Half-Dimension

37

Lucius would never understand where Tom got the gall to speak to his father like that, even he himself did not dare to act like that around his father, but then again, Tom had been nothing if not bold and reckless to some extent in his confidence and ability. He had to admit something, it worked. Tom knew full well what his status was at the moment and in the most slytherin way possible manipulated himself to be on top, once again. Even over his father, Lucius had to admit that there was a reason why he did admire Tom, and why he was a follower of the other despite his status as a half blood. His ability to manipulate any situation for his advantage was something that Lucius could not quite help but find fascinating, and he had learned quite a bit by following Tom. Furthermore, with someone like Tom, it was always better to be on their good side rather than their bad.

Watching his father turn on his heel to deal with Dumbledore was something that merely gave him a bit of whiplash. He had not expected Tom to really get to his father like that. He had managed to effectively get under his skin, and he had barely even said anything. He could not believe the ease with which the Lord had managed to effectively get under a Patriarch's skin. It was supposed to be incredibly difficult. Whilst yes, his Father was at the ministry dealing with meetings and then on top of that the delay in getting to Hogwarts under the realization that his youngest was presenting finally, Lucius knew it was bound to unsettle, but he was a patriarch, known for their infallable control and blank nature. It was somewhat worrying to see his Father so incredibly affected by this situation. Though Lucius supposed that if there was ever a situation to be affected by this would definitely be considered one of the most justifiable.

Lucius turned back towards Tom as his father stormed out of the Infirmary, watching as Tom gave a smug smile to Abraxas' back. Nerves lit through his spine like never before. Tom smirking like that did not bode well for anyone. That, however, was not something that he said. It would be useless anyways, because at this moment they all knew that Tom held the playing cards, or in this case, held Draco. It somewhat made Lucius sick to see Tom care so flippantly about using Draco like that, but he had known that there was some risk to getting Tom involved in the first place, he just had not realized just how badly that risk was. He had not truly thought Tom would be willing to help them in the first place, and yet here he was. Now he was running the point of gaining a dependency bond, all because Lucius was worried about failing his father, and in the end, they still had not figured out what it was that Draco was presenting as. Whatever it was, clearly was not Alpha. Which meant that he was either a Submissive Veela or an Omega Were, but they were still unsure as to which it was. Tom likely knew, and was hiding it from them, but Tom's inheritance worked in weird ways, from what Lucius and Severus had managed to gather.

Lucius was not entirely sure that Tom seemed to be overly sensitive to inheritances from others, but he did not even know what exactly the Slytherin's heir had as an inheritance anyways. He was not one to question the other much anyways. He was worried that Tom had known the inheritance of Draco from the beginning, however, and simply neglected to tell them. It was something that Tom would do if he was interested in something. It was not something Lucius wanted to think about Tom potentially doing, but seeing the ease with which he handled Draco before, and even now, Lucius could not help but think about the fact that it could be likely that Tom had lied to them about not being entirely sure what Draco could present as.

"Dumbledore is still going to come in within a few moments." Tom said simply, an idle shrug being given to Lucius and Severus when the two stared at him in disbelief. "It is inevitable. The old bastard has no idea how to tune things out that do not concern him. I suppose in this way it is somewhat his concern, but even still." Tom gave them a small huff and a roll of his eyes. "Told you," Was sing songed under his breath as the doors opened and the Old coot himself walked through the doors, a visibly agitated Malfoy Patriarch following behind them. Lucius was a bit unnerved at how much emotion his father was willingly, or perhaps not so willingly, showing. Tom did not seem overly concerned, however, so Lucius knew that he had to have a back up plan. He did enjoy tormenting Dumbledore the few moments that he is able.

Dumbledore did freeze up once Draco began to turn his narrowed eyes onto the man. Lucius had to admit that as much as it was unnerving to see Draco in a full instinctual state, and despite how worried he was about a dependency bond forming between Draco and Tom, he was glad it kept Dumbledore in check, at the very least. Slytherins already had enough issues with Dumbledore crossing lines and inserting himself into business that he has no business being in. If there was anything good that was going to come from this, it was likely Dumbledore would stop trying to intervene in places that he had no right to be in the first place. Dumbledore was a rather nosy headmaster, and overly favoritizing of his little Gryffindor boys. 

"What a surprise," Tom said idly, his fingers pulling Draco back into him, though Lucius' noted that his eyes did not leave Dumbledore's own. They were practically having a stare down, and despite Dumbledore being the Alpha, Lucius knew that Draco was going to win this time. It was always interesting to see the more submissive dynamics win against the more dominant ones. Lucius was not an idiot, look who he got for a mate, he knew full well that one should never underestimate a person based off their inheritance.