HOW TO BE A HEARTBREAKER

QUICK RENDEZVOUS

( Friday 22 September 1997 )

Rowan slipped back into the girls' dormitory the following morning, cautious of the third floorboard out that creaked under any sort of weight. Both hands lay flat against the door as she carefully pushed it shut, but she was immediately frozen in place by the sound of a lamp flickering on. Rowan turned swiftly, her heart dropping when she realised it wasn't Pansy that had woken up.

"Yaxley?" Daphne rubbed her eyes. "Why are you sneaking back in at six in the morning?"

Rowan hushed her with a finger to the lips. "I just went out for some fresh air. Go back to sleep."

Daphne's eyes narrowed as she flipped her duvet off of her body. "Nuh-huh. I know for a fact that you didn't come back from your prefect duties last night. Where were you?" Her eyes widened. "Who were you with?"

"We're not friends, Greengrass," Rowan stated as she slid into her own bed. "Why should I tell you?"

"Oh, come on, Yaxley." Daphne sat on her knees on the mattress. "You know I love to know things like this. Spare me the yearning."

"What's all this about?" A grumbled yawn came from Tracey's bed.

"I think Yaxley was hooking up with someone last night," Millicent murmured against her pillow, and Rowan realised quickly that everybody had woken up.

"Fuck off, you lot," Pansy snapped, "I'm trying to get some fucking sleep."

"Who were you with?" Daphne pressed. "Come on, Yaxley. I swear it can stay between us Slytherin girls."

Rowan sighed, laying her head against her pillow. "You really want to know?"

"Yes!" Came three separate cries. Pansy only groaned louder.

"I was with nobody," Rowan answered smugly, "I told Malfoy it was best we split up during our prefect duties so I could go and do the Herbology essay due this morning. Ended up falling asleep, woke up about fifteen minutes ago, wandered back here."

"Oh, yeah?" Tracey sat up. "Where's the Herbology essay?"

Rowan pulled the curled parchment out of the pocket of her robes and tossed it at Tracey. "As you can see, only half-written because I fell asleep. Sprout's going to kick my arse."

Rowan handed over her work. Tracey unrolled it to reveal neat cursive writing in paragraphs, however, it only reached about three quarters of the page. It was nowhere near finished, and Tracey knew so because all of the girls had stayed up doing last minute touches the evening before.

Tracey sighed deeply and chucked Rowan's parchment back to her. "Yaxley's telling the truth."

Daphne groaned. "And here I was thinking that something interesting was actually happening." She glanced Rowan over. "Aren't you going to change out of your uniform?"

Rowan huffed. "I might as well keep it on and go to breakfast early."

Daphne wrinkled her nose in what was most likely disgust.

"I'll cast a Scourgify charm if it makes you happy, Greengrass. And don't worry — I'll go wash my face and brush my teeth."

"Do something about your hair while you're at it. It looks like someone has had their hands in it all night, Yaxley," Daphne huffed and then dropped back under her covers for an extra half an hour of shut eye.

Rowan didn't bite back and instead moved into the bathroom, but didn't bother to lock the door behind her. On cue, Pansy came bursting in less than ten seconds later. The door locked and Pansy grabbed Rowan's hands, an eager grin written on her face.

"How was it?" The short-haired girl whispered excitedly.

"Ugh, amazing, Pansy," Rowan said, parting from her and leaning down in the sink to splash water over her face. "I was a bit hesitant, you know? I've heard the boys' locker room chatter before quidditch matches, but Inkwood..." Rowan sighed blissfully. "He was surprisingly respectful. The bare minimum, but..."

Clay Inkwood, a fellow Chaser on the quidditch team in the year below, had been flirting with her since the year started back up, and Rowan had figured that she would give him a shot. After Rowan's messy breakup with Adrian Pucey towards the end of the last academic year, she decided it was time to get back out there. Clay was handsome and good at quidditch — she remembered how thankful he had been a few years ago when she'd given him some pointers that had landed him a spot on the Slytherin team for the first time. There was no harm in trying things out.

Pansy's grin seemed to widen even further. "Well, that's what you get for dating a younger boy, you cougar. They will always treat the older girls nicer."

Rowan scrunched her nose and gave Pansy a little shove. "I'm not into him... romantically, but he knows that. He was still really great about it, though. He asked me what I liked and didn't, even did the whole aftercare stuff."

"He seems alright then," Pansy shrugged, leaning against the bathroom wall with her arms folded, watching Rowan brush her teeth through the mirror. "Are you going to meet up again?"

"Probably," Rowan hummed, "We just obviously don't want other people to find out in case it makes quidditch stuff awkward or whatever. You know how it was with Pucey."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Pansy said, waving her hand dismissively. "Where did you end up meeting?"

"Oh!" Rowan gasped, spitting her toothpaste out and whirling to face her best friend. "Do you remember when there were lots of rumours going around in the fifth year about the Gryffindors hanging out in the Room of Requirement?"

"Yeah?"

"It turns out, there really is a Room of Requirement at Hogwarts. Inkwood's younger sister is a Gryffindor, so he knew all about it," Rowan explained, watching Pansy's face shift in interest. "It conjures up whatever you demand – it was amazing."

"You'll have to show me one day," Pansy pleaded, "I was convinced that Weasley was just going around talking about that room to brag. I didn't think they'd actually found it — or that it even existed, actually."

"Well, it's real." Rowan bit down on her bottom lip as she grinned. "Oh, and did you do the rest of the Herbology essay for me?"

Pansy saluted. "Why, of course. Tucked safely under my bed, Yaxley."

"Ah. Merci beaucoup, Parkinson. I owe you one."

...

"Fuck, I'm nervous about tomorrow," Theo muttered as he ran a hand through his mop of curls. "Do you guys think that my black blazer is too much for a Hogsmeade trip? What if Robertson thinks I'm into her?"

Blaise glanced up from his bed, a disapproving look written across his face. "But you are into her?"

Theo sighed stressfully, tugging off his tie with his fingers and flinging it behind him. "Yeah, but should I let her know that yet? What if she thinks I'm only trying to get in her pants?" He said.

"Fuck, Theo, I don't know," Blaise groaned as he crossed something out frantically on his parchment. "But you're stressing me out, and I'm trying to get this homework done before the party starts."

Draco peered over at them from his bed. He put his bookmark in pace and settled the novel on his bedside table, pushing off of the bed and moving around to sit on the edge of his own trunk. He watched Theo brush his hair to the side with a comb, and then get frustrated and push all his curls back into place.

"Calm down, Nott. She's just one girl," Draco said, "It's her loss if she's not interested."

"She's not just a girl to me, mate," Theo replied, furrowing his brows. "You wouldn't understand, Draco. She actually means something to me. I've..." He shook his head. "Fuck, don't tell anyone — and don't make fun of me — but I've never felt this way before. She makes my heart go all mushy and shit."

Draco raised an eyebrow whilst Blaise made a dramatic cooing noise. "Awh, Theo." Blaise set aside his own work. "I can't believe you're in love."

Theo rolled his eyes. "I never said that," he replied, but his cheeks began to heat up.

Blaise pinched them mockingly. "Sure, sure. What's all this about then?"

Theo smacked his hands away. "You're being an arsehole, Zabini. I want her to notice me in a romantic way. I don't know if she feels the same and it kills me. I feel like a fourteen year old boy — like it's Yaxley all over again."

Draco groaned. "Just because I know about that shit now doesn't give you permission to talk about it when I'm here. Quite frankly, Nott, I find your little crush on Yaxley a betrayal of our friendship."

The curly-haired boy turned to face Draco and shot him a look. "Yaxley's not some sort of evil mastermind, Draco. I really don't get your problem with her."

"She has a problem with me," Draco said, "That starts all of the problems."

"Can you blame her?" Theo asked.

Draco gritted his teeth. "Yes. Nobody else seems to have a problem with me."

"Because you're influential — you're a Malfoy," Theo replied, "I'm sure you'd have an army of girls against you if it weren't for your status. A little hate club, if you will — of girls that Draco Malfoy has fucked over. Rowan's just not scared of you."

"Oh, it's 'Rowan' now, is it?" Draco huffed.

He did not like the idea of his friends referring to Rowan by her first name. That made them sound friendly, or casual. Draco knew that Blaise and Theo didn't detest Rowan like he did, but he would still appreciate some reluctance towards the girl.

"Grow up, Draco," Theo snapped, "Look — I have a problem here. I'm worried about a girl I like, and all you're doing is going on about how much you supposedly hate Yaxley."

"What do you mean 'supposedly?'" Draco scoffed, "I think it's pretty clear that I despise her with my entire being."

"Well, you can't seem to keep her name out of your mouth," Theo replied, "Sometimes I don't know if you hate or you're obsessed with her."

"You're fucking insane," Draco spat, and forced a visible shiver throughout his body. "Yaxley makes me sick — and your little accusations are bullshit."

"Why are you getting so defensive then?"

Draco sneered, his lip curling upwards. "You know what? I'll see you two at the party. I don't know what's gotten into you two, but you've been nothing but irritating since this school year started up."

The blond boy marched for the door and slammed it behind him so hard that the room rattled. Blaise was looking up from his homework, brows raised.

"Merlin. All I'm trying to do is my homework," he said.

Theo shook his head. "He stresses me the fuck out, Blaise. I thought he'd grow out of his sleeping around phase, especially now that he's got so many responsibilities in our last year, but I swear he's just gotten worse."

"Just leave him to it," Blaise said, and glanced back down at his work. "Do you remember if a phoenix's claw is a part of the Hiccoughing Solution? I wanna say yeah, but I'm thinking it might actually be a pegasus' claw now that I think about it..."

Theo sighed heavily but tried to take Blaise's short advice. He stopped worrying about Draco and also Lorelei, moving over to help Blaise with his homework.

...

Music blasted throughout the Slytherin common room, echoing all the down the corridor to the seventh year girls' dormitory. Rowan sat crossed legged in front of her mirror, humming along to the music as she redid her eyeliner so it looked fresher and darker. Meanwhile, Pansy sat beside her, smudging black makeup underneath her waterline. A bottle of Firewhisky had already been mostly drunk between them. It was a wonder they were getting anything done.

Rowan suddenly laughed and tilted her head back. "Pans, Pans," she said, smacking her friend's bare thigh from where her dress had ridden up. "My head feels dizzy."

"I know," Pansy laughed, "Is that why you're laughing? Merlin, Row. I told you to eat more at dinner!"

Rowan bit down on her lip and tucked her eyeliner pen away. "I know," she hummed, and then rested her head on Pansy's shoulder. "Do you reckon the party's full yet? No way do I want to be one of the first people out there."

"Give it another ten," Pansy said, her mouth hanging open slightly as she moved closer to the mirror, concentrating on the work she was doing.

"You're so pretty," Rowan said as she watched her best friend through the mirror. "And your makeup makes your eyes look so green."

"Why thank you," Pansy replied and then flicked Rowan's cheek, causing the longer-haired girl to cry out with laughter and scoot back. "You're pretty as well."

Pansy tucked her makeup bag away and grabbed the bottle of Firewhisky, standing to her feet and yanking her dress back further down her legs. She helped Rowan up, shaking her head at the girl who would most likely have a killer hangover in the morning. Right now, though, Pansy didn't care — she was drunk too, and she was ready to go and let loose after an agonising month of seventh year work.

"I'm ready!" Tracey called from her side of the room and then she laughed. "Where are my shoes?"

Millicent was running around trying to put herself together, but quickly changed direction to try and find Tracey's shoes. Daphne was already down at the party, Rowan was pretty sure. The dark-haired girl fixed her curtain bangs in the mirror, pushing them away from her face. Her shaggy haircut proved difficult to maintain at times, but as she fluffed it up, she knew it was worth it.

"C'mon," Pansy said, and linked arms with her. "This party's going to be good — I can feel it. I even heard some Gryffindors talking about it earlier."

Slytherin parties always did manage to get out of control — other houses flooding in, artefacts that were thousands of years old being confiscated by Snape the morning of thanks to an incident that happened two years ago. Technically, you weren't supposed to have parties at Hogwarts, but that was why Slytherin ones were the best. Snape was the only Head of House willing to turn a blind eye on his house's wrong doings, and so of course the Ravenclaws, Gryffindors, and Hufflepuffs were going to come and crash a party that could actually be loud and filled with more than ten people.

Walking into the common was like entering a whole new universe. Rowan blinked at the difference in lighting, trying to recognise faces from the many bodies of people already moving around. Most people were dancing, however, lots of groups sat around at couches, couples making out against walls already and drinks being handed around.

Strobe lights cast everywhere as Pansy linked her hands with Rowan's and tugged her over to where the drinks table was. Pansy began to grab two cups and fill them with a red liquid.

Rowan raised an eyebrow. "You know I don't do well with mixing my drinks..."

"I'm pretty sure this stuff is four percent max," Pansy said and shoved the cup into her friend's hand. "Don't worry about it. You don't have to drink it, just hold it so we don't look like losers that aren't drinking. Also a conversation starter —" Pansy grabbed a girl walking by. "Hey, have you tried the punch at the drinks table? It's so good."

The girl paused in her tracks and shook her head. "No, I haven't," she said. "I've only just got here."

Pansy scanned the girl up and down and then tilted her cup towards her. "Here, try some. It's quite... fruity. My name's Pansy Parkinson, by the way."

The girl grinned slyly and took the cup from Pansy. "Floryn Stone," she replied, and then took a few sips. "Oh, you're right. It is really good."

Rowan raised her eyebrows, smirking and shaking her head at her best friend. Pansy seemed to have this knack for getting whoever she wanted, and she also seemed to have an exceptional talent for figuring out who was straight or not. By the way the girl was now dancing with Pansy, the two of them sharing the cup of punch, Rowan assumed that Pansy had been very successful.

A pair of arms wrapped around Rowan's waist and her smile immediately dropped. She went to drive her elbow backwards into the stomach of whoever held her, but they grasped it before she could.

"Hey," Clay grinned against her ear, the smell of alcohol on his breath fanning against her. "Don't attack, it's just me."

Rowan couldn't help but grin, turning to face Clay. He was tall and had broad shoulders, and dark hair shaped into curtain bangs. Clay had pointed features and a strong jaw with the bluest of eyes that Rowan had ever seen. Normally, Rowan didn't care for eyes, unless they were Pansy's green ones (she was obsessed), but Clay's were very pretty indeed.

"I thought we were going under the radar?" Rowan leaned up on her toes to call into his ear, stretching her arms around his neck, her hands in his hair as they swayed to the music blasting. "Don't want big bad Captain Malfoy harassing you."

Clay rolled his eyes but smiled, a drunken smile that accompanied a sort of sleepiness around his crystal eyes. "Yeah, well, I saw you come from the dorms and you looked so hot... I had to come over."

Rowan pressed her lips against Clay's, and he kissed back immediately. They exchanged the tastes of two different alcohols, hands all over each other's bodies as things very quickly became heated. In her drunken head, Rowan didn't care one little bit if anybody saw them together.

"Do you want to leave?" Clay asked against her ear as they pulled away.

Rowan raised her eyebrows. "I just got here. The party's only been going on for an hour."

"Ah. You want to dance some more?" Clay asked and extended his hand. "We can do that, Yaxley."

Rowan grinned, nodding as she grasped Clay's large hand. He led her deeper into the crowd, before he moved to hold her waist, pulling her closer so they could dance together. Rowan ran her hands up his chest, singing along to the song playing through the speakers. Someone had clearly invested in a bubble machine, for some came down on her and made her laugh a few moments later.

It seemed that the best place to hide was in plain sight. Nobody paid attention to them, and they paid attention to nobody else. There were so many people that someone bumped into Rowan every now and then, and after about half an hour of biting her tongue to prevent herself yelling at some innocent person, she'd had enough.

"You wanna go now?" Rowan asked, "I've had enough here."

Clay looked slightly relieved as he nodded, once again taking her by the hand to lead the way. Rowan thought he would take her back to his dormitory, however, they were heading straight for the exit to the rest of the school. She said nothing, not that he would hear her above the booming music, and as soon as they were out into the empty hallway, Rowan felt ten times colder and her ears were ringing.

Clay's hand didn't leave hers as they headed down the corridors. She didn't need to ask where they were going — she knew it was probably the Room of Requirement again. Suddenly, however, Clay had her pushed up against one of the walls, her surprised laughter being cut off by his mouth on hers. Rowan groaned against him, her hand cupping his face, her nails gently grazing his jaw so he shivered and pulled away.

Clay began to kiss down her neck, causing little whimpers to escape Rowan's mouth. One hand held her hip whilst his other felt at her breast, squeezing experimentally. Rowan held his shoulders, letting him hike up her dress a little bit, his hand disappearing beneath. She lifted her leg ever so slightly, pursing her lips when his long fingers came into contact with her clit through her underwear.

"Fuck, Rowan," Clay muttered against her. "You're already wet."

He started to rub her, not stopping with the kisses at her neck when there was a sudden bang from down the corridor. Both teenagers ripped apart at the speed of lightning, pressing themselves against the wall and glancing around the corner.

Rowan's eyes narrowed at a flash of platinum blond hair and she scowled. Draco had somebody pressed up against the next corridor to them, and he was unbuckling his trousers without a care in the world for who may be nearby.

Clay grimaced, "That's a bit of a mood killer."

"Tell me about — Oh Merlin!" Rowan gasped against her own hand, her eyes widening.

Draco Malfoy had stooped to an all time low. The girl dropping to her knees in front of him was Lorelei Robertson.

Theo was going to be crushed.

...

the drama is starting to happen now! im shooting out chapters really fast rn because im home for the easter holidays, and im really enjoying writing this so far! hope you guys are enjoying reading :)

word count: 3.5k

dyiansobrien.