This is anti-climatic, but I had no other way to end the story. Please forgive me. It's the best I can do. Gomen!

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Naoko and Sukina awoke to find themselves in the Hospital Wing, along with Harry, Hermione and Ron. They couldn't remember how they had come back from the Forest. Shuura awoke with a groan from Harry's side.

"Do you remember what happened?" Ron asked them. They shook their heads.

"You've been here for three days," Kurama pulled back the curtain dividing Hiei's bed from the rest of them, "And mainly asleep. Don't you remember anything at all?" he asked.

"The last thing I remember was fighting with that snake," Ron said, with Hermione nodding her head.

"I remember fighting with Voldemort, and that he nearly blasted me…" Harry said.

"Shuura and I were fighting off the youkai minions," Sukina said. Shuura agreed.

"Same here," Naoko replied.

"I see. Well, we reached the cave and found the three of you," he said to Harry, Hermione and Ron, "Unconscious. There was no sign of Voldemort anywhere. All we could guess is that he thought you were dead and decided to leave you be," Kurama said. Turning to Sukina, Shuura and Naoko, he said Firenze and Sprouts had followed Naoko, and while they were battling with the minions, had managed to incapacitate the A-class demon. He had been sent back to Makai.

"Oh…" were all of them could say.

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Two hours later found Kurama and Hiei on a forgotten balcony with Dumbledore in Hogwarts facing the moonlight. Koenma came to them a moment later, appearing as his teenage self and without his pacifier.

"How are they?" he asked.

"They don't remember a thing," Kurama said. "You were right."

"This was not the time mentioned in the prophecy. Harry is not yet ready to come into his own and battle with Voldemort on his own terms," Koenma said.

"Is it true then, that when Harry faces Voldemort as an adult in his own right, it heralds the end of the world?" Dumbledore asked with an unusual note of humbleness in his voice.

"Not quite. It's one of the signs of the final battle," he replied.

"Hn. Do we get a chance to fight?" Hiei asked.

"It's highly unlikely, Professor Hiei. That burden lies on the youths, the future leaders," Dumbledore said.

"Hn."

"What about this talk of an 'Angel,' Kurama?" Koenma asked, referring to Socrates' claim that he and Voldemort were under the protection of an Angel.

"I don't know. Makai doesn't have any angels."

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"Thanks for everything," Harry said to Naoko and Hiei as they stood at the train station, just before setting off.

"For what?" the two asked.

"Helping us and leading the way," he grinned.

"You're pretty mature for your age," Naoko said, grinning. "No one else would have thought to thank us," she continued.

"Hn. Where are the others?" Hiei asked impatiently.

Just then, Sukina and Shuura came out of the carriage, carrying their backpacks. Much earlier on they had decided that trunks were going to be too heavy and useless. They grinned when they saw that Kurama was surrounded by a bunch of girls, all of whom seemed to be holding out quills and papers for him to sign.

"He gets a fan club no matter where he goes," Naoko said.

"Hn."

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That's all for now! Until my next story, Ja!