What if He had a Choice?

Settling

Tom was swiftly set up with a guest room on the 3rd floor of the manor. While Tom was not exactly joyful about being set so far from the ground floor of the manor, which meant that he would have to deal with stairs and the annoyance of having to go down three sets of them each morning for breakfast should he decide to attend it, he was far happier when he learnt that Draco's room was on the second floor. That meant that he would be closer to Draco, and Draco was also the one who was giving him the tour, Draco's own insistence of course, which Lucius would have disrupted had Tom not glared at him warningly. 

Tom needed to get Draco to become his ally, he needed Draco become his confidant. As of now, Draco was the only person which Tom could trust somewhat well, as he had no previous dealings with his future self, it was also a good reason that he would be able to pry the boy for information. He was sure such information Draco would be more then willing to give, after all considering how swiftly he had outed the betrayal of his father. This would be easier on the boy then having him admit that his father had done wrong. Something which he could already tell made the boy upset to have to realize and voice aloud. Though Tom was quite glad that he had, it changed his original plan with the elder Malfoy. 

Not to mention the boy was quite useful. Powerful, magically and in thought. His mind was a sheer work of art. Something which Tom delighted in being able to see roll out into play once again. It was fascinating. Not many people were as smart or intelligent as Tom was, and so it could be rather frustrating. He hated having to repeat himself, or having to answer questions, it was annoying, and before, Abraxas had done so when the others were too idiotic to really understand what he was trying to say. This time, Draco would take his place. 

"This is the third floor. It is used primarily for honored guests, and the ground floor is typically where Father and Mother sleep, along with whatever other guests tend to stay in the home." Draco informed Tom as he opened the room which Tom would reside. 

"Ground floor?" 

"Yes, Father and Mother do not like having people in the manor too often and so they liked o keep an eye on them. As such, it was chosen that the ground floor would be home to themselves and the guests. It kept people from wandering around too much, or trying to do anything...unsavory or worth angering them." 

Tom could see the importance of that. After all, the Malfoy's often had many important items, and he doubted that they would be all that happy when it came to having people wander the manor risking them stealing, or touching something infused with dark magic, or coming across something that they were not meant to. Quite a decent worry for a family so deeply involved with the Dark Arts. As Tom recalled it, the Blacks were similar in views. They kept a very close eye on their guests. 

"I hope Father did not give you too much grievance," Draco said suddenly. Tom turned to look at him, dark eyes staring blankly at the blonde. "I just mean, I know that he can sometimes have a short temper." Tom smirked slightly, before his face fell back into a blank sight.

"There is no need to worry, he did not do anything that would anger me too much. I rather enjoyed our talk." Draco nodded, exhaling out slightly relief barely noticeable, but still there by the relaxing of his stiffened shoulders. 

"I am glad," Draco said softly. 

"This is my room...." Tom said softly. "Show me yours," He turned suddenly and Draco did not bother wondering why it was that Tom wanted to see his room, but simply turned on his heel and stalked down the corridor with quick steps, easily coming to the second floor.

"Mine is under yours, it can be hard to tell some of the rooms apart sometimes, but I am sure that you will get used to it." Draco said simply, before opening the door to his room without much preamble, and ushering Tom inside. 

He clicked the door behind himself, and Tom paused leaning on the wall next to the door to gaze at the room itself. It was exactly as he would expect from a Slytherin upcoming 3rd year student. The walls were bathed in green and the silver curtains hung from the window. The bedding was green with silver pillows, and the floor, likewise, was a grayish silver. There was next to no personal items on display, something which Tom found interesting. The boy was clean, and by the looks of it, did not care much to really dress up his room all that much. He must like it the way it is, or perhaps Lucius Malfoy had denied him the luxury of such things. Whatever the case was, Tom enjoyed the ambiance. It would seem most of the rooms in the Manor were green and silver, as his own room had been as well, and the office room which Lucius had brought him to, whilst having much more open light, had been of the same coloring as well. If one could not tell that the Malfoy's were a family of Slytherins they would be able to easily see just such a thing if they visited the manor. It became glaringly obvious. The only items of decor on Draco's walls were of the Slytherin emblem. 

"Tell me, Draco, why did you help me so swiftly, after having seen me?"

"I recognized you," Draco said as though that were obvious. 

"Go on,"

"Well, you did not look like any of the Slytherins in any of the older years, and it is quite obvious you are not a second or first year, plus father had been talking about the potential of the dark lord returning all summer, within the privacy of the manor, and to mum only, but I also tend to hear things, even when they think I don't. After the Basilisk began to roam the halls, it became fairly obvious. The Dark Lord, or, you rather, was the last living heir of Slytherin. For all that Potter may be able to talk to snakes, he can't do so naturally. It is easy to tell. When I conjured the snake it did not obey him, and actually put up quite the fight. If he had been born with the gift, he would not have to basically try and distract the snake before a teacher could vanquish it. Not to mention, he shows no Slytherin traits. No way he was the Heir of Slytherin. I just combined that with what I knew from what Father said over summer." Draco shrugged. "Then I saw a Slytherin I did not recognize. It was fairly obvious." 

Tom hummed quietly, kicking off the wall and wandering about the room idly. 

"You said something about Dumbledore not being allowed in the house dormitories without their head of house present?" 

"Yes, it was a law passed by the Council after something happened when Father was in school. It was kept pretty hushed up and Father refuses to speak of it, but whatever it was obviously was pretty bad for the Council to make that type of a rule."

"How, popular would you say Dumbledore is among the houses?"

"Famous among the Gryffindor, of course. Hufflepuffs are kind of neutral about it, they don't care all that much. Ravenclaws do not particularly like the overly favoring he shows to the Gryffindors, but I know for sure that the Slytherins hate him. Even if they had not hated him before, what happened last year was enough for all the house to hate him."

"What happened?" Draco's eyes glinted darkly at the question.

"It was the end of the year. Slytherin won the house cup. Instead of just letting us celebrate our victory he awards over one hundred and fifty points to that stupid trio, Potter, Granger, and Weasley for breaking about a hundred different school rules and regulations. It brought Gryffindors from last place to first, and humiliated all of the Slytherin house."

"I see," It would seem that Dumbledore was not above his favoring days. He had done it during Tom's time as well. Something which Tom had never taken much of a liking to. 

"After that, even the Slytherins who didn't care too much about him abhorred him." Draco said decisively. Tom nodded, he waved his wand, and a scroll of parchment, quill, and an ink pot appeared. 

"Write down everything Dumbledore has done since your first year at Hogwarts that is unsavory." Tom ordered. Draco smiled darkly, eyes glinting in the fading light.

"Trying to get the bastard finally torn from his post?"

"Yes," Tom said simply. "And I will not fail."