Chris was standing on the street, looking at the crowd who'd gathered to gawp and gossip in front of the crime scene. The departmental medical examiner had apparated in and done their investigation already, so the undertaker had come in to take Mr Potter's earthly remains to his mortuary until such time as Mrs Potter was up to making the arrangements. Ms Nettie had taken Gloria up to her apartment and given her a calming draught. The couple's children were away at school and would remain there until Gloria's sister picked them up took them to her house in Wyoming. Gloria would join them the next day, when she was over the initial shock, before they all returned for the funeral in a couple of days. In the meantime, Josiah and Nathan had put locking spells on the shop after ensuring that everything was shut down and secured. Gloria's cat had been taken to the Pet Emporium, but Robert's owl had disappeared.

Feeling the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, Chris turned to look up at the roof of the Potter's general store. There, sitting large as life, side by side, were Standish and the fugitive Vin Tanner. Just as he opened his mouth to shout at them and reached for a wand he no longer had, Standish locked eyes with him and touched two fingers to his forehead in a sort of salute before gripping harder to Tanner, standing and disapparating with a wink and a smirk. Frowning, Chris ground his teeth so hard sparks flew from them.

Buck was standing on the porch of Lillian's Fashion House, chatting up the bubbly blonde owner of said store instead of the official questioning he should be doing, when he glanced over at his old friend and boss. Seeing him look up before an expression of anger set on his face, Buck witnessed the sparks flying from Chris' fingers and yelped, "Uh oh, time to run interference. 'Scuse me, darlin', duty calls."

Leaving a bewildered and put out Lillian behind, Buck quickly ran to Chris' side and looked up in the same direction but saw only an empty roof. Grasping Chris' shoulder, he asked, "What's up,stud?"

"That damned squirrelly Southern know-it-all is harbouring a fugitive, that's what. Just saw him on the roof with Tanner, but before I could do anything they disapparated. He's lucky I don't have my magic anymore..."

"Uh, Chris. Ya might want to rein in your temper there, old dog. Ya might set something aflame," cautioned Buck, patting himself as another spark flew off Chris and started smouldering on the taller man's jacket. "Come on. Let's go and get you a replacement wand. Seems things are loosening up a mite."

Startled, Chris glanced down at his fists and saw tiny sparks and a few puffs of smoke. He hadn't committed any acts of unintentional magic since he was a small child. A tiny flicker of hope blossomed in his chest at the thought that he may actually become a fully functioning magical member of his new team. Allowing Buck to steer him, he flexed his hands and shook them out.

Wanderful Wendell's was the only wand shop in town but, despite the awful name, it stocked quality wands. Arthur Wendell was the latest in a long line of wand maker's to run the shop and he emerged from the workshop at the back, with a cheerful smile at the sound of the tinkling bell on the door.

"Welcome to my shop, gentlemen. How may I help you? Replacement or repair?"

When Chris remained silent, Buck stepped up and answered the tiny man who was looking at them over his bifocals with bright, bird-like eyes. "My friend here needs a replacement wand."

"Very good," replied Arthur, almost hopping around the counter and eyeing up the surly blond. Muttering under his breath and making tutting noises, Arthur snatched a tape measure out of thin air and swiftly measured Chris's forearm before tossing the tape back in the air where it winked out of sight again. Poking and prodding Chris, ignoring the warning growls being issued by his customer, he suddenly spun away and scampered up a rolling ladder.

"Shut up, Buck. You know I hate wand shopping," snarled Chris, slapping Buck's chest with the back of his hand.

Shocked by a zap of static electricity from Larabee's hand, Buck chuckled happily anyway as he rubbed his abused chest, enjoying his friend's discomfort. "Stud, you've only had to buy a wand once before and you were just a kid."

"Well, once was more than enough, alright."

"Try this one, it's blackthorn with a dragon heartstring core," suggested the spry old man, holding out a long slender box, oblivious to the discomfort of his customer. When nothing happened at all, despite Chris giving it a concise wave, Arthur pursed his lips before scurrying off again.

After the twentieth wand had failed to produce anything, Chris' tiny hope was starting to fizzle. Even Buck could feel himself deflating somewhat. But Arthur just grinned at them joyfully and announced, "It's been so long since I've had a difficult customer, but we shall persevere. I do love a challenge."

Gazing over the piles of discarded wands and their boxes, Chris huffed unhappily and decided that either the next wand worked or he was leaving.

Waving a very dusty box aloft as he returned from the top right corner of his shop, Arthur cried, "This is the one, I just know it. It's one of the first ones I made, when I was serving as an exchange apprentice with Ollivander in London. It's very rigid, not a lot of swish, made of hornbeam wood with a core of thestral tail hair. It's quite a masterful piece of wand making, if I do say so myself, but it's been tricky to place. Wands of hornbeam tend to be picky about who they choose, but once they choose you they are utterly loyal and will not work properly for anyone else. Thestral hair is also a somewhat temperamental material, but from what I've heard of you, Auror Larabee, I feel it may suit you."

Looking at the wand, it was very basic. About twelve inches long, it was fairly thick, with an broken line undulating from tip to handle and seemed to have no give in it whatsoever. Reaching out a suddenly shaking hand, Chris took the wand from its box. Warmth spread through his hand and moved up his arm as the wand seemed to mould itself to his hand. Feeling as though he'd been using this wand his whole life, Chris pointed it at the fireplace where a cheerful, crackling fire burst into life.

Clapping enthusiastically, Arthur beamed and cheered. Buck slapped Chris on the back and whooped loud enough to wake the dead. Chris just stood and stared at his new wand in awe. Then he looked up and grinned at Buck in a way the moustached man hadn't seen in years. Unable to contain himself, the jubilant man grabbed the blond in a bear hug that lifted the slightly smaller man off his feet.

"Put me down, Buck. Dammit, Buck, put me down!"

Vin and Ezra apparated on the outside edge of Ezra's land. They'd have to walk or fly from here, since Ezra's property was protected by a plethora of curses and spells to prevent people using Apparation onto and off the land. Staggering away from Ezra with a groan, Vin doubled over and vomited into the bushes. Concerned, Ezra followed and stood behind his friend with an arm around his chest to support him.

Alarmed, Ezra demanded, "Vin! What is it?"

Spitting and wiping his mouth on his sleeve, Vin leaned back against Ezra's comforting, solid form and rasped, "Never got the hang of Apparating. Saw someone splinch theirselves once 'n must have scared myself offa it. I've side-along apparated a couple o' times before, but makes me upchuck every time."

"Ah, I am sorry, Vin," apologised the Southerner, gently rubbing his hand over the thick sweater covering Vin's flat stomach. "I should have warned you, but Mr Larabee spotted us and I felt it prudent to remove ourselves from the vicinity with alacrity."

"Aw hell, Larabee saw us? That means you'll be on a wanted list for harbouring a fugitive now," cried Vin, pushing away from Ezra and starting to walk towards the house. "Dammit, I didn't want to bring trouble ta yer door, Ez."

Jogging to catch up with the distressed Texan, Ezra ducked as Vin gestured wildly and nearly beheaded him, as he continued to stalk towards the house and berate himself. Catching hold of the arm, Ezra spun Vin around and took him firmly by the shoulders. Giving Vin a little shake, he laughed and told his friend, "Vin! Trouble finds me whether you're here or not. And I don't think that Larabee is the sort to take out a warrant so someone else can catch us. I think he'll try to hunt me down in his own. Believe me, that man hated me long before I met you."

Searching Ezra's face, Vin saw he was speaking the truth. Nodding once and patting his friend's chest, he turned back towards the house. "Why does Larabee hate you?"

"Mainly because I tossed his drunk ass out of the Saloon for Inez a number of times. His family were killed and he never really forgave the world for not killing him too, so he crawled into a bottle of cheap whiskey and refused to come out. He and Wilmington were away at a conference, leaving his wife Sarah and son Adam on their ranch just outside Four Corners here. He'd received death threats over the course of his career from various wizards he'd sent to jail, so it was widely assumed that one of them had finally followed through by killing his family in retaliation."

"Sounds like you don't believe that though," queried Vin, glancing over at the troubled expression on his friend's handsome face.

Giving his elegant shrug, Ezra confirmed, "Not really, no. Mind you, I have no conclusive proof or I'd have handed it over to the Auror in charge of the investigation obviously. It's a cold case now, since they never found the culprit and there were no trails to follow. Since I moved here, I've been fortunate to win the confidence of some of the townspeople and they've given me snippets here and there about the history of the town. According to one person, who's known Larabee since he returned from college, he came back with Buck Wilmington and a girl in tow. Both were friends from college, although it's rumoured that it was more than friendship with the girl. Since he'd been at college, the Connolly's had moved here. A father and daughter, who had moved away from their previous town after the death of her mother. Hank was possessive of his daughter, Sarah, which was understandable given his recent bereavement, I suppose."

By this time they'd reached the porch and Ezra settled on a rocking chair, whilst Vin sprawled on the swing seat.

"There'd already been some dischord between the three, with the girl - Ella Gaines - trying to drive a wedge between Wilmington and Larabee. According to Ms Nettie, Gaines was a real Jekyll and Hyde type. Ella was from one of the darkest wizarding families, whilst Larabee was from one of the most upstanding, so it was surprising to most that they had anything in common. Ms Nettie seems to think it was Chris' way of rebelling. It wasn't the first time that he'd been in a relationship with a 'bad girl'. It seemed that he naturally gravitated towards that type. Given that the Larabee family lineage is so clean that it squeaks, you can understand how disturbin' his parents found his choices. Ella played on that too, causing friction between Chris and his parents. The typical actions of someone needing to dominate and control their partner, making the partner believe that they're the only person who loves and understands them. Unfortunately, Gaines didn't factor in how stubborn, strong willed and independent Chris can be. Nor how he inspired loyalty in his friends or how loyal he is to his family deep down. She took a teenager's disgruntlement with what he perceived as his parents trying to rule his life and tried to make Chris something he wasn't and had no interest in being. A mindless love puppet."

Welcoming Achacius onto his lap when the feline appeared at his feet with a mew of enquiry, Vin asked curiously, "What about Buck?"

"Wilmington? His maternal grandfather was a wizard and his grandmother a Veela. His mother possessed the qualities of her mother and was irresistible and ... well, let's say fun-loving. As a result, his father could be any number of men. But by all accounts, his mother adored him and did a wonderful job of raising him, making sure that he had everything he could want. As for Wilmington, he loved her completely, believing her to be a saint, and Merlin help the person who says anything against her. She was killed when he was in his first year of college," replied Ezra, jealous of anyone who had a devoted mother. His own mother was cold and distant, which meant they had a contentious relationship at best.

Rubbing Achacius' tufted ears and almost vibrating with the strength of the creature's purring, Vin noted the look of jealousy. Knowing from previous conversations that Ezra and his mother had a strained relationship, he guessed that Ezra envied Buck's close relationship with his mother. Vin and his mother had been devoted to each other in the short time they'd had together, so he felt sorry for his friend. Although, Ms Nettie seemed to fill the role of a nurturing mother to the Southerner, so maybe he hadn't missed out altogether.

"Anyway, Wilmington is nothing if not loyal and he refused to be parted from Larabee. Then Larabee met Sarah Connelly and according to Gloria Potter, who was one of Sarah's friends, it was an instant match. All thought of Ella was gone and all of his energy was spent winning Sarah. It wasn't an easy path, as her father objected to the match vigorously and Ella was a constant source of trouble, but true love will find a way. Larabee and Sarah eloped, helped by Buck, and they all settled in Denver until Adam was born. Then the family moved back here to the ranch Larabee still lives on."

"What did Ella and Sarah's father do, during that time?"

Rubbing a thumb over his lower lip, Ezra replied, "Hank Connolly cursed the union when he heard they'd run off to marry and left town, heading for Indiana where he lives to this day, I believe. Ella Gaines had a spectacular and very public fight with Larabee in the streets of Denver when he returned from his honeymoon, before telling him that he would always be hers and that he'd realise he'd made a mistake by marrying Sarah. She disappeared that day and no-one has seen her since."

"You think she killed Sarah and Adam?"

"I'm not sure if she did it herself, but I think she's behind it. I've read the medical reports on the condition of their bodies and they didn't die easily. From what I read, I extrapolated that the boy was tortured whilst the mother was forced to watch. When the child finally could take no more and died, the mother was tortured and killed. That speaks of a personal grudge. They weren't possessed of any knowledge, so there was no reason to torture them for information. The only reason to make the child suffer, would be to watch the pain the mother went through as she watched. The evil intent speaks of an extremely dark and deranged mind. I've reviewed the people who have threatened Larabee and none of them fit that profile."

Feeling sick to his stomach at the images that flooded his mind, Vin cuddled Achacius for comfort. Voice muffled by the catzle's thick fur as he pressed his face into Achacius' neck ruff, Vin asked, "If ya don't like Larabee, why're ya going into alla this. You're not even an Auror."

Smirking, Ezra explained, "Dark wizards and witches crop up on Muggle wanted lists more often than you'd think, so I have always kept abreast of the Ministry's Most Wanted list and any violent crimes within Denver and the surrounding towns. But in this particular case, I was asked to investigate by Gloria Potter. She still grieved for the loss of her friend and wanted justice for Sarah and little Adam."

"Would ya ever consider bein' an Auror?"

Ezra bent down and picked Leonard up, since the ancient Kneazel had condescended to hobble out to him. Carefully settling the animal on his lap, Ezra said, "I'm not sure, Vin. I do know that I'll be tending my resignation from the FBI tonight. I can no longer abide working with the narrow-minded, petty, incompetents that I am currently forced to suffer. It's only a matter of time before I'm wounded again either by a lack of back up or friendly fire. Uncle Alastor seems to think there's a battle coming, so I'd say I'm going to be more useful fighting in the magical world."

All that could be heard on the porch was the loud purring of Leonard and Achacius, as each wizard contemplated the fight to come.

TBC