Half-Dimension

43

Both Abraxas and Severus could feel it in the air the moment they walked through the Hospital Wing doors, and if they were being entirely honest, the aura drifted its way through the hallways too, but it was most potent when they entered the Hospital Wing, and it practically stonewalled them, momentarily. Severus recovered first, because of course he would, and moments later he was dragging Abraxas towards the small bed that Draco was sitting up in, Tom still holding onto his hand, a characteristically blank face. It was impossible to read the other, but it was always quite difficult to do so, and Severus did not feel any sort of anxiety towards it. he was not angry, Severus would definitely have felt if he were. That was a step in the right direction, at least. No matter how the proceedings went, keeping Tom from flying off the handle was always a priority when dealing with him. He was dangerous when he was calm, and infinitely more so when angered.

"It is good to see you once again." Tom said, a small quirk to his lips echoing the statement. It was not real, Lucius noted, but then again Tom rarely gave any real expressions barring a blank one, as a general rule, so it was not odd. "Draco has been waiting to see you, I presume your class was going well?" The question was layered. Severus took over, while Lucius took the time to drift from the conversation, looking over his brother. The other seemed...fine. Physically fine, mentally his eyes were clear and obvious he was coherent. It was that dreaded feeling that curled around Lucius, causing him great unease that he just did not know what to do with.

What had Draco presented as? Whatever it was, it was not obvious to him, other than a deep sense of foreboding, Lucius could not pinpoint the creature that now resided within. This was, perhaps, a good thing. If Draco had such control already surely it would merely lift a lot of the worries right? No matter what he presented as, either side tended to be a rather vicious creature. Dragons and wolves rarely mixed, and when they did it was dangerous, for themselves and everyone around them. The presentation was also always dangerous in these cases. It definitely left much to be desired, and most parents of the Malfoys especially, but also the Blacks, did not hold much hope for their children to survive presentation. It was always touch and go, and definitely a dangerous situation to be caught in. Then again, presentations were always dangerous, some were just more dangerous than others.

"Draco, how are you feeling?" Lucius questioned, his voice soft, gentle almost. Severus would say that Lucius is capable of gentleness, but he himself would prefer to disagree. Gentle natures were dangerous in this world, and going to get even more dangerous once Tom's plans began to stick in place. He had no idea when that would begin, but he knew for certain that when it did, things would escalate, and likely quite quickly. From what he could gather, the groundwork was being laid so that once things got officially rolling, they would get rolling so quickly nobody would be able to scramble up a decent defense. It was smart, and conniving, and Lucius appreciated the slytherin nature at work.

"I feel fine, now. A bit...untethered but I suppose that is to be expected." The boy seemed to shrug, as though it was no big deal, as though he did not just go through something that would effectively change his life for forever. Lucius was not quite able to understand the blase reaction towards an inheritance. A part of him wondered whether Draco even quite understood the severity that would now plague his life. Inheritances were not something easily given, and a Malfoy inheritance was even less easily survived. Not only had Draco survived, but he was even capable of controlling his creature to the point Lucius could barley understand what it was. He just felt the aftereffects, the unease that came with it.

It was a Draconion, right? It would have to be, to make Lucius so uneasy. Yet, Dragons did not typically feel uneased by each other. Challenging? Yes, but unease was not something Lucius was used to feeling from a dragon creature. Of course, the Malfoys were the only dragons creatures, and they did not have siblings for a long while now so it was possible. He wondered what exactly it was that caused the Dragons to plague the Malfoy's so...but it was not his own thoughts to make. He was just glad that Draco survive the transition, it could have easily been not the case. As much as he hated to admit it, the Malfoy family owed Tom a great debt, for aiding Draco through his transition. He knew this would be the case when Tom was sent for, however, and he would just have to accept it. As much as he did not like the family being indebted to anyone, it was somewhat his fault this was the case.

"I see," Lucius did not really know what else to say. He was reeling, Severus was watching him carefully.

"Well, now that he is alright, I suppose I should get going." Tom stated, standing abruptly. Draco allowed their hands to fall apart, knowing better than to cling to the man. It was already bad enough he had to see him in such an awful state, he could not fight to keep the other in the school, particularly since it was obvious that Tom was discomforted being there. It was likely because of Dumbledore, the idiotic man.

"You do not have to," Severus said calmly. "After all, I am sure there are many things to talk about."

"Things best spoken of at a different time, I am afraid." Tom said smoothly. He gave them a fake quirky smile, before turning back to Draco, lifting his hand and giving it a kiss, eyes meeting the greys confidently. "You, however, I will see rather soon, I think." With a dark but mysterious smile, Tom turned and walked out of the room. Nobody tried to keep him, it would be futile even if they wanted to. Lucius waited until the Hospital Wing door was firmly shut, and even more before he could no longer hear the echoing footsteps of his Lord down the stairwell, before he finally approached the newly presented Malfoy.

"What did you present as?"