Chapter Two

George’s POV

It’s not his fault. 

He told himself over and over. Still, George could not help feeling jealous of Cedric Diggory. He knew Cedric had done nothing wrong, he’d just talked to the girl, but George could not help almost snarling at the Hufflepuff boy every time he met him. Why, why, why did perfect Diggory have to be the one to be Ediline’s friend? Why couldn’t he be the one to talk to her and be the one to make friends with her and make her laugh? 

George regretted his choice to be put in Gryffindor. The Sorting Hat had wondered if George could fit Hufflepuff, but George hadn’t wanted to lose another chance to be as good as his twin brother. At that time, he’d rejected the offer. But then, only after he was Sorted, he’d seen Ediline. She caught his eye, a beautiful girl who was in the House he could have been but wasn’t. Now, what he wouldn’t give to move to Hufflepuff. To be able to call Ediline his best friend. To be a boy whom Ediline knew not only as another boy in her class, but a boy whom she could talk to, and laugh with.

If he had known a month, no, even just a week ago, that now he’d give anything to join Hufflepuff House, he’d have died from laughter and/or shock. 

Now all he could do was listen to Erika talk to Fred and glance - only to be more jealous - at the three Hufflepuffs, who were becoming fast friends.

Erika’s POV

Erika looked up from her conversation with Fred at Ediline. Her twin sister, usually reserved, had opened up to her new friends, Cedric Diggory and Maya Weaver. She smiled as she watched the three of them giggle at something Ediline had said. 

Erika had known that Ediline was shy and had been worried that she would not have any friends if they were separated. So it was a happy surprise when she saw that Cedric and Maya had volunteered to be Ediline’s friends and had managed to convince her to come out of her shell. The friendship between the three was growing fast, and both were helping the other as well. 

Erika was not complaining about the unfairness, however, as her own new friends were great additions to her life as well, and she had a lot of fun with them. A boy named Lee, who Fred and George had known for a while, had been introduced to her. She had a lot of fun with all three boys, but she realised that George wasn’t really like the other two. He didn’t really seem so confident as Fred was, and wasn’t as outgoing, or loud. She also noticed that his attention was often averted to the three Hufflepuffs, or more accurately, Ediline.

She could see why he was attracted to her. Ediline was definitely beautiful and attractive, and both her and George were very similar. They were the less noticed twin, the less popular, and also the less extroverted. Erika often caught George glancing longingly at the Hufflepuff table, looking forlorn as he watched the three Hufflepuffs who were becoming inseparable. 

Erika also sometimes wondered if Cedric liked Ediline. He didn’t show it as obviously as George did, but he was always watching her and smiling at her, and his face was brighter when she was there. She made him happier, and he also sometimes tried to ask her questions about herself without sounding awkward. Maya did too, but Ediline seemed to be the only one who could really cheer him up after a long day, or a letter from his father.

So Erika wasn’t surprised when George seemed to be extremely jealous of Cedric, and upset when the two of them got too close, like when Cedric whispered into Ediline’s ear, which was more often than not. 

What confused her more than that, was her own feelings. Why did she feel so annoyed when George was looking at Ediline glumly? Why was she jealous of Ediline? Was she? Erika sighed, wishing she could talk to her about it. But Edi - Maya had come up with that nickname - only had Herbology with Erika, and that was one of the classes that she hated, and therefore needed more concentration than other classes. Funny how that was one of the classes Edi excelled in.

Maybe she could catch Edi in the library, or at lunch. Erika smiled and stood up, leaving the lunch table to get to her next class.