Almost

Chapter 66: Go

Katherine didn't go straight to the Burrow just yet, though she knew time was short.

She went, instead, to Iowa. Where someone was waiting for her.

"Hey," she said when she opened the door and found Flo and Ross outside.

The pink haired girl stood from where she sat on the stoop.

"You could have told me you were a Weasley," Flo said, moving past Katherine through the door. "Finding out from Ragman of all people that you were related to Harry Potter and Hermione Granger . . ."

"And Ginny Weasley!" Ross added. "Do you get to go to Harpies games? I bet she gets great seats—"

"Sorry," Katherine offered, leading them to sit down at the table. "I still don't really think of them like that. And from what I can tell, she goes a fair bit."

"Well sure, now that she writes that column for the Prophet. Which, by the way," Flo critiqued, "has a shit editor. Can't tell an en-dash from a hyphen."

"You'll have to tell her," Katherine said simply. "Did you guys get your wedding invites?"

"Came in the mail last week," Flo answered.

Ross nodded enthusiastically. "Do you really think she'd talk to me?"

"If you can find a way to tell me what's happening with the Recollectors so we don't have to worry about them wedding crashing, I'll introduce you to her myself."

"And Harry?"

"And Harry," she agreed. "Now, Quahog told me that you found them in Pennsylvania?"

"I did," Ross said, puffing out his chest. "He seemed pretty impressed."

"Sure. Then you also saw Tom and Sam, but anyone else? An old man, a guy about my age?"

"It was just a normal house. There were people on the street—"

"Can I see?"

Ross shuffled in his chair, looking confused at her request.

"Sorry," Katherine clarified, "can I look at the memory?"

"A metamorphagus and a legilimens?" Flo asked, fascination dripping from her voice. "Okay, you and Crawley are starting to make a lot more sense."

Ross seemed to agree. "Are you sure you didn't go to school?"

"I think I'd remember," Katherine answered, scratching at her arms. "Do you mind?"

"No. Go ahead."

Ross resituated himself to square his shoulders. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, holding his arms out in front of him and resting his wrists on the table.

"You can just . . . relax, you know," Katherine said, earning a laugh from Flo.

"Honestly, you act like a No-Maj who watch a bad psychic movie," his friend jabbed.

Ross scowled at Flo, and went to make some sort of retort, but Katherine wasn't listening. She let the tendrils of blue green magic twist around and to his temples.

She flitted carefully, ignoring what she didn't need, until she found the image of the bookstore. Saw him watch the girl walking in, tendrils of nearly black hair falling in frizzy waves, tied back with a turquoise ribbon, that spilled every which way down her back. She noted the packet of magic that fell out of her pocket as she pulled out a phone to check the time and waited as Ross contemplated if it was safe for him to pick it up. Watched him wait until just the right time to use it—far less confidently than he had let on. She could see the way he waffled back and forth until he simply had to make a decision before he let her get too far ahead of him. And when the magic wrapped around his ankles, he made a most un-awe-inspiring yelp.