Cored

Chapter 29: Pennies from Iowa

"We have to stop meeting this way," Lee said, sitting on the edge of Katherine's bed and shaking her awake. "People will start to talk."

Katherine just groaned at him.

"Come on, tell me all about what happened last night! You just ran off with Potter."

"Why don't you ask him?" Katherine said, burrowing deeper into her pillows. "It seems you all have been very chatty about me."

"We've all been working together to figure this all out. And I haven't told them everything . . ."

"Yeah, they all seemed pretty surprised when I told them my wand had no core. Would have been nice to have a little heads up."

"You told them?" Lee looked concerned. "I didn't want to say anything until I had the whole theory figured out. I mean, I would have eventually, but I just—"

"Well, they know now," Katherine said, finally sitting up so she could look at him properly but keeping the blankets up to her chin in protest. "The Americans asked what my wand core was. I gave a pretty butchered explanation, so I am sure you will have plenty to talk about at the next round table discussion about my life."

"We're just trying to help," Lee said, chagrined.

"Who? Who all is trying to help?"

"Well, my dad went at first, but now it's mostly just me. Then McGonagall, Shacklebolt, George, Harry, Hermione, Arthur, Ron sometimes,"

"Ron?" Katherine asked. "Ron threw a toddler's temper tantrum when I showed up gets a say in this?"

"He, Harry, and Hermione are kind of a set," Lee said with a little shrug. "But that's it."

"Oh, that's it. Just my nine dearest confidants," Katherine rolled her eyes. "And what exactly do you talk about?"

"It's a lot of theory. Some strategizing. It was pretty informal early on, just passing information and ideas around. But as you've gotten stronger, it stopped making sense to put things on paper."

"Why, Lee? What has everyone so concerned? Why do the Americans care?"

"You're powerful, Katherine. At first, we were worried about you, what the magic would do to you. Then, we were worried about your control and ensuring that you weren't violating the Statutes of Secrecy. And yes, there were jurisdictional concerns about whose laws you would ultimately have to follow. But now," he paused, looking at her carefully. "Now, there is concern about how anyone would regulate you at all. Your magic still doesn't show up on anyone's maps. And normally you can enchant a wand to tell you the last spells it has performed, but because you don't use a wand all the time, that isn't reliable. They are worried that even if they do find an academic answer to the jurisdictional questions, it won't matter. That's why I hadn't told them about the core thing yet, I didn't want to until I figured out if—"

"If the core wasn't the only thing it passed on to me," Katherine said, putting pieces together. "It cloaked my magic for all that time. You think it's still doing that?"

"I think it taught your magic how to act in the only way it knew how—hidden."

Katherine couldn't pretend like she wasn't excited at the prospect, and she felt the static do a little backflip in her stomach. She had no intention of doing anything illegal or immoral. But the anonymity of it all, the chance to not have anyone control or manage her, was comforting.

"I thought you might be pleased by that," Lee said, reading her face. "But I assure you, neither the Americans nor the Ministry will be. They aren't going to love the idea of uncontrollable magic."