Dirty Mouth, Dirty Blood [h.g]

fifteen

15

Then

Carina lifted the wine glass to her lips, enjoying the scalding feeling it gave when it ran down her throat. It was a particularly alcoholic wine, and Carina was only fifteen. But if she was expected to attend these stuffy parties, she was going to drown her sorrows in alcohol. She'd developed an early immunity to alcohol, and it took more than a glass of wine to get her drunk. One of the few lessons her parents taught Carina that managed to stay with the Slytherin was that one needs to be able to control their alcohol. Clients were easy to manipulate if it looked like your lips were freer that they really were; it gave the illusion that the client was taking advantage, when really you were the one in complete control.

Carina set her empty glass on a random table, a shiver running up her spine. It was the middle of December, and her dress had an open back. She felt a jacket being slipped over her and smiled up at Theo, who was looking at the cutout in her dress with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh shut up," Carina admonished, "it's a pretty dress."

"I didn't say anything. May I steal you away?"

Carina nodded, and the two headed up the staircase to her room. She didn't miss her mother's smug face as they passed. Narcissa always had wanted the two of them to end up together.

Carina sighed, running a hand through her curls, subsequently ruining them. She didn't care at that point.

Theo undid his tie, throwing it onto her desk. "I'm pretty sure our parents think we're having sex up here."

"Probably," Carina answered thoughtfully, "and we wouldn't want to disappoint, would we?"

Theo laughed. "I did hope to have sex with a Malfoy tonight. What do the specifics matter?"

"Exactly," Carina agreed. It was light banter, they did it all the time, but this time Carina was frustrated. She wanted out of her dress, she wanted out of her house, she wanted out.

And as far as partners went, Theo wasn't bad at all. His family, at least, wasn't as crazy about Voldemort as hers was. He could be a way out.

Carina flipped a switch that cast an automatic Muffliato on the room before walking over and kissing Theo's neck, undoing buttons as she did so.

"Fuck it," she whispered against his collarbone, "fuck me."

Now

The entire Ravenclaw table was in disarray. All of the girls' hair was an emerald green while all the boys' was a crimson red. Gryffindor and Slytherin, working together. It was practically unheard of, which was why it was so genius.

Carina nonchalantly angled her mirror up so Fred and George could get a good look at the havoc they were wreaking. The twins had come up with the prank while Carina had implemented it, and they were surprisingly an amazing team.

Carina looked up to find Professor Snape's eyes on her, and she winked cheekily at him.

"As a token of our appreciation," George started, "we have sent you a present. Please check under your seat."

Carina rolled her eyes but retrieved the red and gold package anyways.

"You got me a fucking collar."

"Yes!" Fred cried, "Every bitch gets a collar! Why are you an exception?"

Carina chuckled lightly before fastening the collar around her neck. "Huh. I actually like it. Good work, boys, you did well."

The twins laughed, waving goodbye as Carina put away the mirror.

Hermione cornered Carina in the hallway later that day, spewing accusations about the prank that Carina wasn't completely listening to. She just nodded along, watching the way Hermione talked with her hands.

Hermione's eyes finally went to Carina's neck and she trailed off mid-sentence.

"Like it, Granger?" Carina asked, secretly thrilled with the reaction she was getting.

Hermione silently grabbed Carina's wrist, leading her to the Room of Requirement.

"Nice," Carina commented, slightly confused at the Gryffindor's choice of venue. As soon as the door was shut, however, Carina's questions were answered as Hermione practically threw herself at Carina.

Carina smiled into Hermione's kisses, tangling her hand in Hermione's ever-frizzy hair.

Carina was just happy it was Saturday.