A/N: Hello! Hi! Welcome to this story! It's a Harry Potter AU! I hope you like it! This intro is awkward! There's a lot of exclamation points! I'm Batman! What? That doesn't make sense.

Please let me know what you think!

Until Next Time

~Nebilas~

Marinette Dupain-Cheng woke up to a repetitive tapping noise. She groaned feebly and pulled her pillow over her face attempting to block out the tapping. Unfortunately, this did not prevent the sound from reaching her ears and she threw her pillow off of her bed and sat up. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and glanced to her left, where the ever pertinent tapping was emanating from.

A beautiful barn owl stood there, tapping on the window pane with a letter held in its beak. It glanced up and Marinette could have sworn it smirked at her. She forced herself to stand, yawning as she did so, stumbling the first few steps before opening the glass door. The owl hooted and hopped up onto her shoulder, nuzzling her cheek.

This would have been a sweet gesture but tas the owl was still holding the letter, the parchment to Marinette in the nose. She winced and snatched the paper away from the owl who hooted cheerfully. Marinette wandered over to her nightstand and opened the bottom drawer. She rummaged around for a few moments, before locating the small box which contained the owl treats. She opened it, and offered it to the bird on her shoulder. The owl happily took one before flying over to a desk, where a bowl of water was waiting.

"Thank you Tikki." She said softly, as the howl hooted happily. "Maybe you could wait until after 5:30 next time maybe?" Tikki shook out her feathers as if laughing at such a preposterous request. Marinette smiled fondly and pulled out the letter the envelope contained.

Mari,

I can't believe it but Nino got tickets to the final. You know I don't care about quidditch at all but even I'm excited. With you becoming a legend in Slytherin last year, and arguably in Hogwarts itself, I know how much you wanted to go, and Nino's father got two extra tickets. I'm freaking out, and I can only imagine how excited you are, what with France's run to the final. Though you might be the only person living in England rooting for them after they beat us in the Quarters.

Anyways, I'll be back from Spain the 13th. It was incredible. Though you were right about Barcelona. It does smell like sewage. But the countryside was beautiful. Dad even dragged us to a muggle football game in Madrid. He insisted, something about how it was the biggest match of the year or whatever. El Clasico or something like that. Mum kept bewitching his drink to turn from beer into water though. He wasn't happy, but it was highly entertaining. Tell your parents I said hi! And send an owl when you ask about the World Cup. The match is the 21st. So we'll pick you up whenever it suits you. Let us know!

Lots of Love,

Alya

Marinette felt an uncontrollable grin spread over her face as she read the letter from her best friend. She flopped onto her bed with a giddy laugh. Ever since she'd become the keeper for Slytherin she had taken a keen interest in the game, following the English league avidly, soaking up any match she possibly could. And now… Now she had the chance to watch some of the most elite players in the world in the WORLD CUP. She could hardly believe her luck.

She leapt back off her bed and ran over to her calendar. Today was the 11th of July. She flipped it over to August where her countdown to go back to school began. She bounced up and down and glanced at her clock. 5:32. She paused as she realised she wouldn't be able to tell her parents for at least another two hours, as they opened the bakery later on weekends. She glanced at Tikki, who was cleaning her wing. Tikki sensed Mari staring and stared back.

"This excitement is your fault you know." Marinette chastised. Tikki gave her a meaningful look and Marinette smiled, remembering getting that same look when she had chosen the owl on her 12th birthday. Her parents had taken her to Diagon Alley to purchase her supplies and had offered to buy her an owl for her birthday when they'd noticed her longing looks. Marinette had leapt at the opportunity. She'd gone through almost every bird through the store when she'd found Tikki in a corner, her heart shaped face shining in the gloom of the shop. It had taken less than a second to choose her once she'd seen her.

Marinette snapped herself out of the past and pulled out her phone, which had buzzed on her desk. She held her phone for a moment and scrolled through her notifications which was mostly spam from her e-mail. None really caught her attention, and she deleted them. She glanced at the clock again and sighed impatiently. She turned her phone sideways as she clicked on YouTube, prepared to immerse herself in a video of some sort when another owl swept in through her still open window. She jumped a bit but caught the paper dropped at her face. The Daily Prophet had arrived.

She glanced up to give the owl some form of reward but it had already flown off. She turned her attention to the front page of the newspaper.

Ten Years Later

Wizarding World Celebrates Anniversary of the End of the Great Wizarding War

Wizard communities around the world have taken to the streets, celebrating the ten year anniversary of the war coming to a close. "It's hard to believe it's been ten years." Prime Minister André Bourgeois said from his office. "Some of the things that happened still weigh heavily on our shoulders." The Minister promptly traveled to Berlin and was rumored to be going to Moscow later as well. "Many mistakes were made throughout the war, but I'd like to think we've learned from those mistakes." Said Foreign Communications Head Melda Lessard. "We've learned to trust each other a little more. A lack of trust is what he (Hawkmoth) exploited, but now we have widespread international cooperation. It's incredible really."

Many people were quick to thank Guiying Fu, the man who defeated Hawkmoth, ensuring The Following's surrender. "We have so much to thank him for. We had him on the ropes already, but that battle might have been pivotal for The Following." Said Maxen King, head of the Auror Office. "When people ask me what it looked like while they were fighting all I can say is it just looked like a colorful lightning storm." (Laughter throughout the room) "I'm serious, I couldn't follow that duel for the life of me. I caught a glimpse of the two of them maybe 5 times over that duel. They were never not in motion. It was beautiful, but also terrifying, when you realize just how easily Hawkmoth ripped apart Moscow." Continued on page 5

In the middle of the article was a picture of wizards celebrating in various locations. Beneath that was a picture of Fu smiling out of the paper. He grinned at Marinette and she smiled. Beneath that were two more Articles.

The Heroes of the War: Where Are They Now?

The Agreste Revolution: France's Improbable World Cup Run

The second article featured a picture of a blonde boy with startling green eyes. Marinette inhaled sharply as she took in the attractiveness of the young man before her. She shook her head and began reading the article.

At age 16, Adrien Agreste has become Public Enemy Number One for many quidditch fans around the world, namely those residing in Russia, Ghana, Portugal, Iceland, England, Germany, and if things go France's way in ten days, the United States will be added to that list. France entered the year with just a 10% chance of making it into the World Cup at all, but after the controversial addition of Agreste, France has gone undefeated, winning 13 straight games with Agreste at Seeker. He has missed the snitch once, but it was in a blowout victory in the group stages against Portugal in an eventual 370-160 win. Even with this incredible record, the young man has been very humble, giving most of the credit to his teammates. Despite his recent rise in popularity and his father's prominence around the globe, little is actually known about- Continued on Page 13.

Summary of the 424th Quidditch World Cup: Page 22

Marinette was tempted to flip to Page 13 and continue reading, but was distracted by a third owl flying into her room, perching importantly on her desk, holding a third letter. Just as quickly, a fourth letter arrived. She smiled as she recognized the fourth one. She took both letters and quickly added some more water to the water bowl. The owls gratefully began drinking. The first letter was, as expected, addressed to her and she smiled from the nostalgia it gave her.

Ms. Marinette Dupain-Cheng

The Upstairs Bedroom

34 Hoxton St

Stoke Newington

London

She placed the letter to the side, knowing it contained her book and items list for the year. The other one she had an inkling but opened it quickly.

Marinette,

I'm sure Alya already told you but WE GOT THE TICKETS! I'm so excited you have no idea! I can't wait to see you and Alya it's felt like years. I'm keeping this short but let Alya know if you can come. You'd freaking better because it's going to be amazing.

See you soon!

Nino

Marinette grinned as she read the letter, which was making her excited all over again. After a few moments of bouncing restlessly on her bed, she decided to get dressed. She settled on a tank top and sweatpants, and threw her hair into a ponytail. She jumped back onto her bed and picked up the newspaper, intent on reading it, but the sound of a door closing downstairs stopped her. Her parents were awake. She jumped up and threw open her trapdoor, and practically flew down her ladder and into the kitchen, before halting, trying to look normal as she walked into the dining room.

"Mother. Father." She greeted. What she'd just said washed over her and she cringed. What the hell was THAT? She thought to herself. Her parents looked at her and burst into laughter, and Marinette felt herself flush. Sabine Cheng was giving Mari a knowing look, while Tom Dupain was chortling into his coffee.

"Ok Marinette…" Her mother said, still giggling. "What do you want from us?"

Marinette sighed. So much for easing into the topic. "Erm… It's about my.. Other life." Tom chuckled. Calling Marinette's magic her 'other life' had been a running gag in the family for a few years. Marinette liked it because she thought it made her sound like a superhero with an alter ego. Her dad just thought it was funny. "Nino and Alya invited me to the Quidditch World Cup Final." She held her breath as her parents stared at her, before sharing a look. Tom shrugged and sipped his coffee.

'When is it?" her mom asked.

"The 21st." Mari responded. She paused before she continued. "Please let me go you know how much I love quidditch." She watched as her mother sighed and sipped her coffee before sharing another glance with her husband.

Then she smiled. "Of course you can go Marinette." She said. Tom nodded his agreement.

"Thank you thank you thank you!" Mari screamed, jumping up and down before enveloping her parents in a fierce hug. She immediately took off back up the stairs she had just descended while her parents watched in amusement.

She scribbled two notes out to Nino and Alya and handed them to Tikki and the other owl that remained in her room.

"You go to Alya." She told Tikki, "And you to Nino please." Both owls hooted, and Tikki nibbled her finger affectionately before taking the letter and flying out the window, with the other one quickly in tow. Marinette sighed happily and sank down onto her bed, and a wide grin split her face. Next week is going to be amazing.