We are back at the ball, and crowds are gathering to see the reveal of the to-be Princess of Mercia. Draco walked up the stairs; he watched every step he took to ensure nothing went wrong. His walk had to be perfect. Everything had to be perfect. That is politics.
This whole event is politics. It made Draco question if his friends were only made for political reasons. It told him how little control he had over his own life. As much as he and Pansy have always been close friends from a young age. She was someone he never even considered romantically. And now? Now he had to marry her, consummate the marriage, all sorts. All in the name of politics.
When he was little, marriage and love was the last thing he thought about, but he had planned to have a free life and be King. As he aged, he knew he could only choose one of those options. As much as he will get more control once he is King, he plans on something other than that happening soon, and even then, the Empire will still hold power above his head.
The marriage was to secure him and Pansy the Empire, but he didn't think his parents were right. Emperor Albus Dumbledore has always taken a liking to the Potter Family. They certainly had a higher chance than the Malfoys or Parkinsons would ever.

Pansy was revealed; he agreed she looked stunning but couldn't bring himself to smile. He didn't want his. And Draco knew Pansy didn't either; she was in love with someone already. Draco wasn't, but he wanted to be; a few people in his family were in arranged marriages. His parents weren't, and they were obviously the happiest. Then again, he and Pansy are close friends; they may be happy together.

As she joined him by his side, a glimpse of a familiar trio passed by his sight. He focused back on that glimpse, focusing on the heir to Wessex. She was someone he had always considered to be a traitor, likely to betray anyone within the Empire. As far as he knew, the Grangers were known for starting odd wars. However, he would often admire her; he figured he could easily judge and admire someone from a distance. Draco said something stupid when they were three years younger and attending Princess Camellia Potter's christening. He couldn't remember what, but it was objectively stupid. It led to him getting punched in the face by Princess Hermione; from that day, he started to admire her. The judgement was already there, probably since both were born, but the admiration came with the indications she gave of her strength. She was a stubborn Princess with a keen attitude and incredibly intelligent.
Seeing Hermione right now show no care for his announcement bugged him. How could she be so careless and disrespectful about it all? Even if they never got along.
He didn't even think for one second why what she did bothered him so much. It just did.

Throughout the entire night, it was all he could think of. Princess Hermione Granger and her complete insolence over his arrangement. Small thoughts about his arranged marriage popped in, too, but it was just Hermione all night.

To the point, he decided to take a walk late into the night. So late, in fact, it was around three o'clock in the morning. It took him a while to notice, but he had been crying for most of his walk. He didn't think the arranged marriage affected him to the point of tears.
As he wandered around a corner, he saw a figure before him, clearly a woman. She was slowly walking around, just like him. He spent a moment trying to make sure it was who he thought it was. Analysing everything. Paying attention to her bushy hair that gently bounced with every prideful yet tired step she took. There was also the way she held herself. She was starting to get tired, but she still held herself up. She was strong and stubborn. It was Hermione.

"Granger. " he announced, still staying quiet enough to ensure he didn't wake up the Longbottoms in the guest rooms around them. It wasn't until he spoke that he recognised how tired he was and how much the tears had affected his mannerisms. She gradually turned around; there was definitely some worry in her body language. What was she up to? He walked over. He was worried for two reasons. One, she could be up to something. Two, she looked so tired that she might fall. "I'm so sorry, I couldn't sleep." She said, looking up at him; she seemed unable to fully comprehend who he was for a moment. "Really, or is it you just don't trust us?" He got right up in her face, trying to intimidate her, just in case. She oddly didn't move away.
"No, of course not. In fact, I would rather people just get over the war. We should move into a state of peace, not this consistent state of conflict." She was very annoyed; she moved away at this point, clearly out of disgust. But he moved closer again. "The Greengrass Family were very close to mine." He wasn't even sure why he was saying any of it because, at that moment, Draco didn't actually care; he just wanted to talk to her. Only her. Maybe it was because her opinion was the one that glued to his mind. He had to admit she was right; the friction that Kingdoms had against the Grangers was endless, and he didn't even know what it was about. All he knew was that they had exterminated the Greengrass Family.
Hermione snapped him out of his thoughts as she replied, "You never even met them? They died years before our parents even existed. Do you even know what the war was about?" Well, shit. She had him there. He didn't know what to say. Hermione must have picked up on this as she talked for him. "That's what I thought. Why don't you research before judging me and my family."

Draco took a moment, scrapping through his memory for any possible information about the Wessex war. He had nothing. "What did happen?" After asking, Hermione gladly answered. She explained the justified reason for the war. Draco concluded that all Royal families with a vendetta against the Grangers must be misinformed about the war events or utterly ignorant. He was so stunned by what he was learning he didn't even question the validity of it; she was so passionate. Not a stutter, not a pause. She knew exactly what she was talking about as if she'd been waiting to explain for years. Which, in fairness, all of the Grangers probably do. Her facial expressions were so strict that Draco assumed that she could pull out thousands of documents if you asked her for evidence.

One thing about this moment was the moment that really confused Draco. He was so fixed. Wanting to listen to everything she said forever, he couldn't understand why. But being here, listening to her. It made him happy, something he hadn't felt since the arranged marriage began.

Eventually, they got to the point of average conversations. It seemed as if Hermione had gotten lost whilst wondering, not that he thought she'd ever admit that to him or anyone. Instead, she made it seem like the history lesson overtook her mindset by saying, "Anyways, do you mind directing me back to my room? I managed to forget where I came from." His mouth became infected with a slight smirk as he replied, "Of course, Princess." Most of the walk was silent. It upset him. He actually started to miss the sound of her voice. Which only made him question what was wrong with him.

"So, Princess Pansy?" Hermione said, interrupting his self-deprecating thoughts over his liking towards her. At least he got to hear her sweet voice again. "What about her?" He said after realising what she was talking about. He had to think about that even more than previously. His eye fixated on the floor. "As much as I barely know either of you, it's not the match I imagined for either of you." Draco shook his head with a slight chuckle. "You're right. You don't know much about us." It started to annoy him that she already had him pinned down despite the minimal conversations the two of them have had over the last 18 years. "So you do love her?" Of course, he didn't; she was just his friend, but he couldn't admit that. "That's none of your business, but yes, why else would I marry her?" He knew his answer was stupid, but it's the best he had
"Politics."
"I don't care for politics." Correction, he did care. He just hates it.
"We are royalty; everything we do is politics."
"Well, this isn't political. Me and Pansy have always been close."
"Friends, yeah, but marriage. If you loved her, you would have been so much happier at the Ball." He knew he couldn't argue it anymore, but Draco knew he couldn't agree with her for the integrity of his family's reputation. The best course of action he had was to act aggravated. He started to walk away before remembering he was directing her back to her room. "Take the first left and continue down the hall. I'm done here." And with that, he left. He tried everything he could to not look back. Some part of him wished she would go after him. But then why would she? Why did he even want that? He has so many questions.

Due to that, he didn't sleep at all that night.