I have to say, I've heard nicer things coming form the readers of this work, than I've heard in years. I'm not someone who gets any form of praise, for anything, ever, so my writing is kinda the only place I can even if it's from strangers. It is what helps makes the struggle against what I feel to be horrible writing (even if I'm only imagining it's horrible) worthwhile.

Which as I might have implied before, I was fully intending to write off this work and my other I was working on and just abandon them and any others I had imagined. I was just about at that point, with my normal nonexistent self-esteem and faith in myself at pretty much rock-bottom. Actually, it might be more appropriate to say it was underground at that point.

Yet, here I am, continuing on. And it is only because of the amazing readers who have helped me regain a little belief in myself. My writing is only still moving forward because of you all.

Thank you.

Enjoy.

"What… just happened?" After a long pause, Neville looked down at the brownie he had been about to eat. The only thing that had delayed him was that he felt it was rude seeing as how the treats were Harry's and he was sharing with them.

"What do you think?" Harry looked to Hermione, who was working her lip with her teeth.

"I honestly don't know. We all know Ron's a pretty shoddy actor, but…" Hermione's own gaze turned down to the brownies they'd gathered back onto their dish. After that, nobody had dared touch one. If Ron was right, just what nasty surprised were waiting inside these things? "Where did you get these from, anyway?"

"You don't know?" Harry looked at his girlfriend with confusion. "You gave them to me."

"I did?" Hermione's thought for a minute before shaking her head. "No, not me."

"But the note said…" Harry groaned and wished he was sitting at a desk so he could introduce his forehead into it. Seeing as how that wasn't an option, he slapped himself on the forehead almost as hard as he could.

"Harry… its not your…"

"How could I be so stupid!" Harry went to smack himself again, but Hermione had enough of watching his far too Dobby-like self-punishment, and proceeded to snatch his arm and pit it to the couch cushions by sitting on it. The boy beat himself up too often for her liking already, she wasn't about to let him do it literally!

"Harry. Let me guess…" Hermione took her boyfriend's chin in her hand and forced him to look at her. "We both know you've never gotten much in the way of gifts."

Harry nodded slowly.

"And you've definitely never gotten a gift from a girlfriend."

Another nod.

"You thought it was from me so didn't question it." Hermione wasn't asking, she already understood. Were she in his shoes, she might have fallen for the same trap. As for the others like Neville, nobody hardly ever turned down free snacks. They were all going to need to be more vigilant in the future.

In truth, Hermione herself should have suspected something was off, but she was distracted. Harry had been so excited and happy that Hermione didn't bother asking why he felt that way. She cared more that his dour and broody mood was once again lifted. He wasn't the only one so emotionally invested in their relationship at the expense of rationality.

Hermione was about to say more, but was interrupted when a certain redhaired boy poked his head back into the portrait hole.

"Harry, Hermione, McGonigal said she wants us in her office." Ron disappeared for a moment before showing up again. "Now."

Harry and Hermione shared a look, but apparently, they were not moving fast enough for their once close friend.

"It's life or death!" Ron yelled. "Move your arses, NOW!"

Hermione and Harry found themselves standing before they even realized they were moving.

With a quick request for Neville to keep watch on the potentially deadly brownies, a duty the other boy was all too honored to accept, the couple followed Ron out of the common room and into the halls.

Hermione noticed right off the bat something was off. An idea Harry vehemently agreed with.

Ron disappeared further down the hall but would vanish out of sight again before appearing again when they turned a corner or otherwise lost sight of him. The boy was leading them on, but remaining too far away for them to get within arm reach or conversation range.

Hermione highly doubted they were going to see their head of house.

"In here." Ron waved them toward an unused classroom before dashing inside, but not before checking to make sure nobody else was in the hallway. "Hurry up."

Upon seeing Harry's suspicious sneer, Hermione agreed with his unspoken assessment.

This screamed trap in a dozen different languages, with the exact kind of subtlety Ron was famous for. Well, much like the attempted love potions in the great hall, neither Ron nor his sister were going to catch either of the couple off guard.

Harry and Hermione entered the room slowly, side by side with an arm around the other. They both had one hand empty, but their second, hidden behind each other's back, held their wands at the ready.

Hermione wasn't sure what she was expecting, but what she found waiting wasn't it.

"Hey, you two." Ron greeted them with a small. One that Hermione could tell was very much forced, but she could also see he was leaning heavily against a desk. She'd known the boy for years, and had seem him injured enough times to know when he was in physical pain but trying to act macho and hide it.

While this was odd, that wasn't what really had Hermione about to start a game of twenty questions. That honor was reserved for the blonde sitting there all tied up in a chair and starring at the floor in equal parts shame and terror.

"Nice of you two to join us." Ron released a heavy breath. "What do you think of my sister's new look?"

The blonde girl had to be around their age, by Hermione's best guess. She wore Gryffindor-colored robes, but the girl herself was not one Hermione recognized. While she didn't know the names of her entire house, she did know their faces. Whoever this girl was, she was not of Gryffindor.

A glance at Harry confirmed he thought the same.

"Sorry about that, I had to be sure." Ron spoke to the blonde before vanishing the ropes with a wave of his wand.

"I know, I'd be doing the same." The blonde shifted in her seat to be more comfortable, giving Ron a weak smile in the process.

"Oh, and here you go." When Ron handed the blonde a wand, Hermione almost lost it. The fact that the other girl immediately pocketed the thing being the only reason Hermione wasn't firing off curses now and asking questions later.

Hermione and Harry both were about to start demanding an explanation when Ron decided to give them exactly that.

"Well, when I dragged Ginny out…"

A million questions were racing through Ron's mind while we watched the girl in his arms change.

So stunned he was, that Ron didn't even react when the now blonde girl finished shifting back into whatever her real identity was. The hesitation proved nearly costly.

In the blink of an eye, the girl had stomped hard on his foot while also throwing her head back to catch Ron square in the nose. She didn't break it, but the pain and surprise were together enough to make him release his captive.

Ron stumbled back, but kept his footing, clutching his bloody nose.

The girl followed up her attack by driving her shoulder into his chest, but the move was foiled by their size difference. Ron was knocked back a step, but not put on the floor like she'd intended.

With a spring of speed that would make any sprinter jealous, the mystery girl bolted down the hall.

By the time Ron had recovered enough and drawn his wand, the blonde was almost out of range. Not helping was his head spinning from the sudden trauma of getting his bell rung. Regardless, this girl was impersonating his sister, and Ron's mind had defaulted into the belief this girl knew something, like any sane and reasonable person would think. Ergo, he was not about to let a little bit of pain or dizziness deter him.

"Incarcerous!" The ropes shot from Ron's wand, but between the distance, and his currently shaking wand arm, his spell didn't quite find its mark.

Yet, it was enough.

Ron was attempting to fully bind the runaway blonde, but he missed her upper body entirely. Her legs, however, were not as fortunate. One escaped outright, but her second leg was snagged in place and jerked back.

The end result was that she wasn't bound, but did fall flat on her face in the middle of the hall.

The girl quickly rolled over and started ripping at the ropes off to free herself, but the delay was more than enough for Ron to dash forward and close the distance.

The blonde had just managed to free herself when she was tackled by Ron.

"Where is my sister?" Ron once again used his size to his advantage to try to pin the girl to the floor. It made him uncomfortable to be doing something like this, but the girl was not only refusing to answer, but still actively trying to escape.

Ron would be happy to let her up so they could talk like civilized people, but she was having none of it!

"Where's Ginn…" Ron thought it hurt having his nose almost broken a minute ago, that was nothing compared to the blonde's foot landing a solid, and disturbingly brutal, kick right into his groin.

The whole time Ron had been struggling with her, he never once had the urge or inclination to actually hit her. Curses, sure, but to actually punch, slap, or otherwise strike her? The idea hadn't even entered into his brain. It did after her last blow, though.

In the end, other concerns won out, and Ron restrained himself.

Any other time, the agony of such a strong blow would have him nearly in tears and huddling on the floor wishing he was anywhere else. The main reason he wasn't, was because of a single overriding thought that was currently running wild inside his mind, stomping out all other thoughts and ideas without mercy.

Baby sister in danger!

Ron turned on his best glare, pinning the girl's arms down with a hand on each wrist, and her legs down with both of his own. He leaned down, his eyes just inches away from hers and practically snarled out his next words. "Where. Is. My. Sister!"

"I… I don't know." The girl froze, all struggle forgotten. Whether it was his leer, the barely restrained anger and pain in his voice, or maybe just the distance, right now, Ron didn't care. He was finally making some progress.

"You were using Polyjuice potion." Ron willed himself to sound calm. "I'm not the smartest wizard in Hogwarts, but I know what it takes to make that!"

"I didn't make it." The blonde defended, eyes full of fear. What was strange, though, was that it didn't seem to be directed at the boy literally pinning her to the floor. "They just gave it to me."

"What a load of hippogriff sh…"

"It's true! Please… you have to let me go!" Tears were forming in the corner of the blonde's eyes now as the girl practically begged. "They can't know I've been found out!"

"Who's they?" Ron didn't relax his hold on the girl, but there was something about her, something oddly familiar that was taking Ron a minute to put his finger on.

It was her eyes, or rather the look in them. Ron had seen it before, only once years ago. People like Harry, Hermione, or Neville would almost never have it, but people like Ron would.

It was the same look Ron had seen in the mirror when he knew Ginny was somewhere in the Chamber of Secrets in terrible danger. The same look that only someone with a younger sibling could understand.

"If you promise not to run, and just let us talk, I'm going to let you go. Deal?" Ron offered, his tone becoming softer.

The girl swallowed hard and bit her lip, considering his words before nodding. "Deal."

"Okay." Ron knew he was taking a chance here, but short of beating the answers he needed out of the girl, he wasn't sure what else to do. This girl had to know something. He just hoped he was wrong in what he feared might be the cause of her own distress. "What's your name?"

"Daphne." The girl answered one mystery, at least, while she sat up. Doing so slowly so he wouldn't think she was going to make another break for it.

"Wait… Daphne… I've heard that name before. Your last name wouldn't happen to be Greengrass would it?" Ron prodded at his memory and found what he was looking for.

Her nod merely confirmed it.

Daphne Greengrass, another student of Hogwarts, but one of Slytherin house. Something else, too, which gave some credibility to Ron's worries, Daphne was not the only Greengrass in the school.

"I really don't know where your sister is." Daphne started to explain, her eyes looking up and down the halls as if searching for eavesdroppers. "They just gave me the vials of potion with their orders… if I didn't do what they say…"

"Do you have a younger sister?" Ron didn't need to be a master legilimens to read the answer on Daphne's face. "Do what we say or you'll never see your sister again? Something like that?"

Ron really hoped he was being paranoid and imagining things, but Daphne's silence said more than words ever could.

"Damn." Ron swore, pinching the bridge of his nose

"But… how could you have known that?"

"The look on your face." Ron answered truthfully as he stood up and offered the girl his hand. "I've seen that same look on myself back in my second year when Ginny was in the chamber. What's her name?"

"Astoria." Daphne hesitated but soon took the boy's hand so he could pull her back up to stand.

"I'm willing to bet these same bastards have my sister…" Ron groaned, rubbing the back of his head in annoyance. There was nothing else to it, they were going to need help. "No offense, but I think this might be a little beyond us."

Daphnia began to visibly panic before Ron cut her off.

"I know you're scared for your sister, Merlin, so am I, but we're going to need help. And I think I know just who to turn to…"

"So, I had her wait here and went to fetch you two." Ron finished his tale before adding one last piece. "Oh, and McGonigal doesn't know anything about this. Not yet, at least."

Unlike most Slytherins, Daphne and her sister never seemed to be part of the bandwagon of antagonizing and belittling Harry. Neither did Hermione ever hear a single use of the hated term 'mudblood' from either. This alone was enough to make Hermione willing to give the Greengrass sisters the benefit of the doubt.

"You should know the truth before anything else." Daphne began, voice shaky and eyes darting to the door they just came from. "The cupcakes Ron gave you were made with love potion, but he wasn't the one behind them. He didn't even know. It's the same with Ginny. I swapped out the clean ones they got from their mum with the tainted ones."

"You mean…"

"Yes, Harry." Daphnia cleared her throat. "Ron and Ginny were innocent."

"Hang on." Hermione interrupted. "That doesn't explain why you got upset when I tried to give one to Neville. You practically freaked out in the middle of the great hall."

"Good umm… question." Ron visibly turned scarlet.

"You're not helping your case here, Ron." Harry said.

"I didn't want anyone else to have any, okay?" Ron blurted, face turning redder than his hair. "I sat on them for days and didn't even try sneaking a single one. I knew you were nice enough that you'd want to share with me even though they were yours to do whatever you wanted."

Hermione gave the redheaded bot a blank look before finding her voice. "So let me get this straight… you had a fit because you were greedy and didn't want to share food?"

"Pretty much." Ron huffed with pursed lips. At least he seemed to understand he was being a little childish, which all things considered, was a step in the right direction for him.

Hermione's mouth opened for some kind of retort before closing. The process repeated several times before she just sighed and shook her head. "Okay, now that! That sounds like the Ron I've known for years."

"Should I be flattered, relieved, or offended?" Ron's brow scrunched in confusion before looking to Daphne and Harry. Both of which could only shrug.

"You really didn't try to potion Hermione?" Harry voice almost sounded relieved.

"No!" Ron looked away. "I'd never do something like that. Am I really jealous? Hell yes, but come on, do you really think I'd do something so horrible to two of my best friends? I mean, come on, you two make a great couple."

"Well?" Harry asked the girl beside him.

"I…" Hermione thought for a minute. "I think he's telling the truth. And I also think we owe him and Ginny an apology."

"Not a big deal, right now." Ron waved his hand dismissively. "We've got bigger problems."

"Merlin, yes." Daphne piped up from her chair.

"Now that we got that settled." Ron scowled. "Can we get back to the matter of my sister missing and a foul plot behind it?"

"Okay." Hermione pocketed her own wand for now, but kept a wary eye on the blonde for the moment. Her analytical side coming to the surface. "What do we know so far?"

"My sister was kidnapped." Daphne took over. "Far as the faculty is aware, she's on an approved leave from the school and that's all they know. Whoever took her was able to forge my fathers' signature and fool any detection charms. How, I have no clue."

"Do what we say or we hurt your sister?" Harry asked softly.

"Yes." Daphne swallowed past the lump in her throat. "They sent me her locket, the one she always wears around her neck, along with the vials of Polyjuice potion and what they wanted me to do. Plus, the password for the Gryffindor common room."

"And to make a Polyjuice potion work, you need a piece of someone so that must mean…" Ron trailed off, making a gesture for Hermione to pick up.

"They'd have to have the real Ginny, too, somewhere away from here." Hermione didn't miss a beat. "Not to mention the absurdity of having two Ginnys running around making the deception obvious."

"Two Ginnys." Harry whispered it so only Hermione could hear as he shuddered slightly.

Hermione merely elbowed him in the ribs.

"What was your goal?" Hermione asked Daphne.

"Use the love potion to make Harry fall in love with me." When Daphne's face contorted in disgust, she had no idea she was winning a few points in Hermione's eyes. "Then lead him away from anyone who might see and give him the brownies. When I failed with the potion so… obviously, I got desperate."

"What is in the brownies?" Harry asked. "More love potion?"

"I have honestly no idea, but not that. Part of their orders was to get you somewhere private." Daphne shivered. "They said it would be bad, like vomit out most of your organs and blood bad."

"You mean…" Ron didn't get far.

"Great, somebody wants to kill me. Again." Harry groaned, hand coming up to cover his eyes. "Just another year of Hogwarts, why did I think anything was going to be different this year?"

Hermione gave him what she hoped was a reassuring rub of his forearm. "So, Harry was your target?"

Daphne nodded before looking up at Ron. "I'm sorry, but they wanted Hermione out of the way and definitely away from Harry. You were an unlucky victim just like they were."

"You were scared and trying to save your sister." Ron nodded. "I can understand that. I sure as hell wouldn't like it, but if it meant saving Ginny, I'd do almost anything."

Hermione just gave the redheaded boy a look.

"It's a big sibling thing." Ron shrugged. "You guys wouldn't get it."

"You went with me into the Chamber of Secrets, knowing full well what was waiting for us down there." Harry reminded them. "Even if I wasn't going, you would have gone on your own. I might not understand what a big brother feels, but I do get how you feel because I've seen it for myself."

"Everyone, focus." Hermione lightly scolded the group. "We need a plan here, firstly, who do we think could be behind this?"

"That…" Harry sighed. "Is a big list. But if the end plan was killing me, my galleons are on the death eaters, maybe Voldemort himself. They definitely got the resources, and none of the morals holding them back."

The three Gryffindors chose to ignore the way Daphne winced at Harry's flippant use of the dark lord's name.

"What?" Hermione's eyebrow arched. "You're not blaming Draco, this time? Shocking."

"Oh, don't get me wrong." Harry countered. "He's still way high on the list. But this seems a bit too well thought out and convoluted for him. He might be involved, but I doubt he's the mastermind."

"I think we should start with the brownies." Hermione declared, the plan already taking shape within her mind. "Love potions are not all that rare or hard to get, but whatever's in them might be a bit less common. Could help us narrow down suspects."

"Okay, but how do we do that?" Ron asked just as Daphne was about to do the same. "Whoever is behind this warned Daphne about saying a word to anyone. We have to be careful who we talk to and when."

"Under normal circumstances, I would suggest going to our head of house." Hermione continued before anyone could refute her. "But I feel like if we tell her, she'd go on the war path and that would be bad for our missing witches."

"Hmm…"

"Harry..." Hermione warned.

"What?"

"I know that sound." Hermione kept her eyes pointed straight ahead, not even looking at her boyfriend. She didn't need to.

"What sound?"

"The one you make when you have an idea you're not sure about."

"Oh, come on, I do not have a…" Harry paused. "Do I?"

"Yeah."

"Oh."

The couple blinked at each other for a second before both erupted into nigh uncontrollable laughter. So intense was it, they had to cling to each other to avoid falling down.

"Oookay." Ron drawled, knowing full well he wasn't in on some inside joke between the couple, but as it was said, they had more important fish to fry. "You were saying, Harry?"

"Well, it's just…" Harry cleared his throat, all humor gone. "I think I know someone who can help us. Might be costly later, but I think I can get them to be discreet…"

To answer a reader's previous question, Ginny was always going to be an imposter, and Ron was always going to be innocent. However, at the time of the last chapters writing, I hadn't decided who, yet. I actually had a difficult time choosing so I had to get creative.

Namely by taking a list of names, such as Hannah Abbot and Daphne Greengrass, to name a couple, and putting them up on a board and, I kid you not, throwing darts at it.

As for WHY they were impersonating Ginny, that also was going to be different depending on who was chosen. I somewhat got lucky with Daphne having a younger sister.