Neville sat at his desk rustling through a pile of paperwork. He had let a few of his reports pile up over the weekend. Hannah had invited him out on Saturday mostly just to catch up. It had been an awkward night, spending Valentine's with a woman that he was no longer going to marry but it did give him an excuse when Ginny had suggested he help Harry run the Speed Dating Charity event. A small part of him had been hoping she was going to change her mind about them but as the night went on it was obvious they had both moved on and trying to rekindle anything besides friendship between them would be fruitless.

He paused at a report on possible links to his Grandmother's case but after scanning it several times he decided it was just another false lead. It was becoming more and more infuriating that he was unable to solve the case and the fact that his Gran was still at St Mungo's (with the possibility of moving into the long term care sector alongside his parents) wasn't helping matters. Neville was trying to throw himself into his work even deeper to stave off the increasing loneliness he was beginning to feel.

After he organized the pile into unfinished reports, reports that need to be filed, reports that need to be read, and those that were irrelevant to what he was working on he didn't seem to be getting any closer to actually finishing the task at hand. He ran his fingers through his dark brown hair causing it to stand on end for a few moments before flopping down again. With a drawn out sigh he pushed himself out of his chair and meandered through the cubicles in search of coffee.

Someone had forgotten to refill Admete's stock of coffee. Too much to ask for, coffee on the one day she was craving it while trying to run the entirety of Level Two.

Her footsteps were loud as she walked, someone in the department had to have coffee somewhere. And that was a hunt she must succeed on. At least, until she caught sight of a very familiar face wandering about, one she hadn't seen for months and more. "Longbottom! When'd you get back?"

That, she felt a twinge of guilt at missing.  She leaned against one of the nearby cubicles and let her eyes follow him. The promotion didn't mean she couldn't check in on the Aurors. Even if said checking in spared her from paperwork for the moment.

So much paperwork.

Neville had not been able to find anything resembling coffee before he was interrupted by a familiar voice. He gave Admete a warm, albeit tired smile. He had always admired the older Auror and had even managed to train under her for at least a case or two when he was fresh out of the Academy. Much like Tonks or Mad Eye, Admete had been one of those Aurors that Neville had looked to as being the epitome of what it was to be an Auror. The fact that she had been promoted to Head of the Department was just proof of such.

"Alright there Brown?"

He felt a bit of crimson come to his cheeks and he hoped it wasn't obvious. The nervous helpless little boy he had been in Hogwarts wasn't something he wanted to hold onto nor was it something he wanted his fellow Aurors to associate with him. Harry was amoung the few in the Corps that had known him during those days but he had also seen him grow into the man he had become today. Most in the office respected him for what he had managed to accomplish during the Second Wizarding War and others for the cases he had wrapped up before getting injured.

He shifted his weight from his bad knee to his good leg. It wouldn't do well to look incapable in front of his new boss. Likewise he didn't want to call attention to the fact that he had been back for almost two months now and she hadn't noticed. He didn't fault her on it, not in the least. He had been working almost around the clock to try and find his Grandmother's attacker. The few moments he spent on other cases were mostly at his desk filing paperwork, like he had just been doing. He had only returned a few days after she had been appointed to Head of the Department and he had no idea what kind of paperwork had gone into him getting his previous position back. It was possible it had never even been run past her, or that she had been too busy to notice the name on the Returning to Duty forms.

"Uh not that long ago, December, well end of the year really, nearly January actually." He spoke rather awkwardly hoping not to embarrass her. He had never really been a noticeable kind of guy, in fact the only time he was noticed in school had been whenever he messed up but that had been over a decade ago, "Been a busy year so far, yeah?"

"Could use some coffee." Admete tried for a reassuring smile, she wasn't here to ride the Auror's asses, least not at the moment. Promotion hadn't changed things that much, she hoped.

"And yeah, busy. Bout when the whole Opera incident went down, then? Was buried. Would have taken you out for a drink if I'd noticed." She took a look around the office, as if hunting the elusive coffee monster. No luck. "Or coffee, since the stuff seems to have vanished."

She tapped her gloved hands against the cubicle wall in thought. Had she missed something, some paperwork, celebration? Nothing came to mind, but that didn't mean she hadn't missed it. Which annoyed her more than it should have.

"Good to have you back here. Merlin knows we need you."  Busy wasn't even the half of it so far, and the year had barely started.

Neville nodded along happy to feel the flush of crimson subside from his cheeks. He was thankful that Admete didn't make a big deal out of it. It wasn't as if she didn't have a good reason not to notice. Things had been hectic over the holidays and it wasn't as if Neville had made any grand announcement about it. In fact Neville had barely been in the office for the first month and a half. He had spent as many hours as he could out in Godric's Hollow combing every possible inch of his Gran's house over and over. While he hadn't found any new evidence after the first week he had been determined that he was simply missing something. There was no way it was just some random robbery or attack, especially since nothing of value had been stolen.

He rubbed the back of his neck working out a kink and stifling a yawn. It seemed he wasn't the only one looking for a pick me up. Unfortunately there didn't seem to be anything of substance left on the small table shoved into a corner that more or less served as a refreshment station for the Aurors, though in Neville's experience it spent most of it's time empty. It made him wonder whether or not it ever got stocked up or if the round the clock law enforcement officers drained it faster than it could get refilled.

Neville picked up an empty pot that had long since had fresh coffee in it, "Doesn't look like we're getting any here." He glanced over at Admete keeping his focus on the empty pot. He was sure the comment was just a generalization but it still made him feel a little awkward. He had actually ended up becoming a very valuable Auror but it was hard to let go of all those days of failure and ridicule during his teens even if it was over a decade ago. Some things just had a hard time going away.

"I'd like to say I hope things calm down soon, but I've been here longer enough to know that if we ever get a dry spell, it's more like being inside the eye of a the storm."

Admete gave the empty pot a most disappointed look. The Auror office seemed to run on pranks and coffee at times, wouldn't do to see that flow stopped. "I'll talk to maintenance. Should be able to handle coffee. Merlin."

If they were really unlucky she wouldn't have coffee before she got after them. "Think I'll need to go find some elsewhere. Want me to pick some up for you, still owe you a drink after all." She shrugged and smiled a little. Guess she missed the office a little, some days.

"And we could all use it for the chaos." She shook her head, then rolled her shoulders. Too much time at the desk these days.

"Maintenance? I thought that's what the trainees were for?" Neville chuckled softly and gave her a crooked grin. He remembered his days as a trainee rather fondly even if they were brutal. He had been determined to prove himself even after the fall of the Dark Lord. Somehow going through the Auror Academy felt different than standing up against the Death Eaters at school. In some ways it was harder, in war you were expected to step up and be a hero, but being an Auror, it was the job he had been planning to do for the rest of his life, it wasn't going to be over any time soon and he had to do it right.

"Aye, well if you're going I might as well take one." He gave her another shy smile. He didn't want to be the guy that asked his boss to fetch him coffee, that made him seem like a jerk but she was the one who offered and he'd look worse if he refused her especially considering this whole encounter had started because they were both searching for the stimulating sustenance.

"Would you like some company? I think I'm going blind trying to catch up on the backlog of paperwork I've got." He rubbed at his neck and stretched out his shoulders, feeling the ache in his muscles run down his back and into his bad knee, "Guess it doesn't always pay off to be constantly in the field, does it?"

"Trainee's day off." Admete smirked, obviously teasing. "And some things are just too important to delegate." Coffee, apparently. She lifted up the empty pot, turned it upside down, and shook it. A few flakes of very dried coffee gunk floated down to the floor.

Yes, they needed to hunt somewhere else.

"Company? Yes, save your eyes. I'd help with the paperwork, but-" She set the coffee pot down and waved her hand vaguely in the direction of her office. "Think I might have you beat. Keep expecting to head back and not find my desk under all the papers."

He waved his hand in dismissal. There was no way he'd be asking his shiny new boss for help with his paperwork. Besides it was nothing he couldn't just cart home if he needed to. Hogsmeade was rather nice this time of year and it may actual help him file his reports sitting by his own fireplace with a large cup of tea (made from leaves he had grown himself no less) For now though he just had to find a little bit of sustenance to keep himself going until a respectable hour than he could take whatever was left with him.

He glanced in the direction of the big wig's office. Part of him still found it strange, regardless of how fitting it was, to see Admete at the other end of that desk. There had been a fair amount of witches and wizards to fill that chair during his time as an Auror. All of them fit the role in their own way, just as Admete did but still it was just sort of, strange.

"How's all that treating you anyway? Can't imagine it's much of a walk in the park running this lot." He waved in the general direction of the cubicles spread out in front of them. The usual hustle and bustle of the Auror office filled the background noise around them. Not to mention the occasional paper airplane zipping in to deliver an inter-office memo. It was still causing Neville to flinch whenever one passed overhead. You'd think after years of being an Auror a few away wouldn't be enough to make all this strange for him but well . . .

"I'm glad you got the position by the way. Not sure if I already said so, but in case I haven't. It suits you. Can't imagine any one else," He leaned in a bit to make an obvious attempt at hiding what he was about to say, "Especially given this lot." He gave her a cheeky grin and a wink hoping he wasn't being too forward with the new 'Boss'.

Admete started over towards the lift and motioned for Neville to follow her. "It's been busy. Less stressful than it was at first. Seemed like I might as well been attacked by a paperwork golem when I started. So, getting better."

Slowly. Coffee would help.

She tossed Neville a bit of a grin back at the compliment. Wasn't completely appropriate, not with that cheek of his, but they'd worked together long enough for her to let it slide. At least this once. A paper airplane came swooping wildly towards her head, and she ducked, watched it crash into the wall of the newly arrived lift.

Some things just didn't change.

Neville joined her by the lift and nodded along as she spoke. At least it seemed like she was settling into the role well. He didn't think she'd have any problems with the others listening to her and as she said the paperwork was starting to get under control. Or at least as under control as it could get in their line of work. For the first week he had been back in the office, Cavanaugh had been hovering over his desk asking if he needed any help with his paperwork. He knew a few others let her do theirs for them and she was rather good at it but he needed that extra bit of stress to get his mind back in the game. Now he was almost wishing he had taken her up on the offer.

He leaned back as an airplane nearly crashed into Admete's head. As the senior Auror ducked the plane instead crashed into the lift just as it opened. He shook his head and stepped into the lift, "You think they'd be better at piloting those things." He knew that it was partly due to the charm being lazily cast and partly due to an over enthusiastic head start the plane had been given. When he was first out of the Academy it took him a full three months to learn the correct technique to getting his memos to fly right.

He pressed the button for the Atrium after Admete made it into the lift, "Wonder what kind of cakes they have, can't remember the last time I ate personally."

"Better for them that they aren't, have to be annoyed if it hit me." Admete moved to the back wall of the lift, her arms somewhat stiff at her sides. That sort of behavior wasn't the most endearing sort, but it would be far too much work and ill will to really change it.

She smiled slightly at the mention of cakes. "Don't tempt me. Haven't had much time for duels these days, makes the sweets more trouble. Maybe this once." Hadn't been much time to wander off and eat them, either.

A few moments of quiet, while she thought. "What's the best kind of cake, you think?"

Maybe just one. This once.

"Personally I've always been partial to pumpkin pasties." He gave a boyish grin remembering back to his days at school and ordering sweets on the Hogwarts Express. He never haduch in the way of pocket coins, his Gran never really trusted him with carrying around much money. She was afraid he'd spend it all on something useless or - more likely - forget where he left his coin pouch.

"When I was teaching, there was this petite little Hufflepuff who baked in her free time, brilliant stuff." He placed a hand to his chi  in thought, "I should see if she wants a summer job at my shop." He remarked mostly to himself.

"How bout you? What's your guilty pleasure?"

"Always preferred apple, myself. Toss a little caramel on top." Thought made her hungry. "Think I'd need a duel afterwards. Too much sugar in the things."

She smiled slightly at Neville. "Miss the action a little with the new spot." It was easy to wonder if he missed Hogwarts, or at least the students there.

Then the lift creaked to a halt, and the door opened. The atrium was busy as always, but not so crowded as to halt Admete as she strode forward. It wasn't far to their destination.

The cafe, however, was crowded nearly elbow to elbow. Admete was bumped about within moments of stepping inside, and she shook her head as she looked to Neville. "Hope they're not out of pumpkin."

Neville exited the lift alongside her and let his feet do all the walking, that is to say he forgot how comfortable he was at the Ministry that something as simple as going to the sweets counter was like second nature to him. Much like everything had been at Hogwarts. He gave her another smile and a bit of a shrug, "Different life there, innit?" He weaved through the small crowd until he reached the small cafe they were heading to. Only a few witches and a wizard stood in line ahead of them.

"I miss the castle, it was my home for so long. The students were great, seeing their faces when they learned something new, there's nothing like it really. And of course the plants." He sighed calmly thinking about the freedom he had been given with the greenhouses. He knew that if he wanted, if he was needed, he could take the position back one day but there were other things that needed his attention.

"But it's just like being back here at the Ministry. Somehow, I feel like I belong at both. At Hogwarts with the students and the plants and here, protecting the public, catching the bad guys." He chewed on his lip a bit thinking about how little he had been able to discover about those that had attacked his grandmother.

"It's enough to make your head spin."