Barty's famous green hair
October 31st, 1977
Today was Halloween, and Barty had a problem.
Hogwarts hosted two balls every year: the fancy Yule ball, and the more casual Halloween Gala. And since these two events are at least semi-formal, people would arrive with dates for the first dance.
And, well, Barty did not have a date, and did not want a date. at least, not a girl.
"Look mate," Evan said at breakfast, "You still have the whole day to find yourself a girl and convince her to do two minutes of dancing with you."
Barty made an exasperated sound in the back of his throat, shoving a piece of fruit in his mouth.
"Who are you going with?" Dorcas asked Evan, throwing a pitying glance Barty's way.
Barty felt that Dorcas knew his little secret, and he hoped she wouldn't scream it on rooftops for a prank.
"Don't know yet." Evan said. "I'mma probably just find a lonely chick and ask her out."
"Mmh." Dorcas replied, shooting a glance at Barty.
Oh great. Not only did Dorcas know his secret, but she was also playing matchmaker.
Marlene McKinnon suddenly appeared from behind Dorcas, kissing her girlfriend's cheek and plopping down next to her.
The two girls were one of the only openly lesbian couples in the school, and Barty felt a pang of envy at their ease. He admired how they flawlessly ignored the sneers and looks from others.
"You know," McKinnon said, "I heard that our not very heterosexual friends were going to make their coming out tonight at the ball."
Dorcas shot a sly smile at the Gryffindor table, where Sirius, Remus, and James were eating breakfast.
Barty could've sworn that he saw Regulus blush and look up before disappearing in his book and shoving porridge in his mouth.
"Really huh?" Evan drawled, lightly punching Regulus on the arm. "Happy it worked out for you man."
"Did you guys shag?" Dorcas asked.
Regulus chocked on his bite, coughing violently. Barty's mouth opened in shock at Dorcas' very direct approach.
"Not in front of my toast!" Evan exclaimed.
Judging by the scarlet color of Reg's ears, the answer was probably somewhere along the lines of Y-E-S.
The group chuckled, even Pandora, Evan's twin sister sitting on Regulus' side patted him on the back in congratulations.
Barty briefly wondered when it would be his turn, before banishing that thought from his mind.
He looked over at Evan, and felt his breath catch in his throat. Morning light filtered through the windows making Evan's hair look like melted gold, his rose tattoo on his forearm gleam, and his eyes shine like jewels.
Barty painfully downed the rest of his breakfast and excused himself quickly from his group.
What was wrong with him? Why was he attracted to his best friend?
He didn't want to ruin their friendship, and he was sure Evan returned the feelings about him.
He went to the dungeons, in the Slytherin common room and to their shared dorm's bathroom to cool off with a cold shower.
Under the high pressure spray of water, Barty finally controlled his mind and emotion. He didn't know what he would do with his situation, but he had made a decision for the Halloween party: he would arrive alone, and face the teasing and laughing of his friends.
He got out of the shower and his eyes immediately locked on the box of green dye left on the marble counter. Pandora must've left it there. He had mentioned to her last week that he really wanted to paint his hair green.
With a towel around his waist, he sat on the edge of the bathtub that faced the mirror and cracked open the pot.
He knew how to dye his hair thanks to his mother. It was something he loved to do with her when he was little: they would have mother-son days, where they would sit and dye each other's hair.
Without further a do, he started the process of dying his hair. It was easier to do with magic, a few spells to make sure things didn't go side ways and he end up with a neon green head for three years.
After an hour or so, Barty was almost done: the tips of his hair was a beautiful emerald green, making his hazel eyes pop out.
Looking at himself in the mirror, Barty was quite satisfied with the result. He was still bare-chested, although he had stopped to put on boxers and sweatpants along the way. He observed his tattoo-covered chest, his skin a canvas for a bunch of knives, wolves, snakes, and skulls. His father had frowned upon people with tattoos, which was the main reason why Barty had, over the years, accumulated so many.
He stretched his sleeping muscles before sitting back down on the edge of the tub. Now was the hardest part: the back of his head. That was why he had wanted to do this with someone else. There was a much greater chance of messing up when you could barely see.
Barty had only just started on a first section of the remaining hair when he heard footsteps and the door opened, revealing Evan, a look of shock plastered on his face when he registered Barty's partly green hair.