James looked at Mr. Windell, and then over his shoulder back to his parents. He kept his wand at his side and used his free hand to show his palm to Grubson, “Mr. Windell, I think it would be best if you stepped outside…” Jim started, but the man shaking on his knees was a little more than he could handle. Annette rushed over to Jack, and put an arm around his shoulder and watched as the scene unfolded.

Jim tucked his wand into his pajama pants’ pocket and kneeled down in front of Grubson. He put his hands on his shoulders. “Mr. Windell…” He mustered from deep inside him, he was never good at the psychological stuff. “Mr. Windell, we can’t help you unless you tell us what has happened.” Brenda Lotusorder walked down the stairs lightly, her feet barely making a sound. “Grubson” She said, he voice soothing and smooth, like buttermilk.

She put a hand on Jim’s shoulders and he stood up and stood off to the side as Brenda kneeled down to Grubson’s level. “Grubson, what has happened?” She used two fingers to lift his chin so he would look her in the eye.

Carefully, Aurors Callen and Roh, along with MI5 Agent McGee, had tracked the sets of footprints to the front of a rather large house. The blood trail was small, and Callen just assumed that it had been from the boy, hoping that their suspect hadn't done anything stupid.

Gun-less, Agent McGee looked at a loss for actions and words. He took a place at the door, ready to throw it open when the Aurors were ready. "Grubson Windell, your suspect, is in the middle of the room. He's the man on his knees who appears to be crying." He said softly, not to disturb anything going on inside.

"We'll take it from here, Agent McGee." Callen said, more of an order than a suggestion. She waited until the man stepped aside to look at her partner for the night, "All set Roh?" She asked, not really waiting for an answer as she threw the door open, to the shock of the people inside. Because Windell was considered dangerous and possibly armed, she threw a binding curse at him, binding his ankles together, and his wrists as well. He fell to the ground in front of the woman who had been kneeling in front of him. "Please step away from him, miss." She addressed the woman, preparing to search the room to make sure there was no one else that could be of a threat to them.

The three of them swept down the suburban streets in the fresh snow, red robes whipping behind them.  In the quiet of the night, all sounds felt muffled and still.  Utterly peaceful almost.  But reality was far from it. 

When Callen asked if Roh was ready, Roh nodded and immediately Apparated around back of the large house.  Callen would go in the front, and Roh would cover the back.  This would need to be contained.  A kitchen door was unlocked with ease and she crept through the dark house.  She kept her wand dark but at the ready.

Soon Zora Roh came through a dining room and could see the living area.  She quickly accounted for everyone in the room.

A man was bound by Callen's wand - that would be Grubson Windell, and near him a little boy.  The son.  There was also a girl and two other adults and one young man. 

"Back's clear," Roh said, making her location known to Callen.  "This is it."

She looked from person to person.  The adults, who  must live here.  They were in their pajamas.  Were they muggles like McGee? Or witches and wizards like Windell? Which ever they were, they'd just seen magic done and they weren't freaking out as if they'd seen it for the first time.

But she'd need confirmation.

"All of you, stand against the stairs, please," she directed.  She'd said please, but it was not a request, and her directions were accompanied by her wand.

"The children, too.  Are there wands in the house? Are any of you muggles?  What are you names?"

This would be routine for Zora, but not for these families.  It was routine to secure the crime scene and account for everyone, and in a muggle neighborhood to account for any breaches of the Statute of Secrecy.  For a few minutes, these victims would feel like criminals, but it was procedure.  It had to be done for everyone's safety.

When the little girl didn't move quickly enough, she seemed frozen in place, Zora took her by the arm.  "Go on.  By the stairs."

Sorry about this, but I think we just need a quick conclusion so we know how this all ends.

Annette squeaked as the auror grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the stairs, Nette's batman slippers skidded across the floor and she clung to her mother as they all stood in front of the banister. Jim put his wand down at his feet and spoke to the women in red robes. "James Lotusorder, my little sister Annette is a Hogwarts students, and our father, Octavian are all wizards, our mum is a muggle, but she knows about us. Jack Windell, Hogwarts student, Grubson Windell...wizard." James summarized quickly for the women.

He caught a look from his father, knowing that his father was thinking the same thing as he was. "You should have been and auror."

Octavian spoke up. "My wand is upstairs in my bedroom, locked in a wooden box, my daughters is in a book in the kitchen." The tall blonde girl looked at her father in disbelief, she hid her wand for a reason, but obviously, her privacy didn't matter to her father, he thought that young ladies shouldn't keep secrets.

Brenda Lotusorder stared at the aurors in awe, she'd never seen wizard law enforcement before and her faltering mind caused her to be over impressed, but it may have also been the shock of her front door being kicked open. Annette added one other person to the list of wizards. "Our housekeeper, Eliza is upstairs in her room, she's a witch too." the hufflepuff looked at her feet, not wanting to make eye-contact.

Awesome! I can wrap this up.  Let me know if I should change anything?

When older son began to answer Zora's questions, the Auror nodded.  Everything sounded right, or at least he knew how to make it all sound right.  The wands were put up for the night, everyone present was included under the State of Secrecy's umbrella of Need-To-Knows.  She glanced up when the little girl mentioned there was a housekeeper snoozing blissfully upstairs - they'd need to get her down here.

But first, they needed to get the suspect into custody.  "Callen, you can take him," she told her associate.  "Send for Accidents and Catastrophe's, will you?"  The Obliviators would need to be present to know if any of their neighbors might need... fixed up. But in the meantime, all of these witness would need to make statements.


The questioning lasted long into the night, Zora asking each family member a battery of questions, one at a time.  Thankfully for all, Auror Roh deemed that none of them would have to come back to the Ministry with her that very night.  But as she left, as dawn was breaking, she assured them that they'd be visited again.  Even though the case seemed cut-and-dried, Level Two would need to be absolutely, unmistakably thorough.   Every detail accounted for.

As she left the family, one nearly ruined, the other left to absorb the horror, Zora sighed.  They'd caught the bad guy, but this was far from closure.