So, I realize that the last chapter was rather description heavy and not a lot happened. I hope that you guys will bear with me - I promise that it gets better! Much thanks to my reviewers, thunder18, Suzululu4moe, and Solartiger. This is my first time actually writing a Harry Potter story, so I appreciate all support!

In the morning, Arileif woke early. Caoimhe and Delyth helped her dress - not that she needed them to, but they had been helping her since before she could remember. They loved her, and she loved them both dearly. It was strangely comforting to have the familiar routine in this new place.

Her apartments were nothing like her rooms in at home in Cair Paravel, but she had the feeling that they were terribly extravagant for a place like Hogwarts. The first room was a comfortable sitting room, complete with a large fireplace and big windows that let in a lot of light. The view was lovely - it looked out over the lake. She wondered offhandedly if there were any mer-people in the lake. If so, she would have to find one willing to sing for her. There was nothing to relieve stress like a mermaid's voice.

Three doors opened into the sitting room. The first led to Caoimhe and Delyth's rooms. The second led to her own room, and the third led to a small library. Arileif was certain the library was Hogwarts' doing, not Dumbledore's. The castle seemed eager to please her. Last night, when she had been out with Fred and George, they commented a number of times on the distinct lack of motion from the moving staircases.

Her room wasn't nearly as large as it would have been in Cair Paravel, but Arileif didn't care. It was comfortable, and welcoming. Again, the windows let in a lot of light, giving it a cheerful feel. There were two doors in her room - one led to her bathroom (Caoimhe and Delyth had their own) and the other led to her maids' rooms.

In the sitting room were six large portraits. The first was the roaring lion through which she had come last night, and led to the Gryffindor common room. The second was a large snake that looked like a cobra, poised and ready to strike. The third was an eagle with its wings spread in flight. The fourth was a badger that had just emerged from its hole and was staring up at the sun. Unlike most wizarding portraits, they did not move. She guessed that was another way that Hogwarts was trying to make her feel at home. The fifth portrait showed a stove with pots bubbling merrily, and the sixth depicted a bookshelf full of books. Arileif decided to explore, and started with the last one.

She poked her head out of the portrait and found herself in a much larger version of her own little library. She grinned - perfect. She could get into the library at all hours, undetected. That would definitely be helpful at some point, she reasoned. She browsed a few shelves and picked an interesting looking book to read in her spare time, then retreated back to her room. In the library the portrait depicted a lion and its cub. She grinned - it was her name! Lion's Heir.

Once in her room again, she tried the portrait with the stove. Based her experience with the last portrait, she guessed that this one would take her to a kitchen of sorts. She wasn't wrong. She stepped into the Hogwarts kitchens, where dozens of small odd-looking creatures were hard at work. One of them saw her and gave a delighted cry.

"Majesty! Majesty has come to the kitchens! Thank you, thank you, majesty - so nice! So kind!"

By this time all the creatures were staring at her with delighted tears in their eyes. Arileif shifted awkwardly.

"Er - you're welcome. I'm glad I came. Would you mind terribly if I just sit here and watch for a moment? I'm learning about Hogwarts, and I'd like to know how the cooking is done..."

"Oh! Of course, majesty! Cans Pinky get you anything? You want breakfast while you watch?"

The little creature who had first spoken stared up at her with such open adoration and trembling hope, that Arileif found herself smiling and saying, "That would be lovely, Pinky." She guessed that these were magical creatures who lived to serve and found joy in very little else. "Do you like it here, at Hogwarts?" She asked gently.

"Oh! Yes, majesty, ever and ever so much! Hogwarts needs us, see, and we needs Hogwarts. So many children - so much to do! Must hurry and feed the children! Almost time for breakfast!" Pinky exclaimed joyfully, putting a plate with pancakes and fruit in front of Arileif, along with a glass of pumpkin juice.

Arileif smiled - it was just as she thought. These creatures, whatever they were, took such great pleasure in serving. They would be delighted if she ever had a task for them to do. The dirtier her rooms, no doubt the happier they would be to clean them. She glanced down at Chanda, who was beside her as usual.

"Pinky?"

The creature perked up at her name. "Yes, majesty? Is there something else that Pinky can do for majesty?"

"Chanda would like breakfast as well. Is there any meat here that she could have? And, well - I am not used to pumpkin juice. If you don't mind, I would much prefer water at breakfast and lunch, and wine at dinner." She noted with satisfaction that the creature practically glowed at her words.

"Majesty asks Pinky to feed panther? Majesty asks Pinky to get good drinks for majesty? Pinky does not deserve so much honor, majesty! Pinky gets food for panther and nice drinks right away!" The creature disappeared.

Chanda stretched languidly. "Well. That was interesting."

"Such a sweet little thing!" Arileif smiled.

"Give her anything else to do, and she'll be pledging her life to your service." Chanda observed dryly.

"Do you know what they are? I've never seen or heard of such creatures."

"Maybe you should ask her." Chanda suggested. "How long do you want me to pretend to be a non-speaking panther?" She changed the subject abruptly.

"As long as you can stomach it. I'm sorry - but I think we've caused a big enough stir already, and I don't feel like giving that Umbridge woman anything she could possibly use against us."

"I figured. Ah, well. It'll make it more fun for me when I finally do blow that cover."

"Thanks for being such a good sport about it, Chanda. What would I do without you?"

The panther snorted. "Nothing. You'd be dead by now if it wasn't for me. How many assassination attempts have I stopped now? Four? Five?"

"Three, you prideful, overgrown kitten."

Chanda sniffed, but didn't reply because Pinky returned in that moment.

"Meat for beautiful panther and nice drinks for majesty!" She announced proudly.

"Thank you so much, Pinky. This food you gave me is delicious - and I appreciate the extra care you've taken to be sure I'm happy." She smiled.

Pinky beamed. "Majesty thanks Pinky! Shouldn't thank Pinky, majesty - Pinky just doing her job."

"But you do such a wonderful job!" Arileif protested.

Pinky bowed abashedly, and proceeded to wait on the pair hand and foot until they finished their breakfast and returned to Arileif's rooms. Arileif promised to come see her again, which sent the sweet creature nearly hysteric with gratitude.

Once more in her sitting room, Arileif decided that it was time to choose which house colors she would be wearing that day. She chose the portrait of the snake, wondering which house it represented, and stepped through. Glancing down at the badge on her chest, she saw that it was silver and green.

She looked around the room and found a green and silver version of the Gryffindor common room. Students wearing the house colors were wandering through on their way to the Great Hall for breakfast. She glanced around, and joined a group of three that were about to make their way out of the portrait hole. They looked about sixteen - two years younger than her, and the same age as Hermione, Ron, and Harry. She wondered if they were friends - but then remembered what her father had told her about the animosity between the different houses.

"Good morning." She greeted them pleasantly. "I seem to be a Slytherin for the day. Would you mind if I tagged along with you to the Great Hall? I don't know how to get there from here."

Two of the boys were rather overweight, and they both looked to the tall platinum blonde. Evidently he was the leader of the group. He stared at her for a moment, a half-sneer on his face.

"You're the princess."

She sighed softly. "Yep, that's me."

"You seemed pretty chatty with those Gryffindors last night."

"Well, I'm a new student joining a school were everyone my age already knows each other. I'd rather not be a recluse. So, yes - I was "chatty" with "those Gryffindors" last night." She remembered that Slytherin was the cunning house, and hoped that this boy would see the politics in her behavior the night before. Of course, that wasn't the only reason she'd been talking to Gryffindors the night before. She genuinely liked the twins and Hermione, and thought that she would like Ron and Harry if she got to know them a little better.

He studied her for a moment, and then nodded and held out his hand. "Draco Malfoy. This here's Crabbe, and that's Goyle." She reached out to shake his hand, and was surprised when he drew it to his lips. It was a gesture that would not have looked out of place in her father's court.

"Son of a nobleman?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

Draco smirked. "You should stick with Slytherin. We all come from good, high-standing families."

"You know your manners, I can say that much."

Draco glanced at the boys who flanked him. "Most of us do." He agreed, with a slight sneer. Arileif wondered why he was friends with Crabbe and Goyle if he disliked them so much, but didn't say anything.

With another smirk, he offered her his arm. "Will you allow me to escort you to breakfast, lady princess?"

"Just Arileif, if you don't mind. And certainly, I would be glad of the escort."

The panther beside her huffed disapprovingly.

"Oh, do be quiet, you bothersome kitten." Arileif reproved with a smile.

Draco swept out of the Slytherin common room and down to the Great Hall with Arileif on his arm. He made sure she was settled at his house table before speaking again. "You really should be careful where you make your friends, lady princess." He saw her raised eyebrow and smirked yet again, but did not correct himself. "Not everyone here are the type you want to befriend. Some of them come from very bad backgrounds - especially the Gryffindors."

"Oh? Do tell."

"Muggle lovers, that lot - one and all. And blood traitors too - those Weasleys are the worst of the bunch."

"Really? The twins were rather charming last night. Gave me a tour of the best passages to use in avoiding - what was his name again? Oh yes, Filtch. And made sure that I got safely back to my chambers. What is so bad about them?"

"They're blood traitors." He spat, as if that explained everything.

"I'm afraid I don't understand. What does that mean?"

He stared at her for a moment. "Tell me, lady princess, what is your magical lineage? Are your parents both magical?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Draco, I come from a land where the very trees breathe magic. Are you truly questioning my magical lineage?"

He smirked. "No."

"What does it matter, anyway?"

"Not everyone deserves to use magic." He answered with a sneer. "Purebloods are those who have a completely magical lineage. Halfbloods have some magical, and some muggle. And mudbloods are the first magic users in their family. Scum of the earth, they are. Blood traitors are purebloods who embrace mudbloods and muggles. Idiots, the lot of them. Those Weasleys are blood traitors, and the Weasel - that's the youngest boy - is best friends with that mudblood whore of Potter's. Reckon they probably share her."

Arileif was silent for a moment as she tried to figure out what to say. She confused her escort when she murmured softly, "Aslan, give me the words. Some of Uncle Edmund's rhetoric would be helpful."

Taking a deep breath, she said very quietly, "Draco, in my country there are many creatures - both magical and nonmagical. All are welcomed and loved by Aslan, the great king over all kings. He created them all, and made them equal. He loves all equally, and it delights him when they love each other. If the Weasleys understand this, that all are equal whether magical or nonmagical, I hardly think they ought to be treated with such scorn. That you do not understand this does not make you better than them, it simply means that Aslan sorrows over your ignorance."

Draco stared at her incredulously, with the beginnings of a sneer forming on his features.

"And, if I am correct, mudblood is a hurtful, spiteful world. The correct term is muggleborn, although first generation magical would be better, as even the term "muggle" is rather derisive. I would ask you not to use that word in my hearing again. If there is one thing that I hate, it is a bully."

The sneer was fully formed now, but she ignored it.

"Now then - since that has been cleared up, will you tell me what the little creatures in the kitchen are? I've never seen anything like them. And they're so eager to please, too."

While the sneer was still firmly in place, there was a look of confusion in his eyes - as though Draco wasn't sure why she hadn't gone storming off to join her "bloodtraitor" friends. Her question puzzled him enough that he answered before thinking about it.

"Those are house-elves. They do all the work like cooking and cleaning in Hogwarts."

Arileif nodded. "Fascinating little creatures. Are they usually so eager to please? The little elf that fed Chanda for me kept saying that she did not deserve the honor."

"House elves are only good for working. It's all they do, and all they care about," He replied dismissively, his eyes still puzzled.

"Hm. Interesting."

"I take it you don't have house elves in Narnia."

"No, we don't. Nothing like them at all."

"Who cleans the castle, then?" His sneer was back full-force. "Naiads and dryads, mostly. Some fauns. Some animals - mostly squirrels. They can reach the hard-to-get places, you know, cause they are so small and such good climbers. A couple of the centaurs help keep everything organized, but their physical shapes make cleaning awkward. They do a lot of the cooking though."

In spite of himself, Draco was interested. "What are naiads and dryads?"

"Naiads are the water spirits. Not to be confused with merfolk of course - they are the water people. Water spirits are completely different. And dryads are tree spirits - like my maids, Caoimhe and Delyth. They are all such beautiful people, and so happy. They don't sing like the water people, but they do dance. They'll dance with the fauns all night sometimes, in the spring and summer."

Draco tried to wait long enough that he wouldn't seem to curious, but couldn't help asking, "What are fauns?"

"Oh, there were some in guard last night. They look like they're half man and half goat. We have lots of the in the royal guard, because they're such good fighters. Really nimble too - there's not a thing they can't climb. And they're so sweet. Aunt Lucy is very good friends with a faun - she known him since before she was Queen. He such a nice faun, and always loves to tell stories and sing songs for me. Dear Mr. Tumnus - I must confess, I miss him already."

Draco was evidently not sure what to do with this influx of information, and changed the subject.

"You're not eating."

"Oh, I ate in the kitchens. That nice little elf that fed Chanda brought me food as well."

"Hm."

"What?!" Goyle suddenly sputtered, interrupting them. "This isn't pumpkin juice!"

"Oh, then it's probably for me." Arileif claimed the pitcher happily and poured herself a glass. After taking a swallow, her eyes widened in surprise. "Oh, that sweet little creature..."

"What?" Draco demanded.

"That little elf. When I asked if she'd be willing to make sure there was water for me for breakfast and lunch, I didn't expect her to get water from home!"

"Water?" He sneered again. "Water is water. No different here or there. Why would you drink it, anyway?"

"Well, for one thing, I'm pretty sure it's healthier than pumpkin juice! But water from home isn't the same as water here. This is Naiad water! It's the sweetest, purest thing you'll ever drink. Here - try some." She poured some into his glass before he could protest.

Reluctantly, he tried it. His expression of surprise made her laugh.

"I told you!"

"And this elf will put some out every breakfast and lunch?"

"Yes, though I expect she'll just put it at the table of whatever house I'm in that day. So if you want it every day, you may have to follow me around like Chanda does."

Chanda grumbled from under the table. Draco didn't respond, but eyed the pitcher through the rest of breakfast.

As she was in Slytherin that day, and had selected him as her escort (a role he was happy to play, despite her views on blood purity - she was a PRINCESS after all) she attended all her classes with Slytherin. She smiled and waved at Harry, Hermione, and Ron whenever she saw them in class, but didn't run into the twins all day.

At supper, she spotted them sitting at the Gryffindor table and turned to Draco with a grin on her face. "Hey, Draco - want to prank the twins? I get the feeling that they do all the pranking in this school, which is really not fair. They ought to get pranked once in a while too, don't you think?"

Draco blinked at her, and sighed. "As you wish, lady princess." That had become his standard response during the day whenever she tried to get him to do something he did not want to do. For all that he was a stuck-up prat, he did know how to be a gentleman if he chose, and complied with whatever crazy scheme she cooked up.

She smiled at him now and cooed - because she knew it would annoy him, "Aw, Draco, you're such a good sport!"

He rolled his eyes, then suddenly grinned. "Pranking the Weasley menaces - how bad could it be? But we cannot get caught. If my father hears about this..."

"He won't. I'll make sure of that. Trust me - I'm a princess. Any fun that I have has to be had in secret. I am very good at keeping things hidden. Only Father and Uncle Edmund can ever tell when I'm up to something - and I don't see either of them here. Do you?" She was smirking.

Draco glanced about and lowered his voice slightly. "What did you have in mind?"

Arileif grinned and whispered her plan.

Twenty minutes later, Draco followed her through the library portrait into her sitting room. Inside, they met two dryad maids with the arms crossed.

"Arileif Gemma Pevensie - just what do you think you are doing?" One asked.

"Um... Draco, this is Caoimhe and Delyth. Ladies, this is Draco Malfoy. He's a Slytherin. And we're just taking a shortcut and grabbing something on our way through, that's all. Come on, Draco." She grabbed his arm and pulled him into her personal library, hunting for the book she had picked up that morning. He barely had time to gape at the fact that she even had a library before she was pulling him out again. "We'll just be going now - bye!" She called, pulling him through the kitchen portrait.

They stopped and watched the activity of the house elves for a moment. Then Arileif took a breath and called, "Pinky?"

The elf appeared. "Majesty! You comes to see Pinky! You is too good to Pinky, majesty! What does Pinky help you with?" She asked anxiously, hoping for a task.

"Pinky, I have a recipe here, and I was hoping that you would be able to make it for us."

"Oh yes! Pinky helps, Pinky makes it! What is it?"

"It's just some nice cupcakes. But it has a special ingredient. It's for a prank, Pinky. Draco and I are going to play a prank of Fred and George. Here - the recipe in this book includes a special dye that will turn their hair pink and purple."

"Oh yes! Pinky makes it!" Pinky seized the book and vanished.

"How long do you think it will take her to make them?" Draco asked.

Arileif shook her head. "I don't know, but I don't think it will be too long."

They sat together and worked on their potions homework (Arileif had learned, today, that he would probably be their toughest professor. She didn't count Umbridge, whose methods were deplorable. And whose sweaters would be laughable - if they weren't quite so painful to look at.) Draco had learned, earlier in the day, that Arileif had a special tutor that taught her many different kinds of magic until that year. He had died early in the spring, and her father decided to send her to school at Hogwarts while they looked for a replacement tutor. Arileif knew kinds of magic that Draco was sure even Dumbledore had never heard of. So she had no trouble in class that day.

Pinky soon returned with the red and gold cupcakes held aloft triumphantly. "Pinky makes them!" She announced, thoroughly pleased with herself.

"Good - thank you Pinky. Would you like us to come back tomorrow and tell you how the prank went?"

Pinky beamed. "Majesty is so nice. Majesty is so thoughtful. Majesty is so kind. Pinky would like that very much, majesty!"

"Alright then - we'll let you know. thank you so much for making these for us!" She pulled Draco back through the portrait into her room. The maids weren't there anymore, so they sat down for a moment.

"So, how are we going to get them to eat them?"

"We'll put them in their room."

"And how do we do that?" Draco asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm not quite sure what being the "heir of Hogwarts" means, exactly. But the hat told me that the castle would protect me and help me."

"You think you can ask it to let you into their room and it will, just like that?"

"Where do you think the portraits to the kitchen and library came from? Not Dumbledore, you can be sure of that."

He snorted agreement.

"It's worth a try, don't you think?"

Draco shrugged. "Sure."

"Alright." She took a deep breath, and assuming an authoritative voice. "Hogwarts, I need a portrait that leads directly into Fred and George Weasley's dorm room. And I need it to be see through from this side, so that we know if the room is empty."

There was a soft rumble, and a portrait of the red-headed twins appeared. They got up and walked over to it, and found that when they got right in front of it, the portrait became like a one-way mirror. The room they were looking into was empty.

They looked at each other, and Draco grimaced. "If I get in trouble for this, I'm blaming you."

"Of course." she returned with a grin, and stepped through the portrait hole. "Come on, Dray."

He followed her, a mystified expression on his face. "Dray?"

"Oh, sorry. I have a bad habit of giving people random nicknames. Do you mind? I have nicknames for all my friends. Even Chanda - I call her kitten all the time. She pretends to hate it, but she really likes it, I think."

Chanda huffed and tossed her head.

"Deny it all you like, kitten. We both know the truth."

The panther looked away, and Draco felt his lips twitch upward in an unfamiliar expression. He realized he was smiling. "You consider me a friend?"

"I asked you to prank with me, didn't I?"

"You might have asked anyone. I happened to be closest."

"I didn't try to get your two goons to prank with us, now did I? And they were just as close as you. Yes, I consider you my friend. Is there something wrong with that?"

He shook his head slowly. "No. I just... I don't think I've actually had a friend before."

She just looked at him. "You should smile more often. You're good looking enough, but when you smile - wow. Smile like that and every girl in this castle will swoon over you. Myself excluded."

Draco couldn't help it - he laughed. "And why are you excluded?"

"Because I have no interest in good-looking young men. And even if I did, Father would probably kill him for so much as looking at me. So, really, even if I was interested - which I honestly am not - I would feign disinterest to save your life. Besides, I don't really go for blondes. They make me think of my father. And my father is the last thing I would want to be thinking about during my first kiss. So, no thanks. Now, are we pranking the menaces or not?"

Draco grinned again, then sobered. "Arileif... You won't tell anyone, will you?"

"I already promised that no one would find out-"

"That's not what I meant. Your father seems pretty nice. My father... Well, he's not. He's all about blood purity and...You-Know-Who. I don't much like muggles or muggleborns - first generation magicals - I don't see any reason to single them out. But if Father thinks I'm not "upholding the Malfoy name" just right, things are not pretty. Especially now that You-Know-Who has returned. I have to play it safe and be nasty."

Arileif nodded understanding. "So you can't be seen being too friendly with me."

"Honestly, I don't think Potter's that bad - well, I don't like him at all, really - but I hope that he's able to get rid of You-Know-Who. But if you're friends with Potter and my Father gets wind of it - which he will, he always does; Crabbe and Goyle couldn't keep a secret to save their lives - he'll expect that I'm after you for your connections. So I can't be too friendly, or, well, it'll all be over."

Arileif nodded again. "I understand. Don't worry - I'm much more discrete than those two thugs."

He flashed her a relieved smile.

"Honestly, was that all it took to get under that hard Malfoy shell? Just treat you like a human being? Has no one ever done that before?"

"Not really. Certainly no one that I can trust." He admitted.

Arileif stared at Draco for a moment, then pulled him into a tight hug. "I can't imagine what that is like. I have always had people that I trust, even if most of them aren't my age."

Draco shook his head. "Hey, get off!"

She let him go, and grinned at him impishly. "Ready to create a work of purple and pink art?"

Both of their heads whipped around when they heard voices approaching the door.

"Yikes! Quick, put them on whichever bed Chanda picks!" Arileif hissed, and pulled out a parchment. She waved her hand, and a message appeared on it.

For the Twin Menaces,

Thanks for showing me around last night. Caoimhe made cupcakes (she's always baking) and there was no way I could eat them all. Share with your friends - I can't imagine what you two are like on a sugar high!

Lion's Heir

"That ought to do." She muttered, and dropped it beside the cupcakes. They scrambled back through the portrait, closing it just before several sweaty boys entered the room.

"Why'd you have Chanda pick which bed?" Draco whispered as they watched through the one-way portrait.

"She could smell which ones belong to the twins."

"Oh. That makes sense."

"Sh!" She hushed him.

Behind them, the two maids stood with arms crossed. They shook their heads, but smiled. They didn't know exactly what the two were up to, but decided not to interfere. After all, their princess had made a friend. They wouldn't get in the way.

The two kids grinned as the twins happily ate a couple cupcakes each, reluctantly sharing the rest with their dorm mates.

"How soon should their hair change?"

"As soon as we say the incantation. I think that we should leave out at least one of the others, so that they don't know what it was that caused the change."

Draco grinned. "Oh, you belong in Slytherin alright. Since they all ate the cupcakes, they'll have to discount them as the source if they don't all have pretty hair tomorrow. And that way you can't be implicated, which gives us the chance to prank them again in the future."

"I know, I'm brilliant. Why don't we do it during breakfast tomorrow? That way - even if they do connect it to me - you won't be caught. Cause I'll be at a different table."

"Which one?"

"No idea."

Draco nodded. "Is it weird? Not being in just one house?"

"I wouldn't know. I was never in just one house, so I don't know how "normal" feels."

"True." Draco glanced at the windows and saw how low the sun was. "Oh no. I'd better go - it's almost curfew."

"Oh, that doesn't matter. You can just go right into the Slytherin common room through the snake portrait."

"Yeah, but I don't want anyone to see me coming from your room."

"True. Then go through the kitchen - it'll put you closer to the common room, so you can get there in time."

"Sure. See you tomorrow, I guess..."

"Alright. Sleep well, Dray."

He paused. "If you call me Dray, can I call you Ari? When no one's around, of course..."

She grinned. "Sure. Night!"

He smiled and disappeared through the kitchen portrait.

Arileif sighed. "Day one - complete. I made a friend. I'll consider that a success."

Chanda laughed, a deep throaty panther laugh. "I'm glad there was more to him than total git. I still can't believe the master prankers fell for something so simple."

"I think no one's ever tried to prank them back before. They'll be more careful now - but I'll get them anyway." She stretched her arms over her head and yawned. "I'm off to bed - today was quite exhausting. I really like Dray - he's nice. But most of the Slytherins aren't too pleasant. I'm quite glad to stay out of that house for a couple days."

"Careful, Ari. You're starting to yawn like me." Chanda teased.

"Hush, you rotten kitten." Arileif returned good-naturedly. "You know, this school is really a mess. Between that manipulative headmaster, that ridiculously toad professor, the Voldemort nonsense, and house rivalries, this school is just...a mess - there's really no other word for it."

"I'm sure you'll manage to get it sorted out." Delyth smiled fondly.

"I don't know about that - but I certainly intend to try."