Stuck in Place
by KemAjiana
A/n: Well. This chapter was quite the pain to write, and so it's a relatively short one, but we're starting to delve into the plot, at least. Finally. Enjoy!
Chapter Five
Pygmy Puffs were rapidly becoming Hermione's least favorite thing about Fred and George's joke shop. They were noisy, they were stinky, and they procreated like rabbits. So, a still-purple "Hermi" made herself quite scarce when it came to feeding time in the shop.
It had been a full 24 hours since the Shifting Shampoo incident, and, thankfully, the color was starting to fade a bit; the twins prayed fervently that it would be back to normal come Saturday. Though, a purple Hermione seemed to draw a slightly larger crowd than normal, and their shampoo was flying off the shelf at an unprecedented speed, which seemed to boost the Twins' impossible ego even higher.
Hermione strut down the stairs, her little pink bow tinkling as she swayed, and vanished into the back room of the store where Fred awaited her. They'd been working on a Truth Drop, which contained only the slightest bit of veritaserum, and forced the consumer to spout out their secrets. "Great for truth or dare," Fred boasted. For once, she was quite thankful to be a fox, and therefore incapable of spilling her secrets; but she would be sure to have a drop or two land in their tea at some point. It was only fair, since they turned her purple.
Fred was fiddling with something in the back, and Hermione's lips pulled back in a snarl when she caught scent: pygmy puffs."Hey, 'Mione!" Fred smiled when he turned and saw her, and she gave a huff as she leaped onto the work table. "These babies aren't ready to head out to the storefront, so I'm keeping them back here for the time being. You ready to work on those Truth Drops?"
She gave a brusque nod, flipping open the potions book and turning to the correct page quickly. The rattling of the cage set her teeth on edge, and she tried her best to focus on the task at hand, but after the fifth attempt to read the same line, she was about to lose her cool.
"They're a bit noisy, aren't they?" Fred rubbed his templesin agitation. "I think I'll put them in the broom cupboard for a bit, yeah?"
Without waiting for a response, be plucked up the cage and escorted it out; as soon as the door creaked shut, Hermione's ears gave a droop of relief. When Fred returned, they worked in relative silence, completely at ease with one another. She was accustomed to his occasional humming, now, and found it rather soothing as she read through the list of possible ingredients. She'd never welcomed noise when she was studying before, but Fred's voice was quite a smooth baritone as he hummed, and provided a nice ambience when coupled with the gentle boiling of the cauldrons.
Finally, at half past three in the afternoon, they were cutting off the burners and preparing to retire for the evening. Hermione yawned, her tongue curling and teeth flashing, and she blinked up at Fred with a half smile.
"We should be finished with these testers tomorrow morning, first thing," he grinned. "then we can move on to something more exciting, yeah?"
He ruffled the fur at the top of her purple head and she stumbled back, crinkling her nose at him. Fox she may be, but animal she was not! With a nod of her head, and a laugh from Fred, she leaped gracefully down from the table - gracefully except for the way she almost ate dirt, at least - and lead the way up to the flat. Fred had returned to the broom cupboard, and she lifted her lip a bit when she rerealized he was bringing the stinking Pygmy's home for the night.
As soon as they entered the flat, she was settling herself on the long couch, sighing with content as she closed her eyes, and Fred placed the cage on the island in the kitchen.
"Oh!" he said suddenly. "I'm meant to help Georgie with the accounting tonight! I'll be back in a bit, 'Mione!"
He left hurriedly, shutting the door loudly behind him.
And then, several things happened almost all at once.
When the door slammed, a Pygmy Puff jumped in excitement, knocking into the side of the cage, which sent the cage tumbling three feet onto the linoleum flooring. When the cage hit the floor, startling Hermione so that her entire body thrummed with alertness, the little door popped open, and eleven tiny puffs came spilling out. Hermione leaped down, rolling her eyes, figuring she should round them up, if nothing else, until the twins could get back upstairs, since Fred had shut the door. But as she approached, a small, pink Puff hopped towards her inquisitively, and Hermione went on full alert.
Her body hummed uncomfortably, her eyes narrowed as she stared down at the tiny creature. She could smell it clearly, see its sides heave with every breath it took, hear its heart beating a quick tempo against its ribs.
And then, her subconscious slipped away, and she was lunging forward, seizing the small body in her sharp, fanged mouth...
