A/N: I apologise for the copious amounts of cheese in the last chapter. . I thought it was cute. XD Also, mild warning for some rather rude swearing on Isa's part. She apologises. Really.

Days left: 13

Disclaimer: Nothing from the Harry Potter series belongs to me; it all belongs to the wonderful J. K. Rowling. Isaviel Fortesque, Theoli Runkle, Sethoz Anatolia and Deazy Allcock are all self-insert original characters who belong to their respective real life counterparts.

So Sue Me: A Tale of Two Self-Inserts

Chapter Fourteen: Albino Fortesque

I.

That Saturday had come and gone without event; those students who were going home for Christmas did so on the Hogwarts Express leaving not very much of the student body behind for the holidays. Sunday had been equally as uneventful with students wandering around the school grounds revelling in their newfound freedom and enjoying it whilst it lasted.

Isaviel had not forgiven Sirius for the incident with the fountain and had become twice as angry upon realising that her lovely dress was beyond ruined. The end of the Ball had been the last time she had spoken to the Gryffindors (including Theoli, who was apparently 'on their side' over the whole matter, thinking Isaviel should forgive and forget) and had stayed in the common room for the majority of the weekend avoiding contact with most people. Isaviel did seem to be one to hold a grudge when the mood struck her.

Speaking of grudges, she wasn't particularly popular with some of the older Slytherins, more so the ones who had lost the epic Snowball War. It was only a select few who taunted and were generally being assholes but nobody seemed too keen to defend her under their watchful gaze. She didn't blame them, really, and didn't want them to become involved in something that wasn't of their own doing. Severus seemed to be the only one that wasn't particularly bothered by the treatment he may get.

It was on the Monday morning that she found out just how far some would go in order to make a fool of her. Isaviel had been awoken by a hellishly bad nightmare and bolted upright, sweat glistening on her forehead and fists clenched into tight fists. She couldn't remember what exactly the dream was about but she knew by the way she shivered and the way her blood ran cold in her veins that it wasn't something she wanted to remember. At that moment she sorely missed Theoli; she missed being able to talk about stuff like this, especially when she was this scared. She began to realise how silly it was that they fend off people who say they can't be friends and let something so silly come between them.

Sighing, she scratched her scalp which, for some reason, was feeling particularly itchy that morning. Putting it down to the stress of the dream she tightened her ponytail and swung her legs out of bed, noting that nobody else was in the dorm.

Must have gone down for breakfast already, she pondered as she got herself dressed. She supposed it was time to make amends - with Theoli at least - and try and get over the whole dress ruinage incident.

As she descended the stairs she saw Severus reading a book by the fire in a totally empty Common Room. He'd been very patient with her over the weekend, acting as a go-between-slash-messenger when Isaviel and Theoli had refused to talk. Sethoz had pleaded them to talk face to face but apparently that wasn't going to happen; not then, anyway. In the end, communications had broken down and any chance of a peace treaty had dissolved.

"Morning," Isaviel said, throwing herself into the opposing chair.

"Mmm," Severus muttered, concentrating on the page in front of him. Once he was finished that page he gave her a fleeting glance before returning his attention to his book. "Good morn-" He stopped, then blinked a couple of times before slowly raising his head to look at her.

"...good morn?" When he said nothing, she glanced behind her. "What, do I have something on my face?"

Severus seemed to not be able to look away from her, eyes wide. "You... your hair looks nice?"

"My..." She wrinkled her nose in confusion, hand going back to touch her ponytail. "My hair? I just put it in a ponytail. Nothing special."

"Ohh... Oh dear." He put the book down. "You've not done anything to your hair?"

"No."

"Nothing at all?"

"That's what I just said. Why are you acting like a spaz this morning?"

Severus gave a half-wince, half-smile (which he hoped was of the reassuring kind) but ended up looking like he was grimacing. "I think you should look in the mirror." She began to speak but he cut her off. "Just... look."

Giving a frustrated sigh, Isaviel stood up and stomped towards the mirrored wall across the Common Room. "There, I'm looking in the mirror, are you hap-" She stopped and stared at her reflection, jaw on the floor. Her previously black hair had turned white overnight, giving off a silvery shimmer in the morning light that flooded through the windows. She reached back and pulled the ponytail out and let her now-white hair fall over her shoulders.

Severus stood up and approached her, cautiously. "...you oka-"

"My hair is white."

"Yeah... I thought you-"

"My motherfucking hair. Is motherfucking white."

Alright, it was slightly silvery, but for the most part it was white. Pure white. As white as the driven snow. Et cetera, et cetera. Isaviel could only stare at her reflection, a horrified look plastered all over her face.

"Alright, I think you need to-"

She shot him a severe look. "I hope you're not going to tell me to calm down."

He seemed to consider his words very carefully. "No, no of course not... I was just going to suggest you... have a sit down before you collapse." He steered her away from the mirror and back to the chairs, nodding when she muttered 'my hair is white' and trying to offer some words of consolation. They sat by the fire in silence as Isaviel slowly got over the initial shock of her dramatic hair colour; black to white is probably about as dramatic as it was possible to get. She scratched her head, then realising why it was so damn itchy.

"Well, at least they did my eyebrows too?"

The two started giggling and for a moment Isaviel wondered if there was any way the spell could have addled her mind somewhat. Once they'd calmed down, the mood turned a little serious. Severus tossed the book he was reading onto the table top. "What do you want to do?"

"Honestly? Eat. I'm starving."

He rolled his eyes and the two headed to the exit. Just as Isaviel was about to step through, he blocked her way. "Seriously, though... what are you going to do?"

Isaviel shrugged. "I'll think about it when I get there."

II.

It took a while for those in the hall to register that Isaviel's hair wasn't black anymore. There weren't many students left but there were enough for the noise level to significantly drop when she walked in. Ignoring everyone else, Isaviel made a beeline for Bellatrix.

"Morning, Bella," She said, sweetly.

"Goodness, decided on a style change, sweetie?"

"Oh this?" She grabbed a lock of hair. "Not at all, some terribly amusing joker decided that it'd be funny to do this. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"

Everyone was watching the hushed conversation intently, trying to listen in, revelling in the in-house tension. Bella gave a sneer. "Oh? Why, pray tell, would you think that I had anything to do with this? We're housemates, Isa."

"Mm-hmm. You've done nothing but show me just what a great housemate you are to me."

"Oh, Isa. You know that's just a little pranking between housemates. After all, we're all great friends here."

"I'm sure," Isaviel said, voice dripping with sarcasm. Bellatrix was not exactly her favourite person at the best of times. "Say, hypothetically speaking of course, that you decided to turn someone's hair white, as a prank perhaps. How would you go about doing it?"

"Well," Bellatrix said, looking thoughtful, "Hypothetically speaking, I'd have to wait until the person was asleep. Then use a hex on them without waking them up. I assume that would be the most difficult part."

"And how long would you make it last?"

"Last?" She snorted. "I'd make it permanent, love."

The two glared at each other, their hatred for each other becoming more and more apparent to all those who were present. Theoli stood up and headed towards the table as Isaviel said in belated response, trying to remain as calm as she could. "Hypothetically speaking, of course."

"Of course."

Theoli approached and regarded Bellatrix coldly, which the older Slytherin seemed to take offence at. "Something we can do for you?"

"Not you, no." She turned to Isaviel, raising her voice. "Like the hair."

Isaviel replied with an equally loud voice. "You do? I wasn't sure about the colour. Or lack thereof."

Theoli ruffled her friend's hair a bit. "You really did a really good job, wow. Must have been a complicated charm."

"Oh, it was. I was just giving Bella tips on her hair," she chirped, smiling at the now-seething Slytherin. Theoli nodded towards the Gryffindor table where Severus was hovering, waiting, until an irritated Sirius told him to sit down. "If you want to join us, you're more than welcome."

Isaviel blinked. She had intended to offer the olive branch first but apparently she'd been beaten to it. Not that she minded too much; she hadn't realised just how much she'd missed her friend's company until she had it again. She grinned. "If you'll have my white hair and I."

"You and your white hair are welcome any time." Theoli grinned back.

Bellatrix slammed her fists onto the table as she stood up, shocking the girls out of their reconciliation. Her nostrils were flared and her eyes were wide with rage, and honestly, she looked a little nutty. The girls took a step back.

"You," Bellatrix hissed, pointing an accusing finger, "Are a disgrace to the Slytherin house, you little traitor. Go!" She waved her hands as if she were wafting away a bad smell. "Go sit with your little friends, Albino. Just watch your back." And with that, she stomped out of the Hall, leaving behind her a fearful and deafening silence.

Isaviel turned to face the rest of the hall with her hands on her hips and a pout on her lips. "I don't think she likes me much."

A titter echoed through the room as people went back to their conversations and Theoli led Isaviel to the Gryffindor table. She sat down and grabbed a piece of toast, letting the others stare for a full two minutes before saying, "Alright, who wants to say it first?"

Sethoz gawked. "Why?!"

Isaviel laughed. "I didn't. Bella did."

Sirius gave a low growl, one that was quite uncharacteristic of a normal person, let alone Sirius. He threw his piece of toast back onto the plate with a scowl on his face. "Sorry," he muttered.

Isaviel shrugged. "You didn't do it."

"Well, no. Still, as a relative to that wench, I do feel the need to apologise. That, and, you know... the whole dress thing."

"Well then, apology appreciated and accepted, Mr Black, and the less said about my dearly departed dress, the better." She grinned. "I will get you back for it, though."

Theoli grinned. "This mean we're all happy again?"

"I would be if my hair wasn't white."

"Oh, I dunno, it makes you stand out from the crowd." Theoli gave Isaviel a pat on the shoulder. "It makes you... um... unique?"

Lily frowned. "Have you tried charming it to a different colour yourself?"

"Yeah, Severus tried that and his hair turned temporarily pink."

"They really did go all out for you, didn't they?" Lily sighed. "I think you should just tell your Head of House and be done with it."

Isaviel shook her head, sadly. "Oh, Lily. That won't do."

"She needs to be punished!"

"Oh she will be. Just, you know, not in a way I'd want our Head of House to know about."

Lily looked at her disapprovingly. "Isaviel, you shouldn't get yourself into trouble for the sake of revenge. She's not worth it at all. And you," she slapped James' hand as he gave Isaviel a high-five, "Stop encouraging her. Honestly."

"Lily, she turned my hair white."

"Then called her an albino," Theoli added.

"Yes. Now, granted, she did my eyebrows and I'm thankful for that. But she turned my hair white. WHITE, Lily." She pointed to her head as if to emphasize her point. "Wouldn't you want to do something a little more personal in response?"

Lily gave a resigned sigh. "Oh, I guess you're right. Just don't get yourself into trouble."

"Oh, I won't."

"No, she has us all helping her!" Theoli beamed.

"That's what I'm worried about," she muttered, looking pointedly at James.

"That hurt, Lils," James said. "Hurt my soul."

"I'm sure you'll recover," she said, putting a forkful of scrambled egg into her mouth before standing up. "I need to go get a book from the library, so I'll see you guys later, alright?" She left after giving James a peck on the cheek and Isaviel another warning about not getting into too much trouble, to which she could only sigh and rake her hand through her hair looking rather dejected.

"So anyway," Sethoz interjected, wanting to distract a moody looking Isaviel from her silver-white locks. "I need to go to Hogsmeade today and was wondering if you guys all wanted to go."

Everyone except Theoli and Isaviel agreed, excitedly. Isaviel could remember the name, but not the place, and said as much. The group gasped. "How can you not know Hogsmeade?!"

"It's not that we don't know what the place is, we just don't remember it."

"Kinda like she didn't remember she was an Animag-" Theoli was cut off when Isaviel clamped her hand around her friend's mouth, hysterically shushing her and glancing around to see who else may have heard.

Sirius leant in. "You're an Animagus too?"

"Well I- Wait. 'Too'? What do you mean, 'too'?"

Remus rolled his eyes at Sirius and James, who had mimicked Isaviel's actions by clamping his hand around Sirius' mouth. "I think we have some things to discuss."