A Note: Hi everyone! Ok this is perfectly seventh book compliant except for one little detail; Fred lives! I couldn't kill off Fred, :( I loves him too much. Other than that, everything's the same. Reviews (good and bad) are always appreciated! I need to know how I'm doing! Enjoy.

George was reluctant to admit it, but Lee and his brother might be right about needing to hire on someone extra. The shop was getting busy and the three of them couldn't handle the store by themselves anymore. He begrudgingly agreed to allow Fred to put the "Help Wanted" sign in their window. They quickly realized that they had gotten in way over their heads.

The very next day, Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes was flooded with prospective employees. Some were honestly seeking a job but others were just ecstatic at the prospect of working in an adolescent boy's heaven. Either way, none of them came close to their standards. Not that they had a set list or anything, they just kind of thought that when the right employee came, they would know it.

"Well, almost closing time," Lee said, getting up from his orange stool behind the check-out counter. Fred looked frustrated. "Maybe we're being too picky." He muttered. "I mean that Michael kid would have been fine" George did not feel the same way. "No he wouldn't have been! A kid wearing a pocket protector just wouldn't have "been fine"! He's the kind of kid our products are used on for Merlin's sake!"

Just then they heard the bells on their door ring, announcing a new entry into their store. "Hello?" called a female voice. The three of them looked up to see the intruder. In the doorway stood a petite brunette, with large doe brown eyes and a huge smile, which looked as if it were permanently pasted on her doll-like face. "Sorry I'm so late. I was wondering if the position had been filled yet…"

"Nope. Wouldja like a whack at it?" Lee asked cheerfully, pulling up a magenta colored stool up for their female guest. The girl nodded eagerly, taking the offered seat. "I'm Lizzie Morgan," she said, reaching out her arm socially, firmly shaking each of their hands. George, in particular, enjoyed the softness of her skin. They didn't run across many women in their line of work.

"How old are you Lizzie?" George asked, just for the record. "21" she answered. Two years younger than the three of them. "So, what makes you interested in this particular job," Fred asked, the boredom obvious in his voice. He had asked this so many times today already, he was getting frustrated. Lizzie chose to ignore his tone. "Well, it's not your average job, is it? No one wants to be pushing papers all day. Besides, I've always been very social. I'd love interacting with the customers all day." Lee just nodded, with his normal goofy smile. "Have any experience in shop management, then?" he asked.

Lizzie nodded and handed them a small stack of pale yellow papers. "I worked at the Sweet Shop in Diagon Alley after I graduated. Mrs. Perriwinkle gave me a reference." Fred took the small stack of papers and began looking them over instantly.

"Thanks Lizzie," George said with a grin. "You can expect an owl soon," Lizzie nodded, still smiling her infectious smile and swiftly walked out of the store. She made her way down the roads of Diagon Alley towards her small apartment she shared with her boyfriend. She looked at her watch and began to panic a little. She told him she'd be home by 7:00 and it was 7:20 now. She prayed he wouldn't notice.

She walked up the dingy staircase and slowly opened the door. Cassius was sitting on their couch, nursing a glass of firewhiskey and staring out the window. "You're home late, Lizzie," he muttered, obviously not pleased.

Lizzie desperately tried to keep her heartbeat and breathing normal. She gave him a small, unsure smile, nothing like the warm one she had given the twins only minutes earlier. "I'm sorry darling. I was out looking for a job, just like you asked," Cassius pushed himself off the couch and walked closer to her. "That's my girl," he whispered, letting some of his dark, shaggy hair fall in front of his piercing grey eyes. Lizzie had once thought he was handsome, now he just looked frightening.

"Now how about you help me work off some of this firewhiskey," he groaned, playfully nipping at her ear. She winced and tried to back off. "I-I don't know Cass. I haven't been feeling well lately, a-and…" Cassius' steely eyes flashed with anger. "What?" he asked in a dangerously low voice. "W-well… It's just that I've been sick lately and I wouldn't want to…" Cassius shoved her roughly against the wall, knocking the wind out of her so she couldn't finish her statement. "I know you're not saying no to me," he hissed in her ear, roughly gripping her by her upper arm. She winced, feeling the bruise already beginning to form.

Being intimate with Cassius used to be the one time Lizzie felt safe. It was the one time he was careful and tender with her. A couple of weeks ago, that changed. He was violent in bed, bruising, battering, and choking. Her heart leaped into her throat at the memory. She began weighing her options. Which would be less painful; saying yes or saying no?

Just then, an owl swooped to the window and squaked, demanding attention. He was carrying a magenta and orange letter. Lizzie quickly escaped Cassius' vice like grip to open it. Her smile grew to epic proportions as she read it. "I got the job, Cass!" she exclaimed happily, hoping the news would improve his mood. It did.

He smiled and hugged her gently, kissing her on the cheek. "That's wonderful, sweetheart." He said in a sickeningly sweet voice. "You'll need your rest. Get to bed," he said kindly. Lizzie nodded obediently and gave him a peck on the lips before beginning her nighttime ritual. As she was brushing her teeth, her mind wandered back to the beginning of her relationship with Cassius.

He hadn't always been brutish; if he had she never would have entered the relationship in the first place. He had treated her like a princess in the beginning. Always gentle, loving, and considerate. He really was the perfect boyfriend. All of her friends loved him and everything was right with the world.

When he asked her to move in with him, she had been beyond happy. She jumped right in, saying yes and moving in the very next week. But after that, things changed. It was very gradual, but they definitely changed. He began demanding more and more of her time so she never saw any of her friends. He demanded that she quit her job at the Sweets Shop, claiming that it was draining her of the energy she needed for him. That was the first time he had hit her.

She didn't want to quit her job, she loved it. She loved selling bags of candy to small children and being around cheerful Mr. and Mrs. Perriwinkle all day. Upon her refusal to quit her job, he slapped her across the face so hard it made her ears ring. Of course he immediately began apologizing and kissing the stinging cheek. For a couple of days after he would treat her like a princess again, buying her presents and whispering sweet nothings in her ear. But then things went back to normal, until she made him angry again.

These "apology periods" grew shorter and shorter and his outbursts of anger happened more often. He had recently been fired from his job for lack of anger management skills. He then insisted that she get a job again, to pay the bills and all that. She pretended to agree reluctantly but really, she couldn't be happier. She was hoping that a job would give her a feeling of independence again. Maybe she could save up enough money to be able to move out.

She had wanted to move out for such a long time, but she had no where to go. She had no money after Cassius had made her quit her job and she had alienated all her friends, also because of Cassius. This job was going to change things for her. She could feel it.