Red~A George Weasley Love Story

Chapter 11- Hair, yes, Hair

CHAPTER ELEVEN: HAIR, YES, HAIR

I lounged lazily on the couch in the Gryffindor common room. The fire had been reduced to low burning embers, as it was every morning. The snow fell heavily outside the window, frosting over the panes of glass. I hopped up from the couch and ducked through the portrait hole. The halls were quiet, the occasional student passing by. Ambling into the great hall for breakfast, I noticed that the house tables were fairly bare, as I had a tendency to be one of the first to wake up. I was just about to sit down when I caught sight of familiar silvery blonde hair.

"Draco!" I called. He spun around and smiled at me.

"Mercury!" He called back in a silly, mocking tone. I rolled my eyes and walked over to meet him on the marble stairs to the entrance of the Great Hall. He sat down on the stairs beside me.

"It's been forever since I've seen you." He commented.

"It feels like forever." I corrected him. He snorted and shook his head. I ruffled his white-blonde hair.

"Is it weird?" He asked suddenly, my face screwed up in confusion.

"What?"

"You being in Gryffindor... And not in Slytherin..." He said.  Sighing, I ran a hand through my hair.

"Well... Draco, you know I'm not the same person I was when I was in Slytherin. However, I do think my new house has changed Luci-father's view on me." I said.

"I-I know. I just..." I had never seen Draco like this, eerily quiet, not his usual self-involved, arrogant wizard persona.  

"No, no-it's fine Draco." I said with a half-hearted laugh.  There was a tense silence, the only sounds were forks clanging against plates and quiet murmurs.

"You're so lucky, Draco." I sighed. He stared blankly at me. 

"Why?" He asked. 

"'Cause, you look like a real Malfoy." He bit his lip as if debating with himself.

"Hair color is something you can change." This time I snorted. (so much snorting, maybe I really was a Malfoy.)

"Okay... how?" I asked with a hint of sarcasm. (Wizards don't use hair dye)

"A spell." He said in his cool drawl.

"Really Draco!? You know one?" I asked hopefully. 

"Yeah.  Just one though." He said rather quietly.

"Well go on then! And I better not be bald!" I warned my brother.  He swallowed, pulled out his wand, and rested it just above my head.

"Mutare capillum album!" He said, tapping his wand to my head.  My entire head felt tingly and warm, like a dull fire was spreading over it.

"Did it work?" I asked nervously. I ran my fingers through my hair.

"Yeah.  Really well.  But it's not exactly blonde..."

"DRACO LUCIUS MALFOY!"  I roared.

"No! I mean, it's pure white!  Like snow." He declared, eyes wide with wonder.

"White? I can live with white." I said.  I tackled him with a hug.

"Okay! Okay!" Draco said, holding his hands up.

"Fine! I would hate to make you look bad in front of your peers!" I laughed. I un-wrapped my arms from him.  I tried to catch his gaze but he was looking past me. I turned around and saw what he was looking at; Harry, Ron, and Hermione were all heading for the Gryffindor table.

"You'd better get back to your table." He suggested. 

"Yeah, right then.  Thanks again Draco." I smiled, he gave a sort of half-smile back. I stood up and hurried off to the girl's bathroom. I opened the door and walked over to the mirrors. I could hear Moaning Myrtle swooping around the stalls. My hair was pure white with thick, voluminous curls. It was a huge difference from my usual chocolate brown hair.  A single lock of hair that framed my face had remained brown, but looked black against the white. Myrtle suddenly swooped down and floated behind me.

"Oh!  The Slytherin has a new look!" She squealed in a mocking tone.

"I'm in Gryffindor now, thanks." I said flatly.

"OH! Well aren't you special! I was never special." She sighed heavily and gazed longingly off into the distance. 

"Well, bye Myrtle." I said awkwardly, rushing from the bathroom, reaching the great hall and striding over to where Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat.  Sliding gracefully in next to Hermione, all three of them had to do a double take to figure out who I was.

"Iris?" Hermione asked.

"Yep?" I replied casually, reaching for the pumpkin juice.

"What happened to your hair?" Ron asked.

"I got bored with it, got someone to change it for me." I answered with a shrug.

'Who?" Harry asked.

"Draco," I said. "do you like it?" I asked, grinning.

"Wait, Draco Malfoy?" queried Hermione.

"Yep. Hey, I used to be in Slytherin, remember?"

"Oh, yeah." Ron said. Based on their reactions neither Fred or George had told them that Draco was my brother, which I was extremely grateful for.  I would tell them... eventually. They didn't push the subject of my hair color any further. 

"So, tomorrow's your first day of classes this year!" Hermione blurted, excitedly.

"C'mon Hermione, don't remind the poor girl!" Ron scolded half-heartedly.

"Why not?  Who wouldn't want to attend classes!  Especially this year! Ancient Runes is fantastic, and not to mention DADA, and potions has had some very useful lessons so far!" She listed.

"Not that Snape's useful." Harry ribbed bitterly. We all laughed, except for Hermione.

"Harry, you better not let anyone hear you talking about a professor like that!" . Ron re-stocked his plate with piles of muffins and sausages, and refilled his goblet with pumpkin juice. Hermione shook her head.

"Honestly, some people!" She sighed. 

"Hullo!" Ginny greeted as she sat down next to me. 

"Iris! What happened?" She asked, indicating my hair. I sighed.

"It's a long story." I said, shaking my head.

"So what're we doing today?" She inquired.

"I guess we're spending our day in the common room." I answered.

"Yeah, that's what I'm planning too." Hermione said. I nodded in agreement. 

"Oh, we can head back then, I already ate with some friends at the other side of the table." Ginny said, motioning to a group at the far end of the table. Ron sighed and pushed his plate forward. 

"Let's go!" I exclaimed, bounding out of the hall with the others on my heels.  Soon, it was a flat out race to Gryffindor Tower, laughing and shoving one another playfully.  We all skidded to a halt right in front of Peeves, who hung in the air with a mischievous grin on his face.

"Running in the castle are we?  OH, MR. FILCH!  WE'VE GOT SOME RULE BREAKERS HERE FOR YOU!" Sure enough, seconds later, Mrs. Norris yowled, and soon came the labored breathing of Mr. Filch.

"RULE BREAKERS!" he wheezed.  "WHERE?  I'M COMIN' FOR YA, I AM!" We all glanced at each other in fright, and sped off for the tower, sprinting for real this time.  Mr. Filch's loud breathing soon grew quieter, and then silent all together as we reached the fat lady.

"Ice cube." Harry said, doubled over.  We stumbled the portrait hole, panting.

"What happened to you lot?" Fred tossed the Daily Prophet aside to size us all up.  Stumbling into George's outstretched arms, I spat out a single word.  "Peeves."