Almost

Chapter 55: Flying

"Seb," Katherine said, her hands dropping from where she'd been rubbing her eyes. The only sound was the crackling bacon behind Molly.

"It's okay," Ezra said behind her, a hand on the small of her back. "What did you find?"

"Well, your dad didn't seem any different," Seb said. "I saw him out in the backyard—I think he'd mowed over your mom's flowers or something, and he was looking between two packets of that magic trying to figure out what would help."

"Typical." Ezra rolled his eyes and moved towards the coffee pot.

"Maybe Mark didn't tell them. Not that it's much of an edge anymore." Picquery looked at Katherine a moment before coming to hug her. "I'm so sorry about yesterday. Are you okay?"

Katherine patted his back, still looking at Ezra over Picquery's shoulder. "I'm fine. But MACUSA... at dinner, they were all so mad—"

"They're furious," Picquery admitted. "They think you're unstable. Hollinghunt is convinced that you're going to blow us all up at any minute, but with that reporter poking around still about you and Ezra, Quahog doesn't want to make a scene. Just in case someone tries to... well, he doesn't know whose attention it will attract. They've decided to match the Recollectors' terms instead. I'm meant to be negotiating it with you now."

"This is your negotiation?" Katherine laughed.

"I already negotiated to help Molly in return for her teaching me how to get bacon this crispy," Picquery said. "Besides, negotiating is probably a generous description. They don't have much wiggle room."

Ezra came back to her side, bringing a coffee mug for her. "So, what do they want?"

"You have until the wedding to give up the tempering," Picquery said. "Or they want you out of the country."

"Does it have to be given to MACUSA?" Hermione said, having just come up the stairs and heard the last bit of the conversation. Ginny, Ron, and Harry followed close behind. "Can she give it to us?"

"No, they want it here. They're pretty insistent."

"I can't," Katherine said, taking Ezra's hand. "It... it's too important to me."

"After all that it's done to you?" Ron asked.

Harry nodded, adding, "I think I'd want to chuck it off a bridge."

"I can't give it up, not to..."

Ezra squeezed Katherine's hand, his shoulders squaring. "I'll talk to Quahog. See if we can... work something out."

"You aren't in a great bargaining position," Picquery warned him.

Ezra held his gaze. "I have to try. What about Velern?"

"Fontaine is letting us keep a tail on him, but it's hard when he's in the school. We've had to get creative, but even the professors we really trust... they'd be hard to explain. And there's only so many reasons someone can be in the hospital wing—he's normally alone."

"And Talia?"

Picquery shook his head at Katherine's question. "Her parents are both healers, so I'm not surprised that she would be working with him. I am supposed to get those textbooks back from you before I go, though."

"Of course," she said, rolling her eyes.

"I can maybe buy you another day," he said, "but I need them Monday morning or Hollinghunt will come get them herself. And I'd stay clear of New York a while if I were you."

"The wedding," Katherine said with a groan. "We're supposed to go to the printers today to approve the programs—"

"I can do that," Victoire said, emerging with Teddy.