A/N: This was planned as a one-shot, but it got a bit longer.
It's still not a long story and will only have a few chapters, but I wanted to start posting it.
Hope you guys enjoy the chapter!
Hogsmeade's shops were packed with students. This wasn't unusual for any Hogsmeade weekend, but there was more to it this time. It was the last trip to the village before Christmas holidays. That meant two things: one, people were doing some last minute Christmas shopping, and two, it was snowing heavily. Students were huddled together, trying to get from shop to shop as quickly as possible without having to stand in the snow for too long. Their main destinations? Honeydukes and Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. The latter of the two had opened soon after the war as Fred and George's shop in Diagon Alley was doing splendidly. After Fred and George had made sure that Verity and their new employee, Chuck, were going to be fine in Diagon Alley (more than once, mind you), they focused all their time, energy, and resources on their new shop. The first one would always have a special place in their heart, but they wanted a fresh start after the war, a new project to focus on. What was better than another branch of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes close to their two baby siblings in Hogsmeade? Nothing. Plus, this way it was easier for the students to keep their stock of banned WWW products high all year long.
The announcement that they would open the new shop at the beginning of the school year had ruffled Hermione's feathers. Thanks to Harry, Ron, and Ginny though, she soon forgot about it, and while she'd never openly admit it, she looked forward to new – and hopefully brilliant – products from the ginger twins. Right now, she was even visiting the shop together with her three best friends. Just like many other students, the quartet walked through the different aisles, the colourful display stunning, breath-taking even. However, when Ginny and Hermione tried to move past a crowd of giddy girls, all standing around the love potions, Hermione's inner alarm bells started going berserk. The snippets of conversations she caught were more than worrisome. 'Will you try it on him...?' – 'Of course!' – 'I bet I'll get…'- 'He'll finally fall for me…' – 'Oh my God. I want a date with him so badly…'. And on top of that, their giggling was annoying. A snort escaped from Hermione's mouth when she turned to Ginny. The younger witch's amused expression earned her a disapproving head shake from her brunette friend.
"I can't believe they're still selling them," Hermione muttered, her voice low. Ginny recognised the tone, realised that her friend was deep in thought over something. She wasn't sure what exactly it was, but Hermione's expression was almost as bad as when she was about to force a lecture onto Harry, Ron, or herself. Deciding that it was safer to keep quiet, the younger witch merely shrugged. Hermione seemed to take that as encouragement to go through with whatever idea she had formed in her head. It wasn't like she's listen even if Ginny told her to not do anything – Hermione had been announced Head Girl this year, and as such she felt responsible.
"See you later, Gin!" Hermione gave Ginny a small wink after she'd scanned the crowd, finding the two people she'd been looking for. The redheads were close to the counter, and with a stern look on her face, Hermione made her way over to them. Grabbing one arm of each twin, the witch dragged them both toward the back of the shop. Ginny watched her best friend, and sighed. While she searched for her other companion and brother, Ginny thought about what she was sure Hermione was planning to do – she was going to lecture her older brothers. Certainly over the love potions. If she were to be honest, Ginny believed that Hermione was wasting her time. She knew her the twin brothers, and could already predict the outcome. They'd be amused, and her brunette friend would end up being royally pissed off. She'd be left to deal with rants from all parties involved. Could she choose, she would put someone else in her position. No sane person would willingly choose to be in the position she was in, but alas, she had no choice. Looking one last time in the direction of the storage room, Ginny noticed that it was unexpectedly quiet.
Fred and George Weasley didn't put up a fight when they were both dragged along. At first, too surprised to react, but once they had gotten over that, they noticed who had so forcibly removed them from their work. It was just Hermione, and the witch didn't warrant putting up a fight. She dragged them into their storage room at the back of the building, her wand flicking to do two things: lock the door, and place a silencing charm on it, so that no one could eavesdrop. Once that was done, she finally turned to face them – her two victims. The twins immediately recognised the look, and quickly started talking before she had a chance to start yelling at them.
"While I do believe you look quite lovely - ," Fred started.
" – all flushed and angry. We two - ," George continued, pointing at himself and his twin.
" – ought to go back in there," Fred finished, pointing at the door. "You should show us that dominating side of yours some other time, though. Maybe come over some night – "
" – have a little drink with us – "
" – a little chat – "
" – let us show you our beds!" Wide grins were plastered on the twins' faces.
"Great idea, Gred!" Fred exclaimed.
"I know, Forge!" George chimed right away. The two looked at each other for a second before focusing on Hermione again. Their exchange wasn't out of the ordinary. They tried to talk like this as much as possible when Hermione was around, because they knew it annoyed the younger woman to no end. Both of them could see that her already flushed cheeks had reached a dark red colour. She was about to snap, making Fred and George stare all the more expectantly. They enjoyed it when she yelled at them, especially when she shouted their names on top of her lungs. When her anger boiled over like that she was really quite beautiful – the fire in her eyes, the crackling magic around her. Hermione looked intimidating; intimidating, but beautiful nonetheless. As it was, the brunette took a deep breath, planted her hands on her hips, and leaned slightly forward in their direction. In anticipation, the twins stepped back, leaning against a shelf.
"How dare you speak to me like that!" she spat, her eyes darting back and forth between Fred and George. "I will never, I repeat never, sleep with either of you." Her brows furrowed. "Or both!" she quickly added, seeing as Fred's mouth had opened. The wizard chuckled, holding up his hands in defence.
"Shame!" George murmured with a straight face, using all his composure. Huffing in response, Hermione held up a hand.
"Enough! Stop distracting me! I came in here for a reason. You have to stop selling these love potions," she explained, standing up a little straighter in an attempt to appear more intimidating. For a second, she received nothing but stunned silence from Fred and George. However, that didn't long and their silence turned into laughter – hearty laughter -, making Hermione flush even more.
"Did you hear - ?" Fred asked, breaking off to clutch his hands to his sides.
"Yes! Hilarious!" George gasped as he held on to Fred's shoulder to prevent himself from falling over. Hermione's cheeks puffed out as she patiently waited for their laughter to abide, only tapping her foot a little. It took them a while until they were able to look at her without any more chuckles bursting free. The witch, challengingly as always, raised an eyebrow at them.
"No, seriously, Hermione. You've gotta be kidding," George ventured. Hermione only shook her head, indicating that she was indeed not kidding. Fred snorted.
"She doesn't joke. Ever," he muttered, nudging his brother, who couldn't keep in a low chuckle. The young woman scowled at the pair in front of her before she spoke up, her voice calm and steady.
"They are dangerous. They fake feeling, and girl as well as boys – more girls than boys, certainly – do stupid things with them. You have got to stop selling them. Playing with the feelings of young witches and wizards like that is wrong." The twins weren't surprised by Hermione's little speech – they listened with smiles slowly spreading across their faces once again.
"Oh, come off it!" Fred exclaimed, waving her off. They didn't see the danger? How could they not? For a moment, Hermione stared at the twins in disbelief. The moment she recovered, she simply removed the silencing charm and unlocked the door.
"You two," she growled, "will regret this." Her eyes flashed dangerously, and she poked each of the twins in the chest with her index finger. Huffing one last time and flipping her hair over her shoulder, Hermione turned around and stomped out of the room. The door slammed shut behind her, causing the twins to wince. This is probably not good. After all, she had always been top of her class. Over the years, Fred and George had seen Hermione's cunning side quite a few times. She had never used that brain of hers to plot against them, however. Fred turned and looked at George, his twin returning the gaze.
"She wouldn't do anything to us," George stated, but he couldn't prevent his uncertainty from showing. Fred shrugged with a sigh.
"It's too late to back-paddle, now. I guess we'll just have to wait and see," he replied before he opened the storeroom door to get back to work. George followed him, and was instantly taken aback by the whispers and stares. Fred only noticed the change in the crowd once he had reached the counter, and he shot George a worried glance. Hermione had, without her even knowing it, started up some new rumours. Hopefully, that'd be a deterrent for future dragging into storerooms. The chaste Gryffindor princess had just blatantly made clear she'd never sleep with either of them. Or both! A little quickie in the back of their shop with half of Hogwarts in the same building would just be unthinkable! Clearly Fred, George, and most of the Hogwarts student body thought quite differently. Hermione had always been too innocent for her own good. Storming out of a storage room looking all flushed and dishevelled, after the door had been locked for a good while, would obviously lead to only one conclusion as long as the minds of hormonal teenagers were at work. The thought actually provided entertainment for the twins, and Fred couldn't help but chuckle.
Two sixth year girls approached him, still whispering and shooting glances back and forth between the twins, before asking for Fred's assistance. The Weasley went off with the two students, leaving George to scan the crowd. He couldn't see Hermione anywhere, and came to the assumption that she must have left with the three people, who seemed to be always glued to her side. Oh well. Rubbing the back of his head, George went to help a few other customers. The twins should have been more worried, but then again, they never worried about that many things anyway. Plus, they didn't know that Hermione had made a purchase before she left. A heart shaped flask: one of their love potions. Even though she'd had only a few minutes before the twins followed after her, Hermione had come up with a wicked plan that'd teach them to listen to her when she was dead serious.