TW: Mentions of death, harm

(Mattheo’s pov) 

I opened my eyes and got up quickly, looking for Y/n. I couldn’t see her, and Malachi was gone too. The other boy got up and looked around before his eyes locked on mine. “Do you know where she went?” I asked 

“No, but I have my guesses” He looked out at the forest and tilted his head as if he was focusing on a sound. “Someone else is here” He finally said, beckoning with his head for me to follow him. 

We walked for a minute or two before we found Theodore lying on the ground. He looked like he was in a lot of pain. I helped him up and he rested his weight on a tree. “What happened?” I asked 

“Y/n made a deal with them to trade her life for mine, they have her” He explained. 

Those last three words rang in my head over and over again “Do you know what they are going to do to her?” 

“Yes I-” He sounded out of breath and he was on the verge of passing out.

He tried to continue but Miles stopped him “He needs to get help, to heal. I can tell you what I know until he feels better, but he needs to heal” He looked back at me “Do you have a private room we could put him in?”

“Can’t we just take him to the hospital wing?” I asked 

“No, they wouldn't be able to help him” 

I sighed “yeah, I have a private room with and extra bed, we can take him there” 

I grabbed Theodore and Miles and apparated to my room. I set him down on the bed while Miles looked around. He made sure the door was locked and there was a silencing spell on the room then sat down on the desk chair. “So what can you tell me?” I asked

“My brothers and I are siphons, we can siphon magic out of people. The less magic a person has, the weaker they are, the closer to death they are, the easier to kill they are. I never was big on it, it’s not exactly natural and the more you do it the more addicting it becomes. The reason why they want Y/n is not because of the level of her magic, they don’t know how powerful she is, but it’s to get back at Thomas, which in my opinion is taking it to far, but as soon as Malachi finds out how powerful she is, she will die, and Malachi will be very very powerful and all the more evil” 

“So what you're saying is they are going to take her magic away? Is this why Theodore is like this, is there any way to get the magic back?” 

“If the person is dead no, if there alive maybe” 

“Why maybe?” 

“Because in order to get it back, you have to have a siphon give the magic back, meaning I would have to siphon it from Malachi or Emerson and then give it back, but like I said before, I don’t like doing that. The only other way is to kill the siphon, and there’s no way we are killing Malachi. Emerson maybe, but not Malachi” 

Suddenly Thomas appeared in the room “Apparently I can’t leave you alone anymore” He greeted then turned his head and nodded at Miles “Long time no see” 

“First of all, how did you get into my mind, and second, how do you know each other?” 

“While you were busy trying to block me out through the link, you forgot that I got into your mind without the link, it’s just regular old magic. Miles is the same age as me and went to Hogwarts with Malachi and me for the first three years until they got pulled out and went homeschooling. Even if I never really talked to him, we still had classes together.” He explained before diverting his attention back to Miles “I think there's something else that I would like to add, something your missing” 

“And what would that be?” Miles asked

“I first have a question” He paused. “If it is not natural, this power that you have, how did you become one?”

“Why? I promise you it’s not a gift one wishes to have” 

“Was it dark magic, perhaps from a black leather book written in ancient runes?” 

Miles glared skeptical towards Thomas “Yes, it was. Do you have the book? It went missing a couple years back” 

“It’s back in my room. Y/n said it showed up in her bag one day her first year, said it gave her visions of dark objects and it gave her nightmares. I didn’t want anyone else to find it so I kept it and hid it away” 

“Well if she is a siphon that would explain how she is so powerful and it would also mean she's in a lot more trouble now” 

“Dare I ask what happens when a siphon siphons another siphon or possibly kills?” 

“If a siphon kills someone, anyone, they sorta absorb their magic, so if one kills the other, they would probably get a lot of magic, possibly too much. When a siphon siphons another siphon they don’t get any magic out of it, it’s like they are almost trading magic. A siphon can’t get any more magic out of siphoning a siphon. The only way a siphon can get another's siphons magic is by killing them” 

“Can we just stop saying siphon every two seconds? It’s getting really confusing” I commented “Can we just figure out a way to get to her”  

“I think I know where they might be, but we have to come up with a plan first” 

(Y/n’s pov) 

I was lying on the floor, my back slumped against the white wall that had turned to a yellow-ish tint in the years. I was covered in cuts and bruises. Malachi stood in the middle of the room, glaring down at me. I was surprised he hadn’t used any magic on me yet. “You know, for a Riddle, I would have expected better” He sounded bored “You're weaker than I thought you'd be. I might as well finish you off right now” He pointed his wand at me but before he could hit me with a spell, Emerson entered the room.
He glanced at me his eyes changed to show some sympathy for a second before they returned to a cold glare and moved his eyes to Malachi “Our brother is here, along with her brothers”

“Go, I will be there in a second” Malachi motioned with his head for Emerson to leave. He grabbed my right arm and roughly pulled me up to a standing position before shoving me out the door and down the dark, musty hallway.