Before Draco could figure out how to respond to Ariana's proposal, the voice of the Slytherin female prefect, Fari, suddenly rang out behind them.
"Miss Corrine, I need to remind you of something. From this moment on, you are officially a member of Slytherin House. You are expected to work hard for the honor of our house. If you dare to study the Imperius Curse, not only will you be expelled from Hogwarts, but Slytherin will lose all of its house points."
Draco was so startled that he nearly jumped. Ariana, however, remained calm and simply said, "I feel like Hogwarts' curriculum is far too conservative. If a spell has already been created, then we should learn it. Otherwise, how are we supposed to defend ourselves against dark wizards who already know how to use these spells?"
"You mean to fight dark wizards with the Unforgivable Curses?" Fari stared at her, visibly shaken.
"Of course," Ariana said as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "If they can use them and we can't, isn't that the same as handing them the knife while offering our necks? I see no safety in that at all."
"I'll be reporting your dangerous line of thinking directly to Professor Snape," Fari said quickly, then hurried away.
Once Fari was gone, Draco finally dared to lean over and whisper, "You really shouldn't say those kinds of things at the dining table. Professor Snape will definitely put you in detention."
"I was just speaking. I haven't actually done anything. Is that illegal now? If Hogwarts really punishes me for this, I'll have no choice but to consider dropping out," Ariana said, completely unfazed.
"You're thinking of leaving Hogwarts? Are you planning to go to Durmstrang in Germany?" Draco asked, surprised.
Since the Sorting Hat had confirmed her background, Ariana obviously couldn't attend Durmstrang, which only accepted pure-bloods. She replied casually, "I've realized I'm pretty talented at magic. I know where Diagon Alley is I can always just buy books and teach myself."
What Ariana didn't know was that some Slytherins had been planning to investigate her blood status. If they had found out she wasn't a pure-blood, they would have organized systematic bullying against her.
But thanks to her audacious comments at the dining table, those plans were quietly scrapped, and she unknowingly dodged a targeted scheme.
This year's first-year class wasn't particularly large: 31 students went to Hufflepuff, 20 to Gryffindor, 13 to Ravenclaw, and shockingly, only 9 to Slytherin.
Ariana quickly counted the new students and curiously asked a nearby upperclassman, "Excuse me, is it normal for Ravenclaw and Slytherin to have so few new students?"
Before that student could answer, another senior chimed in, "It's like this every year. But yeah, only nine this year that's really low."
Ariana frowned. "They've got so many people, and we've got so few. How are we supposed to compete for the House Cup?"
Draco quickly jumped in to show off his knowledge."House points aren't divided by the number of students. Slytherin has already won the House Cup six years in a row. Ravenclaw always comes second. These two houses only accept the smartest students. The dimwits and losers all end up in Gryffindor and Hufflepuff."
"Alright." Ariana believed him and nodded, then said, "But I don't think this year's house points are going to go well for us, since Harry Potter is in Gryffindor."
"You think he's going to lead Gryffindor to win the House Cup?" Draco frowned.
Ariana nodded slightly. "That's just my analysis based on the information we have. After all, he's the one who defeated the most powerful dark wizard."
"But he's so scrawny and malnourished," Draco grumbled. "Besides, didn't you and Blaise already conclude it was probably his parents who perished with You-Know-Who, and that him being called the 'Boy Who Lived' was just a conspiracy?"
"Whatever the truth is, he is still the 'Boy Who Lived.'" Ariana continued calmly, "And who says you need to be physically strong to defeat the most powerful dark wizard?"
"Then I'll just have to find out for myself if he's the real deal," Draco said, eyes gleaming with excitement.
Ariana didn't object. In fact, she was quite intrigued."I heard Hogwarts doesn't have a dueling class. How are you going to test him?"
Draco shrugged as if it was the most natural thing in the world."If there's no official class, then I'll just challenge him to a private duel. That'll settle it."
Ariana hesitated, then offered a more practical suggestion."We haven't even started classes yet we barely know any spells. Maybe let an upperclassman test him?"
"But I can't order upperclassmen around," Draco said helplessly.
"Then wait a while," Ariana proposed. "Learn a few offensive spells first, then go challenge him."
"Alright, sounds like a plan," Draco agreed.
There were five boys and four girls among the Slytherin first-years. Ariana didn't know what the boys' dorms were like, but the girls were all packed into one room.
After looking around their shared space, Ariana was deeply dissatisfied."There are only nine new students this year. The upper years probably don't have many either. In this situation, shouldn't we each get our own room?"
Pansy Parkinson, who was already annoyed that Ariana and Draco had been whispering to each other all evening, immediately seized the opportunity to mock her."Miss Corrine, are you saying you don't want to room with us?"
Ariana didn't bother to deny it."Exactly. Back home, I always had my own room, and it was way bigger than this. It's hard to downgrade after you're used to luxury."
"What does that mean?" Pansy scowled.
"Oh, it's a saying from China," Ariana explained. "It basically means once you've lived in luxury, it's hard to go back to hardship."
Pansy didn't dare continue the argument. Admitting to that would mean admitting she was someone who could easily fall into poverty a concept no pure-blood heiress would ever concede.
Just as Ariana expected, the castle bathrooms weren't in the dorms but at the end of the corridor public restrooms.
After washing up, Ariana grumbled again,"I remember there's a spell to expand spaces. Why doesn't the school just expand each dorm to include a private bathroom?"
Daphne Greengrass, curious, asked,"Corrine, is your home really that luxurious? You're even nitpicking such a beautiful castle."
Ariana didn't want to come across as overly picky, so she softened her tone."It's not that I dislike it, it's just a bit inconvenient. Don't you think so?"
She thought she was being polite, but the other girls didn't see it that way. They were all proud pure-blood heiresses none of them were willing to admit the castle was inconvenient.
Besides, none of them could claim their family's estates actually had private bathrooms in the bedrooms.
"Yeah, it is a little inconvenient not having private bathrooms," Millicent Bulstrode said softly. "You always have to wait in line."
She, too, didn't want to lose face in front of her dormmates.
Ariana had successfully evaded the upper years' bloodline tests and avoided isolation from the pure-blood girls. But her lucky streak ended the very next morning.
When Ariana arrived at the Great Hall with Pansy and the others, she was immediately called over by Professor Snape, dressed in his usual black robes, pulling her into a corner.
"I hear Miss Corrine plans to study the Unforgivable Curses?" Snape's low, cold voice rumbled. "I'd like to confirm whether Slytherin's house points will be wiped out this year."
Ariana hadn't expected Prefect Fari to report her so quickly. Nor had she expected Snape to personally confront her was this really such a big deal?
"Professor, you can use the Prior Incantato spell on my wand. You'll see I've never used the Imperius Curse. Isn't this a bit overblown? I was only talking surely that's not illegal?"
"How can you guarantee that if you're thinking about it today, you won't actually practice it tomorrow?" Snape said icily.
"Professor, if saying a few bold words is enough to get punished, then I'll have to consider submitting a withdrawal application," Ariana said, clearly displeased.
Snape sneered."Excellent. Threatening a professor before you've even attended your first class. You should be grateful the Sorting Hat placed you in Slytherin. Otherwise, I would have already deducted fifty points."
"You can still deduct them now, I was just talking big," Ariana said firmly, meeting his gaze.
"Get back to your prefect and collect your class schedule. Go to class," Snape snapped, visibly irritated.
Snape clearly wanted to deescalate the situation, but Ariana wasn't about to let it drop. She calmly added,"Even though you're not punishing me, this has seriously damaged my impression of Hogwarts."
This place wasn't just stuck in the Middle Ages the professors were also outdated, still using fear-based teaching methods.
Snape ignored Ariana's anger and coldly said,"I'll be watching you closely. If you do anything you shouldn't, you won't need to submit a withdrawal, I'll expel you myself."
"I'll be speaking with the headmaster tonight about withdrawing," Ariana replied, equally unfazed.
Although Snape had pulled her aside, their conversation hadn't exactly been quiet everyone in the Great Hall had heard every word.
The entire hall instantly fell silent.
Once Snape had left, Draco cautiously approached Ariana and whispered,"Are you really going to talk to Dumbledore about withdrawing?"