HOW TO BE A HEARTBREAKER

THE CHASER AND THE SEEKER

( 15th September 1997 )

If Rowan Yaxley had it her way, she would never have to speak to Draco Malfoy — ever.

However, the universe liked to fuck Rowan over. It seemed like it had chosen her to hold a personal vendetta against since the very start of Rowan's life — tearing away Rowan's mother during childbirth and leaving her with just her father. Brought up by her nanny and the house elves, Rowan was excited for Hogwarts, but the universe gifted to Rowan a boy who would coincidentally be around her all of the time; a boy that she would learn to despise by their fourth year.

Draco Malfoy was an arsehole. He was rude and arrogant and he enjoyed playing girls like they were nothing but games, tossing them to the side like rubbish when he decided he was done. It killed Rowan how many of her female classmates fell for it. All he had to do was flash a grin or give the smallest of compliments and they'd be coming back to his dorm room for some personal time alone.

Even the smartest girls couldn't help it — they would say that they would never fall for it - that all of the girls that have come before them are just weak and lonely - and then they spend a night with the Malfoy heir and become just another one of their peers. Of course, there are a small selection of girls that haven't gone near him though.

Rowan's one, and Pansy's included, of course – Pansy hates Draco as much as Rowan does (plus he takes all of the hot girls and leaves Pansy with relatively nothing to work with). Hermione Granger, Head Girl this year, has been happy with Ron Weasley since the middle of the sixth year and has also made it clear on numerous occasions that she is repulsed by Draco and his ways (and Draco has a rule against Muggleborns). Then there's Ginny Weasley too - who grimaces at the sight of him and is also dating Draco's worst enemy, Harry Potter.

  There are definitely other girls too, mostly the Muggleborns, but point is, Draco is a manwhore and power thirsty, just like Rowan's father. Rowan was confident there were no redeemable qualities about Draco, and the worst part was that he was not only her prefect partner but also captain of the quidditch team that year, and Rowan was the best Chaser that the Slytherin team has seen in decades.

So she has to speak to him if she wants to have a successful final year at Hogwarts. And perhaps the worst part — she also has to listen to him.

"I don't know, Yaxley, that last lap looked a little shaky," Draco said, eyeing the brunette as she flew back down onto the pitch where he was standing, hopping off of her broom with such agility that you would think she had been playing as long as a professional.

Rowan narrowed her eyes at the blond boy. "I'm the first person back, Malfoy. And I didn't wobble on my broom once. You know that for a fact."

"I saw you with my own eyes," Draco scoffed.

"Well then maybe you should get your eyes checked."

"Oo, the girls are fighting again!"

Draco and Rowan both rolled their eyes at the same time as Blaise Zabini landed on the grass beside Rowan. He slipped off his broom as effortlessly as the Yaxley girl had done before, sliding it up and between his fingers before he threw his spare arm around Rowan. Rowan shrugged him off with a small scowl.

"Referring to Malfoy as a girl is an insult to every woman that has walked this planet earth ever," Rowan said, "I have quite frankly never heard something so misogynistic in my life, Zabini."

Draco sneered a little, his glare intensifying when Blaise released a small laugh. "If that's your way of ensuring your spot on the team, Yaxley, then you may need to reconsider," Draco spat.

Other Slytherins trying out had flown back down to the ground, some interested in the bickering going on between Draco and Rowan, others painfully used to it. A sixth year folded his arms across his chest and huffed dramatically.

"So? What did you think, Malfoy?" He asked.

Draco scowled over at Clay Inkwood, the sixth year. "I think don't interrupt me when I'm clearly talking to somebody else, Inkwood."

Clay huffed and tightened his grip on his broom but didn't say anything else. Rowan would argue that a Slytherin on its own was great, but a group of Slytherins only worked if they all cared about each other as much as an outcome. Often, that's why they lost to Gryffindor. The lions would always be better at teamwork than them.

Draco paced in front of the anxious group of teenagers. "Most of you were not good enough for the Slytherin team. I'm sure my dead grandfather could have flown quicker than you, Nightingale."

Nightingale looked hurt, glancing down at her shoes and sniffling a little bit. Rowan glanced away from the girl and back to Draco.

"The only ones who made it back with a decent time, who I can tell have actually been practising over the summer, are Zabini, Crow, Goldhorn, and Inkwood."

Rowan cleared her throat loudly and raised an eyebrow.

Draco's eyes shifted over to her, his expression unmoving. "What is it, Yaxley? Furball?"

She rolled her eyes. "I made it back first. Don't be biased, Malfoy."

Draco sighed. "And Yaxley would like everyone to know that she made it back first, though she did nearly fall off her broom twice and would have easily been battered down by bludgers with her flying technique," he addressed everyone.

A few people chuckled whilst Rowan glared. "Pig," she muttered under her breath.

"That was the last part of the trials, though, wasn't it, Malfoy?" A third year piped up, eyes wide with fear. "Do you know who you will be picking for the team?"

Draco stared down the third year until they shrank backwards and then he moved to stand back a little. "As nobody else tried out for Seeker this year, I automatically grant myself the position."

Rowan refrained from reminding Draco that nobody ever tried out for quidditch because they were scared of what he would do to them. However, she did have to admit, Draco's skills as a Seeker were needed on their team. He always gave Harry Potter a run for his money whenever they played against the Gryffindors — their biggest competition.

"My two Beaters will be Crow and Striker," Draco said, earning hisses of excitement from those selected. "Substitutes for Crow and Striker will be Crabbe and Goyle. Next, we have our Chasers."

Rowan stood up every straighter. She had gotten Chaser every single year since her second, and Draco would be the world's biggest idiot not to put her on the team due to some petty rivalry that the pair seemed to have.

"Inkwood, Chaser one. Zabini, Chaser two," Draco droned and then sighed as he made eye contact with Rowan who folded her arms across her chest expectantly, raising one perfectly plucked brow. "Chaser three – Yaxley."

Rowan smirked to herself, not listening to the substitutes that Draco had chosen for the three Chasers. She pulled off the fingerless leather gloves and then brushed her ebony hair out of her face. Rowan didn't thank Draco nor did she wait around to hear him say anything else — she'd heard all that she needed to know. She took her broom and headed off of the pitch for the changing rooms.

Once she was showered and redressed, looking as though she hadn't spent the last hour and a half trying to prove herself to her worst enemy, Rowan headed back to the castle and down into the Slytherin dungeons. Pansy was sitting in an armchair with a book in front of her, her face screwed up in confusion as she read each line.

Rowan grinned as she came up behind her best friend, throwing her arms around her shoulders. Pansy didn't even flinch, her eyes still on the page as she shook her head.

"I do not understand this one bit," Pansy huffed, and then slammed it shut. "Snape is an arsehole for making us learn about the history of bloody potion making!"

"Oh, he's the worst, but not as bad as Malfoy, of course," Rowan agreed and then moved to sit on the arm of the chair, Pansy's arms moving to hold Rowan.

The Parkinson girl's face screwed up. "He didn't give you the position?" Pansy shrieked, "That misogynistic-probably-homophobic-ferret-looking —-"

"No, he gave me Chaser," Rowan grinned, swiping her tongue across her teeth. "Malfoy knows he needs me to win. I was just contributing to your fact with an even truer fact."

Pansy squealed as she grabbed Rowan, forcefully yanking her off of the arm and into her lap, squeezing her tight as they both laughed. Rowan tried to retreat from Pansy's tickling fingers, but it was no use.

"I knew it! Merlin, Rowan, is there anything you can't do?"

Rowan hummed in thought. "Well, I can't cook. Nor can I really do any sort of advanced maths or really comprehend Ancient Runes —"

"Okay, okay," Pansy cut her off. "You know the rules— no saying degrading shit about yourself. It makes you depressed and other people may hear and use it against you."

Rowan raised her dark brows as she lay against Pansy, Pansy's arms wrapping around her waist. Rowan and Pansy weren't really touchy people — only around each other. Rowan found that Pansy understood her better than anyone else in the entire world, and she really hoped that Pansy felt the same way about her.

"To be honest, Pans, I don't really care if people use my inability to pass Ancient Runes against me," Rowan admitted, "After all, I can just remind them I'm the best Chaser Slytherin has had in years."

"That's debatable."

Rowan's brown eyes rolled whilst Pansy groaned dramatically. They both turned their heads from the armchair, clearly disappointed to see that Draco had slithered his way back to the common room. His broom was tucked under his arm, his blond hair swept back.

"Piss off, Malfoy," Pansy spat, "You're just salty because everybody knows Rowan is a far better quidditch player than you."

"How come he's Captain then, Parkinson?" Blaise teased, coming in from behind Draco and draping himself against the green leather couch beside the armchair.

Pansy narrowed her eyes at him. "Because of his daddy's money, obviously."

"And because Montague was sexist," Theodore Nott called.

Draco immediately shifted his gaze to meet Theo's. The curly-haired brunet looked up from his book and shrugged his shoulders at the glare he was receiving from both Draco and Blaise. Rowan hadn't even seen him minding his own business by the fireplace.

She didn't mind Theo much. Blaise wasn't too bad either actually — though he did often back Draco up and that infuriated the hell out of Rowan. Her anger lied with the blond Slytherin, after all.

Draco scoffed, "How would you know anyway, Theo? You've never had an interest in being on the team. Besides, Montague wasn't sexist— he let Yaxley on the team every year since second. Unless, of course, you are insinuating that Yaxley isn't a girl and is actually a troll, which would make a lot of sen—"

"Fuck off, Malfoy," Rowan huffed. "Nott's actually right. Montague always treated me as less than, and you know it."

"Because you're annoying and Montague was smart enough to recognise that," Draco quipped and dropped onto the couch beside Blaise, shoving Blaise's legs off so he could put his own up. Blaise glared.

"No, Montague only put me on the team because I was so good. He didn't want me there, though. And that's why I was the only girl this whole time," Rowan corrected him. "And you know as well as I do that Montague was thick as anything. Failed all his NEWTs. So maybe that puts you down there with him."

"I get better marks than you, Yaxley," Draco drawled, bored, glancing away out the window at the Black Lake outside.

"That's not even true," Pansy quipped, "Besides, you're completely dismissing the fact that if Montague hadn't been such a sexist pig, then Rowan would have been Captain long before you."

Draco barked a short laugh right in Pansy's face. "Dream on, Parkinson. You can carry on dreaming too, Yaxley. Don't think you're not replaceable on the team."

Rowan shrugged as if unbothered, despite Draco's words making her skin crawl. She hated him so much that she wished she could reach across, wrap her arms around his neck, and just strangle the life out of him.

Before Rowan could spit back a comeback, there was a loud groan from Daphne Greengrass who dropped down onto the couch in between Draco and Blaise. Pansy and Rowan exchanged small glances, thinking the exact same thing — fucking great. Take note of the sarcasm.

Despite being roommates for the past seven years, Daphne had never really gotten along with both Rowan and Pansy. She'd always been convinced that her family was better than theirs, that her blood was so much purer, and the tipping point was when Daphne made a homophobic comment upon finding out Pansy was gay in the fifth year. For Daphne, it had ended with a blood-gushing nose and bruised knuckles on Rowan's side.

"Yaxley, quit terrorising the boys," Daphne complained, "Draco's Captain for a reason. Just be happy he let you on the team."

"Disrespectfully, Daphne," Rowan grinned widely, "Shut the fuck up. You have no idea what you're even on about."

"I do know that your voice is going straight through me," Daphne hissed, "I can hear you complaining from the other side of the common room."

"So you came closer?" Theo furrowed his brows.

Daphne shot him a tiny glare. That was why Theo was Rowan's favourite of the Slytherin boys. He didn't like Daphne either — he'd been the one to assist Rowan's knuckles back in the fifth year, and he'd been furious when he found out why she had needed to defend Pansy.

"Yes, Nott," Daphne spat. "I'm allowed to sit over here if I want to."

"Unfortunately," Blaise coughed under his breath, and Rowan's lips tugged upwards into a small smile.

Daphne pretended not to hear him and leaned closer to Draco who had begun to shuffle through his bag, clearly done with the petty drama going on around him. She snaked a manicured arm up his hand, her sharp nails dancing against his wrist until she intertwined their fingers, putting a stop to his actions. Draco stopped and glanced up at her, his nose scrunched, one eyebrow quirked.

Rowan knew what that look meant.

You're not really what I'm after right now, but promise me something good and I may take you back to my dorm.

"You and I haven't had some alone time in a long while, Draco," Daphne purred, "I've missed you. And you must be terribly wound up after leading the quidditch tryouts all afternoon."

Draco shrugged her hand off of him. "Hm." Was all he replied and went back to his bag.

A flash of anger was written across Daphne's face for a second before she huffed and moved her hand to the back of his neck, giving it a gentle scratch. She leaned forwards and whispered something against his ear, something nobody else could hear, and Draco made a face before he gave a single nod.

He stood up, abandoning his bag on the couch. Daphne stood quickly too, clutching his arm and grinning. She shot Rowan and Pansy with a smug look — as if they should be jealous.

"I'm off," Draco said. "Save me a space at the dinner table, Blaise. Theo — we can work on our Potions essay tomorrow morning instead."

Theo rolled his eyes and Blaise gave him a thumbs up before Draco took off to his room, Daphne giggling as she followed right behind him. Blaise shook his head at the back of them.

"I don't know how he can stand her," Blaise admitted.

"Because she's easy," Theo remarked, and then added sarcastically, "And he's not gotten any in a whopping three days."

"I hate him," Pansy huffed as Rowan shrugged herself off of the girl's lap. "Irritating bastard."

Rowan thought that Theo and Blaise would jump to Draco's defence, but Theo merely turned back to his book and Blaise pursed his lips.

"As long as it doesn't go too far," Blaise shrugged. "He'll grow out of it eventually."

For a second, Rowan thought that this was probably true, until she thought about her father. Rowan didn't know if her dad had always been a shitty person, but either way, she bet he was just like Draco when he was younger. For the sake of the wizarding world, Rowan prayed Draco never had any children.

"Congratulations on making the team, by the way, you two," Theo nodded to Blaise and Rowan.

"Easy work," Rowan replied, but shot him a small look of thanks.

"Yeah, don't let Draco put you off too much," Blaise said, "I know he talks shit, but he knows he needs you on the team if we stand a chance this year. And I know he really wants to do well before we all leave."

"He has a funny way of showing that he needs Rowan," Pansy scoffed and folded her arms across her chest. "Two weeks into the school year and I'm pretty sure he's tried to start an argument with her at least eight times."

"He just can't stay away, can he, Theo?" Blaise grinned, smirking over at Theo.

Theo glared above his book and tossed a pen over at Blaise. It smacked him in the shoulder and Blaise released a dramatic cry, clutching said-body part as if he had been shot with some sort of lethal spell.

"What are you two idiots going on about?" Pansy snapped.

"I didn't even say anything," Theo replied, "Don't band me with that moron."

Rowan rolled her dark eyes. "Whatever." She climbed from her seat. "Pans, come on. We have to go do our own Potions essay."

Pansy sighed but climbed up from her seat. She eyed Blaise and Theo suspiciously, and then the two girls left to head back to their dormitory.

Rowan didn't want to even know what the boys were talking about. She found it was best to keep out of it all. Sometimes it was the only way she could deal with Draco and his two sidekicks. She did her best to block out the noises as she walked by the boys' dormitory, carrying on to the girls' room next door.

Her final year was going to be successful if she did her best to ignore Draco. They had prefect rounds together once a week, and quidditch practice for two hours every Sunday, but other than that, she'd stay as far away as possible, and she'd be okay. She'd stick by Pansy, and Pansy would stick by her.

Her final year of Hogwarts was going to be a piece of cake.

...

first chapter is up! to be honest, im not the biggest fan of it and i know there's a lot of dialogue, but i really wanted to convey the kind of relationship everybody has with one another. im REALLY excited for the development that's going to happen in this book, and please don't let draco's flings with other girls put you off. so much is going to happen and i can't wait to write it!

thanks so much for reading <333

word count: 3.2k

dyiansobrien.