Year 4: Friends and Foes

Chapter 37: March 2017

"What are you planning?" Miles demanded one day. Dominique had bee acting extra strange recently, walking around school with a sinister grin on her face and changing the colors of random objects all over the place.

"Something extra-special," Dominique replied cryptically. "If she's going to mess with my hair, then I'm going to mess with hers."

"I'm not sure this is such a great idea," Miles said hesitantly. "Summer hasn't done a thing since the whole balding incident. I think you should just leave well enough alone."

"Not a chance," Dominique shook her head. "Summer is going to get what's coming to her."

Dominique's mind was set. There was no changing it. Summer had made her look a fool, and now Summer would be forced to look the fool. If Dominique had learned anything from everything that had happened with Quinn, it was that retaliation was key. You can never let anyone get away with something. Everything needs to be answered in like measure.

And Dominique was ready. She'd practiced on tons of objects around the school, she'd practiced on her own hair a few times, and she was confident that it was going to work. All she needed was the perfect opportunity. And then it came.

That day, as Dominique filed into history of magic with the rest of her class, she noticed that the seats directly behind Summer were still vacant. If she sat there, she would be right behind Summer for a whole hour, while Summer's attention was elsewhere. It was almost too good to be true.

"Miles, come on," Dominique said, grabbing her friend by the wrist and pulling him towards the seats before they were taken. They weren't Dominique's or Miles' regular seats, but these days it didn't really matter. With everything going on, Miles and Brooke switched seating partners so often anyway, and Dominique and Tom had migrated around the room multiple times, keeping away from each other.

"Can't we sit over there?" Miles pleaded, gesturing to a couple of seats in the far back corner. "I really want to take a nap today. I've been feeling extra tired recently from all this quidditch practice."

"No," Dominique shook her head, claiming the seats she wanted. "If you want to nap you can do it here. It's not like Professor Binns will notice either way."

"I know," Miles nodded. "But I always feel weird doing it right in front of him. What if it's the one day he looks up and catches me dozing off?"

"I'll kick you if it looks like that's going to happen," Dominique promised. "Now shut up and sit down."

Dominique started to spread her things out over her desk. Some parchment, a quill, and some ink, to at least pretend she was taking notes, and then her wand as well.

"Dominique," Summer muttered, turning around to see Domi getting set up. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Just getting ready for class," Dominique replied innocently. "Do you have a problem with that?"

Summer huffed and turned to face the front. "Whatever," she muttered. "Like I care where you sit."

Class began and as predicted, Miles immediately started to doze off. He wasn't even pretending to be working, like Dominique. Instead he'd thrown his bag on his desk and was using it as a pillow as he closed his eyes and nodded off.

For her part, Dominique tried her best to pay attention to the beginning of the lecture. They were still covering the history of giants, with a focus on the giant wars, which they'd been covering since the start of the second term. They were right at the end of the unit though, which Dominique was grateful for. Very soon, they would start their final unit of the year: centaur uprisings. Dominique hoped it was more interesting than the giants.

It didn't take long for Dominique to tune out. She would just read all the information in her textbook anyway. If it weren't for the fact that she didn't want to get in trouble for skipping class, Dominique doubted she'd come to class at all. That and she wouldn't want to miss all the homework assignments, because then she'd fail from not having done any of the work.

In front of her, Summer also seemed to be nodding off. Her head was dipping occasionally and then snapping back up. In her defence, she really did seem to be trying to pay attention. She was continually scribbling things down in her notes with her quill, though Dominique couldn't see what it was she was writing, and thus couldn't confirm they were actual class notes. But then, Summer seemed to give up completely, dropping the quill on the desk and crossing her arms in front of her, her head dropping a bit as well.

This was Dominique's chance. Summer's eyes were more definitely closed, which meant that she wouldn't notice anything amiss while it happened.

Carefully, Dominique reached for her wand, which she'd strategically placed on her desk to avoid having to go routing around in her bag, and grasped it firmly with her right hand. Then she pointed it at the back of Summer's head, and glancing around to make sure nobody was paying attention, uttered the words to her invented spell.

Before her eyes, Summer's hair started to change color. It went from it's usual blonde to a glaring yellow, and then settled at the same bright green shade that Dominique's hair had been when she'd first grown it back.

For a moment, nobody noticed that anything had happened, and Dominique safely stowed her wand up her sleeve before anyone noticed she'd had it out. But then Summer shifted just a bit, causing the reflection of the sun coming through the window to catch on her bright hair and draw attention to it.

The whispers started immediately, and Dominique sat back and smirked. She'd done it, and Summer had no idea. When class was over and Summer awoke, she would be utterly humiliated. And it didn't hurt that they had more classes to go to that day, so Summer wouldn't be able to hide in her dorm like Dominique had done when she'd been bald. Summer would have to parade around the school green-haired for the remainder of the day.

Summer roused before Professor Binns was finished his lecture and yawned, righting herself and running a hand through her newly green hair. Dominique had to fight a laugh as Summer took up her quill again, apparently trying to catch the train of the lecture once again. Dominique had long since given up, knowing that everything would be covered in much less boring detail in their textbook, which would be easier to read than listen to Binns.

But then, Summer's friend Carly shifted in her seat next to Summer and caught sight of Summer's hair. With a gasp that didn't affect Professor Binns' concentration one bit, she slapped a hand over her face and her eyes widened as she took in Summer's new look.

"What the hell is your problem?" Summer hissed at Carly. "Can't you just make it a few more minutes? Class is almost over."

"You – your hair!" Carly whispered, pointing in horror at the mess of green atop Summer's hair.

"What about my hair?" Summer snapped impatiently.

Behind them, Dominique kicked Miles under the desks to wake him up. Class was almost over anyway and she wanted him to witness this.

"I'm awake," Miles muttered blearily, his head shooting up off his desk and his eyes immediately seeking out their Professor. "I was listening."

"Oh don't worry about him," Dominique whispered to her friend. "He doesn't have a clue about a thing."

"Then why - ?" Miles started to ask Dominique why she'd woken him, but his attention was diverted when he noticed Summer's hair. "Dominique please tell me you didn't."

Dominique smirked. "I did," she confirmed proudly.

Miles shook his head. "Merlin help us," he pleaded.

Dominique ignored his dramatics.

"Excuse me?" Summer was saying. Carly had told her that her hair was green, but Summer seemed to be having a hard time believing her. "I'm not sure I heard you right."

"Oh no, you heard her right," Emmett Hall said from Carly's other side, leaning over Carly's desk to talk to Summer. "Your hair? Yeah, it's green."

Slowly, Summer raised her hand to her head and grabbed at a strand, pulling it around to view it properly. When she finally saw it, here eyes widened and she immediately spun around in anger.

"You!" she cried loudly, pointing at Dominique. Dominique leaned back in surprise, not having expected to be confronted quite so soon. "You did this!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Dominique hissed back, trying to keep the volume low. They were technically still in class after all.

"You turned my hair green!" Summer cried. "I know it was you. Why else would you choose the seat directly behind me?"

Dominique shrugged. "I'm just here to learn," she defended herself. "These seats were in the middle, which is the best place to sit when you want to pay attention."

"Oh please," Summer rolled her eyes. "Show me your notes. I bet you didn't write down a single thing."

Dominique flipped her empty parchment over, as if to hide her non-existent notes from view. "I don't want you cheating off of me," she cried. "You can't look at my notes!"

Summer rolled her eyes. "Oh enough with he theatrics!" she practically yelled. "Just admit it. You turned my hair green because you're bad that I made you bald!"

"Fine!" Dominique cried back. They were creating a scene now, but she didn't care. "I admit it. I turned your hair green. But you started this whole thing in the first place."

"I balded you because you made me puke all over the Great Hall!" Summer cried.

"For the last time, that wasn't me!" Dominique practically screamed.

"…and thus the giants moved permanently into the mountains," Professor Binns droned on, completely oblivious to anything that was going on, "and there they remained for many years. That's all for today. Next class we'll wrap up with the giants and then we'll be moving on to centaurs. Don't forget your giant war essays are due at the end of the week."

Their Professor then turned around and floated back through the chalkboard into his office, without another word.

"Prove it!" Summer screamed, their argument ongoing, despite the end of class.

"How am I supposed to prove that I didn't do something?" Dominique demanded.

"Find out who really did it," Summer cried. "It's the only way to clear your name."

"But it could have been anybody," Dominique threw back. "Why can't you just get over it?"

"BECAUSE MY HAIR IS GREEN!" Summer screeched, her entire body shaking with anger.

Dominique had to hide a chuckle. "It is," she agreed, letting out a small laugh. "It suits you. Anyway, I've got to get going. Herbology is next."

Before Summer could say another word, Dominique was up and across the room, Miles in tow, pushing her way out into the corridor.

"I cannot believe you did that," Miles said once they were on their way to the greenhouses.

"Why not?' Dominique asked. "Is it really so surprising?"

"Well no," Miles shook his head. "But now you've really started something. This isn't going to end well."

"Oh I think it is," Dominique declared. "I'm going to teach Summer the same thing Quinn taught me. That I am not someone to be messed with. When this is all over, I'll be the one that ends up with Adrian, and Summer will be left in the dust."

"I don't like this side of you," Miles said uncomfortably.

"Then move aside," Dominique declared. "Because it's here to stay."

DdDdDdDdDdD

When Dominique and Miles arrived at the greenhouses, Summer was already there, talking to Professor Longbottom and showing him her green hair. She must of taken some kind of shortcut, Dominique groaned inwardly. And now she was ratting Dominique out.

"Dominique?" Professor Longbottom called her forward as she walked into the room. "Can you come here for a moment?"

"I told you this wouldn't end well," Miles muttered to her as he claimed their seats.

Dominique headed to the front of the room, her head held high.

"Did you need something, Professor?" she asked innocently.

"Did you turn Summer's hair green?" Professor Longbottom demanded.

Dominique nodded. There was no point denying it. She'd admitted as much in front of their entire class and Professor Binns, not that Professor Binns had noticed anything. "I did," she confirmed. "But only because Summer made me bald."

"I see," Professor Longbottom nodded. He turned to Summer. "You conveniently left that part out, Ms. Snow," he said sternly.

Summer balked. "Well I only did that because she made me throw up in front of everyone," she claimed.

"For the last time, I didn't do that!" Dominique cried. "I'll freely admit to this, but I'm not taking the blame for something I didn't do!"

"Enough girls," Professor Longbottom held up his hands. "Clearly there's some animosity between the two of you, and clearly both of you has done things to the other that shouldn't have happened. As punishment, I'm giving you both detention this evening, to be served with me in my office."

"What?" Summer cried. "But that's completely unfair! She should be the one getting detention, not me!"

"My decision stands," Professor Longbottom declared. "I'll see you both at seven o'clock. And Summer?"

"Yes?" Summer asked hopefully.

"Go visit Professor Flitwick after class and get your hair back to normal," he said. "Unless you want to go around with green hair for the rest of the day."

"Of course, Professor," Summer said, casting her eyes down and slinking back to her seat.

Dominique did the same, ignoring the 'I told you so' look on Miles' face.

"I don't want to hear it," she muttered to him, avoiding eye contact and plopping herself down in her chair for another boring lecture.

DdDdDdDdDdD

When seven o'clock finally rolled around, Dominique found herself standing outside Professor Longbottom's door, not wanting to go inside. Serving detention was bad enough, but serving detention with Summer would be torture.

Before Dominique worked up the nerve to knock, Summer came around the corner in a rage.

"What did you do to me?" Summer cried angrily.

"Excuse me?" Dominique asked, dropping her hand and turning to face the angry Slytherin.

"My hair!" Summer cried. "It won't go back to blonde!"

"Did you go to talk to Professor Flitwick like Professor Longbottom suggested?" Dominique asked.

"Of course I did," Summer said. "I went to Flitwick, I went to Eldridge, I went to Tonks… I've been to everyone I can think of and nobody's been able to fix it! And it's all your fault. What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything," Dominique insisted, at a loss as to why none of the Professors were able to fix the problem. "Every time I've cast the spell on anything it's been reversible."

"Then reverse it!" Summer cried. "Put it right. You've had your fun."

Dominique hesitated for a moment and then smiled. "Not a chance," she declared. "If I'm the only one who can put your hair right, then I think I'll leave it like that for a while."

"But you can't!" Summer cried in distress. "I can't go around like this forever!"

"Not forever," Dominique agreed. "Maybe just the remainder of term."

Pushing past Dominique, Summer started knocking frantically on Professor Longbottom's office door. "Professor Longbottom! Professor Longbottom!"

"Ah, there you girls are," he said upon opening the door. "Come on in."

"Professor, she won't put it back," Summer tattled on Dominique. "She won't change my hair back. Nobody's been able to fix it and she's the only one who can."

"Interesting," Professor Longbottom said, looking from Summer's hair to Dominique. "Dominique, did you use an existing spell to do this, or was it one of your own creation?"

Dominique shrugged. "I guess it was my own," she said. "I read up on color-changing spells and took notes from a few different ones. I guess I combined them together to come up with this one."

"Fascinating," Professor Longbottom said. "It would seem that the spell you've invented has a completely unique counter-spell. One that only you are aware of. That is some truly impressive magic."

Dominique smiled, happy for the praise. "Thank you, Professor," she said.

"That's all well and good," Summer interjected. "But my hair is still green!"

"Yes, that's right," Professor Longbottom nodded. "Well then Dominique, go ahead, turn it back."

"I don't want to," Dominique declared, crossing her arms in front of her. "I'm not ready yet."

Professor Longbottom faltered. "Dominique, I'm giving you direct instructions. Put Summer's hair back to normal. Now."

"No," Dominique shook her head. It was weird, defying her Professor like this. But she found that in a weird way, she liked it. She liked playing the rebel. It suited her. "I'll put it right when I'm good and ready."

Professor Longbottom stared at her. "Five points from Gryffindor," he declared, clearly trying to break Dominique. "Now put it right."

"No," Dominique stood her ground.

"Ten points," Professor Longbottom amended.

Dominique shook her head. "I'm still not doing it."

"Now you've got detention tomorrow night as well," Professor Longbottom declared.

"Fine by me," Dominique claimed. It wasn't about Summer's hair at all anymore, but about not bending to her Professor's will. No matter what he did, she couldn't back down.

Professor Longbottom sighed. "Come inside and sit your detention," he said finally. "We'll see how you feel at the end of it."

Dominique had expected some kind of work assignment for her detention. Usually they had to do menial tasks, like clean up or sort through disgusting substances – things nobody else wanted to do. Since it was Professor Longbottom's detention, she'd expected to be working with some kind of manure and had brought her spare gloves just in case. But instead, he instructed them that they were going to write lines: 1000 lines each.

Dominique had to write, Summer Snow is a very nice girl who doesn't deserve to have her hair turned green, and Summer had to write Dominique Weasley is a very nice girl who doesn't deserve to have her hair removed.

It was torture.

By the end of it, Dominique's hand was cramping and her very soul was in pain for the words she'd had to write. She knew she wouldn't be able to handle much more of this.

"Alright fine," she conceded at the end of the detention. "You win," she said bitterly. "I'll change her hair back."

"Thank you, Dominique," Professor Longbottom said.

Hating herself for doing it, Dominique put Summer's hair right, much to Summer's relief, and then stowed her wand back in her pocket.

"I'll see you tomorrow evening, Dominique," Professor Longbottom added as she departed.

"Wait, what?" Dominique demanded. "But I put it right. I did what you asked!"

"You were belligerent," Professor Longbottom told her. "I won't stand for insubordination. You'll come to detention tomorrow night unless you want me to owl your parents."

"Fine," Dominique muttered, gritting her teeth in anger. It wasn't fair, not in the least. But she would do it. She would sit another detention, and then she would be done with it. And next time, she would make sure she never got caught.