I'm back, OTPeople! And now I'm realizing that….I probably should've started this fic in September. So just don't be weirded out if I write a winter chapter in the beginning of spring or something. Chapter 3 is here! By the way, I came up with a cool backstory for Lila, but she won't be introduced until I write a couple more chapters. Two akumatized villains for Chapter 3 seems suitable, don't you think? Anyway, the akumatized villains in this fanfic will be sort of out of order, so I hope you don't mind. It is an AU, after all. Believe it or not, this chapter is even longer than the last one!
…..…..…..…..…..…..…...
Chapter 3: Charms, Villains, and Other Normal Things
Marinette closed the umbrella and carried it to the Gryffindor Tower.
That meant walking through five endless hallways and climbing three endless staircases.
Forget being a superhero; going to her dorm alone was already giving her an extreme workout.
As she trudged up the final staircase, she heard a girl's voice yelling at a painting.
"Come on, just let me in!" the girl furiously screamed.
She was even smaller than Marinette and had short pink hair, one side tied up and the other loose.
"Sorry, dearie, but you need the password," the woman in the painting deviously smirked.
The Fat Lady had been moved five years ago, so a portrait of King Arthur had replaced her, although there was someone else on his throne today.
She wore a dark purple cloak over her black robes.
Her wavy crow-colored hair came down to her waist and she was currently using her ashwood wand as a nail file while she sat on a golden throne sideways, her legs dangling over the left armrest and her back leaning against the right armrest.
"Call me 'dearie' one more time, Morgan le Fay. One. More. Time. I dare you," the girl scowled. "What are you even doing here? You're supposed to be watching the Ravenclaw dorm!"
"Look, dearie, I have to babysit you whiny Gryffindors while my half-brother Arthur is visiting his buddy Merlin down in the Slytherin dorms," Morgan le Fay sighed. "Now, the password, please."
"For the last time, I don't have the password, paint-face!" the girl yelled.
"Sorry, no password, no entry," Morgan le Fay lazily grinned.
Marinette walked up to Morgan.
"I have the password," she bravely declared.
"Then what is it? I don't have all night, you know," the famous enchantress in the painting said, rolling her oil-pastel eyes.
"Mincemeat pie," Marinette announced.
"Fine," Morgana le Fay muttered under her breath.
She snapped her fingers and the portrait swung forward, revealing a doorway that led into the Gryffindor Common Room.
Marinette and the girl stepped inside, and the portrait slammed shut behind them.
"Thanks for that. If it wasn't for you, I would've been stuck outside all night," the girl said.
The common room was empty.
They tiptoed into the girls' dorm room.
"Looks like we're bunkmates," the girl whispered.
"We'll just have to unpack in the morning," Marinette sighed as she laid the umbrella against the wall. "By the way, what's your name? I'm Marinette."
"My name's Alix," the girl introduced herself as she climbed into the top bunk. "Nice to meet you, Marinette."
"Goodnight, Alix," Marinette said as she snuggled underneath the covers.
Both girls promptly fell asleep.
…...
Marinette yawned and blinked a couple of times.
She mentally made a list of yesterday's events.
She arrived at Hogwarts and became a superhero- all in one day.
Wow.
Marinette rubbed her eyes and looked at the Gryffindor robes on her bed.
She was the fifth one awake, and Alix was among the four girls who had already changed.
Alix also had the same enchanted music gear as Nino, except for the fact that she had green earbuds instead of orange headphones.
The music was extremely quiet, and you could only hear that she was listening to Rock N Roll by Avril Lavigne if you bothered to listen.
Marinette quickly changed into the Gryffindor robes, and Tikki flew into one of the pockets.
They fit her perfectly.
She unpacked her things, which consisted of a pink toothbrush, toothpaste, lots of pairs of pajamas, books for her classes, her broomstick and lots of pictures of her mom and dad.
Marinette decided to draw some new designs in her sketchbook until everyone else woke up.
She decided to count heads; including herself, there were fifty-three Gryffindor girls.
And out of the fifty-three other girls, there were fourteen first-years.
Well, at least she knew one of them, and that was Alix.
Marinette shut her sketchbook.
She strolled to the banquet hall and sat down at the Gryffindor table, right next to Alix and across from another first-year, a boy with tomato-red hair.
Soon, the owls were released.
And all hell broke loose.
Most of the owls were recently bought and had never delivered a letter before.
Which could only mean one thing: there was only chaos, chaos, and more chaos.
The owls crashed into each other and feathers flew all around the banquet hall, much to the dismay of Chloe Bourgeois.
"GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!" Chloe screamed, trying to shake the feathers out of her hair like she was headbanging at an ACDC concert.
Every owl was carrying some sort of 'We miss you, sweetheart' letter from the recipient's parents and a schedule.
It took about four minutes until everyone received their letters.
"Thank you, Sugar," Marinette smiled and hand-fed her owl some breadcrumbs.
Marinette opened the first envelope.
Dear Marinette,
We miss you so much! I hope that you'll love Hogwarts as much as we did. So, which house did you get sorted into? Did you make any friends yet? Any enemies? Please write back!
Love,
Mom and Dad
Just as Marinette expected.
She gave Sugar a letter that she had written that morning.
Dear Mom and Dad,
Hogwarts is absolutely beautiful! I was sorted into Gryffindor. I have a few friends already: Alya, a Ravenclaw; Nino, a Hufflepuff; Alix, a Gryffindor; and Adrien, a Slytherin. Even though he's a Slytherin, Adrien is actually very nice, unlike Chloe, who's another Slytherin. Remember Chloe, the Minister of Magic's daughter? Anyway, don't worry about me. I'll be fine!
XOXO,
Marinette
Sugar took the letter in her talons and flew away.
Marinette opened the second envelope, her schedule for today.
Marinette Dupain-Cheng's Tuesday Schedule
Breakfast- 8:00 am to 9:30 am
Break- 9:30 am to 9:45 am
Charms (taught by Professor Bustier, Head of Gryffindor)- 9:45 am to 10:45 am
Break- 10:45 am to 11:00 am
Potions (taught by Professor Mendeleiev, Head of Slytherin)- 11:00 am to 12:00 pm
Lunch- 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
Break- 1:00 pm to 1:15 pm
Transfiguration (taught by Professor Damocles)- 1:15 pm to 2:15 pm
Break- 2:15 pm to 2:30 pm
Herbology (taught by Professor Whipwind)- 2:30 pm to 3:30 pm
Break- 3:30 pm to 3:45 pm
Flying (taught by Professor D'Argencourt)- 3:45 pm to 4:15 pm
Break- 4:15 pm to 6:30 pm
Dinner- 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm
ALL STUDENTS MUST BE IN DORMS BY 8:15 PM.
You are one of the students among First-Year Class No. 2:
Agreste, Adrien- Slytherin
Bourgeois, Chloe- Slytherin
Bruel, Ivan- Hufflepuff
Cesaire, Alya- Ravenclaw
Couffaine, Juleka- Ravenclaw
Dupain-Cheng, Marinette- Gryffindor
Haprele, Mylene- Hufflepuff
Kante, Max- Ravenclaw
Kim, Le Chien- Slytherin
Kubdel, Alix- Gryffindor
Kurtzberg, Nathaniel- Gryffindor
Lahiffe, Nino- Hufflepuff
Lavillant, Rose- Hufflepuff
Raincomprix, Sabrina- Ravenclaw
Marinette checked the floating, rotating clock that hovered around the banquet hall.
9:14 am.
That meant she had thirty-one minutes until her first class.
She finished her eggs and toast and headed back to the Gryffindor tower.
"You better get ready for Charms and Potions. And I read that you have Flying in the afternoon! What are you going to tryout for?" Tikki asked her, leaving a faint silvery trail everywhere she flew.
"Chaser or Seeker," Marinette decided, and stuffed her wand, her books, some scrolls, and an extra quill into her backpack.
She was definitely ready for whatever came her way, whether it be an akumatized villain, a loose Boggart, or a pop quiz.
…...
Xavier Ramier and Professor Mendeleiev were the only ones walking through the hallways during breakfast.
"That was madness!" Professor Mendeleiev screeched.
"You know it's the first day. My owls were just a little excited, that's all," Mr. Ramier reassured her.
"A little? That was chaos! If this is how you're going to handle your job as 'Keeper of Owls' then you should be fired!" Professor Mendeleiev yelled.
"F-Fired?" Mr. Ramier gulped.
"Yes, fired! I'm reporting you to Headmaster Fu!" the infuriated professor shouted and stormed off towards the Headmaster's office.
"But my owls," Mr. Ramier sighed and walked away.
…..…...…...…...
Meanwhile, Gabriel Agreste had sensed the negative emotions in the air.
He Apparated to The Room of Butterflies (that's what he called it) and transformed into Hawkmoth.
"Hmmm, a potential job loss for the Keeper of Owls? How frustrating for him. But not at all for me!" Hawkmoth evilly cackled.
He pointed his cane-like wand (it was more of a staff now) at a white butterfly.
"Akuma Kedavra!" Hawkmoth yelled.
The akuma flew out of the window, searching for Mr. Ramier.
It soon found him and landed on his owl-shaped bird call.
"You are now Mr. Owl. You can help the owls take over Hogwarts, but I need Cat NOir and Ladybug's Miraculouses in return. Do we have a deal?" Hawkmoth asked, but it was more of a demand than a question.
"Deal," Mr. Ramier grinned.
Dark magic corroded the Keeper of Owls.
His normally black robes were now made entirely of gray owl feathers.
"Fly, my owls, fly!" Mr. Owl shouted in delight.
…...…...…...
Adrien walked through the halls to Charms.
He hoped that today would be normal.
Well, as normal as it could be in a school for wizards.
He heard a faint noise behind him.
"What was that?" Adrien asked his kwami.
"Beats me," Plagg shrugged, his mouth full of camembert.
The sound grew louder.
Wait, were those…..screeches?
Owl screeches?
The noises, whatever they came from, were louder than Adrien could handle.
He turned around, only to see owls.
Hundreds.
Of.
Owls.
Every owl in Hogwarts.
"AHHHH!" Adrien shouted, and dropped to the floor, avoiding the swarm of owls that passed over him.
Adrien sneezed.
"Feathers. Of course. The one thing I'm allergic to," he sighed.
"Must be an akumatized villain," Plagg guessed.
"You think?" Adrien sarcastically asked. "Plagg, claws out!"
"But I want more cheeeeeeeeeeeeeese!" Plagg whined as he was sucked into the ring.
Cat Noir dashed after the owls.
Time to kick some serious akuma.
…...…...…...
When Marinette said that she was ready if an akumatized villain suddenly attacked Hogwarts, she didn't necessarily mean that she wanted that to actually happen.
But sure enough, as soon as she walked into the next hallway, she saw Cat Noir chasing after a massive tornado of owls.
Just her luck.
"Tikki, spots on!" Marinette shouted.
Ladybug followed her partner.
"Any sign of the akumatized villain?" Ladybug asked, once she caught up with him.
"Not yet. But I never purrdicted that Hawkmoth would send out anothfur akuma today. This is hissterical!" Cat Noir grinned.
"Cat puns?" Ladybug groaned.
"Get ready, beclaws I'm nefur going to put a paws on my puns," Cat Noir replied.
Soon the owls halted to a stop.
Ladybug and Cat Noir viewed the scene in front of them.
"So what exactly is your goal, Mr. Owl?" a familiar voice asked.
Alya was trying to interview an akumatized villain.
Great.
"I want to give Hogwarts back to the owls!" Mr. Owl announced.
Alya tried not to laugh.
"Hawkmoth has really downgraded, huh?" Cat Noir commented and sneezed. "By the way, I'm allergic to feathers."
Alya couldn't take it anymore and burst out laughing. "You want to- want to- let the owls take over? That's hilarious, oh man, I can't breathe…."
"How dare you disrespect my beloved owls!" Mr. Owl yelled.
"Sorry sir, but I'm afuraid we have to stop your Amowlican Revolution," Cat Noir said.
"You! Give me your Miraculouses!" Mr. Owl demanded.
"You have to catch us first!" Cat Noir yelled and ran away.
"Excellent plan," Ladybug said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Sorry about- ah- ah- achoo!" Cat Noir sneezed.
"Wait, he stopped chasing us," Ladybug noticed.
"I guess we'll have to look for him," her partner shrugged.
After seven minutes of searching, they discovered him on the roof of the North Tower.
"Seems suspicious," Ladybug said.
Owls lined the perimeter of the roof.
Suddenly, a cage dropped over Ladybug and Cat Noir.
"Now you're caged, just like my precious owls!" Mr. Owl taunted.
"No purroblem for this cat," Cat Noir grinned. "Cataclysm!"
He swiped his clawed hand across the bars.
The bars rusted and the cage crumbled to pieces.
"Dang it!" Mr. Owl yelled, and backflipped off of the roof and onto a cloud of owls.
"I guess we'll have to follow him again," Ladybug shrugged.
They yo-yoed and pole-vaulted towards the abandoned South Tower.
Ladybug spotted an open window.
"We'll ambush him on three," she whispered. "One, two-"
Cat Noir sneezed.
"You again!" Mr. Owl screeched.
"There goes our ambush," Ladybug sighed.
They dropped through the window.
"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug shouted.
A Galleon with a red, black-spotted lining dropped into her hands.
"What am I going to do with this?" Ladybug asked herself.
"Figure it out quickly! I'm going to change back soon," Cat Noir told her as he attempted to trip Mr. Owl with his stick.
She looked around.
Aha! A vending machine.
She ran over to it and stuck the Galleon into the slot.
She pressed a few buttons and an old packet of Fizzing Whizbees appeared in the slot.
Ladybug tore the plastic wrap.
She swung her yo-yo around a horizontal pole that lay across the ceiling.
She immediately swung into the air, throwing the packet at Mr. Owl.
The Fizzing Whizbees spilled over his head, and the owls developed a hungry look in their golden eyes.
"Oh, owl poop," Mr. Owl weakly sighed as his owls attacked him.
Cat Noir grabbed the owl bird call.
"ACHOO!"
The owl bird call flew through the air, Mr. Owl, Ladybug, and Cat all leaping to snatch it.
All three had one hand on the owl bird call.
Ladybug lifted Cat Noir's clawed fingers and used them to smash it.
The akuma tried to fly away, but Ladybug immediately purified it.
"Bye bye, little butterfly," she giggled, releasing the white butterfly.
Ladybug retrieved the Galleon from the machine and tossed it into the air.
"Miraculous Ladybug!" she shouted.
Mr. Owl turned into Mr. Ramier and all damage was repaired.
He Apparated back to the hallway that he was in before he had turned into Mr. Owl.
"See you litter, Bugaboo!" Cat Noir grinned, and pole-vaulted towards the Charms classroom.
Ladybug sighed and took a different route to the same classroom.
But, by fate, they didn't run into each other, nor did they see each other detransform.
There is a thin line between impatience and destiny.
…...
Both Adrien and Marinette were very lucky, for they both had five minutes to spare by the time they arrived at Charms.
"Wow, this is by far the most hilarious edition of The Ladybulletin by far! A villain who wants owls to take over Hogwarts? Comedy gold!" Nino laughed, reading the newest edition of Alya's newspaper.
"Alright class, take your seats!" Professor Bustier said as she stepped into the classroom.
Everyone scrambled to sit next to their best friends.
"Take out your wands, everyone!" Professor Bustier instructed.
The smell of fresh-cut wood filled the classroom, from Nino's oak wand to Ivan's sequoia wand to Juleka's willow wand.
"As most of you know, it is a tradition in Hogwarts that the first spell you learn is Wingardium Leviosa. It is a very useful spell. Please try it," Professor Bustier said.
Everyone gripped their wands and attempted to pronounce the phrase correctly and use their wands to lift their quills.
Sabrina and Max succeeded on their first try, but it took a full twenty-three minutes before everyone had perfected it.
They moved onto Accio, and before they knew it, Charms was over.
However, time seemed to crawl slower and slower and slower as they neared the most anticipated class of the day: Flying.
Finally, the hour came.
Almost everyone sprinted to the Quidditch pitch a full thirteen minutes before class began.
Those who planned on joining their house's Quidditch team had brought their own brooms; those who did not just had to suffer through class on their cheap, slow, Shooting Stars.
Ah, Quidditch: the sport that always ignites the rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin each year.
There was always a Slytherin leader and a Gryffindor leader, two Quidditch Captains that absolutely despised each other.
Alix had clenched her fist around her broom handle, impatiently waiting for Flying to start.
That was when Marinette noticed the golden name engraved on it, just a simple word.
Valkyrie.
"What?" Marinette gasped. "Alix, your mother is Summer Riskins? The previous Captain of the extremely famous Flaming Phoenixes, the team that won the Quidditch World Cup ten years ago?"
"Yep," Alix confirmed. "Though it's Summer Kubdel now. Mom passed her broom to me when she retired."
Exclamations of surprise and awe echoed around the Quidditch pitch.
"No way!" "Seriously?" "That's awesome!"
Everyone else was truly amazed; being near Amber Risikins' old broom, a Firebolt prototype dubbed 'The Valkyrie,' was equivalent to being near the Muggle basketball star Michael Jordan's sneakers.
However, there was one student that wasn't too impressed.
"Huh, so your mother is the one who beat my dad 390-389 in the Quidditch World Cup," Kim mused.
"You're Le Chien Ryan's kid, right? Used to be captain of the Electric Emus?" Alix teased.
"It's Electric Eagles, get it right!" Kim seethed. "Anyway, I'm going to whoop your butt in the sky."
"You wish," Alix smirked. "But sorry, Kim, your slow little Quicksilver 360 isn't going to get you an inch off the ground."
"Sorry, but if my calculations are correct," Max interrupted, doing the mental math in his head. "Then the average speed of 'The Valkyrie' is eighty miles per hour. The average speed of Kim's Quicksilver 360 is also eighty miles per hour. Therefore, your brooms are equal."
Kim and Alix simply gave each other a death glare, an unspoken proposal of war.
Professor D'Argencourt arrived at the Quidditch pitch.
"This is the first of three Flying classes you will have. These three classes will determine whether or not you may attend tryouts for your house's Quidditch team. Now, the first part of Quidditch is owning a broom. I see that some of you who are not interested in this class have already borrowed Shooting Stars from the Broom Storage," he said.
He was looking at Chloe, Sabrina, Nino, Nathaniel, Rose, and Max in particular, for all of them had Shooting Stars.
Both Alya and Juleka had Comet 290s, the required broom for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team.
Mylene and Ivan each had a Nimbus 2500.
Adrien also owned a Quicksilver 360 like Kim.
Professor D'Argencourt marveled at 'The Valkyrie,' which Alix gripped proudly in her rather tiny fists.
Marinette had her trusty Cleansweep 12, which her parents had bought for her birthday last year.
"Lay your broom on the ground on the side of your dominant hand," Professor D'Argencourt instructed.
The class did as they were told.
"Now say 'Up!' Your broom will fly into your hand immediately if it accepts you. Those who have already done so with their brooms before attending Hogwarts have no need to say 'Up!' Those people may simply mount their brooms," Professor D'Argencourt continued.
Alix, Juleka, Marinette, and Kim mounted their brooms, taking care not to lean in any direction and accidentally be launched thirty feet in the air.
"Up!" Rose and Mylene shouted in their quiet little voices.
Their brooms levitated into their hands, much to their delight.
"Up! Please! With a Chocolate Frog on top?" Nino begged his broom.
His Shooting Star reluctantly flew into his hand.
"Up!" Alya shouted.
She grinned as her Comet 290 floated into her hand.
"Up!" Nathaniel whispered. "Come on, pretty please?"
The broom stayed on the ground.
"UP! UP! UP! I DEMAND YOU TO FLY INTO MY HAND, STUPID BROOM!" Chloe yelled at her Shooting Star.
It shivered in fear.
"That's not how it works, Chloe," Professor D'Argencourt sighed.
"Stupid Flying class," Chloe muttered under her breath.
"Maybe you should be more gentle?" Sabrina, who already had her Shooting Star in her hand, suggested.
Chloe gave her the Evil Eye.
"Up!" Ivan bellowed.
His Nimbus 2500 immediately flew into his hand.
"Good job, Ivan," Professor D'Argencourt congratulated him.
"Yeah, that was great!" Mylene, who was next to him, cheered.
Ivan blushed.
Juleka murmured something to Nathaniel.
"Can you repeat that?" he asked.
"Be louder," Juleka whispered. "It's just going to stay on the ground if you keep being quiet when you say 'up.' You have to be louder."
"Oh," Nathaniel said. "Okay then."
"Up!" he shouted.
The broom slowly lifted itself a foot off of the ground, but it soon fell.
"Keep on trying," Juleka encouraged him. "And make sure you're not too distracted by Marinette."
She said the last part quietly.
Nathaniel blushed.
How could Juleka possibly know about my crush on Marinette? he thought.
"Up!" Adrien frustratedly shouted.
His Quicksilver 360 didn't budge.
"Hmmmm, try tilting your hand thirty-three degrees to the left," Max offered.
Adrien tilted his hand and shouted "Up!" again.
The broom stayed on the ground.
"Just believe in yourself," Marinette said. "Think about the feeling of the wood in your hands, dark and smooth with no splinters. Think about its prickly bristles. Imagine yourself flying in a field, just you and the broom. The wind blowing back your hair, the feeling of the gentle breeze on your face and-"
Marinette froze.
"Sorry about that! I'm rambling, aren't I? But it worked for me, so, uh, yeah," she stuttered. "Have you flown before?"
"Yeah, but it used to be on 'The Lioness.' It's a very quick broom," Adrien whispered in her ear.
Marinette's jaw dropped.
"Your mom was Avery Lionne, the fastest Chaser in the entire history of the Flaming Phoenixes?!" she whispered back.
"Yep," Adrien confirmed. "But please don't yell it from the rooftops. I'm already famous enough at Hogwarts."
Adrien tried Marinette's technique.
The Quicksilver 360 levitated into his hand.
"Thanks, Marinette," Adrien said.
"No problem," she squeaked.
At this point, everyone had mounted their brooms.
"Alright, everyone! Kick off of the ground and lean forward!" Professor D'Argencourt instructed them.
Kim and Alix dashed toward the finish line, neck-at-neck.
"I won!" Kim smugly announced.
"You don't have to broadcast it to the world," Alix muttered.
Adrien and Marinette leaned forward.
Marinette's Cleansweep 12 was surprisingly fast, and she beat Adrien by 3.67 seconds.
At least, that's what Max said.
Alya was by far the best first-time rider in the entire class, reaching the other end of the pitch right after Adrien.
Juleka and Rose swiftly came side by side, Juleka assuring Rose that everything was fine; for although Rose was a decent flier, she had extreme acrophobia (the fear of heights).
Mylene and Ivan came on their Nimbus 2500s.
The Nimbus 2500 was a broom designed just for Beaters: decently fast and made of a single twig from one of the strongest redwood trees.
Max and Sabrina kept a steady pace as they flew, never going past twenty-nine miles per hour.
Nino and Nathaniel were jerky riders, constantly crashing into each other and immediately apologizing afterwards.
Chloe came dead last, crossing the finish line at a pathetic three miles per hour.
"Class dismissed," Professor D'Argencourt announced as Chloe dismounted.
Everyone had two hours and fifteen minutes of free time, and as there was no homework, they simply wandered throughout Hogwarts.
Elsewhere, a hardworking Hufflepuff chiseled at his statue, nearly finished.
The fourth-year took a step back to admire his work.
Theo had carved every detail of Ladybug and Cat Noir.
He had secretly stayed up the whole night to finish it, and it would be presented in twenty minutes!
Theo's beautiful stone statue would be placed right on the Hogwarts campus, there for everyone to see and marvel at.
He took out a picture of Ladybug that a first-year Ravenclaw girl named Alya had taken the day before.
The superheroine in the photo grinned and waved.
Ladybug was truly beautiful, and Theo couldn't help but admit that he was absolutely smitten with her the second he laid eyes on her angelic face.
He chiseled the tip of Cat Noir's nose.
He was finished!
And soon Ladybug would see his work.
She would love it!
"Hey Theo, it's time to move the statue!" Alec interrupted, entering Theo's studio.
Alec was a loudmouthed fourth-year Slytherin, but he had lots of good qualities, which was exactly why Theo was his best friend.
Theo pointed his walnut wood wand at the statue.
"Wingardium Leviosa!" he said.
The statue floated into the air.
Theo and Alec walked to the statue's future location, both of them buzzing with anticipation.
…...…...…...
Cat Noir pole-vaulted to the statue.
It was covered with a white sheet.
He was right on time, for the unveiling was going to begin in two minutes.
"You must be Theo, the sculptor of this fine statue," Cat Noir said.
"Yeah, but where's Ladybug?" Theo asked.
"I'm sure she's just late," Cat Noir reassured him.
Soon, the unveiling ceremony began.
Ladybug didn't show up.
Headmaster Fu congratulated Theo on the completion of his statue.
Theo sadly removed the sheet.
Even though everyone clapped and cheered, it didn't cheer him up because of Ladybug's absence.
After the ceremony, everyone had left except Cat Noir and Theo.
"I can't believe Ladybug didn't show up," the latter sighed. "I worked so hard to capture her beauty, her bravery, her confidence, her kindness, and everything else that there are no words to describe."
Cat Noir's nose twitched with jealousy.
Wait…...jealousy?
He wasn't jealous…...
Was he?
Cat Noir knew one thing for certain: nobody was allowed to talk about his lady in that way.
And if this sculptor possibly thought that he had the right to, Cat Noir was going to show him that he didn't.
"So, Theo, do you mind if I tell you something?" Cat Noir grinned.
"What?" Theo asked.
"Yeah, Ladybug and I…..we're a thing," the feline superhero lied.
So what if he was lying?
He had a reason.
A very legit reason.
Theo's face fell.
"Oh…...you two are….dating?" Theo gulped.
"Yup," Cat Noir confirmed, and pole-vaulted away.
Theo stomped away to his studio.
"How could Ladybug possibly be in love with a no-good scumbag of a cat like him?" Theo angrily asked himself, shoving a previous model of Cat Noir's head off of a table. "She deserves so much better!"
…...…...…...
"Ah, what a poor soul," Hawkmoth laughed.
He pointed his cane-like wand at an innocent butterfly.
"Akuma Kedavra!" Hawkmoth shouted.
The akuma flew out of the window.
It soon found Theo and landed on his picture of Ladybug.
"Copycat, you can destroy Cat Noir and have Ladybug to yourself. But I need their Miraculouses first," Hawkmoth told him.
Dark magic washed over Theo and he turned into an exact clone of Cat Noir.
"Sounds purrfect," Copycat cackled.
…...…...…...
Marinette entered the library.
She promised Alya that she'd be there to hang out with her, but Alya was nowhere to be found.
Professor Damocles, the librarian who doubled as the Transfiguration teacher, waved her over.
"Are you Marinette? Your friend Alya told me to give this to you," Professor Damocles said as he handed her a note.
Hey, Marinette! Sorry I can't hang out with you. I have to take pictures at the unveiling ceremony. A fourth-year Hufflepuff named Theo sculpted an amazing statue of Ladybug and Cat Noir. You should check it out! ~Alya
Gah! Marinette had forgotten about the unveiling ceremony!
She was supposed to be there as Ladybug!
And she 100% totally forgot.
How typical.
Suddenly, Alya sprinted into the library and nearly crashed into Marinette.
"You…..have….to…..see this," Alya panted, shoving the newest edition of The Ladybulletin in Marinette's face.
Marinette took the newspaper and nearly had a heart attack when she read the gigantic, bold, terrifying headline: CAT NOIR- SUPERHERO OR SUPER THIEF?
She read the article.
Apparently, Cat Noir just broke into Headmaster Fu's office and stolen the Sword of Gryffindor -One of the most important magical relics at Hogwarts!- and now, almost every teacher in Hogwarts was after him.
There were pictures and everything.
"What?!" Marinette gasped.
"I know! This is crazy! It's already sold out! And I printed four hundred copies!" Alya exclaimed.
"If you're going to shout, please exit the library," Professor Damocles interrupted. "But do you possibly have an extra copy I could have?"
"No problem," Alya laughed and handed him a rolled-up copy from her pocket.
The two girls left the library.
"But Cat Noir's a hero! He saved your life, remember? What could he possibly want with the Sword of Gryffindor?" Marinette asked.
"Who knows? One thing that's certain is that The Ladybulletin is exploding! I just got three hundred fifty-seven subscribers from this edition alone!" Alya raved.
"Ummm, I gotta go the bathroom," Marinette nervously laughed.
"Now?" Alya asked, but Marinette had already sprinted down the hallway.
Once Marinette was out of sight, Tikki zipped out of her pocket.
"I know for sure that Cat Noir isn't the one who stole the Sword of Gryffindor. Sure, past wielders of the Black Cat Miraculous may have been villains, but there's one thing that they've never been capable of: betrayal. They're either villains or heroes. No in-between, and no switching from one to the other," Tikki said.
Marinette let out a sigh of relief.
"So it must be an akumatized villain that looks like Cat Noir," Tikki theorized. "You know what to do."
"Tikki, spots on!" Marinette shouted.
Ladybug ran throughout the halls, looking for her partner.
Her real partner.
Suddenly, she was yanked into a classroom.
All of the professors in Hogwarts walked by, their wands out.
Ladybug looked at who was holding her hand.
"My lady, you gotta believe me. I'm innocent!" Cat Noir swore.
"I know that you're innocent. Unfortunately, I'm the only one with that opinion," Ladybug sighed. "There's an akumatized villain out there who looks exactly like you."
"Theo," Cat Noir realized.
"The sculptor? What happened?" Ladybug asked.
Cat Noir blushed.
"I sort of kind of became a teensy tiny bit jealous, so I may have or may have not told Theo that we're in a relationship," Cat Noir admitted.
"Jealous of what?" Ladybug questioned.
"He has a crush on you and I…...uhhhhh...….it doesn't matter now, we just have to defeat him!" Cat Noir blurted. "But sorry, Ladybug, this is between me and him."
He locked her into the classroom.
The one classroom without windows.
For a superhero with the power of luck itself, she was really unlucky.
…...…...…...
Cat Noir ran to Theo's studio.
The only place that made sense.
The place was abandoned, or so he thought.
Cat Noir walked over to a small table with a note and a lucky cat.
He picked up the note.
The cat's in the bag.
Suddenly, two shackles wrapped around his wrists and chained him to the ground.
"Cataclysm!" Cat Noir shouted.
He attempted to touch the chains, but a clawed hand grabbed Cat Noir's hand and forced him to touch a useless block of wood, therefore wasting his Cataclysm.
"Theo," Cat Noir spat.
"The name's Copycat. Soon, Ladybug will come, and then I'll have her to myself forever!" Copycat grinned. "But first, I'll need your ring."
Copycat pinned Cat Noir to the ground.
He was about to pull the ring off, but Ladybug arrived.
"Look, Ladybug, I caught him in his own trap," Copycat said, perfectly imitating Cat Noir's voice.
"Stop! Don't listen to him! I'm the real Cat Noir!" Cat Noir protested.
"Where's the akuma?" Ladybug asked.
"In his ring, of course," Copycat purred.
"A picture in his pocket," Cat Noir said at the same time.
Ladybug was about to pull the ring off, but Cat Noir interrupted her.
"I'm the real Cat Noir," he repeated. "Would I ever lie to you, Bugaboo?"
Ladybug froze at the nickname.
She leaned in towards Copycat.
"You didn't tell him about that secret promise we made, did you?" she asked.
"N-No, I didn't tell him," Copycat stuttered.
"I never made any promises, you fake," Ladybug frowned.
While Copycat was distracted, Cat Noir kicked him off.
"Cataclysm!" Copycat snarled.
He ran towards Cat Noir, but Ladybug was there to stop him.
Copycat destroyed the chains in Ladybug's hands, accidentally freeing his captive.
"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug shouted.
A red, black-spotted spoon dropped into her hands.
Meanwhile, Copycat and Cat Noir had started a cat fight.
Their powers were equal, and neither of them were winning.
Ladybug looked around and spotted a beam across the ceiling, her yo-yo, a roll of tape, and Cat Noir's metal stick.
"Cat Noir, I'm going to need you to trust me!" Ladybug warned her partner.
"Whatever you need, m'lady," Cat Noir said as he kicked Copycat in a place thatshouldn't be kicked.
"Give me your weapon," Ladybug commanded.
"What?" Cat Noir asked in disbelief.
"Trust me!" Ladybug shouted.
"You're crazy, but sure!" Cat Noir yelled, throwing his metal stick at her and stealing Copycat's metal stick all in one motion.
Ladybug made a makeshift fishing pole and perched on the beam, waiting for the perfect moment.
Cat Noir tripped Copycat, giving Ladybug the perfect chance to throw the spoon through a hole in his tail/belt.
Ladybug jumped off of the beam, making Copycat hang from the beam by his tail.
She yanked the picture out of his pocket and tore it in half.
"Time to de-evilize!" Ladybug shouted, purifying the akuma.
"Bye bye, little butterfly," she said as she released the butterfly.
She threw the spoon into the air.
"Miraculous Ladybug!"
Copycat reverted back to Theo and the door she had busted open repaired itself.
"Better help him out. Looks like his crush just got crushed," Cat Noir suggested.
Ladybug nodded and helped Theo up.
"That makes two of us," Cat Noir sighed once he was alone.
…...…...…...
"So it looks like Cat Noir isn't a supervillain after all," Alya shrugged, handing Marinette a new copy of The Ladybulletin that announced Cat Noir wasn't really evil.
"You almost sound disappointed," Marinette giggled.
"I do not. But seriously, this school has it all! Wands, flying brooms, enchanted swords, headless ghosts, mysterious dungeons, dangerous creatures, supervillains, superheroes- all we need are some ninjas and aliens, then it will be complete!" Alya laughed.
"Be careful what you wish for," Marinette warned her best friend.
"I don't need to wish upon a star. I have magic!" Alya grinned.
Yep, that was Marinette's life- hanging out with her best friend, having a crush, Charms, Flying, defeating supervillains, being a secret superhero, and other normal things.
…...…...…...
That was a loooooong chapter! This sounds really lame, but I'm posting fanart…...for my own fanfiction. I'm going to post fanart for The Magic Between Us on Google+ soon! My Google+ name is Shadow of the Elements. Stay tuned, OTPeople!