Code Red... Or Something

(The Weasley Red Hair - A trait often connected to the Weasley family. Often described as fiery-orange or shockingly-red.)

Ron woke up to the scream of his younger sister. Apparently Fred had put another spider in her bed. Ron shuddered. Spiders were better off dead in his opinion. Ginny screamed again.

'Shut up, Ginny,' Ron mumbled into his pillow. She screamed again and he sighed and threw back his covers. 'I'm up, okay?' he said as if Ginny's screaming was purposely supposed to get him out of bed. He scratched his head as he walked down the stairs into the kitchen. George, Fred and Ginny were sitting at the table. When Ron entered, they all looked up. Ginny gasped and dropped her spoon, sending porridge flying everywhere. Fred and George's jaws dropped.

'What?' Ron asked, looking at them suspiciously.

'You - you, what did you do?' Ginny shrieked.

'How did you do it?' Fred added. Just then, Mrs Weasley entered the kitchen and screamed.

'Ronald Weasley, what did you do to your hair?'

'What's with you people?' Ron asked. 'I didn't do a bloody thing!'

Mrs Weasley grabbed his arm and pulled him into the lounge room and forced him to look in the mirror. His mouth fell open when he saw his reflection. His hair was no longer red.

'Off with his head!' the mirror screeched.

'Shut up or I'll break you into a million pieces,' Ron warned. He stared at his hair. Black? Why black? Why'd it change?

'Ron, what did you do?' Mrs Weasley asked again.

'I - I didn't do anything, I swear,' Ron said beginning to worry. 'What do I have to do?'

'I expect you can't do anything. I certainly don't know what's happened. You'll have to go to school like it anyway, we have no time to do anything about it now. Have breakfast and hurry up,' Mrs Weasley said. Ron did as he was told and sat down to eat his breakfast.

'Seriously, Ron, how'd you do it?' George asked in a quiet voice. 'Can you show us?'

'I didn't do anything. I swear on Harry's Firebolt, I woke up and it was like this,' Ron replied.

'Hurry up you lot! We've got to get going. Are you things packed? Are you dressed? Hurry, Hurry, Hurry!' Mrs Weasley swept the bowls away and ushered Ron and Ginny back upstairs to get dressed.

They only just made in onto the train and when Ron entered the carriage that contained Hermione and Harry, neither looked up at him.

'Nice to see you two too,' Ron said sitting down. Hermione jumped.

'Ron! I didn't recognise you! What did you do to your hair?' she asked, touching Ron's hair.

'I didn't do anything. It was like this when I woke up,' Ron said.

'What did your mum say? Bet it made her really upset didn't it? Oh, what about your dad?' Harry said.

'I'm the victim here!' Ron said waving his hands in front of Harry's face.

'Oh, yeah. Right, of course you are,' Harry replied as if snapping out of a daze.

'Look, don't worry, Ron. I'm sure we can find and answer to it somewhere. I mean, there has to be a reason for it doesn't there?' Hermione said wisely.

'I doubt it, Hermione. How many people do you know who's hair just turned from bright red to jet back over night?' Ron asked doubtfully.

'There has to be something somewhere. Maybe we should ask McGonagall. Snape might know something.'

'I'm not asking Snape anything. I look like an idiot, 'Mione. I'm not even going to last the year,' Ron said miserably.

'Don't be stupid,' Harry snapped. 'I think it looks cool. Plus, you're the only Weasley without red hair, aren't you?'

'Yeah so?'

'Don't worry so much, Ron,' Hermione said, rubbing his back. 'We'll find out what happened even if we have to look through ever book in the library.'

School, just as Ron had imagined was an utter nightmare. Everywhere he went people were looking at him and his black hair. Asking how he'd done it or why he'd done it.

Horribly, things went from bad to worse one night a week into term. Hermione came back from the library with a vengeful look on her face. She sat down on the couch, obviously fuming. Ron looked at Harry warily before addressing her.

'Hermione, is something wrong?' he asked lightly. Afraid she'd explode. She did.

'I can believe it!' she yelled, throwing her hands in the air. 'There's nothing! Anywhere! AGH! I just can't believe it. I wont believe it.'

'Mind telling us what you're on about?' Harry asked conversationally.

'I've been researching Ron's ... problem all week and I've found nothing. Zilch. Nada. Zip.'

Ron gulped.

'So there's nothing? At all? Anywhere?' Ron asked. 'You can't find the answer in a book?'

'No, I can't,' Hermione replied, obviously taking the library's lack of information as a personal insult. 'I've asked Madame Pince, Professor Snape, Professor McGonagall, ever Professor Sprout. None of then had any idea what was wrong. Professor Dumbledore suggested you may have sleep walked to the nearest town, brought a packet of hair dye and dyed your hair in you sleep, but I find that highly doubtful.'

'This sucks. Marjorly,' Ron grumbled.

'Oh, Ron. You'll get used to it,' Hermione said after she'd calmed down. 'I actually like it. It makes you look more ... I don't know.'

'Stupid?' Ron supplied.

'No! You don't look stupid you look ... older? No. I don't know, but different in a good way.'

'And look at it this way, mate,' Harry said, grinning. 'At least you'll stand out in family reunions.'