章 63: Ch63. Angering bad faith.
The wait in the waiting area was short but it was hell on its own for Tom.
Hermione first tried to nag him for his behavior but he quickly shot that down with an unamused glare. He was no Ron or Harry. She would not act like a harpy towards him and that was final.
Then again, the small dose of killing intent Natasha drowned the girl in might have had a much bigger effect on the girl shutting up than Tom's glare.
Not that Tom complained. It did shut Hermione up so all was well.
At least for a few seconds before Hermione regained her confidence and started shooting question after question at Tom, about his knowledge of goblins and their history and the like.
Much to Tom's chagrin, she did not miss him mentioning goblins hiding in the Wizarding Society nor the fact they usually did not survive anywhere else. Unfortunately for Tom, he couldn't really reprimand her for being curious. It was in her blood. He would know. He was much the same, if a bit less vocal and more the type to take action and experiment by himself rather than ask endless questions.
Tom was eventually saved when Manager Sharpmaw finally showed up some ten minutes later, politely asking them to follow him without even introducing himself first.
The first impression this older goblin gave Tom was... a bit curt but other than that, it was normal. Neither snarling nor friendly and that was fine by Tom. He would take someone who tried to genuinely do business with him over some grouchy and snarling little shit any day of the year.
As the trio walked through the halls of Gringotts, heading towards Sharpmaw's office, suddenly, another goblin leading a pompous-looking wizard was about to pass them by.
The wizard had long pale blonde hair and held himself high with his back straight as he clanged his cane over the floor with every step, giving off the impression of a typical spoiled old master.
The wizard's eyes suddenly landed on Hermione and they narrowed.
"Granger..." He drawled as he stopped and stared at the fidgeting Hermione, stopping Natasha and Tom in their tracks and causing them to turn towards the man, "I heard you hit my Draco. If I were you, I would be very careful in the near future lest something bad happens to you." The man however continued speaking as if neither Natasha nor Tom existed and slowly raised his cane, about to put its tip on Hermione's cheek and turn her head so she would look at him.
Now... Tom couldn't have that, could he?
"Who is this pea-sized-cock?" He asked the goblin who was leading his group as he caught Lucius's cane short of its tip reaching Hermione's cheek, causing the goblin to guffaw at the casual way Tom had just insulted Malfoy Senior right in the face.
Lucius clearly tried to yank his cane away but Tom's grasp was far too strong and his attempts were futile.
Both goblins had visible problems keeping their snickers in as Sharpmaw answered, "This is Mr. Lucius Malfoy. One of the-"
"Yeah, don't care what poncy-sounding title he holds." Tom cut the goblin off, rolling his eyes as he pushed Lucius's cane to the side, making the man stumble, "The man looks dolled up enough to star in playboy so it is obvious the stick goes way up in his ass."
Now, this insult would have been much more impactful if Lucius knew what Playboy was, but despite his lack of knowledge about muggle literature, Lucius understood he was being insulted.
Straightening himself, he turned from Hermione towards Tom, and leveled a glare at the nonchalant man who humiliated him, "And you are?" He asked with an angry hint of a sneer on his face.
Naturally, Lucius quickly assumed Tom was just a muggle, considering he was with the mudblood.
"Thomas Prest. This one's cousin and the man who can't believe you really said something so cringe. Maybe your threats will start to be less useless when you stop speaking like a third-rate villain threatening a schoolgirl, duh." Tom chuckled, enjoying how Lucius's expression darkened even more. Deciding to pour more fuel into the fire, he added, "I know you are a backward savage but that was way beyond pathetic even for you, ya know?"
Tom used the fact they were close enough to causally pat the man on the shoulder as if he was speaking with a good friend, a friendly smile on his face while he looked straight into Lucius's eyes, making him fully aware he was mocking him.
Lucius quickly swatted Tom's hand away, his expression looking as if it couldn't decide between showing disgust or drawing his wand. Tom's smile transformed into a smirk at that and he patiently waited for Lucius to calm down.
There was no need for further words. His amused and condescending smirk made Lucius more furious than any verbal insult ever could. After all, being looked down upon by a muggle... now that must have tweaked Lucius's imaginary mustache somewhat fiercely.
"No wonder the girl doesn't know her betters with a family like you. Mark my words, Thomas Prest, I will-" Lucius spoke through gritted teeth, his eyes full of hatred and anger when...
Thomas yawned and boredly turned towards Sharpmaw, ignoring the seething wizard in front of him. "Can we go to your office now? I got tired of all this pompous grandstanding and him farting empty threats at me. I am sure we both have much more important things to do with our time than to listen to some cheap chicken-wannabe." Tom tonelessly said, turning around even before getting the answer from his goblin.
Both observing goblins were highly amused by this squabble between humans. It always brought them joy to watch a good show like this.
Unfortunately, Tom's question meant the end of their entertainment and recognizing that, Sharpmaw snorted and turned around, continuing on his walk towards his office, expecting his guests to follow.
Tom showed his back to Lucius in one last mocking gesture, not worried about getting attacked at all. This was Gringotts. If Lucius had drawn his wand on him, the pompous git would have been in for some very nasty days.
Sadly, Malfoy knew it and kept himself on a tight leash like a good boy. Sigh, Tom's art of provocation was still insufficient.
"Peace out, Lucy." Tom nonchalantly said as he walked away, raising his hand up to give Lucius a two-fingered salute.
Feeling Lucius's enraged gaze on his back, Tom smirked and slowly, his pointing finger was retracted back into his fist, leaving only his middle finger up.
A perfect way to give Lucius his last regard before they took a turn and disappeared behind a wall.
Tom's feeling of smugness was interrupted when Natasha came close to him and kissed him on the cheek, "A nice way to shift his attention from Hermione to you. I am proud of you." She sweetly said, her seductive eyes holding a promise of reward as she latched onto Tom's arm.
Hermione blushed at that but deep down, she was in shock. All of that was to make Lucius Malfoy focus on Tom rather than her?
Hermione couldn't help but feel even more grateful to Tom for shielding her like that and taking Lucius's ire onto himself.
"I've no idea what you are talking about." Tom nonchalantly quipped, giving Natasha a daring smirk.
"Sure, you don't." She amusedly rolled her eyes as they finally arrived in front of Sharpmaw's office.
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