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Chapter 48: A Dance

When she conjured the door to the little home in Iowa around noon, she was pleased to see the inside of the house undisturbed, exactly as they had left it. No one was outside either. It was eerily quiet, except the quiet pinging of her cellphone from her backpack as a few messages trickled in.

"Katherine," Hermione's voice said on the first one. "I just wanted to call and let you know that we're working with MACUSA to figure out what is going on. I think you know at least pieces, and I won't leave it here, but keep clear of any letters. Picquery says you're with that awful Crawley fellow. I wish you were here, and it could be me and Harry watching over you. Everyone misses you dreadfully. Stay safe as you can."

Ginny's voice came next. "Katherine, I've got mum and dad here. They wanted me to tell you they love you and loved hearing your voice from Nestor after Christmas. But Harry wants you to know it's risky and you shouldn't send him that far of a distance. I think that's rubbish—blasted bird wouldn't even let me overhear what you had sent them. But can't be too careful I suppose. Anyways Harry says I've said too much already—honestly, Potter, if you want to control the message, you make the phone call. By the way, because I'm sure she won't tell you herself, Hermione's been made Minster for Magic. Shacklebolt is still helping with your case, of course. Much love, stay safe."

"It's Harry," the next message started. "I told Ginny to tell you, but she was far too glib. Keep Nestor close. The fewer people who recognize him the better. Send only essential messages if you need to, maybe even better by phone. Hermione's enchantments should make it safe enough for at least a vague conversation. But don't trust everything you hear. I'm thinking of taking a trip over for a few weeks, to help on the ground through the end of January. If things are really bad, let me know."

Katherine let Crawley listen to the messages. "I like Shacklebolt," he said. "But Granger is good. And invested. But I wonder what Harry is going to do here."

"With you gone, maybe they just needed an extra set of eyes. Someone who doesn't need to be brought up to speed. But I won't like take him from Ginny any longer than necessary if I can help it, and he's supposed to be keeping an eye on Lee."

Crawley nodded and looked around. "We can't really trust anyone without seeing them anyways. Too risky right now."

"Is that why you haven't called into Picquery or Quahog?"

"Yes," he answered, pulling his long silent phone out of his pocket and tapping it on the table uneasily. Katherine could tell he wasn't used to being kept out of the loop and this had been weeks of no new information for him. "We don't have serious conversations over the phone. A Patronus is one thing, at least it's identifiable. But even has to be taken with a grain of salt."

"So what do you know about the letters?" Katherine asked, hoping he might tell her more than the last time she had posed the question.

"We didn't know much. The people falling asleep seemed innocuous enough, but it was weird. Having people being controlled inside the walls of MACUSA with no trace of how or why... It isn't odd for an object to be enchanted, of course. But there weren't any traces of magic on the paper—and if someone read them a second time, nothing happened."

"Like a temporary spell?"

Crawley shook his head. "Maybe, but even that would leave hints. We were talking about turning to No-Maj options, like handwriting analysis or the chemical makeup of the ink. Right out of some ridiculous crime show. But we had so little to go off of..." His fingers tensed and tapped against the table as his mouth formed a thin line. Katherine knew the look—she knew how much it was killing him to not be able to solve the puzzle. She placed her hand on his and hoped it was reassuring.