HOW TO BE A HEARTBREAKER | draco malfoy ✔️

epilogue

Rowan did not lay eyes on Draco Malfoy for another seven years.

Of course, she had seen images of him in the Daily Prophet, read stories about all of the hardwork he was putting in at the Ministry. She hardly kept up to date with wizarding politics, especially when it involved staring at her ex-boyfriends face so often, but from what she knew, he was quickly making his way up the ranks— soon to be the youngest Deputy Minister of Magic the Wizarding World had ever seen.

Rowan tried to convince herself that she was happy for him. After all, it seemed rather pathetic to continue being in love with the boyfriend she had at eighteen-years-old. She told herself that she had moved on from all of the trauma the events had brought to her. Of course she didn't think about how many girls Draco had cheated on her with after he'd discovered her secret! Of course she didn't spend countless nights awake wondering when he had done it, if he had thought of her once, or if those girls had been laughing at her for being so fucking stupid the whole time.

Most of all, of course Rowan didn't feel an endless pit of guilt at the bottom of her stomach every time she thought of the way things had ended with Draco Malfoy. There would be other men that would make her feel as seen as Draco made her feel, she was sure of it. Other men would see all of her flaws and still love her like he once did, surely.

Rowan blew a kiss to Adrian Pucey in the stands and attempted to remind herself this.

She flew down to the grass, smiling as the crowd roared above her. Chants she couldn't quite make out rattled the pitch, and fireworks burst into the evening sky, dark blue and silver for the Montrose Magpies. One of her teammates knocked shoulders with her as they headed for the pitch exit, and another squeezed her into a side hug, congratulatory words being spread between the team.

Flashes and yells bombarded her senses as soon as she stepped off the pitch and into the narrow corridor that led into the arena. Rowan forced her usual smile for the cameras, but ignored the reporters stood around with their notepads and quills, feeling her body ache as she handed her broom to the personal assistant that made sure she was comfortable before and after games.

"Apologies," Rowan spoke to one man in particular that was trying to shove a microphone in her face. "I'm afraid I'm awfully exhausted after such a long game. Please forgive me, I must go and lie down for a bit."

Some reporters laughed. Rowan didn't think it was particularly funny, but she'd learned that being an athlete came with fame, and fame seemed to come with people who would agree with anything you had to say to be in for a chance of being in the limelight for even a minute.

"Actually, Miss Yaxley," Appletree said, hurrying to keep up with her long strides, juggling both Rowan's broom and a water bottle with the Quidditch player's initials on it. "The Minister of Magic attended today's game in the Ministry box. Minister Lacework wishes to meet you."

Rowan nearly groaned out loud, but managed to stick to a mere huff from the nose. She finished pulling their hairbands from her braids and ran her fingers through the dark curls, so thankful to loosen the tight ache around her roots.

"Okay, okay," she said, and pulled off her gloves. "He's not wanting to eat with me, is he?"

It wasn't uncommon for wizarding celebrities to want to meet with Quidditch players after the game— often times just to snap a photo for the Daily Prophet if she'd had a particualry good game. Rowan found this especially true to her. Lots still wanted to congratulate her on the record she broke all the way back in her last year of Hogwarts. Many of them were former Slytherins who had also been on the school team once upon a time.