"Tonks?" Harry thought. "No it couldn't be. She's half out of her mind and badly injured. No way she could pull off disguising herself as Ron." He had to sort it all out. "That couldn't be Ron in the shower now. Crookshanks would have hissed at him like always. Plus he was acting rather out of character. The real Ronald Weasley must be downstairs with the others. But then... who was I just talking to?"

Harry glared at the bathroom door. "Whoever it was, they knew something about the dragon without my mentioning it. Oh God." He froze. "What if whoever is in there kidnapped Tonks!" Harry got up and carefully slipped out the door without making a sound. His heart was pounding as he mad his way down the hall, all the while keeping an eye on the bedroom. Even as he stood in the doorway of the kitchen he continued to shoot nervous glances over his shoulder.

In the kitchen, Fred, George, Hermione, and a person he now assumed to be the real Ron, were arguing over who would prepare breakfast.

"You said you would do it, Ron. It's your turn."

"I never agreed to swap chores with you, George."

"Yes you did. Just now upstairs."

"Ron." Harry interrupted.

"Hang on a minute, Harry.  " Ron said over his shoulder then turned back to his brother. "I don't know what you're talking about. You'll try anything to get out of one measly task."

"Ron..." Harry thought quickly. "I just want to know when you'll be done with my copy of Sherlock Holmes."

"What are you on about?" Ron asked without giving it much thought. "What book? I don't have anything of yours." Under his breath he added, " I can occasionally but my own things."

"Sherlock Holmes." Harry persisted as he tried to act casual, pouring cereal into a bowl. "His greatest mysteries. We were going to discuss it whengot through , remember?" Now everyone was regarding him strangely.

"Harry... fsh." The boy shook his head dismissively. "You know I don't read that rubbish. Hermione's the one. Maybe she has it."

Fred patted Harry on the back and said, "Haven't quite woken up yet have ya mate?"

Harry let go a heavy sigh as he gripped the muscles behind his collar.

"Tonks..." He stopped himself when he remembered that he heard Ron's voice from upstairs. It wouldn't do to have whoever's up there to hear any of this. He found a drawer with a pen and pad. then he scribbled something down and handed it to Hermione.

"Don't say a word!" It read. "Don't make a sound! There's a stranger in the house." Her eyes went wide then looked to Harry for confirmation. She could tell by the look on his face, it was no joke.

"Better do something, Ron. He's passing notes to your sweetheart." George quipped loudly. Too loud.

"Shut up." Ron blushed

Harry grabbed the note from Hermione and practically mashed it into George's chest to keep him quiet.

"Ow! Hey." The twin was about to say more when Harry mouthed the words, "Read it." He did as ordered while Fred read over his shoulder. The two suddenly became quite an grim.

A creek and thump could be heard upstairs. "He's out." Harry whispered, staring at the ceiling. Any minute the imposter was sure to realize that Harry wasn't there and that his guise had been revealed. Still fixated on the ceiling, he licked his lips and tried to think. "I can get Ron to hide and act like I never saw him."

Ron snatched the note unceremoniously away from his brother. "Gor blimey!" He shouted. They all shot him angry looks. He tried to cover. "er... that's the biggest roach I've ever seen." He announced loud enough for the stranger to hear. "Someone kill it."

Only now did Harry realize that he never heard any running water. There were footsteps coming down the stairs. They were close. There was no way to slip Ron out of the room now. "Hide Ron." He whispered urgently.

The stranger stood in the doorway and surveyed the area. He saw Harry sitting down to a bowl of cereal with his back to the door. Fred and George were also seated at the table and appeared to be trading some sort of cards. "Got that one? I've got two." They were mumbling. George had his wand in the same hand he was leaning his chin on lazily. Hermione also had her back to the door as she busied herself looking for pots and pans.

"What's all this shouting about a cockroach?" The stranger asked.

Hermione glanced back at him. "There you are, Ron." She said. "That was only Fred. You know how he is about crawly things."

"Nasty vermin." Fred supported the lie convincingly. It was a good thing that the voices of two brothers sound almost identical even when they are not twins. Only a person who's been around the family a lot can tell the difference from another room.

"Um hum." The stranger grunted in a dubious tone.

"Sorry." Harry distracted him. "Couldn't wait for you. I was getting hungry."

"Thought you were so eager to talk." Turning to Hermione and the twins he added, "Don't you want to know what he was going to say?"

"Harry's already explained about his bad dream." George answered without looking up. Harry gave the fake Ron a conspiring nod as if to remind him that they had agreed not to get any hopes up.

"Well you're out now." Harry got up quickly and went to wash his bowl. "I want to tell you the rest of my dream. Let's go into the other room."

"Just a moment." Fake Ron held up his hand. He started to cross the room in the direction of the pantry.

"What do you need?" Hermione asked blocking him. "Sit down. I'll get it for you."

"No." He said simply while nudging her aside. "That's quite alright." He put a hand on the knob of the pantry door. George gripped his wand tighter.

Hermione suddenly remembered a story by Edgar Allen Poe. It was about a man who had murdered his employer and buried him under the floor boards. When the police had come to investigate, he put a chair on the burial spot and sat on it while he talked to them. But he could still hear the dead man's heart beating like a bass drum in his ears. He thought the police could hear it as well. He thought they were just taunting him pretending not to.

Hermione could swear the pounding in her ears was not her own heart but Ron's. She could swear the stranger was just taunting them by coming downstairs as their friend.

The knob jingled under his touch. The hinges groaned.

"Achoo!" George sneezed into his hand and nearly dropped his wand. Everyone, and I mean every single person in the room,  flinched so hard it was like their insides had been jerked by a port key. The stranger studied George for a moment.

Hermione's blood ran cold and her skin was flooded with a sudden rush of pricks. She tried to control her breathing, the fluttering of her lashes, the sweat beading on her now pale forehead. But it's not easy when your heart starts acting like you've consumed a half dozen krispy kremes and washed it down with three double espressos.

Oh what a person could see if they but altered their perceptions ever so slightly. The false Ron swung open the pantry door. He was greeted with the sight of canned peas and corn and such but no Ron.

"Ron what are you doing?" Harry asked. "You said we were going to talk." Fake Ron stood befuddled. Harry turned and stated to lead him into the next room. The imposter began to follow.

Suddenly he whipped around threw open the doors below the counter. Everyone looked at him slightly shocked. "Th – thought I saw that – that cockroach dash in here."

"Now you're acting crazy Ron." Harry said as he placed a guiding hand on the strangers shoulder and lead him out of the room. Once those two were gone the four remaining occupants of the room heaved a unanimous sigh of relief.

The stranger practically jumped back in. There was an awkward moment. He opened his mouth to explain his behavior but decided against it and just left.

"Is it safe now?" Ron pleaded.

"Shh. Shh." Fred waved off the question and went softly to the door. He listened intently until he was satisfied that Harry had distracted the person by bringing up Tonks.

"My hand is cramping." George spoke through his grinding teeth.

"Okay." Fred answered. George lowered his wand and Ron floated down from the ceiling.