Author Note: This is my first bit of fanfiction, I won't ask you to be gentle, because that would be like asking a lion not to be rough whith the antelope. Go ahead, flame, review, or whatever.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and maybe a few original characters, everything else belongs to its respective owner.

A man dressed all in black looked around the corner of an alley. Before him was a busy street somewhere in the heart of London. Congested with traffic, the street was not very familiar to him. He ran his hand through his messy black hair and adjusted his black framed glasses so that he could see properly once again. He looked around the street again and shook his head slightly. Apparently, he did not see what he was looking for because he retreated back to the darkness of the alley. Surrounded by the smell of garbage and old moldy boxes, he produced a small stick from somewhere in his jacket. Suddenly with a nearly inaudible 'pop' he was gone.

He reappeared in another alley, this one clean and void of the odor of garbage. He stepped out of the shadows of the buildings on either side. Where the busy London Street had once been was a large apartment complex. The apartment was not expensive or nearly the best the city had to offer, but it was clean and in a good part of the city. Gangs and thugs were of little worry to the tenants of the apartment.

This man was no ordinary man, he was a wizard taught at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. This was a school that taught not English, Algebra, and Science, but Divination, Transfiguration, and Charms. As soon as he had turned eighteen, he purchased a small flat in London. Now, at twenty-four, he lived in the top story of this apartment. This was Harry Potter. The very Harry Potter who had saved the world on more then one occasion; he looked up the large building wondering about apparating to his door. Ultimately, he decided against it and began to ascend the stairs. Floor after floor he climbed until he reached the top. Upon reaching his door he pulled out his wand again.

Tapping his wand on the door he said in a whisper, "Alohomora!" There was a soft click, and the door was unlocked. He never used his key. It was useless really; any wizard or witch could easily just waltz in and take anything they wanted. Harry decided to add some runes and security charms when he next got the chance.

Harry entered his flat without even a glance around. Two years ago, he would have at least checked to see if he was being followed. Not anymore though. Six years ago Harry had a final confrontation with the man that had been hunting him since he was a baby. Harry knew he was dead because he had seen the man fall headless under his final blow with the sword that had been a gift from his headmaster and mentor.

Harry walked past the living room to his right, past the hallway to the left which included both bedrooms and the bathroom. He went straight to the kitchen. Harry was tired; he had spent most of the day playing Quidditch with his friends the Weasleys. Quidditch is a game played on broomsticks, with rules very similar to a combination of soccer and American football; it was a rough and draining game. After four hours of game play, anyone would be tired; especially with the Weasley twin's patented double teaming. Harry moved over to the refrigerator and opened it. Empty. Harry was hungry and he had no food. There was only one thing for a person who had no food to do… buy some.

As he walked back to the door, Harry grabbed his jacket and decided to walk the five blocks to the corner store rather then apparate. A little more exercise would probably do him some good. Many wizards skipped that part in their daily routine. They were always apparating from here to there. Or they would ride broom sticks. There was very little that magic couldn't do. Harry enjoyed some physical activity every now and then. Little did he know that tonight he would be getting very physical.

Harry left and locked the door behind him. It had rained earlier that day and everything was still damp outside. It was very muggy. You couldn't walk outside without a sheen of sweat appearing on your face. He stopped just outside of his door and cast a cooling charm on himself.

Harry was halfway to the market, when he heard the screams. He jumped, his wand already out and waiting. Someone screamed again as Harry listened to the screaming he recognized something familiar in them. It was coming from his left. There was a new apartment complex being built, and it was a good place to hide. It took Harry all of half a second to decide to investigate. He walked into the complex aware of every little detail. There were footprints on the ground, and what looked like the markings of something heavy being dragged. The person screamed again but was immediately cut off. Harry doubled his efforts to find the phantom screamer. There were half built buildings everywhere and infinite places to hide. As he moved forward Harry's dread grew stronger. There was one more scream. Harry was very close now.

Harry could hear voices now. "Will you shut her up? Somebody is going to hear." The speaker was definitely a man.

"Oh, she won't be speaking much now." Another voice stated.

As if in pure defiance, a female spoke up. "YOU GET OFF OF ME YOU DAMN…" she was cut off in mid sentence by what Harry was sure was a slap. He could hear her crying now. Why had her voice sounded so familiar?

Harry finally rounded the corner. The site that met him made him want to vomit, go into a thoughtless rage, and destroy things; all at the same time. Before him, there was a group of guys grouped around watching another guy in the center. Harry could see that the guy in the center was naked from the waist down. On the ground in front of him was a woman who looked like she had been through hell and back. Her clothes, the ones that hadn't been ripped off, were in shambles; they weren't doing an adequate job at all. Beside her on the ground was what looked mysteriously like a wand that had been broken in half.

In the split second that it took Harry to gather the view in front of him; Harry had begun to cast spells. Three on the left went down with one spell; they collapsed without so much of a sound. The others on the right fell when he recast the spell that incapacitated the ones on the left. All that was left was the guy in the middle. He spun around as soon as the guys began to fall; his eyes were full of fear and intense anger. Harry thought for a second, running through his mental encyclopedia of spells, suddenly he cast a final spell.

"Pyruclash!" The man screamed in pain and fell to the ground with his arms and legs bent at impossible angles. The spell Harry had cast was classified as dark magic, but he wasn't worried about it. After all, the savior of the wizarding world could bend or break some laws if he deemed it worthy. It simultaneously broke all of the bones in your arms and legs. The man fell to the ground screaming in pain. Harry cast a silencing spell.

Harry ran to where the girl was lying on the ground. She might have been pretty, beautiful even, if she was not bruised and battered; she had long blond hair with a slender and well built body. He had to hold back a scream as he saw the condition of the girl. There was blood everywhere, but he could not see where it was coming from. She also had bluish, black bruises all over her body. The right side of her face was dark purple. Thinking back to the very basic first-aid he had learned in school and on the field, Harry began to feel for breaks in bones; the entire time he was trying deciding where to take her. Occasionally, the girl would tense as he felt a certain area. Harry glanced back to the woman's face. Suddenly, he knew why the screams had seemed familiar. He knew this woman.

The woman awoke as Harry finished checking for broken bones, her blue eyes were wild with fright. Perhaps she did not recognize Harry for the savior he was. Harry removed his jacket and attempted to cover her with it. As he leaned forward, the woman began to scream and fight back. She kicked and punched with all the strength she could muster; which under the circumstances was not much.

"Shhh, I'm here to help. Please stop screaming. It's me Harry Potter! Think! You know me. You have known me for over six years."

She stopped screaming and stared directly at him as if deciding whether or not to trust him. Harry picked her up cradling her in his arms; she tensed slightly then relaxed into him completely. Unexpectedly, she was not heavy, but rather light. The woman was already asleep after mere seconds in his arms. Probably fainted Harry thought. He used his wand hand to the best of its ability and apparated away.

Harry and his passenger arrived in front of an elegant looking castle that over looked a magnificent blue lake. Children were outside playing, or relaxing by the lake. Harry strode towards the castle trying to be gentle with his precious cargo. Suddenly she flinched and looked wildly around.

"Wotcher Harry…" was all she got out before fainting again.