Tom Riddle is Here-Plan in Action

Office

@catherine_gravity, I truly enjoyed reading your comments so much! Thank you so much for allowing me the joy of getting to read them I was enthralled and I am glad that my readers are enjoying the story.

It had been risky. Tom had been so furious with Pucey that Draco swore that he would have crucio'ed him without thought moments after Dumbledore left if he had not been so preoccupied. As of now, Draco was still somewhat worried about that possibility. Tom was rather possessive after all, and he did not appreciate people threatening him, or taking what he considered his. Now, Draco usually would balk at being referred to as an object of fascination, but Tom was just...a little bit different. Draco supposed that a lot of exceptions were made for Tom, then again he did practically scare his father off of him, so Tom would be his sole savior until such a time he proved he was not fit otherwise.

"Tom," Draco said, a small shake to his head as Tom was still seething. Draco wanted and he would just wander straight down to breakfast, but with Tom being so angry, Draco already knew that it was a horrible plan. The moment he saw Pucey, until Draco could ensure that Tom would not loose himself he could not leave the room. Tom had managed to barely allowed Pucey to even leave the scene. It was mere luck that Tom was more worried about his well being then anything else otherwise Draco was almost certain the he would have just walked over to the man and hexed the life out of him.

Even then, Draco was still not too sure that the boy would not. It had taken Draco a while to assure Tom that he was fine last night and even then he doubted that Tom truly believed him, but this was Tom that he was talking about. The boy probably felt his emotions, or at least dipped into his mind slightly to see if he was telling the truth. Was he truly fine? Somewhat. If he perhaps neglected to mention that his head had been spinning and that he had been somewhat actively terrified the moment Pucey grabbed at his neck then that was a sheer coincidence. It would not do to have a dead body. Not at this point in time at least. It would ruin their plan quite a bit, and Draco simply refused to allow such things. They were so close to manage it their revenge, and Tom's anger was definitely Understandable, but also not necessary given the situation. they had planned this. Though, Draco would be the first to admit that perhaps Pucey had taken things just a little bit further then he necessarily needed to. However, it led to an incredibly convincing performance, one which even Draco was impressed, which was incredibly difficult to do on a good day. It had also most certainly not been a good day.

"Tom, please, it was just part of the performance. he even apologized once we got back to the dorms." Draco assured softly, gently watching as Tom paced the room, eyes still blazing. He had been like this since they had returned, barely managing to get Tom to rest, and when Draco had woken, he was pacing the room once more.

"He hurt you," Tom hissed darkly, eyes flashing angrily as he watched Draco. They had come quite a long way since their first meeting. Draco no longer flinched at the sight of Tom's anger as long as it was not directed at him. Nor did Draco cower at the hiss of his vowels when he spoke whilst frustrated or angry. "I know that he did, Draco," Tom said, his words becoming just barely softer towards the edges, calming himself down slightly, as he turned to look at Draco, assessing him visually. "You claiming that you are fine is besides the point. I could tell." The anger was still present in his words as he said the last part. With a sigh, Draco rolled his eyes, unable to really help himself at this point.

"Tom, we talked about this before. It was necessary for the performance." He said once again, watching ad Tom grit his teeth. He did not like it when Draco pointed things out more then once. Tom said that it implied he had not contemplated it the first time. For once, however, Tom did not comment on it, the tense atmosphere levying itself just slightly. 

"He took it too far." Tom growled angrily, eyes flashing with the force of it once again.

"Perhaps," Draco admitted, after all Pucey had gone a bit further then either of them had believed that he would. Partially because Pucey did respect both of them, and partially because he had been terrified of Draco before Tom, and now with Tom added to the equation, his fear had been doubled, but his respect overwhelmed that. "But...if Dumbledore believed it then it worked would it not have?" Tom grit his teeth and turned his head away from Draco's wide eyes. He could not forgive such a thing, and watching Draco would make him want to concede. He was not one to concede. Draco just sighed heavily. 

"Fine, how about we make a deal." 

That caught Tom's attention, as Draco knew that it would. While Tom knew that he was likely being manipulated by the youth, he would allow it...just this once.

"What sort of...deal?" Tom asked, somewhat hesitant. It was never wise to head into a deal with a Malfoy unprepared. Even if he was the Heir of Slytherin. Sometimes Tom swore the young Malfoy was perhaps a bit more Slytherin then himself, and he was the heir of the great Salazar himself. 

"If Dumbledore bought the performance, you do not hurt Pucey. After all, we may need him for further performances."

"I am sure that we could find someone else," Tom muttered under his breath. Draco started at him, unblinkingly. "Fine. Should Pucey's performance prove...adequate, then I suppose I shall spare him, for you. Should his attempts have failed I shall effectively dispose of him and none shall hear from him again." 

"Thank you," Draco said, a small smile playing at his lips. 

Tom would not dare admit it out loud, but a smile on Draco's lips was most definitely welcome. The youth had been so stressed lately. Not that Tom himself was not stressed, the entire situation of turning a school against the long believed righteous Gryffindors was certainly not easy in any way and he doubted that it would get any easier.