For The Love of Cake

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, so it stands to reason that I don't own Harry Potter.

PAIRINGS: HG/DG mentioned HG/RW AG/BZ mentioned AG/DM also background DM/HP if you like this one, R&R to let me know if you'd like to see a companion Drarry piece or a sequel. As I said earlier, I have nothing, I live off of reviews. Save me.

Lavender entered the Gryffindor commons, looking rather miffed, alongside a bored Parvati and an enraged Padma, stomping about and slamming things. The Gryffindor Quidditch team entered right after them, coming back from practice, staring. Hermione shrugged at Ginny's look. She really didn't care what the girls were angry about.

"Problems?" Ginny offered, going to sit down.

"That Parkinson bitch." Padma spat, "she's dating Daphne!"

"Pansy Parkinson?" Hermione frowned, looking up from her essay. All three girls nodded. Hermione seethed inwardly but outwardly, "who cares who she's dating?"

"They're jealous." Ginny teased, sitting beside Parvati who grinned at her.

"Yes well, I need to go to the library." Hermione sighed, gathering her things. "I'm sure it's all rather tragic, and I'm sorry for your loss." she offered before swinging her bag around her shoulder and slipping out the portrait hole. As soon as she was in the hall, a dark look over came her face and she stomped all the way to the library.

Surprisingly, she found Daphne and Pansy there, Daphne bent over her Potions book and Pansy watching her. She rolled her eyes, sitting down her bag. She couldn't escape either Slytherin these days. Draco sat to Daphne's left and looked up as she got her things out, catching her eye. He smirked and waved a hand, beckoning the muggle born. Hermione didn't appreciate being beckoned but she was curious. In their eighth year, Draco and the Slytherins had avoided them entirely, other than Daphne but she didn't want to think about that. Despite her want not to, she still remembered the first week back and how Daphne had flirted.

Hermione froze, turning to face the Slytherin she'd just realized was behind her. Daphne grinned back, tall and lean for a girl.

"Hello, Hermione."

"Hello." Hermione replied, too close for her own comfort. Daphne leaned up, stretching up on to her toes to replace a book, her cologne intoxicating and Hermione pressed her back into the shelves to get some space.

Daphne replaced the book and smirked again,

"you look lovely," she paused, "did you know?"

"Thank you." was the best Hermione's fried brain could supply.

"You should let me take you out." Daphne grinned, leaning casually against the book shelves, "Hogsmeade or, well, whatever you like."

"No." had been the best Hermione had and she'd hurried off.

"Draco." she nodded politely, "I don't appreciate being beckoned quite like that, what do you want?"

"Help, actually." Draco replied, leaning back, "I'd rather not hunt down the book and Daphne and I are having issues with our project."

"You know as much about Potions as I do, Draco." Hermione replied coldly, "bollocks." He grinned, shaking his head and going to close the book. Transfiguration. "Oh, well, alright. What's your question?" she chose to ignore that Daphne was the only one with a Potions book and hoped Draco would too. She got her wish.

"If one wanted to change the type of dragon they were transfiguring, which part of the spell would they change?" Draco asked, "the prefix or the suffix?"

"Prefix." Hermione nodded, "with everything else, aside from furniture, it is the suffix." He nodded and she scowled, "you're welcome." She turned to go and a hand shot out, grabbing her wrist to stop her but let go. She looked down at Daphne who propped herself on her book, grinning,

"so, have you been to the Gryffindor commons recently?"

"I just came from there." Hermione nodded, determined not to show any type of disappointment or reaction. Daphne's grin widened,

"and Patil? How is she?"

"Fine." Hermione replied coldly, "why?"

"Well, she asked me out earlier," Daphne replied, "I said no, and all three left rather... angrily. I was just wondering."

"They're fine." Hermione replied again, turning and walking off again, disappearing amongst the shelves.

Pansy Parkinson had some nerve looking so smugly at her. She wondered if Daphne had told her how Hermione had turned her down, what she'd thought, and what she was thinking now. Maybe it had all been a prank gone wrong, pick on the muggle born. Pansy and Hermione had never got on well. She paused, selecting a book and frowned, moving to another aisly. She'd never got on with Pansy at all, or Draco and his cronies. She'd even had a minor incident with Zabini. But Daphne? She'd never spoken to her at all really. Occasionally the Slytherin had said something but not- Hermione shrieked, leaping back as a shadow moved.

Blaise Zabini stood there, wrapped in a billowing cloak and set of black robes, staring at her. She'd been so deep in thought that she hadn't noticed him at all and had been frightened when he'd moved. It was darker here, by the restricted section in the Potions aisle, and the italian had been standing in an alcove. She stared, blushing, and her books scattered on the floor.

Suddenly, the aisle lit up and she turned, knowing who it was. Draco and Daphne, wands held high and Pansy hiding behind them, looking fierce.

"you alright?" Daphne asked, "we heard a scream."

"I'd be just fine if your whole lot would stop feeding the Slytherin stereotype," Hermione replied curtly, crouching and gathering her books, muttering, "bloody Slytherins, always sneaking around in dark places, frightening people." she stood, spotting Blaise's amused smirk, "I hope you lose to Ginny so badly you cry about it, Blaise." Then, nose in the air and shoulders back, she stalked off.