Four Word Prompts

Ship: Drinny

Prompt: This Was Never Right

Rated: K+ for language

End of Seventh Year

Ginny Weasley sat under a shady tree in front of the lake, home of the Giant Squid. She watched as the squid (she affectionately called Tenty) waved its wild tentacles around catching the large food pellets that Ginny levitated over the lake, feeding him. Hagrid had shown her that trick last year.

It was the last day she would spend at Hogwarts, having had her graduation ceremony a few hours prior. Her whole family was there, including Fleur, Bill, and their brand new baby Victoire, whom Ginny had fallen head over heels for.

The entire moment had felt bittersweet and surreal to her. No longer would she roam the halls getting to class, play Quidditch for Gryffindor, visit Hagrid's hut with Luna, and one of her favorite things sneak into Slytherin dorm.

Of course, she hadn't done that since her sixth year. Still, it was fun to think about.

As she reflected on the night that Filch almost caught her, the reason for her sneaking into the murky dorm rooms sat quietly beside her, his clearing of his throat taking her out of her thoughts.

"Is there a reason why you ruined my peace with your presence, Ferret?" asked Ginny, glancing over at the smirking figure and rolled her eyes. "I'm surprised you're still here, Ferret," she said.

"As am I, Weaselette," said Draco Malfoy. "And hush. You know you're happy to bask in the glow of my glory."

"Wanker."

"Harpy. Why aren't you in your little tower partying with the rest of your horrid house?" asked Draco.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "I didn't feel like it. Besides, some annoying little silver haired fox sent me a very impatient owl telling me to find a meeting spot." she said as she got up and brushed her skirt off of the grass that has accumulated from her picking it and weaving it together.

Draco got up and stood in front of her. "And you picked a smelly lake? Romantic. I've almost sickened by the wonderful smell of sewage and fish."

Ginny popped Draco on the shoulder and leaned her back against the tree. "I thought it fitting since you're so slimy. You're such a fucking git, do you know that?"

Draco chuckled as he put his one hand against the tree near Ginny's head and the other hand on her waist. "You tell me that so much, I should have it etched on my arm." said Draco, bringing his face closer to Ginny's.

"You prat, someone could see," whispered Ginny harshly.

"And?" said Draco stubbornly. "It's the last day of Hogwarts and with you leaving and me having to stay to take the Potions job from Slughorn next term, we won't be seeing much of each other until Christmas. And as I've been telling you for months, I don't care what people think if they found out about us."

"But my parents and Ron are still around here and Merlin knows what will happen if they-"

Draco placed a finger on Ginny's lips. "That's my burden to bare, don't you think? They will only yell at you. Your oaf of a brother will likely try to pummel me, and then tell your other herd of brothers, yes?"

Ginny chuckled at Draco's accuracy. "But this isn't right."

"This was never right."

"Don't remind me. How did my normally intelligent self end up in this perdictiment again?"

"Oh shut it, you've loved me since you attempted to intimidate me over Potter in Flourish & Blotts before your first year," said Draco as he snaked his arms around Ginny's waist.

"Lies. I despised you back then. I had just gotten my wand and I was itching to use it on you at that moment." said Ginny , placing her hands on the back of Draco's neck, playing with the fringe of his hair.

"You don't have to admit it, but I will." laughed Draco, something Ginny very much enjoyed seeing him do. Despite his cold facade that he usually put on for the rest of Hogwarts, his true laughter was warm and delightful to the ears.

"You'll admit what?"

"That I fancied you since that day, of course. Get your head out of the clouds."

"Oh yeah, you sure did fancy me," scoffed Ginny, as she dropped her hands from Draco's neck and started walking the castle. "Which is why you mocked my Valentine-"

"Of course I did. It was for sodding Potter." said Draco, taking her hand and walking beside her.

"-antagonized my brother..."

"I mean he makes it so easy, doesn't he?"

"-made sport of my friends in horrible ways..."

"Which I have apologized about a thousand times since your fifth year might I add."

"-and also stalked me from the library to the Quidditch pitch for weeks until I finally agreed to talk to you and the first thing you do is call me Weaselette." finished Ginny.

"A term of endearment, of course. It always has been."

"So what? Am I supposed to go with the disgusting cliche of 'you was nasty to me because you fancied me?'" asked Ginny.

"No," said Draco sincerely, as they stopped in an empty outdoor corridor near Greenhouse 3. "I didn't act like a prat to you because I fancied you. I acted like a prat because I was one. I stopped being one because I fancied you."

Ginny was taken aback. True, she had started dating Draco a couple months into her sixth year because of the changes that he had made since they had started conversing April of her fifth, but she had never gotten out of him what she now took as the real reason he stopped being a bigoted asshole.

Draco had began to pop up whenever Ginny was either alone in the library, walking by herself to class, or when she was flying by herself on the Quidditch pitch. At first, she had been both cautious and snarky to the boy, as she felt that his sudden change of heart was nothing more but a plan to get on her and the trio's nerves. Over time, however, after passing banter that wasn't malicious, Draco slowly began opening up to Ginny about his true feelings and not just for her, but for everything he was going through.

He had told her about how he had decided that being a horrible bigoted little snipe just wasn't fulfilling anymore. He had spoke on the fact of his father landing in Azkaban for killing Ginny's young friend Colin Creevey just for not only being a Muggleborn, but for also snapping his photo in Diagon Alley. Bo amount of money could buy Lucius Malfoy out of the one way ticket he received from using an unforgivable on the poor boy, who to this day Ginny still missed with everything in her heart.

That day had proved to be a valuable lesson to Draco. He had always heard his father speak on his feelings for muggles and Muggleborns but witnessing him actually killing not only a Muggleborn,but a child over something that didn't even mean anything had opened his eyes on how barmy and messed up his family's ways of thinking were. He didn't want to become his father anymore. He didn't want to become a killer. Plus, as he had attended school and encountered Muggleborns, everything that his father had taught him about them behind the protected pureblood walls of Malfoy Manor had proven to had been a lie.

He and Ginny had written each other in secret that entire summer. They spent part of the train ride back to school in a secluded train car in the back of the train that Draco heavily warded and talked, even sharing their first kiss, though a relationship was not explored until a little after Halloween.

They met in secret after games, in the library, occasionally in the Room of Requirement, and every now and then, Ginny would gather her Gryffindor courage and sneak into Draco's dorm when his dormmates would be asleep. They wouldn't do anything past conversations, snogging, cuddling, and literal sleeping, but those moments were always cherished between them. Once in a while, Draco would even chance it and fly into Ginny's open dorm window when her roommates were asleep.

He was the one that helped her with her Tom Riddle nightmares, and in turn she would help him work on being a better person. In secret, they were inseparable.

Even when Draco graduated, they would spend a few summer moments together, as well as Hogsmeade visits, and eventually saw each other more when Draco returned to Hogwarts after Christmas to help Professor Slughorn with Potions.

And now he was going to be a teacher. The youngest Hogwarts professor ever.

"So you stopped being a nasty little wart because you wanted me? What happened to everything you had told me of wanting to be a better person?" asked Ginny.

Draco shrugged. "I had to be a better person to get with you, didnt I? Would you have wanted to be with me if I was the old Draco Malfoy?"

"And here I was thinking you wanted to be good." sighed Ginny, feeling disappointment creep into her.

Draco smiled, lifting Ginny's chin so she would look up to him. "Oh I'll always be bad, milady, but you are correct in your thinking. I did want to be a better person. Better than my wretch of a father, better than the Malfoy line of nothing but hate and prejudice. You, my dear, was a lovely incentive to my betterment. I figured along with being respected by all and doing what was right for a change, I could have what I wanted since the first moment I encountered you."

Ginny smiled, feeling the blush creep onto her cinnamon dusted cheeks. "And now?" she asked as Draco sat on a nearby bench and pulled her onto his lap, her arms draped over his shoulders.

"Now, I can honestly say, I'm much happier." said Draco, the still somewhat foreign feeling of pride in himself for being positive knotting up his stomach. "I don't have to worry about the rushing pressure my father used to put on me, I am no longer frowned upon by these bloody teachers at this school, and best of all, I have you. And if you really want to know Ginevra, I don't care who knows about us. I don't want us to be a secret anymore. I don't want to sneak behind your family's back to see you anymore."

Ginny felt her stomach do flip flops. She too had grown tired of keeping their relationship a secret. The fears of Draco being judged, ridiculed, and physically hurt was the only reasons why she hasn't told anyone but Luna about their relationship. She alone knew the depths of Draco's change of heart. It warmed her every time someone was amazed to see his improvement. He had even spoken to and ew as a complete gentleman to her mum, who was apprehensive at first, but eventually accepted his sincerity and his apologies of the way he and his family had treated them over the years.

"So you really want to tell them? All of them?" whispered Ginny, feeling a tear attempt to form as she stood up off of Draco's lap.

"Oh don't go all sentimental and cry like some ickle firstie on me," joked Draco. "It's not that serious. I'm only going to be telling everyone about how much I love my future wife."

"You're saying that like it's -wait...what the hell did you say?!" gasped Ginny as Draco's words registered in her head as she watched him kneel down on one knee in front of her.

Draco pulled out a small black velvet box and opened it up to reveal the deepest red ruby that Ginny had ever seen. Hell, the only ruby she had EVER seen in her entire life. He then took Ginny's trembling hand into his, holding it tightly but tenderly.

"Yeah I know this isn't right," began Draco. "A Malfoy and a Weasley? But I don't care about that anymore. I dont think I ever did. All I care about is you. Ginevra Weasley, will you marry me?"