Oh, Shit

12

Abraxas watched Tom warily as he let his fingers card through the blonde's hair. He had no idea who this boy was, but it was clear that Tom was fond of him, which meant that anyone with sense would be careful. It was obvious that Tom had some sort of...plan for this boy. Abraxas was not entirely sure who he was, but from what he could tell of what Tom had shown him, he could tell that this boy was powerful. He was not entirely sure what it was that they had been practicing, but it had clearly been something difficult. Tom had even praised him at times. Tom never gave praise to anyone, ever. It was almost always some form of criticism, or a compliment that was truly an insult to anyone who had a brain. This boy had been straight up praised, and it was rather baffling to Abraxas, but he was not going to question it.

This boy had power, of a sort. Whatever it was that Tom had seen, that much was obvious. He was able to read Tom's magical fluctuation, which was not something Abraxas had seen in any but extremely powerful half bloods and purebloods. That alone meant that he was extremely sensitive to magic, which was a heavy indication that he was far more powerful than he seemed to be. Well, that and the fact that Tom was bothering with him in the first place. Tom was not typically someone who wasted time on those he felt were useless to him, which meant that this boy served a purpose, or had potential in something that Tom wanted. Abraxas wanted to throw something at the mystery boy, because every part of him screamed that there was more to what he was being told, but he also knew better than to question Tom's judgement. Whatever it was that had Abraxas writhing in discomfort was irrelavent if he ended up dead before he could figure out what the feeling was.

"Now, as for what is going to happen when we return to Hogwarts, I intend to introduce him to the others after our first feast, and Slughorn's welcome speech." Abraxas felt something similar to a chill roll down his spine, but he did not comment on it. It was obvious that Tom had made up his mind, and nothing any of them stated was going to change it, he knew Tom too well to even bother attempting to try further. In all reality, I am quite lucky that this Draco had intervened when he did. Abraxas thought to himself, sitting himself on the edge of the seat, nerves lit. Had he not, I cannot say that I would have managed...to be sitting here right now, I would likely be on the floor, as he is, well, not exactly as he is but as he was, twitching and screaming in pain.

"Would you like me to ensure that the others are gathered?" He asked softly, not bothering to even attempt to talk Tom out of it. Certainly not after the last instance. Although, he could not help but be rather...surprised. Tom had not mentioned punishing him for attempting to question him. He had punished Draco for interrupting him, but Abraxas had yet to be punished for his transgressions too. Draco had...somehow and Abraxas was certainly curious but baffled as to how, managed to get Tom to completely derail an upcoming punishment. Once the thought passed through Abraxas' mind, he could not stop thinking about it. It was like a pest that he could not get rid of. He knew that this person was obviously of interest, but to...to manage that? Nobody has ever managed to get Tom to stop subjecting another to punishment that he feels that they have deserved. Hell, most people would not have even managed to get away with cutting Tom off with such a light punishment. He managed to not only get Tom to stop his impending punishment on me for daring to question him-something which Tom hates more than most things-and then proceeded to get off with a rather light punishment for cutting him off.

Abraxas saw the boy in a slightly new light now. Before, he had been skeptical, but knowing that there was someone that had some, if not a lot, of influence over Tom's brash and at times downright impulsive actions was...well it was certainly someone to keep an eye on if nothing more. Abraxas knew that that this person had the potential to be far more than any of them contemplated. Tom was extremely dangerous at the best of times, and extremely volatile other times. This person seemed to be able to somewhat absorb some of Tom's instinct to lash out immediately in painful and violent ways. Abraxas knew that anyone able to do that was someone they should have around as much as possible.

"Yes, they will all need to stay in the commons after Slughorn's talk, there I shall introduce Draco to the group. i have a feeling he will fit right in." Tom said with a sly smile towards Abraxas. He did not quite get the reason for the look but did not want to question it either. Tom was acting oddly, and he did not know if that was a good thing, or if that was a bad thing.

"Of course, my lord," Abraxas said simply.

"My Lord, if I may perhaps add something..."

"What is it, Walburga?" Tom questioned, rolling his shoulders up with a sigh. He turned to stare at her blankly.

"Are you two...involved with each other or something?" The hesitance in her voice was understandable, but Abraxas could not help but stare at her for her bold question. How could she even begin to question Tom on such a thing? That is extremely private. Although, that would explain a lot of things, should they be together. Yet, Tom claims to have only known him for a short while, and beyond that...I had not seen any indications that Tom had any sort of desire for anyone...ever.

"I do not believe that is any of your business, is it?" Tom questioned back, his voice going hard and his eyes going cold. The boy, Draco, pulled himself up from where he had been kneeling at the floor for the better part of an hour now. He sat next to Tom, leaning back against the seat, his own pale gray eyes staring unnervingly into the Black woman's.

"Of course not, I was just..."

"Just curious?" The boy asked, his voice holding a thin strain of contempt. "I must say, you should probably best learn to curb that pesky curiosity sooner, rather than later." The words were held strong, and he held his eyes straight at hers, as though he had not just been in a submissive pose for the last hour, having constantly submitted to Tom multiple times just within this trip. Abraxas had to give the other credit where credit was due. Most people would never dream of challenging Tom, it was dangerous. Abraxas was somewhat heartened to see that there was a certain sense of tenacity in his spirit as well. He knew that Tom was unlikely to pick cowards as much more than body armor, but even still.