Almost

Chapter 23: Answer

As the car hurtled down the New York streets, Katherine already felt claustrophobic. She'd grown fond of the city, of the vibrant life you could live there, but there were so many people. So many eyes that could watch her. So many voices in her ears. And there was no escaping it—the city really never slept.

No noise, however, was coming from the occupants of the long black car. Even Smithwick and Corliss stayed quiet in the back. Katherine wished she had put Smithwick in her lap to have something to do with her hands. She'd resorted instead to counting the dogs they drove past—she was well over fifty.

Katherine knew very few parts of the city, couldn't even recognize where they were. But Ezra navigated it easily, almost without thinking.

They pulled up to a row of townhomes, and Katherine knew this was their final destination because Chris stood out front, chewing on an apple.

"We can't use magic on the street," Ezra said to him as he opened his car door and Chris came around to the passenger side. "The cases are light, though. Start with the ones in the backseat?"

Chris nodded at him as he held his hand out to help Katherine out. She took it—she wasn't angry with him—but let go very quickly to grab the animals. Ezra waited for her on the curb, a key in his hand. He walked up the front stairs of the brick row house, the windows showing two floors residing above the entry way.

As soon as the door shut behind her, all of the noise was blocked out.

What is this place? she thought to herself, coated with amazement.

The simple row house exterior did no justice for what was inside. Where she had expected a long, narrow hall, there was instead big, airy rooms. Wide, dark wood planks covered at least twice as much floor space as they should have. Though there should have been homes attached to either side of them, there were windows on every wall that let in the dwindling sunlight.

To Katherine's right was what appeared to be a formal sitting room, with two high-backed armchairs. They were surrounded by empty bookshelves that varied in height to fit around the windows, some so tall that they required a ladder to reach the top. To her left was a dining room, with a long table that could easily accommodate all of the Weasleys. Hanging above it was a light fixture made of stained glass, casting steams of multi-colored light dancing across the room.

She walked back further into the house as Chris and Crawley carried in the bags as if they held nothing but feathers. There was a staircase with a thick railing, the kind that children in old movies slid down, and a powder room. Past it on the left was the kitchen. The wood planks gave way to light blue-gray tile on the floor. It had light countertops and backsplashes, that contrasted the dark cherry cupboards. The back wall had a glass door that went out to a courtyard surrounded on all sides with vine covered walls. The ground had little grass, but instead was covered with stones with little flowers and greenery peeking through the cracks. One tree was planted in the far back corner and cast shade over a small wrought iron table and chairs.

On the right, across from the kitchen, was a room Katherine was sure Crawley chose with her in mind. There was a large brick fireplace on the far wall. Between it and her sat a leather sectional that had to accommodate at least six people and all of their animals. Above the fireplace was a painting she immediately recognized—it was of Jenny Lake, the snow-capped Tetons towering over the water.

"It's one of these fancy new No-Maj things," Ezra said, walking up behind her. He picked up a remote and pointed it at the painting, which dissipated and instead became a television. "So we can watch that show you like again."

Katherine turned and walked up the stairs, holding the cage and tote tight in her hands. There appeared to be three rooms—two above the kitchen and dining room, one above the front sitting room. She walked into the one above the sitting room.