Hermione and Anneken were plotting something, excluding him deliberately even after their many conversations about sharing the load of running the family, country and coven.

He chose his timing to confront her about it very deliberately. Hermione was always happiest after her morning spar with Mordred, but too soon and Gellert would be bringing business into her one hour of relaxation.

A couple of years ago, Gellert would have just barged into her rooms. Now, after months estranged and with their relationship on rocky ground, Gellert knocked.

Voices fell silent and Gellert scowled, he'd clearly caught the duo at it again. Then Hermione's elf opened the door for him.

Both witches were sat at Hermione's vanity, pages of parchment scattered among cosmetics. They were fully dressed but Anneken's hair was still loose, running like a silky golden sheet over her shoulders and pooling in her lap. Hermione's hair was half done and her fingers were already stained with ink.

Gellert hadn't intended to broach the subject with an audience, but he figured that Anneken was just as involved as Hermione.

'Sorry, Gellert. I'll be a little late this morning.' Hermione apologised, glancing up from the parchment.

'Actually,' he began, 'I wanted to talk to you about… this.' He gestured at the two of them.

'This?' Hermione pulled her attention fully away from the parchment. Flighty slapped her shoulder scoldingly as the movement dislodged a couple of braids.

'We agreed to share all the work.' Gellert reminded her, taking a seat on the spindly chair near the door. He was comfortable with seeing Hermione dress; they'd spent so much time together as children with Hermione wearing all sorts of inappropriate clothing that it hardly felt inappropriate for only her hair to be down now. Anneken was a different creature entirely though; there'd been a long time where he'd thought he'd marry her, and she was betrothed to another wizard now.

'We did.' Hermione acknowledged.

'This isn't sharing.' Gellert pointed to the two of them again. Hermione's eyes widened.

'Oh. No. This isn't work… well, not the kind you'd be interested in-'

'Hermione, I'm your betrothed. I want to help in every endeavour you take on.' Gellert interrupted her. Hermione glanced at Anneken, who shrugged.

'It wouldn't hurt to have a wizard's opinion.'

'Okay. You can help.' Hermione turned back to him, 'But don't say that we didn't warn you!'

'I swear it.' Gellert fisted his hand over his chest solemnly.

'We're planning Anneken's wedding.' Hermione finally told him. For a moment, Gellert was stunned - he'd known the event was coming, but for some reason it hadn't seemed particularly relevant or immediate. It also explained why the two witches had been spending so long huddled away; wedding rituals were extensive and up until the last moment usually separated by gender.

'Okay.' Gellert acknowledged, steeling himself. 'How can I help?'

Both Anneken and Hermione blinked at him for several seconds. Clearly they'd expected him to flee as soon as he'd discovered the topic of their work but Gellert had been serious; he intended to help with every aspect of Hermione's life. Then Hermione shrugged and beckoned him over. Gellert dragged over his spindly chair, feeling very odd as he sat between the two witches and the elves resumed preparing them for the day ahead. Had Anneken stayed the night?

'Guests.' Hermione waved a sheet of parchment. 'Obviously limited, because of the magic issues.'

'Dresses.' Anneken pointed to another sheet. 'You can help with that. A wizard's opinion would be wonderful.'

'Ritual plans. This is the stag ritual Krum wants to use. We're still debating the mare ritual - we're not sure if we can do a foaling without a mother.'

Because all the mothers in the coven had no magic, and nobody outside the coven could know that Frau Lintzen couldn't act as the mother for her own daughter. The witches that remained in the know were all still maidens.

'What about your sect?' Gellert eventually asked. 'Morgause is a mother, right? She's a ghost at The Barrows. She could provide the magic and Frau Lintzen could provide the physical hands.'

There was silence for a moment as the two witches considered his suggestion.

'It might work.' Anneken acknowledged. 'And I like that my mother would still have a part, and that I'd be married by one of your family as well, Hermione.'

'But she's a ghost. She can't leave the family properties.'

'What about Avalon?' Gellert asked, knowing that she was reluctant to share The Barrows with anyone outside her very close list of friends. 'You always said you were going to open the wards.'

'Yes!' Hermione breathed, eyes sparkling. 'Gellert, you're brilliant.'

'Yes!' Anneken's eyes looked concerningly wet, 'Getting married in Avalon… it would more than make up for…' She gestured vaguely at the parchment over the vanity.

'I know.' Hermione looked equally as sad as Anneken as she leaned over to lightly embrace the other witch. Confused and slightly unnerved, Gellert made himself very small in his chair. The spindly legs betrayed him, squeaking loudly at the shift of his weight and both witches snapped their attention to him. Quickly, Anneken schooled her expression.

'Now, dresses. I'm planning a solstice joining.' Anneken handed him several sheets of parchment. Each held a roughly coloured sketch of a gown. True to his word, Gellert didn't voice a single complaint as he flicked through them. Solstice gowns had to be gold and as the only daughter of a senior house, it had clearly been decided that Anneken would be bringing Krum into the Lintzen family instead of the other way around. The dresses all had Lintzen red as a secondary colour.

'Not these.' Gellert handed back a couple that he was sure had been included only to placate the elder witches in Anneken's life. Anneken smirked.

'Not this either.' Gellert also put aside the most scandalous of Anneken's sketches, including one that was completely sheer past the knee. He was left with five more, and he honestly had no idea. Every sketch was beautiful, each dress slightly different.

He put aside one that looked far too warm to wear in summer. Then he admitted defeat and handed the remaining four back. Anneken looked gleeful as she passed him another thick bundle of parchment.

'Now, Andon will match, of course.'

After Krum's robes, Gellert was asked to decide between foaling dresses, then channel dresses for Hermione and then made to offer opinions on things he didn't even understand as Anneken made plans for what her mother would wear.

He was wildly out of his depth, but he'd sworn to always support his witch, so he'd do his best.

Although perhaps next time he'd take more of the estate management load, and leave her to handle the dresses instead.