Oh, Shit

3

Tom was uncertain of what he should make of this...wizard. It was clear that there was more to him than what he was letting Tom see. He had known he was a Wizard, he was hiding his magical scent, though Tom could not fault him for that considering he often did it as well. It was...something more than that, though he could not quite put into words what it was. There was just something...different. He could not figure out what it was that he wanted to do with him when he had first met him, but the first conversation that he had with the other was just...oh so illuminating. He feared Dumbledore, which was rare. Tom had not known many to dislike the twinkly Transfiguration professor, so it was definitely a surprise, but a welcome one. It was then that he decided that he would help the boy. Whether or not he liked him, the boy was fearful of Dumbledore, something which was rare, and Tom liked rare things. There was also more to the story, far more than what Draco was telling him, but he would not push, would not strain him, no, Tom would wait, for the right opportunity.

In terms of learning, the boy seemed to be quite surprised their first session, though he hid it quite well. He had braced for something far more painful than what Tom had done to him, though, and that much had been quite obvious. Tom did not press, but he suspected that when Draco had meant that his previous teacher had not been very patient, he meant a lot more then that. It would seem his previous teacher had drove in painfully, something Tom did very little of. Naturally, forcing yourself into someone's mind was painful, but there were ways to be more...subtle about it. One did not have to just go ripping through wards.

Draco was also just as dillegent a student as he had claimed. Though Tom felt perhaps a bit too much. The moment he failed and his shields collapsed the boy seemed to panic. He did not outwardly express this panic verbally, but the other had quite the expressive eyes. He could tell quite easily. Tom had always been quite adapt at reading people after all, it was not that complicated to tell. It was somewhat worrisome that he was so influenced by his emotions, but it would seem he had a very common trait of entirely ignoring it and trying to barrel through what he failed to manage.

He was quite hard on himself is what he was. Tom found that somewhat reminsent of his acquaintences at school, it was rather unnerving to see it play out on some lone wizard of sixteen. Draco seemed almost insistent that they not do anything for it, which was fine with Tom. He hated birthdays either way. Yet instead of celebrating, like most children do, so Tom had realized, he insisted they practice more. Tom spent hours at a time forcing his way through the blonde's shields. Without resting. It was almost painful to watch just how much he shoves aside his health in order to perfect his shields. Tom felt it somewhat alarming, though respectable he supposed.

After about just over a month, Tom had to admit he had grown rather...fond of the blonde. It was unfortunate, greatly so. Tom was not sure how he felt about this...attachment adding itself to his life. He did not mind, though, considering the blonde was obedient enough. That was actually most likely why Tom liked him in the first place. For as much as he reminded Tom of Abraxas, this was one main difference that the boy had that the Malfoy Heir did not.

To be fair, though, Draco was not a pushover. From what Tom could gather he just avoided getting into conflicts if possible, an admirable trait since it aided him in what he wanted. Rather, he avoided getting into conflicts with Tom, though with the other muggle teens, that was a different story. He did not outright bully them, but he did retaliate should he need to. It reminded him quite a bit of him, so much so that Tom was momentarily startled when he first heard the instance. He would not scold Draco, but it was rather refreshing to see Draco less timid and quiet.

That was what he was, when with Tom. Quiet, except when spoken to, obedient to whatever Tom desired of him-which served Tom quite well and he was not about to get upset over such a thing-but Tom was not blind either. He noticed the fearful whispers of life after Hogwarts, how he avoided the topic of war as much as possible, how he disliked talking bout war, how those ice gray eyes flashed with a dark look anytime Dumbledore was mentioned, how he avoided the topic of family strictly. He refused to even mention his last name, and Tom was fairly sure that Draco was not his full first name though he answered to it well. Yet another thing Tom noticed was how incredibly perceptive he was of the emotions of others.

That...well that notice had taken Tom a bit longer to realize. After all, what was the point if someone knew about it? Nonetheless he figured it out. It had taken almost a month, however, of Draco seemlessly mitigating his emotions for Tom to realize it was happening. The cunning perception and application of diversion left Tom to not talking about it, though he was certainly noticing it now. The moment Tom felt his anger going up it had already been mostly depleated by something Draco had said or done, or whatever else. It was...fascinating, to have someone by Tom's side that knew how to navigate his unpredictable moods, it was fascinating.

There were many fascinating things about this boy, the least, however, being the Hogwarts letter that he and Draco had obtained upon August 3rd.