Author's Note: Apologies for my slackness! I got a bit side tracked with other projects.

Chapter 12

Everyone gathered together in the Muggle Studies room to have a run through of the days events. Prentiss and Indira had returned from the werewolf settlement. Hotch, Minerva, Robert and Rossi had interviewed some students in the dining hall and made their way back slowly. Garcia, Reid, JJ and Rolanda hadn't left. Septima joined them from teaching classes and Lucy gave her apologies, but she had an appointment that couldn't be avoided and so wouldn't attend. The only people still to come were Poppy and Morgan, who were at the morgue. Hotch decided they could start without them. A few tables had been pushed together to form one long surface and he sat down at the head.

"What has everyone got to report?" he asked.

"I think I understand the rules of Quidditch now," JJ said, "but I'm not sure how much that helps."

"And I now know how to use an email." Rolanda said proudly. "But I don't think that's terribly important either."

"All those living up in the forest settlement were accounted for on the night of the killing." Indira said.

"And they didn't see any strangers hanging around." Prentiss added. "But that doesn't rule them out."

"It wasn't a werewolf." a voice said from the doorway.

All heads in the room turned to see Poppy walking in, back in her matron's robes, followed by Morgan. They joined the group at the table and Hotch signaled for the witch to continue.

"I did every possible test." Poppy said. "There are no traces of Lycanthropy in any of the wounds. If it had been present, it wouldn't have died out this quickly. And any werewolf bite leaves small amounts, even if it isn't enough to turn you."

"Anything else you can tell us?" Hotch asked.

"Nothing concrete, I'm afraid." Poppy replied. "I would guess that she was restrained magically, probably with Petrificus Totalus or some derivative of that spell."

"Well, where does that leave us?" Indira questioned. "Back at square one?"

Her voice was slightly high, bordering on hysterical. Hotch frowned slightly, her tone reminding him that the Salem contingent weren't actually trained for this kind of thing. It was a hard enough job with the training, let alone being an amateur with a personal connection. Robert gently placed a hand on Indira's arm and she calmed visibly, the tension in her shoulders melting away.

"Sorry." she whispered. "It's been a long day."

"We'll leave the method for now." Hotch said kindly. "We interviewed some of the students who were close to Amber. They say she seemed fine during the days leading up to the killing. They also say that she went out by herself in the morning of the event but this wasn't unusual and she came back before lunch."

"Where did she go?" JJ asked. "Does anybody know that?"

"Most of them go to the magical shopping district." Indira said. "It's hidden. The entrance is through the back of a souvenir store on Essex Street."

"Although there are some Muggle boutiques around town that the girls in Amber's year like." Septima said. "They were telling me a while ago."

"Garcia," Hotch said to the blonde, "find any video surveillance that might show Amber's whereabouts during the morning. I know there won't be any in the magical area, but there might be cameras from surrounding shops."

"I can help, if you like." Septima said. "I know the shops relatively well."

So the witch and the tech-analyst went back over to the computer, leaving the rest of them to get on with the meeting.

"If there's no other news," Robert said, "I'd like to propose we set up a night-watch at the entrance. If there's still somebody out there, then we don't want to take any chances with the students."

"Good idea." Hotch nodded. "We'll go in groups and take it in turns."

Rossi stood outside the entrance, leaning against the warehouse wall. The sun was now completely gone and the darkness, complete with its friend the cold, had swept over the surrounding area. Rossi shivered and pulled his jacket tighter. In the moonlight, the buildings cast long shadows across the ground, light greys merging in to pure blackness. Wind, sharp and icy, cut through the air, the quiet whistle it made sounding like the whisper of some far away song, notes and words lost in one discordant swirl. The distant hum of life going on somewhere in the distance completed the ghostly soundtrack and Rossi couldn't help but feel like it wasn't real. It was so filmic; as if it had been created specifically for the murder of Amber Kersley. What had she been thinking, Rossi wondered, a young girl, standing alone in this place. Had she seen it coming? Did she know her attacker? So many questions that somebody had to know the answer to.

"Here." Robert had come up the stairs and passed a cup of coffee to his companion. Rossi took it gratefully, even if he didn't usually drink instant. The two men stood in silence for a while, letting the eerie scene wash over them and then they began to speak.

"Have you ever seen anything like this before?" Robert asked, taking a sip of his drink.

Rossi shrugged.

"I see murder every day. But this whole magic thing is different story."

Robert laughed and nodded; the entire BAU, he thought, was taking it rather well.

"And the people," he asked the agent, "the families. Do they ever recover?"

"They learn to get by." Rossi nodded. "But they'll never forget it."

"Indira said Amber's mother didn't stop crying the entire time she was talking to her." Robert said, his voice a little hoarse. "I can't imagine what they're going through."

"You've never had anything like happen?" Rossi questioned. "If it's not too personal."

"There was the war. The first one." Robert said quietly. "There were things, God, things I wish I could un-see. So many people I knew died; friends, that I hadn't spoken to for months because I didn't know if I could trust them. I'm lucky though. My sister and some of the other teachers have been through three. I got out of England before those ones."

"I bet that's been hard on her." Rossi replied.

"She tries to hide it, but you notice the change."

Indira and Lucy were next on the watch shift. It had become very, very cold and both women were shivering. Indira, her arms folded across her chest, twisted her wrist to look at her watch.

"Our turn is over." she said with a yawn. "Minerva and Agent Jareau should be here any minute."

"Why don't you go see where they're at?" Lucy asked. "It'll only take a minute. I'll be fine on my own."

Indira looked dubious, but Lucy said "do you want to spend anymore time in this wind than you have to? Go!"

So Indira walked down the stairs, the sound of her heels fading away. Lucy jumped up and down on the balls of her feet, attempting to keep warm. Her eyes scanned the scene and she had to double take; a figure was walking towards her.

"Hello!" she said in surprise, recognizing the face. "What are you doing here?"

Then she felt something hit from the side and her entire body froze.

Indira, Minerva and JJ came up the stairs.

"Sorry to be waking you up." Indira was saying.

"It's fine." JJ grinned. "I shouldn't have fallen asleep anyway."

Minerva's deep blue eyes had narrowed.

"Indira," she asked, "where's Lucy?"

The Salem headmistress looked around, a worried look creeping over her face.

"She was here." she said a little desperately. "She was right here."

The three women split up, all scouring the area, calling Lucy's name. Minerva walked towards a dark corner, her fingers crossed, even though she didn't believe in such nonsense. Lucy had probably just gone back inside, that was it. That had to be it. Minerva continued a little way, then stopped, her eyes wide, staring at the ground.

"Indira." she called, her voice weak.

Indira came and, upon seeing what her companion saw, gave a piercing scream. JJ ran over and then said quickly:

"Don't touch anything. I'll get the rest of the team."

She sprinted back towards the Institute, leaving Minerva and Indira standing beside the mangled body of Lucy Whithers.