AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Okay, all the mushy stuff was written by me. That seems to be my forte…Anyways, if you all haven't guessed, each of us writers has a certain character that we write about. And I think that it was obvious who my character is…*winks*. Okay…Christine's character is Paige, and Kit's is Naturi. Each one of us will let you get to know the characters of the three girls in our own way, but each of us try to write about the other's characters as much as we can.

Hopefully this chapter is not to corny for you. PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!!!

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The next morning, Paige woke up early, eager to be starting her new classes. She was still upset about her fight with Edi, but decided she would worry about that later.

After making about five wrong turns, she finally found the Great Hall, her stomach rumbling with hunger.

She saw Ron sitting at the table by himself, eating a large pile of pancakes. He looked up and smiled as he saw Paige heading toward him.

"Hey," he said, pouring more syrup onto his plate.

"Hi," said Paige. "Is Harry awake yet?"

Ron frowned. "Er...no, I don't think so," he said.

"Oh," said Paige, a bit disappointed.

"So...how do like Hogwarts so far?" asked Ron, trying his best to make conversation.

"It's really nice," she said. "I think I'm really going to love it here."

"I'm sure you will," said Ron. Just then, they were both joined by Harry and Hermione.

"Good morning!" said Hermione cheerfully.

"Hi," said Paige. "Harry thanks again for letting me ride your Firebolt last night!"

Harry blushed and sat down next to her.

"Oh, no problem," he said, avoiding Ron's eye. He knew Ron would be jealous that Paige had gotten to ride Harry's broomstick.

"So...what time do classes start?" asked Paige, reaching for her schedule.

"Nine o'clock," said Hermione. "And we start with Defense Against the Dark Arts! I'm really excited to see who our new teacher is! Although...I didn't notice anybody at the feast last night, did any of you?"

"Nope," said Ron thickly.

"Ron, please don't talk with your mouth open!" said Hermione exasperatedly.

Ron shrugged. "'Kay, Mione," he said, his mouth still full.

Hermione sighed and turned to Harry. "Anyway, I do hope they've managed to find somebody! Wouldn't that be awful if they hadn't?"

"That depends," said Harry, "If they wanted to hire somebody like Umbridge, then I think we'd be better off without!"  (posted by Christine)

Edi entered the great hall with Draco for breakfast. She looked over the Gryffindor table and saw Paige already there, eating and laughing with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. She felt a knot on her chest as she remembered what had happened last night. Then she saw Paige look up. Their eyes met and she almost waved at her but stopped herself. Harry, Ron, and Hermione all looked up as well and smiled at her. Edi left her face blank and kept her head up as she turned to head over to her house table. She could feel, Paige, Harry, Ron, and Hermione's eyes on her, and she felt sad. She really wanted to be with them, but after their confrontation last night, she decided to avoid them as much as possible. She sat at the far end of Slytherin table, closest to the entrance. Draco sat across from her.

"Are you alright?" Draco had asked her concerned. He reached for hand on the table gave it a squeeze. Edi looked at him and gave him a grateful smile.

"Yes, I am Draco," she answered determined to be happy. "Thank you."

Draco smiled at her then turned to glare at Harry and his friends who were watching them. Harry glared back at him then turned back to his breakfast.

Draco was still holding Edi's hand as they ate their food. Edi didn't seemed to be bothered by this, because she didn't try to pull her hand away. On the contrary, she rather liked it. However, she wasn't going to tell him anything,

"Edi?" a voice from behind her called. Edi turned to see Naturi standing there. "Can I talk to you right quick?"

Edi saw that Naturi had looked at Draco and smiled at him, batting her eyelashes. She turned to look back at Draco to see his reaction. He had a grim, forced smile on his lips that looked like it was hurting him the longer he had it on. Draco turned his gaze to Edi, winked, and smiled, genuinely, at her. She smiled back and Draco gave her hand another squeeze as she got up. Naturi saw the gesture and felt her temper rise. But, she was more shocked that Edi got herself a boyfriend so quickly.

"Be right back," Edi mouthed to Draco. She walked with Naturi and they stood by the wall by the giant doors.

"Yes Naturi?" Edi asked, leaning against the wall. Naturi crossed her arms on her chest and gave Edi a questioning look.

"What?" Edi snapped, not appreciating the look Naturi was giving her.

"What's going on with you Edi?" Naturi asked in a quiet voice, so only Edi could hear.

"What do you mean?" Edi asked, trying to hold her temper. "If you just came to tell me that I'm stupid for hanging around with Draco, Naturi, just forget it! You're just wasting your time!"

"Edi, didn't you listen to what Harry, Ron, and Hermione said about him yesterday on the train?" Naturi asked, letting her hands fall to her sides. "He's bad news, Edi! Everyone in the school knows that! And…he's a Slytherin!"

"Well so am I!" Edi yelled at her, her temper obviously getting the best of her. "If you haven't noticed, you and Paige seemed to have made your little cliques upon getting sorted into your houses. And that's just fine? What is it to you two who I become friends with?"

Everyone in the hall had heard Edi yelling and all had turned to watch the confrontation. Paige and Hermione both had their hands on their mouths, and Harry and Ron both have their mouths open, eyes wide. Draco had a grim look on his face as he watched and listened to Edi get angry.

"Edi calm down!" Naturi pleaded, obviously embarrassed that everyone was watching and listening to them. "Look, I know you didn't want to get sorted into Slytherin. And believe me, Paige and I were just as shocked when you did! We just want you to be careful who you pick for a friend, that's all!"

"I don't need you or Paige to tell me who I can or cannot be friends with!" Edi said through gritted teeth. "I'm sorry if I don't live up to both you're standards on the people I choose to be friends with. Well, you know what? The vows we all made on the train? To stay friends no matter what? CONSIDER THEM SEVERED!"

And with that, she turned on her heels and ran out of the Great Hall before anyone could stop her.

"Edi!" Draco cried as he got up to run after her, glaring at Naturi as he passed her. Naturi sighed as she looked at Paige over the heads of the other students.

"I'm sorry!" she mouthed to her. Cho and Marietta had rushed over to her to try to comfort her as they escorted her over to their table.

"Well, that didn't turn out the way I wanted to!" Naturi said sadly. Cho and Marietta just looked at each other but said nothing.

"Edi, stop!" Draco called, running after her.  She was running towards the lake outside the castle. "Damn she can run!" he muttered to himself as he tried to run faster to gain on her.

Edi ran towards the edge of the lake and fell on her knees on the ground. She buried her face in her hands and started crying uncontrollably. Draco slowed down to a pace when he neared her, and felt his stomach lurch when he heard her sobbing. He stopped a couple of feet away from her and put his hands in his pants pockets, uncertain on whether or not to approach her. He decided to wait until she had calmed down. 

"I can't believe that this is happening!" Paige said in between sobs. Harry still had his arm around her trying to comfort her. Ron was holding Hermione, who was also crying. Hermione knew all too well what it feels like to not have any friends, so she knew what Edi was going through.

"Look, Paige," Harry said. "I know you don't agree with Edi being friends with Draco. But, maybe if we just let her find out for herself what kind of person he really is, she'll realize that she had made a mistake."

Paige, Ron, and Hermione looked at Harry, aghast.

"I can't believe that you're even suggesting that Harry," Ron exclaimed. "Draco Malfoy is a total git! He'll end up hurting Edi and then she'll be worse off than she already is!"

Paige and Hermione nodded their heads in agreement. Harry narrowed his eyes at Ron, but tried not to get angry with him.

"I know Malfoy is a git, Ron!" Harry said calmly. "But Edi feels left out! Paige is with us, and Naturi had made friends with the Ravenclaws. The Slytherins are not exactly friendly. I'm surprised that Draco was even being civil to her!"

Ron's mouth opened and closed, like a fish out of water, but no words came out. Paige and Hermione looked at each other and nodded. They both realized that Harry was right. Edi needed friends right now. And even if it had to be Draco, well then, at least she won't be alone.

"I can't believe she's being so self-centered!" Naturi complained to Cho and Marietta, who just looked at each other with raised eyebrows. "She just wants attention!"

"I don't think so Naturi," Cho said. "I think that she just felt left out. I mean, come on! She got sorted into Slytherin! That lot is the meanest in the whole school! And you don't just make friends that easily in Slytherin house.

"Cho is right, Naturi," Marietta added. "Yeah, Malfoy is the worst of the lot, but he somehow befriended her. Maybe, because she's not snotty like the rest of the Slytherin girls. Which makes Edi more of an outcast."

Naturi knew that Cho and Marietta were right. Edi wasn't the type of girl who was snotty or mean. She felt an instant liking for her when she first met her.  What she was feeling inside was more of jealousy than anger. Naturi was used to being the center of attention and was flocked upon by boys in her old school. But she also felt upstaged by Edi because Draco seemed to like her instead of Naturi.

"But not for long!" she thought wickedly to herself. She decided that she didn't want to talk about Edi anymore. She reached for her schedule and studied it. She smiled when she saw that the Ravenclaws were with Slytherin for Herbology right before lunch. 

"I will get Draco to notice me and make him forget about Edi!" she said to herself again, smiling.

"What are you smiling about?" Marietta asked, eyeing her warily.

"Nothing," Naturi said nonchalantly. Marietta looked at Cho who just shrugged and shook her head. (posted by me)

Naturi walked alone to the greenhouse. She did consider herself a spoiled brat every now and then. She generally got what she wanted. Guys, money, and her way. She nearly hated herself for it. Unlike some people she knew, she had inner demons. Voices of her conscience seemed to tell her this and that. They were the demons as they caused so much trouble. No matter what she chose, she always regretted it.

Her dark blue eyes no longer looked the least bit happy. She was an actor, a con artist. Tricking people everyday to believe she was something she wasn't. She hated getting too close to people. She flicked her blue-tinged, long, black hair over her shoulder as she neared the Herbology classroom.

She saw Professor Sprout letting the class enter. She hurried towards the door. She was late. What was with her and being on time? She couldn't manage it. Another flaw of hers she hated.

She entered the greenhouse, most looked at her.

"Sorry I'm late Professor."

Her eyes rested a moment on Draco and Edi, before she watched as the Professor demonstrated what they were meant to do.

The Professor instructed how to look after a plant with a red flower that resembled that of flower native to Australia called the Warratah. Naturi listened carefully. She had always been interested in wildlife.

Jealousy seemed to grow as her eyes kept wandering away from the plant in her hands. She tried to shake away her thoughts and just get through the class.

Although the class was filled with Ravenclaws and Slytherins, she only knew Edi, and Malfoy, but no students of her own house. She'd befriended students older than her and, of course, they wouldn't be in her class.

She sighed, louder than she wanted to but paid no attention to the eyes that watched her, wondering why she was alone. She was used to attention, bad or good. It was just the way she was. Her past made her who she was today. (posted by Kit)

Edi had ignored Naturi all through Herbology. She and Draco had a long talk out by the lake this morning. Apparently, he had run after her when she took off after her 'talk' with Naturi. He had waited until she had calmed down before he approached her. Draco let her tell him everything she had bottled up inside. His heart really went out to her and before he knew it, he had kissed her on the lips. Edi, who was surprised, didn't pull away however. When they broke the kiss, he held her in his arms until the bell rang to signal the start of the first class. They both got up reluctantly. They hurried back to the Great Hall, as they both had left their things in there.

Edi saw Paige, Harry, Ron, and Hermione but chose to ignore them. And to add to their annoyance by her ignoring them, she grabbed Draco's hand and held onto him all the way to Transfiguration. Draco just smiled at her, impressed by her spunkiness. When they got to class, everyone turned to look at them as they sat in front of the class next to each other. Edi ignored the looks and gave Draco a warm smile.

In Herbology, they chose to be partners in taking care of the Warratah.  Edi felt Naturi looking at them as they talked softly to each other, faces almost touching. But Edi also noticed that Naturi was alone. But she didn't feel sorry for her at the least.

"Good!" she said to herself. "Now she knows what it's like to be alone!" (posted by me)

Herbology seemed extremely long and extremely painful as Naturi stood alone and the jealousy swelled. Edi was her friend, but she was sure she wasn't Edi's. She should at least be happy that Edi was happy. The demons did not agree, at the least, with this.

Naturi wished anything, practically anything, would happen. The sky was growing slightly darker with the grey clouds.

A familiar sound came to the attention of Naturi and the rest of the class; the cawing of a crow.

"I hate it when those bloody birds do that!" Professor Sprout said, sounding quite annoyed by it. Naturi turned and looked out of the glass greenhouse. On the path outside, she saw the shadow of a bird sweep its way across it.

Naturi knew, all too well, what was going to happen. She backed away from the glass. There was one last caw before the black blur swooped through the window. Broken glass flew through the air. Luckily, everyone ducked.

After the glass fell to the ground, the class stood upright again; the crow flying in circles above their heads. Only Naturi dared to walk underneath its circle of flight.

"Hequel!" she yelled. The crow's attention was immediately caught. It had almost been waiting for her to say something. With her elbow bent, she put her arm up. Easily, the crow landed on her arm and cawed happily.

"What did you think you were doing?" Naturi asked annoyed. The crow replied but seemed to shuffle across her arm one way then the other as if nervous.

"I don't care if you just felt like doing that!" Hequel retorted back. The class stood staring, having no idea what the crow was saying. Naturi shook her head.

"Just go!" She raised her arm as Hequel turned and took flight. He hovered at the window for a second when she called out, "And don't cause any more trouble!"

A long silence started from then on. (posted by Kit)

Edi and Draco both walked into the Great Hall for lunch.  Edi saw heads turn her way as she walked in but decided to ignore them. Then she felt someone squeeze her hand. She looked up and gave Draco a grateful smile. Draco smiled back and led her to their spot on the Slytherin table. They both sat next to each other, with their backs facing the big windows of the Hall. Edi knew that everyone was staring at them but she didn't care. 

"Hello Draco!" a voice said from behind. Edi leaned back to see Pansy hugging Draco from behind. She wasn't sure why, but she felt anger towards that action. Draco grabbed Pansy's arms and tried to pull them off him.

"What do you want Pansy?" Draco growled. He turned to look at Edi apologetically. Edi just smiled at him. 

"Well, I just thought I'd say hi," Pansy said, smiling sweetly at him. "And I thought maybe you and I can go for a walk together by the lake later."

"Sorry Pansy," Draco said, not looking at her. "But I'm busy."

He had said this while looking at Edi. Edi blushed, but she smiled at him, even though she could feel the evil eyes that Pansy was giving her.

"Oh come on now, Draky," Pansy said trying to hug him again. Draco grabbed her arms again and pushed them away. 

"Don't call me that!" he hissed at her standing up to face her. "And I already told you, I'm busy!"

"Busy with what exactly, Draco?" Pansy asked scathingly, glaring at Edi, who glared back at her.

"Well, if you must know Pansy, I'm going to be walking by the lake with my girlfriend," Draco told her. He held out his hand behind him towards Edi. She was confused at first but Edi realized that Draco was trying to get rid of Pansy so she took his hand and stood up. She glared at Pansy again, this time with a smirk. Draco gave her hand a squeeze, as if saying 'thank you' but didn't look at her.

"Sh- she's your girlfriend?" Pansy exclaimed a little too loudly making everyone in the hall stop whatever it was that they were doing and turn their heads to the scene. "But Draco! You just met her!"

Draco let Edi's hand go and put his arm around her shoulders. He turned to look at her and gave her a wink.

"Ever heard of 'love at first sight', Pansy?" Draco asked. He couldn't believe that he'd said that, but he wasn't going to let Pansy know that he was just playing around. He felt Edi jerk next to him when he had said it but just held her tighter. He also heard some gasps behind him from the other students in the hall. He kept looking at Pansy for her reaction.

Pansy's mouth had dropped open, but she couldn't say anything. She was obviously in shock. She couldn't believe that Draco was actually in love, with someone else. She gave Edi a piercing glare and then turned on her heels and headed towards her friends at the other end of the table.  

Draco slid his arm off of Edi but grabbed her hand. He leaned close to her and kissed her on the cheek.

"I'm sorry," he whispered in her ear. When he pulled away, he saw that Edi had blushed but was smiling at him, making him let out a sigh of relief. They sat back down and ate their lunch together, whispering and laughing quietly about what had just happened.

Paige, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were all in shock.  They had witnessed what had happened and they couldn't believe it.

"Is that the same Draco Malfoy?" Ron asked bewildered. "Did he just say that he's in love?"

"Yes it is, Ron," Harry answered, shaking his head. "And yes, he did."

"I can't believe that Draco is actually in love with someone other than himself!" Hermione said. "I mean, it's just unimaginable!"

"But they do look happy though," Paige pointed out. She hadn't taken her eyes off Edi and Draco, who were talking and laughing with each other, heads close together. Harry, who was sitting next to Paige, looked up to follow her gaze.

"Yeah, they do don't they?" he said, smiling. But inside, he hoped that Draco was not just manipulating Edi. Ron and Hermione had both turned to look at the couple and smiled too. They turned back to eating and talking about their first classes.

"Oh, that was so sweet!" cried Marietta. "Surprising! But sweet!"

"Yeah, who would have thought that the big bad Malfoy would actually fall in love with a real girl!" Cho chimed in. The two girls laughed softly. Everyone had seen Draco with Pansy and had always thought that he was crazy for being with her. But now, now it's different. He's different.

"Well at least Edi's not alone anymore," Naturi said. Cho and Marietta looked at her.

"Aren't you happy for her?" Marietta asked.

"Yes! Of course I am!" Naturi smiled. Inside though, she was livid. She wanted Draco. Now she had to think of a way to break him and Edi up.

"I always get what I want!" she said to herself. "And no one is going to stand in my way."

Draco and Edi got up and headed towards the entrance after they'd finished their lunch. They were holding hands, and both knew that everyone was watching them. Draco's mouth formed a mischievous smile as a thought struck him.

"Why not make it more believable for them?" he thought to himself. Before they stepped out of the Hall, he stopped and pulled Edi close to him. He held her in tight hug, leaned his face down, and kissed a very shocked Edi on the lips. He hoped against hope that Edi wouldn't be mad. But to his great relief and surprise, Edi had wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back just as passionately. When they pulled apart, Draco had a very satisfied smile on his face.

"Wow!" he whispered to Edi. Edi blushed, but laughed softly to Draco's reaction.

"Let's go," she told him. He nodded his head and once again put his arm around her shoulders. She responded by putting her arm around his waist. Everyone who saw them was in shock. Not because of Edi, but because they couldn't believe that Draco was actually in love! Pansy, on the other hand, was being restrained by her friends, from getting up. She obviously didn't like what she saw and was going to do something about. She thought she saw Edi smirk at her, and that just infuriated her more.

"I'm going to get that wench!" Pansy swore.

Paige had watched Edi and Draco leave the Great Hall in each other's arms.  She had tears in her eyes, but she was smiling. 

"Paige?" Harry called. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she assured him. "I'm just happy for Edi, that's all."

"Look, why don't you try talking to her again?" Harry suggested, reaching for her hand. Ron and Hermione saw this and looked at each other with raised eyebrows. "Tell her that you apologize and would like to be her friend again. And Draco's."

"Harry are you mad?" Ron asked shocked. "Do you really think that Draco will be friends with any of us?"

"Harry's right, Ron," Hermione interjected. "If Paige or any of us still want to be friends with Edi, we all have to accept Draco too."

Ron sighed resigningly. He knew that they were right. But just the thought of actually being friends with Malfoy left a nasty taste in his throat.

"Yeah, Harry," Paige finally said. "I'll talk to her again. I just hope that she'll forgive me."

"Or us," Ron said. Harry nodded his head to Paige and gave her hand a squeeze. Paige looked in Harry's eyes and smiled gratefully.  (post by me)

Hermione noticed the looks between Harry and Paige and she smiled. She wondered if Harry was just being nice or if her best friend really had a crush. She opted for the latter and decided that those two needed to get to know each other better.

"Well, I'm off to the library," she announced, gathering her things. "Ron, why don't you go with me?"

"Awww, but Hermione!" Ron protested. Hermione glared at him, and rolled her eyes towards Harry and Paige. Ron finally caught on. "Oh alright! I hate it when you give me that look!"

Harry looked at Hermione quizzically. Hermione smiled at him and gave him a knowing look. Harry smiled back and nodded his head, grateful that she's very understanding. 

"Well, I'll see you two later then," Paige said, smiling. She almost laughed when she saw the disgruntled look on Ron's face, but she decided not to. Hermione smiled at her and grabbed Ron's arm and told him to hurry up.

"I'm going! I'm going!" Ron groaned. He looked over his shoulder and said bye to Harry and Paige, who were watching them very amused.

"When are those two just going to tell each other that they like each other?" Paige asked, chuckling, turning to look at Harry. He laughed and shook his head.

"I don't know," he replied. "They're both very stubborn!" Paige just smiled and nodded her head.

"So, what do we do now?" she asked shyly, tucking her hair behind her ear, a habit of hers when she's nervous.

"Well, we don't have classes until later this afternoon," Harry said smiling. "You want to go up to the common room?"

Paige looked at him and smiled. "Okay. I need to start on some of this homework anyway."

Harry laughed. "What?" Paige asked puzzled.

"Nothing," Harry said. "You just reminded me of Hermione. She gets into her schoolwork and stuff."

Paige pretended to be insulted.

"Well, what else are we supposed to do then?" she asked with a wry grin.  "Obviously Hermione wanted to be alone with Ron.  That's why she didn't ask us to go to the library with them."

Harry laughed again, this time reaching for her hand and holding it.

"Come on," he said, getting up. "I have a better idea!"

Paige got up reluctantly, her hand still in Harry's. She smiled at him and turned to walk to the entrance. Behind her, Harry let out a nervous sigh. He really liked her, but he didn't want her to think of him as being pushy or anything bad. He just hoped that she'll like him in the future.

When they reached the entrance, they saw Pansy and her friends stepping out of the Great Hall. She was still fuming about Draco and Edi.

"She better start sleeping with one eye open!" they heard her say. Paige stopped in her tracks, making Harry stop suddenly, and it was all he could do to keep himself from knocking into her.

"Harry, did you hear that?" Paige asked as she turned to look at him, with her eyes wide.

"Yeah, I did," Harry replied. He hurried past her, pulling on her hand. "Come on! We need to find Edi and talk to her." (Posts by me)

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What has Pansy got cooked up? Will Paige and Edi become friends again? Is Draco just using Edi like Harry and his friends think? What is Naturi scheming to do?

STAY TUNED FOR THE NEXT EPISODE OF "AS THE HOGWARTS WORLD TURNS" !!!