Me, to myself: don'tmakeajokeabouthowlongit'sbeendon'tmakeajokeabouthowlongit'sbeendon'tmakeajokeabout-

You know, because I don't have deadlines for this fanfiction, I guess you could say this chapter came out write on time!

... Get it? Because write and right are-

I'll see myself out

Chapter 19: Traces of the Past

"Marinette? Are you awake?"

Marinette groaned and rolled over, hoping the person at her door would take the hint.

"Marinette, you should get up."

"Go away Alex," she mumbled.

"I'd love to," Alexandra said, ripping the covers off of Marinette, who let out a distressed cry. "But there's a very angry Gryffindor here who keeps threatening to kill everyone if we don't let her see you. She also claims to be your best friend."

"You could bother to learn Alya's name," Marinette groused, pushing herself halfway up, blinking groggily. Alexandra shrugged.

"I will when she learns mine."

"She knows your name."

"Then why didn't she use it?"

Marinette paused, her brain trying to process that tidbit of information. "That's a good question. Go away, I'll be out in a minute."

"If you aren't, I come in with aguamenti."

"Yeah, yeah…" Marinette muttered, swinging her legs over the edge of her bed. She heard the door close and after a few more seconds, she stood. She let out one more self-pitying sigh and moved to her dresser, glancing in the mirror as she passed. She winced, noticing the bags under eyes.

"Might be a 'cast spells at my face until I look human' kind of day," she said to herself, selecting a pair of jeans and a sweater. A few minutes and a few spells later, she stepped out of her dorm and made her way to the Slytherin common room. The green lighting created by the lake shone through the windows, only interrupted by the passing of a school of fish. She was surprised by just how empty the room was of other people besides herself, the common room tended to be a hot spot before breakfast.

She opened the exit and stepped through, only to be slammed into by a brunette blur.

"Marinette you're okay!" Alya exclaimed, clinging onto her as though she were about to disappear.

"Of course she is, just like I said," Alexandra said grouchily. She was standing against a nearby wall, arms folded and glaring at Alya with barely disguised distaste.

"Alya," Marinette asked resignedly, "You didn't accuse Alex of murder did you?"

"Of course not!" Alya protested.

"No, but she did accuse me of covering for Chloe, which I took particular offense to." Alexandra snapped, glaring at the Gryffindor

"I said I was sorry," Alya muttered.

"You're lucky I didn't let her keep sleeping, just to make you wait longer," she huffed.

"Why didn't you?" Marinette chimed in, hoping to cut off the argument. "I would have very much appreciated the extra sleep."

Alex and Alya exchanged a glance. "Mari, it's almost time for dinner." Alya said.

The emptiness of the common room suddenly made a lot more sense to Marinette. "Oh," she replied eloquently.

"How long did you sleep for?" Alexandra asked, moving away from her wall.

"I think I got back around four? I don't know how long it took me to fall asleep though. I saw Amelia when I went through the common room, but she seemed..."

"Drunk," Alexandra said with a nod. "Some of us were celebrating that you'd been selected. Well… More that it wasn't Xander to be honest."

"That's about the only positive I've found from what happened yesterday," Marinette said dryly.

Neither girl seemed to have a response to that, so Marinette walked past the two and towards the stairs that led out of the dungeons, leaving her friends to hurry after her. The silence behind her as they climbed the stairs was deafening. She knew both had questions, she would if she were in their positions, but they seemed afraid to broach the subject.

"So… How are you feeling?" Alex offered nervously after a few flights.

"Hungry," Marinette said shortly.

This cut off any more questions, and Marinette sensed they had gotten the message. No questions until there was dinner in her belly. Preferably dessert as well. Perhaps a large serving of pie. With ice cream. Lots and lots of-

It was then, as Marinette daydreamed about the upcoming meal, that the castle betrayed her. The staircase that led to the great hall suddenly switched it's direction, but instead of turning to the side, it began to shift downwards, the stairs rolling over themselves and producing a horrible grinding noise. The transformation took nearly thirty seconds, and the three girls were left standing over a descending staircase, mouths agape.

"Tell me there's another way to the great hall from here," Alex whispered, staring into the gloom before them.

"It's twenty minutes out of our way," Marinette replied, voice flat.

"Have you ever seen this happen before?" Alya asked, inspecting the area. "You live down here, surely-"

Marinette and Alex shook their heads.

"I've never seen stairs switch like that," Marinette said after a few moments. "Always to the sides, never up and down."

The three of them stared down, all waiting for someone to ask the question that was burning in their minds. Unsurprisingly, it was Alya.

"We have to go down right?"

"We don't have to do anything," Alex snapped. "Typical Gryffindor. 'Ooh look a magical staircase that leads to Merlin knows where, let's go explore and die!'"

"We won't die," Alya huffed, crossing her arms.

"How do you know?" Alex demanded. "I've never seen anything like this, and from what Marinette has told me, this is exactly the kind of thing that almost gets her killed on a regular basis!"

"But it's a new part of the castle to explore!" Alya countered. "It's not every day we get to see a new part of Hogwarts. It's not like we'd be breaking any rules, it's just a staircase!"

"Again," Alex said, "and I cannot stress this enough, a magical staircase. A magical castle. Magic isn't all flowers and rainbows, there is some dark, dark stuff."

"I'm well aware of what magic can do when used in a dark way," Alya growled.

"I don't think you do," Alex spat back, getting in Alya's face. "In fact, I think that this is exactly how it goes every time Marinette almost dies. Your Gryffindor self can't leave it alone, so you go blundering in, and she follows you because she cares about you and almost suffers the consequences of your actions."

"Don't talk about things you weren't there for!" Alya snarled. "Where were you when Marinette needed help most last year, huh? Why weren't you there for her?"

Alex recoiled as if slapped.

"You don't get to throw that in my face," Alex whispered. "I was there for her in the aftermath, it's not my fault I wasn't there at the start. I had a good reason for-"

"A good reason," Alya scoffed. "I'm sure it was. And I'm sure Marinette forgave you."

"She didn't even let me apologize," Alex said, eyes down. Alya hesitated, then let out a short sigh.

"Look, we shouldn't be arguing anyway, we need to figure out what we're doing with this staircase. Marinette, you're tiebreaker, what do you-"

It was at that moment the girls had a horrifying realization. The staircase had somehow, without a sound, returned to normal, and Marinette was nowhere to be seen.

XxXxXxXxXxXx

The moment Marinette stepped onto the staircase, she knew she'd made a terrible mistake. She wasn't entirely sure why she'd done it, she had simply been consumed by the desire to step forward, and then her body seized for a moment before continuing down the stairs, entirely against her will. Her attempts to scream for Alya and Alex were ignored by her jaw, and all she could do was watch her body move on its own into the gloomy hallway below.

As her foot hit the floor of the hallway, torches began to light along the sides, bathing the hall in an orange glow that in any other situation, Marinette would find comforting. But as her feet carried her further through the hall, all she could feel was terror. Marinette had been in life threatening situations before, certainly, but this felt designed for her. Like someone had been waiting to trap her, and her alone. Marinette wished she knew what they wanted her for, maybe then…

As if answering her thoughts, the end of the hall was illuminated by the last torches, casting light on a large black cauldron, which promptly had its own fire lit beneath it. Marinette felt her heart drop out of her chest, and she redoubled her efforts to move her body, but to no avail. She felt like a lamb being led to slaughter, and as she struggled, she realized something else. There was a second set of footsteps behind her.

Part of her desperately hoped that it was Alya or Alex, but she knew that wasn't true, and she wasn't sure she wanted it to be anyway. Better just her than all of them. The walk seemed to take forever, the cauldron seeming bigger and more imposing with every step she was forced to take.

Her body stopped moving five feet in front of the cauldron, which had a dark green liquid bubbling within that she did not recognize.

"You got her then," A voice said approvingly, and a man stepped out next to the cauldron. His face was concealed by a dark mask, and she could make out no distinguishing body features thanks to the large robe he wore.

"A quick illusion spell for her friends to not notice until it was too late," came the voice from behind her. Marinette was startled to hear the woman's french accent. She stepped out from behind Marinette and moved to the cauldron, eyeing it's contents. "Is it ready?"

"Just the final two ingredients," the man replied. "Though I doubt the validity of the second one."

"We have already had this conversation, I will not have it again."

"She is of impure-"

"She is the one that was foretold," the woman snapped. "Her origins make little difference." The woman turned back to face Marinette, moving towards her and drawing her wand. Her mask was simply a white oval. There were no eyeholes, but Marinette could feel her eyes rake over her. "Mudblood she may be, her blood will still flow red."

Marinette's eyes widened, and she began to frantically look around the room, searching for something, anything that could help her out of this situation.

"Aw, the poor thing is terrified," the woman cooed, caressing her cheek. The gesture made Marinette want to puke. "Don't worry, it will be over soon." She turned back to the man. "Do it, we don't have much time."

The man nodded and pulled out a jar from his robe, which contained a small butterfly flapping desperately within. It was pure white, and almost seemed to glow in the jar. The man pulled out his wand and opened the jar, letting the butterfly fly out.

"Corrupted life, corrupted beauty, may you rob them of their duty," he chanted. "Akumnala." A purple light shot out of the man's wand, and struck the butterfly, which began to convulse and shiver in midair, turning a dark shade of purple before plummeting into the cauldron with a splash. The potion within changed to match its color, with white streaks adorning the surface.

The woman turned to her, and Marinette could hear the glee in the woman's voice as she spoke.

"Blood of the one who's touched by fate, may your pain bring death and hate." With a wave of her wand, she spun Marinette around and slashed her wand across Marinette's back. Pain exploded across her body, and Marinette could feel the blood washing down her back. She tried to scream, but her mouth still refused to open. The woman spun her back around, and Marinette watched as she moved the flowing blood into the cauldron, filling in the white streaks until they were completely red.

The two figures retreated a few steps and waited, though they did not have to wait for long. The cauldron erupted, sending the purple and red concoction into the air, before crashing back down into the cauldron, not a drop spilled. The liquid settled, and the woman nodded.

"Perfection. And now for the last step." She turned to Marinette. "Avada Kedavra."

XxXxXxXxXxXx

Marinette woke up with a start and bolted upright, chest heaving. She looked around frantically, searching for any sign of the people who had captured her, but all she discovered was Alya, Alex, and Nino sleeping in nearby chairs. She noticed her wand on the nightstand next to her and grabbed for it clumsily, nearly knocking it off in her haste.

Having it in her grasp, she felt some of her panic ebb and took in her full surroundings. The hospital wing. That wasn't necessarily surprising, as she'd had her fair share of visits. Between quidditch, typical class mishaps and her "excursions" (as Alya liked to call them), Marinette had lost track of the number of times she'd come to the hospital wing, of her own volition or otherwise.

"Ms. Dupain-Cheng?" Marinette's wand was instantly up, pointing at the source of the voice, tip glowing red. She quickly recognized the owner of said voice was only Madame Vera, the castle's resident matron.

"Awake I see," the healer said kindly. "With your permission I'd like to run some more diagnostics now that you're awake." Marinette nodded, slowly lowering her wand but keeping it in her hand.

As Madame Vera began to cast her spells, Marinette suddenly noticed the healer's appearance. Her brown hair was still as curly as ever, though she seemed to have a little more gray than she previously recalled, and it wasn't up in its trademark ponytail, but was free about her head, giving the healer a slightly frazzled look. And now that she was closer, Marinette could see the bags under her brown eyes. Eyes that upon further inspection were filled with concern as she twirled her wand, leaving bands of white light trailing over Marinette that glowed different colors as they hit.

The two remained silent, one focused on her task, the other sitting numbly, replaying the past events swirling through her mind, over and over. Details jumped out at her. The white mask, the cauldron, the butterfly. Each detail led to questions, which led her to answers, which led her to more questions, which led her to other answers she didn't like. There was one question however, that her brain asked her over and over, and finally, as the matron stopped moving her wand, Marinette couldn't hold it in any longer.

"Madame Vera?" she asked.

"Yes?" The healer glanced up from her wand tip, which now had a small dome of differently colored lights adorned on it. As Marinette hesitated, she gave a comforting smile, and Marinette surged forward.

"How am I alive?"

Madame Vera stilled, her smile dropped, and Marinette was suddenly acutely aware of how silent the room was. The two stared at each other for a long moment before the healer answered.

"I don't know."

BANG

Marinette jumped as the doors of the hospital wing slammed open, and had her wand up again in an instant. Her three friends were also jolted awake, and upon noticing her being awake, leapt to her bedside. Quickly placating her friends, that yes she felt fine, and no she wasn't planning on dropping dead anytime soon, she turned her attention to the two people approaching her bed, Headmaster Fu and Professor Mendeliev. Fu approached, a grim look on his face.

"Marinette, how are you feeling?"

"A little confused headmaster," Marinette replied honestly.

"Yes, I would imagine you might be," he said, offering a reassuring smile. "I believe I may have some answers for you, we are just waiting on two others… Ah yes, here they come now."

Through the doors came Professor D'Argencourt, shortly followed by Professor Vincent, who Marinette thought looked vaguely ill. As they approached, Fu turned his attention to Madame Vera, who hesitated.

"The children are still-"

"I rather get the feeling that what we say to Marinette will be told to these three as well in short order," Fu said, giving Marinette a knowing look.

At Marinette's nod, the matron nodded in return and raised her wand. The dome of light that had been on the tip expanded, growing to surround the group.

Marinette didn't understand it, but the adults clearly did. Fu paled, D'Argencourt swore and Vincent let out a strangled choking noise before inspecting the rest of the dome intensely. Professor Mendeliev kept her composure, but she too seemed shocked, as though she believed her eyes were lying to her somehow.

"You have had quite the life young lady," D'Argencourt said, slowly spinning to inspect the entire dome.

"I don't get it," Alya said, looking around in confusion. "What is this?"

"This," said Vincent, staring at a bright orange patch that seemed to glitter, "Is a visual representation of Marinette's magical exposure."

"Ms. Dupain-Cheng," said D'Argencourt, "I have seen retired aurors with a less colorful patchwork than this, what… What have you been doing?"

Marinette didn't answer, getting the sense that the question wasn't really meant for her. A glance at Fu showed a man who suddenly looked every one of his years, his expression haunted. The group stared for a moment, all looking around the dome. Marinette had no idea how anyone could understand even one color of this, let alone the seemingly hundreds that resided in the dome. After a few moments, Marinette found her gaze drawn to a particularly interesting section. Navy blue, with an occasional flash of dark green. A pit formed in her stomach and she turned away sharply, cruel, giddy laughter echoing in her mind.

"What's this one?" Alya asked, pointing at a thin muddish brown stripe with a dot of yellow that fell through on loop. Marinette glanced at it, but her gaze was immediately drawn somewhere else.

"Acromantula venom," Vera replied after a few moments of scrutiny.

"You were bitten by an acromantula?" Alexandra demanded, whirling on her friend.

"Just a small one," Marinette said distractedly. "I'll show you the scar. That one. What is it?" She pointed at a black circle which contained swirls of purple and every few seconds, a sickly green flash. Vera turned to where she was pointing and grimaced.

"That is why you're here." She flicked her wand, and the circle became larger as the rest of the dome shimmered out of sight.

"Perhaps, Marinette," Fu said, rubbing his goatee, "we would benefit from an explanation of what happened after you vanished."

So Marinette explained what had happened, from the compulsion to move onto the first step, to the ritual, and finally the casting of the killing curse, which elicited gasps from her friends and morbid looks from the adults, who shared a glance.

"Headmaster…" Marinette said after a prolonged silence as everyone digested what she'd told them. "That ritual. The fact that it included a butterfly can't be a coincidence, right?"

"No Marinette, I do not believe it is." Fu took a breath and glanced at everyone in the room. "I'd like to explain to you what happened from our perspective after you vanished. I believe it will fill in the parts of this that don't make sense, for everyone here. But I must ask that this does not leave the room. I will be informing a few others, but only because I believe they need to be told. The general student population must not know about the details of what happened, if this is what I think it is."

When he got the satisfactory agreements, he began.

"Yesterday evening, Marinette walked down into a previously unknown section of the castle and vanished, along with said portion of the castle. Ms. Cesaire and Ms. Hill came to the great hall and informed me of the situation. Professors Vincent, Bustier, Mendeliev, and D'Argencourt came with me and the girls to the location you had vanished from and found nothing. After five minutes, we elected to search the castle and leave Bustier behind in case you came back."

"Half an hour later, we each received a patronus from Professor Bustier informing us that you had returned. Upon our arrival, we found both of you on the floor unconscious. You were suffering from severe magical exhaustion, and Bustier was having what can only be described as a magical seizure. Her body couldn't seem to decide if it wanted to be in her human form or animagus form." At the students' worried looks he held up a placating hand. "She is now stable, don't worry. She has not regained consciousness but she is in her human form and not at any risk. Madame Vera expects her to wake up soon."

"Following that, you were brought here by Professor Mendeliev, while Professor D'Argencourt and Professor Vincent remained behind to investigate. We searched for some form of trigger, something that would set off the staircase moving as it did. We found it around two in the morning, with the help of an associate who we called in after our attempts proved futile. It was concealed in three parts, an intricate array of runes and charms that only showed themselves to him from a particular location. Rather ingenious really, the theory itself is fascinating, and-"

Professor D'Argencourt coughed pointedly and Fu quickly switched back to the main topic.

"Regardless, once we knew the parameters of the runes, Professor Vincent and I were able to set them off, giving us access to the stairs. What we found was…" Here Fu hesitated, as though unsure of what he could possibly say to explain.

"Vile," Professor Vincent muttered. "It was utterly repulsive. Completely saturated with black magic." He turned his face to look at Marinette. "It was just as you said. There was a cauldron, albeit empty, and signs that a dark ritual had taken place. It was horrific."

After a few moments of silence, D'Argencourt spoke up.

"There was also a body."

Marinette's mouth dropped open, even more questions filling her mind as she processed that new tidbit of information.

"Who was it?" she asked, settling on what she thought was the most pressing question.

Fu sighed, looking sadder by the moment.

"In order to explain that, what I believe exactly happened, and why it happened," he said, "we have to talk about the magic involved. Pop quiz, what is the principle of 'Magical Trace'?"

Nino raised his hand.

Fu nodded to him, a small smile breaking through his otherwise sad visage.

"The principle of Magical Trace is that all magic leaves evidence. No matter how small the amount of magic used, there is always what we refer to as 'traces' of magical residue left behind."

"Correct Mr. Lahiffe. Take 5 points to Hufflepuff. Bonus 5 for anyone who can tell me the leading principle behind Anglica's Theorem?"

Marinette blinked.

"Anglica's Theorem states that magic is alive to some extent, and thus has what she referred to as 'memory'," she said. Her eyes widened as she began to see what the headmaster was suggesting. "Headmaster, you can't possibly be suggesting that-"

"That is exactly what I'm suggesting Ms. Dupain-Cheng, and take 5 points to Slytherin," Fu said. "I believe that with your triggering of the runes, you also inadvertently triggered a magical 'memory'. One that the magic of Hogwarts has been storing for over twenty years."

"Hold on," Alya said, "Let's assume that you're right. That doesn't explain why Marinette experienced that vision and nobody else did. I mean the traces and memory, sure. Professor Vincent said the area was saturated with dark magic, but that doesn't explain why Marinette experienced it so vividly, or even at all." When everyone stared at her, she flushed, realizing she'd just argued with the headmaster.

"All valid points Ms. Cesaire, take 5 points for critical thinking," Fu said with a smile. "To answer those points, I believe this is where we must turn our focus to what happened almost 21 years ago. Professor Mendeliev, if you would?"

Marinette's least favorite professor and head of house moved stiffly to the foot of her bed, looking at the students down her nose imperiously. She huffed, apparently displeased that she had to explain this to them at all, but proceeded nonetheless.

"On December 19, 1993, two girls came running to the Slyhtherin head office, minutes before the Hogwarts Express was due to leave for winter break. The girls were in a panic, and claimed they had seen the castle swallow one of their friends via a staircase they had never seen before. We searched the area they claimed she'd vanished, but there was no evidence, and a search of the castle turned up nothing. She was never found."

"Until today," murmured Alexandra.

"Until today," Mendeliev agreed. "But it is not just the staircase that was similar. Both girls reported that they had started arguing at the top of the stairs. Neither had actually seen the other girl disappear. And…"

"And what?" Marinette asked, dread pooling in her gut. Mendeliev tried to meet her gaze, but couldn't quite manage it.

"She was the subject of a prophecy," Mendeliev bit out, as though the words were poison.

A prolonged silence filled the group as Marinette chewed on what Mendeliev said, a few other pieces clicking in her mind.

"That's not the only similarity between us is it?" she finally asked. "In the vision… If it was just me reliving that, she was a muggleborn wasn't she?"

"She was," Fu agreed morosely. "The first muggleborn in Slytherin for a decade, and among the best of them. She even had a Gryffindor best friend, who was the one who reported her missing alongside the other Slytherin."

"That's why it triggered this time!" Alya blurted. "The exact parameters of the memory had never been fulfilled because Alexandra and I are the two friends required, and the three of us had never come up from the dungeons together like that!"

"I believe that is accurate Ms. Cesaire," Fu agreed. "And now to answer your first question, Marinette. Her name was Joan Couffaine."

Marinette's stomach dropped, and from the looks on her friend's faces, they were feeling much the same.

"Luka and Juleka's aunt," Nino murmured. "Or at least…"

"She would have been, yes," Fu finished sadly. "A terrible loss, one that her parents never truly recovered from before their passing."

"Is that why you want us to keep this a secret headmaster?" Alya asked. "For their sake?"

"That is part of it, but there is one other thing that has fallen to the wayside, and that pertains to the butterfly Marinette described in the ritual. It relates to Hawkmoth, that much is clear, but the purpose and function of the ritual is still unknown to us. Given that the war started two weeks later, it was either successful or they were confident that it worked as intended. The sacrifice of a child of prophecy is no small thing. They knew full well what they were doing."

Silence fell yet again, and after a few moments, Fu gave a nod to his fellow professors. Mendeliev immediately strode out of the hospital wing without a word. D'argencourt and Vincent both wished Marinette well, the latter making sure she would be at the first Dueling Club meeting the following week. With a small smile, he hurried after his fellow professors, the doors closing behind them.

"Marinette," Fu began again, "I'm sorry to ask, but is there anything else that you remember? Any small detail?" Marinette took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, as she forced herself to remember the scene in its entirety.

"The woman was French," Marinette mumbled, hands shaking. "She had a french accent, and she… She enjoyed it. Very much."

Fu nodded, and set a hand on hers comfortingly. "Marinette, I must ask that for your safety, you do not leave the castle except for the tournament. This memory that you experienced, and its connection to Hawkmoth… They most likely know who you are and what you could represent. They would stop at nothing to capture you if they thought they could."

Marinette hesitated for a moment then nodded, Chat Noir's request for her suddenly returning to her mind.

"When can we start training for the tournament?" Marinette asked, changing the subject.

Fu blinked, as if surprised by this new topic, but recovered quickly with a small smile. "Next week I think. I believe Vincent has a plan for you in his dueling club, and that will be your first. We'll meet soon after to discuss where we can go from there."

"Thank you headmaster," Marinette said, and with a nod, the diminutive man began making his way out of the hospital wing, stopping briefly at a bed about halfway down, where Marinette deduced Professor Bustier was being kept. Once the doors closed, Marinette turned to Madame Vera and moved hopefully towards the edge of the bed.

"So… Now that that's all taken care of, I suppose I'll be going-" A gust of magical wind buffeted her back to the center of her bed, and Marinette groaned. "Let me guess, observation?"

"Only until tomorrow morning, Ms. Dupain-Cheng," Madame Vera said, in a tone that was suspiciously cheerful. "I'm sorry to take away the rest of your weekend, but I'd like to make sure you don't suffer any lingering side effects."

Marinette grumbled in assent and the matron moved away towards Professor Bustier. Marinette turned back to her friends and shrugged.

"Guess I'm stuck."

"Could be worse," Nino said, ever the optimist. "Remember when you were here for a week after our Forbidden Forest adventure?"

"Don't remind me," Marinette groused. "I was having acromantula induced seizures the first two days."

"And you don't even have to regrow bones!" Alya chimed in.

"Your life scares me," Alexandra said, shaking her head in disbelief. "Your decision making skills seem to be lacking."

"Yeah, speaking of…" Marinette trailed off awkwardly. Alya narrowed her eyes.

"Are you about to do something incredibly stupid hours removed from disappearing without a trace?"

"I'm asking for advice about doing something incredibly stupid hours removed from disappearing without a trace," Marinette corrected. She launched into an explanation of the night after the selection ceremony, and what Chat Noir had asked of her.

"That sounds dangerous and stupid," Alex said flatly.

"But also we could get an explanation!" Alya countered.

"She literally just vanished out from under us from the memory of members of The Following, and you want to send her to somebody who might not only be connected to them, but who already tried to kill you once?" Alex demanded.

"Well… No. But I would also really appreciate an explanation as to why she tried to kill us."

"Alya, don't get me wrong, I would also love that," Nino said, "But think about what she's being asked to do. She's being asked to flaunt several school rules and potentially endanger her life in the process."

"Nothing new then," Marinette quipped, trying to lighten the mood.

"That's not a good thing," Nino snapped. Marinette jumped a bit. Nino was almost always bright and cheerful, the fact he was snapping meant he was worried. He sighed and removed his glasses, rubbing his eyes. "Look 'Nette, I'm not saying I wouldn't love to know what's going on, and I'm definitely not saying I'd undo any of our excursions, but you'd be going alone with Adrien, and beyond the clear and present danger of Professor Tsurigi, who's to say what his true intentions are?"

Marinette opened her mouth to defend Adrien, but someone else beat her to it.

"I trust him," Alex said. Marinette eyed her friend, but Alex just gave her a small shrug, so she let it go. "That does not mean I think you should go through with this."

"Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus," Nino muttered, putting his glasses back on.

"Never tickle a sleeping dragon, I know," Marinette said with a sigh.

"There's also the fact that you were forcibly put into a tournament that has the potential to kill you," Alya said reluctantly.

"And Fu explicitly told you to stay in the castle for your protection!" Alex interjected. "I just don't see how this is a good idea."

"Fu doesn't know everything," Marinette muttered.

"Maybe not," Nino conceded. "But he knows more than any of us. More than all of us combined I'd wager."

Marinette grimaced. Unfortunately he made a good point.

"Alya?" Marinette asked, looking at her best friend. Alya chewed her lip, clearly torn.

"It's a bad idea. But it's the only way we get answers."

"Or we could wait for Adrien to get back," Nino pointed out. "I'm sure he'd tell us if we asked."

"But I want to go." Marinette clenched her fists around the bedsheets, staring at the far wall. "I want to look that woman in the eyes and ask why she tried to kill us."

"But then what?" Nino asked gently. "Suppose she tries to kill you again, or worse, turns you over to Hawkmoth?"

"Hawkmoth isn't back," Marinette said reflexively.

"Not yet," Alex whispered.

Nobody had a response to that, and eventually Marinette made a decision, one that once she'd made it, knew it was the only one she was ever going to make.

"I'm going," she said firmly. When her friends protested, she cut them off. "I'm not spending another winter break sitting on half baked information that bites us in the ass second term. That happened two years ago with the Forbidden Forest incident, and last year with both Tsurigi and…" she stopped, but the other three knew what she meant.

"That wasn't your fault Marinette," Alya said gently. "You couldn't have known-"

"Well now I do," Marinette retorted. "I can't change what happened, so I'm taking control of this instead. I'm going."

Nino seemed to be trying to find the words to make her reconsider, but eventually dropped his head in defeat.

"Just let us know when you're going alright?" he asked.

"Of course," Marinette replied softly. "Alex?"

Alexandra huffed. "I stand by what I said, but I understand your reasons. I just…" She trailed off, eyes becoming unfocused for a moment. "Just tell me when you're going please," she finished.

"I will," Marinette promised. "It probably won't be that soon, I have to talk to Adrien first. Plus with the tournament, classes, quidditch, dueling club…" Marinette frowned. "I'm not going to have any free time am I?"

"'Fraid not girl," Alya said, giving her a pat on the back. "But we've got your back. Anything you need."

As her friends pulled her into a hug, Marinette drank in the feeling of love that she held for her friends, and that they held for her. It had always been enough to get her through her darkest moments. But even as she held them, Marinette had a nagging feeling that the road before her was going to be the hardest it had ever been.

I told you I had things planned for this chapter. :D

*Waves excitedly* Hi! It's me again! I'm still here, despite the absolute calamity that last year was. I... Honestly don't think I wrote a single word in that time frame? I'm sure I did, but it sure doesn't feel like it. A quick side note about this chapter and my writing process for it before we talk about what the actual frick frack just happened, yeah?

I planned out this chapter... I wanna say right before Christmas? I planned it in my notebook on the four hour drive to my grandparents house. I'd had the scene involving Marinette waking up for... Months? A long, long time. I wrote the ritual flashback two days before I planned the rest, it was something I knew had happened for quite a while, in terms of when I started writing this story, I think I knew someone got sacrificed for the start of the war since... 2019 at some point? Following that, I didn't touch the story for two weeks, then promptly wrote the last 4500 words of the chapter over the span of 8 hours or so. Apparently having the story planned out actually helps me write! What a concept!

Imaginary reader: Yeah yeah that's great and all I have a question!
Me: Yes, what can I do for you?
IR: Soooooo listen I've read the Harry Potter books like 75 times and there is absolutely no mention of most of the magic in this chapter, care to explain?
Me: Oh of course! I call it "Using logic to expand upon the magic shown to us in the books and using said extrapolations to make the story work but also setting up rules so I don't abuse magic later for plot purposes."
IR: What gives you the right to do that though?
Me: Uh... Because it's fanfiction and it's for personal enjoyment?
IR: Meh fair enough, carry on then.

Thanks I will. :)

Adrien: I wish to make a complaint.
Me: Is this about how you haven't been in the past two chapters and haven't had a conversation with Marinette about your smooch yet?
Adrien: Yes actually how did you know?
Me: Because I said during our conversation last chapter it would be covered. It still will be don't you worry.
Adrien: Okay! :)
Me: Aw look at that oblivious smile.
Adrien: Oblivious to what?
Me: Oh who knows? :)
Adrien: ... That smile is far less innocent.
Me: Yes. Yes it is. :)

Marinette: How did you manage to write a chapter more than double the length of the previous chapter and not cover the thing you said you would cover.
Me: Plans change.
Marinette: Plans change? You literally postponed a cute conversation to make me suffer more!
Me: Lol yeah. For a good reason though!
Marinette: Oh yeah? What's that?
Me: Technically there are a few reasons, but there's one that's really the most important.
Marinette: What.
Me: Fun :)
Marinette: I hate you so much.

Imaginary reader: PLOT HOLE
Me: What? Where?
IR: In chapter 18 you said Luka was from a wizarding family which is why he didn't know what calculus is but his mom is a muggleborn!
Me: Yep. His mom married a wizard. You think Anarka Couffaine of all people is gonna talk to Juleka and Luka about calculus?
IR: Touché

Gosh arguments here are so fun, it's like arguing in the shower. I always win because I'm arguing against myself! :D

Alright, all things aside, I want to say I'm sorry for the delay, last year was... Well. It wasn't my best. But I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I certainly enjoyed writing it. I'm gonna ACTUALLY try to make the next chapter come out faster this time, I swear. A year long wait it will not be.

Wherever you are, I hope you're having a good day!

Love you all!

~Nebs~