Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Part 1 of 2

"Daphne!"

Daphne Greengrass straightened up in her seat upon hearing her name being called - well, screamed, really. Yes, screamed out by an impatient Pansy Parkinson, who was seated across from her and Hermione Granger at their table in the plush Nine Park Street restaurant in the Muggle part of London.

Anyone who knew them before the war would think it unusual that a Gryffindor war heroine would hang out with two Slytherins; but this has been the norm for two years running. Since they'd gone back to Hogwarts for their Eighth Year, the three ladies realized that they had more in common than the rest of their classmates. They struck an easy friendship and would go out for tea or cocktails almost weekly.

"Oh honestly Pansy, there is no need to yell," the svelte blonde frowned at her dark haired best friend.

"There is too, especially if the waiter's still standing here waiting to take your order," the fiery Slytherin bad girl said wryly.

Daphne blushed and ordered a Greek salad and a bowl of clam chowder. As the waiter politely bowed out, Daphne fell into a trance again - just when Pansy started talking. Hermione raised her eyebrow at the beautiful Pureblood, and raised a hand to stop Pansy from going into detail about her latest conquest. The green-eyed owner of Parkinson's Designs made a face. "What now?"

Hermione gazed thoughtfully at Daphne. She was always the proper Pureblood - attentive and ready to acknowledge. The curly-haired brunette carefully followed her friend's line of sight. Surely she must have found something interesting, she thought.

Her eyes widened when she saw what - or rather who - caught their friend's attention. Seated at the far end of the room, seemingly waiting for someone, is none other than Slytherin's rebel without a cause, the elusive Theodore Nott, jr.

Kicking Pansy's leg under the table, she pointed at the reason for their friend's current state. Pansy couldn't care less. Theo Nott was one of the worst clients she's ever had. She was annoyed at the two girls she was having lunch with, especially since she was telling them about her hot date; but as she was about to open her cigarette case for a quick drag, she remembered Nott telling her that he was on leave yesterday because he had business to take care of. Upset about the transaction with Nott Industries taking longer to close out, she called Daphne to rant - only to be told by her secretary that "Miss Greengrass left with a fine-looking gentleman named Theodore." Pansy broke into a smile akin to a cat who'd just caught herself a canary.

"Daphne, darling," Pansy said sweetly, distracting the beautiful blonde from her trance. "Is there something you're not telling us?"

Daphne cleared her throat, and started playing with the napkin in front of her. "I don't think so, Pans."

"Really? So nothing interesting happened you lately?"

Daphne's face flushed. "No. What makes you think that?"

"Oh nothing," Pansy said haughtily. "It's just that you can't seem to stop salivating at the glorious sight that is Theodore Nott."

Daphne broke into sweat despite the cool atmosphere. She was meaning to tell her friends about her date with Theo, but was afraid they might not take it well. They were completely opposites - she followed the rules, while he broke them; she always had a plan, while he was more spontaneous. People would immediately dismiss them as a mismatch.

"You know it's alright if you like him, Daph," Hermione said, cutting through the tension. "I think he's cute."

Daphne nodded, and thanked her levelheaded friend. She never would've come out of Pansy's interrogation alive after all.

"Well?"

"Well," Daphne started, nervously. "Just promise me you won't judge me alright? You know this is so unbecoming of a lady."

Pansy rolled her eyes and lighted a cigarette. "What are you, sixteen?"

Hermione frowned at Pansy before turning her attention back at Daphne, who had now turned several shades redder. "We won't judge you, Daph," she assured. "I lost my virginity to Viktor in Sixth Year when he visited Hogwarts for a weekend."

Daphne gasped in surprise. "Oh Hermione, I thought you and I are the only virgins left in the world!"

"It's not too late. You can still have sex you know," Pansy said, as she dragged on her cigarette. She frowned when she saw that Hermione wasn't amused. Damn that goody-two-shoe, she thought. Then again, that goody-two-shoe was the reason she managed to get inside her hot date's pants last night. She sighed, "I lost my virginity to Blaise in the summer leading to our Fifth Year."

"I thought it was sooner than that," Daphne blurted out jokingly before she patted Pansy's hand and smiled.

"I saw Theo at Millie's house last week. He and Marcus were talking business," she said, as she tucked a stray lock of blonde hair behind her ear. "It was nearly supper, so they invited him to stay over too. At first, I was annoyed because I only know him from school as our resident bad boy and we didn't really talk back then. But he's a lot different now."

Hermione and Pansy took turns sipping their tea, while Daphne continued. "We talked about safe topics at first, and then he talked about Puddlemere United, which was his favorite Quidditch Team!" the usually reserved Slytherin said, her eyes sparkling. Both her friends knew the easiest way to this woman's heart is through her favorite Quidditch Team. "So he asked me if I wanted to go to the game with him Thursday night, and I said yes. He sent me messages everyday since then. But Thursday came, and he got caught up at work, so we had to cancel."

"I was a little upset. I was really looking forward to watching the game," she said before meeting her friends' skeptical faces. "Alright, I wanted to see him too, so I did something bold…"

Hermione and Pansy set their tea cups aside and leaned forward, not wanting to miss out on the details.

"I sent him a message saying how upset I was," Daphne clapped her hands together while Pansy elbowed Hermione and rolled her eyes. The svelte blonde was not to be deterred however, as she went on speaking with her voice getting louder with excitement. "He wrote me back immediately and he said we'll spend the whole day together. So yesterday…"

Daphne paused when she heard someone clear his throat. She blushed. "Yesterday, he picked me up in a Muggle car. It was Draco's and he owes Theo a favor. At first, he just drove around because we really didn't know where to go. Then, we decided to go to the beach," she said and then blushed. "He held my hand while he was driving. He told me that I have such smooth hands."

"Way to get into your - oof!" Pansy started before Hermione elbowed her. "Watch it, Gryffindor. That hurt!"

"So then he raised my hand to his face and said it smelled like peaches…"

"Smooth talker…" it was Hermione's turn to react when Pansy held her arm to silence her. "We're listening. Sorry."

Daphne nodded. "After a while, he said that he thinks we'd make a good pair and then he kissed…"

"You kissed?" Hermione and Pansy exclaimed before someone cleared his throat once more.

Daphne blushed. "He kissed my hand," she whispered, turning beet red. She reached for her glass and was about to drink when she added, "We spent the whole day getting to know each other."

Pansy's eyes widened. "You had sex?"

Daphne almost choked on her water. "What? No! We talked about our interests and a lot of other things," she said smiling as she thought about their easy exchange while walking along the beach, the waves washing their feet. At one point, after she'd teased the blue-eyed rebel about being a softie. Without a warning, the tall and well-built Slytherin snickered as he swung her over his shoulder like a caveman, ran to the water and pretended to drop her. She couldn't stop shrieking and laughing.

"Uh, Daph? Please get a hold of yourself," Hermione whispered.

"You're smiling like a serial killer," Pansy added in a soft voice while covering her face with her left hand. "I think you're scaring people."

The porcelain skinned Pureblood winced. This was beyond embarrassing, she thought. If her mother found out how she's been acting…

"Well, it seems like you had a good time," Hermione said. "Did he kiss you goodnight?"

"Just my hand again when he dropped me off at my building," she said quietly. "I am seeing him again tomorrow."

Hermione and Pansy squealed in delight, not minding if they looked like a group of teenagers talking about boys for the first time. By the looks of it, their friend was finally going to have a love life…

Or at least that's what she says.