That's it! The last chapter of the longest story I've ever written about Harry Potter and/or manga! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it. If so, let me know: reviews make me happy =)

Edit: There's now a nice side-story to this, written by kantellis: "Curse of a memory" www fanfiction net / s / 9981195 / 1 / Curse-of-a-memory

Go check it out!

Ch. 26: Reconciliation

The end of April and the whole of May passed in a sort of blur for Hermione. She spent extensive amounts of time studying, tuning out pretty much everything else. She sort of noticed the change in Ciel's behaviour, right after she had asked Shion about it, but she didn't stop to wonder at the reasons. She was happy that he wasn't worried anymore, but exams were coming up. She had priorities.

In the middle of May, McGonagall asked all the sixth year students to gather in the Great Hall and explained the proceedings. The exams would take place in the last week of May to give the teachers time to correct them before the end of the year, but also to not collide with the O. W. L. and N. E. W. T. exams for the fifth and seventh years. The schedule wouldn't change, but lessons would be replaced by exams, at least for the sixth-year students. The headmistress wished them good luck and asked that they take the exams seriously, even if the results would not affect their lives.

After McGonagall's announcement, it seemed like no time passed until the exams and then, the week of tests passed in an even bigger blur. Walking with Harry to enjoy the last of the sunny Friday, Hermione felt like she had forgotten everything about the previous week.

'Doesn't it feel weird?' she asked as they sat down, turning her face to the sun, closing her eyes and enjoying the warmth. Lizzy said the other day that Hermione would look nice with a small tan. Maybe she could work on that this summer?

'Not having Ron here? Yeah, it's a bit weird now that you mention it,' Harry replied, making her laugh, because she didn't mean Ron at all. The red-head would probably join them soon anyway. 'I wonder what they expect us to do for the whole of June. I don't think I want to even hear about homework,' he added.

'I suppose we will have some though,' Hermione pointed out. 'But it's always a bit more relaxed when the exams are coming, because everybody is so focused on that,' she added thoughtfully. 'I can't wait to see the results of the exams.'

'Typical, Mione, typical,' said Ron's voice and she smiled, not turning away from the sun. 'I don't care if I never see the results myself, but anyways. I talked with Michael Corner,' he changed the topic and this time Hermione looked at him with surprise.

'Michael Corner talks with you?' she asked. Last time she checked, Michael Corner only shot disdainful glares towards both Harry and Ron, furious about being humiliated in the shower.

'Yup,' Harry said cheerfully. 'Since Ravenclaw won against Slytherin and got the Quidditch Cup, Michael is back to being friendly,' he explained. Hermione almost asked if there has already been the last game, but then she remembered that one day when there was no one else in the library.

'I missed the game,' she said quietly. The two guys laughed and told her that she was in such a daze that nothing seemed to be getting through and if she was going to get even worse next year, for the real exams, they will start to get worried.

'You missed so much fun,' Harry agreed. 'Malfoy actually fell off the broom when he was trying to get the Snitch. He made this hilarious sound also,' he added, looking positively gleeful. Hermione shook her head with a laugh, wishing that there was a way to capture things on camera in the wizarding world.

'Next to the ferret incident, this scene will take a special place in my heart,' Ron agreed with an impassioned expression that just looked so hilarious on him that Hermione had to laugh even more. Harry nodded in agreement. 'But I just heard something interesting about Malfoy,' Ron added, returning to his regular expression, although his eyes sparkled with excitement.

'Tell us,' Harry replied, while Hermione rolled her eyes. Sometimes she wished that Malfoy would disappear, so that they could have happy lives. She had once heard Malfoy boasting about how his parents had wanted to send him to France to school. She wished they had done that.

'Michael heard Allen talking with that girl he hangs out with, her name is Safu Thompson, no?' Ron asked, making Hermione nod. 'He was telling her that Malfoy tried to beat up one of the Phantomhive twins,' he announced elatedly. Both Harry and Hermione looked at him in shock.

'What?' Harry asked.

'Tried to?' Hermione asked in the same time. Ron looked even happier to be in the centre of attention, delivering such interesting news. He explained them that, according to Allen, Malfoy pretty much failed and ended up unconscious, to be found by Snape. He said he wished he had seen it for himself, because it sounded awesome from what Michael was saying.

'Phantomhive must have gotten a horrible detention from Snape, for attacking his favourite student,' Harry muttered after a moment. 'Did Michael say which Phantomhive?'

'No, he didn't hear that clearly,' Ron replied with some regret. 'But it must have been Nezumi, no? He's the violent one. But it didn't seem like he was having some horrible detention and Allen didn't mention any punishment, according to Michael.'

'Well, now Snape doesn't have to be nice to Lucius Malfoy anymore, so maybe Draco Malfoy is not his favourite student anymore?' Hermione suggested as the thought occurred to her. 'And if it really was Nezumi, then he's much better than Malfoy in Potions so Snape should like him more,' she added, even though she was fairly sure it hadn't been Nezumi.

'That is a good point,' Harry agreed and they sat in silence for a moment, enjoying the sun and the fact that they didn't have absolutely any homework to do for the whole weekend, nor had they anything to prepare for. More students came out to the courtyard and Hermione's gaze was drawn to the familiar figure of Safu, only to make her gape in shock when the girl laughed at something a boy, who was walking with her, said.

'Funny to watch, isn't it?' asked a voice next to her and Hermione turned to see the gleeful expression of Elizabeth as the girl sat next to her. Harry and Ron looked confused and then somewhat uncomfortable, when Shion came up to them as well. Hermione wanted to laugh at how they sat up straighter and slightly moved away, but Lizzy nodded towards Safu and the guy, pulling Hermione's attention back to the more interesting question. 'She lost a bet,' she explained.

'But that's good,' Shion commented with a smile, sitting next to Lizzy, ignoring Harry and Ron for the moment. 'She looks happy and she has been quite miserable recently, hasn't she?' he asked. There was absolutely nothing in his voice or expression that would hint he knew the reasons for Safu's misery and Hermione stared. Was he that good an actor? Elizabeth grinned.

'So who's this guy?' Hermione asked, deciding to ask Lizzy about Shion when they would be alone.

'His name is Lawrence Bluer and he's been gazing at Safu dreamily for the better part of the year now,' the blond girl said, still sounding happy. 'He's in seventh year in Ravenclaw and he wants to try himself in medical research. That last thing I know from Safu. She's been chatting with him for a week now,' she added. Next to Hermione, Harry and Ron blinked. She could see that they didn't know what to make of the weird situation, but the two newcomers didn't seem to mean harm. Not that Lizzy and Shion would ever mean harm to anybody, Hermione thought with a fond smile.

'Lawrence Bluer, you say,' Hermione repeated, grinning. 'What was the bet about?' she asked. Elizabeth giggled.

'I said that Malfoy would still try something, she claimed that he would chicken out,' she said with a laugh. Hermione shook her head.

'Hey, you knew that Malfoy was planning something?' Ron asked, but when Lizzy and Shion turned to look at him, he shrank back for some reason.

'Hermione didn't tell you?' Shion asked with some surprise and Ron seemed to be absolutely lost as to what he was supposed to do. Hermione elbowed him so that he would at least stop staring, before turning to Shion and asking if he was also making bets, to change the subject and try to erase the weird atmosphere. He smiled. 'No, I don't. I always lose my bets, so I stopped,' he replied.

'There you guys are,' Nezumi's voice exclaimed. Ron whimpered when the Phantomhive twins joined the small group. 'Watching the newest Ravenclaw romance bloom?' he asked with a satisfied tone, casually resting his hand on Shion's shoulder. Hermione blinked. What was wrong in that picture?

'What were you supposed to do if you lost the bet?' she asked Lizzy, although she didn't quite look away from Nezumi, wanting to figure out what she was missing. She was completely distracted, however, when not only Lizzy, but also Ciel, blushed.

'Can we just say that we are happy she didn't lose the bet?' he asked testily and a wicked grin lit up Hermione's face. Ron made another whimpering noise and Hermione realised that Ciel's expression could be threatening if one wanted to interpret it as such.

'I believe you haven't been officially introduced,' she said with a grin. 'Guys, those are my best friends, Harry and Ron,' she continued, enjoying the surprised expressions that surrounded her. 'Harry, Ron those are my friends: Lizzy, Shion, Ciel and Nezumi. I study with them often and also with Safu, although maybe she won't join us this school year anymore,' she finished with a laugh. Lizzy giggled at her last statement.

'It is a pleasure to meet Hermione's friends,' Ciel said in a pleasant tone, but with a mocking smirk on his face. Harry and Ron looked shocked at his words and glanced at each other before looking back at the group when Lizzy spoke.

'It really is,' Lizzy said, sounding more honest than Ciel did. Hermione would have laughed at the surprised expressions on her best friends' faces, if she wasn't so worried about how this situation would evolve.

'Ah yes, we heard so much good stuff about you,' Nezumi said, outright mocking. He rolled his eyes when Lizzy and Shion hissed his name furiously. 'Whatever, nice to meet you,' he added in a light tone. Shion only nodded curtly at Harry and Ron but Hermione could see that he was going to make an effort for her sake.

She smiled at them gratefully, because she knew it meant they would try to be friendly at least, should they ever happen to meet Harry and Ron with or without her. She turned to her two best friends, willing them silently to meet the others halfway. Harry smiled at her before turning to the others.

'Yeah, it's nice to finally meet you guys,' he said, sounding earnest. Hermione smiled again, knowing that Ron would always follow Harry. Sure enough, the red-head echoed Harry's words with a bit less of enthusiasm, but friendly enough.

The conversation that followed was awkward and full of misunderstandings, because Harry and Ron were not used to the style of the twins. However, with some time and with Lizzy's, Shion's and her own silent insistence on being civil and polite, she knew that she could make them into friendly acquaintances, if not exactly friends. Later that day, Safu came to introduce Lawrence to the group and Hermione was relieved to find out that he was a really nice guy.

The remaining month of the school year passed peacefully. Their tests were graded and the teachers addressed the results, but the weather was exceptionally nice and even Hermione found that she didn't care much. She preferred to spend time with her friends, rather than studying, especially since her study group seemed to prefer lying in the sun and swimming in the lake to studying.

Only Shion didn't seem to want to swim in the lake, which she found weird, considering what he had said in the beginning of the school year. However, when she asked him about it, he only told her that she would probably see why if she came to visit them in Norway. She decided to not push and sat down next to him instead, laughing when Ciel and Nezumi waged a splashing war against the girls.

'I'm almost worried I should be jealous about those guys,' said Lawrence, coming up to them and sitting down with them. In the lake, Harry and Ron joined the splashing game reluctantly. In a split of a second, the girls and the twins united against the other two.

'I don't think you need be jealous about any of those guys,' Hermione replied with conviction, not missing the weird glance that Shion sent her. Was it because he thought that she was going to date Ron? She felt herself blush at the very thought, because she did start to consider it again. The knowing smirk on Shion's face seemed to suggest that the previous glance could have been about that indeed. But then, wasn't there the slightest hint of blush on Shion's cheeks as well? She would definitely have to investigate that matter, she decided, and the stay in Norway seemed like a good starting point.

She was really looking forward to the holidays!

The End