Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters. Fred Meets His Match

Chapter One

It was late in fall. Fred Weasely and his brother George were just finishing doing some inventory on a new shipment of exploding golf balls they had just received that afternoon. Fred held one up to the light to examine it. "We have some quality merchandise here George." Fred remarked as he put the ball back in its box. George grinned.

Their business had taken off remarkably well after they had graduated. Thanks to the money that their friend Harry had given them, they not only had been able to start up a business in the wizarding world, but as that proved successful they had opened shops among the muggles as well. Nothing that would cause the ministry to get after them, just things like dribble glasses, teapot's with no hole in their spout, and these golf balls that when hit with a club broke open and left the golfer in a cloud of powder.

Fred put the last of the shipment onto the display counter. He was just cutting up the box when George who had been keeping an eye on the counter reminded him that it was Arthur Weasely, their fathers birthday today. Ever since they had started selling their products to muggles, they had made it a habit to buy their father something from the muggle world. Last year George had the honor of picking out the present. He had bought him a color TV. with a remote control. This year Fred decided since it was his turn, to buy him a DVD player. They were all the rage among the muggles. George had told him that the place where he had bought the TV. also sold DVD players and movies to go with them.

Fred left the store to go check out the place his brother had mentioned. It was only about half a block from their establishment and was easy to find. It was a family run business called Ray's electronics. The store was empty except for a young blonde lady that stood behind the counter, organizing small plastic boxes that each had different names on them.

The lady looked up as Fred approached. She had a nametag on that read Christine. Fred cleared his throat. "Hello Christine. I hope you can help me. I'm looking for a DVD player for my dad." Christine smiled. "We have plenty of those in stock. Have you any idea of what brand name you would like?" Fred was stumped. He didn't have a clue what she was talking about. He improvised. "I really don't know much about this sort of thing. Perhaps you can suggest one for me?" The lady led him to a room that held many of what he recognized as TV's. Stacked beside them were what he assumed was what he was looking for.

It didn't take long and Christine had the machine she figured would be his best choice hooked up to one of the TV's. Fred was startled when it turned on. "Dad is defiantly going to love this!" He stated. Christine smiled. "So this is for your father? What a nice gift!"

Fred helped Christine pack up the DVD player and carried it to the counter. Christine typed in the price of the DVD player into the cash register. "You will probably want to get him some movies to go with it as well. We have a good selection of them on sale." Christine showed him some of the boxes that she had been organizing earlier. "What kind of movies does your dad like?" For the second time since entering that store, Fred was stumped. He truly didn't have a clue.

Christine looked at the nice looking young man in front of her. He obviously was not familiar with movies. 'Where did he come from that he would not have seen many movies?' She thought. "Does he like comedies, romance, westerns, action/ adventure?" She hedged. The young man looked ready to panic. "How about one of each?" he asked. Christine helped him pick out 4 of her favorite movies.

Fred paid her and was just about to leave with his purchase when she called out. "By the way, what's your name? I could have sworn we met before." Fred smiled. "The names Fred. Fred Weasely. I own with my brother the joke shop just down the block." Christine smiled. "Well Fred, it was nice to meet you. I hope we see each other again soon." Fred left the store with a thought that it may be sooner than either of them anticipated.