The Moroi Witch

After lunch Ariana walked with Albus and Scorpius down to the common room. As they left the great hall they walked right into James and a few other Gryffindors.
“So I was right all along...” he drawled blocking their path.
“Yes dear brother, you were right. I am a Slytherin.” Albus halted and looked him straight in the eyes, still his hands trembled and he had to fight the urge to bow his head.
James' grin wavered a little, he wasn't used to an answer without a stutter.

“This is your brother?” Ariana asked next to him eyeing James up and down. “I forgot his name again…”

“James Potter” he sneered at her, he had started to like her but she was now a Slytherin and automatically an enemy. Someone he needed to hate.

“Freddie Weasley and Paxton Thomas.” he introduced his followers. Weasley was a redhead like Rose and James, with a load of freckles, but his red was a darker more an auburn red, as was his skin. Thomas was dark haired and skinned. All wearing a Gryffindor tie.

“Okay, now we've all cleared up who is in which house, I would like to go into our common room. Nice meeting you.” She said eyeing everyone’s ties sarcastically, she smirked and waved as she moved to the stairs, followed by Scorpius and Albus.
“I am telling mom and dad, you are such a big disappointment for the family! A Potter in Slytherin, its a disgrace! Yeah hide in your little snake pit until they throw you out!” Potter screamed behind them.

Scorpius was the first to find his words again. “Do- don’t listen to him. We won’t throw you out. We stick together.” he took his hand and smiled at him. Albus smiled back. Ariana threw her arms around both boys.
“That’s right, we are your family now!”
Albus chokes and wiped at his eyes.
“Thanks *hiccup* I am so happy.” he was now sobbing. His friends embrace him in a tight hug.

“Hey Ria, Al, Scor. Whats up?” Lis and Laurie walked around the corner. “Group hug!” Lis screamed and joined them, dragging Laurie with her.

“Why are we doing this?” Laurie asked a little uneasy.
“I *hiccup* hate my *hiccup* bro-brother.” Albus tried to calm down, but the words from his brother hurt more than he wished they did. They broke the embrace.
“Oh sweetie what happened?” Lis was rubbing his back to help calm him down. Normally Albus hated it when he got touched so much, or at all, but around all of them he just felt safe.

“He will be getting my fist in his face if he says something like that again” Ariana growled. What gave that boy the right to talk to his own family like this. She fumed with anger.

“We should just get into the common room where its safe” Laurie gave them a sweet smile and walked ahead.

The sight they were greeted with in the common room was slightly shocking.
Most of the older students were seated in armchairs near the fire and were playing some card games, Ariana suspected Poker. In another side of the common room were a bunch of girls doing, well really girly things, drinking and reading in magazines, braiding their hairs and painting the nails.

It smelled like smoke and alcohol and a few more illegal things.

“Hey, Mudblood, wanna bring me luck?” a boy called, he sat next to the ugly boy, she learned his name was Slade Nott, who sneered at her. The boy who called her was rather pleasing to look at, sun kissed skin, broad shoulders, short brown hair and piercing blue eyes.
Ariana went over to him.
“Ariana.” she said as she stood next to him.
“What?”
“My name. It is not mudblood.” he grinned at her and showed her his cards.
“Ever played Poker, Ariana?” he said grinning at her name more, he rolled that ‘r’ more than necessary.
“That is an awful hand. You really going with that?” indignant he drew his cards to his chest.
All around the stakes were raised.
“I wanna see.” he flashed a full house.

“Damn it mudblood! You have no clue how to play! Stupid mudblood!” the ugly boy screeched.
“Oh I know how to play really well. I also know how to bluff” she smirked at him, the pretty boy swung his arm around her “You really do bring luck.”

“Flint!” a voice scolded. He flinched and let go of her. “First years aren’t allowed to play, just to watch.” Fioled stood at the group, behind her Albus and Scorpius.
“She didn’t play, she just watched!” he sat down again and took his winnings. “She is my lucky charm.” he winked at her and she blushed.

“It is still playing against the rules!” Nott protested.
“What rules Nott?” a girl on his other side chimed in causing all to laugh.
“I hate you, mudblood!” he growled as he pushed himself past her.
“Ignore him. He is always like that.” another girl said while she dealt cards.
“I am Ryder Flint by the way. That is Taranis Bran” he pointed to a boy with shoulder length blond hair, “Danita Quinn” the girl who had dealt the cards had short auburn red hair, one blue and one brown eye, she waved quickly and refocused her attention on the cards. “Lunette Bran, Taranis is my brother” she had hair really long hair, it was braided and still came down to her waist, she had thick, long eyelashes, perfect eyeliner and red lipstick, she seemed more like a girl who belongs with the magazine readers. “Venrick Goyle.” a chubby and big boy with pitch black hair, scrunched at his cards as it needed all his brain to work out how to play.

“Malfoy boy come over here.” Danita waved him over, hesitant he went to her.
“Perfect I wanted the Potter guy.” Lunette grinned.
“No way he is mine!” Taranis said and throws a gummy bear at her.
All older student laughed.
“Well Potter. You are allowed to choose...” Fioled still standing beside him explained.
“Choose what?”
“There is a tradition. First years and second years aren’t allowed to play, but older student can choose one to be their lucky charm s until they are allowed to play. Potter being the lucky one can choose between us.” Arianas boy explained.
“What the hell kind of stupid tradition is that! I am not someone's object!” Ariana stood and cross her arms.
“It is just our way to include the youth.” Lunette defended.

“I … I take him.” Albus pointed on Taranis. Lunette pouted and Taranis did a victory dance.

“Fucking stupid…” Ariana murmured.
“Love don’t be angry.” Flint tried to reassure her giving her a chocolate frog.

Ariana took it and opened it, the moment the frog tried to jump away she skillfully caught it, thanks to her Moroi reflexes. She not even been surprised that their sweets moved, she bit off the head. Her eyes nearly spun back in her head, it was the best chocolate she has ever had. She munched on and realized she overacted, they just wanted to include them, no harm in it.
She examined the packing and saw a card of a women looking at her.
“Incredible. I have Professor Granger-Weasley.”

No one paid attention to her, they were all concentrating on the game. Danita explained te rules to Scorpius and Albus. Ariana got closer to Ryder to look in his hand. Not quite a good hand. He just had two pairs.
They started to bet. Danita folds as does Venrick. Leaving Lunetta, Taranis and Ryder in.
Ariana started to read their auras, one might call it cheating, but no one could call her out on it.

Lunetta showed signs of nervousness in her aura, her face being calm and betraying nothing, a good poker face. Taranis aura on the other side shone with happiness, he even always stub against his nose.

Conclusion Lunetta had a bad hand and Taranis a good one.
Ariana leaned in to whisper in Ryders ear, “Lunetta is bluffing, Taranis has got a good one. Fold. He looked at her baffled “Sure? How?” he whispered back.
“Trust me, a magician never reveals his tricks… That is a muggle saying, you probably don't understand it… Just trust me” he muttered at her a for few seconds.
“Flint! Call or Fold!” Taranis says a little too eager.
“I am out.” he puts his cards face down on the table and took a swig of a bottle, cringing.
“Not so lucky with your muggle-born, huh?”
They played for a few hours.
At some point Ariana excused herself and went to her room.

No one was in the dormitory, all the girls were out.
She took the magical laptop out and turned it on. Hermione had modified it so it would run on magic and Internet connection all around Hogwarts . She mostly did that for all of the muggle-borns and just a few others.

Ariana checked her emails, she already has a bunch.
The twins and Jake just wrote that they missed her, using their mothers account, because they were too young for their own.
Declan wrote that there was an awkward silence as her pancakes were left, and no one dared to eat it.
Her father wrote how strange he felt riding alone to the feeders and that they asked about her and he nearly cried. Her mother just worried about her, and Eddie just wrote miss u, that was a lot of feelings for him, as much as he showed around Jill, his girlfriend.
She read all of them repeatedly and couldn't stop the tears.
She loved her family so much and missed them even more. She felt so alone without them, she had made fast friends but most looked at her strangely. She hated the stares, always reminding her that she isn't just a muggle-born but also not human. What they would say if they found out. She thinks then not just Nott would hate her.

A few minutes later she calmed down a bit, she did the breathing exercises her father had shown her to not let spirit craziness get to her.

She video called her family.

She was greeted by Declan with a wide smile.
“My sweet lovely sister. How is it?”
She felt calm and she wished she could hug him. She missed them.
“ Great” she grinned. “ Very interesting subjects and people. Ghost are real, they are flying around.”
A shriek interrupt her. The face of her father suddenly appeared on the screen.
“My sweetheart. “ he whispered. He loved her so much, his little girl. Not that he didn’t loved his sons, but they always were more drawn to Eddie than him, being just like them, Dhampirs.
He couldn’t fight like Eddie, not even with his Moroi element. He was just a brooding artist, who happened to be related to them. So he was more drawn to his baby girl, and that she was a girl helped a lot too.

Soon her whole family was gathered around. She was so happy, she told them everything that happened today, even the stares and comments, mostly from Nott, but also from Albus Scorpius and Lis. Her family mostly listened, here and there they made a comment of how she should punch Nott and anyone who looked wrong at her, earning disapproving looks from Sydney.
After nearly an hour of chatting Lis came in.
“Here you are. We wanted to go outside. What is this?” She raised a eyebrow.
“I always forget you know nothing.” they stared at each other as they broke out laughing.
“This is a laptop and I am talking to my family. Say hello.” she turned the display around for Lis to see.
She winked speechless.
“They are not trapped in it, are they?”
Lis asked a little frightened.
“No.” Ariana laughed and said goodbye to her family , and followed Lis out to the grounds of Hogwarts.