CHAPTER 6: THE NEON HOGSMEADE VISIT

It was a glorious Sunday morning, serene and peaceful. At least, it had been.

The majority of the castle was still sleeping when two Gryffindors were forced to wake up.

An echoing, but not girly, scream shattered the school's hopes of sleeping in after the previous day's unwanted wake up call.

The entire Great Hall was cloaked in silence as the source and reason for the earlier shriek walked through the doors.

Two well-known Gryffindors were sporting RAGING ORANGE hair contrasted by streaks of BLUSHING PINK. One clump of tie-dyed hair was damp and noticeably more vibrant.

Slytherin table broke out into maniacal laughter first, quickly followed by the remaining student body, and even a few members of the staff. The streaks in Harry Potter and Oliver Wood's hair became the dominant color immediately.

"Look up there!" a first year Hufflepuff pointed.

All as one, the mass of people looked to the ceiling where something was floating.

It was a message from the pranksters themselves, shimmering in black and blue sparks.

'THIS WEEKEND'S ENTERTAINMENT WAS THE WORK OF HOGWARTS' NEWEST PRACTICAL JOKE PAIR: THE MUSES.'

A beautiful phoenix was drawn with a new set of sparks, signing off the message.

Across the hall, emerald green met honey brown as the two sisters shared a mischievous smirk before flicking their concealed wands.

The swish had done its job and out of nowhere, a small replica of the phoenix appeared on four guys' chests.

The remainder of the day was an uneventful Hogsmeade trip. Ella and Analese spent the day together, greeting their friends as they passed. A few times a neon flash of hair caught their eyes.

Cedric stopped to talk to them while the sisters enjoyed their ice cream outside.

A neon, RAGING ORANGE head passed by, streaks of metallic JEALOUS SILVER appearing before Oliver slipped into the nearby shop.

Ella and Analese shared an uneasy look and the pair bid the Hufflepuff goodbye.

Timing it perfectly, the two girls purposely collided with the Gryffindor Keeper. Analese had been entirely crashed to the ground, having received most of the collision.

"Well, Wood, you have succeeded in resembling a watermelon." The younger pointed out.

"She's right, but I don't expect you to listen to either of us." The older girl agreed bitterly.

"Would you listen to me for a second?" Oliver stated, exasperated with the cold shoulder. His hair was DESPARATE BRONZE.

"Well, if it isn't the traitor herself." A cold voice called. "Have you stooped so low as to hang around with pathetic Gryffindors now, Sissy?" Malfoy taunted.

"Look who's talking. At least the people I spend time with have more brain capacity than a peanut." Ella retorted. She shared an knowing smirk with her sister as the phoenix gleamed on his shoulder.

"At least they're better than those despicable Gryffindor losers." He snapped back.

"You know, Malfoy, I would care what you think," she returned with a glare. Her heart wasn't pounding like it usually did when the blonde spoke to her. "But my give a damn is broken."

Analese and Ella turned their backs on the unwelcome Slytherins, scoffed and stormed away.

"We're listening, Wood." The redhead stated.

"Sinesstra, I'm sorry. I was an arse, a prejudice arse." Sincerity burned in his both Oliver's eyes and his currently SINCERE PURPLE hair. "This isn't an excuse, but every other Slytherin I've met has lived up to their terrible reputation. I should have known that Flame wouldn't befriend you if you weren't a good person. I don't expect you to forgive me, but maybe we could start over?" his chocolate brown eyes pleaded with Ella's honey brown ones.

After a moment of studying his entirely honest expression, the third year extended her hand.

"Hello, I'm Ella Sinesstra, Analese's little sister." She smiled.

"It's nice to meet you, Ella. The name's Oliver." the Keeper beamed at the siblings.

"Who's up for some Honeyduke's?" Ella called out with a knowing smirk.

"Oh, me!" Analese exclaimed as her hand shot through the air and she jumped up and down. "Last on there pays."

The two girls darted away, leaving a very happy Oliver to catch up.

The trio spent the remainder of the day telling stories of the years before Ella came to Hogwarts. The black-haired girl took about five minutes to regain control as Analese spoke of how she and the twins had gotten the Marauders Map. Oliver's hair had been ECSTATIC YELLOW all afternoon as they explored the village light-heartedly.

As the day came to a close, the group ran into the twins at Zonko's and headed up to school again.