Chapter 3

….a thrilling rush of emotion…she could feel her knees trembling…not wanting anything except to stay in his arms forever…she had never felt like this…no one had made her feel like this…who knew kissing Malfoy would be so…wait, kissing Malfoy? Malfoy?!


            Hermione pulled back sharply and stared at the young man before her. For one moment he looked shocked at the lack of contact, but he soon recovered and smirked down at the girl in front of him.

Hermione spluttered. "Wha-what…WHAT IN THE HELL WAS THAT?!"

Malfoy rolled his eyes. "That, Granger, was what we humans call a 'kiss'. I knew Potter was inexperienced but he never even kissed you? Tsk, tsk."

"Of course he kissed me!" Snapped Hermione. "And I'm perfectly aware of what kissing is. And if you want to squabble over whether someone is human or not, talk to Pansy. What I meant was…" She took a deep breath. "Why the fuck did you just kiss me?!"

            "You might want to ask yourself that question, Hermione."

            "Why would I do that? If my memory serves me right, you were the one who kissed me." She was in such a fury she didn't realize he had used her first name.

            "Then why did you kiss back?" He shot at her.

            She stared at him dumbly. "Why would I kiss back?" she said. "I hate you."

            "All I know is that you were definitely kissing me. It is a fine line between love and hate after all." He looked smug.

            "How dare you insinuate that I…wait, why did you kiss me in the first place? You never answered my question!"

            For once, Malfoy looked at a loss for words. "I…I'm not sure, alright?" He ran a hand through his silvery-blond hair. "Something just kind of came over me and I…I must have been thinking you were someone else!" But you didn't, a little voice in the back of his head whispered. You knew you were kissing Granger, and what's more, you enjoyed it. He shook his head to clear the thought out. "Just don't go telling the whole school, alright? I have a reputation to maintain, a certain image I need to uphold."

            "You think you're the only one with a reputation? And what if Ron and Harry  found out, they'd…" She stopped mid-sentence, staring off into space. Malfoy could almost see the wheels working in her head, gears falling into place. She grinned, and it was a far cry from her usual smile. It seemed almost…wicked.

            "What if Ron and Harry found out…" She repeated. Then she threw back her head and laughed out loud. Malfoy stared at her like she was insane. She turned around to face him.

            "Malfoy," she began. "How would you like to change your reputation dramatically?"