Chapter 26: Family Reunion

Around the same time the test results were announced, during that second week of June, Samantha Rain returned to Hogwarts along with the students who had gone to Beauxbatons for the Tri-Wizard Tournament. It was a triumphant return, as Amy Zimmerman had won the Cup for Hogwarts, and she carried it proudly into the Great Hall as she and Samantha Rain lead the returning students in.

"YAY FOR HOGWARTS! GO GO!" Bianca cheered, standing up at the Slytherin table and pretending she was a cheerleader. Many other students applauded, and Samantha Rain took her usual spot at the head of the staff table. Pansy seemed a little annoyed by her return, possibly because it meant that she would go back to being a regular teacher and wouldn't get to be head of Slytherin anymore.

"Well, it's good to be back, although it was very interesting to visit Beauxbatons. I always like visiting new places and learning about how other people do things, sometimes we can learn a lot from them. First of all, let's have a cheer for Amy Zimmerman, the winner of the Triwizard Tournament!" Samantha Rain announced, and the Great Hall erupted in cheers again.

"I've heard France is a romantic place. I would like to visit there sometime. Maybe I can go visit Beauxbatons someday," Bianca commented.

"In light of recent events, I would like to also congratulate Diana Goyle and Bridget O'Blarney on their success in subduing the thestral Animagus that had been attacking both students and teachers this year. Come here, both of you, to receive your awards," Samantha said. She first handed Bridget her award, since she was already at the staff table, and then Diana came over from the Slytherin table to receive hers.

The next day, the exam results were handed out. Rebecca was sitting near the lake, looking at her grades, when Severus Prince approached her excitedly.

"Hi, Rebecca! How did you do? I think I did pretty well, I mean, I wasn't perfect or anything, but I passed everything!" he blurted out.

"Well, it looks like I did the best at Potions, although I could've studied more for Astronomy. I guess I got overly confident since the muggle school I went to also talked about that subject. I wish there had been a Charms test, though, I was doing so well and I was so confident about that test and then that...that...why did Libra have to ruin everything and kill Professor Sanders?" Rebecca snarled.

"I've never heard anyone be angry about a test being cancelled," Severus giggled, but then he became more serious when he realized why Rebecca was so upset. "I'm sorry. I know you wanted to prove yourself to Andromeda and her sister, and Charms really does seem to be your best subject. I'm sure if you did take the test, you would get one of the best scores."

"It's just that out of all the tests, they had to cancel the one I was looking forward to the most. I wouldn't have minded if it was something like Astronomy, Professor Parkinson hates me anyway," Rebecca said, "Not that I like her either, the way she's always favoring the ones who are lucky enough to have real witches and wizards as parents. It's not MY fault Dad isn't magical."

"No, it's not your fault, and there's nothing wrong with that. My mother is a muggle too, my father is a wizard, though. I think both wizards and muggles can be fun people to be around, and I like making friends with all kinds of people, whether they can do magic or not," Severus replied, "I wish my cousin Daisy would be my friend, though."

"Do wizards have royalty? I was just wondering, since your name is Prince," Rebecca mused, suddenly changing the subject, "Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny never told me about any wizard royalty, though."

"It's just a name. At least, I don't know of any wizard royals either. There might be some muggleborn witches and wizards who are related to muggle royalty or aristocrats, though, at least at some point in history. But there are some pureblood families who used to act like they were wizard royalty, like the Black family or the Malfoys, but they're not really treated like that anymore. I know that Scorpius Malfoy doesn't see himself as being like royalty, he seems to hate himself for being a Malfoy instead," Severus answered.

"Which is stupid. He's not Draco, he can take charge of his own life and make it his own! Just like I'm going to prove that I'm different from my family too," Rebecca declared.

Of course, the school year at Hogwarts had to come to an end, and the students were soon in the Great Hall, ready to hear the announcements about which house had won the most points that year.

"I know that this was a rather eventful year, given the attacks that happened, but I hope everyone found at least something that they will remember as an enjoyable memory. The house totals are, as follows. Gryffindor is, sadly, in last place again, with 415 points. Ravenclaw got 424 points and is in third place. Slytherin is in second place, with 444 points. As for the winner of the House Cup, that honor goes to Hufflepuff, which has 483 points!" Samantha Rain announced, and yellow and black banners and decorations appeared all over the room. Several of the Gryffindors were shooting nasty looks at James, who had lost them about 100 points by himself for his thievery of Polyjuice Potion from Amethyst's office earlier that year.

"I don't mind that we didn't win this year either, we got closer this time. I'm just glad that Diana was able to find out that Libra was the thestral and catch her," Bianca commented.

"And Andromeda got expelled so she won't cause trouble anymore," Serena added.

"I wonder who will teach Charms next year. I hope Professor Rain finds someone nice. The new teachers this year are kind of mean, except for Professor Patil, and I don't think she's staying like the others," Bianca said.

"Diana said that Professor McAngus was put in Azkaban for being muggleborn, and that's why she hates Slytherins so much. It's weird that she hates Scorpius, though, since he's in Gryffindor, and she usually likes Gryffindors the best. You'd think she would realize that he hates everything his family stands for, with the way he yells about it so much, but she's another of those weird witches and wizards who think that everyone is just like their parents," Serena said with a roll of her eyes.

"Why would people get put in Azkaban prison for being muggleborn? That's not against the law!" Bianca gasped, she had never heard of that before. She had heard that at one point, the Death Eaters had been capturing muggleborns, but she assumed that the people the Death Eaters had captured had been taken somewhere else, not in the same prison that REAL criminals went to!

"I don't really know. That's just what I heard Diana say," Serena sighed.

"Maybe we'll learn about that next year in history class. Or we could go to Diagon Alley and see if there's any books about it there," Bianca suggested, "I bet even if you're not interested in reading about history, I bet your parents would like the bookstores. From what you've told me, it sounds like they're really curious about witches and wizards and like learning about us."

"They already bought many books from Flourish and Blotts, and they'll probably buy more again next time," Serena said, "I'm surprised you didn't see them."

"Since I didn't see you the day I picked up my school books, maybe we just went on different days?" Bianca thought, "Since your parents don't mind the owls, maybe I'll send you a letter and we can go together next time." Serena agreed, finding herself a little curious as to what Bianca's American cousins were like.

It wasn't very long until all the students were back on the Hogwarts Express, heading back home to their parents or guardians. This time, there was a surprise for Scorpius. When he got off the train, this time with Albus, he found someone new with Harry and Ginny, Andromeda Tonks.

"Hello, Scorpius. Harry here has told me all about your family situation," she said as Harry and Ginny greeted James and Albus, "Would you like to try staying with me for the summer?" Scorpius truly was surprised, and unsure what to think. He had known that his great-aunt Andromeda had gone through some of the same things he had, since she also knew what it was like to disagree with muggle-hating relatives. On the one hand, this would be a chance to get to know a family member of his who he actually shared many beliefs with. On the other hand, he had enjoyed staying with Harry and Ginny, although he had been worried about how James would treat him if they went back to living together for the summer. After they had broken up their friendship back in February, James had ignored him completely, but Scorpius still could sense that James was angry at having lost what he had thought was a loyal follower.

"Why can't he stay with us?" James whined, breaking Scorpius out of trying to think through who he wanted to stay with.

"If he really wants to, he can. I just thought that he might like to stay with Mrs. Tonks because she's not only related to him, but he seemed to get along with her at Teddy's wedding," Harry explained, "If Scorpius does choose to stay with us, don't make him be a decoy for your pranks anymore, especially after what those Elm sisters did to him."

"What's wrong with my pranks? You did the same things when you were my age!" James whined.

"We'll talk about that later, James. First we need to know Scorpius's decision," Harry said.

"I really liked staying with you, Mr. Harry Potter, but I would like to try staying with my great-aunt Andromeda this summer. But if you would like me to stay with you, I don't want to upset you," Scorpius spoke up, sounding rather nervous about making such a request from someone he admired so much.

"No, I think it would be best for you to get to know Mrs. Tonks, Scorpius. But if you ever want to come visit, we're always a Floo ride away," Harry said. After some more conversations and greetings, Scorpius finally went off with Andromeda Tonks, still a little unsure but curious to get to know her better. Despite the fact that the school year was over, this would be a summer of learning, not only for Scorpius, but for other Hogwarts students as well.