Hey! Here's the next chapter. Enjoy (and comment!) :)

Catrin gaped, horror-struck, at the violent shade assaulting her eyes. That was her hair! Her hair!

She coughed, trying to swear, but all that came out was a pitiful whine. Her mind was blank. What was happening? Why had she suddenly mutated into a pink-headed, dog-mouthed weirdo? Had her magical abilities backfired? Was she going to be chucked out of Hogwarts for breaking some kind of unknown rule on self-experimentation?

A whimper from behind her snapped her out of her panic.

She spun around. Mary was standing next to her cauldron, looking just how Catrin imagined that she herself did- shocked, disbelieving...oh yeah, and with the same aggressive hairstyle, but in neon blue.

Both girls stared at each other, and then at the rest of the class. Catrin mentally thanked God and all his accompanying minions that they had chosen to sit at the very back of the class, so nobody had yet noticed them. But they would soon- if they didn't make a run for it now!

She frantically scanned the backs of heads, checking for any faces looking their way. Sadly, two were. One was Imogen Tunise, a Hufflepuff. The other was Fred Weasley, and Catrin did not think it was a coincidence that he was wearing a wide- and more than a little mischievous- grin plastered across his face. Next to him, James and Slimy Creep were looking at the board, but the way that their bodies shook made her sure that they were in silent stitches.

Imogen, by contrast, was gawping at them unflatteringly through the gloom, eyes wide and mouth hanging somewhere around her knees. Then she turned to her friend, Nicole Macmillan.

Oh god. Oh godohgodohgod.

Catrin seized Mary was the hand and sprinted for the dungeon door, knocking over Mary's cauldron as they went. It clattered loudly and indiscreetly on the stone-flagged floor, causing heads to turn.

"Girls? Girls? Where are you going- oh, dear! Look out for the potion, children!" Professor Merrythimble's shouts turned to panicked attempts to keep the class in order as they stampeded out of the way of the deluge.

As Mary slammed the door shut, Catrin was sure she heard gales of laughter start to issue from the room that they had just left, rapidly spreading outwards through the students.

Together, they sprinted madly through the bitterly cold corridors, wind swirling their robes and nipping at their heels. It was only when Mary paused, panting madly, against a statue of some extremely portly wizard with a large moustache, that they stopped to take their bearings.

Catrin looked around, also coughing. Her sheltered life at Hogwarts had obviously had some impact on her fitness levels; otherwise she'd be at the Hospital Wing by now.

She pointed to her hair, and mouthed What happened?

Mary clutched at her own neon locks, and shook her head, clearly at as much of a loss as her friend. Catrin felt a surge of relief that Mary had been affected too- so it wasn't her that was wrong. So...who wanted to get their own back, or play a practical joke on them?

Potter and Weasley.

Oh no! She realised, with a sinking feeling, that that might have been their prank. To ridicule them in front of the whole class! Her insides boiled. But...how had they managed that? They hadn't done any magic on them; they weren't advanced enough. The only way would have been...food.

Things snapped into place. The pumpkin juice...their secretive attitude...Fred's distraction. And she had thought herself sneakier than any of them! She had definitely allowed herself to believe that they wouldn't retaliate any time soon...

She looked up to find Mary miming frantically at her, waving her hands above her head and pointing behind her.

Catrin turned to see Professor McGonagall moving down the corridor towards them, frowning.

"What's all this? Miss Jones, Miss Jordan, perhaps you would be so kind as to explain why you are flaunting that particular shade of hair in Hogwart's grounds?"

Catrin glanced at Mary.

"Now, if you please!"

Catrin winced. She had hoped to avoid talking to teachers. But there was nothing else for it. She barked at the Headmistress, several times before she clapped a hand over her disobedient mouth and stared at her.

McGonagall gazed at the girls like she couldn't decide which expression to use. Eventually, her mouth twitched. "Fallen foul of a student, have you? Off to the Hospital Wing immediately, until you can tell us who the culprit was. In the meantime, I have a particularly nasty incident to sort out regarding a malfunctioning cabinet on the fifth floor. Off with you!"

She stood sentinel as they shuffled past her shamefacedly, and, once she had gone, broke out into a sprint towards the Hospital Wing.

Madam Pomfrey was not in the best of moods to be interrupted by two barking fashion-disaster students just before Christmas, but she sorted them out in a trice. The same could not be said, however, for the rumours which had spread like wildfire through the castle following the flight of Catrin and Mary through the corridors. James and Fred were regarded with more respect than they ought to have for first-years, whilst Catrin and Mary were plagued by whispers.

Just before some students were due to leave for home, James and Fred caught up with the girls in the Common Room, halfway through a game of Exploding Snap, their voices masked by the chatter of excited students- excitement which even the escape of Rodolphus had not been able to dampen.

"Hey Jones and Jordan." James grinned cockily at them, before collapsing into the nearest chair. "How's it going?"

"Now our hair is no longer shocking everyone who stares at us, fine." Mary replied acidly, tossing her dark braids. Catrin frowned and put her cards carefully down before they could singe her eyebrows.

Fred smiled. "Come on, Jordan! You would definitely have done the same to us, if you'd had the chance. You would have...deny it though you may!"

Catrin couldn't help it; her lips twitched upwards. Moments later, Mary followed suit. "Fine, you're right. You got a lot more publicity for your stunt, though."

"We're not gonna let anyone forget it, either." James waved at a passing second-year and turned back to them. "More pranks on the way, you can bet on it. The only question now is...who won?"
"What?" Catrin shuffled the cards absently- then she registered what he'd said and her head snapped up.

"What? Oh, yeah..." She'd almost forgotten about their competition, but now she came to think of it, the stakes had seemed very high at the time. "Well..."

"I think we win, publicity-wise. What was the forfeit again?" Fred grinned, perching himself on the edge of James' chair.

"I don't know, Fred. It might have been insulting the Headmistress...then again, it might also have included something to do with owl droppings..." James' smirk had turned nasty, and Catrin sensed it was time to step in pronto.

"Woah, Nelly. Slow down, boyos. I don't think you're taking into account our magical prowess- after all, making your pencils attack you was pretty advanced stuff."

"Including the fact that you didn't twig that it was us until- what was it, a week ago?" Mary stroked her chin mock-thoughtfully. "And we were sure it was you- so, don't start tooting your horns just yet."

James' smile had slid off his face, and he leaned forwards. "Look here, what we did was clearly more impressive than making my pencilcase rebel."

"But how long did it take you to clear up the mess?" Fired back Catrin, really getting into the spirit of things. "You really are dwp."

"That's rich, coming from someone who can't even speak English properly."

"Better not able to speak English than a cocky show-off."

James gaped. "Cocky...cocky show-off?" Beside him, Fred snorted with suppressed laughter.

"Woah, things are getting serious here. What's the problem, little ones?" The tension snapped; everyone looked up to see Louis Weasley staring at them, looking far more amused than he had any right to be.

"Arguing about whose prank was best." Fred replied. "Our fair and justified debate became heated- Catrin and James should both become politicians."

"Well, Mum wrote to tell you both that we're all going to Grandma Weasley's for Christmas, so Ginny's picking us up at the station." Louis grinned at them, and then at the two girls. "Merry Christmas. Sorry about these two, they'll be out of your hair tomorrow. D'you guys want to call it truce?"

The four stared at each other, and then the funny side of their argument struck them, and they started to chortle. "Fine, quits!" Fred laughed, sticking out his hand, which both girls shook. James didn't put out his, though- he seemed put out by Catrin's insult.

"Okay, truce. No owl droppings; no teacher-name calling." He grumbled. "But you guys really do owe us."

"Not a chance." Catrin smiled, leaving for the dormitory. "Happy Christmas, Weasley, Potter."

"Jones."

The next morning dawned quiet at Hogwart's School for Witchcraft and Wizardry- a quiet only increased by the blanket of snow muffling all noise from the castle. Catrin woke to find only Alice remaining with her- Mary and Valerie had left in the morning, leaving presents on their beds.

"We live in Hogsmeade anyway, so there's no point in abandoning you." Alice explained, having recovered from her Rodolphus-inspired panic of the previous day. "So- we've basically got free rein!"

They did- apart from a few other Gryffindors, the whole house had scarpered home to their families, leaving Catrin and Alice free for furious snowball fights in the grounds with Professor Longbottom- which Catrin had found more than a little strange at first-, exploring every nook and cranny of the castle, and relaxing in the Common Room with Wizard Chess, some revenge ideas to test out on Slytherins and the boys (Alice had been extremely entertained by her and Mary's little adventure) and endless supplies of toastable materials. Catrin also devoted vast swathes of her free time to finding out more about Rodolphus- the Death Eater fascinated her, simply because he was the first Dark Wizard that she'd ever heard of- and anything to do with her mother's family. She had still to meet Hestia Jones, and felt that the letter left her by her mother, with express instructions only to open when she felt 'the time was right', would possibly have the answers. Time after time she sat with it on her lap, trying to sum up the courage to open it- but, to her eternal shame as a Gryffindor, it eluded her. What she did do, though, was take to wearing her mother's best necklace- pearl with some kind of family crest on the front in stamped silver, though she had no idea what it was supposed to resemble.

Christmas Eve was bright and clear, and Alice sprang a surprise on Catrin in the morning, whilst they were admired the replendescent Great Hall, all decked out in silver and gold for the following day.

"Would you like to come to our house for Christmas?" Alice studiously buttered her toast whilst saying this, avoiding looking directly at her friend. "Dad said you could come- it's just that it would be really nice to have Christmas with my family, and I thought that you would like it if you came to the Three Broomsticks and tried some Butterbeer...is that alright?"

Looking at Alice's worried face, Catrin felt a great surge of affection for her quiet friend. Though Mary was loud and flamboyant, Alice had a way of listening to people and making them feel valued.

"I...I would love that." She said honestly. "It'd be wonderful."

"Really?" Alice's eyes lit up. "That's great! Oh, you'll get to see our Christmas tree- mum splashed out on fairy lights this year- real fairies, mind you, not those silly muggle decorations- and also you'll finally get to see something magical that's not Hogwarts! I can't believe you've never heard about the Wizarding Wireless Network- though thank god that Celestina Warbeck left a few years ago..."

So that Christmas Eve found Catrin at the first Wizarding pub that she'd ever been to. Professor Longbottom swept open the door to reveal a blast of light in the freezing snow, and shouted "Hannah darling- we're here!"

There was a faint shout, and a lot of banging, and finally a rumpled looking woman appeared in the doorway, and hugged her daughter and husband tightly. Catrin looked away to disguise the lump in her throat. She would not feel sad tonight- or any night, if she had anything to do with it.

"Hang on dear." Said a familiar voice- and she looked up to see the kindly woman from the Leaky Cauldron smiling down at her.

"Ah, here's your friend, Alice!" She cried, enfolding Catrin in a warm, motherly embrace before she could protest. "You were at the Cauldron, I remember now. Well, there'll always be a place for you here, as long as I'm the landlady."

"Er...thank you." Catrin wasn't sure how to respond, as Hannah swept them through a large, wood-furnished room decorated with tinsel and holly, behind the counter and into the back of the pub, where a large, comfortably-furnished living room with a roaring fire awaited them. And-

"Allie!" A small dark shape detached itself from one of the plush armchairs and hurled itself at Alice, wrapping itself tight around her middle. Alice hugged it back and then stepped away, and Catrin could now see a small boy of about 8 years old, with his mother's kind face and his father's dark hair, smiling shyly at her.

"This is Jonny- my brother, and a complete pain." Alice swatted Jonny gently, causing him to squeal.

"Ah-nice to meet you." Catrin crouched down and very solemnly offered him her hand. He giggled, and took it. "My name's Catrin."

"I'm called Jon!" He announced proudly. "And you're very big."

"Well, maybe one day you'll be as big and strong as me." Catrin grinned, hoping fervently that he wouldn't have to go through anywhere near what she had had to at his age.

"Yeah." He said, beaming.

There was an awkward silence, only broken when Hannah bustled forwards and asked whether Catrin wanted anything to drink.

"Er...no, thank you." She said, but was quickly interrupted by Alice.
"Don't listen to her, mum. She needs some Butterbeer! Can you believe, she's never had any!"

"Oh, but its alcoholic..." Hannah chewed her lip. "What do you think, darling?"

"It's Christmas Eve. Come on, I'll pour you one too." Professor Longbottom reached out to put an arm around his wife. He smiled at the girls. "I'm sure you won't become tipsy too quickly..."

Catrin had never had a Christmas like this for a long time. The Longbottoms were wonderful hosts, plying everyone with Butterbeer and making sure that nobody's glass- or plate- was empty. Catrin also was boggled by the number of magical things in the household- from the mirror that shouted things at her as she passed down the corridor, making her scream, to the self-cleaning pots and pans that the Christmas dinner was cooked in. Catrin found herself smiling and laughing with the rest of them, making her heart much lighter than it had been for a very, very long time.

Night found them all sprawled sleepily in the living room, Jonny gone to bed; Alice snoozing by the fire. Catrin, meanwhile, was wide awake, and so was Professor Longbottom. She stared into the dregs of her tea, not wanting to go to sleep and end what had been a perfect day.

"So, enjoyed your time here?" That made her jump, and she looked upwards, before deciding on a truthful answer.

"It's been wonderful. Especially since otherwise I'd be in Hogwarts all alone for Christmas!"

"Ah. No family to go home to?"

Catrin studied him out of the corner of her eye. Should she risk the truth? Eventually, her lightheadedness (and possibly the Butterbeer she'd drank) meant she decided yes.

"No."

"That's a shame."

"Yeah." Then, wanting to elaborate, she added "My mother died a while ago. I don't know any of my relatives."

"I'm sorry. I know what it's like, to lose family."

Why, she suddenly thought with a flash of resentment, did everyone feel like they could empathize with her?
 This family atmosphere made her feel weak; made her feel vulnerable, and she didn't want to open herself up. She leaned forwards to leave, and as she did so, her necklace swung forwards and caught the light, winking alluringly in the half-light from the fire.

Longbottom instinctively leaned forwards to examine it; Catrin jerked backwards, tucking it away down the front of her jumper.

"Good night, Professor. Thanks for the...for everything."

"That's fine, Catrin." He replied absently, staring into space with a thoughtuful look on his face. She left him like that, gazing into nothing, while she made her way up to Alice's bedroom to wait for Christmas Day.