The Disaster That Is Hair

Louis tore at the hair on his head as he stood in the middle of the bathroom, staring into the mirror with a sad expression on his face. His beautiful white blond hair, his trademark, his everything. And now it was ruined. Hideous, he was. He looked awful. Black and pale. His hair was black! Lucy charmed his hair black and he couldn't turn it back. Not even his maman could change it back, she'd tried.

But Lucy had changed something permanently, and now he was stuck with this colour. Louis' lip jutted out in a pout as he felt traitorous tears threaten to fall. He loved his hair. And now he was ugly.

He would get Lucy back. He'd get James to help him. His best friend never turned down the opportunity for a good prank. But Louis would do that later. Right now he needed to mourn the loss of his whiteblond hair. He whimpered again as he locked eyes with himself in the mirror. He was certain everyone would think he was hideous now.

Liam wandered through the Weasley household, looking for Dom, but unable to find her. He'd hoped to convince her to go to dinner with him, seeing as apparently his other friends were all boring and he had a real nagging for something well cooked, rather than his own half-arsed cooking. He couldn't spot her however, and instead got sidetracked by the sound of someone in the bathroom whimper.

Frowning, he walked over to the door, knocking slightly only to find it was already open. Pushing it further, Liam poked his head round the corner to see a familiar face in the mirror, framed by very, very unfamiliar hair.

"Louis?" he asked, eyes widening slightly. Though he was quickly distracted by the fact the boy looked ready to burst into tears, moving further into the bathroom on impulse. "Hey, are you alright? You look upset."

Louis jumped up when there was suddenly a voice behind him. A familiar voice at that. Louis panicked and quickly jumped behind the showe curtain when the older boy walked into the bathroom. Louis wasn't ready to show people his hair yet. Not while it looked so disastrous.

He pulled the shower curtain closer to his body so he was certain he was fully covered, only then he dared to speak.

"You can't look at me!" He said demandingly. "I look horrible and you cannot see it! You'll laugh!" He complained, pouting even though the other couldn't see, the shower curtain he pulled over his head made sure of this. Louis pondered if willing the other man to go away would work.

Liam blinked as Louis hid behind the shower curtain faster than Liam expected he would, blinking in surprise. Well, that was certainly interesting. He waited for Louis to explain, finding it quite difficult to hold back the smile that began to break on his face, glancing down at the floor as he tried to regain composure.

"I won't laugh, I promise," he said, stepping further into the bathroom again, heading for the shower curtain. "I don't know how you could ever look horrible, surely. All that veela blood in you? Gotta count for something."

Don't smile. Don't smile. But really, Little Louis could be adorably funny sometimes.

Louis did not want to move from where he was hiding, but he knew he had to. Still pouting, he hesitantly stepped out from behind the shower curtain, one hand still tangled in his hair as he tugged on his shirt with the other. He didn't dare to look at Liam at first.

"Go on! Laugh at me! I know its awful!" He said, the words being followed by a whimper. Of course, everyone would laugh at him too. He couldn't go back to school looking like this. He would have to shave his head. And wear a wig. Or just wear a wig over this hair. He didn't want to wear a wig, they were itchy and fake. And Louis hated fake things.

"No amount of Veela can help me now!" He added quietly, running his fingers through the, thank Merlin, still soft strands.

Liam prepared himself for the worse when he saw Louis begin to move, making sure he kept his face straight, though he raised his brows when the boy did step out the shower. The platinum hair was no longer blonde, and instead a darker brown. It was...strange, to say the least. But he had been preparing himself for a lot worse. And it didn't actually look all bad.

"Why would I laugh at you?" Liam asked, ruffling the darker locks, marvelling at the change in colour. "It looks fantastic, as always. I don't think you need any of your veela blood, you'd look amazing one way or another. Besides, I know no one who could pull off such a dramatic change other than you," he said with a wink, hoping that it would make the boy feel better.

Louis felt a hand that wasn't his own ruffle through his hair and he felt slight redness stain his cheeks. The words were making him feel better though, because if there was anything Louis liked, it was being complimented. The boy loved it, and it brought a delightful sparkle to his eyes.

"Do you really think so?" He asked, still slightly hesitant. He turned back to the mirror to look at himself again, noting that his cheeks were still slightly red.

"Does it not make me look like a ghost? Or a banshee? Or or or something else really hideous?" He asked quietly, bringing his own hand up to his hair again.

Liam was impressed at how well he managed to surpress the chuckle that threatened to break free at the blush that decorated Louis' cheeks. Really, whenever Liam seemed to talk to him, the boy seemed perfectly sweet. He didn't know what Dom ever meant when she complained about her baby brother. He was never that loud or dramatic. Though he supposed Louis was being pretty dramatic now. He could imagine many of the girls he knew doing the same thing though. And Louis had always seemed a bit...feminine.

"I do think so," Liam looked at the boy through his reflection. "And hey, if anyone does say you look like a ghost or a banshee, you're the best looking ghost slash banshee that I've ever seen. Now stop worrying about your hair. How about we go out to dinner to make you feel better? And you can tell me the story of how you ended up with your hair dyed?"

Louis grinned widely as Liam complimented him again, eyes sparkling brightly, widening at the offer. His sister's best friend was his sister's best friend after all. And two years older than him. And very gorgeous. No wait, where did that last thought come from?

"You'd want to go out to dinner with me?" Louis asked surprised, cheeks growing even more flushed. No, bad Louis, he scolded himself, unable to realize why he was even blushing. He shouldn't be blushing. This was a terrible development. This was Domi's best friend. Just her friend. No blushing.

Liam was amazed by how quickly Louis' mood seemed to turn around at the compliments and offer of dinner. At least he was smiling now and not looking on the verge of tears though, and that was the important thing. Liam wasn't sure he would've known what to do if Louis started crying. He'd comforted crying women before, but it was always a bit awkward. They all seemed to want different things.

"Sure, why not?" Liam figured he'd known Louis most his life, especially his school life. It wasn't like they were strangers. They were friends...or something. Friends through Dom he guessed. "I wanted to go out for dinner anyway, and I can't find your sister, so you'd be doing me a favour really. Is there anywhere you'd want to go?"

Louis literally beamed. Before he could stop himself, he'd reached out and curled a hand around Liam's wrist, dragging the other boy from the bathroom and downstairs. "I know this one restaurant, it's on the beach and not very far from here but it's wonderful!" he said happily, dropping Liam's arm as they reached the ground floor. Then Louis took a glance down and realized he was still wearing his pyjama bottoms. The ones he refused to take of because he felt like curling up on the couch and eating icecream all day. That would have to be rescheduled. He couldn't go outside like this.

"Wait here!" he called, before storming back up the stairs and into his room. He just dragged on the first pair of trousers he saw, and quickly grabbed a few galleons for dinner. It was only when he was walking back down the stairs he realized exactly which pair of trousers he grabbed. Oh Merlin, these were way too tight to be comfortable. He didn't wore these on normal occasions, only when he went out. Which was nearly ever, because he didn't like going alone and James didn't like dancing. Or girls.

Louis cursed himself for grabbing this pair, swallowed thickly and then stepped back into the room as if everything was okay, though he probably still looked a bit uncomfortable. "Ready to go?"

Liam stumbled slightly as Louis dragged him out of the bathroom and down the stairs, recovering quickly, though he was forced to be slightly hunched over due to the fact that Louis was so much smaller than him. He would blame the fact that he was tall, but Louis was also slightly...shorter than average. He stood up straight quickly as they finally arrived downstairs, unsurprised that the restaurant would be on the beach.

He didn't have much time to respond as Louis disappeared again, an amused smile on his face at how quickly Louis had bounced back from his panic attack, whistling slightly as he rocked back on his feet to wait for the boy to reappear. He snapped his head towards the entrance as Louis reappeared, grinning at the boy, barely noticing the change of clothes.

"I certainly am!" he said, gesturing towards the door. "Lead the way, fine sir."

Louis was not sure if he was supposed to be glad Liam did not notice his change of clothes, or offended. He decided to go with glad though, because he didn't want someone to ruin his good mood. Louis curled a hand around Liam's wrist again and grinned. "I'll apparate us! I know where it is!" he said, making his holster shoot his wand into his hand as he curled his hand around the familiar wood. The holster had been a present from his father for his birthday this year, it was flexible, invisible and he didn't even notice it was there.

He apparated them both away before Liam could give a reply, and when they reappeared the smell of the sea was very evident. "We have to walk the last bit, because it's a muggle establishment! I don't think they'd appreciate it if we apparated inside," he said with a grin.

Louis didn't like walking in the sand with his shoes on, so he leaned down and took his shoes off. He wrapped the ends of his shoelaces around his hand and straightened back up. "I don't like the way sand always gets in my shoes," he admitted. "But I love the way the sand feels between my toes," he added with a sheepish smile.

Liam was more prepared when Louis took his wrist again, though this time they didn't begin to stomp about the house. He nodded and waited for Louis to apparate them, a smile streching across the lips as he breathed in heavily, smelling the salty sea air. He did love the beach. And the sea. And everything about it.

He glanced down as Louis let go of his arm and took off his shoes, chuckling at the reasoning for it, before reaching down and taking off his own shoes, his fingers latching into the heel to keep them in his hand, shoving his other hand in his pocket as he spoke, not wanting Louis to feel like the only person.

"I just generally love the beach, and everything about it. It's why I love visiting you guys so much," he added with a wink, pretending like it was a secret. He was fairly certain it wasn't. "The sound and smell of the sea, love it. One day I want to go to Australia and see their beaches and sea, I've heard they're wonderful."

Louis grinned as Liam took his shoes off too. He curled his toes into the loose sand, enjoying the feeling it gave him as he felt it between his toes. "I like the beaches in France, they're lovely. I haven't heard about the beaches in Australia, but I trust you when you say they're wonderful. There's no place like home though!" Louis said, wrapping his shoelaces around his hand one more time so he could grab the label of his shoe.

"Race you!" he grinned, and then took off immediately. Running in loose sand was quite hard though, and he hadn't gotten very far before Liam ran passed him. Louis tried to run faster, but his legs wouldn't work. And when it became clear there was no way he would catch up with Liam again he threw himself into the sand and reached for the man's ankle, trying to trip him into falling as well.

"It's not fair, you have longer legs!" Louis cried out, panting slightly. He probably should have thought of that before he decided racing would be a good idea. He hadn't known what made him say it, he didn't even like running that much.

Liam had to agree with the beaches in France being lovely. Then again, he could find Redcar beach lovely, and that place was a shithole. He was about to begin walking when Louis finished securing his shoelaces round his hand. He blinked as all of a sudden the boy was running, declaring a race. A smirk spread across Liam's face. Yeah, that was going to work out in Louis' favour.

Liam took off after the boy, deciding that going easy on him would be mean. He wasn't a child anymore, exactly. And he was the one who suggested a race. So Liam figured he'd give the boy a race. It wasn't long before he over took Louis, shooting a grin at the boy before continuing on, loving the feeling of his feet hitting the sand, feeling like the world was shifting everytime he took a step.

But then Louis had thrown himself down and was trying to trip him, Liam stumbling slightly as he avoided it, hopping on one foot before falling onto his arse in the sand, laughing as he looked down at where Louis was sprawled. 'You were the one who wanted to race,' he pointed out. 'You won't learn anything if I take it easy on you. You're not that much younger than me.'

Louis huffed as Liam laughed at him, though he had to say, Liam's falling had been quite amusing as well. He was surprised he had actually managed to make the other man fall, but he was quite pleased about it. "No but you're much taller, which is what counts. Your legs are like twice as long as mine!" Louis countered, once again forgetting that he was the one that initiated the race.

Louis pushed himself onto his knees and then back onto his feet, brushing the sand off his clothes. He awkwardly moved his hands behind his back to remove that sand as well, it must've looked quite funny. But Louis didn't want the sand to fall inside his trousers, which would be extremely uncomfortable.

When he finished he held out a hand to help Liam up before really thinking about it. "Peace?" he asked.

So his legs may have been twice as long as Louis', but still. "You're more streamline though. That should give you a boost. Stop trying to pin the blame on me, you clearly just don't work out enough," he joked. "Just need more muscle on you, you barely look like you have any! Look at you, skin and bones."

He watched as Louis pushed himself up, quite happy to just stay sat on the sand, his shoes scattered next to him from his fall. He had wanted to go eat, but there was pleanty of time for that. He was quite happy where he was now.

Smirking when Louis held out his hand, Liam grasped it before giving a sharp tug, pulling the boy forward. Louis did start the tripping thing. And the race thing. It was hardly fair to call peace now.

When Liam called him skin and bones, Louis got slightly worried and caught his lip between his teeth. Before he realized he said it out loud he blurted out; "So you think I'm bad looking?" in a quiet voice. His eyes widened immediately when he realized he hadn't thought, but actually sad it, and he felt heat rise to his cheeks. He wondered if he should say something else, but decided that if he did, he would probably just make it more awkward.

The sharp tug Liam gave on his hand made Louis topple over, as he was not able to keep himself standing. He yelped loudly and then his body covered Liam's completely, his nose was squished against the older man's neck and their legs were sprawled awkwardly together. This was not at all comfortable, especially because when Louis tried to move, but the tightness of his pants made it almost impossible for him to move his legs from the position they were in.

He started to apologize, but then realized it was Liam who did this. So he pulled his head from the man's neck and glared. "That wasn't nice!"

Liam's brain stopped working for a moment at the kicked-puppy look that he was getting off Louis. He looked worred and incredibly sad at the idea of Liam thinking he looked 'bad looking'. Which wasn't true at all. Louis was definitely not bad looking, he and his sisters and mother all were very attractive people.

He realised he was probably staying silent too long, so shook his head, running a hand through his hair awkwardly. "No, I don't think that at all. I'm just teasing you, 'cause you're thin, but you don't look bad. You look good."

When Louis toppled over him, Liam couldn't help but start laughing, falling backwards onto the sand, one elbow propping him up, laughing harder as Louis pulled his head out of his neck to glare. "It wasn't, I'm sorry," he grinned down at the boy. "But I felt like I deserved some kind of compensation for you trying to trip me up. Besides, I'm happy here on the sand," he laid back, hands behind his head. "It's quite comfy."

Louis only felt the heat in his cheeks intensify as Liam confessed he didn't thought Louis was bad looking. The boy was also extremely relieved. And flattered. The compliment brought the bright sparkle back in his eyes. "Thank you," he muttered shyly. He then awkwarly flailed his limbs so he was able to roll off Liam, feeling incredibly awkward at being so close to the man. It was making him extremely nervous.

Louis remained his stomach, not wanting to touch his to the sand but having no problem with it getting on his clothes. He just didn't like how it felt in his hair. He put his arms down in front of him and laid his head on top of it.

"It is kind of nice," Louis admitted, staring at the sea for a moment before looking back at Liam. "I like the beach most at this time of the day. When its peaceful and queit and the colours of the sky don't really make sense," he said, referring to the pink, the orange and the red that currently lit up the beach. He had loved it since he was a child, he used to get out of bed and look at the sundown through his window. In his eyes, it was one of the prettiest things he knew.

Louis was easily pleased when it came to compliments. Or his mood just fluctuated a lot. Though that was probably because of the dramatic hair colour change, Liam imagined. It was good that he seemed happier again though. Liam always got uncomfortable around people who were upset, though he seemed to be handling Louis okay.

He glanced at the boy for a moment as he wriggled away from Liam and lay on his stomach, before turning his attention back to the sky. When Louis was talking about the colours of the sky, Liam turned onto his stomach also, getting rather covered in sand. He looked towards where the array of colours were, a small smile on his lips at the sight.

"It is pretty damn wonderful," Liam agreed. "Nature's just...a wonderful thing. Very hard to describe," he joked. "But very beautiful."

"It is," Louis said quietly, resting his cheek on his arms and turning his his head so he could smile at Liam. "When I buy I house I want it to be near a lake. So I have water and a forest nearby," he told the man, not really sure why. He just felt like it was the right thing to say. He was quite comfortable, which wasn't often. Louis wasn't comfortable quickly around people. They usually made him nervous.

They just laid there on the sand for some time, Louis couldn't remember how long. He only realized when his stomach grumbled loudly, breaking the silence. He flustered immediately.

"Oh Merlin, I'm sorry," he apologized, bright red as he wrapped an arm around his stomach. "I guess I got a bit hungry," he said apologetically, willing the redness in his face to go down, but it wasn't working. He bit his lip and swallowed thickly, staring at the sand.

Liam watched the skyline as they fell into a silence. He was surprised by how comfortable the silence was if he was honest, not that he wasn't usually comfortable in silences, but usually it took a while before it was so comfortable. He guessed it was probably due to the fact that he did know Louis for a long time, even if they weren't close. And it wasn't just 'silence', they were kind of taking part in an activity together.

Silence that was promptly destroyed by the grumbling of Louis' stomach. It took all of Liam's willpower not to burst out laughing at the noise, stuffling his sniggers at the bright red on Louis' face, nudging the other with is shoulder. "A bit hungry, eh? I'd hate to hear what a lot hungry sounds like," he teased.

"Come on then," he pushed himself up, brushing down the sand on his front half-heartedly. He kind of figured it was a lost cause. He held out a hand to help Louis up. "Let's try not to trip or fall this time? And get to the restaurant at the same time."

Louis felt his face go even redder, if that was possible, when a shoulder bumped into his. Merlin he didn't want to know what really hungry sounded like. And he hoped no one else ever had to either. This was so emberassing. He took the hand Liam held out for him and let the man pull him up before taking out his wand and casting a spell that made all the sand disappear from his clothing. Louis took one glance at Liam and cast the same spell over him.

"You learn things when you grow up at the beach. Maman wouldn't like if we came in the house covered in sand all the time," he explained with a smile, before tucking his wand back into its holsters, which disappeared under his button-ups.

"Let's go then," he agreed, and started walking. The red n his face slowly, and finally, died down and Louis started to feel more comfortable again. "I've known you for so long, but I know so little about you," Louis blurted out while they were walking. "I mean, I know your name is Liam and you were in Gryffindor, but that's all really," he added nervously.