She walked into the store trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible, without appearing obvious. Her hood was up, but not pulled over her face, she walked quietly and calmly through the crowds of the store. However when she reached the door to the back, she prayed no one noticed as she stealthily entered, sending out a silent thanks to the universe that the door had been unlocked.

She found George's office in the back, shut the door behind her and sat in the only visitor's chair in the room.

It was almost half an hour later that George finally entered his office. In that time Harry had not moved a muscle since she had sat down, even though she was so nervous that it felt like her insides were shaking. But the lessons she had received did not allow her to forget how to properly sit and wait.

"What are you doing in my office?" George demanded as soon as he spotted the slight figure sitting primly in front of his desk. George shut the door with a decidedly determined click. He was not in the mood to deal with inquisitive strangers today, especially sneaky inquisitive strangers that had broken in to his office.

"I was looking for some advice on a present but I did not want to face the crowds in the shop. I hope you don't mind." She replied in an even polite tone, but her body still did not move. George's angry strides carried him to his chair, disbelief evident in his face as he turned towards the newcomer.

"Harry?"

"Yes, George. Did you honestly believe a stranger would wait in your office for you?" He sat down on his chair with a thump.

"It almost seems more believable than you. You haven't spoken a word to me or to anyone in the family for seven months. We haven't seen you since the Battle and-" He cut himself off, unable to finish the sentence, to acknowledge the pain he carried with him every day. "And then we find out that you just up and married Malfoy, without a single by-your-leave. You didn't invite us to the wedding, or invite any of us over for tea afterwards, hell we had to find out via the Prophet! Reporters knew before we did! How dare you Harry! You were family and then you pull this crap." His voice grew oddly quiet and resigned near the end of his speech. She would have expected him to yell. Perhaps he had changed since she had last seen him. It wouldn't surprise her, she had changed, changed so much, so why shouldn't George.

"Really George. This conversation is quite unseemly. I didn't tell you because everything seemed to happen so quickly, it was so romantic, but I've been so caught up with settling in to my marriage that it hadn't occurred to me that it had been so long since I had talked to any of you. I am sorry for not inviting you to my wedding, but there simply wasn't enough room for everybody that we would have liked. But we preferred to keep our wedding a simple quiet affair, we didn't think it seemly to hold such a large celebration after the horrors of the battle."

"That's no excuse."

"George, honestly, you have such trouble focusing on the topic at hand, just like when you and your family picked me up to come to the Burrow summer before second year. You couldn't concentrate on the task at hand; too busy fussing over my lack of letters. I'd been busy then and I've been busy now. Can we please get back to my reason for coming here; I was hoping I could get you to invent something for me. I've got the idea all planned out, but I don't know enough on how to actually create it. It's a gift you see, and I would like it kept top-secret." Her eyes pleaded with his, hoping he would pick up her subtle hints, remember that summer that felt so long ago and yet so close, when he and his brothers had broken her out of her prison of a bedroom. His eyes were shrewd, speculative, she honestly couldn't be certain if he understood.

"Top-secret you say? Would you mind if I were to put up some privacy wards? I wouldn't want your present to be spoiled."

"Not at all, I'm rather proud of my idea, and I really do not want anyone else knowing before Lucius' birthday party." He nodded, and immediately raised several privacy wards, some his own design. She watched his wand work and muttered words carefully, feeling the magic wash over her. She inwardly smiled as she felt them snap into place.

"Right, privacy wards are all in place now."

"You're positive, nothing can get through? Nothing can be seen or heard of us?"

"Yes, I've even added one of my own privacy ones that prevents anything being discussed in this room being discussed with an outside party without both of our express permission and consent."

"Can you do another spell please?"

"What one?"

"Can you please check for any magical bugs? With a business as thriving as yours I wouldn't be surprised if some competition from Zonko's hasn't slipped some bugs into your office to steal your ideas." He nodded quickly, becoming more concerned the more paranoid she seemed. He ran a thorough diagnostic over the entire room, pausing for a second when he saw Harry make a subtle hand gesture pointing at herself. He quickly ran the spell over her discovering both a bug and a tracking spell. He quickly dismantled both spells, making it appear as if they were still functioning to the other side, but now impossible to use.

"Now, Harry, tell me what's wrong."

"Oh god, George, I need your help." Harry's stiff posture disappeared instantaneously as she brought her legs up to her chest, curling up in a ball.

"I gathered that much; very nice hint-dropping, by the way." She smiled wanly in response.

"I wasn't sure if you would get it. I didn't want to make it too obvious, in case someone was listening."

"Someone was." She nodded stiffly, "Harry, why didn't you remove the spells yourself?"

"I haven't ... I haven't got my wand anymore."

"Why not?"

"He took it from me, it's locked away so I can't access it."

"Who?"

"Draco, it was Lucius' idea."

"Why? When?"

"They wanted me helpless and dependent on them. If I had my wand I could have fought them, could have tried to stop them. So he had Draco steal it from me before they told me of my marriage to Draco."

"But they can't have just forced you to marry Draco! Both parties have to consent!"

"My legal guardians consent was all that was needed for me, despite my protests. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia were more than happy to get rid of me a year early in exchange for several thousand pounds. Especially if all they had to do was sign a contract marrying me to some other freak."

"Harry, do you know what this contract says exactly? If I'm going to help you it's very important that I know the exact wording of it and what it commits you to."

"It's pretty firm. According to the contract I am officially married to Draco and can never divorce him, although he may choose to divorce me at any time. If he does choose to divorce me I remain his, my possessions are his possessions, my body his body, he will still control me I just will not have the benefits that come from a legal marriage. I will produce a minimum of one male heir for him, but will have as many children as he desires. All my possessions are now his, my political power is controlled by him, I cannot leave him, I cannot cheat on him. I am to obey Draco, and by extension his father while Lucius remains head of the family, in all things."

"Harry, that contract sounds pretty air-tight, I don't think I can get you out of it. Perhaps we could focus on how it was your muggle relatives that signed it and not you, being muggle they shouldn't be able to enter into a magical contract."

"George, I think you misunderstand me. I need to get out. Now. I don't think I can stand staying there for another day."

"Running away won't solve the problem of the contract; you're still legally bound to it. We need to focus on that before you do anything. Are you able to get me a copy of it?" She shook her head numbly, she couldn't get a copy of it.

Slowly, with careful motions, Harry began to pull her elbow-length gloves off, George looked down at her hands, only just noticing that she had kept the emerald-green velvet gloves on. He sucked in a breath and had to resist the urge to get physically sick.

Her arms were covered in bruises, and burns, and scars, and welts. It was almost as if there natural colour was a sickly shade of blue-green, rather than the porcelain it was meant to be.

Her wrists were worse though. So much worse. They were raw, and bloody, and yet other parts of her wrists were shiny with scar tissue.

"If I don't get out of there today I don't think I will get another chance to leave for years. They will question what happened when I came here to talk to you. Why I would so patiently wait for you to enter your office rather than just seek you out immediately. My behaviour will be suspicious. Suspicious enough that they will not let me leave the manor by myself again. I can't stay there anymore. If I don't escape today I will find a way to kill myself. Because I can't. I just can't anymore. "

"Harry-"

"No, I need to leave and I need to do it now. All I'm asking you for is if you can please create a fake Muggle passport and id for me to use. I'm leaving, leaving Britain and the wizarding world. I won't tell you more because if I do they may be able to get it out of you."

"Of course I will Harry. Just promise me that you will stay safe, and if I can ever help you don't hesitate to contact me."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

George remembered rescuing Harry the summer she turned twelve. It was one of the most traumatic episodes of his life at the time, it wasn't meant to be, it had started out as a great adventure, sure they thought something was probably up but they hadn't expected what they had found.

When they first arrived outside Harry's window, it had taken her what seemed like several minutes to get out of her bed and make her way to the window to confirm that it was really them. Her window had been barred, a sight that disturbed them greatly. Once they had removed the bars from her window and Fred and he had entered into her room they discovered that the bars were not the most disturbing sight to be found in that house.

Harry had been skin and bones, she had always been small and skinny for her age but now she looked emaciated. Bruises littered her face and every visible patch of skin. She walked with a limp, as if her right leg could not support her weight, and she favoured her left arm when doing anything. They had been able to pick the locks and head to the cupboard under the stairs to retrieve her school supplies. That in itself had been a revelation. Inside the cramped and tiny cupboard, too small for them to stand inside, they had found a battered, old, blood-stained, campbed. And messy words carved into the wall above the bed proclaiming it "Harry's Room." They'd nearly vomited at the sight of it. They had thought her bedroom with its locks, and barred window, and lack of any comforts had been the worst it could have gotten. It was almost amazing exactly how quickly they had been proven wrong.

He prayed to every god that he knew that maybe she would finally catch a break and be happy and safe for once in her life.