ALERT ALERT ALERT: I HAVE EDITED ALL OF THE CHAPTERS PRIOR TO THIS ONE AS OF 5/22/2018. If you have time, please reread it, but if not, at least reread Chapter 6, because I kind of rewrote ALL of Marinette's and Adrien's dynamic. So yeah. Just a quick FYI. Carry on.

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You, the reader: What's this? Another Chapter? It can't be!

Me: Ah hah! But it is! For you see, my interest in the story has been rekindled!

You: Why that is wonderful! I'm excited to see what happens in this chapter!

Me: I am gladdened that you like my work! (Lol "gladdened" who uses that word, what a nerd am I)

You: Nebilas, please when will the next chapter be?

Me: I have like seven scenes written!

You: Hurray! That must mean it will be soon.

Me: Yeah... About that..

You: What? What is it?

Me: Thet're like... For.. Not yet. Like... A few chapters later probably..

You: ...

Me: ...

You: ... You don't know where this story is going do you?

Me: NOPE

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Okay that's a slight exaggeration, but seriously, I've planned up to like the Yule Ball, but beyond that I've got just the vaguest of vague ideas. Although one of them involves Ladybug And Chat Noir, and I'M TOTALLY RUNNING WITH THAT IDEA I THINK YOU'LL LOVE IT. The problem is that it won't be for a loooong time. Like a LOT of chapters. But hey, hopefully you like the story that takes you there. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Comment and Follow/Fave and all that!

Love you all!

Until Next Time!

~Nebilas~

Chapter 9: He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named

To put things mildly, Marinette was not a morning person. She utterly despised waking up any earlier than she had to, and could often be spotted in a dead sprint through the castle, having slept in too late. Today however, was the first day, and Marinette got to the Great Hall at their arranged meeting time.

"Good morning!" She greeted cheerfully, parking herself next to Alya and across from Nino.

Alya took a large bite of a biscuit and grunted a response. Nino, reading a letter he had received, waved distractedly.

Marinette cocked an eyebrow. "Chatty bunch." She said dryly, filling her plate with food.

Alya swallowed. "Sorry." She said sheepishly, wiping her mouth with her robe. "I'm starving." As if to prove her point, she redirected her attention to her now empty plate and proceeded to refill it. Nino put his letter down and began to eat as well.

"How'd you sleep?" He asked, before taking a bite of his scrambled eggs.

"Not terribly." Marinette replied, stabbing a sausage with her fork. "I learned a charm this summer to soften my mattress so there's that."

Nino grinned. "Party. How 'bout you Alya?"

Alya's head snapped up, and she quickly swallowed her mouthful of water. Unfortunately, she drank it too quickly and promptly fell into a coughing fit, leaving it to Marinette to pat her on the back. "Fine." Alya gasped, before coughing some more. Nino watched in bemusement as Alya hid her head beneath the table as she coughed.

"How about you Nino?" Marinette asked, hoping to divert attention away from Alya, who was currently lecturing herself on how not to embarrass herself again.

Nino shrugged. "Not too bad. I'm rooming with Calvin Howell and James Taylor, so that's something. Neither snore."

Alya finally recovered and popped her head back up. "Lucky! I got stuck with Alix Kubdel and Rebecca Thornton. Both snore up a freaking storm."

"So do you." Marinette pointed out.

"That's not the point." Alya muttered as Nino chuckled. "Oh! Mail's here!" Marinette and Nino looked up, as did most of the student body, as owls began to soar into the hall, dropping off packages and letters. Marinette spotted Tikki from amongst them, and watched as her owl gracefully soared amongst the candles above, before swooping in and landing perfectly on her shoulder, a letter in her talons, as well as the Daily Prophet.

Marinette offered her a piece of bacon as a reward. "Thank you Tikki." She murmured, as Tikki traded the letter for the bacon. Marinette opened the first, which was simply her schedule. "We have potions together Alya." She commented.

"Sweet!" Alya said happily, opening a letter of her own.

Marinette moved over to the newspaper, absentmindedly rubbing Tikki's cheek with her index finger. Tikki hooted gratefully, before taking off. Marinette eyed the front cover, reading the main headline.

Escape From Azkaban!

Dmitri Siblings Escape, Dementors in Uproar

Vitalik and Indrani Dmitri have both escaped from the wizard prison Azkaban, Maxen King, head of the auror department reports. The brother and sister both found a way off of the island two days ago, and have not been seen since. "They got their hands on wands and dueled their way off of the island. It is unknown how they escaped the dementors, as members of The Following have been unable to produce the Patronus Charm."

The two siblings were serving several life-sentences for serving under Hawkmoth. They were known as Horrificator (Vitalik) and Princess Fragrance (Indrani) the two were amongst Hawkmoth's inner circle. "It has become our priority to find the siblings." King said in his statement. "The two are guilty of some of the worst war crimes that were dealt out at the end of the war. They certainly earned their nicknames."

Horrificator was known for practicing experimental spells on those he captured, often leaving his victims unrecognizable. Princess Fragrance was known for creating potions and leaving traps with those potions, often leaving a sweet smelling, but lethal trap for people trying to hunt her down.

This has again called into question whether or not Hawkmoth is back, especially following the incident at the world cup. King refused to comment on whether or not he believed Hawkmoth has returned, as has the vast majority of the Ministry of Magic. Prime Minister Bourgeois has called for calm, and has stated several times that the auror department is looking into all leads of both The Following, as well as Hawkmoth himself.

This story continues on Page 13C.

Marinette tapped Alya on the shoulder. "Did you see this?" Alya quickly scanned, and her eyes narrowed.

Nino looked over as well and sighed. "Yeah that's what my dad said in his letter. Apparently they wiped out like 50% of the guards on their way out. They let out a bunch of other people as well, but none of them made it through the dementors."

"How did they get by them?" Alya asked curiously. "Those things are awful."

Nino rubbed his forehead. "Nobody knows. That's why it's such a big deal. Nobody has escaped before, and the dementors are livid."

"It's freaky to think those things have emotions." Marinette muttered.

Nino and Alya nodded in agreement. The trio continued to eat breakfast, shifting the conversation away from the prisoners and to more pleasant topics. Marinette turned her attention to the other articles on the front page.

Minister Bourgeois Expected to Win Re-Election

French Election: What You Need to Know

British Quidditch League: Harpies and Arrows set to square off for Final

Tri-Wizard Tournament: A History

Marinette paused as she reached the bottom article. She shrugged. She might as well learn about the tournament, even though she wouldn't be participating.

The Triwizard, to be hosted at Hogwarts, has a fascinating history. Before its cancellation, the tournament was an event held every few years, from 1294 until 1792. The tournament was cancelled when a cockatrice escaped during a task, killing two contestants, injured all three heads of houses, as well as several others. There have been 125 editions of the tournament since its concoction, all of which produced a Champion. Hogwarts has won a total of 63 times, and Beauxbatons 62. Durmstrang has never won. They have come close, falling one point short on 17 occasions, but have never found themselves victorious.

Continue Reading on Page 8a

Marinette chuckled, deciding not to flip the pages to the rest of the article. "Did you know Durmstrang has never won the tournament?" She asked Alya.

Alya looked at her in disbelief. "Seriously?" She asked, bemused. "How does that even happen?"

Marinette shrugged. "They must have awful luck." She said, mostly to herself. She sighed and flipped to the sports section, wondering about the English league. She was not prepared for the entire page to be dominated by Adrien Agreste's face. To make matters worse, the picture of Adrien waved at her.

Alya leaned over to see what had turned Marinette's face so red, and immediately laughed. "He is pretty I'll give you that." She said, teasing.

And he can flirt up a storm. Marinette thought to herself, trying to ignore the heat rising in her cheeks. She shook her head and focused on the article.

Agreste Still Hasn't Signed With A Team

For reasons unknown, the French seeker Adrien Agreste has not signed with a professional Quidditch team. The teenage superstar has declined comment, leaving many to speculate whether or not his father has had something to do with his silence.

Gabriel Agreste has always been tight-lipped, despite his prominence around the world. The businessman has recently been considering a run at the French Government (see page 12b) and could possibly use his sons rise in popularity as a boost in the upcoming election. If recent polls are to believed however, it would appear that Gabriel would win without his sons help.

As for the seeker, the reasons for his lack of signing remains unknown, and will most likely remain unknown. The elder Agreste has always been protective of his son, ever since the end of the Great Wizarding War. There was reportedly a question of whether or not he would even allow his son to play quidditch at all, but the younger Agreste got a tryout, and the rest is history.

Marinette hummed thoughtfully. It was curious that Adrien wouldn't sign. He had no reason not to. "What do you think?" She asked Alya sardonically. "Should I write him a letter and tell him to get his life together?"

Alya laughed, eyes scanning the page. "I'm sure that would go well. A random girl he's never met before telling him how to live his life."

Marinette laughed with her friend, but found herself again wondering what would happen if she did write him. Would he respond? Or would it get lost among the tons of fan mail she was sure he received every day? Or would he flat out ignore it? She sighed. She'd had this discussion with herself several times, and every time, she couldn't bring herself to send him anything. She closed the newspaper and focused on her food. Food didn't give her conflicting emotions.

Marinette chewed on another slice of bacon as she observed the other tables. Lila Rossi was currently talking to Chloe at the Slytherin table which never boded well. At the Ravenclaw table Aurora was currently talking to Juleka. Suddenly Juleka laughed and slid something over to her brother Luka. Luka looked up from what he was writing and glanced at it. He laughed as well, blue hair bouncing as he slightly shook his head. He glanced up, and their eyes briefly met.

Marinette quickly looked away and turned to Alya, intending to join the conversation she and Nino were having. Instead, her eyes fell on somebody else who was just entering the Great Hall. Her eyes widened and she grabbed Alya's arm. Alya glanced at her, then followed her line of sight.

"Oh, hell." She whispered.

"What?" Nino asked, looking over.

"It's him." Alya spat.

"Can we go please?" Marinette pleaded.

Alya was already standing. "Of course girl. Come on Puff, we've got places to be."

Nino nodded and grabbed his bag, quickly following the girls along the table. Marinette chanced a glance over, and was relieved to see the person in question wasn't looking in their direction. A tense twenty seconds later, that for Marinette, couldn't have felt longer, the trio got out of the Great Hall.

Marinette was still clinging onto Alya's arm. She didn't realize her nails were digging into Alya's flesh until her friend let out a noise of discomfort. Marinette quickly let go, apologies already spilling from her lips, but Alya waved her off.

"You're fine Marinette." She promised. "I understand."

Marinette nodded miserably. "I thought I was fine." She whispered, distraught.

Alya pulled her friend into a hug. "Marinette it's okay to not be fine." She whispered, voice gentle. "We know what he tried to do. It's okay to not want to see him."

Marinette buried her face in Alya's neck. "I have to confront it eventually." She said hollowly.

Alya hesitated, before sighing. "Yes." She admitted. She pulled back to look Marinette in the eyes. "But that day doesn't have to be today." Marinette smiled gratefully, tears stinging her eyes.

She took a deep breath, steadying herself. "One day I'm going to kick his ass." She said, voice devoid of any humor.

"Damn straight." Alya said approvingly. "Just make sure that when you do you let me know."

"And me." Nino added.

"Thanks guys." Marinette murmured, wiping her eyes of the moisture still clinging to them. "You're the best."

"Of course we are." Alya said unabashedly.

"Not modest though." Nino added, grinning.

Marinette chuckled. "Clearly." She began walking up the staircase. "Come on. Let's go to the library. I want to say hello to Ava."

Nino and Alya fell into step beside her, and the trio disappeared into the depths of the castle just as Professor Fu walked into the corridor, searching for a certain girl with black hair. He sighed, disappointed. He'd been hoping to speak to her, but he still had time. Not a lot of time, but some. The prophecy was looming, and she needed to know what it said.

Can we talk about how it's canon that Durmstrang has NEVER won the Triwizard Tournament? Because I find that hilarious