If Lindsay thought that his father being murdered was tragic, it was a good thing he wasn’t planning to tell her that he had spent his whole life with the murderer and that it was likely that the murderer was, in fact, coming after him next. Of course, he was only not planning to say that because he figured everyone already knew. It wasn’t a secret. Whether or not anyone believed him was questionable, but it was common knowledge. Or so Nigel thought. He noticed her blanching and the little exhalation of his name, and while no one could prove that he was nice, he wasn’t unnecessarily cruel.

He assumed that her expression was an indication of distress, that his story was upsetting her. She seemed like a sensitive sort of person who would get upset about someone else’s familial drama. Instead of pressing on with this particular line of discussion, he took the out she offered him. “Yeah, okay, I’ll be there,” he reassured her. It might be interesting to sit with the Hufflepuffs. And there were at least two Gryffindors that he was rather keen to avoid, which meant that at mealtimes, he had to either squash himself right down between Nat and Will so tightly that there was no room for anyone else beside him (and then he was always knocking elbows with someone because he was wrong-handed), or else he was forced to potentially suffer an entire meal next to someone predatory. He didn’t like having to be on guard while he was trying to eat.

“Oh, I guess so,” he said, in response to her comment about the cold. Her appearance had effectively derailed his pensive brood, and staring into the abyss had been getting pretty boring. After all, there wasn’t much happening down there, and he could only handle so much introspection. He wasn’t that cold, but the wind was on the chapping side, and he thought he could feel his lips starting to crack. “I can walk you back, if you like,” he offered, most uncharacteristically. He didn’t suppose that Pete would appreciate it if Nigel upset his girlfriend with talk of murder and then turned her loose in the castle. She might get lost in her distracted state and end up in Slytherin… where they would eat her alive. So, really, it was a measure of self-preservation, not a gentlemanly gesture. He didn’t offer his arm, as that was a little much for him, but he inclined his head towards the doorway.