There was no rain to be had today which was a blessing, but Dieter had cast a spell over the safehouse to protect it from the weather just in case. Which was just as well, because at 7:15 in the morning Sameera felt that there was no reason to be up this early and be rained on for one’s troubles.

She was there to watch Dieter and survey the wreckage. The former was barely needed; Dieter worked well enough on his own and hardly needed supervision, but she enjoyed watching him and listening to his uncensored commentary on his work process. Out here it was easier to speak their minds than in the Ministry since they could be assured that no one could interrupt them without being seen first.

That said, today she was dressed in an old blouse and jeans, looking more of a tourist than her usual snappily-dressed Ministry employee getup. She also had Dieter’s bomber jacket draped across her shoulders, while her similarly dressed colleague didn’t mind the cold so much. She wrinkled her nose at the smell in the safehouse.

“Your thoughts, D?” she asked the German giant as he plucked away debris carefully, separating them in his search, hands sheathed in gloves.

“There’s really nothing much else here other than blood, fur and discarded cigarette butts,” he said, slowly straightening up. “The rest of the evidence has been brought back to Level Two by an auror, and it’s about all the evidence they could find. This is about the cleanest mess I’ve ever seen in my life, and I’ve seen a lot.”

Sameera looked back at the caved in section of the safehouse. She’d set up floating balls of light to illuminate the inside. The interior therefore blazed nearly as bright as day, which was both less creepy and yet more disturbing, since the full damage was also part of the visual package.

“Not human blood?”

“No.” Dieter went to put his hands on his hips, then remembered he had contaminated gloves on and opted to clasp his hands instead. “Other than the werewolf blood, if you count it as human blood. I’ve found footprints, but they’re muddled by everything that’s happened. That said, I’m curious over what happened in the last two rooms.”

She followed him over to the caved-in section, covering her nose. Dieter had seen more action in this field than she had, so he was less fazed by the blood and smell everywhere. It looked worse in the bright lights she had set up.

“No magic was used to murder them,” he said, pointing into the two rooms. “The amount of blood is a lot, but the werewolves weren’t gutted - there would be way more blood than this if they had been. Based on the skinning knife left behind and the tufts of fur, it adds up. You think we might find their pelts on the black market?”

“I don’t know, and I don’t want to entertain the thought of it,” said Sameera thickly, through her pinched nose. “No magic? Well, there are creative ways to kill a man - or wolf - after all, but what use are we then? We're Improper Use of Magic, not Improper Use of Tools to Murder. What about the wards on the safehouse?”

“Unbroken, right up until the safehouse caved in. Then that part of the safehouse was unprotected.” Dieter pulled off a glove. “Could you give me my wand? It’s with you, in my jacket.”

Sameera handed it over to him, still holding her nose. He waved his wand, muttering something under his breath.[1] Colours began to stream around them; one made a little vortex in the air while others lengthened into long smoke-like trails here and there. Some of them encircled the entire room and a few at the doors and walls of the other rooms. The cave-in was noticeably devoid of any colour.

“You can tell someone used Finite Incantatem here,” he said, pointing with his wand at the small circling vortex, a strange colour that could be best described as translucent grey-blue-silver, near the cave-in. “But it didn’t take effect, because there was nothing to disperse. Most of these trails are wards - very few spells were actually cast here the previous day. This means this part of the safehouse wasn’t destroyed by magic, either. Brute force, perhaps, because the house is structurally sound otherwise.”

The witch stepped carefully over the debris, making sure to have a firm footing. “The trails split here and are disappearing.”

“Whole place is compromised,” Dieter translated. “There’s very little we can find here, honestly. The physical evidence is more damning. Get down from there and go take some fresh air downstairs.”

Sameera was glad to do so. The spell Dieter had cast was now spreading through the base floor, with much stronger trails than previous.

“Very faint, but I think this one is a bone-breaking spell.” The German pointed at a couple of pale yellow weak vortices near the desk. “The magic didn’t dissipate as fast because there’s no hole, but most of it did get lost when people opened the door. Either way, it should match up with the reports.”

“How’d you get the reports?” Sameera retorted in indignation. “Aren’t they priority for the Aurors?”

Dieter flashed her a pearly smile. “One of them was very cooperative[2]. She dropped by on a hunch before we closed up last night, saying that we might be called up to investigate the two crime scenes, and let me take a look at what she’d written. She only lent me the report for this one, though - she wasn’t present at the other. I’d still say it was worth it.” He looked around the place and sighed. “I think we’re done here, honestly.”

“Good, because I want out.” The witch stepped through the door before he could say anything else and took in a deep breath of fresh air. “Level Two hasn’t said anything much - they haven’t said anything to us, just ‘go take a look’. I don’t get it, D. They operate on a need to know basis, but they posit that they’re the only ones who need to know. And now Level Four is about to lump all of us in as usual. Have you ever had this in Canada?”

“Meera, I wouldn’t comment on how two different governments carry out their policies.” Dieter gave her a look. “If there’s anything that I have learned while working for various government agencies, it’s that they’re always working with the best strategies in mind to reduce panic and trouble. Level Two most likely had their reasons. Perhaps we could ask Mordecai.”

Sameera shook her head as she lifted off Dieter’s jacket from her shoulders. She’d been looking comical in it because of his size compared to her overall. “He has no answer to give us, either. Do you figure that’s why he’s usually so apathetic about convincing Level Two to give us information, or to investigate further?”

“He has our best interests in mind.” Her colleague hesitated as she offered the jacket back to him. “You sure?”

“We might be in a house next. A house filled with the smell of blood. I’ll be fine.” Sameera rolled her blouse sleeves up to the elbow, clearly bracing herself. “I just don’t like this, D. Tell me I’m not the only one bothered by how all of this looks in the Ministry. Tell me that investigating crime scenes is so much easier than having to pry information out of our colleagues.”

“Investigating crime scenes is so much easier than having to pry information out of our colleagues,” he reassured her. “And you’re not the only one, but when the boss says that we need to know which battles to fight, you know he’s right.” He offered her an arm. “Back to the Ministry we go. Care for a ride?”

Sameera sighed, and placed her hand on his arm. “I know he’s right. It doesn’t make me feel any better.”

The two disappeared with a crack into thin air.

1.	Spell Reveal Charm.
2.	Auror Adrianna Xin.