It is so damn good to be able to type again. So anyway, this is something that's been going on in my head since I got into Criminal Minds, I hope you enjoy.

It was very clear that he wasn't in charge.

In fact, it was so clear that J.J. would barely remember his name after the introductions were through. Oh, she would get it down eventually, just not right away. Besides, they had other things to worry about.

In the past two months, eight bodies had been found in various places throughout the city of Chicago, Illinois. The details, while gruesomely disturbing, all matched to a T. Healthy, attractive men and women between the ages 20 and 30, all of them had been killed by purposely induced strokes. All of them had been de-boned.

The medical examiners were furiously trying to come up with an explanation for that little detail. It wasn't impossible, but it wasn't easy either. It was something to go on though, they were fairly certain that this meant that the killer must have had extensive medical training and access to the tools of the trade. The killer was polite though; he'd replaced the bones with Styrofoam substitutes.

Other than that, they were pretty much at a dead end.

Morgan had finally figured our who was in charge. It was their second morning in Chicago and none of the team was really looking forward to it.

The entirety of the Special Investigations Unit was laced up tighter than a hooker's boot. They were a family. Each and every one of them would die for each other, and while they weren't out rightly rude, they weren't that cooperative either.

"What is up with these people?" Morgan said, trying to ignore the looks that were shooting at him from all sides.

"They don't trust us." Reid replied.

"No, it's more than that. You don't get this much distrust from cities, you get it from small towns way out in the backwoods where everyone's trying to keep the same secret."

"So, you think they've got a secret?"

"I guess," Morgan sighed and took a sip of his coffee. "Something tells me we're gonna find out about it sooner or later."

The two of them glanced at the evidence board and horrible pictures that coated it's surface.

That's when the people in charge walked in.

The air practically, no literally, changed as they stepped over the threshold. If it wasn't so obvious that they were the ones to talk too, it would have been funny how opposite they were.

A petite, but tough looking blonde with hard eyes that looked like they'd seen way too much, was standing in front of the tallest man that Reid and Morgan had ever seen. He was in good shape, most likely a runner. He was wearing a slightly battered leather duster, his longish black hair was brushing the collar, and underneath the duster he was wearing a pair of dark jeans and a black polo shirt that he obviously wasn't comfortable in.

"Who are they?" Reid asked, stunned by the impression they were making.

"Looks like we're not the only ones consulting on this." Rossi said, coming up behind them. J.J., Prentiss, and Hotch all followed him.

"You guys are the BAU?" asked the woman.

"Yes, I'm Agent Hotchner and this is my team, agents Juroe, Prentiss, Morgan, Rossi, and Dr. Spencer Reid."

"It's great to meet all of you. I'm Dec. Karren Murphy, and this is Mr. Harry Dresden. You'll be working pretty closely until this has all been figured out.

" I know it probably really isn't your style, but you're going to need to listen to him. If he says you can't go inside, then you're waiting in the car. If he says to jump, then-"

"Then we say how high?" Reid finished.

Murphy frowned. "You can forget about the how high, you just need to get your damn feet up in the air. I know he may look more than a little untrustworthy, but he knows his stuff." She walked away after that, leaving the team more than a little confused.

"Look," Dresden started. "I have no wish whatsoever to mess with your investigation. Murph thinks I might have some helpful insight as to how the crimes were committed. As I understand it, you guys focus more on the who and why." He held his hands up in a sign of good faith, and Prentiss decided to give him some leeway.

"So, what is it exactly that you consult on?" she asked.

"Um, the weirder, more unexplainable cases. That kind of stuff mostly. You?"

Reid jumped in. "We analyze factors in the case; such as victimology, MO, and others, in order to give us a better picture of the person whose committing the crimes.

"Oh, that's pretty interesting… Anyway, can I see what you've got so far?"

"Of course-" Hotch was interrupted by a depressed and disgusted sigh from across the room.

"There's been another murder guys." Murphy called sadly.

"Rossi, go with Reid to this next scene. Prentiss, Morgan, I want you to go talk to the family of the last victim. I'll stay here with J.J. to set up a press conference."

"Uh, mind if I tag along with you two?" Dresden asked Agent Rossi,

"No, but I'm driving." Harry shrugged and followed the agents out of the office.

It was eerie how calm the scene was.

Normally there was panic. A chaotic confusion that would snap you up sane and spit you out damaged and feeling filthy to your core if you weren't careful.

Good thing Harry was careful.

The house resembled something from Mr. Roger's Neighborhood. There was a silent and unruffled tranquility that seemed to had have replaced the confusion. Quiet, peaceful calm that, with as much subtlety as insubstantial emotions could muster, breathed it's way into your soul. The peculiar sensation was trying to convince you that nothing was wrong. And why would anything be? It didn't seem like anything was wrong. The woman on the bed was just sleeping. That wasn't blood, it was food coloring, or spaghetti sauce. People in Chicago are notoriously messy eaters….

Harry recognized a spell when he felt one.

First of all, they weren't even in the house yet. Hell, Reid wasn't even out of the car. The thoughts were coming from somewhere else. Probably an object. Which would mean a charmed object. Which was subtle. Something this subtle usually meant someone strong.

All Harry had to do now was locate the charm, disable or contain it, and keep Rossi and Reid focused so that they wouldn't be snared by the trap.

That was the easy part.

Having the job that they had meant that they knew that something was wrong the moment that they walked into the house. The officers on scene were dead walking. It was almost like they were asleep.

"What is wrong with these people?" Reid whispered as they walked into the dead woman's room. It's like this isn't real for them."

"Maybe, they're shocked?" Harry supplied, glancing around the room.

"I don't think so…. Remind me to tell Hotch that this is gonna be a weird one." Rossi said, pulling on a pair of gloves.

The girl splayed out on the light blue comforter really did look asleep. There was absolutely no blood and you could barely see the cuts.

They ran all over the body, thin, precise, and deep.

"Do you think he's taking the bones for a trophy?" Harry asked.

"No," Reid began. "Most serial killers who take trophies take something small and memorable. The adult human body has 206 bones. The most commonly taken bones are teeth, knuckles and vertebrae. Taking one of the larger bones would mean something different in and of itself, but this unsub took them all." Reid began looking at the objects in the room.

"But, that's weird." Harry said, stopping for a minute.

"Of course it's weird," Rossi replied. "Otherwise none of us would be here."

"No, I mean… What souvenirs do you have?" Harry asked, trying to organize his train of thought.

"From what?" Rossi was examining the cuts that covered the woman's body.

"Like anything, baseball games, vacations…."

"I still have the ticket from the first magic show I saw." Reid said, smiling at the memory. "The magician's name was Marco the Magnificent. He… uh… right, sorry, go on Harry."

"If you take something too big, it makes something seem, closer almost. Like you could go back there anytime you want-"

"But taking something small makes it just unreal enough to look back on fondly." Rossi finished, sighing. " Which means he's using the bones for something."

"Like what?" Reid asked, digging through a jewelry box on the nightstand.

And that would be where I come in thought Harry stoically.

"This is weird." Rossi and Harry turned to Reid.

"What is it?"

"This woman likes bright colors. Her jewelry consists mostly of bright stones like opals, quartz, and bright silver chains."

"Yeah, so?" Rossi questioned belligerently.

"So, it makes something like this seem very out of place." Then the good doctor held up a pendant that made Harry go cold. It was a ruby in the shape of a pentagonal prism hanging from an untarnished golden chain. Each face of the prism was about a quarter inch across, and on each face, a pentagram was engraved.

The piece itself was memorable. It would have struck a cord in anyone who looked at it, wizard or otherwise. The fact that it was leaking magic was just an added bonus.

Actually, leaking is exactly the wrong word. The jewel was oozing magic. A thick, cold phlegm that seemed to soak into Harry's very being.

He wasn't even looking at it with his Sight. Not that he ever would, not until it was necessary at least.

"Drop it!" He boomed.

Reid jumped and landed off. He tripped over his own feet and dropped the pendant, then landed again, this time on his face.

Before Rossi could intervene, Harry had grabbed the back of Spencer's shirt and hauled him up on his feet and then some.

"Where is it?" Harry asked, there was a lethal kind of focus in his voice that shook Reid to his core.

"I- I don't really know. It might have rolled under the bed."

As Harry bent to get the pendant, Rossi yanked Spencer away from him.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Fine."

"What the hell is wrong with that guy?"

"I don'… know…. Hey, I think I'm gonna go wait it the car. I feel… off."

Spencer left. After that there was nothing else to really look at. Harry and Rossi finished the visit in a glaring contest that would make history. Maybe if they hadn't been thinking about their own individual concerns , then one of them would have noticed the sharp, thin cut that the ruby had made on Spencer's arm.