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"Pleased to meet you." She replied. "Alexandra Potter."
Stella Zabini raised her delicate eyebrows slightly, but this was her only reaction and the Zabini's Matriarch only contented to purr an "interesting" before making a movement of her right hand to her son. Then Lady Zabini headed to the exit followed by Blaise with a grace many politicians at the television would kill for.
"Wow. Just wow." Whispered Nigel on her side.
"You had already met her?" Asked Alexandra.
"Two years ago, at a Ministry Ball where my father was invited and the underage wizards had the right to be present." Nigel explained. "Be careful, Alexandra. This woman has married six times, and all her husbands died in unexplained circumstances, leaving her each time a considerable fortune."
"You weren't so difficult one moment ago." Teased him, Alexandra.
"She's beautiful." Admitted Nigel.
Hearing an appalling racket mounting from the ground floor, Alexandra decided that laughing at her friend discomfort could wait until the Hogwarts Express and the travel to Hogwarts itself.
"Should we discover what is making such a noise?"
Descending the stairs, they saw a frightening spectacle. Alexandra knew from the very beginning it would haunt her to the end of her life, no matter how brief or long that length would be.
A man was standing in the middle of a crowd, surrounded by female admirers and photographers, and he was shaking deeply Neville Longbottom by the hand like a consummate man of state with a diplomat. His hair were wavy blond, his eyes were a deep blue and his face was showing a seducing smile with perfect teeth. The man was wearing flashy blue robes who complimented his eyes.
"Ladies and gentlemen," the man said loudly, waving for quiet moment of silence. "What an extraordinary moment this is! The perfect moment for me to make a little announcement I've been sitting on for some time! "
"When young Neville here stepped into Flourish and Blotts today, he only wanted to buy my autobiography – which I shall be happy to present him now, free of charge –" the crowd applauded again, "– he had no idea that he would shortly be getting much, much more than my book, Magical Me. He and his school fellows will, in fact, be getting the real, magical me. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have great pleasure and pride in announcing that, this September, I will be taking up the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts Senior Teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"
Alexandra left her mouth wide open under the shock. This...this... buffoon was their new Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor? It was a joke right? No, no, no there had to be mistake. There was no way she was going to be in the same room with this man twice a week! Slowly she felt her mind falling into the horror of an endless pit at the very idea.
The crowd didn't share her misgivings however, and cheered and clapped even more loudly at the announcement. The Potter Heiress saw Neville being presented with the entire works of Gilderoy Lockhart. Staggering slightly under the weight of the books, the Boy-Who-Lived managed to make his way out of the limelight to the edge of the room near the stairs where Alexandra was positioned, where the young Weasley girl was standing next to a cauldron.
"You have these," The Ravenclaw girl heard Neville mumbling to the young red-haired witch, tipping the books into the cauldron. "I'll buy my own –"
"Bet you loved that, didn't you, Longbottom?" Affirmed a voice she had no need to search to recognise. Draco Malfoy. Of course, the imbecile of Slytherin was going to darken the day by his very presence. With his usual sneer, the pure-blood idiot came face to face with Neville Longbottom.
"The famous Neville Longbottom," Affirmed Malfoy in his best pompous tone. "Can't even go into a bookshop without making the front page."
"Leave him alone, he didn't want all that!" Said Ginny Weasley, glaring at Malfoy. On this point, Alexandra herself wasn't so sure. Neville hadn't been exactly shy to accept the popularity and the renown of his title at school. Here, on the other hand, he seemed clearly uncomfortable and embarrassed. This Lockhart had managed to press enough buttons to overwhelm his thirst of fame. How...remarkable.
"Longbottom, you've got yourself a girlfriend!" Drawled Malfoy. Ginny Weasley went scarlet, but in the mean time Leo Black and Ron Weasley had fought their way over the crowd, with large piles of Lockhart books.
"Oh, it's you," Said Ronald Weasley to Malfoy with an expression of plain disgust over his face. "Bet you're surprised to see Neville here, eh?"
"Not as surprised as I am to see you in a shop, Weasley," Retorted Malfoy. "I suppose your parents will go hungry for a month to pay for that lot."
The two Weasleys went redder than tomatoes on the spot, and Alexandra could almost see the smoke coming out of their ears. Ron Weasley dropped his books into the cauldron nearby and started to advance towards Malfoy, an expression of pure rage on his face, but Neville Longbottom and Leo Black restrained him.
"Ron!" Said a man who could be none other than the Weasley patriarch, struggling in the crowd with the Weasley Twins in tow. "What are you doing? It's mad in here, let's go outside."
"Well, well, well – Arthur Weasley." Draco Malfoy's father had arrived, and Alexandra was not surprised to see Draco was more or less a younger clone of his father. Platinum-blonde hair, sneer, expensive clothes, all there was to copy in the older wizard her fellow second year had included it in his character. Malfoys or Male Fois, English or French, the appearances were like reflects in a mirror. Even the posture of unrestrained arrogance was the same.