Harry Potter AU. Marinette (as Harry) is an orphan who is taken care of by her horrid aunt and uncle, with their daughter Beatrice. She gets mysterious letters asking her to go to Hogwarts, school for witchcraft and wizardry. There, she meets friends like Alya, Adrien, and Nino. She also learns about her backstory, who killed her parents, and a new evil that emerges. Harry Potter AU y'all!
((also no Miraculous au!)
Read on, my dudes.
-Ballet by Night
-Marinette Cheng-
Beatrice and Marinette walked home from school, neither talking to the other, but glaring daggers at each other. Marinette never liked Beatrice, and Beatrice didn't like Marinette. They were always arguing, but Beatrice always won. Most of the time it was because of Aunt Marie and Uncle Carlos helping her, but other times it was merely because Beatrice was a lot bigger than Marinette was. Marinette, due to malnutrition (only a tiny bit), and her genetics. Her clothes hung off of her body and her midnight hair always pulled back into pigtails. Beatrice always called it childish, but it reminded her of her parents, or whatever memories she could recall.
The two girls walked into the house to see Uncle Carlos angrily talking to Aunt Marie, flailing a letter around in the air with Marinette's name on it. Marinette naturally was curious, but didn't say anything. After all, she didn't want to get in trouble. Again. Marinette left Beatrice standing at the door and dropped off her backpack in her cupboard under the stairs. She then set to making dinner. She made spaghetti with meatballs and salad, Uncle Carlos's favorite meal.
The family sat at the table and dug in. No one spoke for a while, letting the silence settle comfortably over the dinner table. Marinette treasured that silence, since it came few and far between. After a while, Uncle Carlos finished his meal, setting his dishes in the sink and sitting back down at the table. He glanced at Aunt Marie, who just nodded.
"Alright you two. I'm going to tell you something, and you're not going to argue or say a word." He says, and Marinette and Beatrice nod. "We're moving. As of tomorrow, we're living in Chicago."
Beatrice looked like a fish out of water. She couldn't close her mouth, or emit any sound. The last part was a blessing in it's own. Marinette just sat there, saying nothing just as she was told. She knew that this was because of the letter addressed to her, but she didn't know what was in the letter that was so terrible to Uncle Carlos.
"Back to your room, pumpkin. I'll be there to help you pack in a minute." Aunt Marie says. "You too, Marinette."
Marinette walked back to her cupboard, waiting a while until she heard the heavy footsteps on the stairs. Uncle Carlos and Aunt Marie were upstairs. Now was her chance.
Marinette snuck out of her cupboard, and crept across the floorboards to the kitchen counter, where the letter lay. She grabbed the letter and went back to her cupboard, being as quiet as she could. She turned on her light and opened the parchment.
Dear Marinette Cheng,
My name is Professor Damocles, and I am headmaster at Hogwarts: School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am writing to inform you that you are accepted into our school, and we are happy to teach you magic. Your parents will have gotten a list of materials you need to get from Diagon alley, and we hope to see you in a week!
Happy travels!
-Professor Damocles
Why did Uncle Carlos not want Marinette to go? This must be why they're moving, she thought. Marinette went to sleep with an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach.
The next morning, Uncle Carlos packed their things in the car. They went inside then, to get breakfast that Marinette had been preparing. They sat at the breakfast table, saying nothing. Owls were squeaking outside, which was strange, since they are nocturnal. Uncle Carlos got up to go look out the window and saw at least a hundred owls flying straight for the kitchen window. They were each holding a letter addressed to Marinette. The letters flooded the house, coming through doors, windows, and the chimney. Uncle Carlos grabbed everyone and ran out of the house towards the car. Once everyone was buckled up inside, they were off.
Not ten blocks from their house, Uncle Carlos stopped the car. A giant man was standing in the middle of the road, blocking them from driving further away. The man came around the side of the car and knocked on the window. Uncle Carlos rolled it down, scared out of his wits.
"Hello, can we help you?" Uncle Carlos asks timidly.
"I'm here for Marinette." The man says. Marinette gulps.
"And why might we ask?" Aunt Marie says.
"I'm here to deliver her to Hogwarts, since you have no plan on doing such. Marinette, let's go." The man says. Uncle Carlos nods, and Marinette gets out of the car. The two hop on his motorcycle and they drive off, leaving a gaping Dursley family.
"Can I know your name?" Marinette asks the man once they're far away from Uncle Carlos.
"The name's Andrew, but you can call me Gorilla. Everyone else does." Gorilla says. "Oh, and happy birthday Marinette."
"Thank you." Marinette mumbles. She held on to what few belongings she owned, clutching them tight to her chest. Gorilla drives them to what seems like a pub, called the Leaky Cauldron. Gorilla strolled right in, tugging Marinette along with him. Marinette was scared out of her wits, not sure how to think or feel about the situation. He didn't even sit down, just went immediately to the back of the pub and out of door to a brick wall. He touched several bricks in order, and then the bricks... moved.
Marinette gaped at what she saw. The bricks moved out of the way, leading to a long street filled with Witches and Wizards and shops. She saw wonders through the windows as they walked down the street, looking in the candy shops at moving chocolate frogs, watching as cauldrons stirred themselves. They kept walking, and Marinette stopped dead in her tracks at a broom shop.
"What is that!?" Marinette says in awe.
"That there's a fire bolt." Gorilla says, looking down at the excited little girl. "Come on, we need to get to Gringotts."
Marinette walked away from the wondrous piece of wood, wanting nothing more than to fly on it. Gorilla took her to a humongous bank, filled with tiny Goblins. He strutted right to the main Goblin as if it was no big deal, but Marinette walked up politely and bowed her head.
"Wow, a polite one. We never see those." The Goblin says. "Names Griphook. How may I assist you?"
"We're here for Vault 687." Gorilla says nonchalantly, but Griphook's eyes grew large.
"No one's allowed in without immediate family present." Griphook says warily, eyeing Gorilla.
"This right here is Marinette Cheng." Gorilla says, and Marinette gives a little wave.
"The girl who lived." Griphook muttered, staring at Marinette. She felt uncomfortable with her sudden attention. She brushed her bangs over her eyes casually, trying in vain to cover the lightning scar on her forehead. "Right this way, sir."
He led them through a series of corridors and down several tram tracks to reach her vault. When they arrived, he unlocked at least twenty locks and had to use a finger I.D. Finally, the doors opened to reveal several hundred thousand galleons and the likes, meant to last Marinette as long as she needed.
"Oh my god!" Marinette breathed, looking at her vault in wonder.
"How much are yer takin'?" Gorilla asks her.
"How much will I need?" Marinette asks.
"A couple thousand for school shoppin, and a couple thousand more for spending elsewhere and during the year." Gorilla tells her. Griphook goes and hands her a small sack of galleons, telling her to spend it wisely. She just nods and they walk out of the bank, ready to go shop for her first year at Hogwarts.
Gorilla took Marinette first to get her hair cut, since it was a mess and Uncle Carlos and Aunt Marie never cared enough to take her. The hairdresser took one look and her and sighed.
"This is going to take a while." She tells Marinette, who merely nods. The hairdresser starts with Marinette's bangs, asking her how she wants them styled.
"Please don't cut them off. I just want them evened out, I need my bangs." Marinette tells her, and Gorilla nods. The hairdresser picks up her bangs to start trimming when she sees Marinette's scar.
"Are you... Marinette Cheng?" The hairdresser asks. Marinette nods and shifts in her seat, clearly uncomfortable. "Oh my god, you're a legend!"
"How?" Marinette asks timidly.
"You are the only person to survive the killing curse! And to make it away from Hawkmoth surviving!" She gushes. Marinette blushes. Then she remembers her parents, who didn't survive Hawkmoth, who died for her. Marinette silently let a tear flow down her cheek, changing the hairdresser's actions from fangirling to comforting.
"Are you okay, sweetie?" She asks Marinette. She just nods. "Your parents..." Marinette nods again. The hairdresser said nothing more, and just cut her hair. She made the bangs even, but didn't touch them for the rest of the cut. She cut Marinette's hair next, and Gorilla requested for the hairdresser to leave it long.
"It looks good on you." Gorilla had told Marinette, who smiled. Marinette was done at the hairdresser's, paying for her cut and leaving. Her bangs were the same, covering up her scar decently, but it was still somewhat visible. The rest of her hair hung straight down, cut off right at her butt. Her bangs weren't stick straight down, however, they were most stray and askew, leaving some of her forehead showing and some of it not.
Next, Gorilla took her to get clothes and her robes. He took her to Florence's, a popular clothing shop. She got several pairs of jeans, undergarments, t-shirts, and sweatshirts for normal wear. She also got tennis shoes, boots, and sandals. Then, Gorilla (who was still flustered from having to buy undergarments with Marinette), took her to Madame Malkins, to get Marinette's school robes.
Madame Malkin was a nice woman, but immediately recognized Marinette and expressed her condolences, but told her how happy she was to see her. She then got to work doing her job.
"Marinette, dear, why are you so wiry? I don't have sizes small enough for you! I'll tailor you some right now, but is it too much to ask why you're so small?" Madame Malkin says.
"She came from a rather unpleasant home." Gorilla says. "She cooked the food but never ate it."
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." She says, and Marinette just stares blankly into space. Madame Malkin took Marinette's measurements and came back a few minutes later with a couple tailored robes. "Here you are. On the house. Have a nice day!"
Marinette thanked the woman and walked out. Gorilla looked rather mad at her for barging in so much on Marinette's home life, but didn't say anything. He led her into store after store, getting her a cauldron, some books, and other things like quills and parchment. Gorilla even took the liberty of getting her an iPhone, which Marinette was ecstatic about. Finally, they go to Ollivander's. They walk into the store and greet Ollivander. He gives Marinette several wands to try out, each causing more destruction than the next.
"Ah, here's one that should work." Ollivander says, handing her the wand. "11', made of holly, phoenix feather core."
Marinette waved it and a box flew right around the room, landing in the spot Marinette wanted it to.
"It's perfect!" Marinette says.
"Alrighty then. 75 galleons." Ollivander says.
"While you were picking out your wand, I got you a birthday gift. Happy birthday, Marinette." Gorilla says, handing her an owl. Marinette's face lit up.
"Hedwig." She immediately says. "It's name is Hedwig."
They finish the transaction and leave the shop. Diagon Alley was rather deserted now, really. And since they were done shopping, Gorilla took her out of Diagon Alley and headed towards the train station.
"This is as far as I take you. Here's your ticket."Gorilla hands Marinette a ticket. "It's for platform 9 3/4. Good luck, kiddo." He walked off.
Marinette looked around, utterly lost. She walked over to a group of red heads who looked rather friendly, and asked them.
"Excuse me miss, would you happen to know where platform 9 3/4 is?" Marinette asks. Immediately the woman lights up.
"Oh, you must be a first year! So is my daughter, Alya, here. She'll take you." She says, pointing to a rather tall girl named Alya.
"Sure, come with me!" Alya says, all but dragging Marinette and her trolley. Marinette screams as they run straight for a wall, only to pass through it and enter another train station. "Ow, my ears."
"Sorry." Marinette giggles.
The two get on the train, sitting in the same compartment awkwardly.
And this is when Marinette realized what she was getting into.
Did you like it? I'm changing the character's names in Harry Potter to those in Miraculous... If you didn't pick up on that.
Also, I fixed and edited the mistakes you guys brought up, thank you so much! I wouldn't have caught that!