HP: I'm Not Here to Rule the Wizarding World

When they first met, Ariana had already warned Hermione: if she didn't change her attitude, she wouldn't make a single friend even in a new environment.

As expected, things had unfolded just as Ariana predicted. Even though Slytherin and Gryffindor didn't usually interact much, word of Hermione's situation in Gryffindor had still reached her ears.

It wasn't just that Hermione loved to show off she was also incredibly fond of meddling in other people's business. Gryffindor was full of energetic, boisterous young wizards. It was no surprise that no one liked her.

Back when Ariana had no like-minded friends, she hadn't become friends with Hermione. Now that she had found people she genuinely got along with at Hogwarts, there was even less reason to.

"I don't think there's anything for us to talk about," Ariana said coldly.

Their last conversation hadn't ended well, and they'd only known each other for a few minutes to begin with. There was nothing left to say.

Hermione had indeed been having a rough time lately. Despite excelling in class and being eager to help others, she couldn't understand why everyone seemed to dislike her.

She thought back to the very first person who had rejected her: Ariana. Both of them were Muggle-born witches, and yet Ariana had been accepted into the notoriously elitist Slytherin.

After a week of watching her, Hermione realized Ariana was thriving in Slytherin. Not only was she always seen with Draco Malfoy, but even the sharp-tongued Pansy Parkinson could get along with her.

Hermione simply couldn't understand how Ariana had pulled this off. That's why she had come to her to ask how to get along with her classmates.

But Hermione still hadn't reflected on her own behavior. When she saw Ariana's cold and dismissive attitude, her frustration boiled over.

"You can be best friends with someone as awful as Malfoy, but you won't even spare me a few minutes? Am I worse than him?" Hermione's eyes were red with anger.

Draco, who was never known for his patience, exploded the moment he heard Hermione insult him.

"Filthy Mudblood, who are you calling awful?" He immediately whipped out his wand.

Ariana didn't like hearing Draco use the term "Mudblood," but between Hermione and Draco, of course, she would take Draco's side.

"You've upset my friend. Leave now before I get angry." She firmly pushed down Draco's wand.

Differences in worldview were inevitable, but that didn't mean things had to escalate to a duel.

She completely forgot that just a short while ago, she'd had a duel with Professor Snape in the Potions classroom, which had also stemmed from irreconcilable worldviews.

Tears instantly welled in Hermione's eyes, but she didn't look at Draco. Instead, she stared at Ariana and demanded, "I know what 'Mudblood' means. You're a Muggle-born witch just like me. How can you not be furious hearing him say that?"

Ariana found Hermione's question baffling. Wasn't it obvious? Friends come first. If she wasn't siding with Draco, should she side with Hermione instead?

She shrugged indifferently. "I do live in a Muggle neighborhood, but that doesn't mean I'm Muggle-born. Draco verified that both my parents were wizards."

"That's impossible!" Hermione's face was filled with disbelief. They had both been taken to Diagon Alley by Professor McGonagall.

Before Ariana could reply, Draco jumped in angrily. "Why is that impossible? Ariana is so smart, so talented how could she possibly be Muggle-born?"

Hermione absolutely refused to accept that logic. "Just because she's clever and talented doesn't mean she has to be a pure-blood. I've scored higher than you in class, haven't I? I'm Muggle-born and you're pure-blood so bloodline proves nothing."

Ariana had no patience for this anymore. She cut to the chase. "What exactly do you want from me? Whatever it is, Draco can know. Say it if you want, and if not, get out of the way."

Hermione hesitated for a long time but ultimately said nothing. She turned and ran off.

Ariana and Draco were completely bewildered. Why had she come, said all that, and then just run off?

Draco scowled after her and turned to Ariana. "You knew her before?"

Ariana saw no point in lying and casually told him the truth. "Professor McGonagall took us to buy school supplies together. After a few minutes, I realized we wouldn't get along. Every other sentence she said was about her top grades in primary school. When she heard I got perfect scores in London, she actually questioned whether the exams there were too easy. Isn't that annoying?"

To keep Draco from fixating on the Muggle topic, Ariana cleverly steered the conversation.

As expected, Draco immediately latched onto her story. "Seriously, even if she were a pure-blood, someone like her would never make friends. I've heard even Gryffindors can't stand her."

Although Ariana didn't like Hermione's personality, she still offered a fair comment.

"You had a good point at the Welcome Feast: all the idiots went to Gryffindor. Hermione's personality is insufferable, but she does love studying. Of course she'd be rejected in Gryffindor. Maybe she'd have fared better in Ravenclaw."

After Voldemort's downfall, Slytherin's reputation had taken a hit, but they still had decent relations with Ravenclaw.

Perhaps it was because both houses prided themselves on intellect or maybe it was simply because they both had fewer students.

"No way. Ravenclaws are all about their own business. Someone like Granger, who craves attention, would never be welcome there either." Draco firmly defended Ravenclaw.

Ariana didn't feel like arguing over something so trivial. She shrugged. "Sure, you know the magical world better than I do. Let's go with your judgment."

Draco puffed up proudly, smiling smugly. "Of course! There's nothing about the magical world I don't know."

Ariana gave him a sharp look and calmly replied, "So you knew I didn't understand anything that's why you lied and said your dad wanted to buy my mansion?"

Caught red-handed, Draco scrambled for an excuse. After thinking hard, he finally said, "We get along so well, right? You said yourself you care a lot about appearances. Obviously, I do too."

He gave her a sheepish smile.

Ariana opened her mouth but couldn't find a proper retort.

She'd even analyzed it before: there were only about ten thousand wizards in the UK. No matter how big their businesses were, they couldn't possibly be that wealthy.

Yet she hadn't connected that to Draco's family being unable to afford a mansion worth over a million pounds.

At the time, she'd thought that even with the Statute of Secrecy, wizarding family businesses probably still had some dealings in the non-magical world.

That made her curious. She quietly asked Draco, "So wizarding family businesses really don't operate in the Muggle world at all?"

After spending a week with Ariana, Draco knew all too well how knowledgeable she was about business. The more he talked about it, the more his ignorance would be exposed.

"I told you, I haven't started my family's business management training yet. How would I know if my family works with Muggles?" Draco sighed helplessly.

"Maybe ask your dad?" Ariana suggested.

"Is this really that important?" Draco asked in confusion.

Ariana rolled her eyes. "You're the heir to your family. Don't you think you should know what assets you have and how big your business is?"

Draco didn't think it was a big deal. "But I'm only eleven. My dad's only in his thirties. Taking over the family is ages away."

"I'm only eleven too," Ariana shot back.

The mention of their age was like a punch to Draco's pride. He couldn't forget that Ariana could casually buy a mansion worth over two million.

"Can I visit your house during Christmas?" He felt he absolutely had to see Ariana's home.

Seeing his pitiful expression, Ariana immediately understood and gave him an "OK" gesture.

"Of course. Maybe you can bring your parents too. I'll show you that £1.325 million mansion. Maybe your dad will love it and buy it on the spot."

Ariana genuinely hoped to close this deal. After all, she'd be stuck at Hogwarts for seven years and would need to earn some Galleons to survive in the magical world.

But Draco sighed helplessly. "You said it yourself. There are so few wizards. To have that kind of money, you'd have to do business with Muggles. But the Statute of Secrecy doesn't allow that."

Ariana had long suspected something about this.

"Maybe I'm remembering wrong, but I thought the Statute of Secrecy was about hiding magic from Muggles. Running a business doesn't necessarily involve using magic. That shouldn't be illegal, right?"

"I'd better write and ask my dad." Draco truly didn't know.

Ariana and Draco didn't even stay half an hour in the library before they left.

Ariana had skimmed a few beginner-level Alchemy books and quickly realized that learning Alchemy required a lot of money. The learning process demanded tons of magical materials for experiments.

"Do you think the Room of Requirement could provide those Alchemy materials?" Ariana asked Draco, puzzled.

Before Draco could answer, they were stopped again.

Standing before them were two red-haired twins, identical in every way, both aiming their wands at Ariana and Draco.

"So, you're the ones who bullied our fellow Gryffindor students?" the twins demanded in unison.