HOW TO BE A HEARTBREAKER | draco malfoy ✔️

28. draco's return

HOW TO BE A HEARTBREAKER

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

"How is he?"

Blaise stared at the urgent expression on Rowan's face, his brows furrowed, an aching look on his face that had been there since he had found out the news about Narcissa. He had gone to visit Draco the day before, Draco's birthday, and Rowan had been an anxious mess the entire time. It was a last minute thing— Blaise's mother was going to visit and had asked if her son would like to go with her. Blaise had already gotten to see him earlier that week to deliver Draco his homework— Rowan had been on Prefect patrols by herself and unable to volunteer herself when Snape had asked. It wasn't fair.

Draco hadn't asked Rowan to go and see him and Rowan had been too scared to suggest it in case he felt as though she was being too overbearing. He was at home for a reason— the intensity of Hogwarts was too overwhelming for his grieving heart, and she completely understood that. If she had lost somebody dear to her, the last place she would want to be would be in the Great Hall where everybody was staring and whispering, or in the common room where people thought they had the right to know every single little detail.

However, it didn't stop her from feeling distraught. She missed him so much– it had been a couple of weeks since she had seen him. He hardly wrote to her— she supposed not much was going on over there, other than horribly depressing days— and she wanted to be with him. Even if he spent the whole time weeping into her shoulder, that would be fine, too. Anything but the silence

"He's coming back tomorrow," Blaise replied, "But he's still the same as he was last time, Rowan."

Rowan sighed heavily. The anxiety balling in her chest and stomach made her feel sick, and yet she had somehow come so accustomed to the feeling that when she sat back into the sofa and her leg bounced and her fingers twitched, her body didn't recognise it as anything but the new normal. She was constantly jittery now, jealous of everybody who received owls from their loved ones each morning, whilst she burned holes into her toast.

"I can't wait to see him," she admitted.

"Really?" Pansy said sarcastically. "We had no idea."

Rowan sent Pansy a fierce glare. "Shut it. I've been so worried. I could hardly focus on any of my revision."

"How do you think Draco feels?" Blaise said, "His mother's just died. He's not been able to concentrate on his either."

Rowan's mouth fell open. "I'm sorry, is it a competition? Obviously Draco is in a much worse-off position. I was just saying how I've been feeling."

Blaise huffed. "Yeah. Sorry. I just feel tense after seeing Draco. It's not nice."

Rowan closed her eyes and imagined him in the worst state possible. She hated it more than anything.

She was relieved when the next day came quicker than she had expected it too. Rowan had fallen asleep on top of her homework, waking up the sounds of footsteps in the dorm. She peeled back the curtain after she had woken herself up properly, finding Pansy brushing her hair in the mirror.

"He's back," Pansy told her. "He got here really early, Blaise said he's in the common room."

Rowan's heart skipped a beat. Immediately she was up and in the shower. She put on her eyeliner as always, spritzed the perfume she knew her boyfriend loved the most, and pulled on her black midi skirt and a white baby tee. Her black Mary Janes were pulled on at the speed of lightning, nearly forgetting her wand completely as she darted out of the door and down to the common room.