"This is impossible," said Bodie, picking his way through the rubble. "There's nothing left."
Doyle picked up the remains of a window frame and tossed it away. "What do you reckon? Bomb?"
Bodie studied the scene for a minute. "Would have to be a bloody big one. I've never seen anything quite like this before."
"Watch your language, ladies present." Bodie looked up and followed Doyle's gaze towards the remains of what looked like the centre of the house where two women stood.
Neither woman looked older than 19 or 20, no more than girls really. One girl had long white blonde hair, swept out of her eyes with a crimson Alice band which perfectly matched the colour of her dress and pumps, all topped with a denim jacket.
Her friend was dressed very solemnly in comparison. She had long, untameable black curls and wire rimmed glasses, hiding her hazel eyes that shone with un-shed tears as she stared out over the ruins of the house. She was dressed in a skirt, blouse and shoes that almost seemed like they belonged to a Police woman's uniform but there was something about it that didn't seem quite right. Maybe it was the lack of a radio of any kind or maybe it was the badge clipped to her belt.
The black haired girl didn't even seem to notice the two men as she tried to convince herself that it wasn't real and it was all a dream - or nightmare.
The blonde attempted to comfort her. "It'll be alright, Amy. We'll get the rat that betrayed them and make sure he gets what's coming to him." She watched as her friend's hazel eyes turned towards her for the first time since they received the message about the incident.
"How can it ever be okay, Annie?" Amy whispered, her voice slightly hoarse, before she appeared to shut everything out completely once more.
Bodie stepped forward. "Can we help you, ladies?" he asked, immediately concerned at their distress.
Amy was trapped in sorrow and grief, so her best friend stepped in. "It was her brother and sister in law that used to live here," she explained.
Bodie flipped open his black note book to take notes as Doyle showed the women his ID.
"We're CI5."
"CI5?" Annie asked; she had grown up in the wizarding world so she had no idea who CI5 were or what they did. She looked at Bodie, made instantly curious by his strange, to her eyes, clothes. His black trousers and jumper topped with a leather jacket made her immediately mutter, "Regulus?"
"What?" said Amy, suddenly snapped out of her revere by the name of her dead boyfriend.
"Tall, dark, and handsome…" explained Annie.
"That's me," smiled Bodie.
Doyle's kind eyes crinkled as he smiled along with him. "It's alright," he said, "he's engagingly modest too. We're kind of police. Trying to find out what happened here. Is there anything you can tell us?"
"I'm afraid I can't but Amy was the last person to see them before this happened." Annie explained, gently wrapping an arm around her still shell shocked best friend.
Doyle gestured towards a large lump of what looked like the remains of a sofa and encouraged them to sit down. "I'm Ray," he said, crouching down so that he was on the same level. "Take your time, but tell me everything you can. Even the smallest thing could help."
Amy took a shaking breath and started explaining what had happened, right up to the point where she had taken Leo home. But she was careful to edit out Jack, knowing it would make her sound crazy if she mentioned him.
Bodie carried on his scribbling as she spoke, glancing across to Doyle as he shoved his notebook back in his pocket. "Do you know of anyone who might mean the family harm?" he asked.
Amy bit her lip slightly as she tried to work out whether telling muggles about Voldemort would be against the statute of secrecy or whether she would be breaking some kind of rule or regulation.
Doyle noticed her hesitation. "It's okay," he said, gently. "Nothing you can tell us would surprise us. We've heard it all."
This time it was Annie's turn to bite her lip as if to try and stop herself from laughing. "Have you heard it was the most powerful dark wizard in history going after them because of a prophecy saying that their son was going to kill him?" The blonde asked curiously – Annie had never cared much about the rules.
Bodie pulled his notebook back out of his pocket and started flipping through the pages. Finding nothing about a powerful dark wizard he fixed a deep blue eyed stare at Annie and raised one quizzical eyebrow. "You're winding me up, right?"
"I really wish I was." She replied sadly.
Doyle narrowed his eyes and stood up, looking across at Bodie.
"What?" asked his partner.
"I suddenly felt cold, really cold," he said, pulling his red checked woollen coat closed. "Like someone walked over my grave."
"Not quite right." Jack stated from behind him, knowing full well that he would only be heard by Amy, but earning himself a half smile from the girl all the same.
"You're not kidding," replied Bodie, pulling his own jacket closed and zipping it up. "It's like it just dropped ten degrees. Come on, Ray, let's get back to the car. Ladies, thank you for your help. We'll be in touch."
"Yeah, right." As Bodie walked away Doyle paused for a moment, thinking over everything they had been told.
Annie smiled up at them, watching in particular interest as Doyle slowly followed his partner to the car, his tight blue jeans drawing her eye.
Jack had been checking out the Ford Capri, always interested in anything that looked like it might move at a fast speed, but he closed his eyes as Doyle walked right through him - he never had been able to get used to the sensation.