Le Volet

My only love spun from my only hate... GWxDM, Details and Summary inside. Post-Hogwarts.

TITLE: LE VOLET

RATING: T

GENRE: ROMANCE/DRAMA

SUMMARY: AFTER THE WAR, A DEPRESSION HITS THE WIZARDING WORLD. HER FATHER LOSES HER JOB AND MONEY'S RUNNING THIN, AND GINNY'S ONLY CHOICE IS TO GET A JOB WORKING FOR THE ONE MAN WHO TORMENTED HER AT HOGWARTS. BUT BEFORE GINNY KNOWS IT, SHE'S DROWNING IN POSSIBLE DEATH EATER RELATIONS THAT MAY JUST CAUSE MORE DESTRUCTION THAN THE WAR DID...

COUPLES: HPxGW, GWxDM, HGxRW, DGxZS, HAxBZ (You may not know a bunch of those initials, but don't worry, they're ALL canon.)

DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING BUT THE PLOT AND THE CHARACTERIZATIONS OF SOME CHARACTERS.

CHAPITRE UN

Remember when you scratched our names into the sand and told me you loved me? And now that I find that you changed your mind, I'm lost for words. And everything I feel for you I wrote down on one piece of paper... The one in your hand, you won't understand how much it hurts to let you go. ... Was I too close for comfort? Guess I'll never know. MCFLY (Too Close for Comfort.)

Daphne Greengrass turned her face left and right in the mirror, lifting her head at different angles to see which was her best side. Hannah Abbot, who was eating cereal in she and Ginny's shared room, tilted her head curiously at her friend's odd position. Daphne was about to apply her final coat of mascara when Hermione Granger, one of Daphne's three roommates, bustled in the bedroom, muttering and holding a white, torn envelope in her hand. Usually, Daphne would have ignored her, but this time she couldn't help but be curious.

"What's that, Granger?" Daphne asked, turning around quickly.

Hermione bit her lower lip and cautiously held the envelope behind her back. "None of your business, Greengrass."

Daphne rose an eyebrow. "Alright then, don't tell me. I'll figure it out myself." She stared at Hermione for a very long time, noting attire, facial expression, and overall attitude. Hermione was wearing a long purple sweater with a black belt and long black skirt paired with black heels. Her usually ridiculously bushy brunette hair was now curled politely and delicately.

"Let me guess," Daphne said after a while, "you were at your little boyfriend's house."

Hermione blushed. "Yes, but -"

"So if it has something to do with your boyfriend, it either involves you or Ginny. But if it was about you, I doubt you'd be in here, so it clearly must be Ginny," she continued, smirking. "See? Told you I could figure it out. So why don't you just tell us before she gets here?"

Hermione opened her mouth to say something, but Ginny entered the room from her shower in a robe and smiled at everyone, then walked to her dresser drawers and began looking for clothes. Everyone was staring at her, silently wondering what was in Hermione's letter that affected Ginny. Noticing the silence, Ginny slowly turned around and looked at the girls.

"Uh... yes?"

Hermione looked down at the letter in her hands and gave it to Ginny wordlessly. Ginny took it, staring at it curiously. She looked back up at the girls, but everyone but Daphne had left the room, giving Ginny her privacy. Ginny looked pointedly at Daphne, who smirked.

"If you think I'm moving, you're funny."

Ginny took a sigh, realizing that waiting for her roommate to be done with her makeup would take far too long, and her curiosity was overwhelming. Turning her back to Daphne, she ripped the letter open with a flourish.

Dear Ginny,

I really hate to tell you this, but mum is a bit too distraught to tell you herself, and dad, well... I'm sure he wouldn't want to write this. And everyone else is far too wrapped up in their own business to tell you, so it's my duty to be the bearer of bad news.

'Oh, hell,' Ginny thought to herself before continuing.

Father has lost his job at the Ministry of Magic thanks to the sudden depression after the War. Fred and George's business isn't getting quite as much attention or money as it used to because, well, times are bad and getting worse - no one's interested in a practical joke. The rest of the brothers and I are scrambling to get good jobs, but, well, jobs are pretty hard to come by around here.

We're not doing too great, Gin. We're really not, and it's bloody scary.

I just thought I'd fill you in, because since you've moved in with your friends, you're the last to get information.

Love,

Ron.

Ginny finished the letter, then reread it. Before she knew it, tears were filling her eyes. She tried to string two comprehensible thoughts together, but all she got was poor, dirty, muggle-lovers. The thought - moreover, the memory - sent shivers down her spine.

"You and your family's nothing but a bunch of poor, dirty, muggle-lovers," he said, the sneer only half-shown. Inside it hurt Ginny to hear the words, but outside she showed no pity.

Ron opened his mouth to reply, but Ginny replied for him.

"And your family's nothing but a load of loathsome, insufferable, prejudiced Death Eaters," she hissed back, just as icily. But as she looked into his eyes, she felt no hatred; only sadness, pity, and love.

"Weasley? WEASLEY?"

Ginny shook out of her reverie and turned to face Daphne. "Huh?"

Daphne rose an eyebrow. "You okay there, then?"

Ginny didn't bother answering. It was so obvious - to her, to her roommates - that she was not, in fact, okay. She was caught up in memories and daydreams of the past, of the war, and how her life could have been completely different if he had said three little words: 'I love you.'

---------------

She looked at him closely, smiling up at him underneath a nose of freckles. He smirked at her before covering his lips with hers. After a few moments, they broke apart, Ginny frowning slightly.

"You're still with her, then?"

He sighed. "Yes."

Ginny moved away, out of his arms. "And why's that?"

"You know it's expected of me to stay with her, Ginny," the blond replied, rubbing his temples. "Her family and my family are..."

"I know," Ginny whispered, "I know. But... can't you try to explain to them? Just try?"

He laughed dryly. "And risk getting you murdered? No. Ginny, just..." He sighed and lightly touched her shoulder. "Please try to understand."

She backed away from his hand and looked at the floor.

---------------

Ginny had been in a world of memories while Daphne read Ron's letter. Horrified, Daphne dropped it and looked at her roommate.

"Ginny, you don't have to worry, I know tons of places that are looking for workers!"

Ginny snapped out of her dream. "What? Really?"

Daphne nodded feverishly. "Hell yeah, mate! First off, we have The Serpent's Lair..."

"Uh, Daph, that store closed down after the War."

Daphne rose an eyebrow. "No it didn't. I was there last week..."

Ginny gasped. "Daphne, that's a Death Eater shop!"

"And...?"

"I used to work fighting against Death Eaters, Daph! I'm not going to work for them now!"

Daphne sighed, thought for a moment, then smiled. "Alright then. There's also Volet, which a friend of mine owns."

"What kind of store is it?" asked Ginny cautiously.

"A magical photography shop."

Ginny contemplated this. "Is it... safe?"

"No, actually, he's been testing out potions on the cameras so that if a mudblood touches it they get an electric shock strong enough to murder them," she replied dryly. Her nonchalant use of the word 'mudblood' reminded Ginny, once more, how different Daphne was from any of her friends. A Slytherin through and through, she hated Hermione partially because she was of lesser blood and partially because she was simply annoying.

"Really, Ginny," Daphne continued, "would I send you someplace where you'd be hurt?"

"You tried sending me to The Serpent's Lair, a very well-known Death Eater shop! That's where a Death Eater bought a potion that almost murdered Hermione!"

Daphne smiled to herself, fond of the memories.

"Besides, you don't know many non-Slytherins, and I'm not sure an ex-Slytherin would want me to be touching their pretty little cameras. I might soil them."

"Oh, pish posh," Daphne said with a flip of her hand. "It pays well, and the owner of the shop is hardly ever there. You're a responsible young woman and any shop owner would love to have you. Besides, I know how much you love taking photographs." She slid on her strappy shoes and looked at herself once more in the mirror. Then, she grabbed a paper and pen and wrote something down.

"Now," Daphne continued, "I've got to go - date time. But here's the address to the shop, they're open every day from nine in the morning until eleven PM, except Sundays when they open at twelve and close at nine. I'd go check it out if I were you, Weasley, there's nothing to lose."

She began to walk out the door.

"Wait, Daphne, who owns the shop? Who should I ask for?"

Daphne grinned at her before answering with a curt "live dangerously or don't live at all, Weasley!" and then was gone.

Live dangerously or don't live at all. The words tossed around in her head for a moment while deciding what to do. Finally, she closed the bedroom door and changed into a nice pair of pants, a neat blouse, and dressy shoes.

She was going to Volet.

---------------

Ginny walked the streets of Hogsmeade, looking around at the shop signs. It had been a while since she went to Hogsmeade, and the amount of destruction due to the war was surprising. All around her, wizards were trying to repair the shops. There were signs on doors that said 'closed for repairs,' and some that sadly said, 'closed for good.'

A man in dark black robes rushed past her with a camera, taking pictures of the destruction. Ginny was almost knocked over as more people with cameras rushed past, aimed in the general direction she was headed. She walked slower, following them with increasing curiosity, until they finally disappeared into a shop. Looking up, she saw the sign read 'Le Volet.'

Well, well, well, Ginny thought to herself as she followed suit and walked in.

The noise in the shop was tremendous. The flash of bulbs and yelling of questions filled her ears all at once, and the lights were making her eyes water. But after overhearing something, she froze and couldn't find herself able to leave.

"Excuse me," a man with a notebook was asking a dark-skinned man behind the desk, "how do you explain the fact that yours is the only store in Hogsmeade that was unaffected by the war?"

Ginny rose an eyebrow and waited his response.

The man behind the desk shook his head. "I'm sorry, sir, but this isn't my shop. Its owner will return in five business days. Until then, I cannot answer any of your questions."

"How do we know he will answer our questions?" the man asked once more.

"He's my best friend. I will make him answer. Now go!"

There was a general groan from the cameramen and note-takers, but they eventually left, leaving the shop empty except Ginny and the man. He finally noticed her and smiled, sitting up.

"Hello, I'm Blaise Zabini. What can I do for you today?"

Ginny froze. Oh, no. Daphne told her it wasn't run by people who would hate her, but Blaise and his gang of goons made it their living to disrespect her at Hogwarts!

"I... Er..." Nice eloquency, Ginny taunted herself. "Um..."

Blaise rose an eyebrow. "Are you okay?"

She tried to calm herself. He didn't seem to know her, which was always a good sign. "Uh, yeah, I'm fine."

He looked at her quizzically. "Alright then. How may I help you?"

Ginny took a deep breath. "I'm interested in getting a job here."

---------------

Author's Note: Welcome to a new Draco Ginny story! This would be the If I Fell story with a new title. Please review!

Terminology:

Volet - Shutter
Chapitre - Chapter
Un - One
Le Volet - The Shutter