A/N: This is my second attempt at fanfic and I'm planning on this being a multi-chaptered story. This will be a Hr/G femslash piece so if that's not your thing, please utilize your browser's back button. Reviews and comments are much appreciated! Oh, and I just realized my double entendre with the story title but I couldn't think of anything else, lol.

The Pink Box

"This is all your fault Hermione," Ron whined, as he dropped his books down onto the table with a thud. Harry plopped down into the chair next to him.

The three friends had just returned to the Gryffindor common room after an agonizing period of double Potions. Professor Snape was in an especially foul mood today. As was commonplace, he wasted no time chiding Harry and Ron for being miserable failures. Snape's mood became even more unpleasant when Hermione was able to correctly recite Dagworth's fourth law of potion making. In retaliation, he had assigned the Gryffindors a two foot long essay on recognizing the symptoms of moonseed poisoning and how to brew an antidote.

Hermione didn't respond but glared daggers at him.

"Come on, mate," said Harry. "It's not Hermione's fault that Snape is a lousy git."

Ron gave a snort. "Maybe not but we wouldn't have extra homework if she wasn't such a bloody know-it-all!"

At that remark, Hermione threw her quill down on the table and slammed her copy of Advanced Potion-Making shut. She stood up so violently she almost knocked over the chair she was sitting in. Ron had obviously hit a nerve.

"For your information, Ronald, I do not know it all," she fumed. "For example, I don't know why you insist on always being such a prat!"

Ron sat bolt upright in his chair. "Oi! That was uncalled for!"

"And calling me a bloody know-it-all was?"

Harry heaved a sigh. If he had a galleon for every time Ron and Hermione were at each others throats, he could buy enough Firebolts for the entire Gryffindor quidditch team. "Come on you two, it's not worth fighting about," he pleaded. "Let's just get it over with."

At that moment, Ginny came bursting into the common room. Upon seeing the death glare Hermione was giving Ron, she gave a small chuckle. Harry followed her gaze and then turned to her and rolled his eyes.

"My, aren't we all cheerful today," joked Ginny.

"What's got you in such a good mood?" asked Ron. "Oh, I know. You aren't stuck writing an essay for Snape because someone couldn't keep their mouth shut!" He gave Hermione a dirty look.

Hermione was about to open her mouth to fire off another retort when Ginny interrupted her. "Well this should brighten your mood," she said. "Fred and George just sent a box of some of the prototypes they're developing for the joke shop."

"Brilliant!" exclaimed Harry and Ron in unison. Ron snatched the package from Ginny's hands and started digging through it. "Fred and George told me they were working on this broomstick polish that jinxes the broom so it will only fly backward," said Ron.

"Hopefully they put some of that in the box," said Harry, with a grin. "We have a match against Slytherin this week!"

Ron pulled out a pink box and handed it to Ginny. "Here, Gin. This must be for you," he said. "It's pink so it probably has girl stuff in it."

"You are such idiot, Ron," she said. "Hey! You're not taking that whole box and leaving me with just this!"

Ginny made a move to take the box back but before she could reach him, he bolted up the staircase to the boy's dormitory with the box in hand. Harry gave a sheepish look to Ginny and followed his friend up the stairs.

Ginny unceremoniously dropped into the chair next to Hermione. "They are such prats," she muttered.

Hermione, who had remained silent through the whole exchange, turned to her best friend and gave her a serious look. "You weren't really going to try any of that stuff anyway, were you?" she asked. "If those are only prototypes, that stuff could be dangerous!"

Ginny laughed. "Oh, come off it Hermione! Fred and George wouldn't have sent it to us if it was really dangerous," she reasoned. "Besides, they always test the stuff on themselves first."

Unconvinced, Hermione shook her head. "It was bad enough when they were testing their inventions on students when they went to school here," she said "but now they're doing it from outside too!"

"So, shall we go up to my dorm and try this stuff out?" Ginny asked with a smirk.

Hermione looked aghast. "You don't really expect me to go along with this, do you?"

"Of course I do!" Ginny replied. Taking Hermione by the hand and pulling her out of her seat, she began to drag her friend toward the stairs. "Come on, it'll be a blast!" Ginny said, as she laughed at Hermione's feeble attempts to resist.

Resigned to her fate, Hermione begrudgingly followed her friend upstairs. "Yeah," she muttered, "a blast."