Disclaimer: None of the characters in this fan fiction belongs to me. They're owned by J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. The only ones that belong to me are those that you don't recognize.

A/N: Thank you for the reviews. I love you guys!

To Lily Flower: If I tell you when James propose, that would ruin the surprise, wouldn't it? = )

To Brittny: Hilarious.

To Little House Girl: I haven't really thought about it yet. I don't think I will. But even if I do make them fight, I promise it'll be very small.

To DracoNGin527: Yes, I know I'm rushing things a bit, and for that I apologizes. Thanks for your help with the interview thingy. Oh well, too late to fix it now.

Chapter 14

It was the first day of work at the Witch Weekly. Lily and Bella are much less nervous, because they have both been through this already. Carla showed them to their work area and introduced them to a couple of other girls there.

"This is Katie," Carla said, gesturing towards a witch, in about her thirties. "She covers advertisements. You know, stuff that teenage girls like."

"Hi," Lily and Bella said.

"Hey," Katie replied with a warm smile.

"That's Sophie," Carla continued, pointing to another girl, working on something at her desk.

"She works on interviews." Then Carla added in a softer tone, "Sophie's nice, but don't ever bother her when she's busy. You don't want to know what happens when you do. And let's see…there's one person missing….she's probably out working on something. She'll be back later. I'll introduce you then. Anyways, I've got to go work on something else now. You guys can get started. If you need help, just ask Katie and (if she's not busy) Sophie. Good luck." Carla left.

Lily and Bella began working. A couple of hours later, a girl at exactly the same age as Lily and Bella showed up. She was very pretty with off-the-shoulders, dark blond hair and dark--almost black-- blue eyes. An unusual combination, yet this girl made it work somehow.

"Hey Lorie," Katie said.

"Hey." She walked over to Lily and Bella. "Hi!" she said cheerfully. "Carla told me you guys will be working here. I was a bit late, out looking for a new home…. Anyways, I'm Valorie Kunners. You can call me Lorie, though."

"Hi," Lily said. "I'm Lily."

"And I'm Bella."

Silence.

"What do you do, Lorie?" Bella asked.

"Huh?"

"I mean, what's your job here?"

"Oh. I'm responsible for the images…you know, on the cover and stuff to go with the articles and all."

"Ooh…"

"Yeah….So…Carla told me you guys went to Hogwarts."

"Yeah," Lily said. "What about you?"

"I went to Beauxbatons. I moved here right after I graduated."

"Cool…. What about your family?" Bella asked

"Oh…erm…my parents died when I was twelve. I didn't have any siblings."

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay."

They really hit it off. By the end of that day, Lorie had quickly became friends with Lily and Bella. In fact, Lily even invited Lorie over for dinner tomorrow.

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"Nice place," Lorie said, entering the apartment the next day.

"Thanks," Lily said. "We just move in about two months ago."

"You guys are so lucky. I got kicked out of my apartment a few days ago. That's why I was late yesterday. I was looking for a new place."

"Why were you kicked out?" Bella asked.

"Some other people came and offered more money for it. The owner--he's really greedy--took it right away. Came and told me I got to move."

"Why didn't you do anything about it?"

"Tried to, of course. But he said the other people really need it. So I thought moving out's the right thing to do. I mean, if they need it more than me, then they should get it."

"And now you don't have a place to stay?"

"Yup…I've been staying at the Leaky Cauldron…but it can't be a permanent home."

"You know…" Lily began slowly. "We have an extra room. Why don't you come live with us?"

"Really? I mean, I think that's great. But we did just meet each other yesterday. Do you guys trust me enough?"

"Why not?" Bella said. "We're the kind of people who gives everybody our trust, until they've proven that they don't deserves it. And you fully have our trust right now."

"Well…if you're sure…then thanks. Thanks a lot. Can I see the room?"

"Oh, yeah, of course." Lily led Lorie to the room; Bella went into the kitchen to prepare the food.

"This is it," Lily said. "It's a bit small, if you don't mind."

"Not at all. It's larger than the one at the Leaky Cauldron. And much more comfortable-looking too."

"It's ready for you, whenever you want to movie in."

"Well, I want to move out of the Leaky Cauldron as soon as possible. And I don't have much stuff. Can I just apparate to the Leaky Cauldron and magic some of it here? I'll bring the rest tomorrow."

"That's fine."

So, Lorie did. Then the girls sat down and ate dinner. They learn tons about each other.

"So…do you have a boyfriend?" Bella asked Lorie.

"Nah. My old boyfriend broke up with me when he found out I'm moving…you know, from France to here? Yeah, well, he said he couldn't handle a long distance relationship."

"I'm sorry."

"It's all right. I'm over him. What about you two?"

"We have steady boyfriends," Bella said. "They're coming over tomorrow. You can meet them then."

"Cool."

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A/N: Please review.