Prologue

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"Marinette, honey!" Sabine Dupain-Cheng called from downstairs. "I know it's a holiday, but you can't miss out on breakfast!"

"Coming mom!" A voice called from upstairs, followed with a loud clang  that made Sabine wince. 

"Why is she always so clumsy?" A large, smiling man shook his head good natured-ly. 

Sabine gave a small laugh. "I think she got it from you."

Tom gasped dramatically. "Of course not! I'm the epitome of grace and elegance!"

Sabine laughed. "Are you sure? Remember for Marinette's tenth birthday you kept throwing the cake in the trash when you thought she would see?"

"Well..." Tom paused. "If I did it on purpose it's not exactly clumsiness," he defended.

"And that time when you slipped over a rolling pin and landed quite painfully on bags of flour? Or accidentally landed in the fruit punch at that party? Or when you mistakenly broke the present you were going to give me but had to get a new one so I wouldn't notice?" Sabine went on, smirking.

"Well—that was just—hey! How do you know about tha—" Tom protested, but at that moment eleven year old Marinette came barreling in, almost sending a glass of milk crashing to the floor.

Keyword: almost.

It was a new record, honestly.

"I'm here! What's for breakfast!" She chirped, tying her raven hair into her signature pigtails with red ribbons. 

"Croissants, dear," Sabine smiled, silently sighing in relief as Marinette got into her seat without tripping.

"Yum!" She licked her lips, about to dig in when they all heard a screech from outside.

"What on earth was that?" Sabine asked, just as something ran—or rather, flew— into the window with a painful thump.

Marinette, ever the reckless one, immediately got up to investigate but Tom held her back gently. 

"Let me see it first," he suggested, creeping up to the window but it would only work if the intruder was blind, because...he wasn't exactly unnoticeable.

He opened the window, looked around and his gaze landed on something sitting rather elegantly for just crashing into their window.

"It's an...owl?" Tom asked, whirling as it flew right inside, landing gently on the table and holding out its leg to Marinette. She noticed there was an envelope attached, a purple seal with a large 'H' on it, surrounded by four animals that looked like a snake, a lion, an eagle, and a badger. She could read the words written in beautiful handwriting. Strangely, it was in green ink.

TO: Miss Marinette Dupain-Cheng

The Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie

12 Rue Gotlib

They had barely recovered from their shock when a bright flash of green erupted from the fireplace. Tom immediately got out his rolling pin, brandishing it while Sabine took a defensive stance infront of Marinette, who had curiously untied the letter from the owl's leg.

They all froze as an elderly woman in elegant emerald robes stepped out. She paused, her thin lips pursed in something akin to amusement as she took in the scene before her. Sabine and Tom quickly relaxed as she didn't immediately attack them, not quite sure why this woman with her greying hair in a tight bun had come to them.

Through a fireplace too. Huh.

"Mr and Mrs Dupain-Cheng," the woman greeted cordially. "My name is Minerva McGonagall, and I am a professor at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry."

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