"Owls have another nickname, you know Scottish round-faced fat chickens. Since you people use owls to deliver letters, I'm guessing your school is somewhere in Scotland."A sly glint flickered in Ariana's eyes as she spoke.
"Well, that's… a fair deduction," Professor McGonagall admitted with a trace of helplessness in her tone. "But let's get back to the matter of your refusal to enroll."
"What, is attending magic school mandatory? Are you saying I'm not allowed to say no?" Ariana raised an eyebrow.
McGonagall quickly shook her head."No, not at all. I just wanted to explain something to you. There are professional wizarding schools in America as well, but just like Hogwarts, they only accept students who are eleven. If you emigrate to America next year, you'll probably miss their enrollment window too, and you might completely lose your chance to receive any formal magical education."
Ariana's voice was light, almost indifferent."Honestly, it's not like I absolutely need to learn magic, right?"
"That's where the real issue comes in," McGonagall's tone grew serious. "Children who don't receive formal magical training run the risk of becoming Obscurials losing control of their magic. They can harm others, and themselves. From what I know, no Obscurial has ever survived past the age of eighteen."
"That serious?" Ariana's expression finally turned grave.
"But I've never hurt anyone, and I've certainly never harmed myself," she protested, scanning her body for anything unusual.
"That's why I said it's a probability," McGonagall smiled gently. "If you still choose to decline after understanding all the risks, we will respect your decision."
A cold shiver ran through Ariana's heart. She'd died at twenty in her past life, and she valued her life immensely now.
Even if it was just a possibility, she wasn't willing to gamble with it.
"Fine, I'll accept Hogwarts' offer. I looked at the list of supplies in the letter. Where in London can I buy these things?" Ariana asked.
Hearing this, McGonagall finally smiled in relief."Our conversation went on so long, I completely forgot to ask about your guardian. If they're available, I'll come back in three days to take you both to Diagon Alley for your school shopping."
Strictly speaking, they should have introduced themselves properly at the beginning, but their rather dramatic first meeting had swept them straight into the discussion, and neither of them had remembered.
"I'm Minerva McGonagall, you may call me Professor McGonagall. I teach Transfiguration at Hogwarts and also serve as the school's Deputy Headmistress," she said.
Ariana had a well-prepared answer for situations like this since she was seven."Ariana Corrine. I have no parents. My legal guardian is my lawyer, Mr. Thompson. Do I need him to accompany me to this Diagon Alley place?"
"Your lawyer isn't a direct relative, is he?" McGonagall asked, a bit surprised.
"No," Ariana clarified. "He mainly handles my legal affairs and holds my guardianship on paper."
"The magical world is governed by the Statute of Secrecy. Only direct family members of young witches and wizards can know about Hogwarts. In that case, you'll have to come with me alone to buy your school supplies."
Ariana had McGonagall demonstrate a few spells on the spot. Only after verifying her identity did she finally nod."Fine. I just hope people in the magical world aren't all as fond of breaking into houses as you are. And during the trip to buy supplies, I trust you can guarantee my safety."
Having died young in her past life, she was naturally wary of venturing into the unknown.
But McGonagall didn't find the joke funny. She replied seriously,"I don't endorse violence. I only wish to avoid unnecessary complications."
"Okay, I'll accept your explanation," Ariana nodded.
After McGonagall left, Ariana immediately called her lawyer, Thompson.
"There's been a change of plans. I'll be attending a private technical school in Scotland for the next seven years. You'll need to rely on our partners to handle the company's asset migration," she said, her tone laced with reluctant resignation.
When Ariana was younger, she had hypnotized Thompson to manage him, but hypnosis, much like anesthesia, loses effectiveness with repeated use.
Surprisingly, after Thompson eventually broke free from her influence, he didn't resent her. Nor did he run away. He simply chose to continue working with her.
After all, Ariana had never harmed him, nor had she ever shortchanged him on commission.
The more he got to know her, the more astounded he became. At seven years old, she had used hacking to exploit financial loopholes and make massive profits, all without anyone ever noticing.
When she later established an investment fund, nearly every company and stock she picked multiplied in value. Calling her a genius didn't even begin to cover it.
"With your level of intelligence, why would you attend a technical school? What on earth are you thinking?" Thompson was baffled.
"You were curious about my hypnosis, weren't you? This school specifically admits people like me with special abilities. They'll teach us how to develop those abilities," Ariana answered casually.
"Do you even need further development? You can get people to follow your commands just by locking eyes with them," Thompson was at a loss.
Ariana still needed him to run her investment company, so she couldn't hide Hogwarts entirely. But she also didn't want to risk breaching the Statute of Secrecy, so she chose to reveal only selective details.
"They say it's a confidential school funded by the Queen herself. Graduates are awarded honorary titles. Even though I plan to emigrate to America, I still have significant assets in the UK. Having an honorary title would make things much easier."
"There's actually a school like that? Do you have to be born with abilities like yours to get in?" Thompson asked, intrigued.
"Yeah," Ariana replied flatly.
"Well, I guess that means my son Jackson won't have a chance at such an honorary title," Thompson sighed.
Thompson's son was the same age as Ariana. Hearing about such a unique school, he had briefly wondered if money could buy Jackson's way in. Even if Jackson didn't have special abilities, at least he could attend the same school as Ariana. But now it seemed impossible.
Ariana chuckled,"If he could invent something on par with Edison, forget honorary titles the Queen would probably make him a duke."
"Jackson's IQ isn't even half of yours. You can't become Edison, and you expect him to pull it off? That's a joke," Thompson laughed heartily.
Three days later, Professor McGonagall rang Ariana's doorbell again. This time, she didn't ignore it.
Ariana had assumed McGonagall would prepare some kind of magical transport, so she hadn't called her driver. To her surprise, McGonagall was taking her to the bus stop.
"This is actually my first time taking the bus," Ariana said helplessly.
"You've lived in the Muggle world all this time and never taken a bus?" McGonagall was genuinely surprised.
"I've always had a private car and chauffeur. No need to squeeze into a bus with so many people. I thought you'd bring some magical means of transportation, so I didn't arrange for my driver," Ariana said, clearly exasperated.
She'd made her fortune of course she wasn't going to live like a pauper.
"In the British wizarding world, we mainly travel by broomstick. But because of the Statute of Secrecy, we can't ride brooms in front of Muggles. Taking the bus is quite a practical option," McGonagall patiently explained.
"So what other magical ways are there to travel?" Ariana asked curiously.
"There's the broomstick, like I mentioned. There are also Portkeys, Floo Powder via fireplaces, and for short distances, Apparition. It's an advanced form of magic you'll learn in your sixth year," McGonagall elaborated.
Ariana asked in detail about each method and came to the conclusion that none were as comfortable as airplanes or cars in the non-magical world. In fact, they all sounded rather inconvenient.
Ariana lived in London. Before meeting her, McGonagall had already picked up another student from a neighboring county, and they planned to meet in front of the Leaky Cauldron.
Seeing the shabby, grimy pub, Ariana couldn't help but mutter,"If every Muggle saw this pub, I'm afraid our dear Prime Minister would be out of a job."
Waiting at the entrance was a family of three. The middle-aged man overheard Ariana's comment and laughed.
"You must be the London student Professor McGonagall told us about. I've heard people from London are very politically aware it seems that's true."
In his mind, Ariana's quick association between the rundown pub and the Prime Minister's reputation revealed that she was a politically engaged child.
Since they were both first-years, their children would likely be classmates. Naturally, Ariana introduced herself.
"I'm Ariana Corrine, a first-year at Hogwarts this year. May I have the honor of meeting my future classmate?"
The middle-aged man's daughter, a girl with a head full of wild, bushy hair, raised her chin proudly, extended her hand, and said,"Hermione Granger. I'm starting at Hogwarts this year too."