Disclaimer: I do not own any of the HP characters, no matter how much I want to. They are all a property of the amazing J.K Rowling!
Author's Notes: This was written as a Christmas gift to a friend, Lizzie. I hope she, and all of you, enjoy it, I certainly enjoyed writing it! Also, special thanks to the wonderful Beta reader who helped me with this, Hannah Brown.
"I'm sorry, we're closing, so if you want to buy something, you better hurry up," said Verity.
The old man glared at her and mumbled something about lazy workers as he left the shop. Verity rested her head on the table. It was two days before Christmas, and people had been rushing in constantly to buy presents. She didn't get a single minute to relax all day, especially after her bosses, Fred and George Weasley, went to the basement to finish a new product before they went home for the holidays. She had worked the shop all day by herself. Helping desperate customers find the right gift.
Suddenly, there was loud bang. Verity jumped, and ran down the stairs to find the twins coughing in the midst of heavy, blue smoke.
"What happened over here?" asked Verity, coughing.
After a moment the smoke cleared off, and Fred went to examine the contents of the cauldron.
"We were just finishing off that skin colour changing potion when it blew up," said George.
"I think it was because of the fluxweed; we put too much," commented Fred. "Eh, we'll take some and study it while we're home."
George conjured up two flasks, and threw them to his twin, who started pouring some of the ruined potion into them. Verity shook her head and laughed at them. Their mother had sent them a letter telling them not to bring any more of their products home, yet they still did.
She checked her watch and said, "I'd better get going, it's already 7:30."
With the basement cleaned up a little bit, they followed Verity upstairs. She had already closed and locked up everything. She put on her coat and yelled, "Merry Christmas! See you next year!" to the twins on her way out the door.
"Have a blasting Christmas!" the twins replied together. Verity smiled and Disapparated home.
Fred spotted one of their Whacky Hair shampoos and said, "Did you wrap the shampoo for Hermione?" George shook his head. "Alright then, I'll do it right now. Where's the Sleekeazy bottle?"
"It's on my bed," replied George as he closed the curtains and checked the door.
Inside their bedroom, Fred dropped one of the flasks into an empty box, thinking it was the Sleekeazy bottle. He wrapped the box with a bright yellow wrapping paper that he knew Hermione would hate.
It was afternoon on Christmas Eve. Fred and George were at the Burrow, going over their potion ingredients, when Ron came barging into their room. He sat at a chair beside the window, looking troubled.
"What do you want?" asked George impatiently. "We're kind of in the middle of something."
Ron looked extremely uncomfortable, like he would rather feed himself to the Giant Squid than talk to his brothers about what's bothering him. Finally, he took a deep breath and said, "I'm going to propose to Hermione tomorrow."
Fred and George looked unsurprised, but smiled wickedly. They had been wondering what was taking Ron and Hermione so long get engaged. They had been dating for three years.
"You're telling us this because…?" asked Fred.
"Because I already tried to ask her, and it went horribly wrong," said Ron, frustrated.
"Have you asked Harry for help?" asked George.
"Yep, Harry and Bill, but they were both useless."
"Well, why don't you ask someone else to help you?" asked Fred, hoping Ron would get the hint and leave.
"I am. I'm asking you two for help. Will you please help me?" Ron pleaded.
Fred glanced at George, and from one look at his expression, he knew that they were thinking the same thing. Ron wanted help, and they would give it to him, but it wouldn't be completely prank-less.
"Alright," said Fred.
"We'll help you," finished George.
"Really?" asked Ron surprised. He had expected them to ask for something huge in return and tease him mercilessly about it.
"We're always there when our little, ickle brother Ronnikins needs help," said George.
Ron scowled at them. "What do I need to do?" he asked.
Fred and George looked at each other, then at Ron and said, "Don't worry about it, we'll do everything. Just be here at six tomorrow night."
That night, after excusing themselves from their mother's traditional listen-to-Celestina Warbeck- time, Fred and George went to plan Ron's proposal. They asked Bill and Harry about what had happened the last time Ron tried to propose. After hearing their answers, the twins concluded that they were definitely not going to include either of them in their plan.
They asked Charlie to take the Family to his new house a few blocks away, the next day to ensure Ron and Hermione some privacy. Now all they had to do was make sure Hermione used a certain potion to wash her hair….
Hermione had been dreaming of a certain red-haired boy, when she heard Ginny screaming, "Wake up, Hermione! It's Christmas!!"
Hermione got up groggily and checked her alarm clock. It was seven am, and Hermione had been planning to wake up at 7:30, but apparently, that was not going to happen. Ginny was standing on her bed jumping up and down, looking like an eleven years old girl, not a twenty year old woman.
"Come on, open your presents!" said Ginny, already ripping the paper off of one particularly round present.
After fifteen minutes of unwrapping gifts, Ginny went to the bathroom to shower, leaving her looking warily at a present from the twins. Hermione did not trust them at all, and they had already added to her suspicion and dislike to the gift with the yellow wrappings. She stood as far away as possible and opened it, eyes squeezed shut.
When she heard and smelled nothing unusual, she opened her eyes to see a bottle of the Sleekeazy potion she used on special events. Hermione picked up the Sleekeazy and examined it. It seemed intact and normal, but still, she opened it and checked the colour and odour. It was the same light blue as it was when she used it for the Yule Ball, and it still smelled the same.
'I guess they finally came to their senses,' thought Hermione as she placed the bottle with the rest of her Christmas gifts.
After she dressed and brushed her hair, Hermione went downstairs to find everyone having breakfast. Mrs. Weasley was asking Charlie if they really needed to go spend the next day at his house.
"Amanda thinks that since we always spend the holidays here, it's only fair if you come and stay with us for a day," Charlie answered, while his wife, Amanda, smiled serenely.
"Um, Charlie? I think Harry and I will stay here, you know," said Ron.
"I suppose you'd like to stay too, Hermione?" said Charlie, turning his attention to her.
"Oh, yeah, I'm sorry," said Hermione, more to Amanda than to Charlie. She was surprised when she saw Amanda give her a mysterious smile.
They all spent the rest of the morning outside having snowball fights. Hermione went to take a bath and clean up; Harry, Ron and the Twins got to work, and every one else made their way to Charlie's house.
Hermione filled the bathtub with warm water and slipped in it closing her eyes. She reached for the Calming Bubble Bath her parents sent her for Christmas and poured it into the water. Had she opened her eyes to see what she was holding, she would've noticed that the bottle was not full of clear liquid, but of a strange light blue potion…
Fred, George, Harry, and Ron were organizing a nice dinner for two. Harry was about to put the breadbasket on the table, but George grabbed it from him and called, "Hey Ron! Where is the ring?"
Ron ceased heating the dinner their mother made for him and Hermione and said suspiciously, "Why? What are you going to do with it?"
The Twins rolled their eyes and Fred said, "We're going to put it inside one of the rolls, so that when Hermione picks it up, she'll find it."
"But, how will she know which one to take?" asked Ron.
"That's your job, Romeo. Make sure she takes this weird one," George explained, holding an irregularly shaped piece of bread.
After George put the ring on the tip of the bread, Harry said, "Alright! I'll go ge-"
The rest of Harry's words were drowned by the sound of Hermione furious shrieks of, "FRED, GEORGE! COME HERE THIS INSTANCE!"
Fred and George looked startled when she called their names, then, with a sudden realization; they looked at each other in horror. They raced up the stairs to find Hermione, leaving Harry and Ron wonder what was going on.
When they reached the door to Ginny's bedroom, Fred and George were met by a furious, multi-colored Hermione. Her white robed contrasted sharply with the pink, blue, yellow and green all over her face and legs.
"What was that freakish potion you gave me?" asked Hermione in a deadly whisper.
"Hermione, please calm down for a minute. The potion wasn't Sleekeazy, but it was only supposed to change hair color, you know, our Whacky Hair Shampoos product line," said George weakly. "I don't know how your skin got all colored. The Shampoo only works on hair."
"Eh, I think I might know what happened," said Fred guiltily. "Remember the potion we were developing? I might've accidentally, by accident, swapped it with your gift Hermione."
"Well you better tell me how to fix it," Hermione warned. At the horror on their faces she added, "You don't have a clue how to fix this, do you?"
The twins shook their heads just as Harry entered the room saying, "Where's Hermio- Whoa! What happened to you?"
"Fred and George happened to me, that's what," raved Hermione.
"Well, I was going to tell, but, I'll just go now," said Harry, running out of the room.
"What was he talking about?" Hermione asked, momentarily distracted.
"Well, you see, Ron was preparing a nice, sweet, romantic dinner for you two, and now you have to go," said Fred.
"What?" Hermione shrieked in horror. "I can't go downstairs like this, I look horrible!"
"No, you don't. You look just fine," Fred said, trying to reassure her.
"Yeah, just as hideous as usual," added George.
Hermione glared at George and said, "In case you haven't noticed, I'm a multi-colored girl with freakishly green hair!"
"That'll fade about a day after you bathe in a cleansing potion," George reassured her.
"Where is that potion? Give it to me!" demanded Hermione.
"Uh, the potion is kind of… not here."
When Hermione's eyes sparkled with fury, Fred added, "We ran out of it, but we ordered a new package that should be here in two days."
"Two days! I can't wait for two hours, let alone two days!" shrieked Hermione.
"Listen Hermione, come on. Go dress up in a nice outfit and come downstairs; Ron has a surprise for you," said George.
"What is it?" asked Hermione curiously, forgetting her anger at the mention of Ron.
"You're going to have to come downstairs if you want to find out," said Fred tantalizingly.
"But- oh alright. Tell Ron I'll be down in about ten minutes," Hermione said, resigned..
"Okey dokey!" they replied, before turning around and going back down stairs.
Ron, Harry, and the twins waited for half an hour before they heard Hermione's footsteps coming down the stairs.
"Finally, the princess has arrived!" said George.
"Oh, you're on for a great surprised, Ronniekins!" Fred said, smirking madly.
Ron glanced at Harry questioningly, but Harry too was grinning devilishly. At that moment, Fred made a trumpet like sound as Hermione came into the kitchen. She was wearing a light blue skirt that reached up to her knees and a black blouse with tiny, light blue stars on the sides.
Once Ron registered Hermione's multi-coloured skin and her green hair, he gaped at her, spluttering incoherently. After he regained his composure, he glanced meaningfully at Harry and the twins.
"Right, we're just gonna leave you two to enjoy your dinner," said Harry, following the Fred and George to the sitting room and ignoring Ron's look of horror.
Once they were out, Ron turned to Hermione and said, "How about we go and have dinner?"
"Yeah, sure," said Hermione.
Once Hermione sat down, Ron summoned the food over from the counter top to their table. He was wondering when he was supposed to offer Hermione the bread, when she reached out and took one with out being asked. He decided to offer it to her later, before they started talking about nothing in particular.
Hermione knew something was up the minute she heard Ron had planned something fancy. Why else would Ron make her a romantic, candle lit dinner? He wasn't the most romantic person in the world. Besides, Fred and George's involvement with this dinner made her very suspicious and dubious of everything she ate or drank. She couldn't believe that she fell for their little prank. Now she was stuck looking like a freak for three days.
Harry, Fred, and George were listening to everything going on in the kitchen through the twin's Extendable Ears
They heard Hermione say, "Alright Ron, out with it. What's going on?"
"Wha-What do you mean?" asked Ron fearfully.
"I mean this dinner, you being all nice and sensitive, the twins helping you!" she exclaimed.
"Would you trust me if I tell you that you'll know everything by the end?" asked Ron, sounding sincere.
Fred, George, and Harry couldn't hear Hermione's reply, so they guessed that she just nodded or something. After half an hour of pointless talking and chatting, Fred and George decided to speed things up.
"What are you doing?" hissed Harry.
"We're going to make sure our brother gets engaged," replied Fred.
"Don't you think maybe they should figure this out themselves?" asked Harry.
"Nope, we're going in!" the twins said together as they opened the door.
Ron and Hermione turned to look at them as they barged in, and Ron mouthed 'What are you doing?' They ignored him and Fred walked over to the counter bringing them the Chocolate Gateau Fleur made.
George said, "So Hermione, would you like to taste this amazing chocolate gateau?"
"What's wrong with it?" Hermione asked suspiciously.
"Nothing is wrong with it! Can't we try to be friendly without you suspecting we're up to something?" Fred asked, feigning a look of hurt.
"There isn't anything in it, trust me," said Ron, picking up his fork and taking a bite. Hermione watched him, as if waiting for him to sprout tentacles.
"See, nothing's happened to him," Harry said.
Hermione smirked and said, pointing at Ron "You mean nothing until now."
Ron was starting to turn pink. A minute later, his skin was a hot pink colour. Ron turned to Fred and George, who were snickering and trying to hide their grins.
"What did you do to Fleur's gateau?" he asked furiously.
"Just put a few drops of a product we finished developing yesterday," said Fred carelessly.
"We like to call it Whacky Alien Skin Colour Changer," added George, smirking.
They all started laughing, except Ron. Harry quietly took the weirdly shaped piece of bread and handed it to Fred.
"Hermione, I'd like you to have this bread, as a very precious gift from Ronniekins," said Fred, handing Hermione the bread. Suddenly, Ron's eyes widened and his skin turned a light pink color as he paled.
Hermione turned at Ron and said, "You're giving me bread? Wow, that's really, um, thoughtful!"
"You might want to, maybe, just maybe, look at the tip of that bread," said Harry.
"The tip of the brea-" Hermione gasped as she saw the ruby ring hanging there. "Oh my God! Is this, is it. It can't be!"
"Well it is, colored freak, that is your engagement ring from the one, the only, Ronniekins Bilius Weasley!" said Fred, sounding like a game commentator.
"Oh Ron!" said Hermione. "Would you like to do this, you know, the proper way?"
Ron stared at her then he said, "Ah, um, I, yeah, sure!"
Ron got on his knee in front of Hermione, who was now standing. Just then, the rest of the family walked in. They were all talking happily, but stopped abruptly when they saw the scene in front of them. There was Hermione, looking like she always did, except her skin was colored in three or four different shades and her hair was bright green, and in front of her kneeled Ron, his entire body completely pink, holding Hermione's hand in one of his, while clutching the ring in another.
Ron then took a deep breath, looked Hermione in the eye, and said, "Will you, Hermione, be my loving, faithful wife?"
Hermione's eyes were full of tears as she said, "Yes! Yes I will!" Ron slipped her finger into the ring and kissed her.
The girls, except Ginny, were all crying, and the guys were smiling happily at the couple. It was the weirdest, yet most romantic, sight they have ever seen. The pink boy with his multi-colored princess, together, and they looked happier than they had ever been.
And to think, if it wasn't for Fred and George's crazy potions and schemes, none of this would have ever happened. Hermione and Ron would forever be grateful for the twins, though they might forget that the next time Fred and George pull a crazy prank on them.
Author's Notes: Please give me feedback on this story! It's my first posted piece of writing!