Theo POV

The library was a deadzone again so no one was there to see Hermione sit across from us at the table in the corner by a window that was covered in frost. She dropped her bag on the table, but before she could pull out her packet of sugar quills Draco slid her a fresh pack of them without looking up from his book. He'd pulled me to the library directly from the orchestra room and had barely stopped to eat. There was only a little pink on his skin when he released the quills, but Hermione didn't seem to notice or at least forced herself not to say anything about it. I flipped to the next page on a book titled 'Truth Potions: The Guide to Loosening Tongues' and finished writing the physical symptoms associated with the use of veritaserum for the written portion of our project.

"I want to have sex."

I nearly choked on my own saliva. Draco looked up from his book and my quill stalled on the parchment.

Hermione blushed, noticing the red that glowed on us both like beacons.

"Not right now," she clarified. Our magic cooled, shifted to a more delicate shade of red in response to the sparkle of gold from her. "I'm just saying that I'm in. All or nothing. 100 percent. Full throttle. I want to keep having sex with you. Penetration from Malfoy is still a hard limit, and I'll do my best to ignore your…well, your predicaments."

She meant the fact that we loved her. She was going to ignore that. It wasn't ideal.

"I think I may have a solution for those predicaments," Draco said, sounding calm and uncaring though his skin said otherwise. I could see a hint of green. I would bet good money that Draco was even more irritated by the magic seeping than she was. His emotions were on full display. Even if it was just Hermione and I that could see, it was probably a lot for him. "Or at least a partial solution."

He slid the book he'd been reading over to her, one of a stack he'd checked out from the restricted section. Hermione glanced at the cover and read the title aloud.

"The Mysteries of Splintered Magic?"

I matched Hermione's confusion. I'd never heard of that before. Broken magic, yes. Wandless magic, yes. Not splintered.

"We had a copy in the Malfoy library. I read a lot when I was researching occlumency to shield myself from the Dark-," he stopped, correcting himself. "Voldemort."

Hermione opened the book and began reading as Draco continued talking.

"I mostly skimmed this one, which is why this didn't occur to me until I was lying in bed last night, after the power shifted from you to all three of us. Look at this section."

He pointed to a paragraph and I peaked at the book, reading as Hermione did.

Kaleidescope Disease

Kaleidescope Disease is an extremely rare and dangerous ailment brought on by the splintering of magic in a muggle-born individual. This disease is caused by a strong instance of trauma and is a defense mechanism to adjust to a flow of unstable magic in an attempt to separate the power within the individual.

The danger lies in the fact that the disease lays dormant until a secondary event triggers magical divergence past a point of safety or automatic repair. This leads to a physical manifestation of emotions shown by magic emitted directly from the skin in a varying degree of intensity and range of color. In most cases, the colors produced are only visible to the individual infected with the disease. As a result, it is likely to be left undiagnosed and untreated.

No known potions or spells to cure the disease are documented, but historical recordings show that wizards and witches have had success with magical bonds. Magically bonded pairs are able to see the effects of kaleidoscope disease and can potentially take on the symptoms as well. Once the magic has latched on to a magically bonded pair, it can then be re-converged into the initial subject. Unfortunately, the exact process is unknown as the historical recordings are badly damaged and there has not been a documented case of the disease in over 1500 years.

We believe that magical suppression potions and typical magical suppressing products such as alcohol or recreational drugs can be used to treat the symptoms of the disease.

If the cause itself is left untreated however, the disease can become increasingly severe, leading to permanent separation of magic, hospitalization, and possible death.

Death?! No, I couldn't be reading that right. Draco was far too calm for there to be a possibility that Hermione may die. He had to have a solution, an answer.

All the color had drained from her face and skin. There was no magic on her body. Terror didn't have a color, not yet.

"You're not going to die, Granger," he said it matter of factly, reaching across the table to take her hand. She didn't move, she barely breathed. "The records at Malfoy Manor go well past 1500 years. We have time to figure this out."

He handed her another book. The one I had seen him pick up in a panic an hour earlier. He had ignored me when I asked about it and I hadn't pushed. Draco typically needed time to adjust or calm himself. I hadn't thought much of it.

"Splintered magic can take years to kill a person and we already have a leg up."

A sense of awe washed over me at the page he was showing her now. Growing up a pure-blood, it was a thing of fairytales, something that every wizard and witch read about as children. The phenomena was almost as well known as the stories in 'The Tales of Beedle the Bard'. What I had read before started to sink in, now that the word death wasn't controlling every ounce of my thought, though it was still taking a chunk of it. The rest of my brain was clinging to the words that were making me feel simultaneously sick and giddy.

Magical Bonds

When magic was formed in the creation of the universe, it is said that particles formed closely to each other that were separated could be led back to one another. Witches and wizards have been known to form magical bonds when these particles connect. The magic of a bonded pair can give them access to connect magical abilities and forms a deep connection that transcends past any earthly hold.

It is not uncommon for a magically bonded pair to live decades past their counterparts and they are likely to end up living out the duration of their long lives together.

Hermione looked like she was going to be sick now. Her hand shot out of Draco's like it was on fire.

"Are you saying that the three of us are soul mates?!" She yelled, answered by a shushing sound from the librarian on duty who was across nearly the entire room.

Draco and I both looked at her with furrowed brows.

"What are soul mates?" I asked. "Is that some muggle term?"

Hermione groaned, pushing her chair back and bending at the waist. She started breathing rapidly while my stomach did flips.

"I didn't even know there could be more than a pair. Is that possible?" Draco replied to my question with a shrug.

"Seems like it to me. All of it makes sense."

"Soul mates…fucking soul mates." Hermione released a quiet, hysterical kind of laugh. "All I wanted was to have sex. Merlin…I'm soul mates with Theo and Malfoy."

Green took over on Draco's skin. I never realized how much she hurt him on a constant basis. Honestly, it made me sort of mad, but if I said anything, I would be the arsehole. It didn't stop my skin from turning gold. Draco lifted an eyebrow at me, as if to ask what the issue was. Kaleidoscope Disease was a pain in the arse. A thought occurred to me. Magical suppression. We were definitely all due for some.

"Do you still have that gillyweed connection, Draco?"

He gave me a wicked grin, red and pink coming back in full force. Some of the best fucking we had ever done had been under the influence of gillyweed, and the best part was, it was undetectable to our probation Aurors. He stood, grabbing Hermione's bag and I waved a wand to return the books.

"Come on, Granger," he said, pulling her to her feet. "It's about time we show you how we handle trauma the Slytherin way."