Almost

Chapter 58: Reward

"Lee?" Katherine called, walking into Ollivanders. She didn't see Mr. Ollivander, so she wandered towards the back.

Lee looked up and his face paled.

"Hey," she said softly, spinning at her engagement ring.

He gulped before he answered. "Hey."

"I'm so sorry—"

"I need to apologize—"

They spoke over one another, both laughing when they realized. Katherine charged forward and wrapped her arms around him, making the wand he worked on clatter to the floor.

"I should have told you what was wrong," Katherine said first. "I had you doing all this research and—"

"My grandfather cursed you, Katherine," Lee stammered. "He told me most of it when I finally asked the right questions, that's why I brought him to you—"

"That's not your fault—"

"Nor is this tempering stuff yours," he demanded. "He told me how hard it would have been for you to really stop. How strong the bond would have been. He was amazed you could take it off at all."

"I made a mess of everything. And I have so much to tell you—"

"Harry's already been here."

"Good," Katherine said with a nod. "I understand if, with all the threat at the wedding, you don't want to be my man of honor anymore—"

Lee scoffed. "Are you kidding me? I already let you make me leave your side once when things got rough, I'm not doing that again!"

She hugged him again as relief spilled over her. She had been ready to grovel.

"At least we know why we couldn't find anything in the books at the library," Lee said with his arms tight around her shoulders. "It was going to drive me mad. But I'm going to make my grandfather walk me through what curses he used, see if there's a way—"

"Bill's looking at it, too," Katherine told him, her voice cracking. But she pushed the sadness down into her gut, not wanting to put the burden of it on Lee. "Do you have to stay here much longer? Because I know you're busy, but I could desperately use something fun to distract me today."

"Dad should be back any minute, he's just making a delivery. What did you have in mind?"

"I want to take you to a bookstore."

"Speiller's?" he said, face bright.

"No. I'm not really going to New York right now. I thought I'd take you to my bookstore, in Iowa."

"Really?"

"We have to wear masks," she reminded him, holding out a silver piece of fabric she'd asked Molly to make for her because it matched his magic. "And you have to ride in a car with me."

Lee did not mind the car one bit, but he didn't like it half as much as their destination.

"The books don't come off the shelves on their own," Katherine told him as they parked in front of the small brick storefront. "And I don't know how interesting—"

"Do you think they'll have muggle botany books?" he asked. "That's what they call it, right? Books about trees?"

She laughed, putting her own mask on. "Yes, they have books about trees."

When they walked in, the familiar smell of old paper hit her. This wasn't just any bookstore—Provenance specialized in the old, the used, and the outdated. Books with a story beyond the pages, as the owner, Lynette, always said.