Tapendra had asked Baxter to stay after class. He wasn't sure why. Baxter was worried he had done something to get into trouble- but couldn't figure out what. He wasn't the sort of person who spent his time breaking the rules. Far from it. If anything Baxter was worse than the prefects and the head students. He would be a good prefect or head boy one day- it was one of his goals. Any smirch on his perfect record could ruin that chance. The worst things he did was get short tempered with his less intelligent classmates. But really- after three years you could only stand so much of Winifred Oliver.

After all of the students had finally left the room, Baxter walked down the stairs with Professor Trishna to his office. He settled awkwardly into a chair, watching his professor closely, hoping to pick up on some reason why he was being asked to say. But even if Trishna had shown some outward body language to clue him in, Baxter wouldn't have realized it. He was definitely lacking in social graces.

"Is everything alright?" he finally ventured quietly. It was late and he was tired, but he figured this had to be important.

"Kind of, Baxter, kind of," Tapendra said with a sigh, sitting at his chair. He picked up Ackerley's letter and eyed it for a few moments, still pondering how to put this.

Knowing Baxter for years meant Tapendra knew how bad the boy was at picking up on subtle hints, but in these matters it was still difficult to be direct; especially with what a powder keg Baxter's relationship with Ackerly was. Baxter was a difficult child to discuss emotional issues with at the best of times, and this as likely not to be a good time for either of them. 

He rubbed the bridge of his nose and pondered Baxter's face for a few moments before he finally spoke. "Your father's worried, Baxter. Very worried," he said. "You haven't written him since Christmas, I gather?"

Baxter fidgeted awkwardly when the professor mentioned his father. "He must not be too worried," he answered moodily- a surprising emotion to illicit from the Ravenclaw. "If he was he'd have written before now, don't you think? I guess he's been too busy at work to notice. My mom probably told him to write to me." It wouldn't surprise Baxter if she had. She was constantly reminding his dad that he had a role as a father to fill for Baxter.

"Besides, he hasn't written to me either," he added. So Baxter could hardly be the one to blame. If his father had really cared, then he would have tried to get in contact as well. Baxter was just still... angry about what had happened on Christmas. And he didn't know what to say or how to deal with things, it was just easier to ignore it. Easier to let things die down and then resurrect the relationship when they were both done being angry with one another. It was Baxter's way. Even if it was the wrong way.

It was obvious that Trishna's hunch was right. That Baxter had no intentions of making this an easy discussion. He didn't like other people meddling in his relationship with his father. It wasn't the best. And as much as Baxter complained, he hated it worse when others had something negative to say. Somehow, Baxter knew his dad cared. And for some reason, Baxter cared too. But he was still very bitter. And if Trishna wasn't careful with how he worded things, he could very easily find himself on the opposite end of one of Baxter's more volatile temper flares.

Tapendra hesitated; he wasn't sure exactly how to proceed with this. He stroked his beard as he watched Baxter's face before he spoke again.

"I know he hasn't," he said. "He wrote to me a few days ago, asking how you were." He paused again, before he pressed on. "Ackerley is a...unusual man, Baxter. But." He sighed. "I told him some of the things you and I have discussed, Baxter; not in detail, of course, but gave him the jist. He'd wanted to know how you were doing, and if the...the argument on Christmas was still bothering you."

He picked up Ackerley's latest letter. "I can't say I was...exactly expecting his response to be what it was, since I advised him on some family matters and he's not the sort to appreciate that, much of the time." He was still debating showing the letter to Baxter.

"He's..." Another pause. "He understands some of your reservations about him, Baxter. More than you realize, I think."

It bothered Baxter that his dad would write to Tapendra instead of to him. Even if he was mad he still wanted to hear from his dad. If he'd heard from his dad at least Baxter could pretend that he cared.  Instead his dad was snooping around about him. Asking other people if he was okay. It wasn't the way you went about being a parent. And that Tappy had discussed their talks with his dad bothered him even more. Whether or not he'd divulged the details was irrelevant- Baxter didn't talk to most people about his problems, and if Tapendra was going to betray him then why bother talking to him at all?

"I don't have reservations," he stated simply. "He's my father. He is Lucinda's father. He doesn't care one way or the other about being a parent. What he cares about is the ministry and his life as an auror. Me, my sister, and my mother have always been low on his list of priorities. I hardly consider having a firm grasp of reality to be translatable into having reservations."

He watched as Trishna waved the letter around. He wondered idly if the professor was intentionally taunting him with it. "You can tell my father that I'm doing fine. My concern is school- my concern is not him or our relationship. I quit worrying about that years ago." Definitely not true, as anyone who was relatively close to Baxter would be firmly aware.

"I appreciate your interest, sir, but you really don't need to try to fix this. It's best for everyone involved if we just accept that my dad is bad at being a parent and we all move on with our lives. At least my mom doesn't suck."

Another sigh and a weak smile. "I know that, Baxter. I was being polite," he said. "Your father is a fine man, Baxter; but as for his parenting..." he looked at the letter again. "I can't say I fully understand his priorities. It's just not how I think." With a final look at the letter, he shrugged and handed it across the desk to Baxter.

"This is the most recent letter he sent me. Don't tell him I let you see it; he might kill me," he said, only vaguely joking. "It just...wasn't what I expected, is all. I don't think it'll change your mind or anything, but...I thought you should see it." It made him a bit sick in the stomach to hand that letter over; even if he was more firmly on Baxter's 'side' than he was on Ackerly's...

Putting his glasses on his desk, he ran a hand through his hair. "I'll be honest with you; Ackerly's methods confuses me as much as he does everyone else." That was a lie; he knew exactly what Baxter was feeling and going through, having received much of  that treatment himself; his mother had cared about him, but she always came first. That was iron-clad fact and he, unlike Baxter, had learned to cope with it early in his life.

It hadn't eased the sting of her sudden abandonment.

Baxter took the letter in his hands, but didn't read it. "Nobody understands how my dad thinks- even he can't understand it sometimes. You can tell that when he tries to explain himself." There was no explanation for half of his father's idiocy though. He had quit trying to make sense of it. (At least that was what he told people, truth was that it really bothered him.)

The Ravenclaw peered at the letter, reading it slowly. He was surprised by most of what he read. If his father still loved his mother, then why didn't he fight for her? Why had he let Joshua marry her? If Ackerly really cared about him and his sister, he wouldn't just let someone else swoop in and steal his job- regardless of how he felt. His dad was right, he was a shit father, but Baxter would rather have his real father- bad or not- than a replacement. He sighed, and handed the letter back to Trishna.

"He's full of dragon dung," he said simply. "I don't care what he has to say." And Baxter was... angry. Angry that Trishna had enlightened him on these things- things he really didn't want to hear. Baxter did not want to hear that his dad didn't want to be his dad anymore. (Which was how Baxter was choosing to interpret it.) "There isn't a valid excuse for deciding you don't want to be a parent. He should have thought about that before married my mom and got her pregnant."

"I'm not writing to him, either," Baxter added. "If he wants to let Josh be my dad- fine. But he can't have it both ways. He can't worry about me and be my dad and let Josh do all the hard work. It doesn't work! If that's what he wants I just won't talk to him ever again."

Tapendra rubbed the bridge of his nose again. He didn't know how to cope with this - or how to help Baxter cope, either. He'd never had a father, really; he knew what it was like to lack one, but not what it was like to loose one, or have two.

"I can't tell you anything that'd help, Baxter. I'm sorry," he said, and meant it. He licked his lips nervously, and then looked up at the ceiling. "This won't help - call it a non-emotional observation. But..." Still finding the low beams interesting, he tried not to think about his own experiences with father-figures.

"...Nevermind," he said, after a pause. "Go on to bed, Baxter. But - don't cut off all communication with your father, okay? At least not over this."

Baxter stood up from his seat when Tapendra told him to go to bed. "I don't mean to be disrespectful, Tapendra," he began stiffly. The Ravenclaw knew what he was about to say was a little out of line- but he was frustrated. Baxter was not accustomed to someone letting him into his dad's mind, and the letter had offended and hurt him, and as far as he was concerned at the moment it was Trishna's fault for showing it to him. "But before I go to bed- I'd like to know just one thing."

Tapendra nodded, and Baxter took a deep breath. "I want to know- exactly what part of this entire meeting sounded like a good idea to you? You call me to your office, you show me a letter that shatters my perception of family and of my father, and then you send me to bed. I hardly think this is going to be conducive to whatever... the master plan is here. If you're trying to make me fix things with my dad- this isn't the way to go about it."

"If the fact he doesn't even want to be my father isn't a valid enough reason to cease speaking to him- I'm not sure that I want to wait around and find out what one is. If he wants me to just accept my fate and worry about lettings Josh be my dad- I'll do it. And he can suffer through knowing that... that bastard stole his family."

Uncomfortable as he was, Tapendra lapsed into vague annoyance. This was why he hated having to be the older mentor sometimes; especially in Baxter's case, when he didn't know what to do, it left him with nothing to say. And when the boy was basically demanding an explanation - which he had every right to ask for - what could he say, other than the truth?

"I simply thought you ought to see his letter," he said, stiffly. "Call it impulsive if you like; you'd be right, because it was. I felt with the arguments you two have been having - and the issues you have brought to me - you ought to see his take on it. That doesn't mean I brought you here to have you make up with your father, or because I thought that letter would magically make the two of you  solve all your issues and hug."

He leaned an elbow on his desk, removing his glasses and cleaning them impulsively, largely so he wouldn't have to look at Baxter. "I just want you be informed, that's all." He looked back up and his eyes were slightly narrowed. "Would you have preferred I hid it? That the next time you came to talk to me, I pretended he hadn't told me this?"

Putting his glasses back on, he stood and walked to the window. "There is no master plan, Baxter - I don't know what to do, and even if I did -" he looked sharply to Baxter. "What you do about your father is, in the end, your decision. I can't order you to make up with your father, or tell you it's best to go with your mother, or...or whatever you'd want to hear. You have to chose what's best for you, Baxter." He posture slumped suddenly and he restrained himself from falling forward a little onto the glass, as tempting as it was to lean his forehead on it. "I'm sorry."

Baxter wasn't sure what to say. He was mad at Tapendra, he was mad at his dad, and he was mad at himself. Baxter was just mad at everyone and at everything. He wasn't sure what he would have preferred Tapendra to do. Baxter felt like finding out this way was wrong- but he could have refused to read the letter. Had he known what it said, he would have refused. "I think the right thing to do would have been to keep the information to yourself," he said simply. His father had taught him a lot about right or wrong. It was one of the few lessons that had stuck.

The Ravenclaw felt a pang of guilt as he watched the professor slump, and offer a weak apology. "Apology accepted," he responded mechanically. Whether he meant it or not it was the appropriate thing to say.

"Good night, Professor Trishna," he said flatly, heading toward the door. Baxter figured he would have to start keeping his concerns to himself if Tapendra thought that it gave him free license to meddle further. All that the Ravenclaw boy needed was a sounding board, someone to let him talk through things so that he could make heads or tails of his own problems and worries.

Baxter paused by the door, giving Trishna an expectant look. If he had something further to say, then he could say it now- or he was leaving.