Stammerer

Chapter Three

"You taught me how,

I play the fool.

Every mistake that I make,

I couldn't have made without you."

The Get Up Kids, "Action & Action"

Blaise Zabini had no intention of being a Death Eater. It was true, both Zabini's parents were pureblood, his father able to produce a very detailed family tree to prove it. His lineage, as far as the wizarding world went, was impeccable. So when the issue of muggles and mixed-blood persons was raised, or rather, the degradation, torturing, and eventual slaughter of said individuals, Stefano Zabini gave the issue a good long thought. His conclusion had been a resounding "Fuck you all!" The Zabinis found themselves not able to care less about the Dark cause. Not that they sided with the Light, either. It was all a simple matter, really, of looking after one owns back and letting the rest of the world screw themselves. Blaise had adopted his parents' feelings, not choosing a side, not bothering himself to give a damn. It had suited him quite well so far.

If the world is ending, then we toast to it.

Harry Potter, not thinking in shades of gray, failed to realize that he might not have heard Zabini's name in any of his dealings with Death Eaters because the boy was, in fact, not involved. Acting with more speed than common sense, as he was prone to do, led to his own downfall a number of times. Now he had drug Caroline down with him.

Blaise smiled sweetly at the Hufflepuff.

She wasn't convinced. "Wolf in sheep's clothing, Zabini," she muttered, staring him down.

"My dear Caroline- it's 'Caroline' right?"

"'Hayes' would be fine."

"My dear Caroline," Blaise overrode, ignoring her comment, "I prefer just not to bother with clothing."

"Mother fucking-"

"Where'd that weird cat get to?"

Hayes looked at him oddly. "Why does it matter?"

"Just curious."

She shrugged, saying, "I think he left with the Gryffindors, actually."

He nodded, then decided to return to the topic at hand. "So that was what? Seven questions?"

"Six," she argued heatedly, cheeks flaming.

He chuckled. "You were paying attention. Damn." Glancing around them, he said, "This, I don't believe, is the best place for a passionate tryst. Would my dorm room work-"

"No!"

"Fine. Behind those bookcases shall do quite nicely," Blaise continued unerringly, maintaining his hold on Caroline's wrist and using it to drag her to her feet and to the location he had indicated. "Here we are! Moldy old books, dust, decaying parchment- perfect romantic setting."

"I don't want any romance," Caroline forced out through gritted teeth.

Blaise was getting just too much enjoyment from watching the little Hufflepuff squirm, but if she kept anxiously biting her full lower lip like that he was going to have to make her stop. "Glad to hear it," he responded softly, deeply, eyes trained on her lips.

And there was her tongue, nervously darting out to wet her dry lips, smoothing over the soft-looking flesh all too seductively. He still didn't move, just kept observing her, surveying her, watching eagerly as she became more and more flushed, her eyes becoming fierier, her breath coming quicker, her movements less precise and more flustered.

"Dammit, Zabini, would you stop-"

He was on her immediately, silencing her words with his mouth, lips pressed firmly to her own. She was frozen in place, quite obviously stunned. Zabini didn't think he could tolerate that, so he pushed his body into her, backing her into the bookcase behind her, trapping her firmly. She was rather stiff, too, and that would never do. Not that he was overly concerned. He had five more kisses to get her to loosen up.

Blaise drew back, realizing as he did that she had never even closed her eyes. "You aren't much for romance, are you?" he asked curiously, not put off, just surprised, and a bit amused.

"It's not like I'm here of my own free will."

That stung. It was true, perhaps, but it still stung.

"I'm sorry," she apologized immediately, eyes wide and repentant. "I didn't mean to be that harsh."

"Hmm." He swooped in towards her again, nipping at her lower lip, pulling it into his mouth, then kissing her fully on the mouth. His hands went to her hips, drawing her further into him, one shifty hand moving lower to cup her arse.

She pulled back immediately, batting his wandering hands away. "Groping was not part of the deal, Zabini!"

"Never said I couldn't, either," he shot back, turning her argument against her.

Caroline glared up at him.

"How can I snog you properly if I can't touch you?" demanded Blaise, looking at her incredulously.

"Try it."

"No," he replied, placing a hand at the back of her head and holding her still as he assaulted her mouth a little more ardently this time, tongue smoothing between her lips, demanding admittance. Oddly enough, she didn't seem to be expecting the move, gasping at the feel of his warm, wet tongue. Never one to pass up an opportunity, he slid in, running his tongue over the roof of her mouth before going down to massage her own tongue. She liked it like this, apparently; he could feel her shoulders relax, her body unwind a bit, and one of her hands was gripping his upper arm. Lacing the hand holding her head through her hair, his other hand found her hip, her warmth spreading through her clothing and onto his palm.

After a rather long moment where she was not entirely uncooperative, she pulled back, murmuring softly, "Can't breath."

He smirked, leaning his forehead against hers, not willing to fully break contact yet. "Breathing is overrated."

"Three finished."

"And three to go."

"Is the glass half full or half empty?" she mocked, derisive expression not quite reaching her eyes.

"Play nice, little Hufflepuff, or I will make you behave."

"Is that a fact?"

He didn't bother responding, merely bent down to kiss her again. He was not interested in bantering with her right now, though he did find it rather entertaining. Right now her swollen lips were calling to him, demanding that he continue their abuse. Before he made it to those lips, however, he noticed that she had begun closing her eyes now. He smiled as he kissed her softly, sucking at her lips. When his tongue asked for entry, she barely hesitated before she opened her mouth for him, and her tongue was responding, tangling with his, massaging his, generally driving him crazy.

Caroline broke the kiss suddenly, nearly panting.

Blaise frowned. "I think we need to work on your stamina."

She scowled briefly before asking, "Why did you want to snog me?"

"I'm a warm-blooded teenage male. Physical interaction is all I think about at this point in my life."

"So it didn't matter that it was me?"

"I never said that."

Scowling again, this time at his obvious avoidance of answering the question, Caroline leaned her head against the shelf behind her, Blaise having moved that hand to the small of her back when kissing her. He was currently practically hugging her. Neither was quick to break the embrace, though.

"You want a commitment, Hayes?" asked Zabini affably.

She rolled her eyes. "An answer to the question would be enough for me."

"Hmm. Let me think about it."

"Sure."

Going in for kiss #5, Blaise's lips had barely met hers before his tongue was inside her mouth. She moaned slightly, tilting her head further to the side, allowing him better access, her palms smoothing over his stomach and up his chest. Tongues warring furiously, breaths mingling, slamming together, bodies touching as much as was possible in their position, Zabini found himself getting extremely warm. He could feel when Caroline began losing air as her kisses became less powerful, but there was no way he was releasing her just yet. Removing his mouth from hers, he placed his lips in the crook of her neck, sucking, licking, and biting as passionately as he had been kissing.

"This does not count as number six," Blaise got out around her heated, red skin.

"Fine," gasped Caroline, not really capable of anything else over her labored breathing. She seemed to have regained some of herself shortly though, for she asked, "Isn't this uncomfortable for you?"

Zabini halted in his ministrations, not a little bit shocked. He pulled back, rubbing a palm over the bright mark he had left on her skin. "Way to ruin the moment, Caroline," he said, not sure whether to be annoyed or amused.

"You didn't have to stop," muttered Hayes, blushing and looking less than appreciative.

"Fucking hell," Blaise continued, deciding to be amused as a thought occurred to him. "I hope you don't say something like that if we're in an even more intimate situation."

"Shut it, Zabini!" Caroline cried, turning a darker shade of red. "That isn't bloody likely, so-"

"Why would you even ask something like that? If it was so uncomfortable I wouldn't have been doing it."

"It was a weird angle!" she defended. "And you're a bit taller than me, so you were having to lean over like that and I'm sure it's not good for your back."

"Your concern is heartwarming, if ill-timed."

"Shut it!" Caroline was obviously mortified.

"And you're so cute when you're upset. That's why I wanted to kiss you," he admitted abruptly, startling even himself. He took advantage of Hayes' bewildered silence to go in for his final kiss.

She was slow to respond, her surprise interfering with the rest of her senses. The last kiss wasn't open-mouthed; merely soft lips, nipping and nibbling, hot breaths converging together.

Blaise drew back leisurely, remaining very close to the Hufflepuff, faces not more than an inch apart.

"You think I'm cute?"

He lifted a brow, eyes roving over her features, full lips, short nose, large eyes. "I think you'd better leave if you don't want to be molested."

For a second she didn't move.

Both brows lifting, a hand moved to grip her hip, the other, moving up inside her shirt, warmth rubbing over her stomach.

She swatted at him, stepping to the side quickly, brows furrowed at him. "Prat."

"I warned you."

She still wasn't moving.

His arms reached out towards her. "You think I won't try it again?"

She backed away, throwing him one last unreadable look before fleeing.

Here's all you get from me.

"You look terrible."

"Too, too kind," replied Caroline dryly, not glancing up from her textbook.

Ginny Weasley rolled her eyes, waited a few seconds, then huffed, "Are you going to tell me what's wrong?"

"Not likely."

Caroline and her group were in the library (she was really beginning to dislike the place), studying. Or pretending to study.

"What kind of friend are you?" growled the red head.

"The kind that just got snogged and doesn't yet know what to think," answered Colin Creevey, not looking up from his own assignment.

Caroline stared at her friend. "When did you become omniscient?"

"Remember that time in the Great Hall with the banana peel..." began Rosemary Flint.

"Oh, right! That was hysterical!" contributed Ginny.

"That didn't make me omniscient, it just made my ears grow bigger," grumbled Colin.

"Oh. Damn."

"How did you know about that?" Caroline demanded, attempting to get to the point.

"You weren't the only one in the library," Luna Lovegood reminded placidly, using her wand to levitate her quill, making it do spirals in the air.

Colin shrugged. "Luna walked by, happened to catch an eyeful, and continued on her merry way, proceeding to tell me. I'm hardly omniscient. Just omnipotent," he added with a grin.

"You mean omni-prattish," shot Ginny, looking thoroughly pleased with her clever play on words.

Rosemary stared at her. "Only a Gryffindor..."

"Right. Even a Hufflepuff wouldn't say something like that out loud for fear of being thrashed," smirked Caroline.

Ginny sniffed indignantly. "You didn't say it simply because you didn't think of it. Try not to be jealous, darlings."

"Jealous, my-"

"So what was it like?" interrupted Rosemary.

"What was what like?" asked a confused Caroline.

"Snogging Blaise. And what prompted the event, exactly? I know you've been lusting after him for a while, but-"

"I have not been-"

"You don't have to be omniscient to have noticed that," muttered Colin.

"See? If a bloody clueless Gryffindor caught it, it must be true!" concluded Rosemary triumphantly.

"Could we please desist with the lion bashing?" Ginny begged, frowning.

"Sure, sweetheart, we'll wait till you two leave."

Caroline's eyes narrowed. "It's your house's fault I had to kiss Zabini, anyway."

"Don't blame the entire house for something Harry did. Besides which, he had the best intentions at heart," said Luna, quill now floating near the ceiling, dripping ink in Colin's hair.

"How did you know about that?" Caroline shook her head. "I take back my earlier question; when did Luna become omniscient?"

The Ravenclaw smiled serenely. "I've always been."

"So are you seeing him now?" asked Ginny curiously.

Rosemary smirked. "Snogging in the library does not constitute a relationship, Weasley."

"Exactly. And it wasn't if I got much of a choice in the matter. It was a one time thing, and will not happen again."

Colin raised an eyebrow. "You're never kissing Blaise Zabini again?"

Caroline nodded emphatically. "Never, ever again."

Ginny and Rosemary snorted.