"I broke up with Hannah. No, we're not getting married. No... I haven't found a job yet. And yes there is another woman living in the house with me—no we're not getting married either." - Neville to his Gran over a badly burnt bit of toast and bacon.

After a night of tossing and turning and getting zero sleep, Neville escorted a trembling Pansy to the Auror Department to meet Harry. And the intruder. Despite the warm weather, she wore her winter cloak. A fine white and cream color, the hood pulled up to hide her face.

The gold brooch at her neck was a wreath of flowers. He recognized hibiscus, jasmine, and clivia. A sign of Antheia. The Goddess of flowers and flowery Wreaths.

There weren't many left who worshiped the Goddesses, but he had no problem imagining Pansy at an altar, perhaps surrounded by stained glass and cascading flowers. Maybe he should turn one of the empty rooms into an altar room. That would make his Gran happy at least.

And maybe Pansy too.

Weirdly, he'd prefer to do it for his new house guest over his Gran, who he fought with like cats and dogs the last time they saw each other. Neville thought growing up would make things easier between him and his Gran. Maybe after everything he went through during the war would make her see him in a better light.

But so far, things only seemed to get more difficult. Especially when Erasmus entered the picture.

Harry met them the moment they stepped through the Floo and led them down a busy hall. Pansy went mostly ignored, everyone assuming they were welcome and safe because they walked with Harry.

But her trembles didn't go away and Neville hated seeing it. Why the hell was she so afraid all the time? They were in the Ministry of Magic for crying out loud, there weren't any cultists waiting to ambush her. He reached out without further thought and took her hand, pulling her arm into the nook made by his elbow.

She startled for a moment, but he caught the briefest glance of her eyes beneath her hood before she clutched on like her life depended on him. Maybe she wasn't ready to come out into public. Now that he thought about it, he definitely assumed she would just… want to come.

But he seriously underestimated her agoraphobia.

Harry took them to a small office that had his name on the door. "I can't believe how little info there is on these guys," he said, shutting the door behind them once they were all inside. "I mean, barely anything at all on the records."

His friend pushed a file at Neville. "I have a friend putting together all the evidence Pansy and her guard submitted but other than that, this is what I have."

After settling Pansy into a chair, she reached up and pushed back her hood.

"There she is," Harry smiled shyly at her.

Neville resisted the urge to laugh when he saw Pansy's face. Total surprise at Harry's warmth.

"My apologies," Pansy said in a forced voice, fingers still shaking. "I… I have a hard time being at the Ministry."

It sounded as if there was a story there, something more than her usual fear of the public. Harry only smiled but Neville wondered if they should be indulging her behavior. Fear should be conquered, not adjusted for.

He picked up the thin file Harry had on the Brotherhood of the Chosen and opened it. Then shook his head. "Wait, is this it? Just this… one piece of… paper?"

He held up the yellowed parchment, where less than half a page was filled in with black ink. It read: The Brotherhood of the Chosen is a club created by Arkin Josephson-Bridger, a wizard from Lancaster. They meet on the first of every month to discuss current affairs, contemporary issues, and politics.

"Club?" Neville blinked rapidly. Both he and Gus seemed to say it at the same time. He had to wrangle control back for a moment, Gus seemed so pissed off. A surge of protection towards Pansy and Stella, and Neville knew it was for both women. Not just his wife.

The Ministry was useless back in my time too, chump. We can't count on them to protect our girl.

Our girl. Hmmm.

He wanted to agree. Recent wars aside, he grew up listening to both his Gran and his Uncle Algie, two people who never agreed on a single thing in their lives, speaking about what a terrible job the government does.

But, he trusted Harry. "Is this it?"

If they hurt Pansy, if they hurt my wife...

"I know," Neville said forcefully, making both Harry and Pansy look at him in question.

Thankfully Pansy seemed to understand he was speaking to Gus and only reached out to pluck the parchment from his hands, reading the words quickly. Her face seemed to sink, skin growing even paler. "I see…"

"Harry," Neville couldn't help his voice from rising. "Is this it? Really?"

"I don't know what to say. Most people here haven't heard of The Brotherhood, let alone know anything about them. You didn't know about them before this. I can't find any other incidents where they're involved or even mentioned."

He turned to Pansy, seeming apologetic. "It might as well be a We Hate Pansy club for all I can find about them."

Her eyebrow went up. "You going to join? You could get a nice badge, I bet."

"No," Harry didn't miss a beat. "Maybe if there's a hat. I like a good hat."

"What about the guy who broke her wards?" Neville demanded, slamming the paper down. Holy Hufflepuff, he was pissed.

"You want to see him? Only see. No talking," Harry held up his hands in surrender.

He turned to Pansy, who turned to him. "You want to?"

Her fingers might have trembled with her fear, but she nodded without hesitation, standing and pulling up her hood. She reached out and grabbed onto his arm. "Yes."

Harry took them down another hall, past two giant windows that looked into the center of the floor. He caught sight of several cubicle desks and flying memos, people rushing around and a single, overused self-filing filing cabinet. But they didn't enter that room, instead heading all the way to the corner and into a much smaller room.

"In here," Harry held the door open for them.

You like her on your arm, Gus whispered in his mind.

"Shut up," he replied in a mumble.

She looks good there, you should be seducing her so she remains there. It's where she belongs.

"Shut it, Gus," he said a little louder. He was far too tired to deal with the ghost in his head and he had to concentrate so he didn't lose control. He didn't want Gus taking over and doing anything to Pansy.

"What's that?" Pansy asked, pulling his attention down to her.

"Nothing," he shook his head, not wanting to talk about the voice in his head in front of Harry.

Giving him a small look, her eyes widened when she realized what he wanted. She tugged on his arm in a sign that she understood and looked around. Then jumped into him with a shout.

"Hey! Whoa," he wrapped his arms around her as they spun around, her hooded head buried in his chest. He realized why. On the other side of a clear glass window sat the man who invaded her home.

"It's okay!" Harry shouted. "It's a one way mirror! We can see him, he can't see us."

Neville turned around, putting himself between Pansy and the window. She leaned back to look up at him and he pushed the hood down to reveal her face. His hands came up to her face, thumbs brushing against her cheek. "You think that puny knob in there can get through me?"

Silver eyes blinked in terror. "If he could do that to a cat, what do you think he'll do to me?"

"Nothing," he told her firmly. He had to make sure she listened to his words. "He can't do anything to you. He can't even see you."

"Right," she placed a hand over her heart, taking deep breaths.

Though she calmed down, he found it difficult to release his hold on her face. Lean in, Gus whispered. Kiss her.

The temptation to do just that scared him enough that he backed off. "Not-happening," he mumbled through clenched teeth, turning to look through the mirror instead.

That puny knob he spoke of sat in a chair, hands bound in front of him, looking bored. He seemed totally normal. Average brown hair tucked behind his ears, plain brown eyes, a wide set nose. A young man not more than a year or two out of school. He could be any other guy.

"Look, my boss kind of hates me," Harry told them. "He's made up his mind that I'm only here because of my name and not because I deserve to be here. So when I say you need to stay in this room no matter what, stay in this room. I'll go talk to him, you can watch, then you both go home. Heard? Heard."

Harry left without another word and reappeared in the second room a few seconds later with a file.

The Knob's face lit up like a bonfire. "Oh my Lord! You're Harry Potter! Harry Potter!"

"Have a seat," Harry said firmly.

"Oh yes, sir," the man quickly sat back in his seat, but his smile never left. "I have always wanted to meet you!"

Harry sat opposite him. "Well, frankly, I think you picked a really awful way of doing so."

"Oh," the man sat back fully and turned a little timid. "Just so you know, I didn't do that to the animal. I would never do that."

"What's your name?" Harry asked.

"Ted Heathers," he said, lifting his bound hands. "I would love to shake hands with you!"

"Ted," Harry continued. "You would never do that to a helpless kitten?"

"Definitely not!"

"No?" Harry opened his file and laid out what seemed to be a photograph. Neville spotted the bloody remains of the cat and so did Pansy. "You didn't do this?"

"No! I swear!"

"You just left it in Pansy Parkinson's house?"

"I uh," Ted lifted up a finger as if to say 'hold on'. "Well, I'm supposed to deny all involvement."

"Ted, we literally caught you at her house."

"Technically…" Ted shrugged.

"No, literally."

"Well, she's a bad guy right?" Ted nodded yes to his own question. "We're going to get rid of her for you, we know that you don't like her."

They really were a cult, Neville thought. This guy sounded so brainwashed, he couldn't wrap his head around it. Didn't he have a brain? Couldn't he think for himself?

He looked down at Pansy. It seemed like ever since she came into his life, he was constantly getting angry on her behalf. Mad at her situation, mad at the ghost trying to get her, mad at the cult trying to hurt her. Mad mad mad.

She bit into her lip, leaning forward as they watched Harry and Ted speak.

"No," Harry continued. "Pansy is a friend of mine and I don't want anyone getting rid of her."

"Wait," Ted shook his head, face falling. His voice lost all his wonder. "I don't know anything about her really… I just did as I was told. I thought she was a Death Eater's daughter?"

"What do they know about my father?" Pansy placed a hand against the window. "I don't even know…"

"Hey," Neville pulled her towards the opposite end of the room and away from the window. "These guys are obviously delusional."

Shaking her head, Pansy patted his chest in a sad manner, her eyes downcast. "Delusions can be harmful, Neville. That guy's a pawn, he doesn't even realize what he did. Or why he did it. He just followed orders. And the Ministry doesn't even see these guys as a threat. They can't help me."

She's right, Gus told him. You should take her away from this place. Keeping her safe is our top priority.

Finally, something he and Gus agreed with.

"Let's finish watching this interrogation, then we'll leave, alright? We can figure it out another way, Pancake."

He would do whatever it took to take down this ridiculous cult and make sure they could never harm Pansy again.

Nodding, she walked back to the window and Neville watched her, realizing this wasn't something he'd do for Hannah if she were the one in Pansy's shoes. And it shamed him to know that, to know he would probably schedule a trip out of country and trust that Harry or the Ministry or anyone else would take care of the problem.

You wouldn't do it for that sweetheart because she isn't your wife.

"And Pansy isn't either," he whispered quietly, reminding Gus of that fact. He wasn't married to anyone! Hello!

Maybe not yet.

"Gus," Pansy said, turning to look at him over her shoulder. "Stella says you need to leave that poor boy alone."

Slow laughter filled his head, and so did a whole lot of desire.

"Don't indulge them," he told her, heat pooling in his belly. "In case you haven't noticed, you get along far better with your ghost than I do with mine."

"I noticed. Don't worry."

In the second room, Harry was now standing, the door open. He held his wand out, and seemed to be shouting—though they couldn't hear what he said.

"What's happening?"

"Oh fuck," Neville pointed to Ted.

The man was convulsing, head bouncing off the table, foam coming out of his mouth.