HOW TO BE A HEARTBREAKER

HALLOWEEN

( Tuesday 28 October 1997 )

At about eleven on Tuesday, as all of the girls in her dormitory were getting ready to climb into bed, there was a quick tapping at the door. Daphne huffed and moved over to it, yanking it open.

"Nott?" Daphne turned her nose up — she hadn't been a fan of him since he had defended Rowan a few weeks ago in the common room. "What do you want? It's past eleven on a school night."

"I need to talk to Rowan," Theo said, craning his neck around her to look into the room. "Is she here?"

Daphne huffed and glanced over her shoulder towards Rowan's bed. "It's for you, Yaxley."

She left the door hanging open as Rowan exchanged a small glance with Pansy and then headed for the door. Rowan jumped slightly when Theo grabbed her arm to pull her right out into the hallway, closing the dormitory door behind him.

"Malfoy just left." Theo said, "Now's your chance. You were going to do it this week, right?"

Rowan scratched her jaw uncomfortably. Rowan had barely spoken to Draco since their little incident in the corridor. During quidditch practice that Sunday, he had barely acknowledged her — criticised a few of her moves, sure, but they didn't argue once. It was strange, really. Completely abnormal for them, in the most unsettling way. She thought about postponing the plan she'd come up with of crashing his Tuesday private quidditch sessions, but she had already told Theo about her idea, and he was almost obsessed with it.

"I suppose..." She muttered, "But I'll have to go back into my dorm and change my clothes, grab my broomstick and that..."

Theo grinned widely, his pearly whites on display. "Great!" He squeezed the top of her shoulder. "Oh, I bought you this at Hogsmeade over the weekend. I tried giving it to you yesterday but we were never alone, and I didn't want anyone thinking anything of it."

Rowan's eyebrows furrowed as Theo grabbed something out of the pocket of his baggy pyjama bottoms. It was a small square bottle, with an expensive brand label pasted across it.

"You got me perfume?" Rowan huffed as she took it off of him, unscrewing the cap. "Are you insinuating that I smell, Theo?"

"No, not at all," he said, "But I was doing some reading the other day, about attraction. Apparently, it's an aphrodisiac, and it also puts people in a calming mood."

Rowan scoffed as she lifted it to her nose, taking a small sniff. It did smell great. Not too strong, but clearly vanilla mixed with something else. She liked it.

"Right," she said firmly. "I'll wear it, but I think that's a bit of bullshit, Theo."

"No, science literally backs it up," Theo said, "I even read some Muggle information on it."

Rowan pressed down on the nozzle and sprayed a small amount on her wrists and on her neck. She dabbed them together in the way her nanny had taught her to at a young age. Then, she stepped back, a true sight with her hair in plaits and her silk pyjamas on. She extended her arms and did a small, very slow twirl for Theo.

"Did it work? Are you attracted to me?" Rowan asked.

Theo rolled his eyes with a small smile. "You smell good." He placed his hand on the small of her back and pushed her gently towards her dormitory. "Quickly. Go and change and meet Malfoy out on the pitch. He awaits you."

Rowan couldn't help but bark a short laugh. "I'm about to ruin his Tuesday night, more like."

Theo sent her a warning look. "It's time you start showing some actual progress, Rowan. I'm worried about running out of time. Draco definitely won't fall in love overnight."

"Don't worry," Rowan breathed, batting him away with her hand. "I'll give it my best shot. You know, I find it insulting how much you think Malfoy won't end up loving me."

"The whole plan's a risky one. I'm bound to have my doubts."

And Rowan didn't tell Theo this, but she did have some doubts too. She thought about them as she told the girls she was going to play some quidditch alone and headed back out of the dorm. All the way out of the castle and down the fields to the pitch, Rowan considered about what would happen if Draco never fell in love with her. It was certainly possible — he didn't really feel many positive emotions.

Yet, Rowan refused to accept defeat. The bigger part of her knew it would happen — it had to. She was stubborn and determined, and Rowan always got her way. One way or another, Rowan would have Draco Malfoy after her. She'd never had boy problems before, and she wasn't going to start now — not with Malfoy of all people.

When she reached the quidditch pitch, Rowan found Draco flying around, his hand outstretched in front of him. She held onto her broom as she watched from the grass below, her neck craned up. Draco didn't celebrate or even mutter a word when he grabbed the Golden Snitch, he merely clutched it closer and swooped back to the ground.

His eyes landed on her and he stilled, his knuckles white on his broomstick.

"What are you doing here?" He growled.

"I came to practice some quidditch," Rowan replied as innocently as she could muster, without sounding too suspicious, of course. "Same as you, it looks like. I didn't realise you'd be here."

"Well I am," Draco snapped, "So you'll have to find somewhere else to go."

Rowan scrunched her nose for a moment as she watched him release the Snitch back into the air. It made a whirring noise as it took off into the night sky.

"Is it not hard to find in the dark?" Rowan asked, "It's hard enough to see in the daylight sometimes."

Draco glanced at her momentarily before adjusting the straps of his gloves again. "It's fine," he muttered.

"Maybe they should put a light on it or something."

"Then it would be far too obvious," Draco sneered back. "Now leave, Yaxley."

It took everything inside of Rowan not to grasp her broom with both hands and whack Draco around the side of the head with it.

"We're both on the same team, aren't we?" Rowan said, "Why shouldn't we be able to practice together? Besides, I really could do with the extra time."

Draco didn't say anything, he just stared at her. He was probably considering her words and cursing her simultaneously. Rowan wouldn't be surprised if he tried to turn her away again, but she refused to take no for an answer.

"You could be stunting our team's growth by shunning me away right now," she added, "We don't have to work with one another. I was planning on just working on throwing through the goalpost."

"That will be far too easy with no Keeper," Draco stated.

An idea sparked in her head. She said it before thinking it through properly. "Then you be my Keeper for a bit, and then I'll help you with Seeking."

"Help me?" Draco scoffed. "What do you mean by that?"

"I can play Seeker too. We can see who can find the Snitch first. Then you'll be actually working against someone," Rowan suggested.

"You don't know the first thing about Seeking," Draco dismissed her and then continued to tighten the strap of his other quidditch glove.

Rowan could barely handle his arrogance, but she pushed it aside for now.

"Actually, Malfoy, some of my favourite quidditch players have been Seekers. I just happen to be better at being a Chaser — that doesn't mean I'm all too bad, though. My all-time favourite player is Eunice Murray," Rowan shrugged her shoulders.

Draco furrowed his eyebrows, glancing at her unsurely. "You support the Montrose Magpies?"

Bingo!

"I do," Rowan said, and then feigned some annoyance. "And don't you dare call me a glory hunter, Malfoy. I've supported them since I was four."

"I wasn't going to call you that," Draco snapped defensively, and then his shoulders and jaw seemed to relax a little. He sounded like he didn't want to admit his next words. "They're my team, too."

"Really?" Rowan acted as though she did not have a list of things about him buried in the bottom of her trunk, put together by his best friend himself. "You're not Scottish, though."

"Neither are you." Draco turned his nose up. "What's your excuse?"

"My mother was Scottish, actually," Rowan replied, and she watched the way Draco's narrowed eyes softened. "She was born in Montrose."

Draco turned his head away. "Well, my father supports them," he said, acting as though she had never mentioned her deceased mother. It had clearly made him feel a bit awkward. "He liked them because they're objectively the best — not me. He got me to support them when I was young."

Rowan couldn't believe he had mentioned his father to her. He only ever really mentioned Lucius Malfoy when he was in the younger years, and even then it was only to threaten people. Rowan reckoned it had been a good couple of years since she had heard "My father will hear about this!" It was a shame really — it always used to make her and Pansy crack up.

"Well, come on then," Draco huffed, "I'll play Keeper first, Yaxley. Then we'll both do some Seeking."

He didn't wait for her to reply, flying up into the air. Rowan grabbed a Quaffle and then climbed onto her broom and kicked off, following him up. The October night's air wasn't very gentle to her skin, her dark hair whipping back behind her. Draco was already waiting at the goalpost.

"You haven't got the right uniform on," Rowan called, "What if I hurt you?"

Usually, Beaters had huge leather helmets and shoulder pads that protected their chests too. Draco, however, was dressed in his usual quidditch attire, his green cape billowing out behind him as he clutched the broom with one hand.

"I'll be fine," was all he replied with.

Rowan shrugged. If Draco wanted to risk getting hurt, then that was on his own idiotic self. It felt strange playing quidditch in the middle of the night in dead silence. Rowan hurdled the Quaffle at the goalpost, and was more than satisfied to see it go over Draco's head. He grunted, and the next time she threw the Quaffle, he did a spin to kick it out of the way, but as it came flying back, Rowan dove upwards on her broom and hit it straight back into the goal.

Draco raised his eyebrows. With every Quaffle that got past him, he seemed to grow more and more agitated. He did manage to save a few, but definitely not enough. He flew down to the ground to grab some proper gear after about ten minutes, flying back up wearing the uniform specifically designed for the Keepers.

"Looking good, Malfoy," Rowan teased him.

Draco rolled his silver eyes. "Shut it, Yaxley," he muttered.

He did better when he could use his head to bat the Quaffles away, and when he was more confident that he wasn't going to be badly hurt. Especially with how hard Rowan threw them over. He could see why Hufflepuff's Keeper had kept ducking out of the way of Rowan two years ago, giving Slytherin a heavy victory — Rowan was relentless and determined.

"Okay, that's enough," Draco said after another fifteen minutes. "That was decent, Yaxley."

Rowan tried not to make some sort of witty remark over the fact that Draco Malfoy had been forced to give her a compliment. Instead, she sent him a small nod as they flew back down the ground.

"Did you see the Snitch?" Draco asked as he ripped off the helmet from his head, tossing it to the ground.

Rowan furrowed her brows. "No?"

"I spotted it flying about the pitch four times whilst I was playing Keeper," Draco said, "It came close to you once — you didn't notice it."

Rowan was slightly surprised. She'd forgotten he'd released it earlier, and she thought that she would have been able to spot it somewhat easily — especially if Draco said he had seen it so many times.

The Malfoy boy pulled off the shoulder and chest protection. "Part of being a Seeker is helping out your team and watching out for Bludgers at the same time as Seeking. Tonight should be simple enough — minus the dark, this is as easy as it gets."

Rowan nodded. "Do you need a breather?"

Sweat glistened ever so slightly on the top of Draco's forehead and on his pale neck from all of the movement he had been forced to do. Rowan herself could still feel her heart thumping, but she was used to being Chaser. Draco wasn't used to Keeping.

"No," Draco scoffed, "I'm fine. Do you need a breather?"

"No," Rowan said, "I'm ready when you are."

"Well then," Draco said, and kicked off of the ground on his broom. "May the best Seeker win."

Rowan refrained from reminding him that she was definitely not a Seeker, but instead followed him back up into the air again. She swore that it was getting colder as the minutes dwindled by, and Draco was putting pressure on her as he did rounds around the pitch. She knew it was a basic tactic every Seeker used, so she did it too, but she constantly worried he was seeing something she couldn't.

Being a Seeker must be like that. On one hand, you want to go one way, but what if the other team's Seeker knows something you don't? What if they had seen the Snitch a few feet away? Rowan kept watching Draco, waiting for him to give something away. His face never changed. He was impossible.

It felt like they had been flying for maybe fifteen minutes before Rowan swore she saw something in the corner of her eye. She stopped suddenly, freezing in the air, and sure enough, about fifty feet away, the Golden Snitch was twittering about in circles, almost mocking her. Rowan's eyes widened and she took off in that direction.

However, her sudden move seemed to have alerted Draco, who was already hot on her trail. She could feel him right behind her as the Snitch took off, making them fly for their money. It suddenly dropped low, but Rowan hadn't been expecting it. She heard a gush of wind behind her and then saw Malfoy underneath. He flew upside down for a moment and reached his hand out, but the Snitch came right back up.

Gritting her teeth, Rowan forced herself to go faster than she had ever been before. She dared to extend her hand, gripping the broom as hard as possible with the other one so she didn't fall off, but Draco suddenly bashed into her side. Rowan gasped, holding on with both hands now, but she quickly recovered and hit him right back.

They were pressed up against each other, Draco clearly starting to overpower from the obvious size and strength difference, but the Snitch was right there.... Rowan extended her hand.

She felt her fingers skim it... Draco's hand was on hers, and he pushed that little bit further, and his slender fingers hooked up the golden ball.

It was over.

Rowan released a frustrated grunt, glancing over to see Draco grinning to himself. They flew to the ground, both panting. He tossed the unmoving Golden Snitch over at her, and she caught it in one hand.

"Good game, Yaxley," Draco said, "I don't know if I hate to admit or not that you're a far better component than Hufflepuff's Seeker — maybe even Ravenclaw's."

Rowan couldn't help but laugh slightly as she coughed out some cold air. "Thanks, Malfoy."

She put the Snitch back into the box with the Quaffle they'd been using too. Draco buckled it back up and then grabbed it in both hands.

"I'm going to put this away," he said, and Rowan knew both of their adrenaline was wearing off, both remembering who they were with agin.

"I'm going to head back," Rowan replied, clearing her throat. "Bye."

"Goodnight, Yaxley."

...

( Friday 31 October 1997 )

The fact that Halloween had landed on a Friday for their final year seemed like the greatest coincidence ever. It meant drinking without facing the consequences of classes the next day with a killer hangover. However, unfortunately, rather than a Slytherin party, the Hufflepuffs had beaten them to handing out secret invitations a couple weeks before, and now the whole school was going there.

Entering through the hole between the barrels that had been tapped open by an awaiting Hufflepuff felt like walking into a whole other universe. Perhaps with some bias, Rowan decided that it still wasn't as cool as what the Slytherins managed to pull together, but it was up there. The Gryffindor and Ravenclaw towers sometimes felt too cramped and it was clear the Gryffindors didn't like the Slytherins in their home — but the Hufflepuff basement felt a lot more accepting.

Strobe lights lit the way to a dance floor, and the basement had been changed in order to fit with the Halloween theme. The Hufflepuffs had seemingly gone all out, tables for food and drink set around the perimeter of the basement. There was also that smell in the air that only the Hufflepuffs could bring to parties. Like the stereotypically amazing Herbologists that they were, they had managed to bring some weed.

Rowan and Pansy glanced around, both of their arms linked. Pansy had decided to go down the route of being a nun, but with a twist, of course — she looked hot. And she definitely would not be allowed anywhere near a Muggle church with the length of her skirt. Meanwhile, Rowan was dressed as a stereotypical vampire. She'd done a spell that extended the canines in her mouth, and had worn a short black and red lace dress with a corset over top. Rowan swore one wrong move would have her breasts on show for everybody to see.

"You guys look great!" Hannah Abbott cheered as she approached the two girls, handing each of them a red solo cup filled with alcohol. "I hope you enjoy the party."

"Thank you," Rowan smiled back. "You look good too."

Ironically, Hannah was dressed as a cat — the same as Daphne, who had insisted she was being original with her outfit. Daphne had even gone to the extent of making sure none of the other Slytherin girls wore cat costumes a month in advance.

Pansy had downed her drink within seconds, and then scrunched her cup and placed it in a nearby hanging plant pot. Rowan rolled her eyes but followed her short-haired friend through a crowd, back over to the drinks table. Pansy poured herself some more as Rowan started to drink her first.

She casually glanced around in hopes of spotting Clay. It had been weeks since they had hooked up last, after Rowan had called it off to supposedly focus on her studies and quidditch. However, tonight, with a little bit of drink in her, Rowan felt like going to the Room of Requirement with him. If Theo found out, she could always blame the alcohol in her system.

"Hello ladies!" Blaise's voice called from behind, and a pair of arms threw over both of them at the same time.

"Blaise," Rowan greeted, turning to face him.

For a moment, Rowan wondered what the hell he was wearing, and then it dawned on her. She released a loud laugh, smacking Pansy's shoulder so she looked too. Blaise had managed to nab a Gryffindor robe, and he'd drawn a scar on his forehead and added a pair of circular glasses upon his nose.

"No fucking way are you Potter!" Pansy screeched, "Blaise!"

Blaise laughed with them. "It was a dare. I have yet to run into Potter, but I'm sure once I do, he'll be happy. But I must say, the outfit you are wearing is very nice, Rowan. Very original, actually."

Theo appeared next to him, skeleton face paint on, his eyes widening on Rowan too. "Holy shit!"

Blaise cackled. "I know."

"What?" Rowan whined defensively, placing a hand over her chest to feel a little less exposed. "What is it? Pansy, what are they —"

"Oh, fuck off," Draco's annoyed drawl caused them to glance to the left where he'd appeared. "You two fucking set me up."

Draco was a vampire too. His teeth had also been extended, some fake blood dribbling down his chin. He'd even pushed his hair back and wore the same red and black theme as her, a cape and all, but also had a white billowy top which he'd left half-unbuttoned, revealing his pale, toned chest.

"What the hell?" Rowan groaned. What were the chances of that happening?

"We didn't set you up!" Blaise howled with laughter. "But this is amazing!"

"Stay out of my way, Yaxley," Draco hissed before he set off in the opposite direction.

Theo grinned. "Ah, this is going well."

Rowan rolled her dark eyes. She opened her mouth to say something when —

"Excuse me, Zabini, I need to get to the drink — what the hell? Are you me?" Harry Potter almost looked offended, but then his face lit up with a drunken grin and he laughed, wrapping an arm around Blaise's shoulder. "Hey! Hey, Ron! Come look at this!"

...

"Oo, yeah. Draco, just like that," the girl beneath him whined.

Draco kept his chin up as he thrusted into her, elbows either side of her body, keeping his weight from crushing Daphne. He wasn't feeling this. He didn't know why he had left with her — even as she made noises and thrusted up to meet him in the middle, Draco found himself wishing he was elsewhere. Back at the party with Blaise and Theo.

The music had been pounding, and it had been decent. Draco held a cup filled with alcohol in his hand that he took regular sips from. Theo and Blaise were still hanging around Rowan and Pansy, and Draco was starting to get irritated and antsy. His back was pressed against a wall as he looked around, searching for them all. It had probably been half an hour since he had seen his best friends.

His eyes landed on a familiar figure across the room. Rowan fucking Yaxley. Her dress was ridiculously short, and the corset made her waist look tiny. Draco hated that he couldn't peel his eyes away from her as she danced with Pansy. He wished she was ugly and he certainly wished she hadn't said those things to him a week ago.  He couldn't get rid of the thoughts. Couldn't get rid of Yaxley and her stupid face and body.

"Are you staring at Yaxley?" Daphne spat suddenly from next to him.

Draco pushed himself off of the wall, giving her a cold glare. "No," he said, "Why would I look at her?"

"Yes you were!" Daphne shrieked, "I saw you, Malfoy. You were practically licking your lips!"

"I saw too," Millicent added.

Draco had to refrain from yelling at them and causing a scene. Instead, he found himself trying to convince them that he wasn't looking in a different way. Daphne was a gossip, and Draco would hate for word to spread that he had been checking out Rowan.

So he left with Daphne, and he invited Daphne to his room. And holy fuck was he bored of her and her fake whines.

He'd been fucking her like this for a while now, and he was nowhere near close. Her face and the expressions she was making were starting to irritate him. Draco grasped her by the shoulder as he pulled out, whirling her back around so her face was in his pillow. Daphne made a noise of surprise, but let him yank her hips upwards. He shoved back inside of her, one hand on her head, letting her turn it so she could breathe, but not enough so he could see her.

"Shut up," Draco growled at all of the noise she was making.

He hooked a finger in her mouth, stopping her mid whine. He thrusted harder, tilting his head towards the ceiling. Maybe it was the alcohol in him, but he started to imagine somebody else beneath him.

"Please, Malfoy," Rowan panted, "Ugh, please fuck me harder."

Draco quickened his pace and finally felt something in his stomach knotting. The whines that managed to leave Daphne somehow contorted into Rowan's as he fucked her harder, his head tilting back, chasing his release.

All it took was him imagining her in that little Halloween costume of hers and Draco was coming. He stayed there for a moment, breathing heavily, and then he backed off of Daphne. She already knew her role — scrambling to get her clothes on and get out.

"Thank you, Draco," she purred at the door, and then left.

Draco sat at the edge of his bed, his face in his hands.

Rowan Yaxley needed to get out of his head now, before she ruined his life.

...

an update two days in a row! im procrastinating the 937483 things i need to do by writing this. i cant believe i actually have to do things when the plot is finally starting to thicken. soooo annoying.

i hope you enjoyed and thank you for reading <333

word count: 4.2k

dyiansobrien.