Disclaimer: I give much thanks to Ms. J.K. Rowling for her characters, and Ms. Alanis Morisette for the song. I only own the story line.

Head over Feet

"Good morning, Hermione." said Draco, walking over to the honey-eyed girl in the corner. "Have you thought about it?"

"Good morning." Hermione looked up from her book. She brushed her hair out of her face and smiled at the blonde boy before her. He looked so anxious, and Hermione was tempted to say no, just to see his reaction. Twitchy little ferret… she thought. "Yes, Draco, darling. I have thought about it."

"And?"

"And…" she said, dragging out the suspense. "I got off of work so we can go to dinner tonight." she said with a grin. Draco let out a sigh of relief.

"Good," he said with a smile. "I'll pick you up at 7:30 tonight, alright?" Hermione nodded and smiled. Draco grabbed his bag and headed toward the door. He kissed Hermione and walked out.

I had no choice but to hear you
You stated your case time and again
I thought about it

Hermione walked around the house for a few minutes. Finally, she flopped down on the couch and thought. It was her twenty-first birthday, and Draco was taking her out for dinner. "Twenty-one…" she whispered. That meant that she and Draco had been dating about four years now, but it seemed longer. She grabbed the photo album from the table and looked though it.

She found a picture of young Draco. For six, long years, he had tormented she, Harry, and Ron. "Mudblood this, pureblood that." she mimicked. She laughed out loud when she realized how much he had changed. After the war, without his father around, he was a decent person. He definitely wasn't as mean or nasty as he used to be. Go figure. "I guess it was just one of those things." She revelled in the fact that they were complete opposites in almost every way, yet, here they were, happy and in love.

The doorbell rang and brought Hermione out of her musings. She opened the door to find a stout man holding a large package. "Miss Hermione Granger? Package for you. Sign here." he said handing her the package and pointing to a place on the paper. Hermione put the package down and signed the sheet of paper, quite confused as to whom the package was from.

"Thank you." she said to the man. She closed the door and opened the package. Inside was a beautiful, sea foam green, strapless dress. She pulled it out of the box and went to put it on. She walked out of the bathroom and looked in the full length mirror. She looked absolutely stunning. She twirled around and marvelled at the way the dress fit perfectly. She walked back over to the box and found a note. She read it aloud and smiled.

"Dear Hermione, I saw this dress on my way to work and I couldn't pass it. I had to buy it for you. Please wear it tonight, along with the things in the bottom of the box. Have a good day, and I'll see you for dinner. Love, Draco." She put the note down and searched in the bottom of the box. There, she found a pair of dazzling earrings that matched the dress perfectly. She squealed and put them on. She then grabbed her wand and put an enchantment on her hair to style it into light curls. She absolutely loved the results.

You treat me like I'm a princess
I'm not used to liking that
You ask how my day was

Hermione changed out of the dress and earrings, and laid them out on the bed for later. She put on her normal clothes and headed downstairs. Walking into the kitchen, she was just about to go to the living room, when she noticed a blank sheet of parchment on the table. She picked up and went to put it away. Suddenly, letters started to scrawl across the parchment.

Hey baby girl. How did you like the dress?

Hermione put the parchment down, utterly stunned that the parchment was writing to her. She pulled out a quill and wrote a little on the paper.

Who is this?

The ink from her quill and the writing before it disappeared, only to be replaced by more writing.

It's me! Draco! Who else would have known about the dress? Speaking of which, how do you like it?

Hermione was trying to put it all together. She was alone in the house, writing things to a sheet of parchment that answered back. The parchment was definitely enchanted, that was a given. Then it clicked. This is something Draco would do. She smiled and grabbed the quill.

I love the dress! And the earrings too! Thank you so much!

Slowly, the ink faded into the paper. It was soon replaced by another message in Draco's handwriting.

I'm glad to hear – err… read – that you like them. I've got to go for now. I love you.

With that, the ink faded away and the parchment burst into flame. "Oh damn!" screamed Hermione, pulling out her wand to save the tablecloth. She doused the flames, but there were scorch marks on the tablecloth. Hermione grumbled something about romance and running a perfectly good tablecloth. She walked to the closet to get a new tablecloth. She pulled out a fresh, powder blue one and unfolded it. A note fell out of the last fold.

"What on earth now?" Hermione opened the note and read it. "Hermione, sorry about the tablecloth. But it's fine, really! Put this cloth down and go back to the kitchen. You'll see! Love, Draco." She sighed and put the tablecloth back into the closet, neatly folded. Slowly, she made her way back to the kitchen. To her surprise, the previously scorched table cloth was once again a crisp white – no holes or marks. She smiled and put the note on the table. He was pulling out all the stops today.

You've already won me over in spite of me
Don't be alarmed if I fall head over feet
Don't be surprised if I love you for all that you are
I couldn't help it
It's all your fault

Hermione looked around her kitchen. It was decorated in a way that no one else had ever seen. Hermione worked for 6 months to finish it. Everything had been done by hand, but all those hours were worth it in the end. She called it the Special Kitchen. Draco had called it the Quirky, Special Kitchen. Hermione agreed to that. It was amazing in all aspects, it was different, and she loved it

After grabbing a mug of tea, she decided to take a walk around the house. There were so many memories that the house held, even though they had been together in the house for just over a year. She ran her fingers over a spot in the wall that was slightly sunken. She remembered that night vividly. Draco had been dashing up the stairs to get something, when his foot had caught on the step. He had crashed down and broken his leg. Then, at St. Mungo's, they had to re-break it to fix it. He had specifically asked for nothing to numb it – he said he had felt worse. Just like he had said, he barely even winced. That was pretty brave in her opinion.

She brushed her hair out of her eyes and kept walking. She laughed when she saw the marks from Crookshanks 3 feet up on the wall. They hadn't been sure why he had been there, but they found him jumping up and clawing at the wall. She even had a scar from dragging him away.

Slowly, she continued down the hall. Looking from room to room, she eventually made her way back downstairs. Quickly cleaning her mug in the sink, she opened the back door and walked outside. She walked down to the archway at the back of the garden. This was the very spot that Ginny and Blaise had gotten married in 2 months before. She remembered that day so well. Ginny had been so nervous, but she was happier that day than Hermione had ever seen her.

Your love is thick and it swallowed me whole
You're so much braver than I gave you credit for
That's not lip service

Hermione headed back inside and jumped onto the couch. She closed her eyes and thought. In spite of everything that Draco had ever said to her, they still fell in love. "How did that work?" she murmured, letting out a small smile.

She sat there on the couch in deep thought. First she began to think about the downside of their relationship. Even though Draco had reformed, he still reverted to his old self when he lost his temper. He'd even gone as far as to call her a filthy mudblood whore. She almost didn't forgive him for that one. She remembered moving out of the house within the hour and heading straight for Ginny's house. She stayed there for about 2 months. She was going to leave him for good, until the accident.

The day came through clearly. Draco had been driving over in a Muggle with a rose for her to apologize for his rash actions. Why he had been driving over in a Muggle car, she'd never know, but they had both resolved to learn and get their own licences. He had been so caught up in figuring out how to say he was sorry, he didn't see the car that was going to run the light. It hit his car, and he was thrown through the windshield. The medics brought him to St. Mungo's, but he was unconscious, and had lost a lot of blood. No one thought he'd make it.

She had gotten the call at Ginny's. Against her better judgement, she rushed out of the house and went to see him. He had gotten so thin since she had left, and he just barely made an outline under the blankets. He was all hooked up to various machines, and had bandages covering his neck and arms. This was not the Draco she had known, and she wished that it had all never happened.

Hermione had ended up staying at the hospital for 3 weeks, resting at Ginny's for a few hours at night. Just when she had thought that he wasn't going to come back, he did. His eyes fluttered open, and he gave a faint whisper. "Hermione…" he had said. Hermione had been beside him instantly, her eyes filling with tears. She took his hand in hers and gave it a squeeze. "I'm sorry…" he had whispered. "For everything…"

"Shh…" whispered Hermione. "Everything is ok now. Just rest, love." Draco then closed his eyes and slept again. Over the next few weeks, her regained strength, and he went home a month later. Hermione had thrown a big 'Welcome Home' party for him, and she had been so happy that he was still there with her.

You've already won me over in spite of me
Don't be alarmed if I fall head over feet
Don't be surprised if I love you for all that you are
I couldn't help it
It's all your fault

After that, Draco never passed up the chance to do something nice for Hermione. "It's best to live like you're dying." he said to her. And after the accident, she completely agreed.

The next memory she had of them, was a few weeks before Ginny's wedding. Hermione had been playing 'Wedding Planner', and was starting to stress. She was constantly irritable and snapped at most people. She remembered talking to the caterer and going ballistic when he said that the order would not be filled. Apparently, he had never gotten her order. After that, Hermione never missed the chance to bite anyone's head off that messed with her plans.

Even though she was cranky all the time, Draco was patient with her. When she yelled, he stayed calm, and explained both sides of the issue to her. He soothed her when she was angry, and lulled her to sleep when she was tired. He was doing everything she had hoped he would and more.

During that time, he never failed to shower her with little gifts, such as the silver watch she adored so much. He kept her balanced, and he always had something special planned. Whether it was something cheesy, such as creating the Mexican Jumping Bean Dance, or something romantic, like taking her out for dinner on the rooftop, he always made her smile. During these times, she found that he became her rock, her sanity.

Finally, the wedding rolled around, and everything went even better than she had planned, to surprise her, Draco had arranged for one hundred white doves to be set free when Ginny appeared at the beginning of the aisle. Everyone 'oohed' and 'ahhed' at the beautiful birds, and Hermione couldn't have been more thankful for the display.

You are the bearer of unconditional things
You held your breath and the door for me
Thanks for your patience

Hermione opened her eyes and came out of her musings. She propped herself up on her elbows and looked around the large living room. It was tastefully decorated, and suited both she and Draco better than she had expected. Hermione remembered how hectic it was to design. There were so many paint colours, and Draco often complained and whined about how it would be so much easier to use magic. But Hermione had never given in. Instead, she insisted that it would be much more satisfying and a lot more fun to do it by hand. After much deliberation, he decided he would do it her way. He found that she was so right.

In the weeks that followed, they had spent days painting the walls, buying new furniture, installing the new in-floor carpet rug. The in-floor carpet rug hadn't ceased to amaze Draco to this day. "It's like one minute, you're on the hard floor, and the next, you're on this soft, squishy carpet! All without stubbing your toe!" Hermione hadn't missed the chance to mention that his blond was showing through. She would never let him live THAT down.

In her opinion, the painting had been the best part. They both had paint stained clothes, and there was even a little stain on the part of the rug that was under the couch. She stood up and pushed the couch back. Leaning down, Hermione saw that the stain was still there. Poking at it, she muttered to herself. "I don't remember it being that big…" Shrugging, she got up and moved the couch back into place.

Looking around the room, Hermione found herself stuck. She was so bored. Looking up at the clock, she found that it was about 4:30. Three hours to go. Three hours before he would pick her up. Three. Bloody. Hours. she thought. She decided that she would spend the next three getting ready to go. So, without any other thought, Hermione ran up the stairs and to the bathroom.

You're the best listener that I've ever met
You're my best friend
Best friend with benefits
What took me so long

Draco looked up at the clock. It was now 4:30. A half hour before he would leave work, forty-five minutes before he would get to Blaise and Ginny's house, 3 hours before he would see Hermione. Three hours was a long time today.

Looking over at the stack of papers beside him, he groaned. "So much work." he said, slamming his head on the desk. "Ouch…" he muttered. "I should have seen that coming." Laughing softly, he realized that if Hermione had of seen him then, she would have said his blond was showing. She had said the same thing when he had made that oh-so-stupid-sounding comment about their in-floor carpet rug.

Draco took a look around his spacious office. He was the manager of his quickly growing business, Protégé Inc. They supplied many of the stores in Diagon Alley and Hogsmead with the items they needed to run a smooth business. He was a life… err… business-saver for many shops.

Shaking his head, he grabbed the first document off of the pile and began to read it. "New shipment… Da da da da da… 8,000 Galleons… Something something something…" Draco froze and read back a few sentences. His jaw dropped and he blinked a few times. "Eight THOUSAND Galleons! For what?" Draco slumped back in his chair and looked at who the letter was from. He snorted at the irony. "Gringotts. What on earth do they need 8,000 Galleons for?"

He proceeded to read the letter and found the answers to his question. Gringotts was proposing that more tunnels should be built in order to meet the growing demands for vaults. They were hoping that Protégé could help them start the project off, and then they would pay back the 8,000 Galleons at the end of the project. Draco decided that he would give them the 8,000 Galleons, but they would have a deadline for payback before he put a 2 interest fee on it. "That sounds fair." He picked up his quill and signed the form. Placing everything on the desk, he once again looked at the clock. It was 5:15.

Draco jumped up and grabbed his things. He ran out of his office and Apparated to Blaise's house. Ginny ran out of the kitchen and into the living room. "Where have you been Draco Malfoy? You're late!"

"You sound like my mother…"

"What was that?" said Ginny.

"Nothing," Draco said innocently. "Nothing at all."

"That's right, young man." she said, wagging a wooden spoon at Draco. Ginny laughed and walked back into the kitchen. She called for Blaise.

"Blaise! Draco is here. Get your butt down here!" Blaise shot down the steps and stopped in front of Draco. He crossed his arms and looked at Draco sternly. "You're late young man. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Uh… I'm sorry?"

"Sorry isn't good enough young man! Now you get upstairs and get cleaned up. You're a total mess!" Blaise laughed with Draco and clapped him on the back. "Come on. Time to get ready to go."

I've never felt this healthy before
I've never wanted something rational
I am aware now
I am aware now

Draco went upstairs with Blaise and changed into his suit. He walked out of the bathroom and found Blaise and Ginny sitting in the room, waiting for him. "Spiffy… Nice choice in suits." Ginny turned to Blaise. "The man has good taste, don't you agree."

Blaise chuckled. "Yeah, that, and plenty of money." Ginny socked him in the arm playfully.

"Tell him he looks good."

"Draco, you look good man."

"Huh… I thought you were gonna try to lighten the mood again and tell him he looks fine or something…" said Ginny, thinking out loud.

"WHAT?" both men said in union.'

"What what?" asked Ginny.

"What what about me joking about him looking fine! That's what what what meant!"

"What?" said Draco, looking at Blaise.

"Beat you again darling." said Ginny, holding her hand out. "Pay up." Blaise sighed and pulled 3 Galleons out of his pocket and put them in Ginny's outstretched palm.

"What?" said Draco, still confused.

Blaise got up and walked over to Draco. Draco was tall, but Blaise was taller. Much taller. Blaise poked Draco in the shoulder. "Say what one more time, and there is gonna be trouble."

Draco pulled himself up to his full height. "What kind of trouble, may I ask?"

"Oooh…" cooed Ginny. "Don't tempt him Draco. I challenged him one night, and I had a lovely eight legged surprise at breakfast the next morning." Ginny laughed. Draco laughed and nodded. He walked back to the bathroom and grabbed his stuff.

Blaise went over to the dresser and pulled out a small box. He waited for Draco to come out of the bathroom. When he did, he handed him the little box, and Draco pocketed it. All three of them walked downstairs and Blaise opened the door. "Good luck." said Ginny with a smile.

"Thanks." said Draco with an uneasy grin. He ran his fingers through his platinum blonde hair and stepped outside. "I'll let you know how it goes."

Draco walked over to his car and got inside. He had dropped it off here the previous night, telling Hermione that Blaise was going to do a few repairs on it. Dropping his stuff on the seat beside him he put the key in the ignition. He turned it on and put the car into drive. Ginny and Blaise were still at the door smiling. Draco pulled out the box and toyed with it. "She's not going to say yes… Is she?" Draco put the box on the dashboard and stepped on the gas. "She's going to say yes. She's going to say yes. God what am I doing?" He stopped the car and dropped his head against the steering wheel. The horn honked loudly.

Ginny shook her head. "Poor guy."

Blaise put his arm around Ginny's waist and pulled her close. "Yup. Poor guy." With that the two of them went inside.

Draco took his head off of the horn and looked out the window. "Come on Draco. The worst she can do is say no, right?" Visions of Hermione throwing something large at him appeared in his head. He turned sheet white and he gripped the steering wheel with such intensity that his knuckles turned white. "That's it." he said, getting out of the car. "I'm not going." Blaise appeared at the door again and walked towards Draco. He grabbed Draco's shoulders and wheeled him around. Draco began to mumble incoherently.

"It's going to be fine. Relax mate. Take a deep breath." He opened the car door and pushed Draco in. Closing the door he looked in. "Goodbye. You'll be fine. You're going to be late."

"Late?" mumbled Draco, grabbing the tiny box and pocketing it.

"Yes late. Now go." Blaise patted Draco on the shoulder through the open window. Draco gathered his courage and turned the car on. After a few moments of babbling nonsense, he drove off towards the apartment to pick up Hermione.

You've already won me over in spite of me
Don't be alarmed if I fall head over feet
Don't be surprised if I love you for all that you are
I couldn't help it
It's all your fault

Hermione waited outside in her new dress. Her hair was styled into the light curls she loved so much. Finally, Draco pulled up in front of the house. "Come on birthday girl!" Draco called to her, grinning. Hermione rushed down to the car and got in.

"What took you so long?" she said, kissing him on the cheek. "Hard day at work?"

"Uh… Yeah baby. Really long difficult day." Draco looked into the witch's eyes. He lost himself in thought for a moment. He loved the way her honey coloured eyes were complimented by her now darker tresses. He snapped out of his stupor and looked her up and down. "I… Um… Wow… Herm… You look fantastic."

Hermione blushed slightly and smiled shyly. "Thank you. I absolutely love the dress and jewellery… Thank you darling." She leaned over and kissed him.

"By the way," he said, putting the car into drive and slowly stepping on the pedal. "Happy birthday."

The two of them talked the whole way there. Hermione talked about all the thinking she had done today, and how sweet he was for making her think her new tablecloth was permanently burned. Draco laughed and told her about all the requests at work, and his visit to Blaise and Ginny's. He of course left out the part about the tiny box Blaise had been holding onto for him.

Finally, they pulled up to the restaurant and parked the car. They walked into the restaurant. There weren't many people there tonight, but it was nice. Draco silently thanked Merlin. That way, if she refused him, there wouldn't be that many people to humiliate himself in front of. "Oh!" Hermione squealed. She grabbed Draco's arm and pointed across the room. "Draco, look at that." In the wall on the far side of the room, was a glass encasement where there was what looked to be at least 50 small birds, each a different shade of red or purple. "Aren't they beautiful?" Draco smiled and nodded.

"Yes, they are quite beautiful. But," she said with a sigh that made Hermione look at him uncertainly. "Not as beautiful as you." He dipped down and kissed her softly. He stood back up, and Hermione smiled at him shyly.

"Do you have reservations?" a small, round man asked the two.

Draco looked at him and nodded. "Malfoy. Table for two." The little man looked through the book and nodded.

"Right this way." He led them out of the first room, and, much to Hermione's delight, seated them right in front of the glass casing where the birds were. One small bird hopped forward and looked at Hermione and Draco through the glass. It twittered and blinked at them. Hermione laughed and turned to Draco.

"I think this is an excellent place to come." Picking up her menu, she looked through it for a few minutes. Finally, the small man came back and they both ordered their food. After enjoying their meal, Hermione looked up at Draco. "Thank you Draco. For taking me here. And for the dress. And the jewellery." Draco smiled and reached into his pocket. He pulled out the small box and handed it to her. She looked at him uncertainly.

"Open it." she encouraged her. Slowly, she opened the box. Inside was a beautiful bracelet of silver. There were small diamonds set into it.

"Draco…" she gasped. "It's beautiful. I love it. Thank you." she said in awe. She turned to look up at Draco, but he was no longer in front of her. She turned to her right, and found that Draco was standing in front of her. He got down on one knee in front of her, and Hermione's eyes started to water. "Oh…" she whispered.

"Hermione, we've been d-dating for about four years now. Over that time, I've fallen in love with you." Hermione swiped at a tear.

"During that time, I've also learned a lot of things. But the thing I have learned most recently," Draco reached into his pocket and pulled out another box. Hermione stifled a sob, knowing what was coming next. "Is that I want to spent the rest of my life with you." Draco reached out and took her hand.

"Hermione Jane Granger, will you marry me?" Draco's voice shook as he said the final four words. Tears poured down Hermione's face and she bit her lip.

"Draco…" she whispered. "I…" Draco's heart sank. It sounded like she was going to refuse. 'See?' a part of him whispered. 'I told you this was a bad idea.' "Yes…" she choked out. "Yes, I will marry you."

Draco's jaw dropped. He blinked several times before he came to his senses. He looked up at Hermione, who was smiling and crying. "Yes?" he whispered.

Hermione nodded and laughed. "Yes!" Draco began to shake a little, but he managed to slip the ring onto her finger. He stood up, taking her with him. Picking her up and twirling her around once, he looked into her eyes and kissed her.

"I love you…" she whispered.

"I love you too." he said.

You've already won me over in spite of me
Don't be alarmed if I fall head over feet
Don't be surprised if I love you for all that you are
I couldn't help it
It's all your fault

They left the restaurant soon, and spent the night out. Feelings were thick that night, and emotions ran high. Who knew that one, three letter word could mean so much? Who knew that it would change you forever? That night, neither of them had ever felt more in love.

Late that night, they found themselves up on a hill and looking down at the city. The lights twinkled brightly, almost seeming to wink at the two. Hermione was wrapped in Draco's arms. "I've never felt so happy…" she said, looking out onto the horizon.

"This is only the beginning baby." Draco whispered, hugging her closer. "This is only the beginning."

A/N: TADA! I hope you enjoyed reading the story as much as I did writing it. This I think is actually the longest one I have ever written (11 pages)! Yay me!

I would like to dedicate this story to Briar Jade (a.k.a. Quirk). Happy 15th birthday! I love ya like a sister! Lots of love and hugs for you! MUAH!