Chapter 1
January 2005

Harry walked in the door of the penthouse apartment he shared with his partner, Peter Hale, he was a bit worried as he hadn't been able to get in touch with Peter for several days now. Peter was normally militant about replying to text messages and phone calls when Harry was away.

After a few days of non-contact from Peter, Harry had decided to finish up early so he could head home. He trusted his goblin account managers, Ragnok and Ironsword, with help from his lawyer and friend, Draco Malfoy to finish his business matters without him. They all knew how to get in touch with him if they needed him to make a decision.

He dropped his bags in their bedroom and had a long hot shower to wash off the plane trip. Harry didn't like traveling by mundane means but he was not able to get a short notice international portkey for his return trip.

After Harry finished his shower and got dressed in his usual casual wear of black jeans and a dark green long-sleeved Henley, he then walked around the apartment looking for any sign of Peter. The apartment looked completely untouched, Peter's phone charger was still sitting on his desk, none of the food in the fridge had been eaten. He thought to himself that Peter must still be with his sister and her family in the preserve for the family reunion with a flat cell phone.

He walked to the foyer and grabbed the keys to his prized Mustang, Harry decided he needed the 40 minute drive out to the Hale house to clear his head from a week of tedious Wizengamot and business meetings.

When he arrived at the Hale house he was stunned, angered and more than a bit panicked, to find the burnt-out shell of the house with police tape surrounding the house. He could see deputies on guard but he didn't recognize any of them, they weren't deputies he has worked with in the past when working on investigations locally.

Harry jumped back in his Mustang and drove back toward town, he stopped once he was a good distance away from the house to activate the tracking spell that he had on Peter. He was a bit confused as it appeared to be indicating that Peter was at Beacon Hills Memorial Hospital, a Bad Idea™ for a werewolf.

He jumped back in the Mustang and drove hell for leather for the hospital. He needed to know what was going on and Peter was his best bet for information at the best of times.

After a quick stop at the apartment to pick up his work credentials due to a strong gut feeling Harry arrived at the hospital and stalked towards the reception desk.

Harry cleared his throat to get the attention of the nurse at the counter, he asked politely, "Hi, I am looking for Peter Hale."

She looked up with a disinterested look on her face as she asked, "And you are?"

Harry smiled and handed over his US Drivers Licence, no need to give away the game too fast, "Harry Potter, his partner."

She took the ID and she inspected it closely before she turned to pull up Peter's details on the computer. She handed back the ID. "I'm sorry but I can't let you in to see him. The details we have state that his partner died in the Hale house fire. His family have requested privacy at this difficult time so I am unable to release any information to you." She turned back to the computer dismissing Harry completely.

Harry waited a few minutes to see if she would give him more information but he realized it was a lost cause so he left. He jumped back in the Mustang and he headed for the Sheriff's office to get information on the fire.

He walked into the busy station and found Deputy Stilinski, his usual liaison, looking disgruntled at his desk. Harry walked over and he took a seat in the visitor's chair by Noah's desk. He looked up at Noah and gave him a look at clearly stated 'please explain.'

Noah gulped when he saw the look on Agent Potter's face. He said with trepidation, "Well, Agent Potter, it's good to know that you're not dead."

Harry gave him a deadpan look. "I have just gotten back from a very long week of meetings and government policy discussions. I arrived home to an empty apartment, I find Talia's house burnt to the ground and Peter is in hospital and I am not able to see him or even get information on his status. Never mind the fact that I was not notified of any of any of this even though my phone has been on and with me the entire time I was away in England. So, the only way I could be considered dead, is dead tired. Noah, what the hell is going on?"

Noah stood and gestured him toward Sheriff Tunley's office. Harry got up and silently followed him.

Noah knocked on the Sheriff's door, he leaned in and asked "Glen, are you busy? Agent Potter is here to enquire after the Hale Fire case."

Glen Tunley, the current sheriff frowned. "What case? It's closed, the arson investigator ruled it accidental."

Harry looked at Noah, the anger was clear on the deputy's face, he asked, "When was the fire?"

Noah looked at the calendar on the wall and he replied, "Thursday, so five days ago."

Harry raised an eyebrow, he picked up his mobile and made a call. "Hey boss, I need the team in Beacon Hills… Yep, the whole team… Fire, the sheriff seems fine to accept an accidental ruling from the arson investigator after only 5 days on a house fire that took out an entire family… Yes, that's why Peter has been out of contact, yes, I am involved. It was Peter's family. I don't know his status yet. I can tell he's alive but that's it… Thanks, boss… You will sort the warrants and liaison authorizations? Great, do you have the fax number for the station? Yes, I will let you know more about Peter when I find out. Talk to you later."

Sheriff Tunley was getting very red in the face as he blustered, "How dare you, you just can't come in and take over!"

Harry cut him off succinctly when he said, "When a Federal Agent and his family are attacked it becomes FBI jurisdiction. The fact that you are willing to accept the report from an obviously corrupt arson investigator will bring you and your department under investigation." He looked at Noah "You seem happy that my team is taking over?"

Noah nodded, "I thought it was too soon to be able to report accurately, and I felt it was odd that the report said there were no accelerants involved when the whole house stunk of gasoline. For the record, Peter is in hospital, he's in a coma with severe burns." Harry sat before he fell down in shock, he knew the burns must be bad if he is in hospital and not setting off alarm bells. "The hospital was told you were in the house at the time of the fire by Laura Hale, who is currently listed as his medical proxy as his eldest living relative. I requested that someone try and call you as I remembered you saying that you were going to be out of the country, but I was denied by both the hospital director and by Sheriff Tunley."

Harry took a deep breath to try and center himself, he turned to the sheriff and he demanded, "I want all the case files in my hands, now! You will have the paperwork authorizing the change of jurisdiction for the fire on your fax machine in about five minutes." He looked across at Noah who nodded as he headed out to gather the files into a file box, he turned back to Sheriff Tunley, "I am seconding Noah to work with me and my team until the investigation on this department is completed. He has worked with us in the past as a liaison and his background check is up to date. Noah is gathering all the files then we will head to the hospital so I can get Peter sorted out."

Harry glared at the sheriff, "I have strong suspicions that you are aware of what is going on, and that you are working with the arsonists to bury the fire as an accident. If I find that you were complicit in any way there will be nowhere for you to hide that my team won't know about. Nowhere!"

Sheriff Tunley's jaw dropped, "You can't threaten me like that!"

Harry just looked at him radiating an aura of pure anger, "I just did! Peter Hale is my partner, my family, my everything. There is nothing I will not do to keep him safe." He turned and stormed out of the office. Noah followed with a file box full of case files and evidence all signed out and ready for the FBI to take over the investigation.

Noah put the files in the trunk of Harry's Mustang then turned to put his hand on Harry's forearm as he held out his other hand. "Keys please Harry, you are angry and I would like to make it to the hospital in one piece."

Harry handed over the keys, "Fine. But while we drive over you are going to update me on the status of the Hale family. Clearly, something else is going on since neither myself nor Peter's boss at the FBI were informed."

Noah sighed as he got into the driver's seat. He asked, "Do you have your domestic partnership paperwork and your work ID on you?"

Harry shook his head, he commented, "I have my badge but not my sidearm, which technically I should have if I have my badge, nor do I have my paperwork. We will need to make a stop to grab everything from the safe at home."

Noah took the next left, he asked, "You're still in the apartment block on Lupa?"

Harry nodded absently, he had his phone out and it looked to Noah like he was in an intense text conversation.

"Problem?" Noah asked.

Harry smiled, "No, not anymore, I was texting my lawyer in England, he's going to jump on the first flight out here to help sort this mess out." Harry jumped out when they pulled into the visitor parking in front of his building. "Give me five minutes to grab the paperwork and put on my suit, my boss will kill me if I present my FBI ID in jeans and a Henley."

Noah looked up as Harry jumped back in the Mustang, he raised an eyebrow in question.

Harry rolled his eyes and answered, "I have my ID, my sidearm, the domestic partnership paperwork, and also a notarized copy of Peter's living will giving me authorization as his medical proxy in the event he is unable to make decisions for himself." He held up a legal envelope. "I also grabbed the paperwork Peter had as a backup for Talia which includes a copy of Talia's will, the originals being kept secure in the family safety deposit box at the bank."

Noah nodded, "That should cover it. Provided the bullshit at the station isn't all over the hospital as well."

Harry smirked, "That's why Draco is on his way over as we speak. Now, update me please on the fire."

Noah pulled into the parking lot at the hospital but made no move to get out of the car. He huffed, "You have to promise not to kill the messenger."

"Scouts honor," Harry said deadpan. "Now spill."

Noah rubbed the back of his neck, "Right, so near as I can work out, around a fuck tonne of interference, the house was deliberately set alight, near as I can tell the exit tunnels under the house in the basement were blocked somehow, I haven't figured out how yet."

Harry murmured, "They probably used mountain ash, the bigger question is how did they know about the tunnels? They were a family secret. Hell, I had been living with Peter here in town for 2 years before I was let in on the secret."

"Right." Noah added that information to the mental list he had going, "So Peter was found near one of the basement windows, it was too small for him to fit through so we are not sure what he was doing. We have confirmed that there were 11 bodies in the basement. You were listed on the body count and we will need to make sure the medical examiner hasn't done a death certificate based on Laura Hale's statement."

Harry frowned, "She did the preliminary identification? I guess it depends on if the medical examiner is in on the arson coverup or not."

Noah shuddered, "I hate to think how far this goes." He took a deep breath, "Right, so Peter was the only one found alive in the house, Laura and Derek were at the high school at the time of the fire, Laura was picking Derek up from basketball practice."

Harry looked up, "Derek is alive too? So where is he?"

Noah shrugged his shoulders, and answered with resignation, "We don't know. I took both their statements after the fire, well I tried too. Derek wouldn't say a word, as he is a minor Laura accompanied him as his legal guardian had to be there when he was being interviewed."

Harry snarled, "She's not his guardian, in the event of Talia and James dying, custody of her kids was to pass to Peter, then me, I have copies of their wills here. Talia left copies of everything with us as she knew they would be protected."

Noah nodded, "Magic right?"

Harry smiled, "Yep, I have a locket that is a pocket dimension that only myself and Peter can see and access."

Noah frowned and he asked, "A pocket dimension? What's that?"

Harry contemplated the easiest way to explain it to a mundane, then he remembered watching Dr. Who. He explained, "Have you seen Dr. Who?" He saw Noah nod slowly, "It's like the TARDIS, bigger on the inside. Anything stored inside it exists outside of space and time in a way."

Noah smiled, "So anything you store is theoretically safe, great. Now, what's your plan with Peter, if this was arson he is likely not safe in the hospital."

Harry agreed wholeheartedly, he picked up his phone to make a call. "Aaron? It's Harry, do you still have your mundane medical license? Good, good. Is it valid in California? Great, I need to call in one of those favors you owe me. Peters in the hospital here, all I know so far is that it is severe burns. Right, exactly, they shouldn't still be affecting him unless he is still under the influence of wolfsbane. Can you start organizing the paperwork to have him transferred with my authority? I should have his medical proxy in about 30 minutes, I am about to go make waves about the fact that his niece is acting as his medical proxy without the legal right to do so. I will see you in an hour? Thanks, Aaron."

He turned to face Noah, "Right, Aaron should arrive soon to organize for Peter to be transferred to a private hospital where he can be treated properly." Harry made some notes on his phone, "Noah, who signed off on Laura being Derek's guardian?"

Noah shrugged, "I am not sure anyone has to be honest. It's more likely that no one has objected so she has taken that as acceptance and run." Noah gulped and he asked, "Why didn't you use magic to get Peter released into your care? Make them forget he was there at all."

"It's likely we will do that, once we can come up with a cover story for why he was there," Harry explained, "We will probably say he was there being treated for less serious injuries. It's too risky to remove the visit altogether."

Noah always curious asked, "Risky how?"

Harry grimaced, "We have had a few occasions where we have done obliviates which removed specific memories from the person or location depending on the intent of the caster. What we didn't realize was that the spell doesn't affect offsite backups of things like computer records or camera footage. So now we are more careful about how we do cleanups. We have a tech specialist who goes through and manually edits the files to make sure that any changes from the obliviate filter down to the backups. They will be coming through with my team."

Harry took a few minutes to make sure he had all the paperwork he would need to take custody of Peter. "Let's go."

They walked into the hospital and Noah led Harry past the main reception to the Long Term Care ward nurses station. Noah cleared his throat and said, "Mel?"

Nurse Melissa McCall looked up, "Oh Noah, there you are, you have paperwork for me to see? Your text was not overly clear."

Noah chuckled, "I should get Stiles to give me more texting lessons. Sorry about that." He turned and gestured to Harry, "This is Agent Potter, he's Peters partner, he has paperwork proving both their domestic partnership and Peter's living will authorizing Harry as his medical proxy as a backup."

Melissa held her hand out for the paperwork and had a read through what Harry handed over. She pulled up Peter's information on the computer and she was making a start at the amendments when she noticed that Harry had a file.

She looked up at Harry and she asked, "Are you aware Harry, that you have been officially declared dead?"

"Fuck!" Harry walked away and called his boss. "Hey boss, you need to send the medical examiner and forensics team down here, it looks like the local ME is in on whatever the hell is going on… Yep, I have just been made aware, can you counter it? Thanks, boss, you might want to consider coming with the ME team to oversee the investigation, I don't think this is going to be an open and shut case."

Harry walked back to Melissa, "The records are being updated as we speak, however, I need to see Peter. The nurse on the front desk refused to give me any information or access. I just need a basic rundown of his injuries and then I want to see him. Please."

Melissa nodded and led Harry and Noah to Peter's room. Noah stood guard outside while Harry and Melissa stepped into the room. Melissa picked up the chart, "So a basic rundown, Peter has third-degree burns over 50% of his body, mostly down his left side, and he's in a coma, we think from the stress of the injuries. We aren't sure when or even if he will wake up at this stage."

Harry nodded, "Our personal doctor, Dr. Aaron Wilson will be coming in later on today to take custody of Peter and he will have transfer papers to take him to a private clinic we use. When he gets here just let me know what I need to sign to get this done ASAP."

Melissa nodded and left the room.

Harry walked over to Peter and caressed the undamaged side of his face before giving him a gentle kiss on the forehead, he murmured almost absently, "Peter, what the hell happened?"