Chapter 34

Dorian St. James had spent a good portion of his two days alone at Gringotts in England and in Paris in meeting rooms with the goblins setting his contingency plans into play. When they had pizza in New York, the old Italian woman had whispered in his ear something that bothered him, that made him remember that he was on borrowed time. She had called him 'the lost boy'. He knew it was coming, and that the end was coming soon. After spending time getting everything sorted with the goblins Dorian went to the Parisian Magical Market and picked up some Acromantula Silk sheets and bedding for every room to go along with what he had asked Professor McGonagall some time alone for. He had a feeling that he was being watched as he was shopping even as he made his way home and felt uneasy as he placed the sheets and comforters on the beds, ready for everyone to collapse into when they arrived the following morning. After getting all the beds made Dorian went downstairs to the kitchen to get something to drink when his door burst open and three people entered, three he recognized. The one he didn't recognize was the one who kicked open his back door.

Penny was sitting in a chair after having just dipped her head into a Penseive, a magical device that allowed her to look at memories, she had never heard of such a thing before but apparently Dorian had as the vial she had gotten from Pretty Bird held a memory from Dorian. Penny felt her eyes sting as tears welled up and she looked across the desk to Professor McGonagall who seemed to be in a state of.. shock? Despair? Acceptance? Penny couldn't place the expression on McGonagalls face but she knew she personally felt as though her whole world had just shattered. Inside the Penseive Penny saw Dorian in his hotel room in New York. She remembered the coat he wore when she had taught him how to ice skate. He had made this memory just after they got back to the hotel and said goodnight to each other. Penny wondered how long he had known something like this was going to happen?

Hey Biscuit, Hey Aunt Min.. If you're watching this then the prophecy came true and I'm dead. Sorry I didn't mention it to you before Biscuit but I was working my ass off trying to find a way around the prophecy and I know you would have drove yourself insane trying to do the exact same. Now you know why I learned so many languages, knowledge isn't just in English, I've found some pretty interesting things in other languages as well but that's beside the point since I obviously didn't find what I was looking for. I don't know what passes for a will in the magical world that is legally binding, that wasn't part of my studies so I figured that the closest thing to a Muggle Video Will would and should suffice for any of the goblins of Gringotts or any ministry official.

I Dorian St. James of questionably sound mind, that was a joke fuckers, I'm completely sane. And sound body do hereby leave behind a few things that I didn't earn. I will leave my ancestral estate in Paris to Professor Minerva McGonagall and Penny Walker and by extension her Mum and Dad. If that is where I died, I know I didn't go quietly so whatever the cost of repairs are then that cost shall be removed from my vault. As far as the vault I leave the entire amount of Galleons, sickles, down to the last knut to be split evenly between Professor McGonagall and Penny however I would ask of them to respect my next wish, whether they do it or not is entirely up to them as it is now their money. I would like them to set aside 20 galleons a year for incoming muggleborn students that were in a situation similar to mine if that should ever come about. As far as the rest of the shit in my vault If there was anything goblin made I have no problem returning the goblin crafted items back to the goblins as it was yours from the time it was made. Now to the Goblins. I ask you keep my vault open so that Professor McGonagall and Penny Walker can access what they need when they need it without them having to go in and try to divide the contents among themselves and move it to their own vaults, that's a headache they don't need right now.

Penny, I'm sorry I didn't get to spend as much time with you as I would have liked but just know that the time I did get to spend with you meant more to me than you will ever know.

Aunt Min.. Thank you for taking me in, that was a kindness I can never thank you enough for let alone begin to repay you for, I just ask that you don't feel too bad about my passing. We both knew it was coming and lets be honest, I did more in my life than most people will come close to by the time they kick off from natural causes.

Anyways, I Just have one more thing to ask. Would someone please take care of Pretty Bird for me?

The words rang in Penny's head repeatedly, she wanted to cry but she just.. couldn't. She wanted to take care of Dorian's owl but knew it would be a painful reminder every time she saw the owl. She looked across the table to Professor McGonagall once again only to see her hugging the owl with a steady stream of tears trailing down her normally stoic face, the owl, brilliant bird that she was, nuzzled into McGonagall's neck and cheek, trying to wipe away the tears.

Penny had questions about the prophecy, clearly there was quite a bit that she didn't know about Dorian and knew she would have to ask McGonagall the questions, but that would wait until they had recovered from losing Dorian… It seemed strange, after everything that should have killed Dorian long ago, the beatings, the torture, being homeless at such a young age.. What happened that actually managed to kill him? How many were there?

"Burke, Thorne, Titless. What brings you to Paris?" Dorian asked looking at the two yearmates that had bullied him along with his former prefect that he had threatened to hold in a fireplace until the screaming stopped.

"And who is your friend? Breathing a bit heavy." he asked and commented on the man standing behind him, blocking his escape through the back door.

"My name is Sarah Avery you little bastard!" the female former prefect shouted.

"Now, Now Sarah, calm down. He's being nice." Burke said with an air of superiority knowing that they outnumbered Dorian and believing that he was being nice to avoid confrontation.

"Yeah Sarah, contain the calamity that is your non-existent mammary's." Dorian said with a smirk only for Sarah to flick her wrist and send a cutting spell Dorian's way. Dorian tilted his head a bit but still got cut on the side of his head, there would most likely be a scar if he didn't see to the injury immediately. Dorian felt the warm blood flowing from the wound.

"So do I have time to make something to eat for this trip or are you gonna get to the point of why the hell you're in my house? Also, who the fuck is wheezy back there?" Dorian asked pointing his thumb over his shoulder to the fourth uninvited guest.

"We're tired of you, your very existence is an insult to wizarding and human kind alike." Malcolm Thorne said simply only for Sarah and Burke to nod in agreement.

"Sounds familiar.. So, we gonna get this shit over with because I have plans." Dorian said and started to turn and saw that the man standing behind them was a bit older than Sarah was but he looked ragged and had scars on his face that looked inflicted by a bite.

"You brought a fucking werewolf?" Dorian asked, stopping in his tracks.

"Scared of Werewolves are you?" Burke asked with an amused tone.

"Nope, but it makes things more interesting. Especially since it's a full moon.." Dorian said and flicked his wrists, closing every curtain in his home so the werewolf wouldn't see the moon, he wasn't sure it would work in terms of halting the transformation but it was worth a shot.

Spell after spell flew towards Dorian and spell after spell was dodged, deflected and returned with equal speed from Dorian to his attackers. After a couple of moments which seemed like ages Dorian noted that his dragonhide coat from his vault took a particularly nasty looking purple spell and didn't have so much as a scratch and remembered Dragonhide is resistant to spells. Dorian summoned the long coat and spun around, blindly casting several spells as he put the coat on so he had some sort of defense and armor as he fought the multiple opponents.

"We're gonna kill you, you fucking mudblood!" Burke shouted out only to get blasted out of the front window. Malcolm Thornewas hit with a cutting jinx by Sarah Avery in the stomach due to Dorian kicking her in the chest. Dorian was then tackled by the werewolf that they had paid to come with them to assist in the murder. Sarah and Malcolm fled out of the window, leaving the werewolf to finish Dorian off since in such close quarters he was pretty much dead already.

A few shouts and some howling and pained screams later Sarah smirked at their job and figured that they didn't need to pay the werewolf the other half of the money if she killed the werewolf as well and conjured some Fiendfyre and sending it through the window that Burke was knocked through and that she and Thorne had escaped from only to hear a howl and another window break as the enchanted fire did its job and burnt everything inside to an unrecognizable crisp.

Summer was a somber and quiet event after the memory of Dorian's will. McGonagall had decided/ demanded to keep Pretty Bird and moved back into the castle, not wanting to ever set foot in her cottage again since every room had memories, painful ones. Penny unenthusiastically boarded the Hogwarts Express and remembered when they were allowed to enter the burned out house in Paris.

She remembered the charred body in the living room, it had several holes in the abdomen. Whoever did it, didn't just kill Dorian, they brutally murdered him and then burnt his body to get rid of any evidence. Penny didn't want to believe it at first, she didn't want to think that the body on the ground was Dorian but when she saw the boots, the dragonhide boots she had got him for Christmas on the feet of the body there was no denying it.

Penny sat through her Prefect meeting, not paying attention to what the head boy and girl said, what could they say that would make Hogwarts seem like a decent place? Dorian for all of his faults, for all he infuriated some of the students, he kept them in line. Without him, she knew there was going to be some trouble, it might not happen all at once but it was inevitiable.

Fiona hadn't heard from Penny all summer and when she saw that she had another partner as Prefect who was on the Slytherin Quidditch team she wondered what happened to Dorian. After the meeting Penny walked to the back of the train to the cabin she used to always ride in with Dorian and lay down on the bench he always sat at and curled up, crying quietly and no matter what Fiona said, Penny wouldn't answer her.

Professor McGonagall did her duty as deputy headmistress and went through the sorting ceremony although with much less enthusiasm as in previous years. Penny went on her routine of walking with the first years through the castle though she needed to take breaks every once in a while, the male prefect for Hufflepuff didn't know what was wrong but didn't question her and let Penny rest while she collected herself. Fiona let her new male counterpart take over for a moment saying she needed to use the bathroom only to run through the halls to try to find Penny and ask her point blank what was wrong. It didn't take long until Fiona found Penny in a hallway near the second floor, Fiona was about to say something when a portrait started speaking to Penny.

"What seems to be the problem dear? You seem distraught.. Is it something to do with that Slytherin boy you fancied?" the portrait asked curiously which caused Penny to nod silently.

"Uh-oh.. What's he done this time dear? I promise when I see him next I will give him a thorough tongue lashing." The Portrait said, trying to cheer the Hufflepuff girl up.

"You're a legend but there are things even you couldn't accomplish Merlin.. Dorian is dead.. If you have a way of communicating with him please let me know how.. I- I miss him!" Penny said choking up on her last words. Fiona heard this and rushed over to her friend and hugged her close. She had no idea that Dorian was dead, it was a shock. Fiona knew it was only a matter of time before he upset the wrong person but still, it was unexpected.

"Alas my dear, that is in fact something I could never do.. I am deeply sorry for your loss.. He- he was something else.." The portrait of Merlin said, seemingly genuinely saddened at Dorian's passing.

"In his absence I fear for the state of the school.. I would like to offer you and your friend here if you so choose to have a partner. I would like to offer to teach you things much the same way I taught Dorian. If it is knowledge that I possess, I offer to pass it on to you." Merlin added, bowing to the two girls.

Penny looked at Merlin, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Teach me to fight like him." Penny said without hesitation which caused Fiona and Merlin to do a double take.

"As you wish, meet me in the abandoned classroom on the northern corridor of the third floor in two nights time." Merlin said, he couldn't do much but he could teach her logic, quick thinking as well as a few spells. Putting it all into effect like Dorian had was a project that Penny would have to tackle on her own.

"Why do you want to learn to fight?" Fiona asked curiously as she and Penny walked to the kitchens.

"Just a feeling, I think we'll need to learn how to fight before the end of the year.." Penny said cryptically.

Fiona didn't know what Penny meant but quickly figured it out when she arrived back at the Slytherin common room and saw Burke was up to his old tricks, and a few new ones as he and his cronies were tormenting the younger students, especially the younger girls. Fiona had never been one to draw attention to herself but when she heard the conversation between Burke and a third year girl. She hit Burke and his friends with every spell she could think of before Snape disarmed her and dragged her from the common room, sealing the door behind himself and questioning Fiona in the hallway.

"What is the meaning of this?" Snape asked angrily.

"Burke and his friends were tormenting the younger students. A third year begged them to stop and Burke asked 'What do I get if I stop?'." Fiona said, not needing to elaborate what the insinuation behind his words meant.

"I feared this might happen.. When I was a student this same thing happened between the older students and the younger students, even some of the half bloods and purebloods.. Mr. St. James seemed to keep them all in check, now that he is no longer with us.." Snape said before trailing off and looking at Fiona.
"I will go and do what I can to ensure this doesn't happen again, however if you see or hear of this sort of thing I will need you to report it to me as soon as possible. Save whoever you can but make certain you are able to save yourself as well so that it can be reported." Snape said before opening the door to the common room and yelling for everyone to drop their wands and sent Fiona to her room where she would be safe from her house mates for the night while he tore into the rest of the Slytherins.

Fiona sat on her bed and knew she was going to have to go to those lessons with Fiona. Things at Hogwarts were changing and not for the better.

Penny and Fiona had been having regular lessons with Merlin for a few months, they had both saved numerous girls and stopped a few boys from being beaten senseless but it seemed like no matter what they did, they couldn't save everyone. Penny sat under the dead tree at the lake, looking out over the still waters and remembering Dorian in his favorite place when she saw a familiar face.. sight? The intelligent tan rabbit that had tried to cheer her up before, that she had followed into the forest, it had a small scar on the side of its head now but she was certain it was the same rabbit as it hopped right up to her and into her lap, looking at her with its whiskers twitching quickly before it stood on its hind legs and touched its forehead to hers. Penny choked out a laugh and hugged the little rabbit, blinking back tears.

"Hey bunny, where have you been? I've missed you." Penny said while gently petting the rabbit in her arms and then started telling the rabbit about everything, Dorian, her classes with Merlin, stopping bullies, gaining a reputation for dueling and giving out detentions, writing everything down and handing her reports to Professor Sprout. Penny unburdened herself to the little rabbit in her arms and the rabbit never looked bored or like it wanted to run away. It was almost therapeutic for Penny to talk to the rabbit. After catching the rabbit up on her year she looked at it and asked.

"Do you wanna sleep with me tonight? I could really do with having you nearby." Penny asked and the rabbit stood once again and touched its nose to hers and wiggled its whiskers once again tickling Penny's nose, making her giggle a bit before Penny carried the bunny back to the castle and to the Hufflepuff common room and to her room after that. The rabbit once again ran around her room and hopped onto her bed before running another circle on her bed and diving into her pillows, hiding there while she changed, only coming out after she lay down on the bed and curled up next to her while she held the rabbit.

"Really? I understand faking our death so we can come back and get the fuckers later but I thought you liked this girl, you heard her. She's fucking miserable, I can only imagine how Aunt Min is taking it."

"I don't like Penny, I'm in love with her. As much as this sucks I think it's for the best that we stay dead. Honestly what sort of future could she have with me?"

"A happy one?"

"She deserves better. Besides. The prophecy said we have a chance to come back."

"At a cost. You sure you're willing to gamble on what that cost might be?"

"I have no idea what the cost might be but whatever it is, if it involves saving Penny or Aunt Min, I'll gladly pay whatever fucking cost the universe can pull out of it's ass! Until then we stay dead and watch from a distance, maybe do a bit of traveling I don't fucking know."

"Whatever the plan is bro, I'm with you til the bitter end."

It didn't take Penny long to fall asleep, the rabbit didn't know it but sleep had become a foreign concept to Penny as it was hard to fall asleep and even harder to stay asleep. But holding onto the rabbit Penny's breathing evened out quickly as she fell into a deep sleep and stayed asleep all night and in the morning when Penny moved and woke the rabbit up she looked refreshed, almost happy. Almost.

"I know you are wild, You'll come and go as you please but whenever you decide to come around could you please stay the night with me? I sleep so well with you. I'll bring carrots for you." Penny said with a ghost of a smile on her face.

The rabbit looked at her for a moment, its ears perking up at the word 'carrots' before running another circle on her bed before looking at her.

"Take that as a yes then?" Penny asked with a smile only for the rabbits whiskers to twitch rapidly.

Throughout the rest of the year the rabbit spent at least 3 nights a week with Penny while she slept and could be seen in random parts of the castle throughout the day, either near Penny or on opposite ends of the castle. The rabbit however was seen in the great hall during Apparation License qualifications.

Penny and Fiona, even Thaddeus took up the unofficial mantle of Hogwarts target left behind by Dorian and by the end of their sixth year, if all three were together no students, no matter how large the group wanted to try to duel them since it quickly became known that Fiona and Thaddeus were there mostly to keep Penny from going too far after a duel that made certain one pureblooded boy would never father children. Professor Sprout, Professor Snape and Professor Flitwick all had stacks of reports of inappropriate conduct performed by students of all ages. Naturally the reports were duplicated and one copy was given to Prfoessor Dumbledore and one copy given to Professor McGonagall to see what action would be taken. Nothing much came from Dumbledore but McGonagall was furious and sent Pretty Bird to the Ministry to have an investigation done by aurors.

Finals were around the corner and a total of fifteen students were either arrested or expelled by the board of governors leaving a black spot on Dumbledore's record as headmaster since he was not the one to report the issue to the ministry. Penny, Fiona and Thaddeus were all called into Professor McGonagalls office and told that if they wished to join the auror department or Department of Magical law enforcement then they simply needed to keep their grades up and keep fighting the good fight.

Thaddeus had no desire to do either as he simply wanted to take over the family book store but Fiona and Penny looked excited. Fiona wished to join the DMLE while Penny thought that joining the auror's would allow her to investigate what happened to Dorian further and possibly find out who killed him. After that meeting Penny's mind was focused on her studies. She would become an auror.

Author's Note: Did anyone seriously think I killed Dorian off?