Chapter 4:

Journal Entry: 21st December

It's almost Christmas!! But it doesn't look like this is going to be a good Christmas for me. Ron and Hermione are still not talking to me. If they are in fact Ron and Hermione, Malfoy has his suspicions from what we heard but don't have anything solid yet. I have read so many of the Dark Arts books its beginning to scare me. Most of the spells in those books are more useful than the ones in the normal magic ones. I feel like the only curse that I haven't yet been able to master is the Cruciatus curse. I guess I just don't have the evilness and hate inside of me needed for that curse.

I just hope they can help me find out what is wrong with Ron and Hermione

(End of entry)

Harry sat in the Great Hall eating some toast and butter for breakfast, an owl swooped down and handed him a letter. It was a large owl with red-tipped black feathers, it flew as soon as it had completed its task. Harry looked at the envelope and recognised Dracos slender handwriting. He put the envelope into his pocket, finished his toast and rushed out of the Great Hall. Once outside he opened the letter that he had received;

H

My suspicions have been verified. I know what is up with the M and the W.

Meet me in the On WiLt BAdRuN.

D

Harry at first had no idea what the "on wilt bad run", but he noticed the capital letters read "OWL BARN" so he walked towards it making sure that he wasn't being watched or followed.

**

"Nice message Malfoy. Even a idiot could have worked this out." Harry said as he entered the Owl Barn.

"Yea well it was rushed." Draco sneered. "I got what you wanted, but it doesn't help me at all. When you find out what I have you probably wont let me get my revenge." Harry looked at him suspiciously afraid that he might not tell him what he wanted to know. "Don't worry Potter, I'm a man of my word. Here" He handed Harry a few sheets of paper and a pair of omnoculars. "It's recorded on those if you need more proof."

Harry looked into the omnoculars and saw Ron and Hermione talking to Gerald again. There was apparently no sound on the omnoculars so Harry looked at the sheets of parchment that Draco had given him. Harry saw that they had been having a lot of these sorts of meetings and discussing things such as potions etc. He continued to look through the parchments until he came to Dracos conclusion. Printed on the parchment in capital letters were the words:

WEASLEY AND GRANGER HAVE BEEN KIDNAPPED AND REPLACED BY IMPOSTERS.

"Potter? Hey Potter, snap out of it!!" Draco slapped Harry around the face to get him to snap out of his stupor.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"You were sitting there looking like an idiot, and as much as I enjoyed it, I want to know what you plan to do about this" Draco explained

"I'm not sure, but before I tell you anything I want to know that your not going to run to Voldemort with this" Draco flinched at hearing the Dark Lords name. "Why did you flinch?"

"The same reason everyone else does Potter. I might not be a goody goody but I'm not that evil and I'm definitely not a monster."

"OK" Harry began hesitantly not entirely sure he could be trusted but needed someone to help him. "Well we need to find out long the real Ron and Hermione have been missing. So we need to talk to Ginny."

"Ginny? You mean Ginny Weasley, Weasels little sis?"

"Come on"

Harry and Draco began to search for the youngest Weasley. They started in the Great Hall, then the library, and then outside until eventually they arrived at the Gryffindor Common Room. Harry had made Draco wait outside of the Common Room seeing as Slytherins or anyone from any other house wasn't allowed there. He began to look around and noticed a few of her friends huddled in a corner. He walked towards them hoping that one of them may be her.

"Er… Excuse me?" They turned to look at him. "Have you seen Ginny anywhere? I need to talk to her."

"Last time I saw her she was in the dormitory. Do you want me to get for you Harry?" asked Chloe, and blonde haired, green eyed fourth year friend of Ginnys. She looked at Harry very sweetly and batted hr eye lashes at him.

"Yeah sure, thanks."

She left her group of friends and went towards the girls dormitories to look for Ginny. Harry walked slowly towards the stairs leading from the girls' dormitories and waited for Ginny there. Chloe came down a few minutes later.

"She'll be down in a minute Harry."

"Okay thanks Chloe." He smiled at her and she walked back to her friends.

After about five minutes Ginny came down the stairs looking extremely tired and wearing a slim black t-shirt, a dark blue skirt, and her black robe.

"Hey Harry. What's up?"

"I need to talk to you, it's serious, but I don't think we can talk here. Can you follow me?"

"Yea sure"

Harry led Ginny out of the portrait hole and down into the entrance hall where they found Draco and went into an empty nearby room.

"During the summer did Ron seem a little strange?"

"What? What do you mean? And why is HE here?" she asked in quick succession.

"Well have you noticed anything strange? It's just that about half way through the holidays Ron and Hermione stopped responding to my letters, and now we're at school I haven't really seen any of them."

"Well come to think of it, just after you birthday Ron and Hermione did disappear together a lot. I just figured that they were going out and wanted some time together. Are sure that isn't it?"

"Well it may have been true, but Draco and I have been doing a little 'research' and he thinks he has found the answer. It seems to explain it."

"Did you just call HIM, DRACO?!"

"Er… No, anyway start focusing on the important part, of what I have told you. Here look at this." He handed her the sheets of parchment and the omnoculars that Draco had gotten. Ginny looked through it.

"What's this?"

"Look at the conclusion." Ginny looked through the sheets of parchment until she came to end.

"Oh dear," she gasped "This does kinda make sense, it also explains why I haven't seen anything of Ron lately, and why he isn't coming home with for Christmas."

"So how long do you think they have been missing for? Since just after my birthday?" Harry questioned.

"Yeah possibly. Have you been to Dumbledore about this?"

"No not yet, I wanted to make sure that I wasn't being paranoid."

"Come on Potter, lets get this stuff to Dumbledore, but if I get in any trouble you'll be sorry."