Almost

Chapter 32: Inventory

Katherine had never been alone with Crawley's boss before. She was a striking woman, with her perfect silver bob hitting at her angular chin. She couldn't help but realize that, had the circumstances been different, she probably would have really liked the woman—she was powerful. Stubborn. Unafraid to hold her ground. And, all the while, never came across as petulant or out of control.

"Picquery says you want to feed the story out to Ragman? I've been thinking about it, and I have a cousin who—"

"We'll send a tip in to Ragman, laying out a few details he can publish. The best option is to say you are a metamorphagus. That will explain the photographs. However, you will have to be careful from here on out to use your wand."

Katherine bit her tongue, holding back the urge to explain she had already come up with that on her own.

"Okay," she said calmly. "Anything I can do to help?"

"He'll want a picture. And that'll get better print placement. We'll include a time when you and Crawley will be out in the tip. The real trick will be keeping your family out of it—we don't want that overtaking the story."

"So, what do you want him to know?"

"Your name," Hollinghunt responded, leaning back. "That you're marrying Crawley. That you have some unusual magic, though we'll keep it to being a metamorphagus for now. If the man is worth his salt, he'll look for you in the Illvermorny records and, when he doesn't find you, he'll check the other schools. We can't know how far he'll dig, but I'd bet he'll find you. We'll control the story from there. Is your father on your birth certificate?"

"I... I don't know," Katherine admitted. She couldn't remember the last time she'd seen it. "I can try and find it if we go back to Iowa."

"And do you use any of that No-Maj stuff? That puts all of your information out into the world for no reason?"

"Do you mean social media? No, I never got into it."

"Good," Hollinghunt said quietly, pulling out her wand and holding it up. Katherine quickly followed the streak of magic with her eyes alight with static, seeing a barrier the color of metallic cider join the others.

"You should have a barrier up to keep anyone looking in here if you're going to have him flying around," the woman said, nodding pointedly at Nestor.

"I already put one up," Katherine bit out, unable to hold her chest any tighter. Nestor, for his part, was starting to almost audibly crackle from her shoulder.

"Well, I'll feel better with a real spell for that," Hollinghunt said, crossing her arms. "So, what exciting events do you have on tap for me to escort you to today?"

Katherine focused so hard on not rolling her eyes, she was sure she was blinking at twice her normal rate.

"I told my dad I would help him with inventory today. He closes the store twice a year, once before Christmas and once right before the start of summer break. I planned on leaving for London as soon as Crawley's gone." She looked down at her watches, seeing it was already after noon there.

"And he sells toys, right?"

"He owns a joke shop," Katherine corrected. "He and his brother left school and opened it. Not a N.E.W.T. to their name, but still one of the most successful stores in Diagon Alley."

Hollinghunt let out a short, derisive laugh before leaning forward, her eyes narrowing.

"Tell me, if you stepped into a room and found yourself suddenly choking, what would you assume the issue was?"