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I'm so bored of writing disclaimers, but, sadly, it must be done. Harry Potter, and all other characters, do not belong to me. If they did...

Chapter 1

Fred was walking down Muggle high street, hands in the pockets of his dragon-skin jacket, whistling to himself, attracting some very admiring looks from several girls as he passed them, not that he noticed. He had been spending more and more time in the Muggle world recently, he wasn't sure why. There was something about it – almost a sense of anonymity. He hadn't been able to walk down Diagon Alley without getting accosted nowadays – either from young kids asking about the latest range of products, adults thanking him for fighting in the Battle of Hogwarts and doing what they were too scared to do – stand up to Voldemort - or reporters recognising him as a Weasley and asking him for details about Harry's life. Even after nearly four years of peace they couldn't get enough of Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, the Chosen One. Harry hated it. He'd married Ginny almost as soon as she had graduated, and they were getting ready to start a family together, and didn't want the press breathing down their necks while doing it.

Fred shook his head. Wasn't there anything else of any importance to report? Did they really need to know what Harry's favourite book was, or his favourite food? In the Muggle world, there was none of that. No one knew who he was; he could do what he liked. There was also the added bonus that, come Christmas, he would be able to get his family original presents.

The nights were drawing in now October was here. Shivering slightly as the chill wind blew gustily around him; he pulled his jacket tighter around him and pushed his hands deeper into his pockets.

Glancing up at the clock tower that loomed over the street, he saw that it was almost seven, and he should be heading back to Diagon Alley, the shop and his flat, he picked up the pace and started hurrying to find a secluded alley from which he could Apperate. Turning down into a seemingly deserted alleyway, he was about to Apperate away when a scream of pure terror caught his attention. Heading towards the source of the cry, he came upon an alcove tucked away, out of sight. Two men obscured his view of what exactly was going on, but he could see enough. Fred seethed with anger and drew his wand. What had that girl ever done to hurt them? Just because she was on the streets, that shouldn't make her prey to men. She should be looked after, protected, not abused at the first opportunity.

The mysterious girl let out another cry, unaware that Fred was there. "Please, no. Please." There was something vaguely familiar about the voice, but Fred couldn't place it. Seeing that they'd succeeded in removing her bra before his arrival, and were now trying to strip her completely, he adjusted his grip on his wand, brought it up so it was mere inches away from the back of one of the men, and murmured 'stupefy' under his breath. As always, the effect was instantaneous. The man fell sideways, and before he managed to get to his feet again, was frozen solid by Fred's quick spellwork. The other man had turned around to see what was happening to his friend, and stared in shock at the sight of his friend lying stiff on the ground. This gave Fred the momentary advantage he needed, as he managed to do exactly the same to the second man just as he came out of shock and braced himself to fight Fred.

Satisfied that both men were completely immobilised, he turned his attention to the girl, who was cowering in the corner, trying to shield her body from his eyes with her pitifully thin arms, staring at him with wide eyes that were made to seem even wider due to her hollow, face. Suddenly, he realised where he had heard her voice before.

Please, please review. I know I'm dealing with a sensitive topic, so please tell me if I don't handle it to your satisfaction - there's no point in writing FanFiction if no one will like it - the whole idea is to improve my writing abilities.