Chapter 43
Penny woke up late the following morning only to find she was in a room she didn't recognize, the sun was shining through the window and the curtains were drawn open slightly, considering she couldn't remember seeing the night sky even in the periphery of her vision from last night she assumed the curtains had been closed but what was a bit concerning at the moment was that she was alone in bed. Penny wrapped the sheet around herself and started walking around the room gathering up her recklessly discarded clothes and laying them on the bed so she could get dressed, as she dropped the sheet to start getting dressed the bedroom door opened suddenly and Dorian walked in with a serving dish and from the smell of coffee and bacon she could only assume he had been making breakfast, the smell of breakfast distracted her for a moment before she turned as red as the Hogwarts Express and quickly picked the sheet up to cover herself once again.
"You didn't knock?!" Penny asked, slightly annoyed though she was oddly more embarrassed than anything.
"In my house? Hell no, besides, I saw everything you're trying to cover up and more last night." Dorian said with a grin and floated the serving dish over to the nightstand on the side of the bed Penny was on and set it down gently as Penny felt herself somehow get even redder as she stuttered and tried to think of a worthwhile retort only to get redder as nothing was coming to mind other than memories of the previous night.
"Last night was.." Penny started to say but couldn't find the words to properly express how she felt about it when something he had said previously flashed through her head.
"You said before you never found anyone that you wanted to travel with but last night.. There is no fucking way that was your first time." Penny said, unintentionally sounding accusatory.
"I said I didn't find anyone I wanted to travel with because they weren't you, I didn't say I had never had sex, I'm not a monk." Dorian said with a grin as he took a drink from a bottle of water he had on his nightstand.
"So you spent the years we all thought you were dead just fucking your way across different countries?" Penny asked, irrationally upset and knowing her mistake as soon as she had finished her sentence, he had been gone for years but she was talking to Dorian and as infuriating as it was there was no denying he could destroy her argument with a few words which he didn't hesitate to do.
"And Ava was conceived through immaculate conception I'm assuming?" Dorian asked rhetorically.
Penny winced a bit as she had known something to that effect was coming but she still hadn't been ready for it.
"Last night was a mistake." She said as she quickly got dressed.
"One you repeated several times in one night but OK I guess." Dorian said with a smirk.
Penny froze for a moment upon hearing that and glared daggers at Dorian.
"Shut it." was all Penny could manage to say before she stormed from the room after she managed to get her shoes on and walked directly to the fireplace only to find there was no floo powder in sight. Penny growled a bit in frustration before walking to the front door and ignoring the large, ornately carved wood she grabbed the door knob and twisted it while pulling on the door to step outside, figuring he had the same sort of charms on his property that Hogwarts did and was planning to walk until she was off the property and not subject to the wards before apparating however she couldn't tell exactly where his property ended as there was no fenceline. She was just about to call out and ask him how far she needed to walk when he suddenly was right behind her.
"It's about 100 meters til the wards stop taking effect." Dorian said having seemingly appeared out of thin air which made Penny jump involuntarily. Penny didn't say anything, just started walking but she could hear Dorian talking to her still but the only footsteps she could hear were her own so she knew he hadn't left the doorstep.
"It's funny, you judged me over what I did but I completely accepted that you continued on with your life yet I'm the asshole." Dorian said, his voice growing more distant with each step Penny took, as she crossed the boundary of his property she felt the breeze of the countryside, she turned around to look back at his house, partly to yell an insult back at him and partly to see what his house looked like from the outside when she noted she couldn't see it. Penny walked back a few steps but never stopped feeling the breeze of the countryside, she never re-entered the property line. It was as if the entire property had apparated to a different location as soon as she was no longer within it's boundaries.
"Of fucking course he would have something like that set for his house, paranoid prick." Penny muttered, frustrated that he had gotten the last word in and that he had a very valid argument. Penny sighed and apparated home, knowing there would be a barrage of questions from her Mum and Da' and definitely from Ava as to her whereabouts, then there was the fact that they would run into each other back at the school for their duties as security for the tournament.
The rest of the vacation went by in a bit of a blur for Penny as she ignored her fathers questions by dancing around them, telling Ava that she couldn't say much because they were work secrets which inadvertently made Ava even more fascinated with Dorian since he was not only great fun at storytime but he was also her tea party buddy and now he seemed mysterious. Penny's Mum however was harder to avoid when she asked questions and eventually told her everything, leaving out the explicit details of the nights events and focusing more on the fight the following morning.
"Its incredible that his entire house seemed to apparate when you left." Rosalind said having heard about that sort of thing before.
"Really Mum? That's what you're focusing on?" Penny asked.
"What? If I told you my opinion on the matter I would either piss you off or you would think I was dense since you know who won that argument and I'm m blonde but not that type of blonde and being my daughter I don't want you upset and not talking to me so I'm focusing on the other point of interest, the house." Rosalind said only for Penny to shake her head, amused that her Mum had found a way out of an argument before it started.
"How very Slytherin of you to be present with two doors only to make a third one and choose that route." Penny said.
"I'll take that as a compliment." Rosalind said with a smile.
Penny just smiled and shook her head only to be distracted as Ava came and tugged on the hem of her shirt.
"Mummy, you had a sleepover with Dorian? Can I come next time? He's silly, I like him." Ava said giving Penny the puppy dog eyes that held all the innocence the child could muster and melted Penny's heart for a moment.
"Next time I decide to have a sleepover I'll bring you with princess." Penny said, not certain when or even if another 'sleepover' would ever happen.
The weeks somehow passed quickly while seeming to drag on as the final task was towards the end of the year and the students were all excited while the four champions tried to hide their nervousness. Penny had seen Dorian on a near daily basis at Hogwarts during their duties but she didn't initiate any conversation and Dorian being himself wouldn't speak first as he was not the one in the wrong, Penny unfortunately had picked up his bad habit of being stubborn and had a hard time apologizing. Dorian had done his job to the letter from the time their return to the school after the second task and had even taken to offering some tutoring to some of the students during the rare moments when nothing was happening, Fleur had been seen hanging around trying to talk to Dorian which initially bothered Penny but she had to hide the feeling of jealousy when Hermione stepped up next to her and asked what had happened between the two of them as they had seemed close at the Yule Ball.
"He's an ass.. He is rarely wrong so arguing with him is a pain in my ass, not to mention a hundred other things I could name off the top of my head." Penny said defensively.
"But you still like him so why aren't you stopping Fleur from trying to have a go at him." Hermione questioned, looking at Penny only for Penny to nod subtly at Dorian.
"Because I don't need to, give him a minute." Penny said, once again looking at Dorian and Fleur, picking up bits of their conversation as they were a little ways off when Fleur turned red, stood up straight and moved to slap Dorian only for him to duck under her hand, avoiding the slap from the French champion.
"W-what just happened?" Hermione asked curiously as she had seen most of the student population and even some of the staff tripping over their words and their own two feet when speaking to Fleur who was angrily marching towards them only to pass them while muttering in French just how rude Dorian was and that she had never been so insulted. Hermione's expression of utter confusion didn't change, instead she just directed the look of confusion at Penny, hoping for an answer.
"Like I said, he's an ass. I don't doubt if he wanted her he could have her. He's always had a talent for pissing people off, just like he's had a talent for dealing with whatever happens after he's upset them." Penny said.
"If he didn't want her he must want someone else, don't you think?" Hermione said, trying to give Penny a poorly hidden hint.
"I'm aware, I'm not speaking to him at the moment." Penny said stubbornly.
"Maybe try a different language? I overheard Professor McGonagall saying that he knows quite a few." Hermione said, trying to find a compromise.
"He does have a talented tongue." Penny said before realizing the double entendre she had just made before turning red and excusing herself from the conversation with Hermione and walking towards the greenhouses where she figured she would be alone aside from the one Gryffindor boy, Neville Longbottom who was taking care of plants and was so wrapped up in speaking to them that he didn't even notice her presence as she moved to a different greenhouse to have a moment to herself.
Penny thought to herself about the current situation she was in, she was mad at Dorian, she wanted to hate him however he once again had told her nothing but the truth, he might have faked his death but he continued to learn while he was 'dead' and he hadn't taken a vow of celibacy or anything so she couldn't be mad at him, not really; her current anger directed towards Dorian was completely irrational but she didn't want to admit it and apologize as she could think of a multitude of different responses Dorian could and probably would throw back at her. Dorian on the other hand wrapped up reading in the library and put the books back and answered a few questions from students on his way out as they figured he was an Auror so he must have graduated, if only they knew the truth.
Days turned into weeks and soon the final task was upon them, the champions were all growing anxious as the previous two tasks while seemingly straight forward had tested them far more than they could have anticipated and this being the final task their minds ran wild with the different challenges they might face. As the time for the final task grew closer everyone started to make their way towards the grounds only to see large hedges and the onlookers discussed among themselves as to what it meant, it was shocking to Penny to hear how few people guessed that it was a maze while more outlandish guesses were more commonplace. Penny looked around for Dorian who she hadn't really spoken to more than necessary since she had slept with him only to find he was once again late or more than likely not bothering to show up all together. Penny stood off to the side as Dumbledore explained the task was simple, find the cup in the center of the maze. The four students entered the maze in staggered intervals based on their performance so far in the competition and noticed a slight, almost imperceptible motion from Moody for Harry to go in a certain direction which she would normally figure as a helpful hint to a student who was much too young and inexperienced for a competition such as this however, it was Moody, and Moody didn't give out information like that as the battle hardened auror was more of the 'trial by fire' type. Something was wrong and Dorian still wasn't there…
As everyone made their way to the maze Dorian was in the Owlery with a letter addressed to Dumbledore and told the owl, a particularly intelligent looking Barn Owl to deliver the letter when the first contestant made it back. The owl hooted and flew off to watch from the stands so it could deliver its letter as instructed. Dorian left the owlery and closed his eyes for a moment before flying the long way around the maze and slowly descended in the middle so he could inspect the cup, he had his suspicions about Moody and figured that Harry would be the first to the cup. Dorian started casting detection spell after detection spell only to find that the cup was a portkey which wasn't a big shock however it had a sense of foul magic, as if the one who had made the portkey, cast the enchantment for it had ill intentions. Magic, especially dark magic left traces and there was more than a few traces at work with the cup. Dorian tilted his head from side to side, cracking his neck before levitating up over the cup and lining himself up with it before transforming into his rabbit form, in that form he couldn't sustain flight and anyone watching would have seen a tan rabbit drop into the cup and wait patiently. Dorian, or rather the rabbit wiggled its whiskers in a bit of relief as the contact to activate the portkey required a human touch and there he waited.
Penny paced along outside the maze after everyone had gone in and after a while she saw the red sparks fly into the air and she soon charged into the maze, the maze clearing a path for her to lead her directly to Fleur so the French champion could once again be saved and pulled out of a task and questioned as to what happened, Penny listened but it sounded as if Krum had dueled her and won then the maze did what it was meant to do and let the strong continue while the weak were not allowed to leave. Penny assumed that her final spell had been the red sparks or more likely someone had found her and sent the sparks up before moving on so she watched the sky looking for more sparks but none came. Time seemed to drag on for Penny as she continued to pace back and forth keeping her eyes on the sky above the maze.
Dorian sat in the cup for what seemed like hours when he caught sight of Harry and Cedric racing each other for the cup only for Cedric to fall and Harry almost leaving him then helping him as the pathway they were in started to close only for them both to touch the cup at the same time and transport them both as they didn't notice the bunny in the cup to a graveyard. The cup flew from their hands as the made a rough landing on the ground in the graveyard and the bunny inside the cup was launched with and then out of the cup into a nearby bush. Dorian in rabbit form hit his head and was knocked unconscious for a bit and when the bunny opened its eyes again, Cedric lay on the ground motionless and Harry was being held in place by a statue as the cauldron in front of him was bubbling. The bunny slowly transformed back into Dorian who cast a 'Notice me not' charm on himself before pulling his dragonhide long-coat out of his satchel and putting it on as he watched Voldemort rise from the cauldron. Dorian would be lying if he said he wasn't impressed as he watched events unfold while thinking of a plan to help Harry as the Death Eaters arrived and were chastised by Voldemort for not being loyal enough and then almost broke from the cover of the bush he was currently behind when Voldemort and Harry started casting spells and dueled each other. The boy had talent, raw, unfiltered talent mixed in with a massive dose of good luck that he wasn't hit with the killing curse. Dorian decided to stay hidden and see how everything played out and reached into his satchel one last time and pulled his jade mask out and smiled at the face covering before putting it on once again. When Dorian looked back to Harry he saw Harry running full sprint to Cedric and almost diving on the dead boys body before summing the cup back to him and portkeying out of the graveyard. Dorian made doubly sure that he had the 'Notice me not' charm cast on himself as he made his way to the statue that had previously been holding Harry while Voldemort shouted in frustration to Harry having once again slipped through his fingers. When Voldemort finally stopped shouting Dorian removed the charm.
"That was a bit over-dramatic don't you think?" Dorian asked, both his and his twins voice said through the Jade Oni Mask.
Harry and Cedrics body landed on the ground in front of the audience stands with a thud before quiet pandemonium occurred as Harry said Voldemort was back and explained that Cedric was killed. Penny instantly started working crowd control as per Fudge's orders and out of the corner of her eye she saw an owl fly down to Dumbledore and land on his shoulder before presenting its leg and the Letter attached. She also saw Dumbledore, Snape and Mcgonagall all read the letter before making their way back to the castle as fast as they could without drawing unwanted attention and she followed behind them, being filled in as to the new development to the situation by McGonagall as they made their way to Moody's quarters. What followed could best be described as both a mind fuck and masterful espionage by Voldemort's agent, a man that was supposed to have rotted away and died in Azkaban, Barty Crouch Jr.
Dumbledore and McGonagall walked Harry to the hospital wing to be looked over by Madame Pomfrey followed closely behind by Penny but she didn't enter the hospital wing for a moment as a disturbing thought entered her mind. Penny rushed into the hospital wing and was about to be asked what was wrong by McGonagall when Penny got ahold of Harry and frantically asked "Where was the graveyard?". McGonagall was curious as any as to where Harry had seen Voldemort, where the Dark Lord had returned but doubted Harry had any idea.
"Miss Walker, I'm certain Harry has no idea where the cup had taken him, why is it such a dire bit of information aside from the obvious?" Dumbledore asked curiously but McGonagall caught on quickly.
"Dorian wasn't at the task…" McGonagall said, realizing what Penny conclusion Penny must have come to before looking at Harry and grabbing both of his shoulders.
"Did you see Dorian at the graveyard?" McGonagall asked.
"Or a rabbit?!" Penny added, knowing his animagus form.
"U-uh, erm…" Harry started to say trying to think back which was rather difficult given everything that happened when he remembered seeing a rabbit seemingly be thrown from the cup and into a nearby bush just before Wormtail appeared.
"Yeah.. a rabbit was thrown from the cup just before Wormtail showed up." Harry said, the reason for their questions still going way over his head when Both McGonagall and Penny both demanded to know where the graveyard was, but he simply could not answer that question.
Voldemort and the Death eaters quickly spun to face the unexpected and undetected new comer who was leaning comfortably against the statue.
"And who are you?" Voldemort asked angrily, his eyes narrowing and the grip on his wand tightening.
"Someone who like you comes from quite a prestigious bloodline." Dorian said simply and flashed the signet ring. If Voldemort was as smart as everyone said he was then he would at least have an idea of the significance of the ring if not know exactly who it belonged to.
Voldemort's eyes flicked to the ring before widening for the briefest of moments.
"Interesting.. Another prestigious Slytherin owned a ring much like that one. Do you mean to tell me that you are his descendant?" Voldemort asked, holding a hand up to his Death Eaters who had started to move towards the new comer.
"Yes, Merlin had a child with Morgana, the druid Mordred. Mordred had children, those children had children, so on and so forth and now I am the last living descendant of Merlin." Dorian said
"It appears you are quite powerful as I cannot read your mind." Voldemort said, a bit of irritation creeping into his voice.
"That would be because of my mask. Cant read my mind if you can't see my eyes, but something tells me you already knew that as you make your pets wear masks as well." Dorian said, grinning behind his mask at the Death Eaters collectively bristling at the insinuation that they were 'pets'.
"And why are you here? Looking to be the first of many to join cause, throw out your ancestors name to hope to gain position?" Voldemort asked curiously.
"No, I have no interest in being your bitch like the rest of them. I know your secret, even if these weak minded fools do not." Dorian said with a subtle head nod to the statue he was currently leaning against.
"That is not so much of a secret." Voldemort said growing visibly more annoyed but still curious.
"What about your several other secrets?" Dorian asked cheekily much to Voldemort's ever increasing ire, someone else knew about the horcrux's, even if he didn't know what or where they were, that bit of knowledge was detrimental.
"What do you want then?" Voldemort asked through gritted teeth.
"As I said, I have no interest in being your bitch, however I do see some merit to your way of thinking. If I was to offer something of a partnership, I would have to know if you are worth teaming up with." Dorian said
"How dare you?! You are speaking to the Dark Lord! My Lord, allow me to dispatch this charlatan, this liar who claims to be the descendant of Merlin." Lucius Malfoy said, almost begging to prove his loyalty and worth.
"Well if I fight one of you I might as well fight all of you. With your permission Voldy." Dorian said, again finding a strange level of joy in seeing a very powerful wizard and unquestionably brutal murderer bristle from the indignant way Dorian spoke to him.
"If you can stand against my followers for a minute I will consider you worthy of joining my ranks, but I'd bet that they kill you." Voldemort said before backing away and waving regally as if to say 'start the show'.
Dorian didn't waste any time before he flicked his wand into his hand and started firing off spell after spell while dodging even more but much to Voldemort's equal dismay and curiosity it seemed this masked man was firing off as many spells as were being directed at him and very few had managed to hit him as he was constantly moving, jumping, ducking, twisting his body and using the surrounding headstones as cover and objects to not only stop himself mid-stride but reverse direction and even flip off of to avoid a spell all the while his own Death Eaters were slowly but surely being beaten, either by taking a spell and being removed from the fight or from being struck by a fist, elbow, knee or kick. Walden McNair was actually knocked unconscious from a headbutt. After watching all of his followers be beaten so soundly by this new comer, this enigma Voldemort slowly clapped his hands in congratulations.
"You will make an excellent addition to my ranks." Voldemort said with a sadistic grin.
"Already told you, I have no interest in being your bitch like those pussies on the ground behind me." Dorian said.
"It has been amusing, speaking to you until now, infuriating but amusing but the most amusing part is that you believe you have a choice in this matter." Voldemort said before quickly aiming his wand at Dorian who also directed his wand at Voldemort and the two started firing off a multitude of spells at each other.
"Imperio won't work on me Tommy, just like mind reading you need to be able to see my eyes." Dorian said before being blown off balance from the ground in front of him suddenly exploding and the rocks in the ground cutting into him slightly after going through his clothes in some areas, his leg however got the worst of it and his shin was now broken and sticking through the skin. Dorian however was no slouch and had fired off several spells that purposely missed Voldemort and hit the tree behind him, slowly damaging it until a particularly thick and heavy branch fell and landed on Voldemort's shoulder, breaking the Dark Lords collar bone in much the same way Dorian's shin had broken.
"I'll be seeing you again Tommy." Dorian said before apparating out of the graveyard and to his home, hidden away under the protection of the fidelius charm.
Penny and McGonagall paced around her office anxiously, trying to think of what they could possibly do when McGonagall suddenly pulled out the letter again, having only given it a cursory glance to find out that Moody wasn't Moody and when Harry had disappeared they searched for him but she hadn't read the letter fully, right there in the bottom corner Dorian had written a small, almost imperceptible line of text.
"If I don't make it back with Harry I'm at home."
"Well that's just lovely but I don't know where his damned home is!" McGonagall shouted at the letter since she couldn't shout at Dorian himself.
"I do." Penny said and grabbed McGonagall's hand and walked her over to her fireplace and grabbed a handful of floo powder and said what Dorian did last time.
"Charybdis" and watched as the flames in the fireplace turned emerald green as she stepped in with Professor McGonagall and soon the two women stepped out of the fireplace in what Penny recognized as Dorian's living room.
Authro's note: I know, I know, this once every two weeks thing is annoying, trust me; it bugs the fuck out of me too. Anyways, hope you all enjoyed the chapter. I'll try to get the updates back out on a weekly basis once more but yeah, shit happens and adulting sucks.