Twenty minutes later, Ariana led Draco to the eighth floor. Thanks to her regular fencing classes, Ariana was in good shape, while Draco was panting and out of breath.
"I really think you should take up fencing," Ariana teased. "We climbed the same stairs, and I'm still breathing steadily, but you're already flushed and gasping. Clearly, you need more exercise."
Admitting he was physically weaker than a girl? Absolutely impossible for Draco Malfoy.
"I ride my broomstick every day. I get plenty of exercise," Draco shot back.
Ariana raised her eyebrow in disbelief."Then why are you still so weak? Besides, flying a broom is sitting down. No matter how long you play, it's hardly real exercise."
Seeing he couldn't win this argument, Draco quickly changed the subject."Forget that let's just find the Room of Requirement."
According to Abby, the house-elf, the Room of Requirement was hidden behind a painting of trolls.
After wandering the corridor for a while, they found the painting. But it wasn't simply a troll it was a portrait of Barnabas the Barmy attempting to teach trolls ballet, only to be repeatedly squashed flat under their enormous feet.
The trolls in the painting wore confused yet fierce expressions, as if they could jump out of the frame at any moment.
Faced with this, the magical novice Ariana had to rely on Draco, who was at best a half-baked wizard himself.
"Abby said we need to focus hard on what kind of room we want, then walk past this corridor three times, and the room will appear. What kind of room do you think we should ask for?"
Draco wasn't completely sure either but suggested,"Since we're going to practice Dark Magic, maybe a room specially designed for that? It'd be great if there were lots of Dark Magic books inside we could decide which spells to learn."
That sounded like a solid plan. Ariana then asked, "Do you want to do it, or should I?"
Before Draco could answer, Ariana added, "You've got more magical experience than I do you go ahead."
Draco, always eager to take the lead, didn't need convincing. Following Abby's instructions, he firmly focused on the image in his mind and walked past the wall three times. Sure enough, a door appeared exactly as Abby had described.
They pushed it open and stepped inside.
The entrance was a black oak door etched with ancient runes. Beyond it lay a vast, dimly lit space with a ceiling so high it vanished into the shadows. The cold black stone walls gave the room a somber, imposing air.
Intricate magical circles were carved into the floor, as if ready to activate some mysterious power at any moment.
All around them were towering bookshelves filled with ancient tomes, their covers adorned with strange symbols and cryptic runes. In the deepest part of the shelves, some books emitted a faint, eerie red glow as if silently warning them of the danger they held.
Ariana instinctively started walking toward the glowing shelf, but before she took more than two steps, Draco grabbed her arm.
"My father says some Dark Magic books are extremely dangerous. We shouldn't go near the glowing ones," Draco warned.
Ariana nodded. "I guess the books are probably arranged from simplest near the door to most dangerous at the back. Let's start with the ones by the entrance."
To be safe, they decided to read the same book together.
Draco randomly pulled a book off the shelf, and the moment he opened it, his eyes lit up."I've seen this one before it's full of prank spells, like clubfoot hexes and sticking charms."
With no one else around, Ariana frowned and asked, "These count as Dark Magic?"
"I think so? I found it in my family's basement my father usually doesn't let me go in there." Draco sounded unsure.
Hearing the uncertainty in his voice, Ariana didn't want to take unnecessary risks. After reading through one of the spells, she frowned again. "We can't exactly test these spells on each other, can we?"
This was Dark Magic, after all. The book clearly warned that injuries caused by these spells were notoriously difficult to heal and they each only had one life.
As soon as the words left her mouth, two cages suddenly appeared in the center of the room each containing a large spider.
"Looks like the room provided us with practice targets. It really does respond to whatever you need." Ariana grinned. "Clearly, one spider for each of us."
They approached the cages. Draco, with a bit more magical knowledge, quickly noticed something odd."These aren't ordinary spiders they look like Acromantula's. And they don't seem fake either. Where did these come from?"
Ariana didn't have a clue. "Who cares where they came from let's just start practicing. Time's limited."
Ariana's talent for Dark Magic was extraordinary. Just like in class, she could succeed in a single attempt regardless of whether her technique was perfect.
At first, Ariana patiently tried to guide Draco, but after a few failed attempts, she started losing her patience.
Still, she didn't want to discourage her friend."I don't know how long I'll be at Hogwarts, so I need to learn as much as I can while I'm here. You're different you've got seven years ahead of you. You can always come back to this room, so take your time."
Ariana had already worked her way through the entire prank spell book while Draco was still struggling with his first spell. With a gap like that, she couldn't possibly wait for him.
"Fine, I'll figure it out on my own," Draco muttered, resigned.
As Ariana continued to explore, she felt this room was a paradise for magic a place that not only provided professional-level magical texts but also supplied all sorts of magical materials for experimentation.
She became completely absorbed in her studies, unaware of how quickly time passed. Draco, on the other hand, was struggling, constantly reminded of his own inadequacy by the magical prodigy next to him. Every few minutes, he anxiously checked the time.
By 2:00 p.m., he finally urged Ariana to leave.
"We've got class in half an hour. We need to get our textbooks from the Slytherin common room. Let's go we can come back tomorrow."
Although reluctant, Ariana agreed to leave but still grumbled,"I mean, I'm planning to drop out anyway. Skipping a class or two isn't a big deal, right?"
"Back when you argued with Professor Snape, you were actually in the right. That's why he didn't dock your points or give you detention. But if you skip class, he'll have every reason to punish youand once that happens, you might not be able to come back here at all," Draco reminded her.
"Fine, you're right. We'll come back in the afternoon." (She hadn't even noticed Draco had said "tomorrow.")
"Can I bring Crabbe and Goyle next time?"
Draco didn't bother correcting her. Instead, he asked if he could bring others along. If those two blockheads joined the club, maybe his confidence would recover.
Ariana didn't object, but asked, "Are they members you want to recruit for the club?"
Draco thought it over and shook his head. "They're really too dense probably not a good fit for our Rapid Mastery Magic Club. Maybe I'll invite Nott instead."
There were only nine Slytherin first-years, so Ariana of course knew who Theodore Nott was. Still, she was curious about Draco's choice.
"Why not invite Blaise? He talked to me during the Sorting because he saw you talking to me. Aren't you two supposed to be pretty close?"
Hearing this, Draco scowled."That's exactly why. Blaise always competes with me. Even meeting a new friend, he has to follow right behind I'm definitely not inviting him."
Ariana didn't really care who the club members were. She smiled and said,"I'll leave it to you. I don't know how long I'll be at Hogwarts, so you can be the club president. That way I don't have to hand it over when I leave."
"No problem. I won't come with you this afternoon, I need to find Nott and ask him."
But Ariana immediately objected."You'd better come with me. I'm afraid that if I open the room using my own intention, it won't be the same one as before. And it's better to let people come to us rather than us recruiting them. Besides, you're going to be the club president you need to at least have some skill to back it up."
What she really meant was that Draco, as president, currently didn't have the ability to lead anyone. If someone more talented joined the club, Draco's position would be pretty hard to keep.
Once again, Draco was persuaded. He decided not to recruit new members until he'd mastered at least half of the spells in the room.
If someone as monstrously talented as Ariana joined and actually stayed at Hogwarts his leadership would surely collapse.
And so, for a long time to come, the Rapid Mastery Magic Club had only two members.
First-year schedules were pretty light, but with their secret base, Ariana's days quickly filled up and her magical skills expanded rapidly.
Before she knew it, Potion class with Professor Snape had arrived. Only then did Ariana suddenly realize that an entire week had already passed and most importantly, Professor McGonagall still hadn't come to find her for a follow-up conversation.