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Chapter 43: Merry Christmas

Katherine and Iz were out on the balcony the next day watching Nestor flit around and drinking tea when Crawley arrived. She noticed that he had a small bag and that he had traded his typical suit for plain blue jeans, though still a pressed button up.

"Ah, Crawley." Iz stood and disintegrating the chair she had conjured. "Well, guess it's time to be off. Nestor, it's been a pleasure," she said to the little woodpecker, who came and landed in her hand in farewell. "Katherine, I'll see you next week. Remind me to tell you about the time one of my roommates managed to redecorate all the other common rooms overnight to look exactly like Wampus's. The confusion at breakfast the next morning was priceless."

"I'll wait with bated breath," Katherine laughed softly. She was sad to see the woman go, but she was determined to not pout and make her feel guilty. Though, knowing Iz, she would not take it personally.

"Why is it just me he hates?" Crawley asked, eying the bird suspiciously as Nestor seemed to tense.

"Aren't they supposed to fight off negative energy?"

"They're meant to fight dementors, which I am not," Crawley retorted.

Katherine sighed and picked up the book she had been reading. True to his word, Picquery had brought her a new stack. This one had a picture of a stocky man smiling up at her from the back cover, and the front read, "American Obsession with Obliviation: Most Memorable Memory Charms of the Modern Era." Katherine had asked for a book about the spell, hoping to learn more about the fuzzy brains she had seen in Ottery St. Catchpole and, presumably, now Kevin as well. Picquery's choice, though, was not exactly what she had hoped for, talking about the various ways the spell interacted with American wizarding policies rather than the spell itself.

Crawley took one glance at the book and scoffed.

"What?" Katherine asked, opening the book to where she had left off.

"Just an interesting choice for you. Didn't realize you'd be so pro-memory charm. Or maybe with the guy from whatever village you were hiding in taken care of, you can move right on to the wand boy."

Katherine felt the pages of the book catching fire under her fingers. Crawley just stared, not giving any ground, but even he knew he had taken a step to far.

"Waine—"

But Katherine had already gotten up and walked inside, shutting her bedroom door behind her.

Crawley sighed. This was going to be a long four days.

He sat on the couch for a while, wondering when she'd emerge. But he knew she was stubborn, and that he was in the wrong, so he steeled his pride and knocked.

"Waine," he said, knocking again. She didn't answer. "Come on, Katiegirl. I have a surprise for you." There was still no sound. "It involves leaving this apartment."

The door opened just a crack. "And going where?" Katherine's voice asked quietly.

"Does it matter? Not here, not the training room."

The crack opened wider and he could see her face now. "To do what?"

"To train."

"It's Sunday. We don't train on Sundays."

"Yes," Crawley said, trying to keep his tone even. "But you didn't train on Friday and I don't imagine you will want to on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day."

She chewed on her cheek but looked up at him, eyes narrowed in thought. But eventually, she opened the door all the way and nodded her head, grabbing her coat and her backpack.