It was time for Patricia to get her roots touched up at the hairdresser's. She didn't want to admit it to her colleagues, not even Davina but her hair was completely white under the layer of blonde dye. There wasn't even a need to bleach it.

She walked off the bustling street and into the salon, shaking off the icy blasts of winter as she peeled off her black coat. There were stylists all over the place with blow-driers and rollers clipped to their belts but only one face drew her eye.

"Can you hear the drums Fernando?" Patricia sang softly as she shimmied over to a tall, tanned man with dark hair, "I remember long ago another starry night like this. In the firelight Fernando-"

The man joined in, pulling Patricia into a tight hug as they span on the spot together in front of the reception desk, "-You were humming to yourself and softly strumming your guitar," and they both sang from the very top of their voices, causing the rest of the clients to flinch at the sudden noise, "THERE WAS SOMETHING IN THE AIR THAT NIGHT, THE STARS SO BRIGHT FERNANDO!"

They laughed loudly, bonking their foreheads together affectionately, "Ah Trish, how've you been?"

"I've been canny, flower. Eee," Patricia gasped, grabbing Fernando's long orange arm, "You're lookin' tanned. Been anywhere nice?"

"I thought I was the one who asked about holidays!" Fernando laughed, gesturing for Patricia to sit down in front of the mirror. She sighed as she sat down on the high backed chair, "Just the usual?"

Being Spanish and growing up in Sheffield had given Fernando a peculiar accent. He sounded both exotic and very Northern in exactly the same breath.

Patricia smiled up at him, "Yeah. Touch up the roots and tidy up the rest if you don't mind, petal."

She had let her hair grow ever so slightly longer than usual. It was brushing her shoulders at the moment and she wanted it taking back up to her jawline. Fernando nodded approvingly, turning to one of his many assistants and asking for a specific concoction of dye. The girl, whose hair had been intentionally dyed grey, came back after an unusually long wait and whispered something to Fernando. He pulled a concerned expression and looked at Patricia in the reflection of the mirror.

"Erm, I've got a bit of bad news Trish. The dye I normally use on your hair isn't in stock at the moment so we can either go for a different shade of blonde or," he took a deep breath, "a blue rinse."

Patricia snorted very loudly, "A blue rinse? Are ye jokin'?!"

Fernando shook his head, "Well it is very fashionable at the moment. I could also perm it for you too so it looks quite elegant."

Fighting back another snort, Patricia relaxed in her chair, "Listen, do whatever you wanna do, mate. I reckon I'd suit a blue rinse actually. I'd look like Mrs Slocombe from that show wouldn't I?" She commented, running a hand through her currently light blonde hair, "Yeah, let's go for it."

Fernando lowered himself so his head was only a few centimetres from Patricia's, "Are you sure?"

Patricia nodded, watching as Fernando took the cobalt blue paste and placed it on a tray behind him. He took a cape and wrapped it around Patricia who had taken a magazine and had started reading it. He began to saturate her head with the dye. She looked quite mad sat there with her hair covered in what looked like ground up Smurfs but she was looking forward to seeing the results. No doubt she would look wonderful with her new hair colour. Amelia would go mad but it was quite common for people to get blue rinses these days.

"How's the school going?" Fernando asked as he began to work on the area at the front of Patricia's face, "No more trouble from that new lass?"

"She's not new anymore," Patricia laughed, "Three years, or there abouts, she's been working at the school now. She's canny enough, just a bit closed off. I just wish I could get through that skull of her's. She doesn't want to know about ye unless it's got something to do with the school. It's like she lives, eats and breathes the place."

Fernando smiled as he placed the black brush on the tray behind him, "Well she must really enjoy it to be like that. So is she a bit of a licky arse or...?"

Patricia shook her head, "Oh no. She'll fight against Amelia if she needs to and normally she wins. Amelia doesn't really like the confrontation so backs down if Constance is forceful enough. She doesn't give a toss what anyone else thinks, I reckon. It's admirable but also very annoyin'."

After Fernando was happy that every strand of Patricia's hair had been coated in the blue paste he went away and brewed her a coffee – milk and four sugars.

"Eee, kid. I have you well trained," She laughed as she sipped her coffee. They sat together for a while talking, waiting for the dye to take on her hair, "So how's that bloke of yours?"

Fernando smiled, "Who, George?" He sighed thinking about his celebrity crush, "He wrote a song for me you know."

She slapped his arm with a dismissive expression on her face, "Stop being a pleb, honestly. No I mean ye fella, not George Michael!"

"Oh, Gavin," Fernando said, rolling his dark eyes, "He's alright, we get on really well and he's amazing in bed, but honestly I can't see it lasting."

"Why?"

Fernando sighed deeply, "Well he's got a girlfriend."

Patricia choked on her coffee, "He's what?!"

Fernando nodded, "I know. I was shocked when I heard too. A straight man giving blow-jobs like that is unheard of. Anyway, I thought he was perfect for me and that we was going to have a civil wedding and have a baby together but... no. Is there anything you could do, you know, to split him and his girlfriend up?"

Rolling her eyes, Patricia said, "Magic isn't to be used for selfish or trivial ends. Don't look at me like that with those puppy dog eyes. No, I'm not doin' it."

Fernando tilted his head to one side, as though pleading with Patricia to do something.

"There are very eligible single men out there for ye. Look at me and Daniel."

"But Gavin is perfect!" Fernando cried, sounding very childish, "Please Trish, do something."

Patricia leant into him, "Fine. But you cannot say a word to anyone," she asked him to come closer to him. He leant in, waiting to hear the secret but as Patricia was about to say something she slapped his cheek. He yelped in shock, causing the other clients and staff around him to look up from what they were doing and watch the conversation taking place.

"What was that for?" He shouted, cupping his reddening cheek.

Patricia looked quite angry. She hissed under her breath, "Pull yeself together. You are not a home-wrecker and never will be and I refuse to help you become one."

"Fine." Fernando said shortly, beckoning Patricia over to the sink to rinse out the blue dye. The warm water was soothing on Patricia's scalp and the sensation of the massage Fernando was giving her was very pleasurable. She closed her eyes, enjoying the sensation. After the dye was rinsed out Patricia caught sight of her reflection in the mirror.

"What on Earth?!" She cried, "I look completely mad!"

She was facing herself in the mirror with her tanned skin looking drained out by the mass of dripping wet blue hair on her head.

"It makes your lovely eyes stand out though," Fernando commented as he smoothed Trish's hair with a wide toothed comb, "It'll look different when it's dried, trust me. Do you still want me to perm it for you?"

"NO!" Patricia cried, "Just sort this out for me so I can go home. I'm not paying for this," she added as Fernando began to trim her ends. He nodded.

"Not to worry, and if you get back to me after I've bought your dye I'll colour it for free," Fernando was wary of losing one of his best clients. He needed to keep her sweet as she gave him so much business; fortnightly trims usually and monthly root touch ups, sometimes every other week if her hair was growing particularly quickly.

Fernando was completely wrong about it looking better when it was dried. If Patricia didn't know any better she would have thought Dame Edna Everage was looking back at her through the mirror. She put her head in her hands, feeling her waved hair falling around her face, "What have you done? I look like a man in drag!"

"It could be worse."

"How could this possibly be worse?" Asked Patricia as she rose from the chair and taking off the cloak, nearly flinging it at Fernando, "I'm going to have to go out in public looking like I'm the love child of Julie Goodyear and Papa Smurf!"

Fernando stifled a laugh, "Like I said, freebie next time. Scout's honour," he held up three fingers in a salute.

"Fuck off, you weren't in the Scouts. And it best bloody be a freebie, mate," Patricia spat, "Making me look like a demented punk rocker." She scowled as she left the salon, making her way back to the castle and a hoard of laughing students. When she walked into the staff room Davina couldn't control her laughter and Amelia was trying to remain sincere.

"It's not that bad, Patricia," said the headmistress, "It's different but it's quite edgy and that's what you're all about isn't it?"

Patricia felt like she was going to cry. All she wanted was for a hole to appear beneath her chair. Davina snorted as she looked up at her again.

The staff room door crashed open and Constance was standing in the door way. She took one look at Patricia and turned around and went back to the potions classroom.

"She'll be hardest to impress with your new look," Smiled Davina as she steadied herself, still chuckling at the sight of her friend.

Patricia sighed, "It won't be like this for much longer. If I have to I'll shave it off."

Amelia widened her eyes, trying to appear sympathetic, "Not to worry, Trish. I'm sure Fernando will be able to fix this for you soon enough. You never know, you might end up liking it."

Patricia found that highly unlikely as when she went to bed that night she found herself looking at her reflection realising just how old she looked. The blue rinse made her look even more tired and elderly. She was only fifty-three, barely old, but her years of applying heavy eye makeup and hours upon hours spent baking in the sun had taken it's toll on her skin and it had damaged it quite severely particularly around the eyes, though the wrinkles there may have been caused by the amount of laughing she did when she and Davina would hang out and go out drinking together.

She ran a hand through her blue hair again then tied it back with a bobble and climbed into bed. She wondered what Daniel would say when he saw her hair for the first time. Maybe he would break up with her? No, he would never do that, Patricia told herself as she rolled over, looking at Julio who was kneading the pillow beside her, purring like a car engine.

Maybe Amelia was right. There was every chance that she may grow to like her hair but right now she hated it and wanted nothing more than to hide in bed and never have to show her face ever again.

OTP Prompts: Imagine your OTP dyeing each other's hair in crazy colours (I know it's not quite OTP but it's inspired by that prompt.)

And also thanks to DreamsInLilac for a little inspiration (it's blatant!) Fernando (the song) is written by ABBA. Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed so far :)