What if He had a Choice?

61

Tom stayed besides Draco as Madam Pomfrey assessed him and gave him a calming draught. Tom watched with hawk eyes, snatching the potion and assessing it with a narrow-eyed gaze before giving it to Draco himself, gently tipping his head back and pressing the bottle to his lips. Draco obediently drank it from him, and Tom pulled the bottle away once it was finished, giving it back to the Matron. "Thank you," he managed to mutter under his breath. 

"What exactly happened?" 

"Boggart lesson, with Professor Lupin. Lupin did not jump in when he should have, and here you are." Tom said wryly, his tone clear that he was much displeased with the turn of events. Pomfrey tsked, but Tom did not pay attention to her until she began to speak with him about Draco's recovery once more. Tom was thumbing the choker that he had gifted the boy, infused with his magic. He would have thought it would have warned him something was off, but perhaps Tom needed a similar trinket infused with Draco's magic. He would set Draco on this, describe how to do it, once the boy was better. For now, he would wait.   

"I cannot really help more than the drought. He seems to have had a panic attack, and in such a case, there is little to be done. I will order the elves to serve a hearty soup for dinner, but this is as much as I can do." 

"I appreciate it, nonetheless." Tom said simply, moving his eyes back over to Draco, trying to calm himself down from the sheer rage that boiled under his skin. Lupin would pay for his, and would pay dearly. If Tom did not have his head, he would be lucky, given the anger that lashed in his veins. There was nothing more that Tom hated then people taking what was his, and then mistreating them. Tom, well he understood he was not the kindest of owners, but to see someone else dare to mistreat what was his? It enraged him in a way that he did not think possible. Lupin had dared to do this, and it would not stand. 

What sort of teacher saw a student obviously having trouble with a lesson that should not even be taught until around sixth year, and then just stood aside and did nothing? Tom had to reassess his previous thoughts on this man, because it was quite obvious that he was not as good of a teacher as he had previously believed. He hated being wrong, and he hated even more that this teacher dared to stand aside whilst his beloved dove was struggling. He would get his revenge, and it would come in blood. 

Calming himself, he waited for the potion to take affect, distantly wondering if he should also down a calming draught real quick. Shaking off the strange thought, he continued to wait, gently caressing Draco's fingers as he bid his time. it was not just Lupin that would have to pay though, it was also Severus. Draco's dearest godfather. The man had failed to do what Tom had asked him to, and while this was something that Tom had previously thought he would have no issue with, he had changed his mind, quite simply.

Tom changed his mind very little about anything, once his thoughts were set, that was it. Changing his mind was a strange thing, and Tom rarely did it. He already had not liked Severus, but due to Draco's care for the man-whatever reason he may have for that Tom still was not certain-he had decided he would not...hurt him. 

That has changed. Severus would have been able to convince Lupin to go with another course subject, at least for now, or at the very minimum would have been able to force Draco to stay behind and miss the class showing, but he did neither, and Tom was quite disappointed considering how it had affected his precious. 

"Oh," Draco winced, pulling his hands-Tom letting him take them from his grasp-and pressing it tightly against his temples. They were pounding, and Tom was not surprised that the boy had a vicious headache. Facing his worst fear, a fear which just so happened to come around on the regular, it was not easy, and he was quite proud of the boy for fighting in spite of not managing to totally destroy the boggart. That damned Lupin. 

"It is alright, my dear," Tom said gently, replacing Draco's fingers with his own, and gently massaging his temples. The boy's eyes fluttered closed, and Tom let a smile curl on his lips. He was not always ruthless, he had some semblance of mercy. For Severus and Lupin however, no mercy would be found. He was angry. 

"I failed to beat the boggart, my lord," Draco whispered miserably. "Father will be furious." the words were layered with a sense of dread, something Tom could not quite catch onto, a feeling the boy was having. He hummed softly. 

"I do not want you worrying about your father. He is so far away at the moment, and we still have our training to get to after classes." Draco predictably lit up at that, his eyes gleaming happily. He was happy, so he did not quite notice the command, either way, Tom's eyes glistened with a sort of delightful malice. 

"Yes, My Lord, thank you so much!" The boy was practically on cloud nine. Tom laughed, carding his fingers through his hair, slipping them under the chain around his neck. He watched as a delicate pink curled into his cheeks.

"You are beautiful, my darling. I want you to give me a piece of jewelry as well, with your magic imbued in it. I think it may help us be able to navigate each other if we are in danger, or distressed." 

"I..." Draco paused, staring at Tom. "I don't know how to do that though," The words came at a price. Tom knew it, but he did not allow Draco to dwell too much.

"I will teach you, of course,"