When Persephone had wanted to double as a professor and an auror, Benjamin hadn’t really known why. It was great that that was what she had wanted, working something out with the Headmistress, and it certainly was great to have someone at the school in case something did happen, but he really was surprised that the Minister hadn’t stuck himself into the situation, trying to break it up. He was thankful, but he really didn’t think that purebloods would last in any position much longer if the Minister had his way. They would begin to be treated like werewolves, outcast to the world. A part of him worried about every pureblood that he knew, wanting to find a way to get Durant out of office, but knowing he was bloody stuck letting the bloke run his course.

“Good,” he responded, smiling slightly. He should have known that she was on top of this case, though he did still like to keep informed of how his employees were doing and on the cases they were on. Benjamin let out a sigh, knowing that this was going to be a long night as they reviewed the notes. He supposed he should make arrangements to finish up his other important paperwork tonight and then leave first thing in the morning to meet with some of his connections, seeing if they could detect anything from the letters that Isabella had received. Merlin, the Slytherin was going to be impossible when she found out that her aunt was going through her things, even if it were for her safety. “I’m going to go for a few days, starting tomorrow. I have some connections I can look up,” he stated casually, already mentally creating a list of what he needed to get finished first.

“So, neither purebloods,” he noted to himself. “Don’t send a letter to him just yet and don’t intervene. Unfortunately, we need more letters from him, hoping he’ll slip up. He seems to think that Bells will be visiting him over the summer, which is obviously a no-go. But for now, she’s protected at the school. I don’t recommend you allowing her to go to Hogsmeade, though,” he explained, his eyes narrowing as he thought through things. “I wouldn’t be surprised if more people at school start approaching her, trying to corrupt her. You know as well as I do that people who go through loss don’t always cope well, easily corrupted by their thoughts. I know it’s been a few months, but I don’t know that she’s worked through anything.”

Persephone knew that Ben worried about her and the family because of their blood status though he never really addressed it with her. She knew that she had to be especially careful when it came to Durant. She was holding down two positions that held some kind of authority over others, and if the Minister was in a particularly foul mood he could find some reason to give her the boot. Thankfully it seemed like the man was too busy picking on little things that didn’t matter in the grand scheme of everything to take notice of anything else. That had been her saving grace and as long as she could ‘lay low’ things could continue to move smoothly. But now that things were starting to become personal she feared she may not have the restraint she used to.

She watched him intently as he continued to review her notes and reports. She raised an eyebrow at him as he said he would be leaving for a few days. Persephone trusted the man far more than she trusted most. He was important to her, and because of that she couldn’t keep herself from worrying about his well being. She was glad they were alone as her reaction slipped into a personal realm. ”Do you really think that is wise to leave the department unsupervised with Durant on a rampage? And I’m already going to assume that you aren’t taking me with you, let alone anyone else.” She said crossing her arms with a touch of defiance coming over her features, though it was that of his best friend and not his subordinate as she typically didn’t give him many issues, at least not any that they couldn’t solve easily.

Persephone ran a hand through her hair before nodding at his assessment on the information she had given him a quick run-over of. ”Preventing her from going to Hogsmeade is going to throw up red flags when it comes to Mark. He’s most likely watching her. He knows who I am, and I am certain he knows what I do for a living. If we disrupt anything in her normal routine to keep her out of public he’ll figure out that I know… and we’ll compromise what we have going so far.” She scooted away from the desk slightly to reach into the drawer to grab a piece of fresh parchment as she started jotting down some miscellaneous notes on their current discussion. She sighed deeply as he talked about Bells coping with the loss of Gio and his family though kept herself writing not wanting to get upset over it all. ”She avoids me like the plague. I doubt she’s made any healthy step towards coping and I am absolutely helpless to do anything without making things worse.” She said quietly keeping her voice level before clearing her throat abruptly pulling herself together. ”I’ll talk to Leo and see if he can help out on that front.” She added keeping her eyes down on the paper as she read over what she had so far.

Benjamin really hadn’t time to do anything outside of work and family dinners on Sundays, far too much on his plate of things to do. Though, this had always been how he preferred it, wanting to take on more of a workload in order to protect his Aurors. Every person that he hired as an Auror had been specifically hand-picked, his application process being extremely thorough. He wanted only serious workers, the best. However, it seemed that he tended to hire Aurors that became work-a-holics as well, willing to put everything they had into every case, and every potential case. Of all of them, he certainly didn’t expect anything less from Persephone, knowing that she put everything into her work. He also knew that she was serious about protecting her family. If anything, he felt slightly bad for whoever it was that was writing letters to Bells. A part of him felt it was important he discovered the individual first before Seph killed him without a second thought.

He quirked an eyebrow at her words, waiting for her to finish her worrisome talk. “Let me worry about Durant,” he responded simply, already planning out how to keep the Minister distracted enough for Benjamin to be gone for a few days. “Single man trip,” he shrugged, smirking slightly. He would not want to put anyone else at risk of losing their lives or their jobs over something he wasn’t sure was there. And he certainly wasn’t going to chance saying where he was going unless it panned out. He knew the woman would worry, but he knew how to be careful enough, to get where he needed to be undetected.

“I’ll see what I can do for getting a couple undercovers to head to Hogsmeade on their weekends just to keep an eye on things,” he mused, making a note on his calendar in a code only he understood. Anyone looking at his calendar would see a bunch of random letters and numbers, having no true meaning, though it was a code that Benjamin had developed throughout the years, not wanting anyone to know what he had planned. Benjamin made a sound of disapproval about Bells, knowing that every DiTraverso woman was apparently too stubborn for their own good. The fact that Bells wasn’t dealing, so they believed, effectively, would certainly aid in whoever was writing to her. “Please do,” he nodded in agreement, hoping that Isabella would listen to at least someone and talk about what she was thinking. “When’s the last day of school again?” he asked, knowing that he needed to keep a timeline for how long they had to catch the guy.

Benjamin was the only person who had ever seen Persephone in her most dangerous form. He held a secret that would destroy how others looked at her, especially her family, as well as ruin both of their careers. It was probably because of this that he didn’t want her getting too close to whoever was trying to destroy her family. There was no doubt in her mind that whoever Mark was would be in for a rude awakening if she found him first… granted it wouldn’t last long. She was typically able to keep herself grounded but was finding it a bit more difficult when it came to the case with Bells, and the one on the murder of her brother’s family. Though she knew somehow Ben would be able to keep her from doing such a thing. While they had been apart for quite some time she was positive that he could still anticipate her every move before the thought even popped into her head. That was both comforting and aggravating at the same.

She watched him carefully as he quirked an eyebrow at her and told her he would worry about Durant. ”I let you worry about enough, you have my services at your disposal again. At least make some use of them for the love of Merlin.” She replied raising her eyebrows at him. She was tired of him being the one to stick his neck out. It was her family, and while he was definitely a large part of it, it felt like it should be her responsibility. ”I’m tired of you sticking me behind a desk and telling me not to worry, when this is most definitely something to worry about. I know you’re a ‘big boy’ and all, but that will never stop me from being concerned.” She said her arms still firmly crossed over her chest.

Deep down Persephone knew there was really no point in trying to argue the point and eventually he’d probably put his ‘boss cap’ on and ask her to drop it if she got too insistent. She turned attention back to the professional aspect of it for a moment. ”The last Hogsmeade trip of the year was a few days ago, so that won’t be necessary.” She said her mind still working to try to find some kind of connection before giving him a gentle nod at his agreement with getting Leo involved. ”The end of term feast is on the fifteenth and the train departs on the morning of the sixteenth.” She couldn’t sit still seeing as she had been behind a desk all day and stood up to grab the other folder from the top of the filing cabinet before starting to pace as she read through it again sure that she was missing something.

They each had skeletons in their past that would really do a lot of damage if they were discovered by the wrong people. Working on cases that were off of the clock, more or less, was higher at risk to look like either of them were trying to get away with something. At least, that was what Benjamin was certain the Minister would try to portray. Certain secrets in their lives were better left never being discussed and certain cases could never be made public. Now more than ever, they had to watch their backs, knowing that there were so many people on different sides of this war, each being less trustworthy than the next. Not only did they have to watch out for the people who were dead set on making it hell for Death Eaters, but now people who hated purebloods were about, and then there were the actual Death Eaters who were most likely trying to start a war. At times, Benjamin wondered if it would be in his best interest to go undercover as his former Death Eater self to try to spy on the happenings. This thought he hadn’t pondered all too seriously, though he was trying to clean up loose ends in case he did get found out.

“Good to know I have your services. I’ll let you know when I need a one night stand,” he replied good-naturedly, rolling his eyes. “It’s my job to worry about this stuff, not yours, Seph. Trust that I’ve been in this position long enough to know what I’m doing, yeah?” he asked, raising both of his eyebrows in her direction, a slightly amused expression on his face. He really couldn’t have her getting more involved than she already was, but that was obviously a lost cause. “Well then, stay concerned,” he shrugged. “And you’re a bloody professor. Your job IS behind a bloody desk,” he deadpanned, giving her a slight look.

He nodded at her information, taking down a few more notes. “I’d say don’t let her out of your site, but you’re DiTraverso’s. Hardly any of you are alone during the summer, so that won’t look suspicious. How’s it going to go during the summer when Isabella is home and both you and Nikolai are working? I don’t know what teenage girls do during the summer.”

Sometimes it could be extremely frustrating to work with Ben. She couldn’t complain about how he ran things because he did an excellent job of it, but it was times like these where she grew slightly irritable. She knew exactly how she wanted to approach things, but at the same time knew that none of her solutions would be feasible at that time. Persephone didn’t like being on the sidelines as it felt like that was where he was trying to guide her to. It would just waste their time for her to continue trying to prove her point, though that didn’t necessarily mean she would back off completely.

A smile tugged at her lips at his inappropriate joke. It always did help her to relax a touch when he brought their brand of humor into it. ”You don’t pay me enough to service you.” She replied with a laugh and a shake of her head feeling a little bit of the anxiety fade. ”I understand where you are coming from, Ben. But you need to remind yourself that this isn’t just an ordinary case for me. It involves a great many people I care deeply for… that includes you.” She said sternly. Yes, was excellent at his job, but it felt like everyone she cared about was being targeted, even if each incident was unrelated it worried her. ”I’ll be a full-time auror again by the end of June. You can’t keep me behind this desk all summer.” She added with a quirked eyebrow though she knew that most of her work would involve tedious paperwork, which she was not looking forward to, but hopefully Ben would let her have some fun with the trainees in the meantime.

She paused for a moment leaning up against the wall with a sly smile on her face. ”Already taken care of. Leo does PI work for a living and I highly doubt Bells is going to notice a chameleon following her about. Nikolai works standard hours, though I doubt Bells will want to stay home with my ‘fake husband’.” She took a moment to shake her head in slight amusement at the thought. ”I can attempt to keep my hours short… but you see just how well I do with that.” She pointed to a clock up on the wall noticing just how late it was getting. ”Then Nikolai will most likely have to take a business trip to Russia over the summer for a few weeks, hopefully he doesn’t go off doing stupid shit while I’m not around.” She added the last bit with an eyeroll punctuated with the flip of a page. ”But I can manage.”

Benjamin couldn’t even remember just how long he had been the Head of Aurors, though he knew it was a job he cherished deeply. It was a desk job, which he hated. But he often found himself on the field, checking up on his Auror’s work when paperwork was slow. Hardly ever was paperwork slow, but he would end up working late most weeks. Really, he wasn’t sure the last time it was that he didn’t work over his schedule. He was passionate about doing a good job and expecting the best out of his Aurors, which is why he grew defensive when the Minister wanted to pick apart each of his Aurors, questioning their ability. It was obvious to him that the Minister simply wanted to pick a new crew that would blindly follow his every decision which was something Benjamin refused to do.

It would only be a matter of time before Durant started to pick apart his team, flicking one by one away until he could start placing people into their positions. This was certainly not something he needed to concerned about at the moment, unless the Minister was about to start planting evidence to strike them out. Either way, they had other things to pay attention to that didn’t involve wasting their time. “I haven’t forgotten, which is why you’re staying here. Isabella needs you at the school more than I need you where I’m going. Do you even know how many operations I’ve gone on by myself in the past few years he asked, quirking an eyebrow in her direction. “You know I’ll be careful or Ma will kill me,” he reminded her, having heard that way too much from the older woman. “I don’t know where you came to the conclusion that I was going to keep you behind a desk, you crazy woman. In fact, you’re still not getting a desk for that reason. I know you vacationed in Russia for too long, but that’s not how we do things here,” he joked.

Benjamin let out a laugh at her explaining the summer, followed by an amused look. “Well, looks like someone will be in deep shit if and when Bells finds out about said chameleon. She’s a lot like you, you know,” he stated offhandedly. “Even if I didn’t know you as a teenager, I know that. So, be prepared for a shit storm. And off to Russia during the summer? Sounds like Leo is going to be real busy.”

The career of an auror could be extremely exhausting at times, and not always in a physical way. Sure training could be an absolute nightmare and the job, if done to the best one was capable of, entailed a substantial amount of time, but it was what happened beyond the office that was far more strenuous. There were things she had done and witnessed that she was sure would drive others to the brink of insanity yet it seemed she was always able to push through with minimal psychological damage. While in that office she could keep herself calm and level though she knew the moment she returned home the anxiety over everything would take over. It would probably be another sleepless night of her pacing and racking her brain trying to sort everything out.

It didn't help that she was always on edge when it came to the Minister, things had been getting worse by the minute, as she had seen with her own eyes. She had still yet to tell Ben about her running into Pius Thicknesse, and how absolutely dreadful the man looked. The guards overseeing the work camps were ruthless as far as she could tell. What the vile Minister was doing was no longer a harsh punishment, which she had disagreed with in the first place, had turned into full on abuse and neglect. They were slowly dehumanizing the men and women stuck within those walls and it just didn't sit right with her. It was infuriating though she kept that bit to herself. She knew it was important information or possibly could be though she wasn't sure if she wanted to say anything right at that moment.

She sighed as she knew he was right that it would make far more sense for her to stay at the school than accompany him. She gave him a look as he asked her if she knew how many times he took care of things on his own. "The only reason you got away with that was because I was in Russia. I sincerely hope that if something is remarkably dangerous that you will take me with you. I'm back home now... You don't get to have 'fun' without me." She joked lightly though she really did hope he would bring her in for back-up as needed. "You won't have to worry about Ma. I doubt she'll be able to get to you before I do." A large smile moved across her face as he continued realizing that she should have known better than to think he would expect her to kill her days with constant paperwork. "Don't lie to yourself. You know you're not giving me my own desk because you missed me so much. Admit it you like sharing an office with me." She teased before closing the folder and moving back to the desk to set it down. She was just thankful that she had relaxed a fair bit from how wound up she was upon first entering.

"Don't let Bells hear you comparing the two of us unless you want to feel her wraith too." She said with a shake of her head. Gio used to constantly point out the similarities between the two before she left, and she was sure he still did on occasion while she was gone. It was definitely obvious that the pair were related when it came to their personalities though Persephone always hoped she only took after her 'good' traits instead of her less favorable ones. Granted they both inherited the DiTraverso temper and stubbornness as did most of the other women in the family though they did seem a bit more intense than everyone else. "And I'll be surprised if the house is still in one piece after she realizes I've been invading her privacy and having Leo follow her around." She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed loudly at the mention of Nikolai going to Russia. "That man is going to be the death of me. Stubborn arse... But while he's gone I'll probably approach Bells about this all. She already isn't fond of him, along with half of the bloody family. He doesn't need to see just how ridiculous things get." She missed this. It was much easier for her to speak freely with him than anyone else. How she survived in Russia all those years without her best friend was a mystery to her.

This was his family that someone was messing with, the family that seemed to have adopted him into it a while back. They just had so much love for anyone that came around, seeming to immediately accept them as part of it. Benjamin wasn’t certain he had ever seen a family that held so much love and passion, working as one unit instead of battling each other at every bend. Sure, they had their disagreements, but ultimately, they came together, a strong force to be reckoned with. If one member of the family was being attacked, each and every one of them took it personally. The attack on Gio and his family was just that; it was something personal. However, this attack on Isabella was much more recent and she was still alive, making it even more personal to the family. He knew that if Persephone was working on it, the second she mentioned it to the other members, they’d all be involved. This thought made him briefly wonder if she had told any of the others in the family yet or what her plan was for that.

A slight smirk spread across his features as he heard she sighed, knowing that he won the little disagreement for the moment. She might not be happy, but he was confident in his decision. The Minister would be far too busy with the paperwork that Benjamin sent his way to bother his department. Besides, he had put a charm in place to notify him the second trouble was occurring so that he could be back immediately. “If it was something dangerous enough that I would need back up, I’m not stupid enough to go alone. Who’s going to lead the department if I’m dead?” he asked, raising his eyebrows at her, as if waiting for her to answer the question. No one wanted to stick with the bloody paperwork that he had or deal with the Minister on nearly a daily basis. Sometimes, even more frequently than daily. “Yes, what better way to spend my days than with someone who’s going push me away from my own desk?” he asked sarcastically, giving her a look. “Good luck asking the Minister to give you an office,” he chuckled, knowing that the Minister didn’t even want a pureblood on their force. His prejudice was hardly a secret, after all.

“Gio told her that all of the time in the past few years. It seems the older she got, the more she reminded him of you. I think there was even a time or two she complimented it, saying that you apparently had it right in the head on some things…which I guess is close enough to a compliment coming from her,” he shrugged, a tight smile appearing at the memory. He really did miss his friend and his family, shocked when he had heard the news of them being attacked. They were powerful beings, in his mind, which led him to believe that they had been ambushed, not that it was yet determined. It was a case he was immediately kicked off of because of his deep connection to the family, though he still tried to look at the old case file from time to time when he could. “Even from her being sorted in Slytherin,” he laughed. “Don’t be too hard on her. She did miss you, even if she’s too stubborn to say it.” He moved from his seat to refill his coffee, even if it was rather late at night. It would certainly be a long night. “Well, how can she not be fond of him if she hasn’t even met him yet?” Benjamin asked, slightly confused. He wasn’t certain he’d ever understand the way a girl’s mind worked.

She shot Ben a look as she caught the smirk coming across his face as he realized she really didn’t have a leg to stand on when it came to this disagreement. Sure he had won that time, but she was sure he would lose a few as well the longer they were back working together and even more so outside of the office. She looked forward to having him back around the house again to keep her company as she prepped for Sunday dinners. ”Don’t look at me. I do not envy your position.” Persephone said raising her hands up as if to surrender. There was no way she could handle all the work that landed on his shoulders without going mental. Of course with them sharing an office it was a lot more apparent just how much he was dealing with. ”I have never full on pushed you away from your desk. I gently urge you away from it, besides you like when I push you around. Someone needs to put you in your place on occasion.” She chuckled with a wink. Her nose wrinkled slightly at the mention of Durant, for a man she had never met personally he certainly had her feathers ruffled.

Persephone smiled weakly as Ben spoke of her brother, feeling her heart growing heavier by the second. She missed him terribly and there was never a single day that passed that she didn’t think of him, her beautiful sister-in-law, and her nephews. There was nothing she wouldn’t give to turn back the hands of time and tell the Russian Ministry that she was going back home at the end of her two years. Maybe the tragedy wouldn’t have happened if she had been home. ”Oh I’ve already had Bells in my office. That bloody mouth of hers… she’s lucky the worst I’ve ever done is take house points. Honestly she is so close to having a detention it’s not even funny.” She paused for a moment shaking her head as she processed what she had just said. ”Okay, I’m quite mouthy, but I’d like to think I’ve tamed it over the past fifteen years.” She said giving her friend a look that dared him to disagree with her before a smile broke through. It was hard to believe they had known each other that long; at least it didn’t feel that long.

”I just wish Bells could see that I love her and everything I do, regardless of how extreme or odd it may seem, has been to protect her. I started in this career with her safety in mind. I think Bells was only two or so when I even started training.” Persephone ran a hand through her hair before shaking her head to try to center herself again. This would all work out eventually, she hoped. ”Gino has been writing to Bells about how he thinks Nikolai is just a bodyguard, and exaggerating just how much we argue. Honestly, of course the arguments sound serious when he and I are speaking loudly in Russian.” She said with a light laugh. She was sure it sounded a lot worse than what it really was most of the time.

Persephone turned her back to Ben grabbing a few paperclips from a lower drawer before she began to gather their case work up and organize it. ”Oh by the way, the coffee you buy is horrid and we need more.” She said wrinkling her nose comically as she glanced over her shoulder at him before bringing her attention back to the paperwork in front of her. ”I was actually going to run some errands in Muggle London tomorrow. I’m going to drop by that little coffee shop we liked downtown to pick up some good quality coffee.” She began before putting away the reports and leaning up against the filing cabinet beside him. ”Was there anything you wanted while I was down that way?” She asked with a smile. She knew he rarely got out and would probably grab him something extra regardless.