This chapter is dedicated to our new puppy Blu, who is an Australian shepherd and has been spoiled by my dad.

Disclaimer: I own only the plot and the Barbie head metaphor, along with the return of Smurf-y hair.

"CRAP!"

"James Potter, you bloody arse, get back here!"

"Crap! Crap, crap, crap, crap!"

"James!"

"You're scary! Holy crap, Padfoot was right, you're terrifying!" he panted as he slid down the hall, Hermione right behind him.

But with blue hair again.

"James!" she slowed down, finally coming to the fact that everybody was staring at her newly colored hair. She wrapped her arms around herself, feeling dejected, "You jerk!"

He slowed and stopped at the end of the hall, turning around and wincing as he saw how sad she looked – blue hair and all.

"I was, honestly, aiming for Sirius, Hermione," he told her.

She sniffed, wiping at her eyes with her sleeve, "Everybody's going to remember me as the blue haired girl, James."

"No they won't," he insisted, "If we can just get to Padfoot and get the spell, I'll fix it right up."

"You mean you don't know?" she practically wailed.

James winced as he inched closer, "No, but if we find Padfoot, I'm sure I can – "

"Hey, I heard you yelling, what's – oh Merlin, James," Remus sighed as he stepped towards them, reaching forward and hugging Hermione as she despaired over the color of her hair.

"You can fix it, right?" James was practically cringing.

"I can make it purple, but not fix it."

"Don't make it purple," she muffled sadly under his arms.

"I'm not gonna make it purple, Honey," he told her as he ran a hand through her hair. "Unless you'd prefer purple."

"No."

"Then I'm not gonna make it purple."

"Thank you."

"You sound so sad," James said, pouting and looking sadly at Remus, "She sounds so sad, Remus."

"Oi, don't you start crying," he frowned, "I'm not holding you."

"But you're cuddly!" he cried out, making Hermione look up and giggle at him.

Remus rolled his eyes, "Look, we just have to find Sirius and make him change her hair back. Any idea where he is?"

"He left after I was aiming at his head. That's why I got Hermione instead," James said simply.

"We'll never find him then," Remus said without thinking who was in his arms. She give a whimper as she dropped her head back on to his chest. "Oh, don't cry, Love, I'm sorry, we will find him." He turned back to James, "Do you have the map?"

He cringed, "Sirius has the map."

"Merlin we're useless."

"I know."

"And that was how we ended up in the Lake," James replayed to Lily, who was rubbing her temples and looking up at her boyfriend, who was still dripping wet as Remus and a blue-haired Hermione glared at him.

"The Squid likes the color blue," he tried when Lily still said nothing.

"I don't," Hermione huffed, glaring at the blue strands dripping on her face.

"You do realize that the N.E.W.T.s are tomorrow, right? And then a week until we leave, right?" Lily frowned, "And you're off swimming with the Giant Squid."

"Not voluntarily!" Remus argued.

"It was either that, or he popped off my head like a Barbie doll," Hermione said. As everybody stared at her, she thoughtfully stared off at a cloud before making a swift motion with her hands, giving a soft and cutesy "pop!" as she did.

"Oh Merlin you're out of it," Lily said.

"I think something bit me," Hermione hummed, "It was shiny. I like shiny things. I think. Pretty sure. Yup. Shiny!"

Remus sighed and took her arm, already leading her to the castle, "Come on, Hermione, we're going to the Hospital Wing."

"No, let me take her," Lily said, frowning at James, "If I'm here alone with James, I'm going to want to yell at him, and I haven't got a good rant planned out yet."

"You mean you plan those?" he asked incredulously as she and Hermione walked away.

Hermione groaned and held her head, rubbing her temples and hissing as Lily gaped at her.

"Larkspur said that?" she asked with a tone of awe.

"Yeah," she said meekly as she inspected her hair, which was now beginning to turn brown again.

"And you think - ?" she beamed, "Ooh, it makes too much sense to be anything else! So, what are you going to do?"

"Nothing," she shrugged, "I mean, there's hardly any sign that he likes me back and – "

"Hold up, back it up!" she practically pounced on her, "Likes you back? As in, return the feeling? As in – YOU LIKE HIM?"

"What's with you and the high pitched voice!" Hermione yelled, snatching her arm away from her, "Yes, I like him! I really bloody like him! But I can't do anything about it because there's not a snowball's chance in hell that he likes me back! Now lay off it, let it go, and leave me alone!" And with that, she stormed out of the Hospital Wing, leaving Lily pouting with Madame Pomfrey, who had been standing there the whole time and was disappointed along with the Head Girl.

"Hey Hermione, you got your hair fixed I see," Remus smiled as she made her way to him, smiling and joining him as they walked.

"Yeah, and the bite I got from…whatever bit me is fine now," she waved her hand, which was wrapped lightly with gauze, "I am no longer a loon."

He laughed, "Aww, but you were such a cute loon."

She blushed a little, "Blue hair and all?"

He chuckled now, "Blue hair and all." As they made their way to the library, he let out a hum, "Although…."

"What?" she asked, looking at him warily.

"You would've looked much better with purple hair."

She let out a laugh that made him grin, and he barely noticed that there was no real reason for her to be leaning in to him, and she barely noticed that there was no real reason for him to have his arm on her shoulder.

There was a reason for everybody to quietly groan at the two when they saw them together, however, because the two brightest people of that generation were really quite dumb.

"This chapter is really just a filler chapter – no use, just the musings of my brain at…ten to one at night," Birdie hummed as she rocked back and forth, wearing shorts and a Slytherin hoodie, despite the fact that it was December and the environment outside was cold.

Hermione eyed the author's choice in hoodies distastefully, "She's been reading fanfiction. Oneshots, mostly, about Remus and I – who would be here but Ren doesn't like too many people seeing her freckled, pale, skinny little legs."

"As you can see, I have loads of self confidence," she said before she snorted and rolled her eyes, "Yeah, right. If I have tons of self confidence, it's because a nuke went off and I'm all alone."

"I don't see how you'd survive and everybody else died, you've hardly got anything going for you – you're just a little Muggle," Marlene said plainly as she played with her feet.

"Well, hey, let's be fair – she's self inserted herself into this story a few times – like at the Yule Ball, she was the one who told me Terry was sick," Lily said.

"It means I have no life!" Ren wailed.

"She really doesn't," Alice chirped, "Boys try to hit on her, but she spazzes out and declines their offers."

"Because I know them!" Ren hissed.

"Let's knock it off with the ginger bashing guys – Lily could start getting offended," Marlene grinned at her friend, who rolled her eyes at her.

"Review, so that I'll have the heart to face you all again," Ren sniffed, "After these gals have morally wounded me so! Oh, how shall I ever get over this?"

"Go hang out with Sirius?" Hermione said, watching her wryly as she played with the fringe on a tan blanket slung over the back of the black leather couch.

"Great idea, Hermione, see ya!" she said before she raced off.

"She's still got on the Slytherin hoodie," Lily smiled.

"Sirius hates Slytherin," Marlene grinned.

"She's screwed!" Alice giggled.

"Yup! Review, please!" Hermione waved.

"PS – Lindsay AKA Linzerj has eternally cursed Torny," Ren popped her head back in, "I just thought I'd let you all know. Tah!"