Of course, Draco hadn't written the letter. In fact, he didn't even know how to write it—especially after all the boasts he'd made regarding Ariana.
Now that he was convinced of Ariana's bloodline, there was no doubt he'd have to invite her to Malfoy Manor someday. And when that day came, most of his earlier bragging would probably fall apart in front of his parents. He was already worried about how to handle that situation.
There was no way Draco could ever admit he'd exaggerated, so he clenched his teeth and stubbornly said,"I was so exhausted from unpacking yesterday, I'm writing it today."
Ariana had no idea about his inner turmoil and enthusiastically offered,"You can tell your father I own six properties, the most luxurious one valued at £13.25 million. If he thinks exchanging British pounds is too troublesome, he can pay in Galleons instead. I'll offer your family a five percent discount."
"I'll be sure to tell him," Draco replied, feeling more trapped by the second.
Once they entered the library, they stopped talking. Ariana asked Madam Pince where the first-year bookshelves were and immediately borrowed more than a dozen books, then settled into an empty seat, intending to finish them all before lunch.
"It's 10:30 now. Lunch starts at 12. How can you possibly finish that many books?" Draco asked, genuinely baffled.
"Well, since I'm planning to drop out, I might as well read as much as I can while I'm here," Ariana whispered. "Madam Pince is coming let's talk outside later."
Though Draco agreed not to disturb her, he could barely hold back as the minutes ticked by. Ariana's reading speed was unreal. She was turning each densely packed page of complex magical theory in under a minute.
How could anyone possibly understand at that speed?
But Ariana had already proven herself capable of the impossible. Draco was genuinely worried that she might actually comprehend it all.
Ariana was prioritizing speed over depth. She didn't need to fully understand everything immediately she just needed to remember the content. She planned to use an hour before bed to mentally organize her memories with the help of Occlumency.
When choosing her books, she'd calculated the time required based on page count. As expected, she finished all thirteen books with five minutes to spare before noon.
"Let's go. Time to eat."
As soon as they left the library, Draco finally broke his silence, unable to stop himself from asking,"All those books you just read were filled with complicated magical theory. You barely spent a minute per page did you even understand any of it?"
"Not yet, but I've memorized everything. I'll sort through it all tonight it'll make sense then," Ariana replied calmly.
Draco was completely confused. "What do you mean by 'sort through it'?"
To Ariana, this was nothing worth hiding. Just like she didn't think practicing the Imperius Curse was a big deal, she felt there was no need to be secretive about Occlumency.
"I'll lend you that Occlumency book I bought later tonight. It teaches you how to organize and even modify your memories it's really useful for improving memory retention. You should give it a try."
"So you're using magic to remember all those books?" Draco finally understood.
Ariana shook her head. "Actually, I learned a memory palace technique before this, which is pretty similar to Occlumency."
"I mainly want to master this magic to defend against memory intrusion and manipulation. But since no one has ever used the Imperius Curse on me, I can't say for sure whether it's working yet."
Draco didn't even have time to marvel at her mastering Occlumency he immediately panicked when she brought up the Imperius Curse again. He quickly scanned their surroundings to make sure no one overheard, finally exhaling in relief.
"Stop bringing up the Imperius Curse! Dropping out is one thing, but getting expelled is entirely different," he warned.
"Alright, we'll save that conversation for somewhere more private," Ariana agreed.
In Ariana's mind, someone like Draco who came from a pure-blood family shouldn't be so opposed to learning the Unforgivable Curses. He was probably just afraid that Professor Snape might overhear.
As she expected, Draco quickly whispered,"If you end up staying, we should start a club. We can find a secret classroom and practice Dark Magic together."
"But I already told Professor McGonagall I plan to drop out. If I suddenly change my mind now, it'll make me look bad," Ariana frowned.
Draco realized Ariana really lacked basic knowledge of the wizarding world and reminded her,"Sure, you can buy spellbooks in Diagon Alley and try self-study, but let me tell you, you won't find any Dark Magic books there. Even Knockturn Alley only has a few and they're all low-level. If you want to learn real Dark Magic, staying in Slytherin is your best option."
He said this with absolute sincerity.
"So if I go back on my word now, how do I save face?" Ariana asked, genuinely troubled.
Draco was exasperated."You have to choose between pride and results which matters more to you?"
In her past life, Ariana had already lived to twenty. In this life, she'd been alive for eleven more years. She was an adult at heart. There was no way she'd choose one over the other she wanted both.
"Why don't we just start the club today? The sooner we begin, the sooner I can learn Dark Magic, and then I won't have to be stuck in this dilemma."
"You really think Dark Magic can be mastered in a day?" Draco looked at her, speechless.
"I don't know if it can be done in a day. But I do know that every day we delay is one more day I won't have mastered it," Ariana replied firmly.
Draco couldn't argue with that logic, but he still doubted whether it was practical."It's only our second day at Hogwarts, the first day of classes. Where are we going to find a private, undisturbed space to practice Dark Magic?"
Ariana didn't think this was a problem at all."When a problem comes up, you find a solution. Hogwarts is huge. Do you really think it's hard to find an empty, unused classroom? Just tell me do you want to learn Dark Magic or not?"
And just like that, Draco was swept along and agreed to form a club with her. They quickly settled on a name: the Rapid Mastery Magic Club.
"That name is so lazy," Draco couldn't help but complain.
"But it perfectly matches my goal to master everything as quickly as possible. We've got the club, the name, the members. All we need now is a location," Ariana said, very satisfied with their progress.
"I'm reminding you again it's only our second day here. Where are we going to find a private space where no one will bother us?" Draco asked again, helpless.
Ariana thought for a moment and suddenly had an idea."I met two upperclassmen on the train. They told me where the kitchens are."
Draco immediately frowned. "Let me guess those upperclassmen were from Hufflepuff, right? And what's this about kitchens? Are you seriously thinking of holding meetings there?"
Ariana noticed Draco's obvious disdain for Hufflepuff, but she wasn't surprised. Prejudice existed everywhere even in the Muggle world. The rich looked down on the poor, and white people discriminated against Black people.
"Of course we're not meeting in the kitchens. There are loads of house-elves there, and I've heard Hufflepuff students love to sneak in for extra snacks. It's not exactly the best place for secrecy," she explained.
"Then why even bring up the kitchens?" Draco was completely confused now.
"Think about it. Besides the professors, who else permanently lives at Hogwarts?" Ariana asked.
Draco was smart. He caught on immediately and exclaimed,"You mean we should ask the house-elves where we can find an undisturbed, secret location?"
"Exactly. Those two upperclassmen not only told me there are lots of house-elves in the kitchens, but they also explained how to talk to them. If I approach them politely and gratefully, I'm sure they'll offer plenty of suitable options," Ariana nodded.
After lunch, Ariana firmly rejected Draco's suggestion to take a nap and dragged him off to find the kitchen.
Both Hufflepuff and Slytherin common rooms were located in the dungeons, and so was the kitchen. It didn't take Ariana long to find the painting Cedric had described.
She reached up and tickled the pear in the painting, and the door to the kitchen swung open.
"Good day, young master and young miss! I'm Abby. How can I help you? Oh, we've just made a fresh batch of sweets would you like some?" a house-elf greeted them enthusiastically.
Ariana, who didn't have much of a sweet tooth, declined with a smile."We were just wondering is there anywhere in Hogwarts that's especially private, somewhere no one would disturb us?"
Abby answered almost without thinking."There are many unused classrooms around Hogwarts that hardly anyone visits, but if you're looking for the most private place, that would be the Room of Requirement on the eighth floor."