I don't own our beloved Harry Potter. Enough said.

An Empty Corridor

Hogwarts meals were delicious. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner were feasts in themselves, with platters of every food imaginable. Normally, one wouldn't be able to tear themselves away from the tantalizing smells, sights, and tastes. Each meal was new, and the house-elves never made the same meal twice, except for Christmas, Easter, and Halloween dinners.

One Ravenclaw girl had managed to resist the charm, in favour of another enticing sight.

Not for the first time, Padma found herself staring at Blaise. She knew her gaze was glaringly obvious, and it was impossible for someone not to notice it. As evidence of her impoliteness, Blaise's friends were smirking in her direction. Strangely, Blaise himself chose to keep his eyes down, eating his food obliviously. However, it seemed he was aware of her penetrating stare, if not because of what he chose to eat with. Instead of using his customary knife and fork, he ate his chicken drumsticks with his fingers, something most Purebloods would do only after they associated with uncultured folk. She watched him suck on his grease-laden fingertips after finishing his meal, slowly, the picture of seduction. The tease. Padma felt her lips part, and she licked them involuntarily.

Finally, he looked up, letting his gaze settle on hers. After a long moment that could only be accurately described as eye-shagging, a smirk crossed his face. His eyebrows rose provocatively, as if inviting her to join him. Padma looked away, mortified to have been caught. She tried to focus on her meal, but it proved difficult by the mere detail that a very attractive Slytherin was watching her. By the time she gathered enough courage to look up, he had left the table; when he reached the door to the Great Hall, however, he looked back and winked.

A fierce blush entered her cheeks, and Lisa and Mandy, who were sitting across from her, chuckled. Both sighed afterwards, thoughtful.

"Padma, I've decided something." Lisa said decidedly. Luna, who was sitting on Mandy's left side, was eating her food quietly, but Padma could see that she was also listening to the conversation.

"What?" the brunette murmured noncommittally.

"I think you should ask Blaise on a date," Mandy piped up, before spooning a mouthful of mashed potatoes into her mouth. "It's sort of obvious that you fancy him."

Padma threw Mandy a confused glance. "I thought you didn't want us to get together."

"Well, that was before I noticed all these looks the two of you are giving one another," she said finally.

"So, what do you want me to do, go and snog the life out of him or something?" Padma joked.

Lisa's face took on a thoughtful look. "Yes," she agreed.

Padma's eyes widened. "Er, Lisa, I was joking," she said weakly.

Her eyebrows rose. "Well, I wasn't."

"No way," the brunette declared matter-of-factly.

"Come on, Padma. You know you want to!" Mandy urged. Padma shook her head. There was no way she was going to march up to Zabini and make a fool of herself, asking him out. He never went anywhere without his cronies, and besides, they would probably be laughing too hard to hear what she had to say.

Sighing, Lisa turned to Mandy and whispered something to her. Mandy nodded.

"What was that about?" Padma demanded. Lisa smiled mysteriously. "Nothing."

Padma was walking to Care of Magical Creatures – alone, none of her friends were interested in taking the class anymore – and the normally empty corridor was filled with people. She pushed through the crowd impatiently, weaving past people and occasionally lifting her hand in greeting to ones she knew.

Isabel McDougal smiled at her in salutation, and Padma responded accordingly. The other Ravenclaw stopped her however, leaning forward to whisper, "Kiss Blaise," in her ear. Before Padma could reply, Isabel had left, disappearing into the bemusedly large crowd.

Puzzled, Padma kept her pace, wondering where in Merlin she had gotten that from, when it came to her suddenly. Lisa and Mandy's mischievous grins in the Great Hall the night before had been suspicious, and it seemed that they had hatched a secret plan – one that involved getting Padma and Blaise together. She cursed herself for having such nosy friends. Now, Blaise would think she was an obsessive little prick, and his flirtatious demeanour with her would cease.

At least before, she had that – those moments to look forward to in the day, when he'd wink, or smirk, or brush against her in that seductive way of his. They almost never spoke – at least, he never did. And that – not knowing what he would say – was horribly infuriating and entrancing at once. She sighed, continuing down the hallway. The crowd was beginning to thin out, and she returned to her usual pace, glad to have some breathing room.

All of a sudden, she was jerked back by two Gryffindor girls. Vicky Frobisher and Demelza Robins grinned brightly. Padma looked at each of them suspiciously. Before she could say anything, they spoke.

"Kiss Blaise, Padma!" they squealed in unison.

"Who told you to tell me that?" she demanded angrily.

"Nobody," Vicky giggled before they walked away just as quickly as Isabel had.

Padma hurried down the hallway, suddenly aware of the voices whispering to her. Giggles and chuckles reverberated against the stone walls, and she wished she had stayed in bed that morning. Today was going to be a nightmare, from what she had been subjected to thus far.

"Snog Zabini!" someone giggled.

"Snog Zabini … you know you want to!" A boy called, the guffaw evident in his tone.

"Come on, Patil, Kiss Blaise!" A trio of girls joined in.

How many people did Lisa know? Padma didn't recognize any of these people – they looked to be in younger years, and certainly with no knowledge of fifth years. She realized that Luna, being good friends with the most popular trio at Hogwarts, would have had as many connections as any, and that she had obviously used said connections to arrange such a humiliating intervention. Darn that eavesdropping little Ravenclaw.

"Kiss him!"

"Snog him silly!"

"Snog him senseless!"

Padma clapped her hands over her ears in frustration, ignoring the shoulder bag hitting against her thigh. She knew her actions were in vain; the voices only grew louder to accommodate themselves. She was going to have words with Luna after today – how dare she intervene! The Ravenclaw decided to cut through the courtyard, rather than subject herself to more embarrassing taunts and teases. She sighed when she saw Hannah Abbott and Susan Bones, two fifth-year Hufflepuffs, blocking the doorway.

"We won't let you through until you kiss Zabini!" Hannah teased Padma. She ground her teeth together, refusing to respond, and pushed past them with surprising strength, given the fact that she had chosen to pull an all-nighter to prepare for an exam.

She was halfway through the courtyard, revelling in the peace and quiet of nature, when Luna appeared from seemingly out of nowhere. She was barefoot, but this was hardly unusual. She smiled a tranquil, ghostly smile, and approached quietly, a slight skip in her step.

"Morning, Padma," she said, her high, melodic voice blending perfectly with the bird sounds from above.

"Morning," Padma returned, exasperated. "Did you tell somebody about what we discussed at breakfast?"

Luna's face took on a secretive, all-knowing quality. "Yes, I did," she replied.

"Why?" Padma demanded. "Did you consider that perhaps I would become the laughingstock of the school if he rejected me?"

"He won't," Luna returned, utterly matter-of-fact. "Kiss him, and he won't be able to say no."

"How do you know that?" Padma cried. "He's a Slytherin!"

"Yes, but not all Slytherins are bad," Luna smiled, ever the optimist. "Kiss Blaise, Padma. You can relinquish his Galois, and he can get rid of your Forestalls!"

Padma looked at Luna for a moment, irritated with the younger girl's lack of response, knowing in the back of her mind that Luna meant well, and perhaps, in some small way, letting the entire school know of Padma's affections would allow her relationship with Blaise to run its course. Of course, that could either be a good thing or a bad thing.

She said her goodbyes before trudging over to Hagrid's hut. Despite it being a primarily mucky class, Padma enjoyed taking care of the animals, finding out how they lived, and learning about nature in general. She had made a few friends in the class, and the two she was closest to were Tracey Davis and Alicia Moon, two of the only Slytherins who were not either snobby, prejudiced, or ridiculously pale.

They wore jeans and sneakers as much as any Muggle-born, and as many robes as some of the Purebloods. They were an eclectic mix of both blood statuses, as half-bloods. Tracey's mother was a Muggle-born, and Alicia's father was a full-blooded Muggle. Padma got along well with them.

They waved as she approached, and invited her to sit with them on the rickety bench Hagrid had built for lessons. Most of the class was filled with boys, and the three of them were among the only girls. Thankfully, they were treated equally, as they had held their own in all kinds of projects, perhaps even better than some of the boys.

"Hullo, Padma." Alicia glanced around surreptitiously.

"What is it, Alicia?" Padma asked.

"Kiss Blaise!" she grinned. Padma groaned in response, and Alicia chuckled.

"Yeah, kiss him. I mean, it isn't hard. I've kissed Blaise, and Merlin, was it fantastic." Tracey added. She was the more edgy of the two; despite her friendly personality, she wore ripped jeans, checkered shoes, and owned more skull t-shirts than anyone Padma knew.

"Who hasn't kissed Blaise?" Alicia asked, raising her eyebrows. "Well, except for me."

Padma couldn't help but feel a little jealous at the statement; she had never been close enough to kiss him, and Tracey had already done the deed. It made the whole process seem... tarnished. She felt inexperienced.

"Don't worry, Padma – I only kissed him on a dare. He pushed me away, if that helps," Tracey reassured her, before smoothing the pleats in her school skirt.

Padma breathed a little sigh of relief, and was momentarily glad he had done so.

"Anyway, I'd advise you to – it's driving the rest of us Slytherins crazy!" said Alicia.

"Even Draco's asking about it, and you know he doesn't care about anything but himself!" added Tracey, raising her eyebrows. "I reckon Blaise can't shut up about it."

"And still, all the two of you do is eye-shag! I wouldn't mind walking in on you going at it, as long as it means you've finally gotten to it!" Alicia exclaimed. Padma threw her a strange look, before turning away.

"Someone wants Zabini and I to get together," Padma laughed. In the back of her mind, however, she wondered what it would be like to finally kiss the aloof, manipulative, dark-eyed Italian.

It seemed as if Alicia's feelings about the two of them had spread to everyone else. For the rest of the day, Padma heard dozens of people – many of which she didn't know – telling her to kiss Blaise. Even some Slytherins had gotten into it, and quite a few had asked to arrange the meeting themselves. Their only explanation was that Blaise was far too reserved for their liking, and having at least some inkling of his love life would do wonders for their curiosities.

In Herbology class, Megan Jones and Sally-Ann Perks had teased her, and when Professor Sprout shushed them, they continued to do so more quietly. In fact, Sprout herself had taken her after class to make, as she called it, a "slight suggestion," for Padma's own well-being. Almost immediately, the Ravenclaw regretted getting to know her teachers, and loving their subjects in general. It made them privy to information about her social life and brought their relationship from teacher-student to buddy-buddy. How uncomfortable.

Transfiguration was more of the same, except Ravenclaws were the ones advising her on whom to kiss.

"Aw, forget about Zabini, Patil! Kiss me instead!" Terry Boot had complained, while Padma hid a smile.

The only class she didn't receive any taunts was Defence against the Dark Arts, and only because Professor Umbridge hexed those who spoke during class. Several notes managed to find their way to her desk, however, and Padma, irritated already, blasted them into pieces. She received a reprimand from Professor Umbridge, to make matters worse. It was worth it, still, to be rid of those ghastly reminders of the fact that she had not yet kissed the most devastatingly handsome and frustratingly unavailable Hogwarts boy, nor had she spoken to him yet today.

The deciding class, Padma realized, would have to be Potions, last period. When she met Lisa and Mandy in the Great Hall at break, after berating them for spreading the word about "kissing Blaise," she told the other Ravenclaws that she was seriously thinking about skipping the class that afternoon.

"What?" Lisa gasped. "Why?"

"I... I'm nervous." Padma admitted.

"Have you ever kissed a boy?" Mandy asked gently.

"Yes, but Zabini's Zabini. I have, oh, two kisses under my belt. How many does he have? Hundreds? Thousands?" Padma exaggerated.

Lisa rolled her eyes. "Trust me when I say he's not quite as intimidating. It's just his 'bad boy' demeanour."

"Yeah, Lisa's right." Mandy agreed.

"That's easy for you two to say. You've beaten him in a wand-fight and Lisa, you've dated Slytherins before! You think they're just like everyone else when they're clearly not!"

"I don't care," Lisa said decidedly. "You are going to Potions, and you will kiss him. I will make it happen if you don't take the initiative!"

Before Padma could respond – rather passionately – the bell rang for next class. Lisa raised an eyebrow, and Mandy stood from the bench she had been sitting on.

"Come on, Blaise-lover," she urged Padma, who scowled at the nickname. They left the Great Hall after waving good-bye to Lisa, who had practice Charms with Professor Flitwick for extra credit, and who didn't care much about Potions, anyhow.

The hallways were eerily silent, and after a day of hearing about kissing Blaise, Padma welcomed the quiet with open arms. Mandy chattered animatedly with her about other things, presumably to distract her. Finally, the Ravenclaw fell silent, and when Padma looked up, she saw a group of Slytherins approaching them from the opposite direction.

She wasn't sure, but she thought she saw Mandy wink. Her gaze flicked to Zabini, who, as per usual, was at the head of the pack, second only to Draco Malfoy himself. The blonde-haired Slytherin looked preoccupied with his Prefect badge at first, but when he looked up and saw Padma, a slow, deliberate smirk emerged on his pointed face. He nudged Blaise ever-so-slightly, so that a passing eye might miss the gesture, but because Padma was watching intently, she noticed. Blaise's eyes were on her, also, and his features were emotionless despite the nudge. He was better at playing the aloof Slytherin than Malfoy.

"Class will begin in less than a minute, Ravenclaws. Do you really want to be late?" asked Malfoy, flashing his Prefect badge. "I may have to dock some house points for that."

"Then I'll do the same for you, Malfoy," Padma muttered. "I'm a Prefect as well, or have you forgotten?"

His lip curled. "You're just lucky that –"

"That what, Malfoy?" Mandy demanded.

He paused for a moment, looking back at Blaise, who subtly shook his head, and turned back to the girls. "Hurry up," Malfoy said instead, sloping into the Potions classroom with his cronies, each of them throwing Padma suggestive glances as they passed her to enter the dungeon.

"I'll wait for you inside," Mandy whispered. She patted Padma's shoulder, before the other Ravenclaw went darting in after Malfoy. Blaise and Padma were left outside, in the dimly lit hallway. She felt uncomfortably hot – and it wasn't because of the humidity.

There was a long silence, as expected. Zabini was a man of few words, after all.

He approached her, but only to lean against the wall beside her. Neither of them looked at each other, and on Padma's part, it was because of fear.

"What's your problem?" he asked softly. She blinked, not registering the question at first, and as realization dawned on her, she grew confused.

"What d'you mean?"

"I've watched you," said Blaise. He stated it as a fact. Overconfident jerk. "I've seen the way you behave around me – curt, reserved. But I also know that you fancy me." He turned to look at her. She didn't move.

"And now," he continued, "I'm hearing some wild rumours about you 'snogging me senseless.'"

Padma blushed. The words sounded so childish coming out of his mouth.

"It was something silly I said at dinner last night," she said lamely. "I didn't think Lisa would do anything about it."

"Oh." There was a bit of amusement in his tone, as if he found her excuse as stupid as she did. "So you don't want to kiss me, then?"

"I – well, it's –" Padma flustered.

Blaise was cool and collected, an eyebrow arched in a way that told her he was very aware of her confusion. He took her chin in his hand, bringing their faces close together. Padma hoped her breath smelled as good as his. He watched her, his eyes not wavering from hers. "Yes – or no?" he murmured. He didn't look disgusted by the thought of kissing her, and Padma took that as a good sign.

There was a long pause, before she finally mustered the courage to answer. "Yes."

He smirked again, but this time, there was something more accompanying it.

His lips descended on hers, lightly at first, but when she responded positively, her arms around his neck, a smile on her lips, he moved closer, wrapping his arms around her waist. His hand trailed circles up and down her back, drawing out whimpers of pleasure from his partner. He smirked against her mouth, glad to have elicited such a response.

Tentatively, even for Blaise Zabini, his fingers went to undo the braid her hair was wrapped up in, loosening the thick locks from their prison, threading his fingers securely through them. Her hair was so long – it went past her waist. He'd always been fascinated by that one aspect of her looks, because it made her unique. The scent interweaving with each strand made it even better, the fragrance something he could never quite place but that he knew was as exotic as she was. He was breathing her scent in, hugging her close, appreciating everything about her lovely body, when the door to the Potions classroom slammed open.

The Potions teacher stood in the doorway, dwarfing it in comparison and momentarily startling the pair.

Padma and Blaise jumped apart, and Blaise's expression quickly became impassive once again. He looked as if he didn't give a Centaur's hoof whether or not he was in trouble. Padma, on the other hand, always the good girl, chose to look down meekly, cheeks flaming with embarrassment.

"Mr. Zabini. Miss Patil. I hate to interrupt your...meeting..." Snape hissed, "but I have a class to teach. Get inside – now."

Without so much as a glance at each other, they entered the classroom quickly. Blaise suppressed the urge, but Padma didn't, not having learned the art of self-restraint. She brushed her hand over her mouth, attempting to wipe away what evidence had been left of his kiss on her lips, and everyone saw. As Blaise sat down beside Draco, the other Slytherin raised an eyebrow.

"Well done," the Malfoy boy murmured behind his hand.

Despite himself, Blaise smirked and let his gaze travel to where his Ravenclaw was seated, pretty and pure as always. He couldn't wait to corrupt her.

On the other side of the classroom, where Snape passed Padma on his way to the front to begin his interrupted and now late lesson, she thought she heard him say something rather peculiar.

"Finally."

Hope you enjoyed! =D