Because phoenixdru wanted to see it. And since I don't think I'm going to end up *using* it anywhere.... I present to you stutterer!Blaise in first person.
>~*~
When I was little, I used to pretend I was invisible. If nobody could see me, nobody would talk to me, and I wouldn't have to talk. Every time I talked, Mother would cry and Father would get angry.
When I first went to school, Father told me, "Boy, keep your head down and your mouth shut!" And I did. I learned how to play my invisible man game at school. Never be too bright, nor too dull. Never speak unless spoken to. And even then, not unless absolutely necessary.
There were times when I could be prepared to be called on to speak, and I would be able to talk clearly. There were other times, though, when speaking was unexpected and unavoidable. That's when they would laugh at me and tease me. And that would make me angry.
Part of being invisible is being very aware of everything that's around you. Watching and listening carefully. I saw what my father did when Mother made him angry. I made the motion and said the word as I heard my father say it. And they stopped laughing and teasing and left me alone.
I didn't tell anyone what I had done, but when I got home from school after the first time I did it, Father was waiting for me. He looked angry, and proud, and confused all at once. That's when he told me I was a wizard, just like him. He sat me down and gave me a wand. He told me, "Boy, if you shouldn't go around casting random memory spells. Not if you're not going to do it right." And he showed me how. Told me it was a secret, though. That I couldn't tell anyone. That I had to keep my wand hidden, even.
The laughing and teasing didn't go away just because I had magic. But I did learn how to not provoke the other kids. How to not be called on in class. How to be invisible even better.
~*~
The summer after I turned 11, I got my Hogwarts letter. Father told me it was even more important now to be careful with the obliviate. I could get in trouble for using it while I was in a proper wizarding school. When putting me on the Hogwarts Express for the first time, he repeated his advice from my very first day of public school. "Boy, keep your head down and your mouth shut."
By that time, I thought I had truly learned how to be invisible.
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