Draco POV
I should be sitting in the Quidditch stands. I knew that neither Granger nor Theo would care that there was a game starting in an hour. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if they had both forgot seeing as the game was between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. I, however, should care and if I did, I would be sitting eagerly in the stands with Astoria and my teammates, waiting for the start. I had always watched my rivals, taken notes, worked on strategy how to beat then. I'd already played Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff wasn't typically ferocious, but still, I should be watching as I always did. Always ended today.
After the revelations in the library, I had about as much interest in the game as my companions. I didn't know what in the bloody hell soul mates were, but a magical bond was on the top of my list of things that I gave myself permission to freak out about seeing as I wouldn't let myself panic over the possible risks of kaleidoscope disease. I had a plan for that. It might take months for me to go through the entire Malfoy library catalog after school and on weekends. I didn't care. I would find a way to fix Granger and prevent her...No, not thinking about that. I stacked my walls around that information. For now, I just wanted to have some relief and I wasn't the only one. Quidditch and kaleidoscope disease be damned.
It was easy enough to get in contact with the school's dealer. The process was simple. Money was left with a piece of magical parchment requesting whatever contraband items were desired. It was placed in a locked cupboard of an old storeroom and a password spell was used over the cupboard. I'd received the password spell on my first day at Hogwarts every year via owl. This year had been no different. I wasn't sure who ran the damn thing and I honestly didn't care. After waiting a few minutes, I was able to achieve the item. A bag of gillyweed- already dried and rolled into three separate joints. Upon retrieving the contraband, I shoved it deep into Granger's bag on my arm, and we made our way straight into the forbidden forest.
"Where are we going?"
Ah, she finally speaks. Took her long enough. She'd been silent since the library.
"You'll see," I replied.
There was an old shack just inside the forbidden forest. The roof was dilapidated, the entire thing was one strong wind from falling apart. At least it looked that way on the outside. On the inside though, was a Slytherin haven.
I pushed open the cracked wooden door, waving Granger inside the empty shed. Theo followed her and I stepped in last, closing the door behind me. Theo was already performing the spell when I locked the door.
"Exponere."
I didn't watch the walls shift to be covered in deep green tapestries, or the formation of three green couches, or even the sky opening up overheard and shifting into a night sky full of bright stars in the middle of the day. I knew that a gramophone would form in the corner with stacks of albums, a door to a bathroom would materialize in another corner, snacks and drinks would appear on a table along the wall, and dozens of green and white candles would light automatically. Watching Granger see it all happen was a thousand times more intoxicating than viewing it myself. Seeing the magic through her eyes was an experience all its own. Her eyes widened, sparkled even, and her lips pulled into a smile. She stared in awe as the final piece, a thick white fur rug, stretched out on the hardwood floor that had been dust moments ago. It took up a giant space in front of a fireplace that crackled.
"Wow." The one word from Granger extended into silence as Theo shrugged out of his top layer, already basking in the heat of the fire. He took a pumpkin pastie off the table and shoved it into his mouth before grabbing another and sitting on one of the couches. Shite. I needed to feed him more. I had barely let him eat breakfast. I almost apologized to him until Granger spoke again. "So this is where all the Slytherin's hide. I wish I'd known about this when I was a Prefect."
I replied to her, suddenly feeling a sense of pride for my house that I hadn't felt in a while.
"You wouldn't have even made it through the door. The shack is spelled against outsiders. If a non-Syltherin tries to open the door without an invitation they immediately think about something else they have to do or somewhere they have to be. And once the door is locked, no one else can enter without being invited in."
"Draco's doing," Theo added, finishing his second pastie. There was a flash of pink. "He created the spells in 4th year."
My own pink replied. I could almost feel his admiration for me in that flash of loving pink despite the fact that he knew as well as I did that I had just been a desperate kid at the time, seeking approval. I'd just been a smart, desperate, kid. I saw Granger fidget nervously with her now red and gold hands. Damn it.
"Let's shut this bloody magic off," I said. She nodded in agreement. "Have you ever done-"
She shook her head, tugging off her jumper and tossing it over the back of one of the couches next to a soft white blanket. Of course she hadn't done gillyweed. What a dumb question. It was Granger. My jumper joined hers and my wand was placed on a side table that filled in the corner between the couches. I sat beside her, reaching into the large bag to dig out the smaller bag. I had to toss her packets of sugar quills on the couch and her book. I saw Theo grab the damn thing as soon as it was in view.
"Hey! You better not get crumbs on that." She snapped in gold. He showed his empty hands, proof that he had no more food.
I pulled her attention back to me by handing her the smallest joint of the three. She probably wouldn't even need the whole thing and whatever she didn't smoke, Theo damn sure would. He always out smoked me. True to her ever curious mind, she examined the joint, turning it in her hands before smelling it. I grabbed out my own and tossed the largest one to Theo.
"You can watch me first. Okay?" She nodded. More gold. Fuck. I should have watched my words. If there was anything Granger hated more than food on her books, it was feeling incompetent. "You'll do fine. It's just that it can be really hard to inhale properly the first time."
"Wait!" Theo shouted, his aura shifting to accommodate hints of red as he lowered the book. His word made me pause, the joint hanging between my lips. He stopped looking at me, turning his attention entirely on Granger. "When we're high, we sometimes fuck. GIllyweed doesn't leave any room for shame and it can get really intense. Is that okay?"
Ever the gentleman. He'd never hesitated with me. We didn't talk about it, we just knew it was likely, but things were still so hot and cold with her. It wouldn't be right proceeding without her approval.
All the gold blew away, replaced by a bright red when she whispered a soft, "Yes."
"Your rule will still apply and you don't have to participate if you don't want to." I added.
"Okay."
Theo went immediately back to the book, laying across the couch and lighting his joint with the tip of his wand. He stretched out his wand nonchalantly so he could light mine and Granger's too. I took a deep, intentional breath, feeling the immediate urge to cough. I fought it, held it and controlled it, releasing the smoke after a full 30 seconds or so. Granger repeated my exact movements and went into a full on hacking fit.
Shite. I clapped her on the back.
"That's a good sign." Theo said, flipping to the next page on the novel.
Granger looked at him like he was insane. I took another hit of my own joint, forcing the cough this time to prove his point.
"See!" He cried, even further proving the point by doing the same exact thing, sitting up to get a deep cough. Granger eyed us both with tight eyes full of suspicion, but it got her to take another hit. "It just means that you're doing it right."
Ten minutes later it became clear that a full joint was definitely not needed for Granger. She had taken her fifth hit a few moments earlier and she was already leaned fully back against the couch, her entire body relaxed. I could barely see the red smoke on her skin, her wand sat limp in her hold. Theo extinguished his own nearly non-existent joint and reached for the one from her hand. She was too busy staring at the sky above to notice.
"This sky is even prettier than the one in the great hall. Oh, look, Draco!"
My heart stopped in my chest, Theo's attention shifted from the book to her mid hit. We watched her lift a hand slowly and with great effort, pointing at my namesake constellation. The stab of pain I felt was sharp and the green was molten. Her red hand fell hard and she giggled. The sound made the brief stab of agony fade and I watched all signs of magic disappear from us- Granger's red lust, the green of my pain, the gold and pink that battled on Theo's body. Relief took over. I saw it in the way that all of our bodies softened. Theo snuffed out the second joint and lifted the book, Granger smiled, my heart stopped aching. I finished my own joint, using the last bits of magic to zap it out of existence.
I let my myself fall entirely under the influence of the gillyweed.
"I've never been so happy to be powerless. It's even better than alcohol or marijuana. I feel…wonderful." Granger's voice made me turn my head. She was still looking up at the stars. "Like I'm wrapped in the coziest blanket."
I couldn't agree with her more. My head felt heavy, my breaths came slow, time crawled. Gillyweed had that effect. Time did in fact run slower under its influence, unlike the muggle counterpart that we'd experimented with in 5th year. Marijuana had nothing on gillyweed. Something occurred to me in the fog, something Granger had said.
"How would you know it's better than marijuana?" I asked, staring at her with my head against the couch "Were you a naughty girl, Granger?"
She let out the sharpest little breath. Even without the red magic I could practically read her body's cues. I saved that bit of information for later.
"So you didn't like it?" I pressed. She shook her head from side to side without lifting it.
"I tried it once at a Gryffindor party. George heard about it from a muggle-born kid so he got a hold of some and baked it in brownies. I didn't know until I had eaten three of them. I puked everywhere."
Theo laughed, still thumbing the pages on that damn book. I could hear the rustling of paper. Leave it to Theo to read while high. I expected that from Granger, not him. Granted that book was a topic of interest between us. I kind of wanted to know what it was about, but I was too distracted by Granger repeating the name she'd spoken.
"George…I wonder if he's tried gillyweed. He's been so sad since Fred-"
She stopped speaking and was thankfully saved from the thought by Theo.
"When does the good stuff happen in this?" Theo asked. When I looked he only appeared to be 10 or so pages into it. The pages flipped fast, in a blur.
"Good stuff? It's all good stuff!" Granger said, sounding aghast. Turning my head back to her made me a little dizzy. I wish there was a way I could see them both at once. Maybe I could make myself two heads. I wondered if there was a spell for that.
"He's talking about the porn," I said in reply to her confusion. She blushed while my chest shook a bit with quiet laughter.
"Yeah! The good stuff." He held out the book to her. At least I didn't have to move my head again to see it. "Show me the good stuff."
She sat forward on the couch, swaying only the slightest bit. It took her less than 5 seconds to open to a page and hand it back to him.
"How many times have you read that book, Granger?" I asked teasingly. Her knee touched mine when she sat back. She turned to face me, making her leg press more into mine.
"A lot."
There was no shame in her response, just a devious smile. Her skin looked flushed, she seemed warm. I was warm too, or hot. Yeah. Hot. I was roasting. I attacked the buttons on my shirt, pulling it open as Theo finally spoke, reading from the book.
"William fell to his knees in front of his companion and Marian's hand slid unconsciously between her thighs. She'd touched herself hundreds of times, but doing so in the company of others who were unaware of her proximity felt especially sinful. Her nipples puckered in the cold water, aching for the touch of foreign fingers or lips. She settled for teasing a peak with her other hand."
A hand found my thigh as Theo read. It was gentle and soft on my leg. I let out the quietest sigh and Theo's eyes shifted at the sound. He looked directly at Granger's hand snaking along my trousers, swirling on my thigh absentmindedly, and continued to read.