A Lion's Honor & Pride (Harry Potter) (Under Editing)

Chapter Two: Second Year

During Ariana and Draco's summer break, their father had became really crossed about Ariana being in Gryffindor, while their mother is somewhat proud and slightly amused that Ariana is following Andromeda Tonks' footsteps when she was young. Ariana had spent most of her summer with the Greengrass family before she had went back to her family almost at the end of summer vacation. Ariana had fine time playing and talking with both Daphne and Astoria Greengrass, their father treated her equally and much better than Ariana's own father.
Ariana felt something strange was going to happen this year, but she doesn't know what.
She had spoken to Harry Potter during school and was pleasantly surprised to see that he's very open-minded and not at all a prejudiced git (unlike Ron Weasley). He understands that the Slytherin House has traditional ways of pure-blooded families than some of the Houses and has agreed to give Draco two or more chances to show his friendship towards him, Ariana told this to Draco and their mother before she had left with the Greengrass family.
Anyways, Ariana was walking around and admiring the gardens. The gardens has a few granite-stone paths. As Ariana continued walking on the path towards the bench, she saw tangles of pure white lilies, bright yellow daffodils, blue periwinkles, and ruby red roses. A large water fountain sat in the middle of a circle of trees. The water fountain has lilies and the masterpiece is a marble white pegasus statue on the top. Ariana caught sight of a peaceful aquamarine crystal clear waterfall with a river going down north with a blue bridge just above it. There's a few swans, and high in the trees are fairies, gronckles, and a couple songbirds. But the trees are the most beautiful and surprising of all: the trees have shinning green leaves with colorful flowers.
She even giggled at the sight of two dozing unicorns from playing with a hyper unicorn foal. A couple of peacocks were nearby, taking care of their hatchlings. A small group of cheetahs were sleeping nearby and keeping an eye on their cubs. A few fairies were fluttering near the flowerbeds and around the trees. A small colony of gronckles were climbing up the tree branches as they played.
Ariana soon laughed and looked up at the mischievous doves as some light pink flowers had started falling gently around her. She barely noticed a boy around her age was watching her with an awestruck expression.
"Hello Ariana." A voice Ariana had heard before, deep and husky, strangely close to her. She looked over her shoulder partially and saw him, Ariana felt herself blushed. A tall and well-built boy stood alongside her, only inches from Ariana. His windblown hair is in a stunning shade of dark brown. The light tan of his skin, his slender fingers were holding tightly to a book. Ariana noticed the silent determination in him, as if he was cautious about coming close to Ariana. That's when he stared back at Ariana with his warm hazel eyes.
That's when Ariana had remembered that he's from the Petersen House as well as being in the Gryffindor House, and a prideful prankster. Ariana had snapped and scolded him for bullying the Slytherins during Flying Class, having Harry and Ron by her sides (Hermione hasn't befriended them yet). His best friend is Conor McFenray. She also remembered the Petersen's family is a very old pure-blood family, much like the Malfoys, and the Petersens are almost always sorted into Gryffindor. An occasional Ravenclaw, but never Slytherin.
"What are you doing here?" asked Devin curiously.
"Visiting some friends," Ariana said warily. "What are you doing here?"
"Relax sweetheart (Ariana bristled) I'm just passing through," said Devin. "My folks are just having a meeting with the Greengrass family. That's all."
"Good," said Ariana coldly. "Now if you excuse me, I have to go."
As she began to walk away, she pretended not to notice Devin was staring at her as she left or the strange warm feeling that she had felt going through her.
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On the day of returning to Hogwarts, they had all packed their things and gave their owls to the handler on the train. She had said her farewell to their mother, while their father promptly ignored her once again. Probably because she was slightly amused to see their father getting smacked over the head by Mr. Weasley and talked back by Harry. Ariana had noticed that their father was holding Draco back from coming aboard the train too.
Feeling curious and nervous, Ariana sat down next to the window where, half hidden, she could watch Draco and their father on the platform and hear what they were saying.
"— You must make sure everything goes into plan," Father was saying. "Nobody else must find out about the Chamber."
"I'll make sure of that father," said Draco softly.
"Also, keep an eye on your sister," Father said, clear annoyance coloring his tone. "She had already embarrassed this family already and I will not allow her to embarrass this family again."
"Yes father," said Draco, more quietly and subdued.
"She'll never be a true Malfoy," Father mused angrily. "She had disappointed this family. Hopefully, you'll never do that."
Ariana didn't have the chance to hear what Draco had said back to their Father, because she had slipped back into an empty compartment and had started crying softly.
She barely noticed that the train had left train station or that anybody who had stumbled upon her compartment had glanced at her with awkward expressions and had went into another compartment.
Ariana had managed to wipe away any stray tears and started watching the landscapes change outside of the window. She knew in her heart that Father was right: she's an outcast to the Malfoy family and she may never be able to be part of the family. The hard truth soon hardened into her realization; If they don't want her, then she won't let them have her.
Ariana took a deep breath as she calmed her nerves and tried best to make sure that she doesn't look like she wasn't crying. But it was useless, her eyes were still blurry with tears.
Ariana hadn't realized that tears had been running down her cheeks until she felt a strong arm around her and she being pulled into a sidelong hug. She soon blinked her tears away and looked up to see a boy around her age. The boy has a pale complexion, tousled black hair, and warm brown eyes like melted chocolate. He was dressed in Slytherin robes that suited him quite nicely. He's both tall and lean, his ears stuck out a bit, and he wore a silver chain around his neck.
"Shh, are you okay?" asked the Slytherin boy gently. "Did somebody hurt you?"
"Yes, my own father." Ariana was surprised to hear how quiet and hoarse her voice had sounded.
The Slytherin asked no more questions and allowed Ariana to lay her head against his chest while he gently rubbed her back comfortingly, which Ariana greatly appreciated. The gentle sound of his heartbeats and his calming breaths had started to put Ariana more at ease. The two of them soon pulled away from each other's sides and they both looked at each other with small smiles.
"What's your name?" asked the Slytherin boy.
"Ariana Malfoy," Ariana said softly. "What's your name?"
"My name is Elijah Serpico," replied the Slytherin boy.
"Thanks for helping me," Ariana said, suddenly feeling a little embarrassed. "Sorry if I had broke down like that."
"It's okay," said Elijah reassuringly. "It sounded like you need to get out of your chest."
Ariana cracked a smile, but before she could speak to him again she heard the compartment door opened and saw Devin as he smiled confidently at Ariana. The quieter boy looked up from the book he was reading and smiled sympathetically at Ariana. His name is Conor, who's both tall and lean with fair skin marked with pale scars, messy light brown hair, and gentle brown eyes.
Elijah looked both wary and nervous, but Ariana kept a hand on his wrist as she sat in front of him with tensed, instinctive muscles and spirited determination blazing in her eyes as Devin had started coming towards them.
"Hey Ari," said Devin with a smirk. "Do you want to sit with us than with this snake?"
"This snake as you called him had helped me when you didn't," Devin hissed, her eyes flashing like lightning. "Being a Slytherin doesn't make one automatically evil, it means he's extremely determined and resourceful as well as gentle and kind." Elijah cracked a smile as he looked at Ariana, who was about to get her wand out and get ready to start hexing him. "Which is something that you are lacking of, Devin."
Devin was about to retort when Conor had stood up and placed a kind, but firm hand on Devin's shoulder. Conor smiled at Ariana that had managed to calm her down and made her more at ease, she felt her gaze softened as she looked at him. He nodded to Elijah, who also returned the nod with a small smile.
"That's enough Devin," Conor scolded before he looked at his friend, then to Ariana and Elijah. "I think we just stepped on the wrong foot today." Ariana likes Conor, he's the peacemaker of the whole group. "Lets re-introduced ourselves, shall we?" Conor smiled at Ariana. "Lady's first."
"Such a gentleman," giggled Ariana before she cleared her throat before she spoke. "My name is Ariana Malfoy and yes... I know that I'm the least Malfoy of the family and I'm aware of my family's reputation. I'm a Gryffindor surprisingly and unsurprisingly enough." The boys chuckled at Ariana's statement. "I want to grow to become a Curse-Breaker one day." She took a deep breath as she looked at the boys.
"You sure have big dreams, don't you?" Devin stated, amusedly.
Ariana smirked and nudged Elijah, who stepped forward warily. "My name is Elijah Serpico. I'm half and half, my mom is a muggle-born witch and my dad is a muggle." Elijah gave an inward chuckle as he remembered something. "It was a bit of a nasty shock for him when he found out after the marriage. But he's a great guy and has a thing for Quidditch." Elijah carried on after seeing Ariana's slightly panicked expression and the others' excited expressions. "Anyways, the three of us live at the edge of Spinner's End. As you know, I had been Sorted into the Slytherin House. I want to become a great potion master and see if I could find a cure for werewolves when I grow up."
"That's a truly noble goal mate," said Devin with a grin. Conor's eyes softened and nodded his agreement with a small smile.
"Okay, I guess it's my turn then." Devin stepped forward with a smirk, making Ariana inched closer to Elijah and the two friends both frowned. "To say that it's my best mate's turn." 
"Nice save mate." Conor chuckled in amusement. "I'm Conor McFenray. I live in the woods with my parents at our cottage. I'm a half-blood, my dad's a pure-blood and my mom's a half-blood. Though, I have a bit of a sickness that needs to be taken care of every few weeks in the Hospital Wing. I enjoy reading books and learning new things everyday. I want to become a professor for Hogwarts one day."
"I guess that makes sense," commented Elijah with a smile.
"Now it's your turn Devin," Conor said to Devin, clear amusement in his eyes.
"Gee thanks." Devin rolled his eyes and glanced at Ariana, his gaze met hers. "Anyways, my name is Devin Petersen. I'm a Gryffindor obviously, though my folks were pretty surprised about that and my younger brother, Michael, is pretty much their precious golden child of the family. I'm a pure-blood, just like my whole entire family. I enjoy playing Quidditch and exploring new places. I want to become a Curse-Breaker one day too."
"Really?" said Ariana.
It may take a while, but she knew that he might be mature enough to handle such an important job one day. But Ariana doesn't know why he kept on staring at her like that. It was a little unnerving.
"Uh oh." Conor looked as if he had just remembered something last minute. "I just remembered about the camera."
"What camera?" Ariana raised a wary eyebrow at Conor.
"Please don't freak out," said Devin. "We had enchanted a camera to float behind us and record everything around us." Devin soon scratched his head with embarrassment. "Come to think of it, we've placed an invisible cloak on top of it too."
"Seriously?" Ariana gave Devin deadpanned look before she rolled her eyes and had started leaning against her seat.
"Well, you better find it soon." Elijah had started looking at the window. "We're almost at Hogwarts."
"Shoot." The four of them had started looking around with hands as they searched for their invisible floating camera. Ariana was trying her best to keep her laughter under controlled, while Elijah was making faces from laughing out loud at the four boys' antics.
"Oh for the love of Merlin." Elijah rolled his eyes and took out his wand. "Accio camera."
That's when the camera flew into Elijah's hands, a beige invisibility cloak was laid harmlessly on the floor. Devin picked up the cloak with a sheepish smile, while Ariana and Elijah had both exchanged amused expressions.
Ariana soon looked back at the window and smiled as the night sky has begun to fall and the outline of Hogwarts Castle is coming to view in the outline of the rising moon.