The Deeper you Dig, The Darker it Gets

61.

Aary's POV

       "This tub feels a lot smaller now that I've seen the one in the prefect bathroom." Blaise mumbles.

            I look back at him with scrunched eyebrows. "Maybe if you weren't so tall we'd have more room."

                          "Last time I checked, you liked my height." He huffs.

         I pile up bubbles in my hands and place them on his mouth, forcing him to stop talking. He rolls his eyes and blows the soap off of his face, making bubbles fly in the air.

              "So after this I was thinking we could pull out some of those board games? You can show me how to play that one you like..."

                        "Guess who," I respond. "I think you'll like it a lot."

       He uses his index finger to pull back the hair falling in front of my eyes, then presses our lips together. I slowly spin my body around to sit on his lap but then a loud bang coming from downstairs interrupts.

                           "Do you think it's-"

           "I swear if they drank all of the whiskey I'm going to make them sleep outside."

        We both turn to each other in sync with wide eyes. As soon as we realize who it is, we jump out of the bathtub and wrap towels around our bodies. I try not to run and risk slipping but my excitement takes over.

        The second I step into the kitchen, I see Draco and Malory walking in. Just like always there's a few new cuts and bruises on Mal's face but thankfully they don't look too alarming.

          "I thought we were going to have to wait until tomorrow to see you!" I say happily while rushing to give her a hug.

                              "Why are you two naked?" Draco scoffs.

          Blaise and I both ignore him. I try to give him a hug as well but he groans in pain.

                             "You too?" I say with sad eyes.

        He nods and immediately starts digging through the pantries for alcohol. I turn back to Mal and watch as she follows Draco's every move with her eyes.

            "I hate to ruin your uh...spa session," Mal says. "But we have a lot to talk about."

                         "Like what?" Blaise asks while moving closer to us.

         "How about you get dressed and then we'll tell you." Draco mutters with his head in a cabinet.

        Blaise raises his hands in defense and starts heading back up the stairs to my room. I follow right behind.

                  *                     *                      *

           "Alright, this is going to be a lot and I still haven't fully wrapped my head around it so I'm going to need as much help as possible."

      Malory runs her fingers through her hair and rests her elbows on the table. She takes a minute to close her eyes and exhale, then continues.

                          "We have to find horcruxes."

       Blaise and I both tilt our heads. I've heard the term before but never actually learned what it means. My dad and his brother mentioned it a few times, I have a bad habit of snooping.

                   Blaise sighs. "A horcrux? What is that?"

       "We're not entirely sure," Draco states while sipping his drink. "But it's something that Malory's dad wants and he wants it badly."

                "He acted like it was the thing keeping him alive." Malory adds on.

        I listen to their words carefully while trying to dig deep in my memories from the times when I heard the word. My dad's brother seemed extremely determined to find it also but I can't imagine why.

       While Malory continues to explain everything her father told her I get up from the kitchen table and walk into the sitting area. My finger traces the spines of each book on the shelves until eventually I stop on the one that was often missing.

                    Secrets of the Darkest Art

       I return to the kitchen and drop it on the table right in front of Malory. She looks up at me confused.

                 "I think there's something about horcruxes in here."

       Malory flips through the pages quickly, passing dozens of twisted and fucked up types of magic. When she reaches the page she needs and reads the first few words, her eyes get big. Her mouth moves as she says something softly under her breath but I can't make it out.

                         "What?" Blaise asks.

         She swallows hard and repeats herself. "He split his soul in pieces."

          The words that come out of her mouth don't seem real so I quickly pull the book towards me and start reading.

           "But this here only talks about splitting a soul once," I explain. "How are we supposed to find multiple if there's only one?"

         Malory gets lost in her head, replaying the conversation she had with her father hours ago. The longer she thinks about it the more confused she gets.

                  "There's more than one, he said it himself." Draco tells me.

       Blaise takes the book from my hands and reads over what we're discussing. He nudges my shoulder suddenly.

                             "This says immortality." He mutters.

        I look up at Malory and see her eyes starting to water. She quickly wipes the tears before they can fall.

       "He believes that Harry is after these horcruxes," She sighs. "And now he wants me to bring them to him so he knows they're safe."

        As Malory goes on with explaining in detail what her task is I start to feel sick to my stomach. The memory of my uncle talking to my father the last time before disappearing forever becomes clearer and I start realizing how dangerous what we're talking about actually is.

              "My uncle was looking for a horcrux," I blurt. "I don't know if it was one of your dad's, but that's how he died."

   Draco narrows his eyes while thinking hard. Quickly, he digs in Malory's bag and pulls out a silver chain with a large locket dangling from it. While messing with it for a while, it suddenly falls open. A small piece of parchment falls onto the table.

     As he reads the note carefully a light bulb turns on in his head.

                  "What's your uncle's name?" He asks me.

                         "Regulus," I reply. "Regulus Arcturus Black."

           He looks to me with disbelief.

                        "Holy shit," He scoffs. "R.A.B."

      Malory leans over and reads the note multiple times, then looks up at me nervously.

                     "What?"

     She inhales deeply and hands the piece of parchment to me.

                  "Your uncle found a horcrux."