The next day, Penelope woke up to the sound of knocking on her front door. She was surprised to find herself on her couch, though she then remembered how she passed out as soon as she stepped through her front door the night before; she must've slept through the night.

Looking at the clock on the wall, Penelope saw that it was only eight in the morning. Another knock on her door caused her to stand up from her couch with a groan, cursing whoever stood behind her door so early in the morning.

Though as she approached the entrance to her home, she was surprised to find Newt Scamander standing on the other side. He was leaning back on his heals as he whistled patiently, one hand stuffed into the pocket of his trousers and the other gripping his suitcase tightly. As soon as Penelope opened her door, he stopped whistling; a crooked smile appeared on his lips and his blue eyes lit up as they landed on the dark haired girl.

"Good mornin'," he said in almost a sing-song tone, staring down at the girl with a joyful expression.

Penelope couldn't help but smile as she was greeted by the British man, her heart fluttering in an unfamiliar way. "Hey," she murmured, surprised to find herself suddenly feeling nervous.

"My uh- my ship's scheduled to leave tomorrow," Newt told her, his voice suddenly quiet. "And I was wondering if you would let me take you out today, just to spend a bit more time together."

Penelope pursed her lips as he mentioned leaving the city. Of course, she had thought about it, and knew he was going to have to go back to England eventually, though she also knew that she would never be prepared to say goodbye to her new friend for who knows how long. Forcing the lump of emotion that had formed in her throat down, she only merely nodded. "That'd be great."

Newt nodded, though he said nothing as he continued to stare at the woman, a small smile tugging at his lips. Penelope furrowed her eyebrows, confused.

"Your hair's kind of sticking up," he suddenly said, reaching up and running his hand through her tangled hair. She felt her cheeks heat up in a blush, realizing that she had only just woken up and she probably looked like a real mess. "It's cute."

~

An hour later, Penelope was fixed up and ready to leave. Newt was waiting patiently for her in the living room, stroking Pyra the Phoenix under her beak; she smiled as she saw the man and her pet bonding. As she entered the room, however, Newt brought his hand away from the beast and shoved it into his pocket.

"You ready?" he asked her, turning to look at the woman. Penelope only simply nodded, slipping on her boots as she followed Newt out of the house.

This time, Penelope insisted on leading the way through the already-busy New York City. Newt didn't argue; she could tell that he was still embarrassed about their last outing and how he had led them in the complete opposite direction of the Statue of Liberty. He stayed close to Penelope as she led him through the busy streets, gazing around him with wide eyes. Several times, the woman had to grab his arm and pulled him out of the way of oncoming civilians, as he was too busy staring at the skyscrapers to notice he was about to run into people.

Penelope led Newt towards a small, local bakery, and her mind immediately wandered to Jacob Kawolski. She began to wonder what the No-Maj was doing right then, and whether he had gone to the bank to get his second chance at asking for a loan. She missed the humorous man, believe it or not; within the few days of knowing him, she had learned to see him as a friend.

Grabbing herself and Newt a couple of donuts, the pair then headed back outside to enjoy the surprisingly warm winter morning. Leaning against the building in attempt to stay out of the way of oncoming civilians, Penelope bit into her glazed donut. She pursed her lips as she chewed, and once she swallowed, she turned to Newt.

"Good, isn't it?" She asked, and the British man nodded, his mouth full of donut. "Though, I have to admit, it's not nearly as good as Jacob Kawolski's," she added, recalling the time the day before when Jacob had persuaded her to try one of his homemade donuts. If Kawolski had managed to get his bakery, she was sure she would be an everyday customer.

Suddenly, Newt stumbled backwards just as a man fell into him, his blue eyes wide with surprise. The man quickly regained his balance, looking up at Newt with an apologetic look; Penelope couldn't hide her smile as she recognized the plump face.

"So sorry," Newt said quickly, a smile identical to Penelope's on his face as he stared at the man. "That was my fault."

"Oh, don't worry about-" Jacob Kawolski suddenly stopped talking as got a good look at Newt, his lips pulling into a frown as he stared at the Brit in confusion. Penelope looked at him, trying to ignore the pang of sadness at the fact that their No-Maj friend really didn't know who they were anymore.

"I'm sorry," Newt repeated once more, almost as a question; he forced the smile from his face as he tried to hide his amusement.

"No, no, I'm sorry," Jacob suddenly murmured, turning away from Newt with a sigh. "You just remind me... you remind me of someone. I just can't put my finger on it."

"Oh, well I'm Newt Scamander," Newt suddenly said with a quick glance towards Penelope, reaching his hand out towards the confused man. "And this is Penelope Finch."

Kawolski hesitated before taking Newt's hand, shaking it and then Penelope's. "Newt..." he mumbled almost to himself, as if his mind were swirling with the unknown memories of his adventures only the day before. "Well, I really outta go. Sorry again for running into you, I'm just trying to get to the bank." And with that, the oblivious No-Maj turned away from the pair and continued making his way up the busy city sidewalk, towards the bank.

Penelope stared after him, part of her wishing that her friend would've recognized them. She shook away the feeling, however, as she knew he was obliviated for the best. Turning to Newt, she wrapped her hand around his arm and began pulling him away from the bakery. "Come on, Mr. Scamander. I want to show you my favorite part of New York- Grand Central Station."

~

Penelope and Newt spent the rest of the day together in the city. The woman showed him all her favorite places to go in the city, and was pleased when she saw that he seemed to enjoy it almost as much as she did. She took him on a proper tour of Central Park, then showed him her favorite bookstore and coffee shop.

By the time the pair made it back to Penelope's house, it was already dark. They stopped just outside of her door, and Penelope turned around to face the man; she stomach sank with sadness, as she didn't want to leave him, not yet. She knew that in the morning he would be boarding a ship to go back to England, and she wouldn't see him for who knows how long.

Penelope looked up at Newt, who was staring at her with soft blue eyes. She suddenly felt nervous, something that hadn't ever happened to her before she met him. She then reached into her pocket, pulling out a small black box and handing it to the man. "For you," she murmured, avoiding her gaze as she felt her cheeks heat up in embarrassment.

[ NEWT ]

Newt stared at the dark-haired woman for a moment as she held the small box towards him, avoiding his gaze. He then slowly took it from her, hurt spreading across his face as he did so; he wasn't used to receiving gifts from people, he never thought he'd mean enough to someone.

"You didn't have to," Newt murmured, pursing his lips as he held the gift tightly in his hands as if he were afraid it would disappear. "I-" He suddenly stopped himself. What he was going to say was, 'I don't deserve it."

He wiped his cheek with the back of his hand, hoping he'd wiped the tear away before Penelope had a chance to notice it. He looked to the ground, then to the entrance of Penelope's house behind her- anything but the woman in order to contain the mess of emotions he currently felt inside.

"But I wanted to, it's a gift from me to you. Open it," Penelope pried softly, leaning on her toes towards the man with a small smile on her face. Newt shuffled his weight from foot to foot, glancing up at the girl as his fingers trailed over the box in his hands.

Hesitantly, he looked down and opened the lid, revealing a silver necklace inside; attached to it was a silver pendent shaped like a dragon. As he stared down at the necklace, Newt was unable to suppress his emotions any longer, and silent tears began to fall from his eyes.

"Thank you," he whispered, his voice cracking near the end as he looked up at the woman before him.

Penelope only smiled softly, her own eyes now filled with tears when she noticed him crying. "I saw it in a store yesterday when I was in the city, and I thought of you," she explained slowly, staring down at the necklace as Newt's fingers traced the pendent. "I wanted you to have it, so you have something to remember me by when you go back to England." Her voice grew soft as she finished, and Newt knew she was dreading the moment he would leave the city just as much as he did.

The British man wanted to tell her that the mere memory of her and the adventures they had together was enough to remember her by, that she would be the one thing on his mind for who knows how long, though he decided against it. Instead, all he did was pull the woman against his body in a tight embrace.

"Thank you," he whispered once more, kissing the side of her head softly; he was no longer fighting the tears as they fell down his cheeks. "Thank you, Penelope."

Little did she know, he wasn't just thanking her for the necklace. He was thanking her for the opportunity she had given him; to feel something towards someone after many years of nothing. To have a friend, perhaps something more, other than the beasts in his suitcase. To have the chance to know the wonderful woman known as Penelope Finch.

~