Chapter 2: Portus

"Marinette! We're leaving now!" Marinette quickly shut her suitcase and ran over to her trapdoor, jumped down the stairs and jogged into the entry hall.

"Bye Mum. Bye Dad. Have a good time!" She said hugging and kissing each respectively.

Her father laughed. "I have a feeling you'll be having more fun than we will." He said pointedly.

Mari grinned and nodded, not bothering to hide her excitement. "Love you!" she called as they left.

"Love you too!" They said simultaneously, climbing into their car. Mari watched them drive away, then closed the door. She returned up the stairs to her room and collected her suitcase and backpack, and lugging them downstairs.

It was all Marinette could do to stop from bouncing up and down in anticipation. After she had sent the letters she'd immediately started packing, before realizing she had a week before Nino and Alya were due to pick her up. The week had dragged on and Marinette had eventually forced herself to be productive, and she'd attacked her summer homework.

She'd surprised herself by burning through her elective classes, (albeit inventing her way through Divination) and had finished Potions and Charms to boot. She still had Herbology, Defense, and Transfiguration left, but those were far from her mind as she waited for her best friends to show up. They had said they would arrive at eleven and a glance at the clock showed her she was within five minutes of that.

She checked her bag for the fifteenth time to make sure she had everything she needed. She knew that that she did, but she needed to do something to calm her nerves. She was just zipping up her bag when the doorbell rang.

Upon hearing this, she took off for the door, forgetting the suitcase was lying in front of her. She let out a few choice words that made her grateful her parents were out for the day and picked herself off the ground. She opened the door and was immediately bowled over.

"MARINETTE!" A voice shrieked and Marinette found herself on the ground for a second time, this time beneath a laughing Alya.

"Alya I can't breathe!" Marinette gasped, laughing with the brunette.

Alya reluctantly got off but remained kneeling over her. "I know but it's been a month!" She said with a pout.

Marinette brushed aside some of Alya's hair which was hanging over her face. "I missed you too girl. Where's lover boy?"

"Shhhh!" Alya hissed, glancing behind her. "He's still outside because I sprinted here. He doesn't know about that still!"

"What don't I know about?" Came an amused voice. Marinette peered out from around Alya and saw Nino grinning at the two of them.

"I'm afraid that information is need to know." Marinette said, grinning unabashedly, adjusting herself so she was leaning on her elbows. Nino cocked an eyebrow, but smiled as the girls got up, and pulled Marinette into a hug, who was perfectly happy to return it. "How's my favorite Hufflepuff?" She asked, breaking the embrace.

"Fantastic." Nino replied, grinning. "Even with that potions assignment."

"An 18 inch essay on the properties of various antidotes." Alya grumbled. "I hate the snake."

"I think we all do." Marinette said, throwing an arm around the taller girl. "Though I think she holds a special place in her heart for me."

Alya snorted at that. "If by special place you mean complete hatred then yes, I agree." Alya said wryly while Nino nodded vigorously.

"I've never actually seen a head of house look angry after somebody single-handedly won the Quidditch Cup for their own house." Nino mused. "You would assume she'd put that hatred aside."

"How are we traveling?" Marinette asked, directing the topic away from her least favorite professor.

"Car and then portkey." Came a third voice. Nino's father Jonathan Lahiffe stepped through the door.

"Hey Mr. Lahiffe. Long time no see." Marinette said warmly.

The older man sighed. "Marinette, how many times must I say this? Please call me Jonathan." he said with a smile. Marinette cocked an eyebrow at the man who stood before her. He was tall and lean, and had a grizzled look about him that practically screamed "Battle-Tested."

Marinette shook her head. "Give me a few years." She said.

Mr. Lahiffe laughed and nodded, accepting her response. "Is that all of your stuff?" he asked, spying her suitcase. Marinette nodded, and Mr. Lahiffe pulled out his wand. "Right then. Locomotor suitcase." Marinette's suitcase lifted off the ground and floated past the group and out the door, with Mr. Lahiffe pulling it to make it look as though he was not using magic for any passing muggles. The three teenagers followed him out, with Marinette locking the door behind them.

Mr. Lahiffe put her bags in the trunk and smiled at the three, before getting in the driver's seat. Marinette slid into the backseat with Alya, while Nino hopped in next to his father.

"Since when can you drive Mr. Lahiffe?" Marinette asked curiously.

Mr. Lahiffe put on his seat belt and turned his gaze on her in the rearview mirror. "Ever since I learned that the muggle world was becoming so advanced on its own I wanted to learn." He began explaining, as he started the car. "This was one of the first things I stumbled upon. It's actually easier than using a broom in that I don't have to disguise myself every time I want to travel. From what I've heard I think the Ministry is using some magical form of television to broadcast the World Cup Final."

"Really?" Marinette asked, more than a little surprised.

"Indeed. I'm as surprised as you are." Mr. Lahiffe sympathised, who began driving. "I'm used to the Ministry who refuses to modernize. After all, you still have to use quills in school yes?" The three teenagers nodded. "That's ridiculous." Mr. Lahiffe said with a shake of his head. "We have pens now. It's not that difficult to swap it out."

"But the minister is allowing the wizard community to adjust?" Alya asked.

"Yes, Mr. Bourgeois did the same as I did after I filed my report on the muggle world. He was as impressed as I was and he began to implement some of their ideas."

Nino shook his head at his father's statement. "It's hard to believe that he and Chloe are related, with how much she badmouths muggles and muggleborns." He muttered.

Mr. Lahiffe glanced at Nino for a moment before he shrugged. "Well there are always going to be those people who feel that way. It doesn't give them an excuse but…" He trailed off, leaving the car quiet for a few moments. Eventually the conversation resumed, but it was about school and the upcoming match.

They pulled up to the Lahiffe house out in the countryside. Marinette smiled as she got out of the car. The house itself wasn't necessarily large, but the property was large to say the least. It stretched for what felt like miles, having a lake, a large clump of trees that later expanded into a forest once off of the property, and hills that seemed to roll on forever.

Marinette grinned as she spotted the horses she had come to love two summers ago. She could hardly wait, and had half a mind to sprint away from the rest of the group and vault over the fence to say hello. Glancing to her right, she could see Alya going through the same struggle. Nino laughed at the pair and tapped them on their shoulders.

"Soon." He reassured them. "Let's get your stuff inside first, then we can go explore." The group moved the girls suitcases into the house, and Marinette began climbing the stairs to the second floor, where she knew she'd be staying with Alya. Alya followed behind, lugging her own cases.

They turned right at the top of the stairs, and proceeded down the hallway, entering the third door on the left. Marinette quickly began unpacking, as did Alya. Once they both finished, they turned to look at each other. They both grinned, and raced to the stairs, practically throwing themselves down them, and wound up in the kitchen, where Nino and his father were waiting.

Mr. Lahiffe looked exceedingly guilty. "Uh… Girls? Don't hate me now but it looks like seeing the horses is going to have to wait until after the world cup." At seeing the girl's distraught faces, he explained. "It's just that I'm on second duty today as an auror, and they need more security on the grounds. There've been rumors about an attack."

Marinette could practically see Alya's radar for an investigation go off. "What kind of attack?" Alya inquired.

Mr. Lahiffe smiled, aware of the Gryffindor's tendency to interrogate those around her. "A certain group with power. That's all I know and I wouldn't be allowed to tell you more anyway. Fortunately, Juliana Velasco was kind enough to set up our campsite a day early, and I've been given permission to make a portkey."

He gestured towards an innocent looking coffee mug lying on the table. He tapped it once with his wand and muttered "Portus!". The mug shone with a blue light before fading back to normal, resuming its innocent facade. A thought suddenly struck Mari.

"What about extra clothes Mr. Lahiffe?" she asked.

He smiled reassuringly. "You still have those extra bags with clothes in them right?" The girls nodded. "I'll bring them along later tonight once I get a break." He turned to the cup. "Everyone grab on." Everyone placed a finger on the cup, and Mr. Lahiffe began a countdown.

"3...2….1…" A force hooked Marinette behind the navel, and the world started spinning, reality blurring around them. Marinette knew from experience her hand would not slip until it was time, but she almost wished it would. She felt like she was going to vomit. The spinning stopped as quickly as it started, and they found themselves on a grassy hill.

The three teenagers were left gasping for breath on their backs. Alya and Nino were clutching their heads while Marinette was concentrating on keeping breakfast down. She glanced up to find Mr. Lahiffe still standing, but he was swaying slightly, and his face had gone pale. He coughed and shook his head, before helping the three teenagers to their feet.

"I bloody hate portkeys." Nino muttered under his breath. Mari had a feeling that Mr. Lahiffe had heard, as the corner of his mouth twitched upwards.

After recovering for a few more moments, the group set off into a batch of trees that appeared to be an offshoot of a much larger forest. As they walked through the trees, she began to hear voices shouting.

Once they cleared the trees, the group gawked at the sight before them. Thousands upon thousands of tents were set up over a large expanse of field. In the distance sat the stadium. It loomed over the campground, and Marinette couldn't help but feel it added an intense atmosphere to the surrounding area.

"Jonathan!" Someone shouted. The group turned to find a witch sprinting towards them. The woman had an auror insignia on her cloak. She reached them, gasping.

"Juliana!" Mr. Lahiffe said in surprise. "What's wrong?"

"A fight broke out in section 3." She gasped, handing him a map. "The Gorilla is already there but he needs backup. But there's also one in section 7 which is where I'm going now. Your camp spot is in section 12, spot A143." She said all of this at a breakneck speed and promptly apparated away, presumably to section 7. Mr. Lahiffe sighed and handed the directions to Nino.

"Is she always like that?" the younger Lahiffe asked his father, cocking an eyebrow.

"Actually she seemed rather subdued. She must be tired." Mr. Lahiffe responded amidst laughter from the teenagers. "Go on. I get off at 8:30. See you then." And with that he disapparated. The teenagers glanced at each other.

"Let's go." Alya said with a grin.

A/N: (5/18/2018) Editing run complete! Thank god. This chapter needed serious help. It's not that long and I had to change like 100 things (not exaggerating) to make this readable in my eyes. Oh 17 year old me what were you doing?

Hope you like!

Untile Next Time!

~Nebilas~