Not the Way Fate Had Planned

Thanks guys for the awesome reviews! -feels extra special- So, here's chapter 4, sooner than ever, and (hopefully) better ;D Even more hopefully…hopefully I won't get a writer's block after this chappie o.O;

Disclaimer: Oh, woe is me! Its horrible but I don't actually own Harry Potter…I know…amazing…someone as brilliant cough as me should deserve to be richer than the Queen ;D

Chapter 4 – Like a Peanut Butter and Jam

Hermione was lost.

She had been consumed by some terrible, wonderful, unexplained force that flooded through her body, surrounding her, muffling out the real world.

And it was this force that kept her from pulling back and throwing herself from Malfoy's grasp…from wrenching her lips from his lips…

Not that she wanted to either. His lips were so soft, hungry and eager, filling her with a delicious warmth that brought a hot, tingling sensation into her mouth. It felt like she was melting into him, into this fiery thing that was Draco Malfoy…

Malfoy…

Malfoy?

The name made her body convulse and her knees collapsed, leaving her to land with an unpleasant thud back to earth.

She had kissed Malfoy.

And she had enjoyed it.

Trembling with shock, bewilderment and the passion of the kiss, she looked up at him.

Malfoy was equally shaken. He didn't know what had made him to do what he did, but surprisingly, he didn't regret it. He was almost panting, his lips swollen and red.

"Wh-what was that?" Hermione asked, half afraid of the answer.

Malfoy shook his head. This was crazy. He actually wanted to do it again, to kiss Granger. Hermione Granger.

"That was…that was good." He replied simply.

God, this was it. The day the great Draco Malfoy finally cracked.

"You…you want to try again?" He asked shakily.

Yep…Malfoy thought to himself. I've definitely gone insane.

Hermione jumped up unexpectedly at this question, her hand over her heart, and an expression of upmost disbelief on her face, like she'd just been asked to make out with the evil arch nemesis of her and her best friends.

"Gran- Her- Hermione…" Malfoy reached out and placed a hand on her arm, sending another jolt of heat through her body.

"Y-you can't say that!" Hermione shrieked, her hand on his, desperately trying to wrench it off her arm.

"I'm a muggleborn- a Gryffindor! I'm Harry Potter's best friend for merlin's sake! You said so yourself, you're meant to hate me, if not for what I do then for what I am!"

By now, she was breathing heavily, her head spinning at the bizarreness of what was happening.

"We're different as day and night! As peanut butter and jam, as- as- as good and evil!"

Hermione shouted this last bit feverishly, thrusting Malfoy away strongly- if not a bit hesitant to touch him, as his touch seemed to have a curious effect on her.

"But…"

The single word crept from his mouth, so quite it was almost a murmur. Malfoy could not explain any of what had just happened. He could not explain the probing desire to hold her close, envelop her with his arms….all he knew was that he didn't care about anything anymore. His whole life had been spent doing what his father told him, what he thought to be right.

This time, as Gryffindor-ish as it sounds, he was going to follow his heart.

Or more like the throbbing feeling in his lips.

Same thing.

Malfoy looked up into Hermione's chocolate brown eyes, now quaking with a strong defiance and filled to the brim with a hundred unasked questions, each one uncertain as the next.

"You say we're as different as all those things, and yet…"

He paused, not sure if he should continue. But one more look into those eyes made him feel like he had to. He had to comfort her…make her know how he feels, even though he wasn't sure himself.

"And yet night and day always meet to create dawn and dusk, just like peanut butter and jam combine to make a nice spread…and good and evil? Well, there are times when even they cross and dissolve into one another to form…to form peace I guess."

Slowly, Hermione looked away, hot, wet tears blurring her vision. Once again, she was surprised at the depth of what he said…to think that a Slytherin could ever say something like that…

"I- I need some time to think."

With this, she hurried from the room, stumbling at the door, she wavered.

"Malfoy…just to let you know…peanut butter and jam make a terrible spread."

Malfoy smiled. It was a smiled devoid of his trademark sneer, and could even be described as sincere by someone who had never met him.

"I know."