Lord of time (chapter 41-107)

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"Try not to leave them nameless on the first meeting, will you?" Tom asked, knowing it was pointless, Hadrian was still riled up over the House-elf, of course, he was going to find a way to try and insult them subtly in every single manner he knows. Which by the way, was quite a lot, also amusing, he just didn't want Hadrian to alienate people who could help them in the future to achieve their goals.

"I'll think about it," Hadrian said dryly watching their approach with disinterest, he was absolutely not going to rub elbows with these people. If anything happened then Tom would just have to blame himself, he was the one forcing him to come to these things when he'd made it clear he definitely didn't want anything to do with the schmoozing. "What?" he said not even trying for a defensive tone at the look on Tom's face. Half exasperated, half amused.

Tom just shook his head resignedly, it was a good job he loved Hadrian otherwise he would have cursed him by now. If he had been anyone else he wouldn't have gotten away with even a smidgen of what he did. The others had been very jealous of the lengths Hadrian was able to go, but they'd began to realize that he wasn't just a follower...he was also their leader, it had settled the jealousy they felt, realization that they couldn't compete with Hadrian helped with that too. Well after Avery's insipid display, that had also been a good deterrent.

"Welcome to Malfoy Manor, we are so sorry we weren't there to greet you, but as you can see we have guests to keep entertained," the soft melodic voice of Mrs. Malfoy said with a welcoming smile on her face. "My name is Estella Aurelia Malfoy and this is my husband Octavius Tiberius Lucius Malfoy and it's very lovely to meet you both."

The gentle sound of the piano and the harp didn't once stop, but as the night continued they'd find that the tunes varied and changed once every so often with magic itself.

"Evidently not well enough, since they find amusement in abusing your House-elf," Hadrian said with a coldness that caused his classmates to cringe remembering the last time very vividly. He refused to pander to the Malfoy's, they needed to be taken down a few pegs, vividly reminded of Lucius and Draco both. It didn't help that Octavius (another saint surprise, surprise) looked exactly like them. He glanced around the room, taking mental notes to those who tried to look smug but were unable to meet his eyes, or those who actually looked ashamed of themselves.

If Tom hadn't been such a composed young man he would have slapped his hand against his forehead and shook his head in exasperation. Yep, just how he thought it would go, and neither Malfoy seemed to know what to say in retaliation, there was hesitance there as if they feared saying the wrong thing and alienating them both. It made Tom smug to know that even the Malfoy's of all people wished to be 'friends' with them, in order to boost their own egos and standings. It meant that Hadrian could possibly get away with such disrespect. Hadrian seemed to think that they could do everything on their own, that they didn't need to please anyone to accomplish things. Tom wasn't sure if that belief was well founded or if it was just Hadrian's disgust for all the schmoozing. Only he would end up with a partner who would not care about such things.

"Thank you for inviting us," Tom said, able to smoothly garner their attention, gripping Hadrian's hand tightly, stopping the snort that he suspected Hadrian would give, and he was right, a burst of incredulity washed over the bond but thankfully no snort followed. "This is my husband Hadrian Peverell-Slytherin, and I am Tom Peverell-Slytherin, it's a pleasure to officially meet you, Abraxas has spoken very highly of his parents."

And with that the tension that had been present since Hadrian spoke dissipated.

"The pleasure is all ours," Octavian replied, nodding in respect to Tom, pleased that at least one of them showed the proper decorum. It was a shame, he'd had many questions he had wished to ask Hadrian regarding his book and perhaps subtly question his method for gaining such a momentous fortune so quickly and at such a young age to boot.