He thought everyone knew by now. Sonder thought that he would keep it a secret, the Slytherin’s threats made him nervous, but he’d never been very good at secrets. He’d told a lot of people, and even more people knew about her and Clem. Paxton had his own stuff to deal with, he supposed, and the younger boy hadn’t been paying attention. Sonder swallowed thickly and reached out to gently squeeze Paxton’s upper arm. “You know what she, Pax. It’s okay. Evangeline.” He gave the other a tight smile and gave up on stopping himself crawling into Paxton’s lap and wrapping himself up in his long slender arms. “It’s alright, really. I egged her on a little, maybe. Or something. She’s just got a really lovely old cat, and I mentioned the Egyptian goddess Bastet, and she just - actually, I dunno. Anyway, it’s fine! I belong to the most lovely house, I’ve got beautiful friends, and I have the sweetest, kindest boyfriend anyone has ever had! I’m fine Paxton! So stop looking at me like that!”
Paxton let himself be coaxed into place. He was trying to listen to Sonder, because he knew Sonder was trying to calm him down, but-- “I know, I know, s’just, this has got to stop. S’not a matter of whether you ‘egged her on,’ Sonder, it’s jus’ not okay to hurt--” ” He swallowed thickly. This was where Paxton’s thoughts always stumbled, because hadn’t he lashed out at Evangeline on instinct? Hadn’t he hurt her? Paxton knew exactly where the capacity to hurt others came from. It was still somewhere inside of him, never far away, and Paxton was as guilty as Evangeline. He was grateful for the grounding warmth of Sonder on his lap. Now that the hysteria had passed, Paxton was left with a cooling layer of sweat and a chilly castle floor. Paxton squeezed Sonder tightly to him a last time before grasping his shoulders. “You’re right. It’ll be-- fine. It’s fine,” he echoed Sonder, and motioned that they should stand. Paxton needed to walk this off, suddenly. If it wasn’t already evening, and close to curfew, he’d go do the walk by the Whomping Willow he’d habitually done when he’d been blinded. He could still do it in his sleep; it required no focus, and was perfect for meditation. Paxton stood and held a hand out to help Sonder to his feet. “You’ve a boyfriend? S’that... sorry, is that Caldwell? Are you...?”














