Disclaimer: I own none of the characters here. I just use them for my own amusement. JK Rowling and co. own them No copyright infringement intended.

Summary: When two old enemies meet up again, will they be able to look past their differences and get along? What happens if they fall for each other but he's slated to marry someone else? Will he follow his heart or his parents' wishes? Dramione.

Author's note: Lyrics by The Goo Goo Dolls

Wildest Dreams

And I wasn't all the things
I tried to make believe I was
And I wouldn't be the one to kneel
Before the dreams I wanted
And all the talk and all the lies
Were all the empty things disguised as me

Draco was still numb with shock about this whole ordeal. And part of him kept thinking it couldn't be real. And he decided to ask Astoria to see the pregnancy test after all. She had seemed flustered when he mentioned it, but she nodded and said she'd bring it to him. Along with further proof that she was in fact pregnant. But she put on a wounded act and said she couldn't believe he'd doubt her. She really laid it on so thick, he almost didn't ask for the proof, but he had to be sure, so he didn't waver. If she couldn't produce proof, he'd escort her to the healers himself and make sure there really was a baby. But before he could insist upon that, she had shown up the next day with a positive pregnancy test and a sonogram photo with her name on it and a date stamp.

"I trust this proves I'm telling the truth," she said haughtily, as she thrust the items in his direction.

"What's this?" he asked over the sonogram photo.

"That's a Muggle sonogram. I figured you needed to actually see the baby to believe it. So I went to a Muggle doctor and got a picture. And a picture is worth a thousand words, right? Look at our little bean! It's so cute," she said pointing the obvious little fetus on the piece of paper.

"You had this done yesterday?" he asked skeptically.

"Yes. After you were accusing me of lying, I got an appointment with a doctor," she lied to him.

The truth of the matter was, she had gone to Knockturn Alley and procured the pregnancy test and the photo from someone who dealt with things like that. They could get their hands on anything if you paid them enough cash. And it turns out there was a Muggle service that provided fake pregnancy tests and sonograms just to trick men into getting married. It was a big business out in Muggle land as well as in the Wizarding World. But to be safe, she did pay a healer off to say she was pregnant if Draco was stubborn enough to insist they see one. It wasn't that hard. Her daddy's money stretched out far and all she had to do was offer up the cash. The healer said he'd tell Draco whatever she wanted him to hear. So she wasn't worried in the slightest. Her plan was not going to be ruined. She was going to get married no matter what.

Draco just look at the photo with her name on it and it appeared legitimate. He didn't know much about Muggle sonograms, but he could clearly see a baby forming. And then the positive test he held was further proof. He just put the items down and shook his head.

"Alright. I guess I believe you. It just doesn't seem real to me," he admitted to her.

"Well it is real. Do you want to go to my appointment with my healer tomorrow?" she offered him, knowing that the bribe had her covered.

"Yes, I do."

"Good, I'm glad. I want you to be involved in this pregnancy. You'll be happy soon enough. Doesn't it make you a little bit happy already, just seeing the baby?" she asked hopefully.

"No. Astoria nothing about this is happy to me," he said honestly, feeling even more miserable than before when he thought there might be some chance it was all a lie.

"You're rude. This is the happiest time of our lives, and you're treating me and the baby like an inconvenience," she said angrily.

"Look do you want to know why I'm so unhappy? I don't love you. I love someone else. I want to marry someone else. Don't you get it? You're not the one. She's the one. You're just there. In my way. So no, I'm not fucking happy and I won't pretend to be when we're in private. Because I want nothing to do with you. So I hope this marriage is really worth it to you, because I don't plan to ever fall in love with you. So get it through your head that this is a marriage of necessity. Nothing more. So stop trying to force me to be happy," he said heatedly.

"Well I never… Draco how could you say such things to me? I'm carrying your child! And you'd dare tell me you love someone else? That's ridiculous. And hurtful. I never knew you'd be so mean," she said conjuring up some fake tears to make it look like she was honestly hurt.

"She's fifty time the person you'll ever be."

"I doubt that sincerely. Who is she huh? That mudblood you work for? Any fool could see how you tripped over yourself to be in her presence at the charity ball. You embarrassed me and yourself with it," she shot back, fake tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Don't you dare ever call her that again! And yes, she's the one I actually love. I don't much care if you were embarrassed by my obvious affection for her. I'm not embarrassed. I want the world to know. Except I can't now because of you and this blasted baby. Don't you see that you've ruined my life?" he asked desperately.

"I didn't mean to make you feel that way. But you'll see that it'll be great eventually. You'll come to love me, whether you believe it or not. And we'll have a happy family. Just you wait and see. The wedding will be soon enough and then you'll change your tune," she said assuredly.

"Keep dreaming. I have somewhere to be, so show yourself out," he told her, effectively putting an end to their conversation.

Why would a woman even want to marry a man who despised her? It made little sense to him. Except she was actually pregnant. The marriage was a necessary step into him not getting killed. Maybe she was just trying to look on the bright side? Except to him there was no bright side. The only bright side was that he wasn't dead. But he may wish he was after this marriage. He just sat and looked at the test and the photo of the baby and shook his head. A proud father might display this picture at work and show his friends, except he didn't have any friends, and wasn't about to show off the picture of his love child with some other girl to Hermione at work. No, he wanted to forget he'd even seen the picture. He just opened a drawer and dropped the test and the photo into it and slammed it shut.

The weeks went by and Hermione was cordial to Draco at work, but that was it. She didn't want to hurt him more than he was already hurting, but at the same time, she was also hurting. She didn't know how to handle it. And neither did he. It was now only one week until his wedding and they sat in their office and both did solitary work quietly. Draco was miserable though. Everything was out of his hands now and Astoria and their families were busily planning this shotgun wedding and he had no part of it. He didn't want a part of it. They were questioned why they wanted to rush things so much and Astoria just told her family that they were so much in love they didn't want to wait. They bought that. And were suitably thrilled that they'd made such a love connection. Draco was sickened by it, but Astoria kept talking to him about the baby and trying to get him excited about it. Especially after they'd gone to her healer and he'd confirmed the supposed happy news. But he honestly didn't care. Which was an awful thing for him to feel because he always imagined that someday when he was to be a father, he'd be thrilled by it. But he hated the mother of his child so much, he couldn't feel anything for this baby he hadn't met yet. She kept referring to it as a 'he' but that didn't make Draco any happier. She was just guessing it was a boy anyway. Not that it really mattered one way or the other to him. He just hoped that maybe one day he'd learn to love the child after it was born. But he was just so despondent, he didn't feel much of anything these days.

It was a small favor that Hermione didn't treat him like garbage. Most of the time she just sighed a lot and gave him pitying glances. Which he'd in turn give her a pitying glance right back. Neither one of them had anything to be happy about. He was startled when she actually spoke to him just now.

"Are you ready for the wedding?" she asked, jolting him out of his reverie.

"Huh? Oh, I guess. I don't really know. I'm just planning to show up and say my lines," he shrugged. "Have you given any more thought to possibly attending this affair?" he asked quietly.

"I have given it some thought. I'm not really sure what I want to do. But I don't think I should be there," she answered somewhat uncomfortably.

The truth was, part of her did want to go. She had some morbid curiosity about it. But most of her thought it was a terrible idea. She'd feel like an interloper and she didn't really want to watch him throw away his life with a woman he didn't love. But on the other hand, Draco really looked miserable, and she wanted to somehow show him that she still cared what happened to him. Because she did still care. She just didn't know what to do with her feelings anymore.

"It's okay if you don't come. I wouldn't either except I'm being forced to be there," he said somewhat wryly.

"Yeah, if you could skip it, that would be great, right?" she said trying to be slightly lighthearted.

"If only."

"Yes, if only."

And they both just looked at each other wistfully for a moment, before the silence settled over them again and they both went back to work.

Later on that evening, Hermione was feeling blue and she decided to call up Harry and talk to him, while eating a pint of ice cream on her couch. They both had mobile phones that they used solely to talk to each other. It was for emergencies usually, but this felt like an emergency. And she didn't feel like leaving her flat to see him. She just wanted an ear to listen to her. So she rang him up and he answered quickly.

"Hermione? Is everything okay?" he asked with concern as she hardly ever called him.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Sort of. I just wanted to talk. Are you free?" she asked in a tired voice.

"Of course I'm free. What's up?"

"I'm eating ice cream out of the carton. That's what's up," she sighed.

"One of those days?" he asked.

"It's been one of those lives, " she grumbled.

"I'm still really sorry about Draco. But you know you deserve better than that," he said, knowing all about the scandal and the upcoming nuptials.

"I still love him, Harry. That's the part that sucks. I know I deserve better, but I still want him," she said unhappily.

"Well you can't have him. Not anymore. So you need to face that, Hermione," he said seriously.

"I don't wanna."

"I know you don't wanna but it's all you can do."

"I'm considering going to the wedding," she tossed out as she licked her ice cream spoon.

"What? Why? You don't have to do that. The guy basically cheated on you and got someone else pregnant. Why would you want to watch them get married?" he asked in disbelief.

"I don't know. I'm a glutton for punishment?"

"Well don't be. You know it'll only hurt you to go there. I wouldn't watch Ginny marry another man if it were me," he offered his advice.

"I know. I know it's stupid to wanna go, except I feel bad for him. Maybe if he sees that I can put aside my hurt feelings and be a friend to him, that we'll start being friends again? It's all so weird right now. I want things to be like they were before," she pouted.

"But it can't really be like before, can it?"

"Probably not. But this is hard for me. I don't know what to do."

"I think you should just cut your losses and move on. I know you love him, but he's lost to you now. It's time to move on," he urged her.

"But where do I go? I don't know where to move on to," she said sadly with a single tear rolling down her face.

"I know it's hard, but it'll get easier. I promise you. It won't hurt like this forever," he swore to her.

"I still might go to the wedding. Maybe it'll be some sort of closure for me?" she said softly.

"If you go, I can go with you. You shouldn't go alone," he said quietly.

"That's lovely of you, Harry, but I need to do it for myself I think. But I'll keep you in mind."

"Alright. Because even if it's the last thing I'd like to do, I'd do it for you."

"I know. You're the best. I guess I'll let you go now. Thanks for listening to me mope," she said managing a small smile.

"Anytime. And I mean it. I know we don't see enough of each other these days, but I do have this phone. Call me anytime you need me. Promise me you'll do that okay?" he prodded her.

"I promise. I'll talk to you later," she said.

"Goodnight. I love you, Hermione."

"I love you too, Harry."

And with that she pushed the little button and ended the call. She sighed loudly and put her ice cream down. Why would she want to subject herself to a wedding like this? But she was sort of a glutton for punishment. And part of her also thought maybe if Draco saw her sitting there, he couldn't go through with it. But that was probably a dream. He had to go through with it. She was pregnant. And that fact disgusted her so much. Why couldn't Draco have just kept it in his pants? She supposed that maybe it was her fault in some way. She'd worked him up and then in his drunken state, he was more susceptible to Astoria's advances. She wasn't sure. It seemed like Draco had better self-control than that, but he was really very drunk. And people make huge mistakes when they're drunk. Now they both had to live the rest of their lives with this mistake. It didn't seem fair.

Draco was getting the final fitting for his tux and the wedding was now only two days away. He stood in the shop with his father looming over him and his mother was in the corner in a chair watching everything go down.

"This is going to be a lovely wedding," his mum said happily, watching her only son get prepped for his big day.

"It's going to be a grand affair, even if you two lovebirds didn't give us much notice to plan this thing," Lucius said, giving Draco a look.

"I'm sorry we didn't give enough notice, but we're just really anxious," he lied.

"She's such a lovely girl. So proper and she seems to hang on your every word. I always knew you'd love her, if you just gave it a chance," Narcissa said.

"Mum, I don't want to talk about it really. Can't we just get this stupid tux fitted so I can go home?" he said miserably, unable to hide his true emotions.

But his mother didn't pick up on it, or chose to ignore it. One or the other.

"Remember when you came to me and said you loved that Hermione person? Dear God, I had no idea what to think! Thankfully you got that out of your system," his mum said, clutching her chest as if it gave her heart palpitations just knowing about it.

"Yes, when your mother told me about you coming to see her, I almost fainted. At least you understand now what a real woman is like," Lucius smiled at his son.

Draco just stood there and wished he could tell his parents the truth. That Astoria was knocked up and that was the only reason they were marrying. He still loved Hermione. And always would. But he couldn't tell them that. Even if he did tell them the truth, it wouldn't make a lick of difference. He'd still have to get married.

"Draco, why do you look so glum? This is the happiest moment of your life and you look like someone died," Narcissa scolded him.

"Mum, I'm just not feeling that well. I'm tired from work. And I want to go home and get some rest," he lied.

"Well you better be more cheerful this Saturday. We don't want you to look tired and put out in the wedding photos. I cannot wait to see the front page of the paper! You and Astoria will make a lovely splash as husband and wife. All our friends will be there. I'm so excited I can hardly stand it!" his mother said excitedly.

"Yes, do try and look less like your pet dog just died. Honestly Draco, I don't understand you sometimes," Lucius sighed.

"Neither one of you ever tried to understand me. Can't you tell that I don't want to do this?" he said, being honest for a change. Why not? He had nothing to lose or to gain. "I don't love Astoria. She's the one who wanted to speed up the wedding. Not me. I'm just along for the ride."

"What? I thought you two said you were head over heels for each other," his mother said with shock.

"She might be, but I'm not. And sorry to burst your bubble, but I do still love Hermione. I'm always going to love her. And none of you can stop me from loving her," Draco said boldly.

His mother just gasped in horror but his father gave Draco a knowing look.

"Cissy, give us a minute, will you? I need to speak to my son, man to man," he brushed his wife aside, and she quickly vacated the room. Lucius turned back to Draco. "Listen to me boy, you are getting married and that means forever. And I realize that feels like a long time. Especially if you love someone else. But marriages aren't about love. Not at first. No, you grow fond of your partner over time. It's a much more lasting thing than whatever it is you feel for this Granger girl. Which is undoubtedly just lust and not love. But I will tell you this, if you have an affair, if you keep a mistress, just be very discreet. Understand me? Discretion is the key."

Draco just stared at him and didn't know what to say. His father was giving him tips on how to conceal a mistress? Was he hearing this correctly.

"Father are you saying you don't care if I keep a mistress?" he asked with confusion.

Lucius waved his hand in the air.

"I'm not suggesting you do it, but if you are to do it, be careful. No one can ever know. Especially not that she's a mudblood. Our family name would be in ruins. Just be discreet and get it out of your system. You think you're the first one to marry someone they didn't love?"

"Do you have a mistress?" Draco shot back at his dad in disbelief.

"No! I do not. And never have. I love your mother. And I have always loved her. But not all of my friends can say the same. Most of them either did have or do have mistresses. And sometimes it's very scandalous because they're Muggles or other men's wives. But you don't hear about it because they're discreet. I can keep your secret, and your mother will as well. Just don't tarnish our name. And do not let your wife find out," Lucius said heatedly.

"I can't even fucking believe this. You're not even upset that I want to be with someone else? You're just telling me to hide it good? What kind of life do you want me to have? Living in secret, sneaking around. I respect Hermione way too much to ask her to be my mistress," Draco said shaking his head.

"Well it was just a thought. You said you loved her. Which is preposterous enough in itself. But I thought I was giving you good advice," his father said with a slight shrug.

"Your world is nothing like the world I want to live in. I just want to pick my own wife, whom I love, and get married and have a family that I chose to have! I don't want a dirty secret or a mistress. I don't want a wife who I don't love or respect. And you're dooming me to a life I don't want. Why can't you just let me be happy?" Draco complained.

"Because happiness is earned. And if you put in your time with Astoria, you'll grow to love her and be happy with her. Trust me. And all the money we'll have once this is said and done? Boy, you won't even need to work. You'll likely become Astoria's father's right hand man. None of this being an assistant at the Ministry garbage," Lucius told him.

"What do you mean? You mean you're going to have me quit my job too?" he asked with some slight horror. He couldn't quit the job. It was the only way he could see Hermione. That couldn't happen.

"Of course you'll quit that job. Mr. Greengrass and I have already spoken at length about you joining his empire. It's all set down. You'll never worry for money again," Lucius beamed.

"It's all set down huh? What about what I want? Does anyone give a fuck about that? I don't want to have my life 'set down'. Without my input even! I don't want to quit my job. And that's final," Draco said peeling off the tux jacket and throwing it to the floor.

"You're acting like a petulant child. That doesn't work for me anymore. You will quit the job and you will join the Greengrass empire. And you will get married. Whether you like it or not, this is your life!" Lucius bellowed at him.

"Don't tell me what to do! I've listened to you over and over and done everything you asked of me, but this is too much. I draw the line at quitting my job. I earned that job. I want something that I earned. All on my own. I don't want empires being handed to me," Draco said angrily.

"You don't get a choice. And who would ever balk at having an empire dropped in the lap. You have earned it! You're marrying Astoria. Don't you think that you should be rewarded handsomely for that endeavor? Especially since you don't even love her? The money should ease your pain quite a lot," Lucius said surely.

"You think the money makes up for everything? It doesn't. I'd rather be poor," Draco said desperately.

"Well you'll never have to be poor now. Just pick up your jacket and pick up your chin and get on with it," Lucius said as he left the room and left Draco standing there seething.

How could they pile this on top of everything else? Making him quit his job? That was not in the agreement! No one told him he'd lose his only lifeline to Hermione. He was banking on seeing her every day and now they were telling him he'd be working with Astoria's father forever? When would this hell end? Draco just sat down on the floor of the tux shop and stared into the mirror. He didn't know this person staring back at him. How did his life become so out of his control? Was there anything left that was his? It didn't seem so. He just wanted to run away. Hide forever. Change his name. Pretend to be a Muggle and work in some convenience store somewhere pretending to be Joe Normal. He didn't want this life anymore. Only he didn't know how to be strong enough to get out of it. There was no way out. Not with the baby. If he left a pregnant woman alone he'd be the worst kind of man. And he wanted to be a good man. All his life he was considered a bad man. And now he wanted to be good. But the only way to be good was to lose everything he held dear. He didn't know how he was going to survive this, but he was going to have to try.

To be continued…. Thanks for all the reviews! I love them. So keep them coming! It helps me write even faster….