Hey everyone! Welcome to Secondhand Wings! This story focuses on Fred, George and their friends as they journey through Hogwarts. It will start in their first year (well, the prologue is set before that, but anyway) and continue on through shortly after the Battle of Hogwarts. The first few years should not take very long because I don't plan on going into a huge amount of detail because they are more interesting as they get older. It will mostly focus on the relationship between George and Alicia, but will definitely have a good deal of Fred/Angelina and Lee/Katie. At least, that's what I'm aiming for, but in my head, Katie is currently fighting to choose between Lee and Fred, so we'll just have to see how that works out. XD Anyway, so sorry to bore you with this long note right off the bat, but thanks for reading! Please enjoy and review!

For those of you reading Raindrops, I haven't forgotten it! But the current chapter is kicking my butt, so I thought I'd post this for now. (:

Disclaimer: Everything you recognize in this story belongs to J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. Alicia's family members were created by me.

Meeting you was fate, becoming your friend was a choice, and falling in love with you I had no control over.

Prologue: Freckles

-KNOCK - KNOCK - KNOCK -

"I'll get it, Mum!" an eleven-year-old Charlie Weasley called to his mother, who was balancing a basket of dirty laundry on one hip and Charlie's screaming brother, Ron, on the other. Molly Weasley was a rather dumpy sort of witch, but in an endearing, motherly type way. Her curly red hair was grey at the roots and she had begun to wear a pair of brown-rimmed glasses so she could see her recipes and needle work.

"That'll be the Spinnets," her husband, Arthur, said excitedly as he came down from the upper levels of the Burrow. Arthur, too, was beginning to show his age, but only in his appearance. In action, he was young as ever - especially with Mark Spinnet arriving. He and Mark had been sorted into Gryffindor together back in the day and had remained good friends long after school ended. Melanie Spinnet, Mark's wife, was a Muggle and Arthur, with his strange fascination for the inhabitants of the non-magical world, was overjoyed at any opportunity to bombard her with questions.

Charlie, flaming red hair sticking out in every direction, opened the door to reveal four travel-weary visitors arranged on the front steps. Mark Spinnet was tall, with thinning black hair and stormy grey eyes; while his wife stood almost a head and a half shorter than him, her light blonde hair was thick and curly and her eyes a warm honey brown. She had a hand laid absentmindedly on her protruding stomach, clearly in the late months of a pregnancy. Their eldest daughter, Mae, was Charlie's age and the spitting image of her mother, while Alicia, age four like the Weasley's twin sons, had dark, curly hair, pale skin with a splash of freckles across her cheeks and nose, and her father's deep grey eyes.

"Mae!" exclaimed Charlie happily at the sight of his friend. He grabbed her hand and proceeded to drag her out to the backyard to show her some new, enthralling bug he had discovered.

"Keep it down, son," Arthur told him as he shook Mark's hand warmly. "Ginny's sleeping in for once."

"Go fetch Fred and George, please, Arthur?" asked Molly as she set Ron and the laundry down so she could embrace Melanie Spinnet. "I want to introduce them to Alicia." She smiled affectionately and pulled the little girl into a hug.

"They've met before, Molly," said Arthur, taking the suitcase Melanie was carrying and leading them into the house.

"But they were much too young to remember, dear," Molly reminded him. "And since then, Alicia has always stayed with her grandmother when Mark and Melanie come to visit." She began to rummage through to cupboards to find something she could whip up for breakfast.

Arthur chuckled and headed up to the boys' room as the Spinnets sat themselves around the long wooden table in the Weasleys' kitchen. Approximately eight seconds later, Fred Weasley bolted to the top of the stairs. Once he was about halfway down, he tripped and tumbled the rest of the way. Before the others even had time to register that he was sprawled across the floor, the redhead bounced back up and all but sprinted towards the Spinnets.

"Fred, how many times have I told you not to run in the house?" scolded Molly in an exasperated manner from her position at the stove.

"But I'm fine, Mum," insisted Fred, causing Mark and his wife to laugh lightly.

"Fred," Melanie began, gesturing to her youngest daughter. "This is Alicia. Alicia, meet Fred.

Fred's crystal blue eyes widened considerably. "You're a girl," he stated simply.

Alicia looked a bit taken aback and unsure how to respond, so she merely replied, "Er, yes. And you're not."

"Just say 'hello, Alicia,'" Molly told her son wearily.

"Hello, Alicia," he repeated, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet.

"Hello, Fred."

At that moment, George - identical to Fred in every way but his energy level - stumbled into the kitchen.

"Morning," he yawned, stretching and rubbing the sleep from his eyes before joining his brother.

"Good morning, George," said Mark with a chuckle.

George ignored him, staring at Alicia for a moment. "I like your freckleth," he told her, and his ears immediately turned a glowing pink. He was growing out of a lisp, though he still had trouble when he spoke too quickly or did not pay enough attention to what he was saying.

Alicia giggled. It was a bell-like, musical sound that automatically brought smiles to the faces of everyone in the room. "I like yours, too. I'm Alicia."

"I'm George. Nith to meet you, Alithh, Alithhhh," he struggled, trying to force out her name.

Alicia giggled again, her stormy grey eyes lighting up, and put a small hand over her mouth. "Call me Ally."

George grinned at her, though his face was still rather flushed. "Ally," he repeated.

They had been friends ever since.

Well, this is just the prologue, so it's shorter than what most of my chapters are going to be. I just thought it would be nice to show how they met before going into the story. Hope you like the beginning! Please review!

And let me know what your thoughts are on Katie/Lee or Katie/Fred.

Love Always,

Kayla

Life has only three guarantees: smiling will brighten your face, laughing will enhance your eyes, and falling in love will change your life.