What if He had a Choice?

47

"What happened?" Tom questioned, his voice gentle and soft as he asked the other. Draco stared up at him, a sense of annoyance in his eyes as he did so. Tom could tell that he was rather embarrassed about the entire thing, and probably some level of confused. He sighed, they would not be getting any information, if there was any to be given, any time soon. He had to admit, that the boy's reaction to him had sent a rather large thrill down his spine, and a smile to curve on the edge of his lips as he realized it. He was not sure what could be done to avoid a situation in the future, though. It was a strange situation over all, and he had no idea what to really do about that.

 "Mr. Malfoy, your father has been informed of the situation," Draco jolted at that, staring up at the Nurse, a fleeting sense of terror flashed through his eyes before it went back to neutral once more. Tom had to commend his capability, but he could not help but feel a bit annoyed. He had been working so hard to ensure that Draco stopped thinking about Lucius too much, and here was this stupid nurse breaking his long term plots. He could not help but have his fingers curve angrily into his palms. He could not very well make Lucius refuse to come to the school either, because that would simply be suspicious, but at the same time...Ugh, it ruins all the work I have put in so far...though perhaps...perhaps I have managed to keep them separated enough that it would not matter, but given what had happened at Kings Cross...who knows. he would rather not have to worry about anything in the first place, but he also knew that it was not entirely Draco's fault, though he would definitely have to speak with the boy on this.

"I see," Draco stated simply, not responding further on the topic. Tom could not tell if that was a good thing or bad thing, but it did not matter anyways. He would have to ensure to spend extra time with Draco later today, especially considering how badly Lucius affected Draco even when it came to simple things. While he knew that was unlikely to ever truly change, he had been working on extracting Draco's loyalty to himself rather than Lucius. He knew that he had done quite well so far, but there was still something that unnerved him...potentially...considering these things could end up backfiring on him.

"He should be here any moment, to check on you, I am afraid I am still not entirely sure what exactly happened. I have informed a few collogues of mine that work with St. Mungos and perhaps we can figure out what caused this...spell." Draco's eyes narrowed dangerously at that. Tom felt a smirk pull at the corner of his lips, but pushed it down. Watching Draco carefully, he wondered how it was that they boy would react. Not even a day into the school year and already Lucius was being called over.

 He had a bad feeling that something would tip over. Lucius was not likely to be overly happy that he got stopped by the muggle police of all things, and questioned, needless to say on top of that that Severus...Draco's godfather or Uncle or whatever it was that Draco felt that the potions professor was...had to come and bail him out. Lucius was quite prideful at the best of times, let alone now being called over to Hogwarts because his son had gotten into some sort of trouble. Whilst Tom may not understand necessarily the extent of what happened between Draco and Lucius, he knew enough that it painted a rather bleak picture. He knew that Lucius was not an overly caring son, it was obvious enough, and even less caring than Abraxas's own father was, but at the same time he was not sure just how deep that extended. Depending on that, this could prove more...disastrous for Tom.

Victims had a habit, after all, of reverting to old training and tactics when faced with their primary abuser. Tom would know, he had been that primary abuser more often than not. While it was usually quite amusing to him, this was different. Tom was not the one who abused Draco, and therefore it was not amusing to him. It was annoying if nothing more. Tom was trying to get things done, and rip Draco's loyalty and care from his father, the nurse just had to make things difficult. He would have much preferred Draco be taken to the common room, though he also knew that was not going to be of much help. Draco's father would likely still be informed either way.

"When is going to be here?" Tom cut in, ignoring the baffled look that Blaise and Pansy gave him, and doubly ignoring the sweaty sheen on Pansy's face. He knew that she had been ill, knew what caused it too, and that went to serve its own brand of amusement he would likely revel in later when he had the thoughts to go over what was going on today. For now, however, he needed to be focused, which led his attention once more to the nurse.

"At any time, of course, we sent a floo message as soon as we could." Draco seemed to pale even further, curving his body into the bed sheets.

"Does your father typically come to the hospital wing when called, Draco dear?" Tom questioned, watching as Draco's cheeks flushed red at the term. It was endearing, to fluster the boy. It caused him to loose a bit of his coldness, and Tom quite enjoyed leaving him wrong footed on a general rule. It was a great deal of fun.

"Unfortunately, though he does not tend to care for anything related to quidditch injuries, the rest he is quite painstakingly careful of. Not to mention this made me miss classes. He is not going to be all that thrilled." His pet sighed out heavily. "Please don't irate him," The pleading, combined with wet gray eyes was a beautiful sight. Tom felt himself want to lick his lips, and his teeth wanting to bare, but he held himself back.

"Well, not to worry," Tom said gently, caressing his cheeks lightly. "I will stay here until he leaves." He watched as the tension in Draco's body suddenly released, relief flooding through him and could not help but smirk, unable to hold it back this time.