The first class of the day was Transfiguration, shared with Gryffindor.
Although Slytherin's prefect Fari had a rather poor attitude, she still dutifully escorted the new Slytherin students to the Transfiguration classroom.
Unlike the Slytherins, who moved in an orderly group, the Gryffindor students mostly arrived in scattered pairs and small groups unsurprisingly, a few were late.
Draco couldn't hold back a low laugh as he watched Harry Potter and Ron Weasley get scolded by Professor McGonagall, who even threatened to turn them into maps as punishment.
"Another piece of evidence that he's not as great as they say," Draco sneered in Harry's direction. "The so-called Boy Who Lived can't even handle the moving staircases properly how could he possibly have defeated the most powerful dark wizard?"
"Maybe you should wait until you've actually dueled him before jumping to conclusions," Ariana reminded him. She thought Draco was being far too confident.
Professor McGonagall was a strict teacher. Under her sharp gaze, neither Ariana nor Draco dared to speak further.
Transfiguration combined theory and practice, but perhaps because this was their first lesson, most of the class was focused on theory. Professor McGonagall only left the final ten minutes for hands-on magic.
Each student was given a matchstick. Professor McGonagall demonstrated how to transform it into a silver needle and instructed the students to replicate her example.
Ariana drew her wand, carefully visualizing the silver needle in her mind as Professor McGonagall had described, then began casting the spell. As expected, she succeeded on her first try.
"Excellent work. Miss Corrine has succeeded. Five points to Slytherin," Professor McGonagall praised.
After class, Draco asked in astonishment, "How did you do it on your first try?"
"Didn't Professor McGonagall explain the theory quite clearly? You have to vividly picture the silver needle in your mind, follow her exact wand movement, and channel your magic with steady, even control," Ariana generously shared her technique.
Unfortunately, by the end of the lesson, only Hermione Granger and Draco had achieved the slightest change in their matches, but neither managed a full transformation.
Since Ariana had already succeeded, Professor McGonagall excused her from writing the twelve-inch parchment essay. The others, however, were not so lucky.
As they left the classroom, Draco was still brooding."Your magic control is really that good? Keeping your magic output steady isn't that easy."
"Is it that hard? Magic is part of you. If you want to control it, can't you just… control it?" Ariana replied as if it were the simplest thing in the world.
"It's really not that simple." Draco looked rather dejected.
"Maybe you're just not used to your magic yet. I've been able to sense mine since I was a baby. I've been secretly using magic for years it just comes naturally to me now," Ariana comforted him.
"You remember things from when you were a baby?" Draco was stunned.
Ariana shook her head."Not right from birth probably around three months old. There was one time when the orphanage auntie didn't make my formula in time. I imagined the bottle would prepare itself and float over to me… and it actually did. Back then, I didn't even know it was magic. I thought it was some kind of superpower."
She had regained her awareness around three months old.
What she didn't realize was how her casual recounting would completely shock Draco.
"You're not joking, are you?" Draco's eyes widened.
"Of course not," Ariana replied calmly. "But I can't remember everything that clearly either."
No matter how good your memory is, you can't recall every trivial detail only the really significant moments leave a lasting impression.
Wanting to change the subject, Ariana suddenly thought of her argument with Snape that morning."By the way, do you know where the headmaster's office is?"
"No idea." Draco shook his head. "Are you really going to speak to Dumbledore about withdrawing?"
"I'm considering it," Ariana admitted with some hesitation. "Hogwarts has really disappointed me. Staying here just makes me unhappy, and I have other things to do. I don't want to waste my time here."
Magic was certainly interesting, but her financial empire plan was far more important. If the school couldn't compromise, she was seriously thinking of leaving.
"What could be more important than school?" Draco was genuinely curious.
Having spent the past two days together, Ariana felt she had come to know Draco fairly well he was a little arrogant, but overall a good person. She had come to accept him as a friend, so she didn't hide her plans.
"I already told you my parents died when I was very young, so I'm managing my family's estate myself. I'm planning to emigrate to the United States next year. There's so much to handle before that, I can barely keep track of it all."
"Then why did you even come to Hogwarts?" Draco stared at her in confusion.
Just thinking about it made Ariana angry. She grumbled,"Because Professor McGonagall told me that if I didn't receive proper magical education, I might become an Obscurial."
"I was just trying to stay alive, but after reading some magical history, I realized the conditions for becoming an Obscurial are actually quite strict. My situation doesn't even come close."
She looked every bit like someone who had been tricked.
"If you're really going to see Dumbledore, you should ask Professor McGonagall where his office is," Draco suggested. "She's the deputy headmistress she must know."
Their next class wasn't until 2:30 that afternoon, so Ariana still had plenty of time. She decided to go find Professor McGonagall and ask about the headmaster's office.
Draco, having nothing else to do, tagged along out of curiosity.
"What? You've only attended one day of classes and you're already planning to drop out?" Professor McGonagall looked at her in shock.
Muggle-born students usually struggled to adapt to Hogwarts, but they were always fascinated by magic. No one had ever requested to drop out.
Ariana had made up her mind. She answered firmly,"Yes. Hogwarts has been a huge disappointment to me. Also, the Obscurial scenario you warned me about doesn't actually apply to my situation. Since my life isn't in danger, I don't think learning magic is that important."
As someone who loved Hogwarts dearly, McGonagall was deeply displeased to hear her school spoken of so harshly."And what exactly has disappointed you about Hogwarts?"
Ariana replied without hesitation,"We're almost in the 21st century, yet this castle's infrastructure is still stuck in the Middle Ages."
"In London, most middle schools use apartment-style dormitories with private bedrooms, and some even offer private bathrooms. But here, we still have four-person dormitories and communal bathrooms down the corridor."
Living in a basement was already bad enough but no private room and no personal bathroom? That was just unbearable.
"You're not here to enjoy luxury," Professor McGonagall said, frowning. "Even if we can't meet your standards in this regard, surely Hogwarts' scenery is far better than any school in London?"
Since she had already made her decision, Ariana wasn't about to be swayed."Maybe."
She added,"I never had to board at primary school, so I wouldn't know what London's middle school campuses look like but I'm sure their living conditions can't compare to my home."
McGonagall had been to Ariana's house herself she knew how luxurious that mansion was. But home and school were not the same thing.
"A school's accommodations must account for the needs of everyone. We can't cater to just you," Professor McGonagall tried to reason with her.
But Ariana pointed straight at Draco standing near the door."Then ask Draco. Wouldn't he prefer having a private bathroom in his room?"
Die-hard pride prevented Draco from outright agreeing, but he still lowered his head and mumbled,"Having a private bathroom would definitely be much more convenient."
"And besides that, what else are you unhappy with?" McGonagall asked, visibly running out of patience.
Ariana had already figured out that McGonagall was unwilling to approve her withdrawal, so she pushed further."There's also the teaching style."
"In London, all teachers are required to study educational psychology before they're allowed to teach. Even if they're not always all smiles, they're at least kind and approachable. But at Hogwarts, the professors still rely on intimidation to control students, I really can't accept that."
"Which professor intimidated you?" McGonagall clearly didn't believe this claim.
Ariana briefly recounted her disagreement with Professor Snape, then complained,"I merely said I wanted to try practicing the Imperius Curse, I hadn't even started yet but he immediately threatened to keep me under constant surveillance. Isn't that the same as arresting someone for a crime they haven't committed yet, just because they might commit one in the future?"
McGonagall opened her mouth but struggled to find a proper rebuttal. After a long pause, she finally covered her face and told Ariana to return to class for now.
"I'll discuss the accommodation issue with Headmaster Dumbledore. If there's a way to improve it, we'll try."
As for the teaching style, McGonagall hesitated before saying,"I'll speak with Professor Snape to confirm whether what you've said is true, and then we'll talk again."
Since she had gotten this far, Ariana had no choice but to agree."Alright, but I hope it won't take too long to arrange that meeting."