Apparently, said family was not wealthy, as the wizard robes they wore looked old and worn. Probably second hand robes from Madam Malkin's she figured, or another cheap shop of Diagon Alley. In comparison, her robes, the basic normal model, looked perfect. This family was without doubt having money problems with the education of their children. Hogwarts wasn't cheap after all. Alexandra had questioned her Gringotts account manager by letter on the subject, and she had been grateful when she heard her parents had paid her complete tuition at birth. The pile of gold she would have spent otherwise would have made a significant hole in her trust vault.
"Aaah, has ickle Ronnie got somefink on his nose?" asked one of the twins in a teasing voice. Definitely older brothers, Alexandra smiled, she had seen many siblings at Little Whinging and she recognised the signs.
"Shut up," said the one Alexandra had learnt was "Ronnie".
"Where's Percy?" said their mother.
"He's coming now."
The oldest boy, red-haired like the others came striding into sight, raising the number of the red-haired family to six. The newcomer had already changed into his billowing black Hogwarts robes and Alexandra noticed a shiny red and gold badge on his chest with the letter P on it. The insignia had been heavily polished, as it shone brilliantly under the September morning sun.
"Can't stay long, Mother," he said in a formal and pompous voice which reminded Alexandra some of the clients who were full of themselves that Vernon had received in his living room. "I'm up front, the Prefects have got two compartments to themselves –"
So the symbol P was the Prefect insignia. Good to know thought Alexandra, I really intend to avoid the people carrying them if they're all like you. She quickly grew bored of the speech from the older teenager, and decided to go back to her reading.
The train began to move when there was a knock on the door, Alexandra spoke a loud "Enter!" which was followed up by the door opening. Alexandra raised her eyes from her book to watch the person entering. It was a boy who looked about her age, with dark skin and slanted eyes. He had short black hair, and wore what happened to look like extremely costly clothes, the black school uniform in a sort of velvet with everything visible under it in the same material. She grimaced internally, knowing that the boy was certainly belonged to the same category of "haughty and arrogant" she had met at Madam Malkin's.
"Do you mind if I sit in your compartment?" he asked her in a bored, expressionless voice.
"No." she answered. While her reflex was to throw the boy out of her compartment, the fact was this boy was a first-year like her, and if she began to insult or lash out at every person she met, she wasn't going to make a lot of friends at Hogwarts. They could be in the same House at the end of the day for all she knew.
The dark-skinned boy nodded at her politely and then sat in the opposite seat, directly facing her.
Not ten seconds had passed when a second person knocked at the door of the compartment, but this time the knock was more brutal, and she had no time to answer in any way. The youngest red-haired boy she had watched on the platform barged in at full speed, breathing loudly like he had run a marathon.
"Anyone sitting there?" he asked without bothering with a hello or apologising for his lack of manners, pointing at the seat next to Alexandra. "Everywhere else is full."
"That's impossible." Replied the dark-skinned boy. "The Hogwarts Express is magically conceived to expand and take all the Hogwarts students, no matter their number." His voice, soft, and cultured with a trace of foreign accent, turned rather sarcastic after that. "Are you sure you did not enter the first compartment you found?"
The red-haired boy appeared monumentally embarrassed, as his face became as red as his hair. He was more or less looking like a tomato, reflected Alexandra. Pity she didn't have a camera to take the photo. Too bad the moment of shame he felt didn't last more than an instant too.
"Zabini..." seethed the red-hair boy with a voice which suggested the two boys weren't going to shake hands and discuss pleasantries for the next hour. "Did your mother marry another man to steal his fortune? Which number is it? Fifth, this time?"
"At least my family has a fortune Weasley." The dark-skinned boy answered coldly, but with his fists tightening, it seemed the argument had not fallen off its mark."Seeing you dressed in these clothes make me wonder how far your House has fallen."
At this, Weasley appeared to be ready to strike Zabini, but the latter held his wand to the former's face, forcing him to withdraw rapidly from the compartment. Zabini then closed the door.
"Thanks for your help," the dark-skinned boy affirmed humorously.
"You seemed to handle the matter well," Alexandra retorted, shrugging. "But thanks anyway. I don't think I would have been able to read while Red hair was in this compartment."
"Typical Ravenclaw material," sighed the dark-skinned boy, causing Alexandra to raise an eyebrow. "Red hair's name is Weasley, Ronald Weasley, and he's a first year just like us." Zabini grimaced. "His family is considered a bit of a joke, since they are as pure-blooded as possible, but poor as dirt. And of course their tendency to have a lot of children doesn't help."
"Five kids is a lot?"
"Oh there are seven children, not five. Two are already out of Hogwarts, I'm told. The one you have just met begins this year with us. The last one, a girl, will enter next year."