Chapter 8 – Against the World

Marinette made her way back down through the castle. Her meeting with the Minister had been interesting to say the least. Now, she was ready to get back to Adrien and tell him what had happened.

'Hello? Marinette Dupain-Cheng?'

Marinette spun round. A woman she'd never met was standing in the corridor. She was wearing smart purple robes and had short dark red hair cropped into a pixie-cut. A piece of parchment was hovering in the air next to her, as well as a deep purple quill that seemed to be writing of its own accord.

'Um…who are you?' Marinette asked. She had a feeling she knew who this person was, but she couldn't be sure until she introduced herself.

'I just have a few questions for you, Marinette,' the woman said, not answering her question. 'About your recent Quidditch match and what happened between you and Chloe Bourgeois. Is it true Chloe was responsible for you getting injured?'

Marinette folded her arms.

'Is your name Nadja Chamack, by any chance? You know, the reporter who suggested that Adrien might be dating both me and Chloe?'

Nadja's expression wavered a little. She narrowed her hazel-coloured eyes. Marinette felt like she'd seen those eyes somewhere…but she couldn't remember where.

'I have a job to do, Miss Dupain-Cheng. I have hundreds of readers who want to know what is happening in the Wizarding World. I can hardly leave them disappointed.'

'Oh, really.' Marinette wasn't having any of this. 'And is there really nothing people would rather read about than the love lives of fifteen-year-old wizards? You have the whole of the Wizarding World at your feet. There are much more interesting things you could write your articles about.'

'And I assume you are an expert?'

'No, but…' Marinette tried to come up with a witty remark, but nothing came. Oh, well. She didn't owe this woman anything. 'Sorry, Nadja, but I don't have any information for you today.'

The quill was busy scribbling. Marinette wondered if everything she'd said would end up in tomorrow's Daily Prophet. Never mind. She hoped it did. It would prove a point.

'Not even some gossip about Chloe Bourgeois?' Nadja encouraged. 'I know the two of you are enemies. Don't you want the world to know how awful she is?'

Marinette hesitated. She wasn't going to say anything about Chloe, of course, however tempting that offer was. But if she told Nadja that she'd been ordered by the Minister for Magic to keep quiet, that would sound even worse. Andre Bourgeois would surely not appreciate that.

'Nope. I have nothing to say about Chloe. I haven't always gotten along with her, but that's about it.' Understatement of the century. She frowned. 'What exactly is that quill of yours writing?'

'My quick-quotes-quill? That's none of your business.'

'It is if it's about me.' Marinette snatched the piece of parchment out of the air. Written on it were phrases like:

'Chloe is the absolute worst! She pushed me off my broom and then laughed about it! And one time, she set my homework on fire!'

'I'm so in love with Adrien. I just can't believe that someone like him would want to date someone like me.'

'What!?' Marinette crumpled up the parchment and threw it out of a nearby window. 'Those things aren't even true. Chloe never set my homework on fire.'

'So you admit she pushed you off your broom?'

'No! She…' Marinette caught herself just in time. 'None of this is any of your business!'

Nadja opened her mouth to argue back when a voice called out:

'Mum! You're here!'

A small girl was sprinting down the corridor towards Nadja. For a moment, Nadja seemed to forget Marinette was even there as the girl, who must have been her daughter, ran into her arms.

'Hi, Sweetie. Mum's a little busy now, okay?' As Nadja smoothed the girl's brown pigtails, she seemed to turn into a completely different person. Almost as if her brain had been Transfigured. 'Catch up later?'

'Okay,' the girl said, and then looked up at Marinette. 'Oh, hey, Marinette!'

Marinette's mouth fell open.

'Manon? You're…' Her eyes flicked between the two. 'You're Nadja's daughter?'

'Yes. I'm Manon Chamack. I didn't tell you before.'

She would never have guessed. Nadja was pale, but Manon's skin was a few shades darker. They didn't look a bit like each other except for the eyes – so that was where Marinette recognised them from.

Nadja looked puzzled.

'You two know each other?'

'Sure do!' Manon exclaimed excitedly. 'Marinette helped me with my homework when I was finding it really difficult. She gave me the best advice ever – to believe in myself. And it worked! My spells are a lot better now, thanks to her.'

'Glad I could help,' said Marinette, feeling awkward.

'Is that true, Manon?' Nadja was looking surprised and a little guilty.

'Of course it is. I was crying in the library when Marinette found me. She was the only one who helped me. Nobody else did. And then Professor Mendeleiev said my Switching Spells were great!' Manon beamed. 'Marinette's super nice.' She paused. 'So, what were you guys talking about just now?'

Marinette and Nadja froze. Their eyes met and an understanding passed between them. Manon didn't need to know that they were just having an argument. Manon, however, seemed to guess.

'Is it about that article you wrote about Marinette, Mum?' she asked. 'Because that was a bit mean, wasn't it?'

'Uhhhh…' Nadja seemed at a loss for words. 'I suppose.'

'It wasn't all bad,' Marinette said in an attempt to smooth things over. 'You did write about what a great Quidditch player I am.'

The quick-quotes-quill was still writing, on a fresh piece of parchment. Nadja seemed to think better of this and gently plucked it out of the air and stuffed it into her pocket.

'You weren't very nice about Adrien, though.' Manon looked curiously at Marinette. 'Is he really your boyfriend?'

'I mean, he is now,' replied Marinette, 'But he wasn't when that article was published.' She looked warily at Nadja. 'You're not going to report that, are you?'

Nadja seemed torn.

'I…well…perhaps. Or perhaps not.'

'Then what will you write about?' Manon asked. There was an awkward silence. That was a very good question.

Suddenly, Marinette had an idea.

'If you want to write about goings-on at Hogwarts, why not find Professor Nightingale and ask her about the event she put on for Valentine's Day? She'd love to tell you all about it. And I'm sure there will be plenty of students who will want to share their love stories from the day.'

'Oh, yes!' Manon's eyes were shining. 'Great idea, Marinette!'

Nadja was looking thoughtful.

'That…could work.'

'You can even mention me and Adrien – as long as you don't make the article all about us.' Marinette was sure Adrien wouldn't mind. 'That way, everyone is happy. It'll be an entertaining article without having to say anything bad about anyone.'

'That sounds much more fun!' exclaimed Manon. 'It was an awesome day. Loads of really funny stuff happened.'

Nadja considered Marinette.

'All right, then. I'll interview Professor Nightingale and whoever else has a story to share. Then I'll run it past my editors at the Daily Prophet and see what they think.'

'Yay!' Manon sang. 'I can't wait to read this article.'

'If it gets published,' her mother reminded her.

'I'm sure it will,' said Marinette. 'Professor Nightingale is a very…interesting person.'

'Where would I find her?'

'The Divination classroom. That's where she usually hangs out. I can take you there and introduce you if you'd like.'

Nadja smiled.

'I'd like that.'

'Can I come?' Manon asked excitedly.

'Of course,' Nadja said. 'Why don't you lead the way?'

Manon didn't need telling twice. She skipped off down the corridor, leaving Nadja and Marinette to follow.

'That was a good thing you did for Manon,' Nadja said as they started walking. 'She's always struggled with her confidence. She mentioned in her letters that her spellcasting has improved, but…I didn't know it was because of you.'

'It was my pleasure. She seemed really upset. She needed help.'

'Perhaps I wouldn't have written that article about you and Adrien and Chloe if I'd known. It's just a lot of pressure, you know. To write something entertaining.'

'Articles can be entertaining without gossiping about people's personal lives,' Marinette said gently. 'Especially teenagers. Our lives are hard enough as it is. Especially as we're also wizards!'

'I see that now. Well, let's hope that Professor Nightingale can give us something good.' She paused. 'And thank you, Marinette. You've been a good friend to my daughter.'

'No problem. I'm glad I did. If I hadn't, we might still be arguing right now.' Marinette had a sudden thought. 'By the way…my best friend wants to become a reporter one day. Alya Cesaire. She'd love to meet you. Any chance I could introduce you to her?'

Nadja smiled.

'I think that would be the least I can do for you, Marinette. I'll meet Alya when I've interviewed Professor Nightingale. Is this the place?'

They had come to a ladder which led up to a hole in the ceiling.

'I've never been up there,' said Manon, who was stretching up on her tiptoes to get a good look.

'Me neither,' said Marinette. 'Let's go up and see if she's in.'

Manon raced up the ladder, followed by Marinette and then Nadja. They emerged into a bright, cosy room, full of teacups and crystal balls, as well as musical instruments. In one corner, a piano was playing a soft relaxing tune, the keys moving all by themselves.

'Hello?' called Marinette. 'Professor Nightingale?'

A door at the back of the classroom swung open and a head poked out.

'Well hello there! Can it be…someone here to visit me?'

'We're not just here to visit,' said Manon enthusiastically.

'That's right,' said Marinette. 'Professor Nightingale, I'd like you to meet Nadja Chamack.'

'Hi, Nadja!'

'Hello, Professor Nightingale.'

'Please, call be Clara.'

Nadja smiled.

'One of my colleagues is called Clara. It's a lovely name. Now, if you don't mind, I have some questions for you…'

Marinette was a couple of corridors away from the courtyard when she bumped – literally – into Adrien. It turned out he hadn't been able to wait any longer and had come looking for her.

'There you are, m'lady. I've been looking all over for you.' Adrien placed his hands in the curves of her waist, and then hesitated. 'Um, is this okay?'

'Absolutely.' Marinette began to feel instantly calmer and more relaxed just from being in his presence.

Adrien smiled.

'So, how did it go with the Minister for Magic?'

'It was…eventful, shall we say. Plus I have another story to tell you. I just met Nadja Chamack.'

'Really? Nadja's here?' Adrien looked apprehensive. 'That's hardly surprising, given recent events. I'm guessing you gave her a piece of your mind?'

Marinette told him what had happened.

'So we were arguing, and I looked at some of the stuff that fancy quill of hers was writing. It was all made-up! It said…' She trailed off.

'What did it say?'

'That I couldn't believe someone like you could possibly want to date someone like me,' Marinette said quietly. He frowned.

'Someone like you? You mean someone kind, brave, funny, intelligent, talented and beautiful?'

She giggled.

'Well, when you put it like that…'

Adrien looked a little troubled.

'That's not really how you feel, is it?'

'Absolutely not,' she declared confidently. 'I might have felt like that once, but I don't anymore.'

'I'm glad to hear it,' he said, tightening his hold on her. 'Because if you did, I'd have to have words with you, m'lady.' His expression was a mix of stern and playful.

'Don't worry,' she said, leaning into him. 'You said it yourself – I don't care about the money or the fame. Only the person behind them.'

'I did. And you do. But…promise that if you ever end up feeling inferior, or undesirable, or anything like that, for any reason…you'll tell me?'

Marinette nodded.

'I promise.'

'Good.' He gathered her up, holding her close to his heart. 'Because I will never allow that.'

'I know.' She melted into his arms. He was the best boyfriend.

'We got a little side-tracked,' came his voice from above her head, which was nestled into his shoulder. 'What happened with Nadja? You said you were arguing.'

'Oh, yeah.' Marinette explained how Manon had shown up, which had put an end to her and Nadja's dispute. 'I helped her with her homework a few weeks ago, but I had no idea she was Nadja's daughter.'

'Classic Marinette. Always going out of your way to help others.'

'I just couldn't stand to see her so upset; she was really struggling. Anyway, Nadja and I sort of made up and then I had the idea that she interview Professor Nightingale. You know, about Valentine's Day. That's what they're doing right now.'

'Oh wow. That's a really good idea. Professor Nightingale could probably talk for hours about that.'

'Absolutely. So, that's what happened. I told her she can mention us as long as the whole article isn't about us like it was last time.'

Unless she imagined it, Adrien tensed a little. She looked up at him.

'Is that okay?'

'Oh, um, yes. I want the whole world to know how lucky I am to have you. Speaking of which…ready to go and meet the others? Everyone's looking forward to seeing you outside of the Hospital Wing.'

'Sure.' She took hold of his hand. 'And we can share our good news.'

He laughed.

'Bold of you to assume they don't already know.'

'Oh, yeah. Alya and Nino have been gossiping, haven't they?'

'You bet they have.'

'Oh, well. Everyone will be very happy about this.'

'Not as happy as us, though!' He gave her hand a squeeze.

Marinette knew her friends would be happy to see her and Adrien together at last. But she was still nearly knocked over by the wall of noise that greeting them upon entering the courtyard.

'Here they are!'

'Awwwww, they're so cute!'

'What did I tell you guys?'

'It's about time!'

'Look at them holding hands!'

All their friends were there. Her Quidditch mates were grinning all over their faces. Kagami was smiling. Juleka was resting her chin on Rose's head, and Mylene was sitting on Ivan's shoulders to get a better view. Alya and Nino were observing the scene, looking deeply amused.

'Are you feeling better, Marinette?' asked Zoe.

'Yes. Much better, thanks Zoe. Thanks for the lovely cards, everyone.'

'No worries,' said Alix. 'It's awesome to have you back. And with Adrien!'

Everyone cheered again. Marinette even saw a few coins changing hands. She rolled her eyes at Adrien, who had also noticed and was shaking his head, fighting a smile. Oh, well. At least everyone was happy now.

Well, not quite everyone.

'Adrikins!' came a shrill voice from behind them. They both froze and met each other's eyes. Adrien's expression seemed to be saying let me handle this.

Chloe had obviously just come back from seeing her father off, because she was alone. She was looking murderous – she evidently wasn't happy about what had happened in Professor Damocles' office.

'Dupain-Cheng told me you replaced her broom. Surely that isn't true.'

Some of their friends let out small gasps and started muttering. A tiny flicker of surprise flashed across Adrien's face, but he smoothed it over. Marinette hoped he didn't mind that she'd told Chloe.

'Yes, Chloe. I replaced Marinette's broom. Do you have a problem with that?' Adrien asked calmly.

'Um, yes! Daddy could have replaced it. Why did you have to take it upon yourself to do that, Adrien?'

Alya opened her mouth, probably to point out that Chloe's father had bought new brooms for their entire team and so there was no reason for Adrien not to get one for Marinette. But Adrien shut her up with a look. He clearly wanted this to be between himself and Chloe.

'I don't think you should pick fault when you were the reason Marinette lost her other broom,' he said. 'I wanted to show Marinette how much I care about her. How special she is to me.'

Chloe's eyes fell on their hands. Adrien had a tight hold on Marinette. He wasn't going to let her go.

'You can't possibly be dating the baker-girl! That…that…'

'Chloe.' Adrien's voice was now almost threatening. This was the closest to being angry that Marinette had ever seen him. 'If you're about to call Marinette a Mudblood, I really wouldn't. You don't want to see what I'm capable of.' There was a dark edge to his voice, that suggested trouble was on its way, like a simmering potion about to come to the boil. 'Marinette is my girlfriend now. If you continue to use that word to describe her, or anyone else for that matter, then I'm afraid we can't be friends.'

Chloe opened her mouth – but for once, she didn't have a scornful reply to make, so she closed it again.

'That's what I thought.' His expression softened a little now that he'd gotten what he wanted. 'Now, if you don't mind, I'm busy celebrating with my friends. You can join us or leave us alone. It's up to you.'

Chloe obviously wasn't going to stay. She folded her arms and stomped off moodily, muttering something about everyone being utterly ridiculous.

There was a long pause. Then, yet another cheer. Everyone surrounded the couple and many of them patted Adrien on the back.

'Good on you, my dude!' exclaimed Nino.

'Chloe had that coming,' declared Kim.

'Nice one, cousin,' said Felix, who had appeared out of nowhere. He was smirking. 'Didn't think you had it in you.'

'Did you really replace Marinette's broom?' asked Nora, who looked thrilled by this news. The rest of the team were also looking ecstatic.

'Yeah,' Adrien replied.

'Wicked! I take back everything I've ever said about you.'

Adrien opened his mouth as if to ask what exactly she had said about him…but seemed to decide against it.

'No problem. It was my pleasure.'

It turned out everyone had a lot to say to them. Eventually, Marinette and Adrien got away from the crowd for some alone time. Marinette looked shyly up at him.

'Thanks for standing up for me like that.'

Adrien looked a little weary, yet pleased with himself. He'd clearly never spoken to anyone like that before. But he also didn't regret it one bit.

'Honestly, I should have done that long ago. I know you like to fight your own battles, but…' He clenched his fists. 'I want to make it clear that nobody disrespects my girlfriend. Especially people who claim to be my friends.'

'I think you made that very clear,' Marinette said. She was totally in awe of him. 'Remind me never to annoy you. What exactly did you mean by you don't want to see what I'm capable of?'

'Let's just say when I was home-schooled, my father got my tutor Nathalie to teach me some…advanced magic. Nothing illegal,' he reassured her, 'Just a few things in case I ever needed to defend myself.'

'Like the Patronus,' Marinette remembered. 'I heard you can cast one of those. I'd love to learn that spell – mainly because I want to see what mine would be. It is super advanced though.'

'Oh, I'm sure someone as talented as you would be able to learn it in time,' he told her with a flattering smile. She wondered if her stomach would ever not flip over when he looked at her like that. 'Maybe I could teach you. You just have to think of something that makes you really, truly happy.'

'I don't think that would be particularly hard,' she said, glancing coyly into his eyes. 'I can already think of something.'

'Oh, really?' He grinned. 'I wonder what that could be…' He scratched his chin, pretending to think about it. They both laughed.

'By the way…I hope you don't mind me telling Chloe about the broom. I just figured people would find out sooner or later, and the look on her face was priceless.'

Adrien's lip quirked.

'Whatever makes you happy, Marinette.'

'Oh, it did. And speaking of my broom…I believe I owe you some ice-cream?'

'Same flavours again, my dears?'

'Yes please, Andre!' Marinette said, her arm linked through his. 'We'll be sharing them, of course.'

'I wouldn't expect anything less,' Andre told them as he prepared their ice-creams. 'How wonderful it is to see you two as a real couple this time! I knew it would happen, of course.'

'I think a lot of people knew before we did,' she giggled.

'Must have been the magic of your ice-cream, Andre,' said Adrien. Marinette looked up at him and raised her eyebrows. 'Well, that certainly helped.'

They all laughed.

'Indeed,' said Andre. 'When love is burning in your heart, Andre knows it from the start.'

'Don't we know it,' Marinette said as they took their ice-creams.

When they reached the table, a copy of the Daily Prophet was waiting for them there. It had been a week since Nadja's interview with Professor Nightingale had been published, and it was a huge success. Lots of their friends had also been interviewed, including Alya and Nino. Alya and Nadja had gotten to know each other and found that they had lots in common. He was very proud of Marinette for having thought of it.

'Wonderful idea of yours to interview Professor Nightingale,' Adrien praised his girlfriend. 'She sure had a lot to say about Valentine's Day.'

'Lots of people did,' replied Marinette as she sat down. 'Who knew Hogwarts could have that many love stories?'

'Ours is still my favourite by far, though,' Adrien declared. 'Well, minus the part where you got injured.'

'And the bit where a dwarf sat on your legs,' giggled Marinette. 'That looked painful.'

'It was.' Adrien shuddered. 'But not as painful as getting hit by a Bludger.'

She reached out and took his hand.

'I'm fine now, and that's what matters. Do you think there's any chance of our future together being less full of disasters?'

'Hope so,' he laughed, a warm glow spreading through him at the thought of their future together. 'But at least now we've got each other.'

'Yes we have. Oh – before I forget!'

She reached into her bag and handed him a small, squashy package. Adrien's eyes widened in joy as he tore it open.

'Aww, you really did make it.'

'Sure did. As promised, one Hufflepuff hat.'

Adrien tugged the hat on over his hair. It fit perfectly.

'I love it. Thank you very much, Marinette.'

'I know it doesn't compare to a new broom, but…'

Adrien silenced her with his sharp green eyes.

'Oh yes it does. Don't give me that, m'lady. You've taken the time to make this for me and that's just as special.' He took the hat off and put it safely away in his own bag. The mental image of her knitting it for him, with love and without magic, warmed his heart.

'Consider it a very late Valentine's present from your girlfriend,' she joked. This earned a laugh.

'We can't keep saying that about every gift.'

'Maybe not. But there will be many more gifts.'

'I can't wait.' He took a spoonful of ice-cream and gave a satisfied smile as her name appeared on the spoon, as he knew it would. 'Looks like this one's got your name on it. Literally. Shall we?'

'Absolutely.' He held the spoon to her lips and she opened her mouth for him to feed her the delicious blueberry ice cream. She closed her bluebell eyes as she gulped it down. Then she took a spoonful of peach, looking determined. 'Hopefully I won't get it on your nose this time.'

He laughed again.

'I wouldn't mind if you did, you know. But I'd prefer it in my mouth. After all…peach pink is for my lips, is it not?'

'Uhhhh…'

Her cheeks were beginning to match the red tablecloth. She looked flustered, but didn't seem uncomfortable. He couldn't resist giving his lips a little lick just to tease her even more. She raised her hand and he leaned forward to close his mouth around the spoon, knowing she'd be embarrassed if she got it on his nose again.

'Mmm,' he said. 'Thank you, Princess.'

She looked at him curiously.

'Princess?'

Adrien suddenly felt a little self-conscious. He wasn't sure what had made him say that out loud.

'Um…is that weird?'

'Oh…no! I like it.'

'I'm glad. It's just that…I do kind of think of you as a princess. You're a lot like one.'

'Well then…I guess that would make you my handsome prince.'

'I suppose it would.'

He saw her eyes light up a little as she had an idea.

'What are you thinking?'

'Well…how familiar are you with muggle fairy tales?'

'Um, a little. My father would never let me read muggle stuff now, but my mother used to like them.' He paused and looked at her curiously. 'Why?'

'Well…' She got up, slowly walked round the table and lowered herself onto the sofa beside him. 'You know how you said you'd fallen under my spell?'

'Mmm-hmm,' he replied, enjoying the sudden closeness between their bodies. Her leg was brushing up against his, and her hand seemed to be inching forward.

'And…you know how the spell gets broken at the end of the story?'

Suddenly, he knew what she was hinting at, and why she'd moved to sit next to him. And he loved it.

'Only thing, m'lady…even if this particular spell could be broken…I don't think I'd want it to be.'

Her face fell a little.

'Oh.' She moved away slightly and he realised that must have come across the wrong way.

'What I mean is…' He reached for her waist and gently pulled her closer again. Her eyes were big and blue and searching. 'That's all the more reason why I'd love to kiss you, Marinette.'

'You sure?' she asked nervously, blinking her long dark lashes at him. He chuckled softly.

'Oh, yes. I've been wanting to do this for a long time. But are you ready?'

'I am, Adrien.' And he could tell that she meant it. She wasn't nervous or stuttering now, just giving him a look that made his heart skip a beat. And so, their eyes fluttered shut and he kissed her.

Their noses brushed gently for a second, but Adrien solved this problem by tilting his head to the left. Then, he had perfect access to her lips, which were softer and sweeter than he could have dreamed – and he'd done that a lot. Unsurprisingly, her breath tasted just like the blueberry ice-cream he'd just fed her. His probably tasted like peach. Judging from her sigh, she liked it.

Sure enough, when they pulled apart she was beaming as radiantly as the sun. He reached across the table for her ice-cream and scooped up a spoonful for her.

'Better not let these melt.'

After more kisses and ice-cream, Marinette asked:

'Something's worrying you, isn't it? You've been a bit off these last few days.'

Something was worrying him. He hadn't forgotten the letter from his father. The one saying that Gabriel hoped Adrien wasn't dating Marinette because she was muggle-born. He knew that he really should tell her sooner rather than later. For this to work, they needed to trust each other. So, he put down his spoon.

'Well, yeah. There's one thing you should know, Marinette. My father, he…' Adrien searched for the right words. 'He can be a little… old fashioned.'

'You mean he won't approve of the fact that my parents aren't wizards?' Marinette nodded slowly. 'I sort of guessed that. Have you heard from him recently?'

'Well…the last time I did was on the day of that Daily Prophet article. The one about how we'd come to Hogsmeade together. He…wasn't happy about it.'

She looked thoughtfully down at the heart-patterned tablecloth.

'Then I suppose we have a choice to make. We could try to keep our relationship a secret?'

He gave a dry laugh.

'I think it's a little late for that. But that's not what I would want anyway. I've waited this long to be able to call you my girlfriend, so I'm going to do just that.'

He tucked a piece of her fringe behind her ear. She still looked a little worried.

'So…do you think he might try to separate us?'

'I won't lie, that is possible. He might try to take me away from school. But he can't control my life forever. Soon I'll be seventeen and a legal adult. Then I can do whatever I want with whoever I want. And I want to be with you.'

'I want that too.' She was looking determined. 'Whatever anyone throws at us, we'll face it together. We're a team, you and me.'

'We are. You and me against the world, m'lady.'

She gave him the final spoonful, and he kissed his princess again, knowing that nothing could ever come between them.

Thanks so much for reading! I really appreciate it. Please leave some feedback if you enjoyed and any ideas you might have for if I write another one.