"Bye Maman, Papa!"
Brand new, first-year Marinette Dupain-Cheung beamed widely as she waves back to her parents; Slowly straining to drag her large trunk onto the steaming train.
There were students everywhere, hugging their own parents' goodbye, helping each other with baggage, joyous laughter lifting Mari's excitement to the skies. Smiles bounced everywhere around platform 9¾, and Mari threw her grin back to her parents for the last time before clambering on the train.
The Hogwarts Express lurches forward, steam billowing out of its' funnel. Mari huffs in victory as she finally swings the heavy bag into its rightful compartment. Walking into the next wizard-sized compartment, Mari did not expect for a brown-speckled girl to tumble in right after she took a seat.
"Hi!" Mari blinked quickly. "Anyone sitting here?"
"Oh yes- I mean no, you can sit here- if you want, that is?"
The brown-speckled girl who also happened to have a beautiful mane of ombré hair and cute, quirky glasses laughed and quickly sat down opposite to Mari.
"I'm Alya Césaire, what's your name?"
"I'm Darniette Mupain-Cheung, I MEAN MARINETTE DUPAIN-CHEUNG."
Alya chuckled again, "Girl, relax! No need to be nervous 'round me."
Mari could only smack her forehead in reply before glancing back up again.
Bright flashes of green grabbed her focus from Alya's grinning face to the window, where fields of impossible peacefulness went speeding by. Mari was not the only one captivated by the beautiful view, but Alya was seemingly recording the entire journey with her phone as well. The foxy slant of her eyes slid from screen to Marinette, and a small wicked smirk formed as she yelled, "Marinette! Say 'Hi'!"
Alya's choked laughter spread through the open corridor, making the nearby compartments' passengers look towards the noise with confusion. There were near tears of joy leaking from Alya's eyes as she replayed Marinette's five-foot jump on the screen. "Alya!" An embarrassed bluenette came into focus, and not a second passed before the giggling fox promised to never allow the recorded jump-scare to see daylight ever again.
After control was restored to the small compartment, the famed Trolley Witch opened their door to take any hungry request. Both girls had to restrain each other from spending all their pocket money; Yet they still managed to sit down 5 minutes later, surrounded by both opened and unopened packages of sweets, snacks, and other glorious goodies.
Happily filled tummies later, Marinette and Alya were exchanging numbers on their phones when a robe-dressed boy ran through, yelling to 'get off your phones and check out the view, newbies!'
Glancing up, Alya raised an eyebrow in silent question while Marinette shrugged and turned to the window. Though, the action was proved useful, as gasps tumbled throughout the train when Hogwarts came into view.
Mist rose in slow motion as the sun shone through the clouds and lit the majestic castle in all its' glory.
Bluenette and brunette alike both gaped at the sight; Alya's phone stuck to the window in thunder-struck amazement.
By the time they disembarked the train, the sun was already setting. Quickly ushered onto tacky little boats, Alya and Mari were determined to stay together till they were safely out of the water.
However, it seemed that they were not the only pair determined to stay together.
"I WANT TO SIT WITH MY ADRIKINS!1!1!1!1"
Heads turned towards the blond toss of hair, its owner currently screaming at some other poor first year who was put into a spot next to a similarly blond boy; who held a slightly frowned expression on his face as he watched the blond girl throw the offending first-year out of the boat and planted her designer butt (later boasted that she wears a Madame Malkin's robe that was specifically made for her) on the same seat. Marinette gave a sideways glance to Alya, who in return tutted in response to the whole scene. In the next moment, two girls introduced themselves as "Rose, and this is Juleka!" And together, the four of them hopped into a boat and awaited the magic to pull them ashore.
Cut to the great hall; A drenched and shivering first year (the same offending one from earlier) joined the rest of the crowded group, as they clustered with impatience at the Great Hall's doors. The blond-haired girl shoved her way to the front, taking care to avoid damage on her perfectly manicured nails. Marinette leaned to Alya, blue eyes alight with mischief, as she snarked a comment; "Could she hold her head, and fingers, any higher?"
Suddenly halting, the blond girl swirled her robes to face Mari and marched right up to her face. "Did you just say something, blue-haired?" Snickers were cast around the crowd, and Marinette felt heat wash over her face. Blondie smirked. "Didn't think so; How can someone like you even speak in my presence? And looking at your robes, I can tell that you're definitely a Mud-Blood. Mayhaps, even a squib! It's too easy to tell with how pathetic you look."
- ADRIEN's POV -
"It's too easy to tell with how pathetic you look."
I stared on in shock, my eyes stuck to the back of Chloé's head. I can't believe she just said that! How can she be that mean?! My shrunken pupils darted between Chloé's stretched smirk and the bluenette's red face; That girl looks like she's about to cry!
Before I can reach an arm out to pull back Chloé, a glasses-wearing (clearly muggle-born) girl took a stance in front of Bluenette and glared at Chloé.
"How dare you say that!" She says, ombre hair swishing from side to side.
"How can you say any of that?!"
I glance to Chloé, catching a slight drop in her smirk. I then glance at the bluenette, whom I then lock eyes into by accident since she must've glanced to me at the same time. Feeling a little lost in those wide bluebell eyes, the moment is broken when she looks away and to the stone floor. Thankfully, a nice-looking witch opened the doors and introduced herself as Madame Bustier, and then led us all into the Great Hall- Woah! Triple Wow! This place is actually bigger than the Agreste mansion, which is an impressive feat by itself.
Glowing lanterns, or some mystical orb, floated to the ceiling of a dark night sky - beautifully showcasing constellations of Orion, Ursa Major...and Draco? I blinked. That was not a very common star for me to pick out. Shaking my head, I continued to follow the now single-filed line of first years; Chloé is thankfully quiet in the large space.
- THIRD PERSON perspective -
A senior wizard stood from the centre-most place of the high table, coughing twice before beginning his opening speech. "Good evening students, staff, and newbies! I have a few term announcements to begin this year with. Firstly, the forbidden forest is strictly out of bounds for all students. Do not venture in it! Secondly, students must be wary of the Whomping Willow. Do not go near the tree, s'il vous plaît. That is all."
Claps echoed the hall before the school settled for the Sorting ceremony to begin. Madame Bustier took up a roll and smiled at the first years before her. Then, the Sorting ceremony proceeded.
Rose was called forward to be placed in Hufflepuff.
Two Couffaine siblings were sent to the Ravenclaw table.
A boy named Kim became the first Gryffindor to be sorted, followed by another boy named Nino Lahiffe, creating a great Gryffindor uproar.
When Chloé Bourgeois was called up, the Sorting Hat tensed as it touched her hair before it screamed "Slytherin!"
(Alya whispered to Marinette, "Apparently, there wasn't a witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin.")
Alya was then called up, Mari crossing her fingers so tightly that she gasped in relief to hear that her new best friend was sorted into Gryffindor.
Then, came Mari's turn. Marinette slowly walked up, taking care not to trip over in front of the whole school. Unluckily, her robe snagged at the step before the stool, and thus was thrown forward to the Sorting Hat, nearly crashing into both the tattered hat and a startled Madame Bustier. Chuckles rippled through the hall, and Marinette pulled the hat over her eyes in the hope it concealed the burning of her visage. As soon as it slipped over the bridge of her nose, the Sorting Hat began to murmur curiously; "Now what do we have here...Dupain-Cheung is an interesting choice of name. Where are you looking to go? Who do you want to be?"
"I-I want to be with friends; I want to make friends and be with friends."
"I see that you're loyal to friends. I also see that you're determined to stick up for them and will stand with them no matter what happens in the future."
"What-"
"Gryffindor!"
Marinette felt the Sorting Hat being lifted from her head; Madame Bustier smiling kindly at her before gesturing to the roaring Gryffindor table that held an equally roaring Alya. Quickly moving to sit in front of the fox, Marinette took a second to shake herself out of shock; As she grinned back at Alya, Mari's head suddenly snapped to the front at the name,
"Agreste, Adrien!"
Silence filled the hall, an unknown chill settling on every student's shoulders. It wasn't a surprise to hear the infamous Agreste name; But it was also a shock to find that the only heir of the Agreste family's fortune came to attend Hogwarts, of all schools. Whispers scattered around as the stiff-looking blond boy stepped towards the Sorting Hat. There was a moment of intense anticipation, while the Sorting Hat gave expressions of deep consideration and thought. Heartbeats later, the magical hat opened its' mouth to scream,
"Gryffindor!"
A pin dropped. Then, every house erupted in confused fury and misunderstanding; How was an Agreste sorted to Gryffindor?
It took several attempts for Madame Bustier and Monsieur Damocles to hush the students, and Adrien hurriedly took a place at the Gryffindor table. The piercing looks and stares that were cast to his posture and face were so obvious that even Marinette noticed; The famed Agreste Heir continued to shrink into the wooden bench. Madame Bustier coughed and announced the remaining unsorted first-years, and then Monsieur Damocles made his last reminder of the rules before raising both hands to "Let the feast, begin!"
Roasts of various types appeared out of thin air, the hall now filled with great aromas of royalty-fit food. The coq au vin beckoned nearby students to savour the wine-cooked bacon and mushrooms; A Gryffindor further down the table was seen heaping piles of escargots onto their plate, and another Hufflepuff passed some gougères to the Ravenclaw next to them.
The atmosphere was once again merry, with the small exception of a four first-years sitting at the edge of the Gryffindor table.
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Thank you so much for reading! This is my first fanfiction, so I'll be greatly appreciative of any comment on this story :)
Don't panic, this isn't the end – you can read the second half of this one-shot (posted as a second chapter on this fanfic).
Translations for the French foods mentioned:
Coq au vin - Chicken braised in red wine, lardons, and mushrooms
Escargots - snails!
Gougère - cheese in choux pastry
Miraculous characters in Hogwarts Houses:
Lavillant, Rose - Hufflepuff
Raincomprix, Sabrina - Hufflepuff
Lahiffe, Nino - Gryffindor
Kurtzberg, Nathaniel - Hufflepuff
Couffaine, Juleka - Ravenclaw
Couffaine, Luka - Ravenclaw
Lê Chien, Kim - Gryffindor
Chloé Bourgeois - Slytherin
Kubdel, Alix - Slytherin
Bruel, Ivan - Hufflepuff
Kanté, Max - Ravenclaw
Rossi, Lila - Slytherin
Haprèle, Mylène - Hufflepuff
Césaire, Alya - Gryffindor
Dupain-Cheung, Marinette - Gryffindor
Agreste, Adrien - Gryffindor
(Tsuguri, Kagami - Slytherin)
If you have another opinion on the placings above, please write a review! I'd love to hear your ideas :D
Honestly, Slytherin!Mari sounds pretty interesting to write, what do you guys reckon?
Again, thank you so much for reading!