"The day I don't have Potions will be the happiest day of my life..." Grumbled Nigel, a gloomy look on his visage as the shy Lion appeared more and more buried under his Potions notes. "I want to be a journalist, not a bloody Potioneer..."
"I don't know if you would be a good journalist, Nigel..."
Alexandra almost face-palmed at that. Sometimes Hermione insensitivity was surfacing at the worst of the moments.
"Why not?" Asked the raven-haired girl, seeing Nigel had almost crawled under the library's table in shame. "Nigel is honest, reliable, and present facts well in his writings. When you have finished reading him, you want to read more. I think he would make a very good journalist."
"But he's..." Hermione tact made an instant return and she didn't finish the sentence. Nigel's visage had in the mean time taken the colour of a tomato, and the Gryffindor was seemingly embarrassed of the compliment Alexandra had given.
"Shy?"
"Yes..."
"He's making progress. And no one is perfect. Nigel has an idea of a job he wants to do when he finishes his studies. Me, I have no clue..." Alexandra's voice change to a bit of melodrama at the end, although there was definitely a point of frustration. For all her ideas of enjoyment, she had not really found a profession finding grace to her eyes.
"You told us you wanted to travel around the world, have some adventures and discover new landscapes..." Mumbled Nigel, rosy in complexion.
"Sure. And I still want to do it." Alexandra confirmed, passing her hand in her long black hair thoughtfully. "But I would define it as a hobby, not as a way to earn money..."
"Like being a librarian?"
The tone of voice was too innocent for Hermione Granger, sounding dozens of alarms in Alexandra's head.
"Please tell me you do not intend to stay in a room of books all your life, Hermione." The sentence pronounced by the Potter Heiress was half-incantation, half-prayer. The answer from the brown-haired Gryffindor girl was a loud huff, which augured nothing good.
"Finished the Potions Essay?" Alexandra asked Hermione, aware her friend was going to camp on her positions, and that this was one she was not going to convince her to budge. Better to change the subject of the conversation.
"The one on Snake fangs? I finished it last evening. You?"
"Just put the last touch right now. Glad it's over."Alexandra suddenly had a disturbing thought. "One minute...we were given the essay on Monday with the Hufflepuffs. But the only moment Snape could give you the homework was yesterday. And you did it in one evening?"
The face of Hermione suddenly looked like a tomato ready to burst. Alexandra sighed, hearing Hermione whisper "Bloody observant friend..."
"Sometimes, Hermione, you will have to explain to me why the Hat didn't put you in Ravenclaw?" The Potter heiress asked rhetorically with a smirk.
"That's a question we would also like the answer!" Said a loud voice behind her.
Alexandra turned her head and refrained to groan or smack her head repeatedly on the desk.
"Longbottom, Black, Weasley." She said in a cold tone."I don't remember inviting you in this private conversation."
"You should be happy Alex," said the red-haired member of the Golden Trio, as brash as usual " that we are interested in bookworms like you..."
"My name is Alexandra Potter." The Ravenclaw replied in a frozen tone. "You are not my friend or my ally, Weasley. You will call me Potter or if I give you the authorisation, Alexandra. Call me Alex once again and we will see if you like speaking with a girl voice for one month or two."
"Actually, House Longbottom, Weasley and Potter are allied in the Wizengamot. The Light Party." Contradicted Longbottom, the Boy-Who-Lived's posture emitting suddenly pleasure at the fact she obviously wasn't at the top of things when politics were involved. "Didn't Professor Dumbledore tell you? You know, with the debt your House owes to mine..."
Alexandra in the privacy of her own mind put another black mark on the case of the Chief Warlock. Her magical guardian could at least take the bother of informing her who she was 'allied' to by a simple letter. Apparently, she was not worth the effort. Well, if Merlin reborn could not, neither did she.
"I don't remember speaking face to face alone with our great headmaster once in my life" Alexandra said truthfully, putting her hand over the place her heart laid. Then she added in a mocking and falsely hurt tone. "I'm sure this great man has things more important than dealing with me, don't you think?"
"Hey, don't speak of Professor Dumbledore like that!" Shouted Weasley.
Alexandra rapidly turned her head towards the extremity of the library, hoping Madam Pince, the angry librarian, had not heard this outburst. Fortunately not. Damn, she had heard some persons venerated the Gandalf-like figure of the Wizarding world, but the Potter Heiress was not seeing often witches or wizards willing to defend Dumbledore's reputation despite not having said one real insult. Ronald Weasley was by all evidence was one of them.
"Tell what you have to say and go. Some of us are trying to work here." Alexandra affirmed in a soft whisper which carried very well her annoyance. Trying to reason Weasley 'his faith in Dumbledore was excessive' did not figure in her plan for the year. Alexandra knew a lost cause when she saw one.
"Do you know who Nicolas Flamel is?" Asked Longbottom. Ah, that was the reason of their visit. No progress had been made since the Ravenclaw girl had overheard them at Christmas.
"Of course." Alexandra said in a surprised tone."I'm really surprised you don't."
"Why?" Asked Leo Black in a puzzled tone.
"Well, the man is a famous alchemist and known friend of the Headmaster. He is even mentioned on Dumbledore's card in the Chocolate Frogs."
"But we didn't find him anywhere in recent works!" Protested Ron Weasley.
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