AN: I may dream to my hearts content, but unfortunately, in reality, I OWN NOTHING RELATING TO HARRY POTTER!!!!!!!!! (sobs)
BTW, this is my first fanfic in like FOREVER, and I have the next chapter in the works, but I just need to get a bit of feedback to tell me how to improve, SOOOO REMEMBER TO REVIEW PLEASE!!!!!
Chapter One
Fred Weasley sighed as he locked up the shop for the night.
"I hate when the ruddy paper work piles up," he thought to himself. "And it doesn't help that I'm the only one here to do it. What in God's name made me stay back here when George and Alica decided to go to bloody Italy to branch out our bloody business? The gits are probably off tanning on some beach…"
With another sigh of self pity, the co-owner of Weasley Wizarding Wheezes sat down on the front steps leading up to the successful joke shop, thinking about how his life had changed over the past few years. He hadn't changed much- a fact that he was extremely grateful for. Though the 'war of the century', as it had been donned by the Prophet, had come and gone a mere 8 years ago (ending with Voldemort's defeat at the hands of Harry Potter), Fred was not left with many memoirs of the difficult time. Sure, he had received a few battle scars here and there, but for the most part, he was left unscathed physically. Mentally, he had to cope with the loss of a brother and many friends. Percy Weasley had been amongst the casualties of the war, as had been Lee Jordan, Kingsley Shaklebolt, Angelina Johnson, and Cho Chang. But, like the others belonging to the wizarding world, he had slowly but surely moved on with his life.
Shortly after the war ended, his fiery sister, Ginny Weasley, finally married the Boy-Who-Lived and they had been living happily since. They bought a house near the Burrow, and were now ready to start a family. The same story applied to all of his other siblings- the only difference lying in the locations of their homes. Bill had married Fleur Delacour, Charlie had married a woman he had met in Romania named Amina, George had married Alica Spinnet, and Ron had married Hermione Granger.
His mother- and to a less obvious extent, his father- were currently devoting all of her spare time and energy to eliminate his bachelor status. But what they didn't understand was that he actually wanted to get married and settle down… he just hadn't found the right lady yet. Most women, you see, merely threw themselves against him because he was wealthy or some other stupid reason, and that was definitely not what Fred wanted from his soul mate.
Fred sighed again as he stood up and brushed the dirt off his clothing.
"Time to go home," he said to himself as he began to walk down the darkened Diagon Alley towards his home in the wizarding part of London.
Fred was almost home now. He had been walking for twenty minutes now, opting to take the longer route home for no particular reason.
Suddenly, as he passed a dimmed alley, Fred heard the distinctive scream of a female.
"HELP! SOMEONE PLEASE!" cried the feminine voice.
Instinctively, Fred turned on his heel and pulled out his wand.
"Lumos," he whispered, lighting the tip of his wand.
The scream became louder as Fred neared the end of the alley way.
"IS ANYONE THERE? PLEASE GOD!" shrieked the voice.
"Who's there?" shouted Fred firmly. He pointed his wand in the direction of the end of the alley and was able to see two figures, the backside of a burly man with his trousers down and the face of a frightened woman who was being held against the wall by the burly man.
"Wuz it to you, mate? Can' a man 'ave any privacy wit' his wom'n 'nemore?" replied a slurred and heavy voice.
The woman cowering beneath him gave Fred a fearful glance and mouthed 'help'. Fred quickly understood the message and instantly stunned the burly man. He fell with a loud 'thud', his trousers tripping his in the process. The woman also fell to the ground, and Fred realized that the man had been holding her above the ground.
"You alright, miss?" asked Fred cautiously as he approached her.
"I am now, thank you," she replied, wiping tears from her eyes. "If you hadn't come just now, I don't know what would have happened."
Fred helped her off of the ground and for the first time, he was able to see her face clearly. Her face was round, but not chubby, and she had a golden tan. Her eyes were large and the color of chestnuts, and her deep brown hair was in a messy bun, but Fred could see that it was long. The woman was rather petite in comparison to Fred, but she was still rather tall. "It's really not a problem, but pretty girls shouldn't be walking alone at this time of night. You-Know-Who may be gone but it's still not safe."
The woman blushed and looked at the ground, and Fred mentally slapped himself.
"I mean- what I mean to say is that- er…" Fred stuttered
"It's alright," she interrupted, now looking him in the eye with a small smile. "I'll remember that for next time, but I'm new here so I don't really know anyone yet."
"If you don't mind me asking, what did happen?" he said as he gestured towards the stunned man on the ground.
"I was just taking a stroll when he jumped out from nowhere and dragged me into the alley. I must say, it's not really the best of welcomes…"
"By the way, I don't think I've mentioned my name. I'm Fred Weasley, co-owner of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes."
"I don't know what that is, but I'm Amina Mathur."
"It's a joke shop! Anyways, Amina, since you're new in town, please allow me to show you around the area tomorrow? I'll give you a special tour of my shop and treat you to lunch."
"I don't know… er… that's a lovely idea but I have a job interview at Gringotts tomorrow morning. First I have to find the bank, and actually sit through the interview."
"Not a problem at all. How about I show you where it is tomorrow morning and while you do your business, I'll take care of mines. Once you're done, we can go for our little tour."
"That's alright then, I guess. My interview is at 11 o'clock in the morning… could you pick me up at 10:30?"
"Works for me- but there's one small problem: where do you live?"
"Oh! Right, I forgot about that! How silly of me. I live just down the road, right over there," she replied, pointing down the street to a small but quaint flat.
"How convenient- I live right across from you."
Amina smiled at him again. "I just moved in today, but I quite like it here. It seems like a very quiet type of neighborhood."
"I suppose it is, except when families decide to visit… then it's a nightmare."
"I wouldn't know that."
"Oh," replied Fred awkwardly. "I'm really sorry-"
"It's alright. It happened a long time ago," she yawned. "Well, it's been nice chatting with you Fred, but it really is getting late and I still need to prepare for that interview. Goodnight and see you in the morning!"
And with that, she gave him a wave and a word of thanks, and walked away with her hips swaying. Fred couldn't help but grin as he watched her enter her apartment. When he could see her no longer, Fred walked into his own home, eagerly anticipating the next day.
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AN: WELL??? WHAT DO YOU THINK??? OMFG THE SUSPENSE IS KILLING ME!!!!! PLZZZZZZ REVIEW!!!!!!!
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