In the Hospital Wing, all of Unity was waiting for the trio, worried or frantic looks on their faces. Even the Japanese members, who didn't show great displays of emotion, and Luna, who usually looked serene and calm except when expressing delight or laughter, looked worried.

They all started speaking at once until Madam Pomfrey and Professor Dumbledore intervened. "Your friends are physically well, but they have just undergone a rather frightening experience and need time to rest and recover from the shock," said Dumbledore kindly.

"So I want everyone that's not family to them to please leave," said Madam Pomfrey firmly.

"But we want to know what-" protested Neville.

"If you will conduct me to a private place, I will explain everything that they have told me," interrupted Minister Kishi. "It is a shock, but simply put, the Dark Lord has returned."

"You-Know-Who's back?" exclaimed Elspeth, face pale. "But how?"

"I will explain once we are somewhere private," said Minister Kishi in a gentle but firm voice.

Unity and Minister Kishi left the Hospital Wing, presumably to the Room of Requirement. Sirius helped James into a bed and handed him a bar of chocolate. He automatically took a bite, but couldn't bring himself to swallow and ended up spitting it out in a nearby bedpan.

"It's my fault that Cedric's dead and that my friends and Hiroshi were there for Voldemort's rebirth," James muttered.

"It is not!" exclaimed Hiroshi from the next bed. "You did not suggest that we tie for the Quartet Quest. And your friends made you promise to summon them if you were in great danger. It is my fault Cedric is dead! He pushed me out of the way and took the Killing Curse that was aimed at me. And I would be dead too if Mariko had not put me under the Full-Body Bind and distracted V-V-Vol-Voldemort and that other person!" He burst into tears again.

"Cedric's death is not your fault, brother," said Keiko, who had elected not to go with the rest of Unity and instead decided to stay by her brother's side. "It is the fault of that Dark Lord."

"So please do not blame yourself, my son," said Mr. Satou. "You would have pushed Cedric out of the way if the Dark Lord had been aiming for him, correct? Then if he had felt that your death was his fault, you would not want him to blame himself for it. So do not the same yourself."

"I suppose," said Hiroshi, wiping his eyes. "But it does not make things any better. Cedric and Ichirou are my best friends, and now I have lost one of them."

At this juncture, Madam Pomfrey bustled out of her office and made the trio and Hiroshi take some Dreamless Sleep Potion. James looked around to see Mrs. Weasley fussing over Kyle, as she had been allowed to stay by his side since he had no family at Hogwarts. Mrs. Hirashi tucked the covers snugly around Mari, and then began relating the night's events to Ry, Sakura, Ichirou, and Keiko in a low voice, since they were dying to know what happened but hadn't gone with Unity to find out. At this point, James felt drowsy, and the last thing he saw was a hazy Sirius and Remus pulling the bedcovers around him as his exhaustion carried him off to sleep.

James woke up, so warm, so very sleepy, that he didn't open his eyes, wanting to drop off again. The room was still dimly lit; he was sure it was still nighttime and had a feeling that he couldn't have been asleep very long.

Then he heard whispering around him.

"They'll wake them if they don't shut up!"

"What are they shouting about? Nothing else can have happened, can it?"

James opened his eyes blearily. Someone had removed his glasses. He could see the fuzzy outlines of Sirius, Remus, Mrs. Weasley, and Bill close by. Mrs. Weasley was on her feet.

"That's Fudge's voice," she whispered. "And that's Minerva McGonagall's, isn't it? But what are they arguing about?"

Now James could hear them too: people shouting and running toward the hospital wing.

"Regrettable, but all the same, Minerva -" Cornelius Fudge was saying loudly.

"You should never have brought it inside the castle!" yelled Professor McGonagall. "When Dumbledore finds out -"

James heard the hospital doors burst open. Unnoticed by any of the people around his bed, all of who were staring at the door as Bill pulled back the screens, James sat up and put his glasses back on.

Fudge came striding up the ward. Professors McGonagall and Snape were at his heels.

"Where's Dumbledore?" Fudge demanded of Mrs. Weasley.

"He's not here," said Mrs. Weasley angrily. "This is a hospital wing. Minister, don't you think you'd do better to -"

But the door opened, and Dumbledore came sweeping up the ward.

"What has happened?" said Dumbledore sharply, looking from Fudge to Professor McGonagall. "Why are you disturbing these people? Minerva, I'm surprised at you - I asked you to stand guard over Barty Crouch -"

"There is no need to stand guard over him anymore, Dumbledore!" she shrieked. "The Minister has seen to that!"

James had never seen Professor McGonagall lose control like this. There were angry blotches of color in her cheeks, and her hands were balled into fists; she was trembling with fury.

"When we told Mr. Fudge that we had caught the Death Eater responsible for tonight's events," said Snape, in a low voice; he seemed to feel his personal safety was in question. "He insisted on summoning a dementor to accompany him into the castle. He brought it up to the office where Barty Crouch -"

"I told him you would not agree, Dumbledore!" McGonagall fumed. "I told him you would never allow dementors to set foot inside the castle, but -"

"My dear woman!" roared Fudge, who likewise looked angrier than James had ever seen him, "as Minister of Magic, it is my decision whether I wish to bring protection with me when interviewing a possibly dangerous -"

But Professor McGonagall's voice drowned Fudge's. "The moment that - that thing entered the room," she screamed, pointing at Fudge, trembling all over, "it swooped down on Crouch and - and -"

James felt a chill in his stomach as Professor McGonagall struggled to find words to describe what had happened. He did not need her to finish her sentence. He knew what the dementor must have done. It had administered its fatal kiss to Barty Crouch. It had sucked his soul out through his mouth. He was worse than dead.

"By all accounts, he is no loss!" blustered Fudge. "It seems he has been responsible for several deaths'."

"But he cannot now give testimony, Cornelius," said Dumbledore. He was staring hard at Fudge, as though seeing him plainly for the first time. "He cannot give evidence about why he killed those people."

"Why he killed them? Well, that's no mystery, is it?" blustered Fudge. "He was a raving lunatic! From what Minerva and Severus have told me, he seems to have thought he was doing it all on You-Know-Who's instructions!"

"Lord Voldemort was giving him instructions, Cornelius," Dumbledore said. "Those people's deaths were mere by-products of a plan to restore Voldemort to full strength again. The plan succeeded. Voldemort has been restored to his body."

Fudge looked as though someone had just swung a heavy weight into his face. Dazed and blinking, he stared back at Dumbledore as if he couldn't quite believe what he had just heard. He began to sputter, still goggling at Dumbledore.

"You-Know-Who… returned? Preposterous. Come now, Dumbledore…"

"As Minerva and Severus have doubtless told you," said Dumbledore, "we heard Barty Crouch confess. Under the influence of Veritaserum, he told us how he was smuggled out of Azkaban, and how Voldemort - learning of his continued existence from Bertha Jorkins - went to free him from his father and used him to capture James. The plan worked, I tell you. Crouch has helped Voldemort to return."

"See here, Dumbledore," said Fudge, and James was astonished to see a slight smile dawning on his face, "you - you can't seriously believe that You-Know-Who - back? Come now, come now… certainly, Crouch may have believed himself to be acting upon You-Know-Who's orders - but to take the word of a lunatic like that, Dumbledore…"

"When James touched the Triwizard Cup tonight, he was transported straight to Voldemort," said Dumbledore steadily. "He then summoned his friends, as they had made him promise to do so if he was in great danger, and they along with Hiroshi Satou witnessed Lord Voldemort's rebirth. I will explain it all to you if you will step up to my office."

The door opened again and in strode Minister Kishi, Secretary Fujiwara, and Mr. Hirashi. "Minister Fudge, what have you done?" demanded Minister Kishi, her tone filled with suppressed rage and her eyes flashing. "Secretary Fujiwara notified me about you bringing along a dementor when you went to speak with Crouch."

Fudge repeated, "As Minister of Magic, it is my decision whether I wish to bring protection with me when interviewing a possibly dangerous -"

"He had no wand on him and Professor McGonagall was guarding him!" interrupted Minister Kishi angrily. "So he would have been of no danger to you!"

Mr. Hirashi murmured something in Japanese. With forced politeness, Minister Kishi said in a calmer tone, "Forgive me if I was rude, Minister Fudge. However, it is very upsetting. The dementor did not do anything to Crouch, did it?"

"It most certainly did something!" exclaimed McGonagall angrily. "The moment that thing entered the room it swooped down on Crouch and - and -"

"Do not tell me that it sucked out his soul!" snapped Minister Kishi, losing whatever hold she had on her temper. "Now he is no fit state to give evidence! There is a reason why Japan does not have anything to do with dementors! And that is precisely why all those that are a danger to wizarding society get stripped of their magic and sent to live in the Muggle world!"

Secretary Fujiwara whispered something, but Minister Kishi ignored her. "Well, the more important matter is that the British Dark Lord has returned and needs to be dealt with."

"You can't believe that You-Know-Who is back as well, Minister Kishi?" demanded Fudge incredulously.

"I have been expecting something like this since James Lydell-Black was entered in the Quartet Quest! One of the Seers in the Japanese Ministry made a prophecy about how a great evil would return to Britain and that it would be up to the most famous boy in recent history and his friends to help stop it! All other prophecies he made have come true, so I have no doubt this one will as well. Also, as being part kitsune, I have the ability to sense when someone is lying, so obviously nobody is lying about this Dark Lord returning!"

"Kitsune?" asked Fudge blankly. "What's a kitsune?"

"A magical being in Japan and China who can take fox or human form," replied Secretary Fujiwara. "Though kitsunes are called something else in Chinese."

"That's not important," snapped Minister Kishi. "What is important is that Lord Voldy-whatever has returned and something has to be done about it!"

"But that's impossible!" sputtered Fudge. "Minister Kishi, you can't just expect me to believe the account of three fifteen-year olds."

"Look, we saw Voldemort come back!" Kyle shouted, surprising James, who hadn't realized his friend was also awake. Kyle tried to get out of bed, but Mrs. Weasley forced him back. "We saw the Death Eaters! I can give you their names! Lucius Malfoy -"

Snape made a sudden movement, but as James looked at him, Snape's eyes flew back to Fudge.

"Malfoy was cleared!" said Fudge, visibly affronted. "A very old family - donations to excellent causes -"

"Macnair was there too!" exclaimed Mari, sitting up on her bed and also surprising James again.

"Also cleared! Now working for the Ministry!"

James sat up also and continued, "Avery - Nott - Crabbe - Goyle -"

"You three are merely repeating the names of those who were acquitted of being Death Eaters thirteen years ago!" said Fudge angrily. "You could have found those names in old reports of the trials! For heaven's sake, Dumbledore - are you sure that you should even be listening to these wild tales? The girl isn't exactly the most reliable of persons, what with her possibly two-timing her boyfriend, and I wouldn't fully-"

"You fool!" Professor McGonagall cried. "Cedric Diggory! Mr. Crouch! These deaths were not the random work of a lunatic!"

"I see no evidence to the contrary!" shouted Fudge, now matching her anger, his face purpling. "It seems to me that you are all determined to start a panic that will destabilize everything we have worked for these last thirteen years!"

James couldn't believe what he was hearing. He had always thought of Fudge as a kindly figure, a little blustering, a little pompous, but essentially good-natured. But now a short, angry wizard stood before him, refusing, point-blank, to accept the prospect of disruption in his comfortable and ordered world - to believe that Voldemort could have risen.

"Voldemort has returned," Dumbledore repeated. "If you accept that fact straightaway Fudge, and take the necessary measures, we may still be able to save the situation. The first and most essential step is to remove Azkaban from the control of the dementors -"

"Preposterous!" shouted Fudge again. "Remove the dementors? I'd be kicked out of office for suggesting it! Half of us only feel safe in our beds at night because we know the dementors are standing guard at Azkaban!"

"The rest of us sleep less soundly in our beds, Cornelius, knowing that you have put Lord Voldemort's most dangerous supporters in the care of creatures who will join him the instant he asks them!" said Dumbledore. "They will not remain loyal to you, Fudge! Voldemort can offer them much more scope for their powers and their pleasures than you can! With the dementors behind him, and his old supporters returned to him, you will be hard-pressed to stop him regaining the sort of power he had thirteen years ago!"

Fudge was opening and closing his mouth as though no words could express his outrage.

"The second step you must take - and at once," Dumbledore pressed on, "is to send envoys to the giants."

"Envoys to the giants?" Fudge shrieked, finding his tongue again. "What madness is this?"

"Extend them the hand of friendship, now, before it is too late," said Dumbledore, "or Voldemort will persuade them, as he did before, that he alone among wizards will give them their rights and their freedom!"

"You - you cannot be serious!" Fudge gasped, shaking his head and retreating further from Dumbledore. "If the magical community got wind that I had approached the giants - people hate them, Dumbledore - end of my career -"

"You are blinded," said Dumbledore, his voice rising now, the aura of power around him palpable, his eyes blazing once more, "by the love of the office you hold, Cornelius! You place too much importance, and you always have done, on the so-called purity of blood! You fail to recognize that it matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be! Your dementor has just destroyed the last remaining member of a pure-blood family as old as any - and see what that man chose to make of his life! I tell you now- take the steps I have suggested, and you will be remembered, in office or out, as one of the bravest and greatest Ministers of Magic we have ever known. Fail to act - and history will remember you as the man who stepped aside and allowed Voldemort a second chance to destroy the world we have tried to rebuild!"

"Insane," whispered Fudge, still backing away. "Mad…"

And then there was silence. Madam Pomfrey was standing frozen at the foot of James's bed, her hands over her mouth. Sirius was still standing over James, his hand on his godson's shoulder to prevent him from rising. Everyone else in the room was staring at Fudge.

"If your determination to shut your eyes will carry you as far as this, Cornelius," said Dumbledore, "we have reached a parting of the ways. You must act as you see fit. And I - I shall act as I see fit."

Dumbledore's voice carried no hint of a threat; it sounded like a mere statement, but Fudge bristled as though Dumbledore were advancing upon him with a wand.

"Now, see here, Dumbledore," he said, waving a threatening finger. "I've given you free rein, always. I've had a lot of respect for you. I might not have agreed with some of your decisions, but I've kept quiet. There aren't many who'd have let you hire or teach werewolves, or keep Hagrid, or decide what to teach your students without reference to the Ministry. But if you're going to work against me -"

"The only one against whom I intend to work," said Dumbledore, "is Lord Voldemort. If you are against him, then we remain, Cornelius, on the same side."

It seemed Fudge could think of no answer to this. He rocked backward and forward on his small feet for a moment and spun his bowler hat in his hands. Finally, he said, with a hint of a plea in his voice, "He can't be back, Dumbledore, he just can't be…"

Snape strode forward, past Dumbledore, pulling up the left sleeve of his robes as he went. He stuck out his forearm and showed it to Fudge, who recoiled.

"There," said Snape harshly. "There. The Dark Mark. It is not as clear as it was an hour or so ago, when it burned black, but you can still see it. Every Death Eater had the sign burned into him by the Dark Lord. It was a means of distinguishing one another, and his means of summoning us to him. When he touched the Mark of any Death Eater, we were to Disapparate, and Apparate, instantly, at his side. This Mark has been growing clearer all year. Karkaroff's too. Why do you think Karkaroff fled tonight? We both felt the Mark burn. We both knew he had returned. Karkaroff fears the Dark Lord's vengeance. He betrayed too many of his fellow Death Eaters to be sure of a welcome back into the fold."

Fudge stepped back from Snape too. He was shaking his head. He did not seem to have taken in a word Snape had said. He stared, apparently repelled by the ugly mark on Snape's arm, then looked up at Dumbledore and whispered, "I don't know what you and your staff are playing at, Dumbledore, but I have heard enough. I have no more to add. I will be in touch with you tomorrow, Dumbledore, to discuss the running of this school. I must return to the Ministry."

"Excuse me," said Minister Kishi in a cold voice. "You are making a grave mistake in refusing to believe that this Voldemort is back, Minister Fudge. Japan may not be as liberal as Britain in some respects, but we at least have the sense not to have dealings with dementors and make sure that everyone who is not full human is still treated decently and prevent evil witches and wizards from gaining power. If you insist on this path, then I will have no choice but to advise the Japanese Ministry to limit our relationship with the British Ministry."

"Fine then," snapped Fudge. "You may do as you wish, Minister Kishi. Now, I must be going."

He had almost reached the door when he paused. He turned around, strode back down the dormitory, and stopped between Hiroshi's and James's beds.

"Both of your winnings," he said shortly, taking a large bag of gold out of his pocket and dropping it onto the bedside table. "One thousand Galleons. There should have been a presentation ceremony, but under the circumstances…"

He crammed his bowler hat onto his head and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him. The moment he had disappeared, Dumbledore turned to look at the group around the four beds.

"There is work to be done," he said. "Molly… am I right in thinking that I can count on you and Arthur?"

"Of course you can," said Mrs. Weasley. She was white to the lips, but she looked resolute. "We know what Fudge is. It's Arthur's fondness for Muggles that has held him back at the Ministry all these years. Fudge thinks he lacks proper wizarding pride."

"Then I need to send a message to Arthur," said Dumbledore. "All those that we can persuade of the truth must be notified immediately, and he is well placed to contact those at the Ministry who are not as shortsighted as Cornelius."

"I'll go to Dad," said Bill, standing up. "I'll go now."

"Excellent," said Dumbledore. "Tell him what has happened. Tell him I will be in direct contact with him shortly. He will need to be discreet, however. If Fudge thinks I am interfering at the Ministry -"

"Leave it to me," said Bill. He kissed his mother on the cheek, pulled on his cloak, and strode quickly from the room.

"Minerva," said Dumbledore, turning to Professor McGonagall, "I want to see Hagrid in my office as soon as possible. Also - if she will consent to come – Madame Maxime."

Professor McGonagall nodded and left without a word. Madam Pomfrey was also asked to leave, which she did so. When she was gone, Remus was asked to contact the "old crowd".

"Severus," said Dumbledore, turning to Snape, "you know what I must ask you to do. If you are ready… if you are prepared…"

"I am," said Snape.

He looked slightly paler than usual, and his cold, black eyes glittered strangely. James understood in a flash what Snape was going to do and burst out, "Professor Snape, remember what you promised me! You know, with Riddle's return. Please make sure you do it."

There was a flicker of sorrow in Snape's eyes before he assumed an unreadable expression and said shortly, "I will, Mr. Lydell."

"Then good luck," said Dumbledore, and he watched, with a trace of apprehension on his face, as Snape swept wordlessly after Remus.

Dumbledore then turned to James, but Sirius asked the question first. "What promise are you talking about that Sniv-I mean Snape, made?"

James glanced at Dumbledore, then responded, "I really can't answer that. It's a matter between Professor Snape and myself. And Mari and Kyle, since I tell them everything."

"And we're not telling you anything," added Mari. "The last thing we'll do is reveal something James had us keep secret."

The adults decided not to pursue the matter. Instead, Dumbledore turned to Minister Kishi, who instantly said, "There is no need to ask me, Professor Dumbledore. I am on your side, of course, and will do everything in my power to aid you. However, I cannot get Japan fully involved in a war that does not affect us at all. But I will notify the rest of wizarding Japan of Voldemort's return and ask them to be on their guard. Secretary Fujiwara and I must return to Japan now and plan what we are going to do."

She turned to Sirius and kissed him. "I will see you later, Sirius. I love you."

"I love you too, Reiko," replied Sirius.

Minister Kishi managed a tiny smile and then looked at James. "I am sorry that you had to go through all this, but we will all help you." She turned to Mari and Kyle and hugged her cousin and patted him on the shoulder. "Be there for James and look out for each other, dears. And please tell the rest of Unity to always live up to the group name."

With that, she and Secretary Fujiwara also left. Mr. and Mrs. Hirashi exchanged looks and nodded. Mr. Hirashi turned to Dumbledore and declared, "We support you also. If there is anything we can do to help you in the war against the Dark Lord, we will do so."

"Thank you," said Dumbledore. "I will speak with you further tomorrow about this, Mr. and Mrs. Hirashi." He left the Hospital Wing and the trio was made to drink some more Dreamless Sleep Potion and return to bed.

The next morning, the trio and Hiroshi explained everything that had happened to the Diggorys. They did not blame the four for what had happened; on the contrary, both thanked them for returning Cedric's body to them. Mr. Diggory sobbed through most of the interview. Mrs. Diggory's grief seemed to be beyond tears.

When the interview was over, James and Hiroshi tried to give the Diggorys the winnings from the Quartet Quest, but neither would take it. Once they left, Hiroshi said, "Well, I do not want half the money. James, you take it and donate it or something."

James nodded in understanding. That evening, the trio was allowed to return to their respective common rooms. The next day, all of Unity met. None of them outright said anything about what had happened in the graveyard, other than Theo asking, "My father was there, wasn't he?" and all of them swearing to stand by James and helping him no matter what. Keiko also revealed that Rita Skeeter was an unregistered Animagus, having caught the reporter in beetle form on the windowsill that night in the Hospital Wing. In exchange for Keiko's silence, Skeeter had promised to keep her quill to herself for a year and not write anything. This in turn caused the group to decide to look into becoming Animagi themselves, since it could be useful in the war against Riddle, and they would do some research on it during the holidays.

Unity spent the rest of the time in the Room of Requirement, with Dobby and some of the Hogwarts house-elves bringing food at mealtimes, so that the group didn't have to go the Great Hall and face all the questions and stares from the other students that had no clear idea as to what had happened. They only left the Room for the Leaving Feast.

(Everything that occurred in the Leaving Feast is the same as in the book, except that anything referring to Harry is changed to the trio, so just refer to the last chapter of Goblet of Fire.)

Finally it was time to leave. Fleur stopped to say good-bye to James on her way to the Beauxbatons carriage. Stella and Krum had a passionate good-bye kiss and promised to write each other. She had also been invited to visit him in Bulgaria, but had to turn him down because she was starting an internship at St. Mungo's to become a Healer in two weeks and wanted to be around to support James.

During the train ride, Unity didn't talk much. James tried offering them the thousand Galleons, but none of them would take it. In the end, he sought out Fred and George and made them take the money as an 'investment' in their joke shop, insisting that Hiroshi and he had no need or desire for the money and threatening to hex them if they didn't take it. To make the twins feel better about taking the money, James added that they could give him and Hiroshi free merchandise for a year or something once their shop was up and running.

When the Hogwarts Express arrived, everyone grabbed their things and disembarked. Theo paled when he saw his father, who did not look happy at all. In fact, Mr. Nott looked angry, and when he spotted his son, he shot a look that promised dire consequences. Mandy took Theo's hand and whispered, "If anything happens, notify us via our notebooks, Theo."

"I will, Mandy," replied Theo. He turned and bent his head slightly to kiss her. When they broke apart, he continued, "I will not let my father dictate my life. He tried after my mother died, and would have succeeded if it hadn't been for Unity, which reminded me of everything Mother had instilled in me."

Mandy managed a tiny smile. "Be careful, though. Your father's not going to like the fact that you're dating me, when both my parents are Muggleborn."

"Well, he's not stopping me," said Theo firmly. He kissed her again and then with a determined expression walked over to his father.

James looked concernedly after his friend, hoping that things would turn out well for Theo, before letting Sirius take him and his siblings home.

Author's Note: That is the conclusion of this fic. Thanks goes to reviewer call015, who suggested that Unity become Animagi. The first chapter of the sequel, Unity and the Order of the Phoenix, will be up soon.