Ugh! This was the weakest ending I've ever written for a story.

Enjoy!

Chapter 29

Rewards

Out of all the feasts the gang has been to at Hogwarts, this one had to be the best. Everyone was in their pajamas and the celebration lasted all night. The Petrified victims soon joined the feast and the boys instantly saw Hermione running towards them. Rin and the others charged towards her and they collided, laughing in a heap on the floor.

"Hermione!"

"You're alright!"

"Welcome back!"

"You have no idea how much we've missed you!"

Hermione was also happy to see the boys. "You solved it! You solved it!" she cried.

"We couldn't have done it without your help," said Harry as Rin rubbed his cheek against Hermione's like a cat.

"Yeah, we owe you," said Yukio.

At around half past three in the morning, Hagrid came into the Great Hall. He looked slightly thinner but he was otherwise happy to be back. Shura and Fang tackled the gentle giant in a big hug. Things got better when McGonagall announced that all final exams were canceled as a school treat ("Oh no!" Hermione cried while her friends did a jig). The icing on the cake had to be when Dumbledore announced that Professor Lockhart would not be returning next year due to the fact that his memory was gone. Several teachers joined in the cheering that greeted this announcement.

"HALLELUJAH!" Shura cried out the loudest. She and Hagrid high-fived each other.

The rest of the term went by rather quickly with a few changes. Defense Against the Dark Arts was canceled and Lucius Malfoy was sacked from the school governors. Draco Malfoy was no longer strutting around like he owned the place. In fact, he mostly just sulked. On the other hand, at least Ginny was happy again.

~0~0~0~

Mephisto ripped off yesterday's date off his calendar. He grinned calculatingly as this was the day the Okumura twins were to return to Japan. This year was as fun to watch as last year. He also had to make a note to visit the research division at headquarters tomorrow to see what this magical diary was all about. The fact that it contained a teenage version of Voldemort and gave a little girl a temptaint was not something Mephisto could ignore. Perhaps Dark magic had more to do with demons than everyone thought.

He read the report Shura Kirigakure turned in regarding the attacks on the Hogwarts students (along with several choice words to Angel). He made a mental note to talk to Albus Dumbledore about Voldemort's origins. The more Mephisto knew, the more the True Cross could use it to their advantage. He wondered how many of Voldemort's followers knew he was actually a half-blood wizard. Mephisto's grin widened at the thought of it. He wanted front row seats if that fact was ever released.

Tap, tap, tap!

Mephisto looked up and saw an owl perched on his office window sill. In its beak was a letter addressed to him. The letter wasn't red so Mephisto knew it wasn't a Howler. He glided over to the window and took the envelope out of the owl's beak. He opened the letter and was about to read it when he saw the owl was staring at him and frowned.

"What? Do you want a cookie or something?" he said irritably. He waved his hand dismissively at the bird.

A tick mark appeared on the owl's head. He pecked Mephisto's hand and swiped a single star candy from the candy dish on his desk and flew out the window. Mephisto shook the pain away from his hand and read the letter. His eyes widened.

"WHAAAAAT?!" he yelled loud enough for the birds outside to fly out of the trees.

~0~0~0~

The five friends found a compartment on the Hogwarts Express all to themselves, plus Fred, George, and Ginny. They practiced disarming themselves by magic which Harry was getting very good at. Even Rin managed to get a few of them in despite the blue sparks mixed in with the usual scarlet sparks. They then launched Fred and George's Filibuster fireworks and watched Kuro chase them.

A knock on the compartment door interrupted a round of Exploding Snap. It opened and Izumo Kamiki from Slytherin poked her head in. She laid her red eyes on Ron.

"Found you," she said. She then looked at Fred, George, and Ginny. "Judging by the matching red hair, I'm guessing you're Weasley's siblings?"

They nodded slowly. "What's it to you?" Fred asked suspiciously.

Izumo leaned against the doorframe with her arms crossed. "Just because I'm in Slytherin, doesn't mean I'm anything like Malfoy and his buddies," she reprimanded. "I'm just here to tell Weasley - and, by extension, you three - that I saw his older brother making out with that Ravenclaw prefect that was Petrified."

Fred and George's eyes widened. "By which you mean…" Fred started.

"Percy?" George finished that question.

Izumo shrugged. "I guess. I don't know all of your names. I saw them after the feast last night making out like there was no tomorrow."

Harry turned to Ginny. "Is that what you saw Percy doing that he didn't want you to tell anyone?" he asked her.

Ginny giggled. "Oh, that. Well, Percy's got a girlfriend."

Ron dropped his unlaunched firework at this revelation.

"What's who he was writing to all last summer," Ginny continued. "He's been meeting her all over the school in secret. I walked in on them kissing in an empty classroom. He was so upset when she was attacked. You won't tease him, will you?"

Izumo shrugged again. "It's none of my business, so I won't say anything."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Fred said, who looked like his birthday came early.

"Definitely not," added George, sniggering.

Rin smirked and remembered a joke Shiro told last summer. "Hey guys, remember to write to us this summer and let us know if you catch Percy and Penelope sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

The entire compartment erupted in laughter. Even Izumo chuckled as she left the compartment to go back to her own.

The Hogwarts Express eventually slowed and finally stopped.

Harry quickly pulled out his quill and a bit of parchment and turned to Rin, Ron, and Hermione.

"This is called a phone number," he said to Ron, scribbling it three times, tearing it into three and handing it to them. "I told your dad how to use a telephone last summer - he'll know. Call me at the Dursleys', okay? I can't stand another summer with only Dudley to talk to…"

"Depending on how much long distance costs, Yukio and I will hopefully be able to call you once or twice this summer," said Rin. Yukio nodded in agreement.

"Your aunt and uncle will be proud of you, won't they?" asked Hermione as they all got off the train. "When they hear what you did this year?"

"Proud? Are you crazy?" Harry asked with a laugh. "All those times I could've died and I didn't? They'll be furious."

The five of them then took turns reentering the Muggle world. All five of them were already looking forward to seeing each other again in the fall.

Like I said, weak ending but I couldn't think of any way to finish this.

Did you like that I included Izumo in this chapter? I noticed that I hadn't really included her that much in the story so I thought I'd put her here at the last minute.

What do you think was in that letter for Mephisto? You'll have to figure out when I do Year 3! Yes, I'm doing Prisoner of Azkaban. Please give me a few weeks for some R&R. I only have a few patches of the story thought out so please wait patiently.

Send positive vibes to my Ukrainian readers! They can use it with everything going on! I'm rooting for you!