AN: I know this story starts out a little slow, and not very interesting, but the pace quickens in this chapter I swear. Enjoy you lot, - Mirioux

Broken

I wanted you to know that I love the way you laugh,

I want to hold you high and steal your pain away

I keep your photograph, and I know it serves me well

I want to hold you high and steal you pain away

Because I'm broken when I'm lonesome

And I don't feel right when you're gone away

You've gone away, you don't feel me here anymore…

Trying to Find You

My innocent little Butterfly,

If only things were as easy as me just whispering, or scratching down my name. The traditional betrothal laws are quite firmly imprinted on the blood of the wizarding world's most pure families, which in short means, there is to be no breaking of the rules at all. However, my best mate and I are trying to devise a little plan to get around and maybe even bend these laws slightly, just so I can get a glimpse of my fair lady. The madness of it all is that I have to be in the company of my worst enemy and his entourage, but in the end I have decided that it will most definitely be worth it. You will be receiving an invitation with in the next few days.

Whole heartedly yours,

Dragon

Hermione was thoroughly excited when she read about the event that she would be able to some what meet her fiancé at. She knew right away that she would be attending no matter what her parents told her, there was no way that she would be able to miss an event such as this. Although she was still uncertain of the idea of being Betrothed to someone she had never even met, she had to admit that she was quite flattered by his seemingly undying devotion to her for not even knowing anything about her. It seemed that he was ready to open her with open arms no matter what, or maybe it was that he was in love with the idea of being in love with someone else.

"So, what's the plan?" Blaise asked as Draco paced back and forth in front of his bedroom window, waiting for Denali to return.

"That's just the thing; I don't have any idea what the bloody hell I'm going to do! Not only that but I can't that bloody girl from my dream out of my head. She's driving me mental Blaise, I have to see her, I have to touch her, I have to hear her voice, I have to know who the fuck she is!" He screamed, utterly dumbfounded at the way this girl he didn't even know was making him feel.

"This is really tearing you apart isn't it," Blaise asked slightly worried about Draco. He had never seen him so confused, or distressed over anything like this in his life.

"I've got an idea, what if you two have some sort of secret meeting somewhere; I know that rules, but what if you don't actually speak to one another, you just are in a place where you know she is?"

"How the bloody hell is that going to work, how am I supposed to know who she is and if she's even there then?" Draco demanded; Blaise had obliterated his train of thought with his ingenious idea, but foolish plan.

"Throw a party. Invite everyone in our year from Hogwarts just to be safe about the rules of traditional betrothal, and take another precaution by making it a masquerade, you be a Dragon and she can be the Butterfly, then you'll know who she is but never actually know who she is." Blaise explained, knowing his plan was now fool proof, and completely within the boundaries of the betrothal laws but completely around them as well.

"That means I'd have to invite the 'golden trio' and the Weaselette, but if I get my girl it doesn't really matter does it? That is the perfect idea mate, start sending the invitations; I'm going to go make the proper arrangements with my mother. This will be the best end of term bash that had ever been thrown in the history of Hogwarts." Draco exclaimed excitedly exiting the room to search for his mother.

When Draco proposed the idea to Narcissa she was delighted to oblige, and help in any way she could. Of course the event would be held at Malfoy Manor to make sure things would be kept under a moderate amount of control.

Narcissa immediately decided that a dinner would take place for their guests as well, she wasn't about to let her son's school mates go the entire night starving to death, no that just was not the Malfoy way, even if mud bloods, half-bloods, and blood-traitors would be in their midst. Besides, she knew Dumbledore would get wind of this gathering, and it might place Draco back in his good graces, and at least it would give him the chance to have fun his way instead of his father's way.

When Draco returned to his room he found Denali waiting on her perch with a letter attached to her leg from his lovely little butterfly, as he now referred to her. He could hardly contain his fluttering joy.

Dear Dragon,

I'm very excited to see you at this 'secret' rendezvous. I'm sorry to have to tell you that I don't exactly know about the traditional betrothal laws because I wasn't raised by a wizarding family, my parents died when I was young, and I was raised by Muggles, unfortunately. I sincerely hope that this information doesn't make you think ill of me, or change anything between us.

Looking forward to your response no matter what,

Butterfly

p.s. what should I wear?

Draco was shocked by this news, how in bloody Merlin's name had a pureblood witch been left in the care of Muggles, and why would she think that he would feel differently about her? 'Maybe she saw how I treated mud-blood Granger,' the only woman whom he hated with all of his very being. Not because she was Muggle-born or because she was 'Golden Boy' Potter's little side kick, but because she was so bloody annoying, and such a goody, goody know it all! It blew his mind that the Muggle Gryffindor Princess was so full of pointless information at times; she had a bloody answer to every single question.

Guilt now plagued his mind, 'what if she's a friend of Granger's and she'll hate me once she finds out? I hope she'll still have me,' he thought letting out a sigh as he noticed Blaise reading over his shoulder. "Bloody hell Blaise, why don't you just go a head and use my shoulder as a chin rest, and you complain about me invading your space?"

"Why would she think that you don't like muggle-borns?" Blaise laughed, entertained at the thought of Draco actually thinking the same was as Lucius.

"I think because of the way I treat Granger…" He stammered in disbelief.

"This might be a minor set back in the plan mate, but just be the man I know and you still shouldn't have a problem making her fall in love with you," Blaise assured him, "so, what are you planning on writing back to her?"

"I don't know, I might try just telling her the truth about the whole Granger situation, I don't know what else to do, I don't want her to hate me for being mean to her friend, you know as well as I do that I can't really afford to have any more enemies right now." Draco explained stressed out about his new found ordeal.

"Well, let me read it before you send it, you aren't exactly Prince Charming when it comes to explaining annoyances on parchment." Blaise told him chuckling.

Hermione was nervous and slightly worried that Denali hadn't come back with a response yet, and she feared the worst must have happened, 'He must hate me now. I never should have told him I was raised by Muggles, and now I shall have to marry a man that won't love me.'

"Hermione are you alright?" Her Muggle friend Aleshia questioned as they shopped for things for Hermione's event.

"Oh, fine just wondering why I haven't received a letter from my pen pal in a while," She lied laughing admiring the treasures in the windows of the little shops they passed.

"Do you trust me Hermione?" Aleshia asked as she eyed a salon they were approaching.

"Of course I do Lesh, why wouldn't I?" Hermione was skeptical about her friend asking her such an open ended question.

"Good, because we are going to change some things, you are going to come out a new Hermione Granger, good bye book worm, know it all, hello foxy woman!" Aleshia giggled dragging Hermione into the salon.

When they exited two and a half hours later, Hermione was no longer the brown haired, hazel eyed, shy, yet opinionated girl she had entered as. Now she had her hair cut in long layers, and it had blonde highlights streaked all over it, she no longer had the slightly bushy eyebrows that were constantly out of control, and for the first time ever, she had gotten her nails done; all at Aleshia's insistence and expense.