the ancient wolf was curious and didn't want to admit it. Voldemort stated that she would spend the holidays with him.

Moony and Grandpa Lyall weren't aware of Voldemort yet; they knew of Fenrir and that was hard enough for them. Zinnia knew that it would take a little more time for them to be ready with the idea of her fate being tied with someone who was said to be sharing mutual destruction with her

However, under a pseudonym Voldemort (Lord Thomas Devoy) wrote to her family and let them know that she would be protected and safe at his estate with her friends. That her friends were merely multiple shards of the same soul, of the same person, that owned the estate; her family was none the wiser.

Moony's letter was wary, but said after he received a letter from Fenrir of all people he would allow it.

The past summer Moony had come to respect Fenrir as not his Alpha, but as the Alpha. Zinnia had explained the origins of Fenrir to her Papa and the wolf in him understood. Moony saw how Fenrir treated Zinnia like a wolf pup and knew she would be protected, so when he knew Fenrir would be stopping by during the holiday to check on her the wolf was relieved.

It was on the train that Zinnia met a ghostly sort of girl. She shook her head, no, that was not right; the girl seemed to be made of moonlight.

"The wrackspurts seem to enjoy your curse. They are quite frenzied." Hair that seemed to glisten like it was woven with silver and starlight fell upon shoulder, as the girl tilted her head to the side, before she peered further into the otherwise empty train compartment. "Will the four of you mind the company?"

Zinnia watched the girl of moonlight, "They will be fine. Please join us."

Geb's head poked out from the collar of her shirt as soon as the girl floated in.

"Girl of moonlight, what's your name?"

A whimsical sort of smile came upon small pink bowed lips, "Luna."

"You were named well then."

"Zinnia." The Moon hummed, "The absent friend, strange. I have missed you, but we can fix that now."

Zinnia's lips lifted into a hesitant smile as she peered into the clear blue eyes across from her, it was obvious that the girl had some form of the Sight. Perhaps she could see magical signatures, sense magical beings or even see between the layers of realities.

"I think you and I will do just fine, Moon."

The Moon's brightly striped socked feet swung back and forth in front of her, "It is better this way, for I must join you on your holiday."

First instincts were to be suspicious, the horcrux within her already whispered within her all the things she needed to do; but she shook her head and instead cocked it to the side.

"Why is that?"

"Even the wolf will be wary if you stay with a man by yourself."

The rest of the journey was mostly spent in quiet observations about strange and wonderful magical beings and before they knew it they arrived at the station. Both girls left the train, and Zinnia gasped as the young girl slipped her small hand in her empty one.

"You won't ever be alone again, Zinnia. We'll all be here for you."

A shiver ran through Zinnia as Luna echoed the last words that her horcrux said to her the first night she met him.

A small reassuring squeeze of her hand caused Zinnia to look back at her companion who started to pull her through the crowd as if already sure of their destination.

To the far right of the VIP floos stood a tall man, his face reminiscent of a less feverish version of the diadem horcrux. His eyebrow rose as the girl of moonlight smiled brightly up at him, before she dropped into a curtsy.

Then Moon was leaning forward in a whisper, "A change of plans, my lord. An impromptu visit from a certain wolf, means I must join on your holiday." She then rocked back on her heels, her smile bright, "Zinnia and I are lost sisters. Secrets unspoken stay unspoken forever."

Zinnia smiled as she looked between the two, she could practically hear the figurative cogs and wheels turning in Voldemort's head.

"I believe I was meant to meet the moon today, Lord Devoy."

His piercing blue eyes met hers and she smiled in turn; knowing they would be having a long conversation once they reached the manor. Although she did look forward to him trying to get a straight answer out of Luna, without any harm being done for Zinnia had already decided Luna would be protected.

It wasn't until they were walking down Diagon Alley towards Gringotts for their appointment that Luna's worth was shown to Voldemort.

"Zinnia!"

Zinnia jumped and turned with wide eyes. She had a feeling she might be seeing him soon because of Luna's hints but not as soon as it had come.

"Papa?"

Her father's eyes were already flashing gold as they peered at her hand perched upon Voldemort's arm as he had been steering Luna and her through the crowds (with Luna attached to Zinnia's other side).

"Moony, it's alright. This is Lord Thomas Devoy. The one that wrote the letter."

A growl rumbled through her father's chest, and Zinnia eyed the crowds around them worriedly. However, it was Luna that saved the day. She stepped forward and the oddest thing happened. It was as if a sort of calm came over the wolf.

Zinnia glanced up at Voldemort to see he'd seen the change as well, before looking back at Luna. It was as if there was a bubble of protection around the four of them, protecting them from the crowd's attention. Luna was glimmering again, like she had when Zinnia had first met her; like a full moon on a cloudless night.

"Hello, Mr. Lupin. My name is Luna Lovegood. Lord Thomas Devoy is my godfather." Luna stood tall, not bowing to the wolf. Moony's eyes were still gold but calm before the girl that seemed to not only look like the moon but personify it. Her tones were calming and lilting, and Zinnia watched as her father's breathing slowed to a more natural pace, "Your pup will be safe. I will protect her as my own."

It was as if the lies calmed the man but the truths calmed the wolf. Remus needed to hear a reasonable excuse for why Zinnia's hand was on a man's arm going down a street. However, Moony needed to know at the core that his pup would be safe and protected and Luna gave him the answer.

Zinnia knew it was more than that though. The power Luna was showing over Moony was something she'd only heard about in legends and suddenly she wondered something more. If perhaps Luna and her were 'sisters' for more reasons than one.

The bubble of protection burst as Remus returned and his gaze returned to blue.

"Why are you not staying at Rook House then?"

Luna smiled back at Zinnia and Voldemort almost as if to reassure them that their secrets were safe, "Father has claimed to find an ancient treasure map to the hiding spot of an ageless Hydra. He was afraid that the trip would be far too dangerous. So he thought it better for me to spend it with a friend."

Remus's eyes widened almost to comical size, "That indeed sounds like a perilous journey. My father and I are headed for the Himalayas ourselves."

Luna clapped her hands, "Have you perhaps found the trail that leads to Shangri La? I've heard such interesting legends of it."

Remus shook his head, "I'm afraid not. It's a rare potion ingredients expedition."

Zinnia stepped forward, "Are you heading off then soon, Papa?"

Remus turned toward his daughter, his face turning slightly grim once more.

"I don't like leaving you behind."

Zinnia sighed as she found herself in his warm embrace, even if his tweed jacket scratched her cheek a little bit she still nuzzled his cheek.

"I'll be fine. I'm with friends. I'm safe. More importantly I'm away from him." Her arms tightened one last time around her father's neck, "Is Grandpa already halfway there?"

She felt him nod, before she sighed. Of course, he had been worried and had come to check on her. Luna saved them, sweet Luna. Pulling back she kissed his cheek, "Give him a hug from me and tell him to take his potions and eat and…"

Remus let out a slightly wet laugh, "I will, I will. I love you, pup."

"I love you too, Papa. Now, no more dragging your feet. Go, have your adventure!"

They waited until her father disappeared into the crowd again before Voldemort grabbed her hand and placed it back on his elbow. Zinnia let out a laugh, which promptly earned her a look that promised she'd earned herself an extra hour of study time that night. A soft giggle came to Zinnia's left as a soft hand slipped into her unoccupied hand as they made their way to Gringotts.

The appointment at Gringotts brought them into an office laden with golden filigree encased in glass upon the walls and a large solid desk in the center of the room.

"Don't worry it won't hurt, the blades are coated with the saliva of the dunkle fish who are known for the…"

"Three drops of your blood on this parchment here," the goblin interrupted Luna who merely sat back in the chair by the door serenely.

Zinnia stood and followed direction, and as the Moon had said it didn't hurt as her finger was pricked and the crimson droplets fell.

A wave of dizziness surprised her and she was thankful as Voldemort grabbed her from falling, healing her finger as he did so. It was amazing how long she'd lasted that day. Of course, she had been close to Voldemort and the horcrux upon her skin the whole time so that had helped.

Zinnia didn't realize she had blacked out, until her shoulder was being shaken and the voice of her horcrux whispered, 'It's time to wake up!'

She blinked her eyes and looked up into the crimson gaze of her soulmate, fellow soulbond, fellow soul holder. Zinnia sighed and she wondered if she heard a combined sigh in her head; most likely the diadem and her horcrux agreed she was thinking too much shortly after passing out. She blinked again, this time her eyes stayed closed a moment longer as she took a deep breath letting her mind settle before she opened them again.

A small smile quirked across her lips, "I must have an allergy to dunkle fish saliva."

Luna's responding giggle was not as light hearted as Zinnia would have wished. It was high pitched, almost frenzied; not at all like the girl she had come to know that day.

Voldemort's arms tightened around Zinnia, pulling her closer to his chest as his whole body shook. It was then she realized the whole room was shaking. He was taking deep breaths trying to settle what she realized was his raging magic.

She wondered then why he was so angry, she had been sick before.

"What is it? What did the test show?"

His voice came out deathly cold and quiet, "I have done many evil things in my life. Things that I do not regret and yet…I would never do…" The shaking started up again and his arms tightened almost painfully around her, "I would never do what he has done to you." He took a deep breath, "He has sinned so greatly that Magic itself has sought to right the balance by keeping you alive, but even then…"

Zinnia couldn't see anything, barely could breath with her face stuffed in the front of his chest and yet she could barely believe even as she heard it, the tiny choked sob that came from him.

"Voldemort I need to know what's going on." Her voice was muffled against his front, but she knew he could hear her.

He straightened, his face falling to its expressionless mask but all his glamour was gone. A brief glimpse at Luna, confirmed what Zinnia already believed that she already had seen through them.

"When I taught you and observed first year, I had already surmised that the curse must be siphoning your power and magic off to not only Dumbledore but also your twin brother."

Zinnia nodded. She had come to the same conclusion.

She spoke up, "We also came to the conclusion that Dumbledore had already siphoned off a fair amount of my power when he first placed the curse leaving me vulnerable to either being killed on the night of your attack or being created into a horcrux."

"We?" Voldemort's crimson gaze narrowed.

Zinnia tapped her scar and lifted the diadem necklace from her collar before replacing it.

He nodded.

Zinnia looked at him and saw for the first time Voldemort seemed unable to put to words what he needed to say. She realized in that moment that he had never felt pain for another before, this was a brand new experience for him. No doubt frightening for someone always in control, she tilted her head to the side, her hand reaching out to touch his face when Luna's voice rang out.

"He's spoken of as being a beacon of the Light however he's always been dark, he just hides it better."

Zinnia turned her head toward Luna.

Luna was staring off into the distance, eyes unseeing, dried tear tracks down her cheeks.

"He put a fail-safe in the curse in the case that you did not die the night Voldemort came. The prophecy shown was fake. The Seer fake. He killed the Seer who spoke of the one with the power to make a new era. She was pretty in the lake, like the story of Ophelia. They said she drowned herself. That's how the Light lord does things." Luna swallowed her and let out a small cry. "You just kept living." She looked straight into Zinnia's eyes, "So he enacted the fail-safe. Not only would he have your magic, your power but he'd have your life as well."

Zinnia swallowed, "My life?"

Voldemort's voice was so dead, so quiet, so frightening; "He's taking your very life force even as we speak."