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Chapter 1
Dodging the crowds who all seemed to be enjoying themselves, Hermione walked through Muggle London. She had no destination, but she had had to get away from Diagon Alley. It had been two years exactly since the Battle of Hogwarts, two years exactly since Harry had defeated You-Know-Who for good, and two years exactly since the Weasley family fell apart.
It was hard enough on a normal day walking past 93 Diagon Alley, knowing that only one twin owned it, and he was to be found holed up in the flat, speaking to no one, and only occasionally thinking about the shop. The other twin had given his life to defeating Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Hermione had been in the Great Hall with the Weasleys when Percy came running towards them, shouting that Fred was missing. She had joined in the search for him, hoping against hope that he'd pop out from behind a pile of rubble, laughing about how he had managed to fool them. But in her heart of hearts Hermione knew Fred would never do that to his family, never cause them that much worry. She knew that he must be dead, although a body was ever found.
Maybe it was because it was the anniversary of the Battle that Hermione was feeling nostalgic as she stopped in Trafalgar Square to watch a street performer. She had to admit, he was good at what he did, as he cartwheeled and jumped about, impressing his audience. As he turned around to acknowledge the applause, their eyes connected for a second. Hermione shivered, as if she had just walked through a Hogwart's ghost. There was something about his eyes that reminded her of Fred. They had this twinkle about them, as if he knew something that everyone else didn't, and he took great delight in that fact. They seemed to be laughing at some joke that never became old, but always amused him.
Hermione broke the connection and shook her head – he was nothing like Fred. She was definitely getting too wrapped up in the past. For one thing, his appearance was in no way similar. He was much shorter than Fred had been, with dark skin and dreadlocks. It was impossible that he ever could be mistaken for Fred. Besides, Fred was dead. Hermione still had trouble grasping that fact at times, despite evidence staring her constantly in the face. She had known Fred since she was eleven years old, and he had always been so full of life, so full of energy. She always thought that Fred and George, along with the rest of the Weasleys, would be a constant in her life.
And, although Fred had always liked entertaining crowds, and being the centre of attention, he had never shown any skill in gymnastics, and that was certainly what the street performer was doing. Hermione was pulled back to the present by someone grabbing her hand. It was him – the acrobat. Pulling her into the middle of the circle he stood her in front of four other people already there. She stood, bemused and embarrassed as he explained his plan – jump over all five them!? It sounded ludicrous to her – but as he turned back to her and winked she seemed to lose all her doubts – of course he could do it.
"How about a kiss, just for luck?" He was addressing her now, a half-smile dancing across his lips.
Hermione blushed furiously and shook her head – she was not going to kiss him, however much he reminded her of Fred. It soon became apparent that he wasn't going to accept that answer though, he kept persisting, trying to wear her down.
"Come on, why not? If I crashed to the floor, split my skull and died, would you really want my last experience with a pretty girl her refusing to kiss me, even on the check?"
It was that argument that persuaded Hermione. Despite the beautiful weather, she was full of sadness, and memories of the dead. After all, it was just a kiss, wasn't it? And it wasn't even on the lips - he only expected a quick, chaste peck on the check. Sighing, Hermione said "Fine, then." and leant towards the proffered cheek. Just as her lips were about to connect with his cheek, he turned his head. Their lips brushed together just for a second before Hermione pulled away and everyone started screaming.