The Hair of Hogwarts
The idea had seemed simple when Bolly first had it. Val's dad didn't want her to have pink hair. Val did. If everyone had randomly coloured hair, Val's dad couldn't say Val's pink hair was her fault. And the proper transfiguration way of doing it might be a sixth year spell, but Bolly knew how to do the more basic (and much more temporary) colour changing charms! Easy, right?
Except then he had the problem of how to get everyone in the school at once, and not just with the same colour. It turned out there were potions for that! It also turned out that some people could be allergic to some of the ingredients in the potion, which was a big problem. And, of course, colour change by potion was much harder to undo, which meant there was a smaller problem of everyone who hated their new hair not being able to do anything except wait for it to wear off. And even more complicated, some people for religious, cultural, or personal reasons had very strict rules or wishes about their hair, or even were just people who thought their current hair looked nice and would have self-confidence or body-image problems if it was messed up. Hair was massively more significant to a lot of people than Bolly had realised, which was kind of dumb given the problem that had started the entire line of thought. The point was fun, not sadness.
Still, Bolly had had almost the entire Easter break to think about it. After the Quidditch Safety Petition was handed in, he'd had lots of spare time and a strong need not to think about certain things. So he'd done some research, and then Auggie had done better research, and then they'd asked Grampa Fred for advice, because this was the exact sort of prank that Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes should be involved in. Grampa Fred's dual mastery in Charms and Potions was also a factor. (Bolly made a mental note to plan on getting at least three masteries. Maybe Auggie and he could get one and a half each, that would count, right?) By the end of the holiday, they had gotten it down to a two part spell, no potions involved. There was no possibility of allergic reaction or weird interactions with existing medications or conditions or just normal magical hair colouring or transfiguration, at the cost that the spell would simply avoid some people. (Hopefully they wouldn't feel too left out.) More importantly, the colour would either last for a couple of days or could be fixed instantly at any moment with the general counter-spell, which everyone second year and up could definitely do. The Slytherin first year boys could also all do the counter, just in case other first years couldn't.
It had required rather more set-up that Bolly had anticipated, so instead of happening on the first day of school as he'd intended, it took until the end of the week to prime the doorways to the Great Hall to place the spell and then to convince the school elves to let him charm the goblets to trigger it for individuals. Any time anyone in the Great Hall at breakfast that day, professors included, drank more than half of their drink, be it water, juice, or coffee, all the hair on their head would change into a random colour -- well, almost random. Maddie had asked for Blue to have pink hair, and Bolly hadn't wanted to take Val's pink away, so those two in particular were fixed. Possibly he should have mentioned this to Blue? Hmm. Anyway! Everyone else affected: completely random hair colours.
Except then he had the problem of how to get everyone in the school at once, and not just with the same colour. It turned out there were potions for that! It also turned out that some people could be allergic to some of the ingredients in the potion, which was a big problem. And, of course, colour change by potion was much harder to undo, which meant there was a smaller problem of everyone who hated their new hair not being able to do anything except wait for it to wear off. And even more complicated, some people for religious, cultural, or personal reasons had very strict rules or wishes about their hair, or even were just people who thought their current hair looked nice and would have self-confidence or body-image problems if it was messed up. Hair was massively more significant to a lot of people than Bolly had realised, which was kind of dumb given the problem that had started the entire line of thought. The point was fun, not sadness.
Still, Bolly had had almost the entire Easter break to think about it. After the Quidditch Safety Petition was handed in, he'd had lots of spare time and a strong need not to think about certain things. So he'd done some research, and then Auggie had done better research, and then they'd asked Grampa Fred for advice, because this was the exact sort of prank that Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes should be involved in. Grampa Fred's dual mastery in Charms and Potions was also a factor. (Bolly made a mental note to plan on getting at least three masteries. Maybe Auggie and he could get one and a half each, that would count, right?) By the end of the holiday, they had gotten it down to a two part spell, no potions involved. There was no possibility of allergic reaction or weird interactions with existing medications or conditions or just normal magical hair colouring or transfiguration, at the cost that the spell would simply avoid some people. (Hopefully they wouldn't feel too left out.) More importantly, the colour would either last for a couple of days or could be fixed instantly at any moment with the general counter-spell, which everyone second year and up could definitely do. The Slytherin first year boys could also all do the counter, just in case other first years couldn't.
It had required rather more set-up that Bolly had anticipated, so instead of happening on the first day of school as he'd intended, it took until the end of the week to prime the doorways to the Great Hall to place the spell and then to convince the school elves to let him charm the goblets to trigger it for individuals. Any time anyone in the Great Hall at breakfast that day, professors included, drank more than half of their drink, be it water, juice, or coffee, all the hair on their head would change into a random colour -- well, almost random. Maddie had asked for Blue to have pink hair, and Bolly hadn't wanted to take Val's pink away, so those two in particular were fixed. Possibly he should have mentioned this to Blue? Hmm. Anyway! Everyone else affected: completely random hair colours.