Harry rubbed his eyes and took another swig of the energy-replenishing potion that Seamus had brewed for the entire team. He was becoming more and more reliant on that, and as a result, receiving less and less hours of sleep. That wasn't the case for tonight. Every detail of the mission had been carefully planned out over the past weeks, which meant Harry could finally get some rest tonight. With unusual serenity, he slipped into dreamland and found himself in his unfinished Quidditch dream.

He almost got the Snitch…he strained his whole body and leaned forward on his broom. His fingers brushed the cool, metal covering…and YES! Gryffindor won! Harry flew a lap around the pitch, arms raised in triumph. Vaguely, he remembered this to be the last game of the season. That means Gryffindor won the Quidditch Cup! Everyone screamed and cheered, except for the Slytherins, who were quite audibly cracking their knuckles and promising revenge as they dismounted and headed for their locker room. Harry landed, expecting the usual group hug from his team, but something was wrong. Katie Bell clapped her hands over her mouth, and Angelina backed away in horror. Oliver came forward, half in concern, half in shock, reaching hesitantly for Harry's shoulder.

"What's wrong?" Harry heard himself ask, and looked down at his body and immediately understood why his teammates' reactions. Instead of his scarlet Quidditch robes, he was covered head to toe in thick, gray fur. He gasped in horror as his hands morphed into claws and his nails grew long and curved. Suddenly, he was no longer seeing the world through human eyes. No, these were the gleaming, luminous eyes of a wolf. Letting out a roar, he reared up on his hind legs and snapped his teeth. People scattered, screaming and pushing over each other to get away from him, the monster. But Harry was not interested in those insignificant students. He dropped down to all fours and loped away, tireless pushing his strong, muscular legs and racing across the Hogwarts grounds. Once out of the castle's protective boundaries, he switched back to human form and Apparated, landing in a straggly dark forest. The wolf raced across the thorns and roots, disappearing into the thickets of trees. As the night swallowed up the landscape, he, Harry, curled up in a trunk, and drifted off to sleep with the long, soulful howls of his kin in his ears.

"Harry!" A voice hissed urgently in his ear. "Harry, get up. We have an intruder."

"Wha—?" he mumbled, turning over. Seamus's worried face peered down on him, illuminated by the bright beam of moonlight.

"An intruder," Seamus repeated. "Get up, now."

As Harry rolled up and grabbed his jacket, he felt something vague pushing at the back of his mind. He was sure that it had something to do with the dream he just had, but he couldn't quite place it. Following Seamus, he joined Dean, Dennis, and a half-asleep Ginny at the boundary of the camp. There was a distinct sound of footsteps in the dry field, and Harry thought he could make out a tall figure circling the camp. A small light floated in front of him, and was approaching the camp with alarming speed and accuracy.

"On my count," he whispered to them, "Stun him and drag him in."

"What if it's a wolf?" Dean whispered back. "They aren't that easily overpowered."

"Then we'll just have to combine our spells." Harry took a deep breath. "One, two, THREE!"

"STUPEFY!" Five jets of red light flew towards the figure. It fell to the ground with a thud, and Seamus rushed out and returned, lugging the man in. Harry gestured for them to go into the main tent, and lit the tip of his wand. In the dim candlelight, he could see a tuft of red hair protruding from a dark hood, curling around the man's ears, and a small object, shaped like a Muggle lighter, clenched in his hand. Ginny was the first to recognize him. With a small cry, she yanked off the hood. Harry's eyes widened.

"Ron?"

"Ron? As in Weasley?" Seamus gasped. "Merlin, I'd know that hair anywhere! It is him!"

"Ennervate!" Harry gave his cheek a light slap. "Ron, mate? Can you hear me?"

He got no response.

"Try tickling him," Ginny suggested. "Behind the ear."

Ron didn't even twitch.

"Well, that was a pretty strong Stunner," Dean said, scratching his neck. "He'll probably be out for a while."

"In that case, let's leave him here," Dennis, who had remained silent all this time, spoke up. "When he wakes up, you bet that we'll know."

There was a look about him that made Harry uneasy, but nevertheless, the five trooped out and back into their separate tents. Before Harry could duck under the flap, however, a hand caught his arm. Dennis.

"Harry, what is he doing here?" he asked tensely.

"I don't know either, Dennis. I didn't tell him to come and find us, if that's what you were thinking," Harry added. "Let's ask him when he comes round."

"Harry, did you notice the small thing in his hand? That was a Deluminator. The light we saw earlier came from it, and it was leading him to camp—"

"Dennis, calm down," Harry said. "I know Ron had a Deluminator, it's saved my life and his many times. It's nothing to worry about."

"But if that could reveal our location so easily, I'd hate to imagine what would happen if our enemies were to find it," Dennis said, glaring in the direction of the main tent.

"So you're saying Ron's our enemy?" Harry asked, reasonably calm.

"No, Harry. I'm saying that might not be Ron at all. Think about it. Polyjuice Potion is not all that hard to come by, even easier to brew. What if that is a man posing to be your best friend and Ginny's brother, while actually trying to worm his way in?"

Harry hadn't thought about that, and now that Dennis put it into that perspective, he had to slow down and think for a bit. "I'll tie him," he decided, "and ask some questions that only the real Ron would know."

"Harry—" Dennis started to say, but Harry interrupted.

"Dennis, I value your insight very much, but this will work. Just trust me."

"As long as it doesn't bring the whole mission crashing down," Dennis said darkly before storming back to his tent. Harry sighed and slumped onto his cot, pondering his sinister words.

"He up yet?" Ginny asked in a hushed voice. Harry shook his head. It was seven in the morning, and nearly two hours had passed, but Ron was just as still and cold as before. Harry wondered if somehow the Stunning Spells had stopped his heart, but the slow, weak thumping proved him wrong, thank goodness. The two of them were sitting silently in front of the cot, watching for any signs of movement. So far, they might as well as be staring at a corpse. Ginny's head dropped onto Harry's shoulder, and soon, soft snores filled the tent. His own eyelids were heavy; and to think that a few hours ago he was so sure of getting a good night's sleep! A huge yawn forced its way out of his mouth, and his eyes drooped, lower and lower. Stay awake, he told himself sluggishly. Stay awake…stay awake…stay…awake…awake…

Ron groaned and blinked open his eyes. Harry jumped up, upsetting Ginny's head on his shoulder. Shiny black ropes flew from his wand, working their way around Ron, binding him in place.

"Harry?" Ron said slowly, looking down at the ropes. "Where am I?"

Harry ignored his question, instead lifting up the tent flap and calling into the camp, "He's awake!" Soon, Seamus and Dean stumbled into the tent, Dennis following a little ways behind.

"Harry, ask him. Now." Dennis commanded.

"I know what to do, thanks," Harry replied, his mild tone concealing something darker. "Right. Someone get him some water."

Ginny hurried forward, lifting a cup to her brother's lips. Ron drank in big gulps, and soon had emptied the small cup. "More," he rasped. "Please."

"Sorry," Ginny whispered. "Soon, but not now."

"Where did the brains from the Department of Mysteries grip you?" Harry asked, praying to Merlin above that Ron hadn't shown anyone else those scars.

"On my arm," Ron answered warily. "Why're you asking this? You don't trust me?"

Harry let out his breath in relief and the ropes disappeared. Ron shook out his arms and legs to get the blood flowing, and Ginny brought him another cup of water.

"Ron, mate, it is you!" Seamus grinned and clapped Ron on the back. "What are you doing out here though?"

"It's kind of a long story," he glanced at Harry, subtly gesturing to his hand, where the Deluminator rested.

"We've got time," Dennis said. "Tell us how you came to be here."

Ron squinted at him. "You're not Colin's brother, are you?"

"Tell us," Dennis said coldly, "How you came to be here."

"I'll ask the questions, Dennis," Harry reminded him, letting some ice creep into his voice. "Ron, go on."

"With everybody here?"

"Unless you have something you wish to conceal, then yes, with everyone on the team here," Dennis leaned forward. "Well? Tell us your story."

"All right, all right," Ron scowled at him. "So after you people left, Hermione sort of persuaded me—" he grimaced at Harry and Ginny. "—and you know how she goes. She persuaded me to, I dunno, make up with you, and to take the Deluminator and find you and Ginny. So I Apparated here—nearly got Splinched, mind—and found you. The end." He finished. "Happy now, Creevey?"

"That doesn't sound like too long a story," Dean remarked.

"Well, there're little details here and there that aren't really all that important—"

"Tell us everything," Dennis interrupted. "Like why your wife told you to take the Deluminator, for example. Does it have some sort of tracking feature on it?"

"No," Ron said, puzzled. "Not at all. It's the magic that led me to the camp." He looked meaningfully at Harry, something that did not, unfortunately, go unnoticed by Dennis. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. Harry tried to ignore it.

"All right, everyone out," he shooed them out, towards the exit. "Let Ron get his strength back. Then you can pester him all you want."

Dennis didn't look satisfied, like he still had some issues, but even he had to follow the team leader's orders. Once outside, he immediately expressed those issues.

"Harry, that is a sketchy explanation, at best. I know you don't think he's a spy, but just what if—"

"Look, Dennis. Spy or not, he's human. Let him recover, then you can tackle any problem you have with him, all right? And remember who's in charge here!"

AN: See, I kept my promise! And it's not like this chapter was hastily thrown together at the last second or anything, right? No, no, of course not!

~Gella