DISCLAIMER: Not mine.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm hoping to make a series out of this, although I'm not sure how long it will be. Some of the situations (particularly involving the Weasleys .. and Harry) are somewhat unrealistic, so don't freak out. Harry can still be your knight in shining armor. He's just not mine. I do love the Weasley's, so excuse their characters in this.
Mending Pieces
She set her eyes on him the second he walked through the front door.
Madame Lisette's night club was a popular attraction for the worst kinds of people, and an easy out for those who desired an escape for one evening. Aside from the regular drunks and fiends, the venue consisted of many men unhappy with their marriages, or women overwhelmed with the hardships of being employed. A dark, noisy night club provided anonymity throughout the evening, along with alcohol, music, and a floor to dance and mingle. Bartenders and security wizards were dressed in all black, appearing clean-clut and high-class. Promiscuous and bare, the stage dancers were provided with what looked like jeweled lingerie of various colors and heels to match. Waitresses scaled the crowded floors in strapless dresses of maroon reds and eggplant purples, adorned with gems and lace, large slits and revealing bust lines.
The prime objective was to lure in the big spenders and spit them out completely wanting more.
Ginny Weasley began working at Madame Lisette's about two years after the war. For a year she was Madame's youngest stage dancer, lithe and talented. Her flaming red hair and large doe eyes called out to the drooling men and made the women increasingly envious. A certain jazz dance became her signature routine, and for six months she was broadcasted as "Chicago Charlotte." And for six months, she was a star.
The Weasley clan was completely oblivious to Ginny's new lifestyle. They'd never heard of Madame Lisette's, and for the friends who had, not one dared venture inside.
Ginny completed her last year at Hogwarts with ease and without the predicaments of the "golden trio" to distract her. She continued to date Harry even though she was away, and received word from her family quite often. Everyone had noticed Ginny's dramatic change. The deaths of Fred, Remus, Tonks, Sirius, Dumbledore, and so many others, hit her harder than anyone, save George. She didn't need to vocalize it, her family knew. Everyone could sense it; Ginny's loss of focus and emotion could not go unnoticed. It was rarely spoken of, however, and never to Ginny herself. Her life continued on as normal, in her eyes, until she returned home for Christmas.
Harry had been living in his own flat in London, and apparating there was as natural to Ginny as breathing. She decided to visit him before she went home to her family. After turning the lock with her own key, she pushed the door open with ease and dropped her bags to the floor. "I'm home," she called with a light smile.
The hushed whispers and rustling noises coming from behind Harry's closed bedroom door made her heart stop. She made her way to the door hesitantly, repeating in her head, It's nothing, I'm crazy, I'm crazy, it's nothing. Harry's just woken up. Ginny jiggled the knob, and pushed the door open, which revealed dirty sheets, a shirt strewn over a lamp, melted candles, black panties on the floor, and Padma Patil.
"Gin," Harry flung himself from the bed, pulling the top layer of his sheets with him. "I thought you were coming home tomorrow... how... how did you get in here?"
She held her palm open. "My key. The key that you gave me." Ginny shook her head in disbelief, and threw her key at the window. It fell to the floor ineffectively. "What the hell, Harry! Please spare me the embarassing, 'I don't know how it happened,' and 'I never meant to hurt you' crap," she spat menacingly. "You know that doesn't work with me."
"Look, Gin--"
"--No, Harry! You arrogant bastard!" she raced at him, pounding both fists into his sweaty chest. His sweat, her sweat, remnants of her kisses. "How could you do this to me!" she screamed up into his face, delivering one last blow to his cheek, and storming out of the room entirely.
She had already snatched her bags and was halfway out the door when she felt his fingers enclose around her wrist. She burned at the touch, and pulled away. "Don't touch me," she hissed, hiding her swollen eyes and flushed cheeks. Hiding her hot tears.
"Ginny, I'm sorry," he spoke to her back. "You were gone. Even when you were here, you were gone."
She turned to face him, eyes fixed on his swollen lips. Swollen from her kisses, no doubt. "If this is your idea of an excuse, you're insane."
"I lost you when they died. A part of you died that day," he whispered, hands settling on her shoulders and pulling her closer. "You never smile anymore, or laugh. You never kiss me back. All summer, gone. Numb. Broken. And you won't let me help you. When I ask if you're alright, you get mad and storm off. You never even cry."
"I'm crying now, aren't I?" her voice softened for a moment, and he pulled her into a soft embrace.
"I'm sorry Gin," he kissed her eyes and her tears. "I'm truly sorry."
Her eyes shot to the bedroom door and she remembered the filth behind it. She inhaled sharply and jumped out of his grasp. "I don't want to see you ever again," she snarled, and with a loud crack she vanished entirely.
Ginny reappeared in front of the Burrow. The worn-down lopsided house that she called home. Her tears had dried, and so she assumed she was free of suspicion. Upon opening her front door, however, it was made instantly clear that Ginny was wrong. "Oh, honey," Molly called, as she scurried towards her daughter. "What's wrong?"
She sighed into her mother's embrace, which felt to close to her ex-boyfriend's. "It's Harry," she pulled away from her mother's arms and made for the stairs. "We're not together anymore."
Ginny was surprised when she ascended the stairs without Molly being hot on her tail. It wasn't like her mother to receive news like this without question. Molly Weasley was known for getting to the bottom of every problem, and fixing most of them, so when Ginny made it to her room and didn't feel a hand on her shoulder, she knew something was wrong.
Ron and Hermione raced down the stairs to welcome Ginny home, though Hermione nudged Ron out of the way to steal the first hug. "How is school, Ginny?" she pried affectionately, and Ron remained quiet behind her. They were both off, everything was off.
"Harry and I are through, but I'm sure you both know this already," she snapped, fixing a glare on Ron as she backed away from Hermione.
Hermione bit her lip nervously and looked to Ron who hung his head low. "I'm sorry, Ginny," he sighed.
"How long have you known that he was shagging Padma Patil?" her cheeks reddened again, eyes glistening with tears.
"About a month," Hermione replied softly. "We wanted to tell you, but--"
"--he wanted to tell you himself." Ron finished.
Ginny laughed a cold, heartless laugh. "Well he didn't," she snapped. "Harry didn't tell me anything. I had to walk in on those two fucking! You couldn't have spared me that?"
"Ginny, we--"
"--Who else knows?" she was screaming now. "How many people knew about this!"
Hermione sighed. "Your mum and dad. Percy, Bill, George, even Charlie."
Ginny gasped inwardly, clenching her nails into the palms of her hands. "You all knew," she whispered. "You all knew."
"Ginny," Hermione reached for Ginny's hand and missed. "He didn't mean to hurt you. He told all of us before he started dating her that he couldn't help you anymore. That you were beyond his love, and that you were broken. He told us he'd written you about all of this--"
"--Well clearly, he hadn't, Hermione!" Ginny screamed. "Clearly he hadn't written to me if I had no clue walking into his apartment just a half hour ago! I can't believe you would all take his side in this! I can't believe you didn't tell me!"
"We're sorry," Ron offered, starting towards his sister. "We didn't mean for it to happen this way. We thought he'd written you."
Ginny cackled again and reached for her bags. "Sod off, Ronald. You can have Harry, and you can have his glory. I hope mum and dad can treat him like the son that I never was." she spat out at them both as she stormed down the stairs. Her parents were waiting at the foot of the stairs with concerned faces, but she shoved them both aside. "Leave me alone!" she screeched, racing outside. She heard Molly protest behind her but it was too late. She apparated to Luna's as soon as she was clear of the doorway.
--
Ginny learned a very valuable lesson that day. Sad faces and broken smiles don't sell.
She went back to Hogwarts and completed her last term. After graduating, Ginny never returned home. She'd crashed at Luna's for a bit, scaled Diagon Alley for a job, and came up with nothing. No source of income. But Ginny didn't dare return home. She couldn't face her family again.
That was when she stumbled upon Madame Lisette's a couple of blocks away from the Leaky Cauldron. It was loud and obnoxious but it was also very alive. Ginny smiled as she stepped foot in the mysterious night club, a wide, genuine smile. She'd never heard of this place, and she'd never heard of her friends talking about it. She knew that she would never find the Weasleys here.
Ginny became a stage dancer that day, and her forced smiles and glittery eyes attracted the best of them. Never before had she danced like this. Getting her toes crunched on by Neville Longbottom at the yule ball was the closest thing to dancing she could remember. But as soon as the curtain was drawn and the band played, Ginny became alive. She rocked her hips seductively and kicked her legs high, and that was how this star was born.
After six months as "Chicago Charlotte," Madame Lisette asked Ginny to become her personal assistant. Instead of wearing the provocative costumes, she was allowed to wear classy dresses. She was still permitted to wear eccentric eye makeup for reasons of anonymity. Still she hadn't seen a living soul whom she recognised as friendly, and still she desired to hide.
It was on her first shift as the hostess, or Madame Lisette's assistant, that she watched him saunter into the club.
It was like she had just seen him the day before. He cast off his black coat to the nearest set of hands and waited for immediate attention, arms folded delicately. It was evident that he had grown into his body, what with the muscular chest and broad shoulders. He was just as pale as she last remembered, though his eyes were hard and certain. No longer was he a curious little boy, but a confident young man. His jawline was strong, bold, and his thin lips curled into a delicious-looking smirk that Ginny instantly remembered from Hogwarts.
Malfoy.
In all her state of awe and remembrance, Ginny had almost forgotten her job. "High-class customer, Charlie," the bartender Lucas whispered into her ear. "Madame will love this one, but don't lose heart now. Confidence; you're brilliant."
She offered him a convincing smile, inhaled and exhaled slowly. Ginny slid off the bar stool and took her first step towards her past. "Atta girl," Lucas called after her.
Ginny had also changed since Hogwarts. Her vibrant fire-red mane had tamed into flowing locks that hung to the middle of her back. Upon being hired at Madame's, Ginny attempted to conceal her identity by dying her hair brown. It became a chestnut burgundy colour instead. She was adorned in a black strapless dress that fell down to her knees, with a tight bodice lined in silver gems. Any jewelry would have overwhelmed her dress, and so Ginny stuck with a simple pair of black stilettos which she instantly regretted. She could only think of the bruises that would await her at home. Her dress however, did conceal a lot more than what she was used to wearing, so she remained thankful.
Luckily Ginny had decided to go the extra mile to conceal the majority of her face with cosmetics. Her amber eyes were framed with a mask of black and silver eyeshadow. It appeared as though they were lined with butterfly wings; while mostly black, they were also lined in silver. It was an intricate design with which she spent much time on, so she felt confident that Malfoy would fail to recognize her. Chicago Charlotte, you're Chicago Charlotte. You can do this. Breathe, breathe.
"Welcome to Madame Lisette's," she advanced, stopping herself once within arm's length. "Shall I get you a table or would you prefer sitting at the bar?"
A pair of icey grey eyes fixed upon her, and her heart began to pick up speed. It was too comfortable, too much like Hogwarts.
"I'd prefer the bar," he replied, voice silky and smooth. She would have mistaken him for Lucius if it weren't for the absence of a ponytail.
"Follow me," she turned, quickly, and made her way toward the stage-end of the bar. Madame's trick. Sit the high-paying customers near the dancers and they'll be here..paying..all night. "I trust that this view fits your liking. If not, perhaps I could afford you a table closer to the stage."
He motioned a wave with his hand, and Ginny perceived it as a dismissal. She turned to leave, until he grabbed her wrist forcefully and sat her down beside him. Her wrist burned from his touch, but she let it be.
"You aren't going to join me, miss Charlotte?" he purred, instincts feline and calculating. His toying smirk was enough to make any girl swoon, but Ginny wasn't any girl. "It would honor me to buy you a drink."
Ginny smiled and looked down the bar, catching Lucas' cautioning glance. "Oh, I would love to keep you company," her voice softened teasingly. "but I'm afraid I have certain duties to attend to. You wouldn't want to get me into trouble with Madame, now would you?"
He took the bait. "Of course I wouldn't, but isn't this Madame a strong advocate of fraternization?"
"Certainly," she slid down from the bar stool. "but unfortunately that does not fit the criteria of my position. You will just have to settle on some other girl."
He took hold of her hand before she could disappear. His fingers were like ice, but she felt warmth from his touch. Draco's cold, grey eyes locked into Ginny's of a soft amber, and he kept hold of them as he bent his neck to brush his lips lightly against her knuckles.
Ginny exhaled slow and ragged, biting her lip in one last attempt to regain the upper hand. "I suppose I will just have to request a little discussion with Madame Lisette," he smirked, releasing her hand. "Won't you tell her for me?"
"Of course," Ginny complied, and finally retreated to her default position on a barstool by the front door.
Draco and Ginny had barely exchanged ten words back at school, and here they had just held an entire conversation. Not only that, but they were actually flirting. Not once did Ginny feel repulsed by his overwhelming bait, nor did she completely despise the husky voice that had wooed too many before. Draco Malfoy had actually charmed Ginny Weasley. She shook her head in disbelief. Although he may be a persuasive charmer, she was certainly not going to fall for his womanizing antics. She had seen too many girls crash and burn over this one before. And she would not become the next one.
Just as she was putting a stop to her stray thoughts, Ginny felt a quick nudge from Lucas who pointed at the door. Madame Lisette had arrived. Instantly she made her way to Ginny, asking about the customers, dance routines, the weekly food delivery, etc. Ginny's thoughts ran away with her again. Madame seemed like a high-class, respectable woman of fifty five years of age. What possessed her to open a night club? She was always the best-dressed woman in the club, and always the most conservative, so it made Ginny wonder why she would ever subject her girls to flaunting so much of what they have. Madame always remained a mystery.
"How has the night been treating you, my dear?" she asked affectionately, linking her arm through Ginny's as she motioned for Lucas.
"I've been enjoying myself. Everyone's focused on the dancing and half-naked girls, so I've been able to go quite unnoticed," she grinned, tucking a stray hair behind her ear.
"That won't be for long, dear," Madame giggled. "Suddenly the men will start to drool over the girl that is running the tables."
Ginny laughed, shaking her head. "Lucas will protect me."
"Of course I will," the bartender chimed in. "What can I get for you, Madame?"
"The usual, love."
"I'll go make the rounds," Ginny grinned, leaving Madame to flirt with her youngest and most favored bartender. Lucas didn't even know what was coming.
For the rest of the evening, Ginny spent her time mingling with customers; seating, serving drinks, and of course flirting. Making each customer feel loved was the prime objective of Madame Lisette's night club. If love was passed around, money would also be passed around. And the only thing Madame Lisette loved more than flirting was money.
One pair of eyes had been locked on Ginny since he arrived. The little hostess had made quite an impression on him. Whether it was her amber doe eyes or luscious red lips, he wasn't certain. But watching a middle-aged man of a grotesque weight push a stray lock of burgundy behind her delicate ear made him cringe. Draco Malfoy had never been a jealous man, and so the entire emotion was lost on him. He'd never experienced it nor wielded it, and so now it remained uncontrolled and fierce. Jealousy would not serve him easily. It wasn't like his usual territorial side, either. Becoming possessive over his own prize. No, Draco Malfoy felt oddly protective over the little Ginny Weasley, whom he had always regarded as an enemy. The war was over now, and his father was dead, so did it even matter? He decided it didn't.
That was why he spoke to Madame Lisette just ten minutes prior about his favoring her spicy little diva.
He watched a man, who looked to be in his early thirties, run his finger along the inside of her knee and laugh. He watched her step back, alarmed at first, and shake loose the innocent gaping mouth. Her wine-red lips curled into a calculating smile, amber eyes darkened dangerously. He watched her choke back the anger and hatred she so easily developed for this sleezy man. Angry faces also don't sell. "If there's anything else I could get for you," she breathed heavily. "Just let me know."
She pivoted on her right foot and made an attempt to break away until she heard the man call out from behind her, "How about getting a room upstairs? I'd love to see you on your back."
Draco watched the man, watched this, watched her. She stopped dead in her tracks, eyes black with hate. Madame Lisette's was not a prostitute ring, it was a respectable night club built solely for pleasure. The other customers here did not expect sex; at least not from the employees. They chose Madame Lisette's to feel loved and wanted. Sex was too easy and they could find it on the streets. Madame's employees were performers and actors, but they were not available for paid sex. Madame made sure of this. And talking to one of Madame's ladies like this, Draco knew, would not bode well.
Ginny turned to face the man once more, nostrils flaring, teeth clenching. She was about to open her mouth with a half-assed retort, but she felt an arm sneak around her waist and pull her back. Her eyes left the sleezy, now jealous-looking man, and fixed upon none other than Draco Malfoy. "I thought you'd left already," she breathed, placing her hand on his chest to keep a distance.
"I decided to stay," he smirked, attempting to pull her in closer. "You looked like you needed a bit of help."
"I can handle it myself," she bit back, removing his arm from around her waist and slipping free.
"Clearly you can't," he laughed. "You nearly bit that guy's head off. Don't tell me that Madame Lisette would have let you get off easy with that one."
She folded her arms stubbornly. "That's none of your concern."
He ignored her. "Speaking of Madame, did you happen to relay my message to her?"
Ginny shook her head. "That's too bad," he murmured. "She mentioned nothing of memory loss in our lengthy conversation about you."
"What did you say to her?" she demanded.
"We just discussed how permanent your position here might be."
"What did you do?"
The corners of his mouth curled into a conniving grin, and Ginny certainly caught the mischievous twinkle in his eyes. "How would you like to come stay with me for awhile?"
Ginny scoffed and bit her lower lip to refrain from ridiculing him further. "Stay with you? Not a chance."
He traced his finger along the inside of her shoulder, collarbone, and finally up to her chin. "I could offer you a better life than this," he spoke softly, seriously.
"I'm happy here," she pulled away from his grasp defensively. "Madame treats me well. And I would rather die than become one of your pets, Malfoy. I know how you treat your women.. or sex slaves. Offer them the world but spit them out once you're through. I will never become one of them."
"You act like working here is any different," he snapped, eyes narrowing. "Where have you received this unbelievably reliable information? How would you even know anything about me? Did I once give you my name this evening?"
Ginny's heart stopped, and she recalled how similar it was to walking into Harry's apartment that one afternoon. "I've just... I've heard rumors. And Madame told me who you were earlier."
"Mmm," he hummed, closing the distance between them once more. "And so you're saying that because of these rumors, you believe that what I have to offer couldn't possibly benefit you?"
"What you offer is completely different from what you execute," she whispered. "I will never become yours."
He snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her tight against him. She shivered against his touch and the hard, muscular definition of his chest. He leaned his face in and cupped her chin softly, bringing her lips impossibly close to his. She felt his breath cool hers and she caught a whiff of peppermint. Her body was burning from the contact, and yet his hand that traced her spine made her blood run cold.
"We'll see about that," he replied huskily. "Weasley."
Within seconds he had released her entirely and left her to the cold. She watched him disappear from the club and only then could she pick her chin up from off the floor.
Ginny had been a fool, a damned fool, to think that Malfoy wouldn't recognise her. To think that the burgundy hair and erratic makeup would conceal her identity. He had probably spotted her out as a Weasley the moment she addressed him in the doorway. He had probably spotted her out before. And how glorious he must have felt witnessing the youngest member of his enemy clan as a subject to the dancing half-naked, and pleasing a sleezy venue. How victorious he must have felt to see her at so low a point. So broken and used. So wretched and provocative. So much like him.
She hated him fiercely, and wanted to shout out to the entire building how much she wished for the death of Draco sodding Malfoy. How intensely she wanted him to burn for witnessing this; her, in her vulnerable position. How passionately she wanted to break him down with all her might.
And it was surprising to her how much she just wanted him to come back.
--
What do you think? Reviews are love.