The Deeper you Dig, The Darker it Gets

78.

Malory's POV

     If we had any other option then we wouldn't be here right now. Being in Cokeworth only puts the image of his dead body back into my head and it's already bad enough that I see it every time my eyes are closed. So yeah, I guess you could say that I'm not thrilled to be here.

      But like I said, no other option.

                 "Are you sure about this?" Draco asks softly.

         I keep my head forward. "What else are we going to do? Go to the manor?"

      He gives me a sympathetic look and I see it out of the corner of my eye. I feel his hand running up and down my back gently as he tries to think of comforting words. Unfortunately right now, no words can make me feel better.

      After a long walk down the Spinner's End, the four of us stop in front of the house that has now been abandoned for quite some time. The grass is overgrown and the bushes are dead. It matches the rest of the houses on the street, which is exactly what he didn't want.

                     "Come on."

      Draco intertwines our fingers before we start heading towards the front door. I feel the guilt in my chest falling into my stomach with every footstep and it takes everything in me to not turn back. He'd want us to stay here, I know it.

     When we approach the front door I slowly pull my wand from my back pocket. I don't notice it at first but my hand is shaking aggressively as I try to cast the unlocking charm. Eventually I get the door unlocked and it opens automatically for us, like it's been waiting.

            "Isn't this illegal?" Aary asks. "We're breaking into someone's house..."

       I turn towards her with a blank expression. "Aary, think about all of the illegal things we've done for a second."

      She presses her lips together to try and avoid laughing and I can't help but chuckle. I signal for Draco to go into the home first and he does so, then I follow behind. Immediately, I see the amount of dust that has built up on the furniture.

            "We were here not that long ago," Blaise mentions. "It's crazy how it can look so bad this quickly."

       I run my finger along the shelves in the sitting room, picking up dirt in the process. I've always really loved his house, even when it looks like this I do. When I close my eyes, I imagine him standing in the kitchen drinking his morning tea. A smile grows on my face.

                     "What are you thinking about?"

       I open my eyes and the image vanishes.

          "Nothing," I say to Draco. "We should probably start cleaning if we're going to stay here."

       He nods and disappears to the closet to find cleaning supplies. When he returns, he hands me a duster with some sort of liquid. Aary and Blaise take the brooms to start removing the dirt off of the ground.

                  "I'm going to start in the back rooms." I tell them.

      They all nod, then start cleaning the main area of the home. While walking down the corridor to his bedroom, I can't help but stop at his study. Specifically because the door is wide open, unlike the others.

       I look back at Draco, Aary, and Blaise, then quickly enter the room. The last time I was in here was my birthday. Him and I were discussing the horcruxes, I think I fell asleep in the middle of it actually.