Blvd. Of Broken Dreams

I walk a lonely road

The only one that I have ever known

Don't know where it goes

But it's home to me and I walk alone

I walk this empty street

On the blvd. of broken dreams

Where the city sleeps

And I'm the only one and I walk alone…

Written and preformed by: Green Day

Blissfully Happy, and Completely in Love

"Happy seventeenth birthday Darling," Hermione's mother squealed as she came down stairs that morning.

Hermione sleepily raised her eye brows, spun on her heel and went back to her room, "wake me up on August thirtieth, so I can skip this whole engagement thing." Hermione muttered as she slammed her bedroom door and fell back in bed. "This is like me living in my worst nightmare…" she sighed as she felt her eyes begin to well up with tears. 'Why did they have to choose us?'

'Because it was destiny, it's as simple as that.' Draco replied.

'Oh what would you know about this? Your life is perfect,' she snapped vindictively.

'Correction, it was perfect until I found out I was marrying you!' he shot back bitterly.

'Go to hell Malfoy, and get OUT OF MY HEAD!' she screamed both in her head and out loud. "There has to be a way out of this…" Hermione rose from her bed and decided that she needed to take a very long shower in order to even consider being pleasant to any of her guests, which would included both her friends, and Malfoy's friends.

Ginny arrived an hour later to help with decorating and getting Hermione's hair and makeup done, with out Hermione purposely making herself completely physically unappealing to anyone. "You know, it might not be as bad as you think, I mean if you think about it, you wont ever have to worry about not having the money to buy anything your heart desires."

"Ginny, money doesn't buy happiness, or love for that matter, money buys lust, power, and generates hate, and the Malfoy's are a perfect example of that." Hermione scowled as her friend finished applying the mascara to her eye lashes.

"You aren't going to be completely ghastly to him are you? I mean you two did have a truce a few weeks ago…"

"You're right, I'm going to try really hard to be civil, but, nice and loving are out of the question when we are not in public." Hermione sighed, hating the fact that she would have to pretend to be blissfully happy and completely in love with Malfoy in public, according to the by-laws of the Betrothal Tradition, as well as remembering that if she cheated on Malfoy she would be killed, and she really wasn't willing to risk her life for some physical satisfaction.

"Something tells me that you are going to get emotionally involved weather you like it or not," Ginny teased as she helped zip the back of Hermione's forest green dress. "By the way, you look great, I love your hair, and I'm sure that Draco will love it too."

"Ginny, since when did Malfoy become Draco?" Hermione shrieked in surprise at her best friend saying his first name.

"Since he became you fiancé, besides, it's a very exotic and sexy name," Ginny giggled.

"Maybe you should be the one marrying him then," Hermione teased, as she slipped on her three inch pumps and the two of them descended the stairs in a fit of giggles at the thought of Ginny marrying Draco Malfoy instead of Harry Potter.

"Like that would ever happen," Ginny whispered as they met up with Harry and Ron at the bottom of the stairs.

"Wow, Hermione, you look phenomenal as usual," Harry complimented as he greeted her with a kiss on the cheek and a rib cracking hug.

"I could get away with murder in this dress then, because I'm seriously considering it," she smirked making the sarcasm drip from her voice when she was in fact very serious.

"I wouldn't go that far…"

"I most certainly would." Ron spat, glaring at Hermione, he hated her for hiding her fiancé's name from him until the night before. But he hated Malfoy more for his stripe of good fortune.

There was a knock at the door and that forced Hermione to divert her attention to her arriving guests. She and Ginny opened the door only to see Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini. "Well, my hopes just plummeted to a rather gruesome death, as they smashed into the ground." Hermione grumbled as she let the two boys in. Harry and Ron took their leave of them and joined the rest of their friends outside.

"Nice to see you as well Hermione," Draco whispered as he took her hand and laid a sort kiss upon it, as a gentleman would.

Hermione just gave Ginny a look that screamed 'did he just use my first name', and Ginny nodded in response.

'Yes, actually I thought that would be rather appropriate, since we are to be spending the rest of our lives together,' He thought to her as he caught her gaze with his ice blue eyes. She snatched her hand away quickly trying to hide her disgust, and led the way to the back yard where the festivities would take place.

She was shocked at how he was so…accepting of their current situation and wonder what had happened to him over the summer to make him seemingly so suddenly change his mind. It had only been a couple hours since their last horrid exchange of thoughts, but she knew that she would have to read all the letters that he had sent to her to see if they would give her some sort of insight to why Draco Malfoy was so willing to give himself to her completely. 'He could be just a really good actor…' she reminded herself. "Is your mother going to be able to attend our festive occasion?" She wondered quietly, as they walked side by side.

"My mother has been looking forward to this the entire summer, and she makes a habit of being fashionably late; although she did promise to be early on our wedding day." He chuckled, as he once again surprised her by opening the door for her, and she felt a shiver of delight as he placed his hand on the small of her back by mere accident.

"Well, in that case I look forward to meeting her. Now if you'll excuse me," Hermione commented as she left Draco's side to go speak with Ginny and Harry.

"So, how's it going, I noticed he's going out of his way to be nice to you?" Harry observed as Hermione joined them.

"Yes he actually is, but that doesn't mean that he won't take the first chance he gets to be a complete bastard to you, Ginny, and Ron." Hermione sighed hating to admit that.

"We can handle him Hermione, you just go and enjoy yourself, don't let him get the best of you today," Ginny told her, and hugged her as she noticed her friend's eyes begin to well with tears.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Potter and the Weaselette, good to see that the two of you could make it to my engagement, however, it seems that the Weasel himself is missing," Draco sneered as he approached the group, and placed his arm around Hermione's waist, "Doesn't my fiancé look stunning, and what an appropriate color as well," he whispered against her neck, his hot breath making the back of her neck tingle.

Hermione tried desperately to find his thoughts in her mind to try to find out what exactly he was up to, but it was to no avail, she was lost in a state of overwhelming feelings that she had never felt before, not even when Viktor Krum had been around her. She wasn't sure if she should go along with his display of what seemed like sincere affection, or if she should shake it off and relinquish her body from his firm yet gentle grip he had on her hip. Luckily for Hermione, the door bell rang once again, and she slipped right out of Malfoy's grip, with Ginny right behind her to answer the door. "What the hell was that?" Ginny asked shocked at how Hermione had let Malfoy touch her.

"Blissfully happy and completely in love," Hermione snapped, as they reached the door, opening it to reveal Pansy Parkinson and Theodore Nott.

"What are you doing here Mudblood?" Pansy demanded, shoving past Hermione and Ginny.

"It's my engagement party," Hermione smirked evilly at Parkinson, "The other guests are outside in the back yard, and I'm not a Mudblood any more."

"Ah, Pansy, good to see that you've met my fiancé, please, enjoy our party," Draco said from behind Hermione once again. "You know, people aren't supposed to know that we are engaged until our parents make the announcement, but how could I expect you to know any better. Just remember love, blissfully happy, and completely in love…"

"How could I forget when I have you to remind me?" Hermione muttered pushing past Malfoy, and retreated back into her back yard, 'I'm so confused by his actions, I don't know what to do, or what to say, I don't even know what to think.' She thought, as she let out a sigh of despair.

Draco watched her from afar, seeing her sadness hurt him, and he wasn't quite sure why, "she should be nothing to me…" he whispered, but he knew that the connection that they had made before they knew who the other was, was the reason why he wanted to make her feel better. He knew he could say all the mean things in the world to her and about her, but that unknown love he had for her when she was his butterfly would remain in his heart. 'She should be nothing but a mudblood to me, but I'd be lying to myself if I truly believed that…I'd be no better than my father, and I am not Lucius.' He decided.

'If you are not your father, than prove it to me, show me that you are different,' he heard her say, as their eyes caught for a moment, and she went to him. Draco found himself hugging her close to him, burying his face in her hair and breathing in her captivating scent.

"Give me a chance Hermione, let me learn to love you," He whispered in her ear.

She pulled away from him slightly, "if you can prove to me that you aren't your father than I am willing to let us learn to love each other. But until then, do not expect me to do anything but pretend in public, as we are supposed to do."

"Agreed," he sighed, surprised to hear the sadness in his voice. They parted, and she avoided him until his mother Narcissa arrived with the company of her parents.