Thank you to .whisper. GoddessofNight142, Riality, and marauding-siriusly. By the way, if anyone like GoddessofNight142 got the hints in the Mission Accomplished bit, you'll be seeing a new fic out about it very…very…very soon.

Disclaimer:

Once more I wrote a rhyme

But not to waste your time

And not to earn a dime

Because you know this is not mine.

Ginny trudged slowly up the stairs, being careful not to make too much noise lest Desdemona wake up. She and Sebastian had run all the way, with Katherine berating them until they got home.

She'd left Sebby with the task of explaining about the girl, and now as she opened the heavy door that led to her room, she wished once more she had at least thought to buy some food at the store.

She knew there was no more, and they'd have to go again. Desdemona's visits had become more and more frequent, and they had been too injured from the last attack to venture outside.

Ginny lay on the four-poster bed and flipped over. She stared at the ceiling; with it's peeling wallpaper and stains, and sighed.

A sudden crash downstairs jolted her from her reverie, and she sucked in a breath.

Desdemona.

Ginny leapt off her bed just as she heard a shriek. That would be Kat…but she couldn't face her now. Not with this mindset. Ginny cast her eyes about, searching desperately for a hiding spot. They fell on the wardrobe in the corner of her room.

"Not there…" she groaned. Ginny was sure she was claustrophobic, even though being friends with Harry meant you spent a lot of time in small, enclosed spaces. There was another loud crash, followed by Sebastian's voice, demanding that Desdemona leave his sister alone.

Ginny's decision was made as soon as she heard a loud cackling, followed by the cracking noise of wood breaking. She sprinted across the room, threw open the doors, and squeezed herself in. With some difficulty, she shut the double-doors and pressed herself into the shadows.

I can make myself disappear.

She willed herself to become smaller, and blocked out the crashing and bashing clamor from downstairs. She had never missed her friends more. She wondered if they thought she was missing, or dead.

Footsteps pounded on the stairs. Ginny closed her eyes as tightly as possible and repeated the sentence in her head.

I'm not here. I'm not here.

Her door creaked open.

Missing…I'm missing. I'm missing, and I'll never be found…

Ginny cracked open one eye, and screamed.

Draco stared at the quiet house with some distaste.

"It's too quiet." He moved back and forth on his broomstick. "I don't like it. They've gotten home already, shouldn't there be some noise? The girl screaming, surely?"

Hermione tried very, very hard not to roll her eyes, but in the end she did so anyways. "They boy and girl are right there, in the front room, Malfoy. You can see them through the window. We've been watching them since they started walking! Where have you been?"

Blaise, Ron and Harry were hanging about idly in the background as Hermione and Draco argued, casting furtive glances at the window every few moments in the hopes of seeing Ginny.

"BOO!"

Draco was halfway to the ground before his Firebolt swooped next to him. He just managed to grab it before it stopped suddenly, almost jarring his hand free. He climbed back onto his broom and flew slowly back into the group of people, who were currently laughing at his expense.

A blue-eyed, blond-haired girl in Catholic school clothes winked roguishly at him. "Aw, Malfoy, did I scare you?"

"I think you spent too much time around the littlest Weasley, Garneau!" He snapped back.

The girl cocked her head to the side, and on nestled in her hair, a metal headband materialized. It sparked for a moment before exuding a sort of smokescreen around her. When it disappeared, Soleil was smiling back at him.

"Yes, Ginny taught me everything I know." Forgoing the light-hearted air, her tone suddenly became serious. "But now she's different, or at least, changed a bit. She claims she's living with her cousins, the guy and the girl."

"Did you detect any magic?" Hermione's brow became creased.

Soleil shook her head. "No. She was saying so of her own free will. And she says her name's Mary Hart, and that they're her cousins, Sebastian and Katherine Hart."

"Did she tell you who she's living with? Did she mention Desdemona or Lucius at all?" Harry asked, and once more Soleil shook her head.

"I think she was about to, but then Sebastian, you know the boy, grabbed her and his sister and left. Ginny was pretty cold though, during the whole thing, as if giving too much information could…kill her." Soleil's eyes dawned with realization.

"Do you think someone threatened to do her off?" Ron's eyes searched her own. Soleil looked thoughtful.

"No. Sebastian and Katherine seemed nice enough. But before I went out into the open, I was hiding behind the counter, and I heard some pretty interesting things."

She related the story Sebastian had told Ginny, and the group looked mystified. Abruptly, Hermione clutched at her broom.

"But she's on to something!" She cried. "Ginny found the answer! Dumbledore couldn't give us an exact date, but the chest could, and did so. Ginny, along with the information Sebastian gave her, has figured out when Desdemona's bonds wear off! June the 30th!"

They all stared for a moment, and Hermione sighed. "Honestly, you lot are the thickest bunch I know. She said it about five times in her whole freaking story!"

"Ah," Harry smiled wryly. "But you, m'dear, are a dork in tights." He looked pointedly at her suit.

Before Hermione could say a word, however, a smashing noise was heard. Instinctively, they all swooped lower and peered into the window.

Hermione let out a little gasp.

Desdemona, whirling in fury, was throwing Sebastian up and down, playing with him as one would a ball. She was the epitome of evil at the moment, and the group outside became speechless.

Desdemona looked down sharply, and Sebastian fell, crashing onto the couch underneath him.

Katherine suddenly ran into their view, and shrieked as Desdemona reached a hand out for her. Sebastian was struggling to stand, and shouted,

"Leave my sister alone, you evil bi—,"

Desdemona whirled suddenly, catching him in the stomach with her arm and sending him backwards into the wall. He went through it, and when the dust settled, he did not come back out.

Katherine stood in shock, her jaw hanging, and Desdemona turned slowly, her mouth fixed in a malevolent grin.

She needn't have pushed Katherine into the bookcase on her left, as the poor girl fainted before she ever hit the object.

Harry was torn between his first instinct, which was to check and see if Katherine and Sebastian were all right, or to wait and see if Desdemona led them to Ginny.

The latter won out, though, as he saw Desdemona tick one and two off her fingers, then look around. She was obviously looking for Ginny, so when her sharp, elf-like ears perked up and she quickly began to walk up the stairs, he kept her in his sight at all times.

They'd already learned that the house had magical barriers, and so they couldn't go across without getting burned to a crisp. Instead, they hovered as closely as possible, about twenty feet or so from the house itself.

They watched as Desdemona halted on the second floor, and veered sharply.

"Damn it!" Draco swore as they lost sight of Desdemona, and he immediately kicked off in an attempt to find her again. He needn't have, as a blood-curdling shriek soon pierced everyone's ears.

Draco (and everyone behind him) couldn't help but put their hands over their ears. The scream was loud and high-pitched; it was the kind of thing a director would have paid an actor billions to do in a horror movie.

Draco's eyes shot wide open as he realized it was Ginny. Without another thought, he dived towards the window it came from.

BIG mistake.

He only just remembered the barrier and jumped off his broom in time to avoid the magnificent fireball it caused.

"Ah…Firebolt, fireball…" he murmured to himself, as he realized he was lying on his back just in front of the door. Harry was suddenly leaning next to him.

"Bloody hell, Malfoy, if the situation weren't so bad, I'd ask why the hell you don't do maneuvers like that in Quidditch! Did you see your roll? Anyone else would have broken their legs!"

Draco pushed himself up on his elbows and looked up. The others had touched down next to him, but Harry was still talking.

"Of course, considering the fact that I tried the same thing and lived…even though I was like, twenty feet lower then you…"

"Where's the window? Where the scream came from?" Draco asked. Hermione pointed to a small, secluded window, where the scream was still emanating, although you could hear the screamer pause for breaths.

"Let's get up there…" Draco stumbled to his feet, but Blaise stopped him from running in.

"First off, you and Harry have killed your brooms, and we couldn't get them past the barrier anyways, so how are we supposed to get up there? And second off, if Desdemona finds us, we're dead."

Draco pushed past him and strode in. "The same way we got into the last house! None of this bloody equipment seems to be affected by the barrier, or we could just blast the door down!"

Blaise's eyes took on a twinkle. "Everyone, get rid of your wands! Find an entrance! First person to Desdemona, hold her off until we get there!"

It was all over so quickly, with only a loud bang, and all that was left of them was a pile of wood and a door swinging from its hinges.

Ginny couldn't stop screaming. A cold, clammy hand was reaching into the wardrobe, and a hooded face followed it shortly. This wasn't Desdemona. It was a dementor!

Some wild fury possessed her, and she began to slam her palm down on its hand. "You great bloody brute! Go—go—go dement or whatever it is you do somewhere else!"

The hand wrapped around her wrist, and the coldness she had been ignoring before suddenly enveloped her. She screamed again, not because she was scared, but if only to give her some comfort in the fact that she was still alive.

Then the images started to rush through her mind, as well as the voices. She fell silent suddenly.

"Ginny? Ginny! Where are you?" She could hear someone, but their voice was getting fainter.

And then there was the cold look, looming over her with neatly combed black hair. He sneered.

"Little Ginevra…don't you know? No one's coming for you!"

She struggled against the hold weakly, and tried to rid herself of the memory. "You're gone, all gone…" she whimpered, not unlike a child.

But he smiled at her, and she suddenly felt sick to her stomach. "Oh, but Ginevra, I'm still here. Do you remember what I said, Ginevra? Whatever you fear, that's what I'll be…and it looks like you have a lot of things to be afraid of."

Ginny closed her eyes, and then opened them again, but she could still see his face, leering at her. He pulled at her hand, and she lurched forward slightly.

"Come on, Ginevra. Come with me."

"No." She said. His eyes flashed dangerously, and he slapped her. She resisted the reflex to put a hand on her cheek shook her head.

"Do you want me to hurt you, Ginevra?" He hissed. Her eyes grew wide.

"No…No…please, no!" He raised his hand again, but something was glinting against a faint light against it.

"NO TOM!" She screamed, and as it descended, she realized she could hear footsteps pounding in the hallways.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" Was that Harry's voice? No, it was different, deeper she could say. She saw Tom stop, but the blade in his hand was still falling. Tom was moving back now, and she caught a glimpse of the shadow before it left.

But Tom was still there…she could see him, whether he was real or not, she was not willing to find out. The blade was heading for her heart, and his mouth was fixed in a cruel, grim line.

She could see behind him, a silvery wisp of a creature, glowing larger and larger as it got closer. It seemed to be flying, and she could see claws and sharp teeth.

She shrank back and Tom lunged suddenly. In an instant, she scrabbled at his face and vied for freedom; Tom grabbed her around her waist and the creature came closer, a single word left her lips, and she realized what the creature was.

"DRACO!"

A dragon.