Having adjusted himself to a more leisure position, Draco Malfoy now lies on his side, his uninjured one, trying to alleviate the pain from the dark spell as much as he can, while maintaining his composure. Lord Voldemort peers down at him with both excitement and curiosity, as he comprehends his words.

"You wish to bargain?" The wraith-like wizard questions, causing the Malfoy heir to nod ever so slightly, as any and all movement causes him inordinate amounts of pain.

"I know when I'm beat." The young Malfoy scion begins, before meeting the reigning Dark Lord's eyes. "But I've never known when to quit." Slowly he rise to his feet, very aware of the enhanced wand trained on him, ready to inflict indescribable amounts of pain upon his being. "I won't beg, I won't submit—"

"I did not asssk you to sssubmit, Draco. Only to comply." The dark wizard corrects, eliciting a small frown from the injured boy.

"Yes, well, as I just finished saying, I won't beg, I won't comply, so let's bargain. There has to be something you want that isn't…me and my family under your thumb. Something you find inconvenient or out of your way to—"

"Yesss!" The self-proclaimed Dark Lord interrupts him once again, a look of delight on his face. "I have jussst the thing for you Dragon Ssslayer!" He lowers his wand, no longer needing it for negotiations. "We will enter a wager, a deal of sssorts." He begins, with Draco raising an eyebrow in curiosity.

"What kind of deal exactly?" Draco questions, a feeling of dread flowing through his body.

"An Unbreakable Vow, punishable by death should any of us renege…" The dark wizard thinks out loud. "A tasssk, fitting asss a tessst, fit for one of your ssstature…" Exhaling in pain, Draco suppresses a snapping remark. Instead, he inquires simply and quietly.

"What do you need me to do?"

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Draco Malfoy, Dragon King, King of Slytherin, winner of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, exits Dumbledore's office with haste, his stride resembling his uncle Sev's or even his father's. He has work to do, and little time to accomplish it…despite having all the time in the world. As he is now, he can't beat Dumbledore, not in a duel, and especially not with the little 'present' the cheeky half-blood has so eagerly given him. But with Nott's help, with Nott's gadgets, he can do what Voldemort did to him, and bridge the gap in skill and in power.

If that doesn't work…no, it has to. And once it does, he will get that wand, the power held by it, and use said power to take vengeance upon the so-called Dark Lord and show him his place. An exhale from his lungs serves to settle him down, and a part of him finds itself thinking over the headmaster's deal. A small sliver of him wants to accept it head up, to join in the fight against Voldemort, but he quickly dismisses the idea. For what? He asks himself. Why would he risk himself and help the cryptic old man? For Potter? No. For Ginny? A part of him hesitates, but still, he shakes his head no. Right now, Blaise is the only person he can trust. Ginny is only with him because…

Wait, why is she with him? The DA is long gone and long done. Maybe…just maybe… Draco sighs as he juggles the thoughts in his head. Is it love? Or is it fear? And does it matter? Another deep breath and an exhale clear the thoughts from his mind. He needs to focus on his upcoming duel, on Nott. Not on silly things like love. Not now.

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Sitting in Slughorn's class, Draco finds himself bored. Sure, the potions professor is good at what he does, but nothing he has can help the Malfoy heir with his current problems. Speaking of current problems… Draco glances at his desk mate and former real-life mate, Theodore Nott, as the boy continues stealing looks in his direction. If he didn't know better, he'd think Nott a fairy, one with a schoolboy crush, but he does in fact know better. Nott is nervous, regretful, and hopeful that he can make up with the Slytherin King, and he's trying his hardest to figure out the next move to make, the correct way to approach the situation.

Suppressing a snort, Draco shakes his head at the thought. Theodore severed those ties the moment he aided the cheeky half-blood against him. But luckily for the boy, his genius was still useful, still needed even, and thus Draco was forced to be cordial to the traitor he so loathed. Swallowing his negative feelings, he turns to the boy and nods, brightening the expression on Nott's face, as he begins conversing about the potion they're supposed to be creating. They could work in silence of course, both of them more than capable of doing the work without help, but the Demon of Slytherin has plans…

A wicked grin finds itself on his face, as they continue with their alchemy.

As class ends, the two find themselves involved in a passionate conversation about the best enhancements to use in a duel, somewhat skewed to Draco's preferences.

"S-so you see, the Penetrators are key because they can break even the most powerful of shields, and while ward breakers are good, th-they're usually not used in a duel." Draco nods, taking Nott's words into consideration, while countering with his own.

"Of course, Penetrators sound interesting, but I'm more interested in the Amplifiers, and on what the combination looks like." The Malfoy heir responds with a grin. Nott's eyes widen in shock and surprise, as his thoughts race a thousand miles a minute.

"Th-that would…no it could work but the strain on the wand…" Nott mutters to himself, a glazed look in his eyes. He snaps out of his trance moments later, and goes to grab his former mate's hand, thanking him for the idea. Subtly and quickly, Draco moves his hand out of the way, giving Nott a cold look, unable to help himself. A sad expression adorns the young geniuses face, but he understands, knowing the extent of his betrayal.

"R-right, sorry." He mutters out, looking to the floor. The Slytherin King shakes his head.

"Don't worry about it." He responds with a less-cold tone. "What I need you to worry about is this new idea I had, about a web of Amplifiers and Penetrators…"