CHRYSALIS - FRED WEASLEY

CHAPTER 2

The next time Lillie went to go smoke, the same thing happened. The twins magically turned up, exactly in her path, with devious looks on their faces and enough weed to incapacitate a small army. Soon, the activity becomes routine. Lillie doesn't even have to worry whether the twins will know if she is smoking that night, nor where in the castle she is. They simply turn up, ready to, well, turn up. They refuse to explain how exactly they do this, even after Lillie tried to bribe them with a free joint.

The three have good chemistry together while high, which Lillie is thankful for. Far too many times, she has smoked with boys who get embarrassing while high. They say stupid things, or get moody or quiet. The Weasley twins still say stupid things, but the group's high conversations are often deep, even life changing. They talk about the secrets of the universe and insecurity and feminism.

Their conversations aren't always meta, however.

"Did you know," George says, "That blueberry is the only fruit named after a color?"

"Not true," Fred instantly replies, "starfruit."

George and Lillie erupt into a fit of giggles, clutching their stomachs and each other.

"Thats-" Lillie says between wheezes, "That's a shape, Freddie."

They collapse into more laughter, doubling over at Fred's embarrassed face.

"Ok fine. Fine. What about a... a blackberry!"

"Black is a shade, not a color bro."

Lillie takes a deep, stuttering breath, trying to calm her laughter, "Ok but what about... raspberry?"

This ignites a fresh round of giggles, during which Fred gasps, "GREEN BEAN?"

"LEMON?" Lillie exclaimes, barely getting the words out through her heaves of laughter.

"I cannot," George wheezes, "believe that I voluntarily hang out with you guys."

...

One night, however, was different. It started like normal; Lillie crept out of bed, carefully parting the curtains of her four-poster as to not wake the sleeping Hufflepuffs next to her. She bundles up in her muggle clothing and throws her hair back, tying it in a bun that sits at the nape of her neck. She shoves her feet into the nearest shoes-- her pair of beat-up white converse-- and lifts her mattress to retrieve the pouch that holds her weed. As she heads towards the door, she suddenly stops in her tracks and looks toward the bathroom. She goes in and examines herself in the mirror. Her hair is pulled back in an unflattering way, and the lack of sleep from late nights with the twins by the lake have cast dark shadows under her eyes. She yanks a few hairs from her bun to frame her face and studies herself again. She averts eye contact quickly, as if she were looking at something she weren't supposed to, like it physically pains her. She huffs, turns away, and bustles out of the dorm, softly closing the door behind her.

By now, Lillie is used to seeing the twins at the end of one of Hogwarts' sprawling corridors, their hands in their pockets and grins on their faces. So, when the tip of her wand illuminates only one figure at the end of the corridor, her heart jumps to her throat and she stops dead in her tracks.

"Erm, Lillie?" says Fred tentatively. He is thrown by Lillie's behavior, and worried that in the shadow of the light in front of her, he's mistaken her for someone else.

"Christ, I'm not used to seeing you alone. Thought you were a teacher or something."

"Lillie, I'm hurt. There definitely aren't any teachers at Hogwarts who are this tall, dark, and handsome."