Disclaimer: I only own a few characters and the plot. Everything else is truly JKR's.
The large group stumbled out of the Time Puzzle, and they all experienced head rushes as they were readjusted to the normal time frame. They found all of their weapons, which they hadn't realized were missing, leaning against the wall outside. Hermione, however, was all about business.
"Quick, someone find a clock or something that will tell us the date! We need to find out what day it is!"
They all stared at her, and she frowned. "Have you all gone mad? Are you just going to let Desdemona—"
"Dezzie." Sebastian interrupted.
Hermione's frown deepened. "Whatever her name is, she's taking over the world and you're not stopping her!"
"Hermione." Soleil pointed to the watch on the brown-haired girls' wrist. "That's a clock right there. And it's digital, so it's sure to tell you the date."
Hermione blushed. "Of course," she mumbled, and looked down. She stared for a moment, before collecting herself and looking up. "It's ten-thirty, the twenty-ninth of June!"
"Well, that gives us a lot of time." Draco said sarcastically.
"What's happening on the twenty-ninth?" Sebastian looked around at the group. Blaise sighed.
"Look, to make a very long story short, that witch is rising to power on the 30th of June. We heard your story about those wizards gone bad, Soleil was a spy—"
"She was the blonde?" Sebastian interrupted. He looked at Soleil, who blushed. "Do you know how much you scared us? Gods…"
"The point is," Blaise drew his attention again. "The date has had enough evil performed on it so that it's the perfect day for Desdemona—"
"Dezzie." Sebastian smiled helpfully.
"Dezzie." Blaise said through gritted teeth. "It's the perfect day for Dezzie to rise to her full potential, and Tom too. So naturally, on that day, they're aiming for their full power. Until then, they can't leave the house."
"Yes they can." Sebastian answered instantly. Just as quickly, Draco was upon him, clutching him by the collar. Sebastian, who had been leaning on his sister for support, swayed slightly before leaning on the wall.
"Listen to me, there is no time for you to act like a crazy fool. Ginevra is about to lose her life, as are all of us, and maybe half the world or more. So if you have some information, I suggest you give it to us, or keep your mouth shut." It was, undeniably, a threat, and although Sebastian had a good five inches on Draco, he gulped.
Katherine suddenly pushed the Slytherin blonde, and as he hadn't been expecting it, he fell back, staying upright only because Harry caught him and pushed him off quickly.
"Don't touch Sebby!" She cried indignantly. "I know he can be stupid, but he would never make jokes at a time like this. Dezzie can move about, you know. When we first came, it was limited to here and the village. She knew she was weak, and didn't call attention to herself."
"We didn't tell Ginny, though." Sebastian looked thoughtful. "Whenever Dezzie would disappear for a while, we said she was sulking down here, in the basement. It was the one place we weren't allowed to go, so Ginny bought it."
"So where else can she go?" Draco was sulking that a girl had pushed him, but he had morals, and though he tried desperately not to show he was upset that he couldn't hit back, it showed. Katherine smiled at him.
"Dezzie is now able to go to the one place Lucius Malfoy thought would be safe. He thought that by now, Voldemort would have won the war, and Dezzie would just be accepted speedily."
"Well, he thought wrong." Harry said flatly.
"But where is this place?" Ron was carrying Ginny in his arms, and she looked particularly vulnerable. Draco felt a twinge of guilt. Stupid father…
"I think Draco knows." Katherine was looking at him, and he decided to make an attempt. Someplace Lucius knew had magical wards, but that was not highly obvious…and someplace obvious, so that no one would think to look there. Recognition dawned in Draco's eyes.
"Our villa! The one I spent my summers at!"
"Exactly." Katherine nodded. "You do realize that Lucius was a bit of a—fanatic?"
"He was crazy, actually." Draco replied, ever so calmly. Katherine let s mile creep across her face.
"Yes, well, he had an altar set up down there. I think they were going to," she shivered. "Sacrifice Ginny."
"Why?" Ron looked panicked, but Draco had gotten the answer rather quickly.
"Ginevra seemed terrified of the dagger Riddle had. Did she have any scars on her when she came out?"
Ron frowned, then, with a bit of uncertainty, he knelt and laid Ginny on the floor. He tugged at her shirt, and his frown deepened. Blushing a little, he pulled his little sister's shirt up just under her chest.
Draco had to concentrate very, very hard not to get lost in the sensations he got when he saw her creamy, pale skin. Other, more malevolent sensations soon arrived, however, as he saw the blemish.
A long, pinkish line ran from just below her navel and up to her collarbone. Draco was suddenly kneeling next to Ron. He traced the scar, and his face clouded with what was unmistakably fury.
"We need to get there."
"There aren't enough brooms, Draco." Blaise said quickly. He moved back as Draco swung around to face the twins.
"Is there any other source of transportation in this goddamn place!" he roared. Katherine covered her ears and winced. Sebastian, however, remained cool.
"There is something, yeah. But it's a Muggle thing, and we're not even sure of it still works. Lucius used it to get here the last time we saw him. He apparated to Hogwarts, so I'm sure it's still here."
"What is it?" Draco struggled to remain calm. Inside, conversely, he was raging. How dare he touch her! I'll kill him, I swear I will!
"It's a car." Katherine said uncertainly. "But who will drive? Sebastian can't with his leg, and trust me, I'll end up plowing into the house before we finish."
Ron shook his head. "Not me. I drove the Ford Angelina, but that was entirely by luck. I didn't even know what to press. I guessed most of it."
Harry looked horrified. "You didn't?" Ron smiled sheepishly, and Harry managed to take a breath before he started hyperventilating. "I might be able to, but that would only be as a last resort. Can anyone else drive?"
From the looks the two Slytherins and two girls were giving him, he was indeed, their last chance.
The car was, remarkably, an SUV.
It was a very fast one though, Harry noted, as they tore down the country lane. Everyone had squeezed into the back, and Draco sat in the front so he could give Harry directions.
"LEFT!" He shouted above the engine.
Harry squinted at the fork in the road in front of them. "Left?"
"Right!" Draco nodded and affirmative, but Harry looked confused and veered right. Draco clapped a hand over his eyes.
"I SAID LEFT!"
Frightened, Harry turned the wheel, and the car went with it, crashing through several trees in an effort to get back on the right track. When they finally came to open road, Draco glared at Harry.
"You're an awful driver, Potter."
Harry grimly clutched at the wheel, too sick to say anything. After a moment, though when the terrain became very bumpy, he managed to.
"I—I—I fr—fr—freaking h—h—h—hate you, M—m—m—Malfoy!"
Draco squeezed his eyes shut. "A—a—a—and I—I—I second t—t—t—the m—m—m—motion!"
When they were on smooth land once more, Draco directed Harry to yet another secluded drive. As they drove on, Draco turned to those in the back.
"So, do we have a plan?"
Sebastian looked up hopefully. Hermione had picked up her wand on her way down, and had managed to put a splint on his leg. "How about we burst in and use some magic to get rid of her?"
"You don't have a wand, Toad." Katherine looked out of the window, as if searching for something.
Blaise suddenly snapped his fingers. "I've been trying to remember this all day!" He turned to the blond in front of him. "Draco, when you used to the Patronus charm inside of the house, you didn't have your wand with you."
"That's impossible." Hermione said quickly. "Wandless magic is for normally minor things. It's hard enough to perform the Patronus charm with a wand, never mind without it!"
"But he did!" Blaise insisted. Harry kept his eyes on the road as he answered.
"No, he's right. When Ron and I got there, his patronus, a dragon, was trying to get through the screen. Why did you conjure it anyway?"
"There was a Dementor." Draco was looking own at his lap, obviously uncomfortable with the questioning.
"WHAT!" Several occupants in the car cried out, and Harry swerved sharply. Draco shrugged.
"I'm sure it was there, or something like it. Whatever it was, it's what was affecting Ginevra."
"Maybe it could have been Dezzie." Sebastian said thoughtfully. "I'm pretty sure she can shape shift, so it could have been her. Or maybe Riddle disguised himself, and it was just his presence that scared Ginny."
"That works." Hermione nodded. "But it still doesn't tell us how Malfoy was able to conjure up his patronus without a wand."
"I think," Katherine said uncertainly. "I think I read something about that. If a person is concerned enough with another person, then their natural magical abilities will take over and their body will basically become a sort of wand. The magic emanates from them, and can make any spell they want, although I'm not sure if it works with very powerful spells."
"Malfoy?" Ron was looking oddly at the blond. "You were concerned—worried, about my little sister? A Weasley? And A Gryffindor?"
Draco buried his head in his heads, a movement that did not go unnoticed by the occupants of the car.
"I knew something was different about him…" Ron muttered under his breath. Draco sighed and looked up.
"Look, we can talk about this later, but for now, we just have to get to the house. So do we have a plan or not?"
The second Malfoy villa was looming into view, and it looked like an almost exact replica of the previous one.
"We should at least scout the place out," Hermione said, and glanced at her watch. "But it's already eleven twenty-five."
"Um, are there brakes on this thing?" Harry seemed to be stomping down on the car floor, and Sebastian suddenly grimaced.
"Hey, Kat, d'you remember when I was trying to make something do we could channel electricity in the house? And I got a wire from someplace I never told you about? And then I lost the wire?"
"Throw your wands out of the window!" Draco said suddenly. Everyone complied, just before they entered the villa. Harry paled.
"Don't tell me what it was—"
"The wire was part of the brake for this car." Sebastian finished quietly.
"What do we do now?" Soleil looked about frantically, and Draco gripped the dashboard.
"Scream…yell…you know, the norm."
They crashed through the house with a deafening crunch, and skidded around in circles for quite some time before Harry had the sense to let go of the gas. They stopped in what looked like a parlor.
"Well." Blaise coughed. "That was exciting."
There was a loud cracking noise, and the car shifted suddenly. Harry braced himself using the wheel, just as the floor underneath them gave way and they fell through.
The car tumbled down a long way, spinning a few times, before landing with a jarring thud on the ground.
Inside, no one moved.