What if He had a Choice?

50

It was quite unfortuante that neither himself, nor Draco, were able to stay longer in each other's presence. Tom quite liked the helpless way Draco swayed towards his every word, every action-it was invigorating in perhaps the worst of ways-but it would seem upon seeing Draco was better, and noting that nothing seemed quite amiss, the Nurse waved them out to continue their classes. Quite...annoying as it were, though Tom knew Draco was somewhat relieved to be out of the Patron's presence. Not that Tom could quite blame the thirteen year old, as he hated the nurse as well, and often did whatever possible to avoid going. The moment that Draco was dismissed he jumped out of the bed, leaving Tom to glare slightly at him, annoyed at the excitement that seemed to wash over the other.

"What exactly is it that you are so excited about?" Tom questioned, tilting his head. "Surely it cannot be that you do not wish to see me any longer..." Tom could hear Draco's breath intake jolt as he turned to stare down at the floor, nerves flooding the Malfoy Heir immediately. Tom felt his lips quirk up slightly in amusement at the display of not just obedience and submission, but also nerves. It was made even better by the silver that accented his pale skin, pressing into it slightly. Tom wanted to reach out and just...grab him, but restrained himself. This was not the time, and Draco was far from ready for such obvious displays. He would be, eventually, Tom knew, and until then he had to be patient lest he scare the little Heir away. That would be quite unfortuante. Draco was someone that was far easier dealt with when pleased, not angered or even scared, even Tom could already tell something so obvious. Though he was quite the advocate that a little fear could go quite a long ways, not too much, though, and it seemed his little pet had quite a bit of fear to go around. yet another thing he wished to curse Lucius for, but that could wait, and be added to the ever growing list of things that Tom would take great pleasure in punishing the Malfoy patriarch for.

"Of course not, my Lord, I am just eager to get out of the hospital wing, and glad to know I am allowed to return to classes so quickly." The words were hushed, almost silent, but for the empty space that made them seem louder than they were. Tom sighed out loud, watching as the heir seemed to flinch slightly at the sound. Tom grit his teeth. Truthfully, Lucius was a pest, if nothing more than a necessary one, but the amount of damage that idiot had done to Tom's plans in bewitching the Malfoy boy's emotions and loyalty in all but a few moments of his being in the same room was annoying and frustrating at best. That alone would make the curses Tom fully intended to use during break worth the delightful screams he could already imagine the Malfoy head calling out. If, perhaps, Tom could get the man to stop interfering where he was definitely not wanted, things could be going far smoother than they were now. What a pathetically lack of foresight on his part. Tom could not believe he had failed to think about the fact that Hogwarts often tended to speak to parents when a student got injuried, or into trouble. Then again, he had never had the parents for them to send information to, nor had Tom been dumb enough to get into too many fights, or catch too many injuries-at least, not getting caught that was. Not that it was Draco's fault he had developed a dependency on Tom's magic. In fact, that was exactly what Tom was more than willing to exploit. With or without the necklace, Draco would need Tom now. With it, he would need Tom to remove it before any extreme physical activity, else the metal would burn his skin raw, and without it, Tom would need dto be near so that he did not go through the same thing he had this morning. Truly could not have gotten better if Tom had thought of it in the first place. Sure, Lucius being informed of a concerning condition that Draco was dealing with was...agitating at best, and definitely delayed certain portions of his plot regarding the boy, but they could be salvaged easily enough.

"I know," Tom stated, forcing his voice to remain calm as he swept himself before the Heir, letting his hands trace his cheeks softly. "I was jesting, perhaps it was not the time for such things." Draco grimaced slightly, and Tom had to shove down the taletell frustration that welled up in him. He had studied high society for quite some time, and yet it would seem some things were still far beyond his comprehension. It was tiresome at best. He honestly had no idea how children could be born and bred into these things. It seemed exhausting at the best of times.

"It is alright, my Lord, I should have..."

"Do not..." Tom cut the boy off, letting his nails slightly dig into the plush flesh of Draco's pale cheeks. "Finish that thought. I do not want to be angry with you, my dear," The words were laced in sweet honey, and Tom noticed the boy's exhale was slightly shaky. "Allow me to simply apologize for the lack of insight. I shall be more careful next time. Come, your next class is with that ragged teacher." Tom laced his arm about Draco's shoulders, steering him roughly towards the door. He did not want to stay in the hospital wing any longer. They were running a risk of being late, and Tom had a feeling he would be late to his own class, something which irked him more than anything. Especially since he was bound to have to deal with that Gryffindor Prefect's attitude regarding it.