Oh, please don't kill me, but with OP, ODTP and a couple of other fics, I've sort of lost it for this one. But it's back, and with the longest chapter yet (Methinks) to make up for it. BY the way, this one is the next to last one…

Disclaimer: When I think up a good reason as to why I should fill these out, I'll put one down. (Hears police sirens and sulks) All right, all right. It's not mine, ok?

She was crouching behind the huge statue of Salazar, taking deep, calming breaths, and hoping Tom didn't find her. She was tired of reliving these memories. Tired of the fear they brought, and the hopes they dashed.

"Hello."

She watched as the ball of white light bounced just above her nose, and she felt as though the thing were smiling.

"What are you?" she whispered, feeling somewhat disconcerted.

"A friend." No face formed, though, as the ball circled her head, making a halo of light.

"Everything's going to be all right, right?" she said abruptly. "You're here to make it all better, right?"

The ball bounced a bit higher, but did not answer her question. Instead, it asked on of its own.

"Do you love him? The one like a dragon?"

Ginny couldn't help it. She laughed. "I think I could, but most of our meetings are made up of near death experiences, you know? They don't make for great dates."

The ball replied seriously. "He does not think so. Would you dash his heart so?"

Ginny panicked. "That's it. When all of this is over, I'm getting the hell out of here. A long, long vacation."

"You cannot." The ball pushed her against the wall, but gently, and Ginny landed in a heap. It perched on her upraised knee, and a tinkling laugh came out of it.

"I need your help, and you need mine. When this is all over you may run. But it's a sign of denial, you know."

Ginny bit her lip. "No, I don't know. He's not that bad, actually, it's just…how could he ever bring himself low enough to love one like me? You know, after all the stuff that happened between me and Tom…"

"Why do you still call him that?" The ball interrupted. "Tom? The monster. I haven't called my sister by her first name for ages!"

"Sister?" Ginny seemed troubled, and the ball let out another tinkly laugh, this one sounding forced.

"Desdemona is more than she seems to be. All will be explained later, but for now…do you accept it, my child?"

There was silence. Then:

"You know it's hard, right? All this stuff coming in suddenly? I just want to lie down and sleep, sleep, sleep."

"And so you will," the ball reassured her. "But I suggest you finish this first, before you start."

"Then I accept." Ginny started as she heard Tom's laugh. "And I would like it to begin now."

Ginny awoke suddenly, taking in deep, gasping breaths of air. The first thing she noticed was that it was very, very dark, and that there was absolutely no noise. She remembered what had happened her—could she call it that?—dream and smiled faintly. She knew what to do.

She sat up, and almost collided with Ron's chin. He was leaning back, one arm flung in front of Hermione, who was in a semi-crouching position. Ginny let her breath out in a whoosh. They were all unconscious.

Hermione's watch was beeping loudly, and Ginny checked it. The red numbers glowed eerily, reading eleven-forty nine.

She crawled out from underneath her brother, and noted the shattered windows. They were in a car, she could tell that much. But why? And where were they?

A sudden fear struck her. Could Tom and Desdemona have killed them? She quickly checked Ron and Hermione, and breathed a sigh of relief as she saw they were breathing. In front of her, she could see Sebastian and Katherine leaning towards each other, and while Sebastian seemed to be cowering slightly, Katherine was in a position that suggested she was pushing her brother's hands off her while they crashed. Ginny couldn't suppress as smile at that.

Timidly, she pushed herself out of Ron's lap and picked her way forward. There were Blaise and Soleil. Blaise had his arms wrapped around the younger girl, and Ginny reached up a hand before pulling it down slowly. Better to leave them be, she thought absently.

In the driver's seat, Harry was lying back, looking almost as if he were asleep. Ginny spied Draco, however, and immediately she scrambled over the chairs, ending up on the floor in front of him.

A trickle of blood ran from his forehead, and he was breathing very, very slowly. Ginny's eyes filled up before she pressed her hands against his chest and began to pump. Her father had told her about this, a while ago. It was a Muggle procedure…CRP, or something like that. But the next step required…

"Oh, please don't be mad…" she whispered, and stood up as much as she could. Then, stooping, she placed her mouth over his, closed her eyes, and blew softly. He didn't move, and she did the hand part of it again. He twitched, and this time, when she blew in, his body began to be racked with coughs.

Draco's eyes flickered open, and he blinked blearily at Ginny, who smiled widely and threw her arms about him.

"You're not dead!" She cried. Draco eyed her warily.

"And neither are you." He looked around, and back down at her. "Why'd you wake me first?"

She blushed and looked at her hands. "I thought you were dying. There was blood on your head…and you weren't breathing properly, unlike everyone else."

"Old trick." Draco flexed his fingers. "It took me ages to learn. Your subconscious mind breathes more deeply, and takes longer breaks. It makes enemies think you're dead, gives you a better chance at getting away."

Ginny shuddered. She didn't think she wanted to know why Draco thought he would have to learn that.

"They're stirring." He said abruptly, and opened the door next to him. Ginny hesitated, so he slipped out from beneath her and jumped down. He looked back up, and Ginny didn't waver before jumping into his arms. He caught her, set her down, and set about to opening the other doors.

Ginny looked around, and took in that the room they were in was without lighting of any sort, and without decoration as well, except for exactly (she counted) forty-two steps, which ended with a raised slab of stone that looked suspiciously like a sacrificial altar. The roof rose above her, and she had to strain her eyes before she saw any inkling of the hole they had apparently fallen through.

Blaise emerged first, clutching his side.

"Hullo!" Ginny waved cheerfully, and his eyes widened before he ran to her and hugged her till she was turning red. Blaise only put her down, however, after a low growl from Draco.

Ginny turned to the blond, who instantly adopted a puppy-like look. She tsk-ed and punched him softly in the shoulder.

"You don't threaten people, Draco. It's not nice."

He arched an eyebrow at her, but a voice interrupted whatever snide comment he was about to make.

"You couldn't have told him that a few years back, Gin?" Harry grimaced as he rounded the side of the car, followed closely by Sebastian and Katherine.

Soleil was quick to wake next, and Hermione and Ron came last. When Ron realized his sister was awake, he stalked up to her in a manner suggesting he was angry. Instead, he dropped his guard and hugged her roughly.

"Don't you ever, ever do that again, Gin."

"You were worried?" She seemed surprised, and Ron exchanged a glance with Draco before he bit his lip and looked down.

"Look, Gin, I know I haven't been there for you all the time, and I do admit I am an overprotective git most times, so I'm sorry. I really should have asked you about what happened after the Chamber, but—I was too caught up in everything going on and—"

Ginny interrupted him, and kissed him on the cheek.

"It's ok, Ron. I know you're nothing but a big git of a brother—" Here he blushed. "But you're my big git of a brother." Ron smiled back at her.

"How cute."

Ginny, Sebastian and Katherine all reflexively backed up against the car, putting as much space as they could between them and the voice.

Desdemona suddenly appeared, sitting on the altar. Tom crouched next to her, his robes spilling over the edges, and twirling the dagger in his hand.

"Hello, pet." He smiled wickedly at Ginny, who hardened her face and pretended to be braver than she really felt.

"What have you done to me?" Her voice was louder than she expected it to be, and she winced slightly. Tom didn't seem to notice.

"D'you remember the gash that I gave you? That lovely, lovely mark? It seems that before I drew the blade over your skin, I nicked myself. Some of my blood is in you, Ginevra. I need that to come back."

She steeled her voice. "Never."

Tom looked hurt, and in one liquid motion, he was off the altar and down a few steps. "You don't want me back? Before Potter came into the picture, you were quite fine with me. You were…what was it?"

He made a flicking motion with two of his fingers, and his voice sound just like Ginny's when he spoke next.

"Oh, Tom! I'm so glad you're my friend, without you I'd have never made it past most of this year! I think I love you, Tom!"

Many faces were directed towards Ginny, who didn't seem to notice. Her hands curled into fists, and she walked forward a few steps.

"I thought wrong."

Tom's smile was twisted. "You've changed. But not enough, pet. Come here, now. One last embrace, for old time's sake?"

He held out his arms, and Ginny hissed.

"When this is over, you'll burn in hell!"

Tom straightened and frowned. "You first, pet." He looked over to Desdemona, who merely looked Ginny in the eye.

The redhead swayed for a moment, and Draco and Ron made as if to catch her, but she disappeared in a wisp of smoke. When she next reappeared, she was sitting on the altar, legs dangling over the side, and eyes glazed over.

Tom hopped up next to her and removed the dagger from his robes. He handed it to her, and she lifted up her shirt without a word.

"NO!"

The cry was strangely guttural, and Desdemona held up a hand. Ginny stopped moving, as the Goddess regarded Draco evenly.

The Slytherin knew there was no way in a dozen blazing hells that he could make it up those stairs in time to save Ginny. He remembered Desdemona's last comment as they were in the room at the first Malfoy villa, and he tried to stay composed.

"Leave her be, take me instead. I'm well aware that I'm a powerful wizard and—" Here he cringed, looking as if he'd rather die than reveal the next piece of information. "Salazar Slytherin's blood runs in my veins."

Desdemona smiled cruelly, and her fully formed fangs glinted in the enshrouding darkness. "How infuriatingly adorable. You'd die for the girl?" Her laughter caused everyone in the room to recoil, even Tom. "You think we didn't know? But Salazar is nothing compared to what we have with this girl here!"

Desdemona looked almost greedily at Ginny, and stroked her hair. "She has been touched by the blood of all the founders, and seeing as she has Tom's blood as well, there is no need for you. She is strong willed, this one, and so we must use something that matches her own force. She must conjure it up herself, I cannot—I will not, touch the accursed thing."

Desdemona waved her hand in what seemed to be an airy motion, but Ginny stiffened and dropped the dagger. It fell down the stairs with a loud clattering noise that reverberated around the area.

"Daughter of Godric, Rowena, Helga, Salazar, conjure up thy blade!" Desdemona cried.

Ginny's eyes opened fully, and in that moment, she was herself once more. Ocher eyes blazing, she stood up on top of the altar and glared spitefully at Tom and Desdemona, who quailed considerably.

"You loathsome pieces of rubbish!" She was whispering, but her voice carried through the room, and she seemed possessed. Then, a grim smile alighted her features. "Ye have picked the wrong girl, heathens."

A roaring noise started, and a strong wind picked up. It soon became a dangerous thing, as it raged horribly, exactly like a tornado.

The group below found themselves pushed against the car, and Ron's eyes were wild as he yelled above the wind, "What have they done to my sister!"

Hermione was clinging to the door as she answered. "For everything negative there is a positive! Like matter and antimatter! Bad and good, dark and light!"

"So?" Harry roared back.

"So when Lucius created Ginny, he must have created something else, a backlash of the power that somehow managed to hide away! I think Ginny's managed to capture it somehow!"

"MY SISTER CAN'T BE TOYING WITH ENTITIES!" Ron bellowed, his face red. Draco gave him an odd look, before smirking.

"You know, that sounded very, very wrong, and I bet it did in your head too." Ron flushed, but all were distracted as the wind suddenly stopped, and everyone gasped.

Ginny was floating in a position suggesting she was sleeping, but her clothing was gone.

(A/N: No, no, get your heads out of the gutter!)

In the place of the Muggle-ish outfit she had been wearing before, she was wearing a form-fitting, emerald green dress. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail, but curled at the ends, and as her eyes opened, she seemed to have kohl on them. Her face seemed oddly tight and she looked much older than sixteen. She made a few intricate finger movements, and light began weaving itself between her fingers.

Desdemona looked shocked as a sword manifested in Ginny's hand, made of pure, unadulterated gold. The hilt was studded with emeralds, as was the middle, and the blade was double-edged. Tom, however, didn't seem worried. As soon as he had righted himself, he lunged for Ginny.

The redhead didn't even have time to look surprised, before she was tumbling down the steps with the wild-eyed man on top of her. Images flashed through her mind—time spent in the chamber, the things he had done, and a new fury arose in her. With renewed strength, she pushed her feet up to his middle, throwing him off. They were close to the bottom of the stairs, now, but Desdemona was following them warily.

Ginny scrambled to her feet, relieved to find that the sword was still in her hand. Tom was already standing, glaring at her with the dagger clutched in his hand and a few stairs below her. Ginny raised the blade, and he rushed forward.

The man took a swipe at her face, and she found herself blocking without really meaning to. She parried a blow to her stomach, and stepped back when he took a wild stab. Ginny wove around the madman, making sure never to let him get to close to her, and never making any advancements of her own.

That is, until Tom feinted to her left, and as she moved to block there, he jumped on top of her. Ginny let out a strangled cry as the man pushed her down onto the stairs, and he raised his dagger, eyes glittering madly.

"Looks like I was right, pet. You're going to hell like me!" But then his eyes stopped, transfixed, and he looked down at his stomach and the arrow protruding from it. With a badly masked gasp of pain, he staggered upwards, before falling next to her.

Ginny stared, wide-eyed as blood burbled from his mouth. "No, Tom. You first, not me." And she pushed him away from her, standing up once more. Draco was already taking the steps two at a time, with the others not far behind him. His bow and another arrow was hanging loosely in his hand, and Ginny smiled.

"Wench. You needed my sister to beat me?

The redhead gasped in pain as she felt her hair being pulled up. Everyone underneath her stopped suddenly, and Ginny scrambled madly for her sword, but a pale hand stilled her own.

"You are indeed, more strong-willed than Tom and I had thought at first. But Tom misjudged you. I will give you an offer, child. Join me, and we shall be the greatest women ever known!"

Ginny hesitated. Here it was, her chance at redemption, coming to her in the form of her enemy. Making sure to hide the sly grin creeping across her face, she stilled her frantic movements.

"I accept your offer."

No words could have ever stunned anyone more. Even Desdemona seemed a bit taken aback, although she didn't show it. Her lips curled into a malicious smile, and she released Ginny's hair from her hold. With a wave of her hand, the altar was gone. In its place, two velvet lined thrones stood.

"I knew you'd see my way, it was only a matter of time. Come with me, child, and we shall be free forevermore this day." The Dark Goddess blinked, and another cruel smile wavered on her face. "And oh, look at this! It seems that I shall be freed in a minute exactly. Your mission has failed, you petty things."

She took Ginny's hand and with slow, deliberate steps, she led the younger girl up the remaining stairs, as though taunting the others to follow her. But they reached the altar without incident, and as they sat back in the chairs, Desdemona waved her hand.

A large, ticking clock with silver edges and hands appeared above the thrones, counting down the few seconds they had remaining. As Desdemona began to laugh, Ginny's grip tightened around the chair. She caught Draco's eye, and arched an eyebrow.

The blonde boy was infuriated. He was already armed, his arrow aiming for Desdemona's heart, but he knew it was hopeless. With Ginny on the dark side, all he could believe in was maybe dying at her hands. He hated to think he'd end up being a toy to them, maybe.

But the redhead was glaring at him in a way that suggested he was the one doing something wrong. He glowered back, until she arched an eyebrow and looked pointedly at his arrow. His gaze absently trailed down to the projectile and he had to stifle a gasp. The whole arrow, from tip to feather, was made of pure gold, as was the bow.

Ginny was now curled up in her chair, shrinking away a little from the madwoman next to her, who didn't seem to notice. When she looked at Draco again, her eyes were pleading. The Slytherin hesitated, locking her eyes for as long as he dared, making that silent promise.

You'll come back?

I will.

The clock suddenly knelled out one note, then another in quick succession. Draco raised his bow; ignoring the weird looks the others were giving him. With a murderous gleam in his eyes, he stretched the bowstring taut, and lifted his finger.

Desdemona never had a chance. The arrow whirred as it propelled through the air, giving her only a second's notice as it hit her in the chest. She shrieked, a horrible sound, like nails on a chalkboard, before standing up. Her beautifully pale and yet terrifying features began to sag, and she whirled around to face Ginny, pointing a now less-then-slim finger at her.

"You!" she rasped, her voice no longer holding onto those magnificent tones. "You did this to me!" And she jumped upon the redheaded girl, clawing and biting, just as the beams of dark light penetrated her body.

A terrible, howling wind, even more powerful then the one before struck up. The group below the stairs was tossed about like puppets in a gale, none of them being able to hold onto any sort of structure. They were all knocked out, slamming into walls or the floor, their bodies sagging like sandbags after a war finally over.

The last thing Ginny saw before she was pushed over the throne and altar, down the stairs, was one chiseled face, framed by white-blonde hair.

Suddenly, life had never tasted so good.

The Ministry Officials burst through the doors of Lucius Malfoy's vacation villa shortly after six in the morning, when nearby Muggle and Magical residents complained of unearthly doings.

Thomas Neil Addams was a young Auror, just inducted, and still unsure about what to do. As his commander barked to all his group that the wards had been disable, he noticed one of the elite of his group crouching over what seemed to be a pile of sticks and talking to a few other members. A moment later, the commanding Auror swaggered in front of them, his usually rugged face sagging.

"We've got—we've got children in there, and it seems like this is the thing we've been looking for since Malfoy died. Dumbledore said he'd get the guy's son to help out, but it looks like he took some friends. Their wands are over there—reinforcements are coming, but for now we need to go in."

Addams was in shock. From what he'd heard, the Malfoy case was huge—every Auror, no matter how bad was briefed on it, they needed information that badly. Addams clutched his wand tighter as the Aurors split up and crept in. He was partnered with a Kingsley Shacklebolt; a big burly African-American he'd heard was becoming a legend in the Auror world.

Shacklebolt was quick, breaking down the door and scouring the mansion no problem. Addams figured the guy had it all figured out, and was wandering into the living room when he fell. He just barely managed to get over his shock cast a spell that would slow his fall before he was floating down gently touching ground as he did so.

The hole he had fallen through was really high up, and suddenly Addams felt sick. Even more so when he realized he was standing on an SUV that seemed to be on its last legs—er, wheels.

"Sonorous," he mumbled, forgoing the traditional check of the area. "HELLO! MR. SHACKLEBOLT? I NEED HELP, THERE'S A HUGE HOLE DOWN HERE, AND I'M STANDING ON AN SUV!"

There was a loud scuffling noise from upstairs, followed by several more. Addams had to blush as he realized that he had also probably alerted every Auror in the house. He suddenly heard his partner's voice call down to him.

"ARE YOU IN ANY IMMEDIATE DANGER?"

Addams snorted. Had he been, he wouldn't have told them that. They would have left him, for chrissake! "NO, I AM NOT!"

"WHAT ARE YOUR SURROUNDINGS?"

Addams clenched his wand, and let his voice drop so that he was talking normally (the Sonorous spell was still on him) and used Lumos, magnifying it so that it grew to the light of a large lantern, and he cast it about.

The wreckage was easy to see. What seemed to be two thrones were smashed against separate walls, and was that—a giant clock? And there, in a corner…Addams squinted to catch a hold of it, and panicked.

"OH MY GOD! I SEE BODIES! I SEE BODIES!"

He almost missed the many shouted spells above him, noticing them only because seconds later every Auror was on the SUV or surrounding the immediate perimeter. Shacklebolt was the first to break formation, heading for the first body he could find, just as something broke upstairs, announcing the arrival of the second team.

Addams started as a woman with bright orange hair that had green streaks in them appeared next to him. "Wotcher, Kingsley!" She shouted. "We heard about the bodies; who are they?"

Addams peered at her discreetly, and suppressed a gasp of shock as her features changed to show spiky blue hair and glowing neon blue eyes to match. Next to her, a red-haired man with horn-rimmed glasses was scribbling notes, but managed a delicate sneer at her.

"I've got a Weasley, Tonks."

The red-haired man's mouth dropped open, and in a second, he was off the car and heading towards Kingsley. "Who is it? Who is it!" he demanded.

Kingsley showed him Ron's crumpled form in his arms. "Your brother was lying next to Hermione and Harry, and two unidentified kids."

"Harry Potter?" Addams imagined he could see his commander's eyebrows popping from his head as Kingsley nodded. Tonks was past him in a second, making noise as she unearthed more. She cast a few levitation spells, and the Aurors gasped as Harry Potter's body floated towards them indeed, followed by the bushy-haired witch they recognized from news reports as Hermione Granger. Behind them came two black haired kids, a boy and a girl with green streaks and purple streaks in the others hair.

"They've saved the world again!" cried a young girl to the left of Addams. Kingsley, however, shook his head.

"It looks more like they were just there. The people who actually did something got the full brunt of this force—whatever it was. I suppose Tonks is checking up on them; they're probably behind the stairs."

Sure enough, the woman's voice cried out shortly. "Kingsley, it's my nephew! And his friend, the Zabini kid, and—ooh, this is Ginny's friend, she frequented the house enough, Soleil was it?"

Percy Weasley (Addams was sure that was his name) stood up from where he had been checking over his brother, shaking slightly. "Is there anyone else there? My mother—my mother contacted me shortly before saying she hadn't heard from Ron or Ginny in a while, and that they weren't at school. Is Ginny there?"

There was a full-blown silence, and then Tonks emerged, three children floating behind her and shaking her head (now neon orange) sadly. "I'm sorry, Percy, but there's no one else."

She could have sworn later that her nephew's body twitched when she said that.