A/N: Sorry it's been so long, but I had trouble wording this chapter. Enjoy, please!

Chapter Twenty-One

A Penny Saved Is... Not much

A couple of days have passed since Nozawa had explained Espeon's background to the golden trio and their band of friends. The classes had gone on anyway, with O.W.L.s having been completed before the incident at the Department of Mysteries. The group that had gone there were very grateful at the fact that there had been no loss of life. Some evolutions had occurred, however, both during the fight, and long afterwards. They included Harry's Riolu, Hermione's Cyndaquil, and Ginny's Silcoon.

They had gone on a few other capture weekends, and some students had expanded to the full six-member teams during those many weeks. Not many others had, but that was alright. It was the final exam with Nozawa's class that had them all worried – he refused to say a word. He was currently busy with being glad that Espeon had come out of her down-in-the-dumps funk and was doing much, much better.

"Professor!" Harry called upon noticing Nozawa and Espeon walking the halls and talking animatedly. Both paused and watched the Boy-Who-Lived and his partner, Lucario, catch up to them. "Uh... I meant Espeon."

"I guess you've uprgraded in status, professor," Nozawa grinned.

"I suppose I have, professor," Espeon smirked. Harry, quite used to their antics, rolled his eyes. "Aromi told you my past."

It wasn't a question, but rather a statement. Harry decided to simply nod.

"Don't worry," Espeon said. "It can hurt sometimes, but Aromi's advice is a huge help."

"Well..." Harry said after he nodded his understand.

"Wondering what we were doing?" Aromi guessed, receiving a couple nods. "Just wandering the halls of Hogwarts. She's magnificent, and she knows it."

Harry looked around at the beautiful hall, and nodded as they continued to walk on. Then it sank in both his and Lucario's heads what had just been said.

"Wait, are you saying Hogwarts is alive?" Harry exclaimed, making Nozawa and his partner laugh.

"It's entertaining that so few people know about that, and it's listed what I believe is Ms. Granger's most quoted book."

"You mean Hogwarts, A History?"

"That's the one. It mentions that Rowena Ravenclaw is the one who came up with the ingenious idea of moving staircases – but it also mentions the fact that in order to do so, the school had to have some sort of sentience, and it does. The way it changes staircases is kind of like how one's mind changes. It's an amazing place."

Harry just now noticed that they had walked onto a staircase and had stopped.

"Hogwarts, we're here to just wander about and explore," Nozawa said aloud. "Just take us wherever you please."

The students that heard their professor gave him strange looks, but that was before the staircase seemed to move almost happily, as if it was glad to have someone who actually understood its sentience. Then they stared as both Espeon and Nozawa walked on smugly, more than happy to simply explore. Harry and Lucario shared a look before following. Okay, so this place was more than simply being a giant castle where you learned magic – it had feelings, too. Weird.

"So where exactly is, uhh... Hogwarts taking you?" Harry asked after a while. He was in a hallway he, if he was frank, had never actually been in.

"Not sure," Nozawa admitted with a shrug. "But I'm hoping the library. I love visiting libraries, but with all of my responsibilities, I haven't had the chance this year."

After turning a grand total of two corners, they found said place. Nozawa had an amused look, Espeon looked like she was ready to read as many books as she could with what few days were left, while Harry and Lucario were sharing 'holy crap, this place really is kind of alive' looks. The latter two decided to move on to tell this discovery to their friends, while the other two decided to go in and have a quick read. They didn't return to the Great Hall, where Dumbledore could once again be found as Headmaster, until dinner. In the meantime, the group of Harry's friends were still kind of getting over the 'Hogwarts is kinda sentient' thing.

Time

I won't ever give in

No matter how hard you pull me in

"Professor Nozawa?" Ginny asked, raising her hand one day in class. They were having an in-classroom study day. She continued when he nodded to her. "What is the final exam going to be in this class?"

"Don't worry about that, Ms. Weasley," Nozawa assured his student. "I would tell you all, but not only would that ruin the surprise – but it's a part of the exam for you to be prepared for anything. That is another major thing about being a Pokémon Trainer – you must be prepared for absolutely anything. Hence the reason I am not saying what the final exam is, just that it will start sooner than others. Like, tomorrow. You will receive the assignment by arriving here on time. That is all I will say for now."

The class nodded and returned to its near-silent mode, several students going out to the pitch in order to train under the watchful eye of Kyashii and Rikku. The entirety of Nozawa's students were anxious to get the exam over with, and soon. Hence the reason they were nervous upon seeing that they were going to be meeting at the pitch over the next week. There was the written exam that they all finished quite quickly. Then there was the practical exam that they were nervous about.

"For your practical exam, you will all be required to take this here course," Nozawa gestured to a large area of the pitch that suddenly had various things like a wall to climb, things to crawl under... where they came from was a mystery. "This is to test your connection with your team. Yes, you and your entire team must complete the course as fast as you can. There are parts where only magic can help, and parts where only a Pokémon's strength will work. It's going to test your ability to trust each other and work as a team."

Harry and his team, along with his friends, had been through the trouble at the Department of Mysteries – they trusted each other quite a bit. Malfoy and his cronies? Not so much. The golden trio, along with their friends, passed the practical exam easily. There was a rock that had to be lifted but it had to be done at a range, meaning the levitation charm. There'd been a smooth wall of rock that had an easy slope on the other side – but to get there the team would have to help the trainer get to the top first, as it was supposed to be. Then the trainer would return the team and call out the right one during the fast-reflexes section. Needless to say, those who had been in the DA passed easily. Malfoy and his friends... let's just say that it's a miracle they passed at all. It was the final section of the test that had the class worried.

"Everyone, this is the final portion of your exam," Nozawa began to say. "Put away your wands, and once you've done that, you'll probably want to take off your robes – this is going to need more movement than you can afford with those on."

The students looked at each other. Their teams had been healed by their professor's seemingly endless supply of Full Restores, something they'd learned about some time ago. The students eventually put their robes under a cover that the professor provided, wands in the pockets of said clothing.

"Everyone spread out."

The class took up pretty much the entire pitch, as the teacher and the Lucario of his team stood in the center.

"Now everyone bring out a single Pokémon," Aromi paused as he watched everyone doing so. A Quick-Quotes Quill wrote down who had which one out.

Harry chose his own Lucario, his friend Ron went with Butterfree, and Hermione decided upon Quilava. There were a few other choices, but the golden trio were the only ones to have been able to take advantage of the past six or seven capture weekends and actually have a full team. The class was about ready to begin battling, as they assumed, when the professor did something else.

"You all will be doing what I'm about to do," Nozawa began. "The rest of my team are in the stands, and they are going to help keep an eye on you – but before we get started, a few rules. First, no actual attacks. Hence the reason I had you all put away your wands. Second, failure to give it your all will result in your failure. This is a test of how much you trust each other – because if you trust each other enough to not hold back, then it proves that you're willing to go that far for them. Finally, once you've finished – my team will tell you when you are – you are to go and rest in the stands."

"But, Professor," Hermione began with a frown. "What are we doing?"

Nozawa smirked to her, and after saying for them all to start shortly after he has, he turned to Lucario. The students suddenly noticed that the fighting-type had walked a short distance away from his trainer, and seemed prepared to fight. They were only further shocked when that was exactly what the young man and his Pokémon started to do – they began to spar. The Pokémon didn't use a single of his actual attacks, but he was still able to keep his trainer on his toes. After a short while, he spoke, even as he dodged a punch.

"What are you all waiting for? Get to work!" He called to the class. It stirred them into doing what he was doing.

"Well, he told us not to hold back," Harry said to his partner, who nodded. "So let's not!"

With that, Harry and his first Pokémon, Lucario, launched into a give-it-your-all spar. Hermione and Ron stared at their friend. The brilliant girl decided she didn't want to risk failure, and opted to follow suit. Ron, after a while, finally decided that it wasn't worth it to fail either. Soon after, the rest of the class began to do the same. It was about halfway through the spars that Nozawa and his team member stopped, and began to watch the others.

"Damn, Aromi, you still throw a mean punch," Lucario complimented his trainer as he rubbed a spot on his arm where said punch had landed.

"I'm not even going to comment on your hits," Aromi said, rolling his eyes. He no longer flinched at the bruises that would surely come up from all those hits he'd taken.

"Hem hem," A voice so annoying it was impossible for people to not hate it, caused everyone to freeze. Nozawa sighed and turned to see several professors, and a couple of Ministry of Magic people, standing there. He had to deal with his class first.

"Everyone get back to work, the exam isn't over yet," He told them all as the group of adults came over to meet them.

"I think not," Umbridge began to say, catching everyone's attention. "This barbaric method of testing will stop now."

"I'm sorry, but I didn't realize you were in charge of my class," Nozawa said, rolling his eyes. "What do you want?"

"We are here to retrieve our original wands," Fudge said. "The one I have borrowed just isn't cutting it. You do have our wands, don't you?"

Nozawa smirked. He waited a few tense moments, before he began to speak.

"No, I don't," He said. Lucario was thoroughly enjoying the way his trainer was treating these Ministry people that held over-inflated egos.

"Don't lie to the minister," Umbridge warned her former colleague, voice holding a dangerous edge.

"What would I gain from lying about having your wands?" Nozawa deadpanned. "I don't have them, and for good reason."

"And what would that be?" Fudge snapped. His patience was thin with this foreigner.

Aromi opted to make a dramatic pause, a glance to Espeon telling her to teleport his wand into his pocket. She did it a moment later, and his grin became wide.

"I no longer have your wands because I snapped them," Nozawa answered, grin wide and almost feral.

A hushed silence reigned over the pitch as the Hogwarts staff that had escorted the two Ministry visitors down here stared, gaped, or something similar. McGonnagal was shocked her colleague had had the guts to do that, Snape's eyebrows were raised just as high as Dumbledore's. Umbridge and Fudge, after getting over their initial shock, were furious and brought out the wands they had borrowed from the Ministry in secret. Nozawa didn't flinch.

"Don't even think about doing anything around my students," he warned dangerously. "After all, what if you missed and hit one? That wouldn't be very good for the Minister's image, would it?"

Both of them paused upon realizing that the professor was right; if they missed with their spells, they could very well hit a student instead. So they reluctantly put their wands away.

"Why did you snap their original wands, Professor Nozawa?" McGonnagal asked, her voice returning to her at last. Even stuck in a wheelchair, she was strong.

"Considering how they have been dealing with the problems of the wizarding world, I thought it would be too dangerous for these fools to have one. Looks like they found a way around that, and I'm sad that they haven't learned their lesson."

"And what would that be?" Fudge asked, his rage only just contained.

"The lesson that abusing one's power is unacceptable. Now get lost. I'm not here to answer any of your questions, I'm here as a teacher. I don't have to answer anything you ask. So you may as well not waste our time and just leave. In the mean time... why is everyone standing around? Do you all want to fail?"

The entire pitch returned to its original flurry of activity.

"Lucario, you can take a break," Nozawa said to his team member. "Rikku, wanna spar?"

The Empoleon didn't waste any time racing down to meet with his trainer, while Lucario took said Empoleon's spot in the bleachers. Rikku and Nozawa prepared to spar, but after a moment, noticed that the group of adults had yet to leave.

"If you'd like, you could watch how a real fight goes," Aromi told them. "One that doesn't involve magic. This is the kind of thing that happens in the real world, where wands don't exist."

As professor and Pokémon began to spar, Espeon called out to Neville.

"Neville, that's enough," Espeon said to the shy boy whom was on equal ground with his Kirlia. "You two can come up here and rest."

Said boy and Kirlia shared a grin, before going up to do exactly as suggested. They'd passed, as Espeon told them when they got up there. They were sore all to hell, though. Luna and her Drifloon, both of which were surprisingly strong, soon joined them. Within a few minutes, the entire class had returned to the stands, having passed. The group of teachers had never left.

"Good work, class," Nozawa told them. "Tomorrow is Saturday, and as far as I know, there are no big homework assignments for you all – so spend the day resting. Just know that what we just did is not something unique to me – many other trainers do this in order for them and their team to keep in shape. Trust me, this is nothing new. It is up to you if you wish to continue doing this. On another note – congratulations on passing this class!"

There were a few quiet and tired cheers. Nozawa gave a smile before he dismissed them. His team had rotated and only a couple of them had gotten in a spar with him. Then he returned to the group of teachers that were still there.

"Now that you know that what I've tested them on is actually a training technique, I don't think you can be all that mad," Aromi told them as he returned his tired Pokémon to their Pokéballs. Algida and Kyashii remained out, at their request. "And I don't really care as to what you have to say, Minister. My team and I are tired, and we've still got a couple classes to get ready for. If you'll excuse us, we're going to get as much rest as we can."

With that, the man and the two Pokémon left, the rest of the class also leaving. The members of the Ministry left with their borrowed wands and not their originals, and feeling frustrated and angry at the foreigner that seemed to, despite his young age, have much more experience in the ways of the world than them.

I know gravity ain't an excuse,

I just want to make things a little more smooth,

Majority is still asleep.

"Professor, you asked to see us before the End of Year Feast?" Hermione said to a packed-up Nozawa. He nodded to them. The days had gone by where they'd passed their final exams and the school year was ending today.

"You three recall what I told you during Christmas break, don't you?" He asked.

How could they not? A chance to travel the land of Sinnoh, the maps their professor having provided and used to teach having done so little justice to the place... it would be an adventure, if only for a month or three. They had discussed their options many times over the past couple of months, trying to decide – and they've finally reached their decision.

"We'd like to go," Hermione said after a few moments. Nozawa smiled and nodded.

"Excellent!" He said enthusiastically. "You'll have to return home for a couple weeks. Pack up and prepare, but be sure to pack light. I don't know if magic even works where we'll be going, but bring your wands just in case – and be prepared for a lot of travelling. Just be sure to take care of your teams in the mean time. In two weeks, I'll meet you three at the Leaky Cauldron, alright?"

There were a few nods before the man said for them to go on to the feast. As they walked, something clicked in Hermione's mind.

"Wait... he said that magic might not work where we're going?" She said, bringing this to their attention.

It was kind of odd for him to say that... but they soon shrugged it off, in favor of being at the feast. The feast where they would eat together in the hall for the last time before they met up again in two weeks. The place where Gryffindor once again earned the House Cup, infuriating the Slytherins as a result – not that they really cared. It was on the train that they would say good-bye, if only for a short time...

Credits: Song lyrcis from "3 Minutes Clapping", a song featured in the game "The World Ends With You". Quote source wishes to remain anonymous.

A/N: Please be sure to review, thanks!