Chapter 33

Dorian and Penny rode the train together at Kings Cross station after having decided to share a cabin with Thaddeus and Fiona and got interrogated over where they were going in the states for Christmas, though the truth was they didn't even really know. Dorian however had packed his satchel with enough clothes for the entire trip as well as coats if they wound up somewhere cold and shots and t-shirts if they went somewhere warmer. As much as he missed the heat he was hoping the Walkers had decided on going somewhere cold. Soon into the trip when it became apparent that they didn't know their exact destination Fiona and Penny started talking about different things such as the newest fashion and Dorian tried to tune out until Thaddeus started questioning him on if he was keeping up with his studies, what he was studying that wasn't related to the OWL's, luckily Thaddeus went on a rant about all the things he was studying so Dorian didn't really have a chance to answer, not that he wanted to.

After getting off of the Hogwarts Express they walked onto the muggle platform and waited for a moment until they saw Penny's Mum and Da' before smiling and getting the "How have you been?"'s out of the way before heading out to the parking lot and loading Penny's suitcase into the trunk. Rosalind smiled when she saw Dorian still had the satchel they had given him for Christmas years ago and assumed he had just packed everything into the magically enhanced bag while her husband drove them all towards the center of London where they could make their way to the Leaky Cauldron and from there to Gringotts where they could purchase a Portkey to MACUSA. Dorian wondered for the briefest of moments why they didn't go to the Ministry of Magic and figured it had something to do with Callum Walker being a muggle and the statute of secrecy even though he knew magic existed but wasn't about to dwell on something that seemed idiotic.

After entering Gringotts and stating the purpose of their visit to the bank they were brought to a small conference room and read a list of rules, the differences between the magical laws in the US vs UK and Dorian was given a muggle passport with his name and picture in case they were questioned for any reason by muggle or magical officials, the Walkers already had theirs. After sitting through the boring bit and receiving their passports the goblin went to get their portkey.

"You didn't have a passport?" Penny asked Dorian curiously, thinking back to when they went to Paris.

"He is technically a dual citizen in the UK and France, he didn't need one darling." Rosalind Walker explained for Penny and Dorian since he didn't understand why he didn't need a passport for France either.

The goblin reappeared with an old stovepipe hat and set it on the table before them all and without warning started counting causing them all to quickly touch the old hat, Dorian noticed that Penny had forgotten to take hold of her suitcase and quickly used his free hand to grab onto it at the last second as he felt the awkward tug of the portkey making him feel like he was being pulled inside out. A few moments later Rosalind instructed them all to let go and run and Penny and Dorian did as they were told. Callum on the other hand simply let go and wound up on his back on the floor of a large building with hundreds of people moving in every direction, all seeming to have urgent business. Penny, Rosalind and Dorian floated gently down to the cordoned off area Callum was currently lying down in seemingly to run in place as they descended and eventually touched down and were greeted by a younger guy, not too much older than Dorian or Penny in a suit and tie.

"Welcome to MACUSA, as you have already been informed the laws here are a bit different than what you are used to so we will need to get your wands registered and get you all permits, follow me please." The young man said before turning on heel and walking away as the group followed behind to get even more boring stuff out of the way.

After spending a couple of minutes on each wand the young man turned to Dorian and held his hand out expectantly only for Dorian to stare at him dumbly.

"Either I register your wand or you are in violation of the law." The man said.

"Just do it, once we go back they cant track you, it's UK law then." Rosalind said, figuring Dorian had an issue with being tracked even more than 'the trace' already did and smiled when Dorian reluctantly handed over his wand. The man then looked at Callum thinking he was going to be difficult as well.

"Oh I'm a muggle, I don' have a wand." Callum said honestly.

"A No-Mag?" the man asked curiously before looking to Rosalind with a slight look of judgment.

"Couldn't find someone magical?" he asked snidely when Dorian cut in.

"Shut the fuck up, I'm not above peeling your dick like a banana." Dorian said, less of a threat and more a promise of what was going to happen if he uttered another syllable. The man understood Dorian meant what he said and quickly wrapped up their paperwork and pointed at the door for them to leave.

Outside of the building Penny, Rosalind and Callum looked around in astonishment. Dorian smiled at them all.

"Welcome to New York." he said, trying to sound enthusiastic.

"Is it true that in this one city there are a couple of smaller cities?" Penny asked, her wording was a bit strange but Dorian caught on.

"If I remember correctly they're called 'borough's and yes, there's Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, you get the point." Dorian said with a smile.

Callum wrapped an arm around Rosalind and smiled.

"Where's a good place for something to eat?" Callum asked.

"Depends on what you're in the mood for and how much you want to spend. New York is expensive as hell, Manhattan is the worst of it as far as price but there is food from pretty much everywhere in the world here." Dorian said pointing down the street so that they could see a hot dog cart across the street from a pretzel stand, on the corner was a shwarma stand and a sandwich shop, Dorian pointed the other way down the street and even more diverse eateries could be seen.

"I heard that New York is famous for it's pizza." Penny said and Rosalind hummed in agreement that pizza good.

"I don't know how much it costs or if it is still there but the place I found had the best pizza was a few blocks from here." Dorian said after looking around a bit and figuring out where they were from the street signs and led the way, Penny taking his hand as they walked through New York to a small family owned pizzeria off of the main path so foot traffic was a bit lessened and gestured to the business.

"Ta-da." Dorian said with a smirk only for Rosalind to lead Callum into the place, Penny likewise dragged Dorian inside ignoring the look of discomfort Dorian had on his face as they sat at a table that gave them a view into the kitchen and the brick oven where the pizza's were cooked when an older woman with a thick Italian accent dropped off some glasses of water and a menu, Dorian stiffened when he saw the old woman and managed to breath again as she left. Rosalind caught the discomfort and unease Dorian was showing and subtly nodded her head towards the door, non-verbally asking if he would prefer they eat somewhere else when Dorian subtly smiled and shook his head 'No'. He seemed fine as the old woman didn't seem to recognize him so he was worried for nothing. After they looked at the menu they decided on splitting a pepperoni and sausage pizza. When the older woman came back to take their order her gaze lingered on Dorian for a moment before she left to put their order in and brought back some bread sticks that they hadn't ordered but said they were complimentary.

"Do all tourists get complimentary breadsticks?" Callum asked, sounding a bit air-headed when the older woman smiled and pinched Dorian's cheekily

"No, just panda della spazzatura." The woman said with a smile leaving all but Dorian confused, Dorian turned a bit red in the face, clearly embarrassed.

"Damn.. Thought you forgot about me." Dorian said quietly.

"What did she call you?" Penny asked curiously.

"Trash panda." Dorian said and noticed Penny get a look of anger on her face at her boyfriend being called trash when Dorian placed a hand on her wrist to calm her down.

"Trash panda is another way of saying raccoon.. When I was here I used to eat out of the trash because not many people went through their trash and made a mess because she'd hit them with a rolling pin, after a while they stopped digging in the trash, I was the only one that did. I became the trash panda of Magleone's Pizzeria." Dorian said, embarrassed but the older woman smiled at him and whispered in his ear before patting his head and making her way to the back once again. Dorian blinked rapidly a few times, ignoring the questioning looks he was receiving from the Walkers. He didn't have it in him to tell them what the older woman had whispered to him.

Dorian sat in silence and ate his pizza while the Walkers ate and enjoyed the pizza of the hole in the wall restaurant, Callum was such a fan of the pizza he left a tip that was greater than the cost of the food. Dorian left a fair amount of money as well, enough to pay for twelve pizza's and quickly made his way out of the restaurant. Rosalind noticed the money he had left and suggested to Callum that they check out the hotel that they had reserved and looked at Dorian, asking him to show Penny around New York and maybe do some Christmas shopping. She didn't know why Dorian left that much money but she had a good idea and figured he needed a distraction and Penny was nearly ready to take off on her own to explore the city anyway so it was a win win.

"Which hotel did you make the reservation at?" Dorian asked before agreeing to anything.

"The Waldorf Astoria on fifth avenue." Callum said with a smile and Dorian nodded before looking at Penny.

"Where should we go first Biscuit?" Dorian asked with a smile only for Penny to grab onto his arm again as they made their way out onto the busy street and soon disappeared into the sea of swarming people as he led her to different areas, checking out the different little corner shops, some of the higher end stores, picking up some perfume and other things for Rosalind that the cashiers who at first were dubious, amused or annoyed that two kids under 18 thought they could pay for such expensive things only to smile brightly when Dorian pulled the money from his satchel to pay for the items and then place them in the bag. Penny found a couple of things that would interest her Da' and paid for them and held onto the bag for a moment until they were out of the store and Dorian could place it into his satchel. Penny saw a shoe shop and practically dragged Dorian into the store and marveled at all the different shoes and even took her shoes off and was trying on a couple different styles. Unbeknownst to her Dorian had checked her discarded trainer to get the size and found a pair of cowboy boots with a pointed toe and purchased a pair in Penny's shoe size and placed the boots in his satchel while Penny purchased a pair of suede boots that had a slightly pronounced heel and made Penny just a tiny bit taller so her eyes were roughly at Dorian's nose and asked Dorian to place her trainers in his satchel, wanting to wear her new boots out when Dorian gave her a dubious look.

"You do realize that the hotel is about fifteen blocks away from where we currently are right?" He asked, wondering if she really meant to walk that far in footwear that hadn't been broken in. Penny saw his point and put her trainers back on and Dorian put her new boots in his satchel with a smile. As they got back out onto the street Dorian looked around and asked Penny if she wanted to see what the magical shopping was like in the states. Penny lit up instantly and asked if he knew where to go when he held up a small pamphlet he had swiped at MACUSA that mentioned Central Park which was on their way back to the hotel anyway. Penny hugged Dorian happily and once again held onto his he led the way to central park and to Eaglevale Bridge and found the stone that was the hidden in plain sight indicator of the entrance to the magical side of Central Park and walked with Penny through the barrier.

Penny had a blast with Dorian and spent a fair chunk of money before they made their way to central park and saw the magical side of the park. She marveled at the different stands, games, shops. She saw something that peaked her interest however and told Dorian to meet her back there in half an hour as she was going to pick up something for Christmas that he couldn't see just yet.

Dorian smiled and agreed but fully intended to stick close by in case something happened. Dorian trailed behind Penny for a while and made sure to check on her periodically when he came across a small bodega like shop that had music from both the muggle and magical worlds. Dorian checked inside and found something he truly liked and picked up a few records for Penny, one being the new Weird Sisters record, one being a record by Elvis, specifically for one song on the album and one from the Doors because it had the song 'People are Strange' that he had become infamous for singing through the halls whenever he had done something or was about to do something. Penny met back up with Dorian at the appointed time and they made their way to the hotel and after Dorian nearly got into a fight with the front desk clerk for not believing that they were staying in the hotel and telling them both to turn around and leave before they could say anything and Callum and Rosalind having to step in and say that they were staying in the hotel, Dorian still looked as though he wanted to rip the front desk clerk apart as they entered the elevator and made their way to the large three bedroom suite Callum had reserved for them.

"Three bedrooms? What if I hadn't come?" Dorian asked jokingly as he entered the room and set his satchel down on the bed gently.

"Well then we would have had a room to put all the presents we were going to get for everyone else I suppose." Rosalind said with a laugh and went to the kitchenette and made some tea. Dorian removed his jacket, gloves and scarf and set them off to the side as he made his way to the sitting room and relaxed, looking out the window at the snowy city and sighed a bit. It was beautiful with all the Christmas lights and snow covering everything.

Dorian and Penny spent another day together, then they all switched so Callum went with Dorian one day then Rosalind the next so they could all go shopping for each other without the recipient of certain presents knowing what they were getting and before they knew it, it was Christmas eve. Penny grew restless in the room and asked Dorian if he would go with her to see the lights, Dorian agreed and went with Penny and soon they found themselves looking at the different displays of Christmas lights and trees that were beautifully decorated. Penny saw a skating rink off in the distance and all but dragged Dorian along so they could skate. Penny quickly put on her rented skates, Dorian was taking his time even untying his shoes, telling Penny he would meet her out there and to have fun. About ten minutes had passed and Penny hadn't seen Dorian anywhere on the ice and found he was still sitting where she had left him, she skated over to the edge of the rink and asked why he wasn't skating.

"Don't know how." Dorian said simply, an answer Penny was not only unhappy with, it was an answer she would not accept.

"Well that simply won't do will it?" She asked rhetorically and climbed over the edge of the rink and made Dorian put on his skates and walked slowly with the uneasy Dorian til he was on the ice, holding the edge of the rink for dear life and Penny went over the mechanics of it with him and slowly skated with him until he was comfortable enough to let go of the edge of the rink and pick up the pace a bit until he and Penny were skating around the rink and laughing. Dorian, as uncomfortable as he was couldn't help but smile at Penny and how happy she seemed, how perfect the night was under the different colored lights, the soft Christmas music, the smells of different holiday treats. It truly was a perfect night.

After a few hour of being out, a couple of which were spent at the skating rink until it closed for the night the two made their way back to the hotel. Dorian walked Penny to her room and received a quick kiss before she disappeared into her room. Dorian went back to his room and shut the door and looked at the mirror on the dresser. He didn't know when it was going to happen but he figured he didn't have much time and had better take care of something while he still could.

Just like when they were in Paris, Penny was up earlier than everyone else and pounced on Dorian after sneaking into his room Christmas morning to wake him up. The noise of Penny waking Dorian up traveled and woke up Rosalind and Callum who sleepily but with a smile on their faces made their way to the sitting room so they could open presents.

Callum was over the moon at the models of American muscle cars, cookbook on how to make American specialties like pulled pork etc.

Rosalind was smiling like the Cheshire cat at her new perfume and shoes, her new dress.

Penny tore into her presents like a madwoman and loved everything she saw but what she enjoyed the most was the cowgirl boots from Dorian and the three records he had picked up for her, but naturally she had to play the weird sisters album first as she didn't know who 'The Doors' or 'Elvis Presley' were.

Dorian opened his presents with a smile and laughed a bit when he had received a model of a 1971 Cuda and told Callum they needed to get to work building their cars to which the man nodded enthusiastically before looking at his several model cars, already planning to spend time lovingly building them. Dorian got a book on magic that was written in a language even he didn't recognize and smiled happily only for Penny to groan playfully.

"Great, another language for him to learn." she said before they all laughed. There were a couple of other things Dorian opened before Penny handed him a box, his last present. Dorian opened the wrapping up and opened the box to find a pair of square toed cowboy style boots made from dragon hide.

"This is great." Dorian said happily, the boots were masterfully crafted and made him remember that he had a long-coat made of dragon hide as well and the colors matched perfectly.

"You don't have to worry about growing out of them. They'll grow with you so you'll never need a new pair." Penny said as she was putting on her boots that Dorian had gotten her and Dorian put on his new boots so they were both wearing western style footwear.

"Now I feel like a dick because I didn't get you dragon hide boots to match." Dorian said only half joking when Penny gave him yet another bone crushing hug.

"I was thinking about getting spurs to go with them since you're from that part of the country but didn't want to overdo it." Penny said with a grin.

"Now I feel like less of a dick." Dorian said and got another playful slap on the shoulder from Penny before getting another hug.

After Christmas Professor McGonagall joined them all in New York for New Years and they all watched the ball drop in Times Square and had a very late dinner or early breakfast depending on how you want to look at it before heading to MACUSA to be portkeyed back to Gringotts. After arriving at Hogsmeade and returning to the cottage Dorian gave McGonagall her Christmas presents which were a couple of books on American Transfiguration Theory and Practice as well as a book on what Native American's believed Animagus forms meant for a person. The book on Animagi caught McGonagalls attention more than the regular transfiguration books.

"Are you still interested in becoming an Animagus Mr. St. James?" McGonagall asked curiously.

"No, I checked it out, I'm don't think I would be patient enough to go through a couple of the steps, besides that potion seems complicated. That and there are some laws about Animagi that don't sit well with me. Wanna grab some lunch Aunt Min? My treat." Dorian said, lying about the animagus since he already was an unregistered one and changed the subject by calling her by the nickname/ title he had given her and offering to pay for lunch.

"Well since you were so kind as to offer to pay, how could I say no?" McGonagall said with a smile before walking with Dorian to The Three Broomsticks.

The rest of the year was a bit quiet for Dorian and the rest of the fifth years as they were all studying more or less for the OWL's. Dorian, Penny, Thaddeus and Fiona had all been studying together and quizzing each other. When they weren't in class Dorian and Penny spent quite a bit of time together and it showed in his approach to dealing with the younger students. He wasn't as harsh with punishments and Fiona even commented on that very fact to Penny saying that she was good for Dorian only for Penny to blush madly and say that he was good for her as well. Penny had learned quite a bit of fighting and dueling from Dorian and could throw spells with the best the school had to offer and if anyone was causing trouble and thought they could take her, they second guessed their abilities when they remembered that Dorian, the mad muggleborn Slytherin would come for them.

After the OWLs all the students seemed to relax, the air in the castle wasn't as heavy and the students started planning their summer vacations. Dorian sent a letter to McGonagall asking if he could leave a couple of days before her to Paris so he could get new bedding for everyone since the bedding hadn't been touched or cleaned since they spent Christmas there a few years prior. Mcgonagall received the letter and caught him before he left her class and said that she was fine with it so long as he behaved and kept out of trouble.

"Me, get into trouble? Honestly Aunt Min, it's like you don't know me." Dorian said jokingly.

"I in fact do know you Mr. St. James which is exactly why I am telling you that I am trusting you to be on your own for a couple of days. Break that trust and I won't let you out of my sight until you turn seventeen." McGonagall said

"That would make bathroom visits really awkward.." Dorian said while trying to keep the smile from his face only for McGonagall to playfully smack her ward in the back of the head and smile.

"You know bloody well what I mean." She said with an amused smile.

On the second to last day of school Dorian spoke with Penny in the courtyard and explained what was going on, that he was heading to Paris a couple of days early to get new bedding and some decorations that were more his style for the house and would have everything ready by the time they all arrived the following Monday. Penny smiled and hugged Dorian, knowing he wouldn't be there to escort her to Hogsmeade station but she would see him in a couple of days.

Monday came and the Walkers and McGonagall all portkeyed to Paris to find the French ministry in a tizzy but didn't think to ask what the fuss about.

"Probably Dorian pissed someone off." Penny joked and got a laugh from the others as they made their way to Dorian's to find the French Ministry outside of Dorian's place, that was concerning enough. What was even more so was the windows to his place were blown out and smoke was still faintly coming through the windows, there had been a fire and a couple of aurors were off to the side looking a bit shaken. McGonagall dropped to her knees and Rosalind and Callum stopped to help the transfiguration Professor who looked at the house knowing that Dorian was gone. The prophecy came true. He was dead.

Penny however didn't know about the prophecy and stepped forward until she was stopped by a ministry official who told her that she couldn't come any closer. Penny saw at the top of the small stairwell leading to the second floor was Pretty Bird, covered in a bit of soot and angry, not allowing anyone from the minstry that was trying to catch the owl near her.

"Pretty Bird." Penny managed to choke out and the owl flew to her and landed on her shoulder, nuzzling into her and smearing a bit of soot on her cheek before presenting a clawed foot holding a corked vial with a silvery liquid inside.

Author's note: So.. We're finally here.. The prophecy…

Don't worry folks. I'm not done writing this story. I'm a bit too invested in these characters to leave it here. See you next week for the update.