Chapter 8: Playing with People's Hearts.
So many emotions were coursing through Nadia's veins as she sat on the cold stone floor. Her bum and back were numb, however, she was to paralysed to move. The feelings continued to bubble inside her like a volcano, while she stared at the opposite wall in wonder. Pain, anger, sadness, and betrayal, mostly betrayal we're poisoning her body and making her heart knot with the desire for revenge.
She had to play the game.
She couldn't move on and forget about Draco's every existence, no. She had to play the game, play with his heart, and make him feel the exact same way she had. The funny part was, was that she knew she could do it, she knew how to play the system, she knew how to break someone's heart. His heart. Draco Malfoy's heart.
With thoughts of revenge pumping through her blood and electrifying her nerves, she pulled herself up from the floor and back towards the common room.
She was going to get her revenge and she was going to do it right.
****
"Banana Fritters!" Nadia shouted and the door swung open accompanied by a disapproving tut from the fat lady. Nadia threw her a stern glare and proceeded to walk into the common room to find the exact two people she was looking for.
"Weasley I need your help." She shouted again, and decided she didn't want to be rude so she quickly mumbled a quick 'please' afterwards.
"Where have you been! You've been gone for nearly 2 hours!" Hermione shouted quickly from her seat on the sofa. Was she really gone for that long? Nadia thought and she cringed at the thought of herself crying for that long.
"Erm I was with Dra-someone and then we kind of argued, and now I'm pretty pissed off!" Nadia quickly babbled and she stole a glance over at Ron to see if he could identify who dra was. Thankfully he still looked just as confused as always.
"Wait what did you and Dra-argh this person argue about?" Hermione asks quietly with concern lacing through her voice, which Nadia was glad to know, she liked having such supportive friends.
"Well he kind of asked me to the yule ball and I said I was already going with someone. Then he got mad because I guess he thought I was going with Cedric, you know since the daily prophet basically said we were together. I tried to tell him but he went into a massive rant about how he didn't care about me and he was just playing me blah blah blah. Anyway, that's why I'm here I want my revenge and I need your help." Nadia quickly explained and she was comforted instantly when she felt the reassuring feel of Hermione's arms around her neck.
"Of course, we'll help, right Ron. No one hurts my Nadia and gets away with it." Hermione mumbled into her hair. When she pulled back, Nadia glanced over at Ron for his reply and was surprised to find he still looked just as confused as ever.
"Wait who's dra?" Ron asked with the same look of confusion written on his face, which Nadia couldn't help but laugh at.
"No one!" Nadia and Hermione shouted in synchronization, causing Ron to look suddenly taken a back from the outburst.
"Ok ok! And yes, I will help! What would you like me to do?" Ron's words made Nadia's face light up with relief. Her plan was working so far and she hoped that Draco would play along, so that he too could feel exactly how she felt.
"I need you to flirt with me Ron and to play along whenever I flirt with you. Got that?" Nadia asked confidently and she hoped Ron didn't back out now.
"Sure, I'll do that. Besides what are friends for. Let's play this guy just like he played you." Ron replied triumphantly and Nadia noticed Hermione nod in approval.
All her pieces were in place.
Now all she had to do is play the game.
****
The first lesson Nadia had with Draco was potions and Nadia was brimming with anticipation and nerves on the way to class. She was walking with Ron and Hermione, who thankfully were engrossed in a conversation about dragons, which left Nadia free to formulate a plan. Nadia hadn't seen or spoken to Draco since the night of her birthday and quite frankly, she had no idea what to expect. Would he be angry? Sad? Regretful? The latter seemed the most unlikely of the three, Draco was a proud person, she knew that. Which meant he wouldn't be apologising for being wrong any time soon.
Eventually, the three made it the class, where Draco was already seated. Nerves gripped tighter in her stomach as she noticed Draco's face was void of all emotions, which meant Nadia how no idea how he was feeling.
Hermione gave her a reassuring squeeze and a quiet good luck before she departed and left Nadia all on her own to face the formidable Draco. She nervously sat down and waited for the class to begin. Nadia noticed that most pairs surprisingly were talking, however her table was so quiet that even a graveyard made more noise.
She waited a few more minutes.
Nothing.
No words, no glances, probably not even a thought.
Maybe everything that Draco said was true then?
Suddenly the door banged open, causing Nadia to jump slightly in her seat, she watched as Professor Snape trudged forward with a look of pure hatred. With an air of disinterest, he flicked his wand towards the black board to reveal this morning's task and then plumped into his chair and began to read.
The room was silent for a minute before the sounds of scraping chairs and stomping feet began to reverberate throughout the class. She noticed Draco made no effect to move, so Nadia decided to collect the ingredients by herself.
When she returned, she found Draco standing behind a sparkly clean cauldron and a text book opened to the exact potion of today's task.
Maybe he was actually going to do something today.
Then she had an idea!
She then noticed her bag was slightly more forward than usual, which meant if she purposely tripped over it, it was positioned well enough to make it look like an accident. Perfect. So, with her head held high she walked towards the table, when she eventually made it near her bag, she pretended to trip.
"Ahh!" she screamed and just like she had hoped she landing right into the arms of Draco. Suddenly her heart began to pound as she one: realised how close they were and two: that he smelt like peppermint and cinnamon which surprisingly made her heart melt. She loved the smell of cinnamon.
"What are you doing?" He snarled quietly, pulling Nadia's thoughts away from cinnamon and back to her current situation. Now she had to do some flirting.
"Ohh I'm sorry Draco, I just tripped." She whispered coyly and proceeded to glance up at Draco with her best impression of puppy dog eyes.
"What are you really doing Bowman!" He whispered angrily and Nadia began to wonder if maybe this wasn't such a good idea. No, she had to keep going. Revenge is sweet.
"Well you said you were playing a gang and well I guess I just decided that two can play at that game." She snarled back quietly and she shot him a death glare. Suddenly he began to smirk and replied with something Nadia never even hoped for, but surprisingly seemed better.
"Well then game on, Bowmen."
****
Draco's POV.
Surprisingly to him, Nadia kept up with her little game and quite frankly he was rather pleased. Maybe she was as stubborn as he first thought. Besides Draco could've easily finished this weeks ago, but him being him meant that he was simply to proud to apologise for being wrong, so instead he settled to just playing along with her little game of revenge.
In all honestly, he didn't really mind, if playing this game meant seeing and speaking to her then so be it. He liked her. He liked the way her eyes twinkled like the stars in the night sky. He liked the way her hair flowed down her back in waves and moved like the flowing current of the ocean. And her scent, Ohh god her scent. It was so intoxicating, he had no idea that Roses and Vanilla could have such an effect on him.
However, Draco was a jealous person and seeing her flirting and laughing with that stupid ginger Weasley infuriated him. And he knew the feeling would only get worse because Nadia was planning something bigger for this stupid game, she wanted to win just as much as he did, which meant the game could only get worse and Draco knew a lot of it had to do with that idiot Weasley.
He knew now who she was taking to the ball, any genius could have easily figured it out. She couldn't possibly be going with perfect Diggory because she spent more time with the Weasley then she did with Cedric. Which meant she was going with Weasley. Great, which also meant he had to go one step further and bring someone that would surely give him the win.
Pansy Parkinson.
****
Nadia's POV
Tonight, was the Yule ball and quite frankly Nadia was beyond excited. She loved Christmas and the best way to spend it was an overly Christmassy ball. The other thing she was excited about was Draco, she knew he didn't have anyone to go with which meant that Nadia was one step ahead. However, going to the ball with Ron wasn't enough she had to think of something better, something that would ultimately guarantee her the win. For good.
She had no idea what possessed her to carry on with this idea of revenge. Maybe it was her stubbornness or maybe her competitiveness. Or maybe she hoped that eventually he would give up and profess his love to her.
Haha yeah right.
Eventually after many hours of getting ready the three girls were ready for the yule ball. Nadia's stomach was knotted with nerves, mostly for many reasons but one being Draco. Hopefully this game would end and end tonight.
Soon after they had arrived at the entrance to the great hall, where a few students were still lingering, Nadia quickly identified Ron and Harry. However, Nadia could not help but laugh at the way Ron looked, this would not do, she was not going to walk into the great hall with hundreds of students looking at her with Ron looking like that. It would be the embarrassment of the century.
"Ohh Ron this really won't do." Nadia said causing Ron and Harry to jump with surprise. Before Ron could objectify however, Nadia flicked her wand over Ron's robes and was overjoyed to see them looking normal and well, black.
"Wow Nadia you look great, and thanks for the change, I was tired of looking like my nan." Ron replied jokingly and Nadia and Harry couldn't help but laugh.
"Yes, I know. Anyway, let's go I think professor McGonagall is looking for us." They slowly walked over to professor McGonagall who was currently, fretting for reasons unbeknown to Nadia.
"Ahh there you are Miss Bowmen and Mr Potter. Are you four ready?" Nadia nodded she was glad she had practiced the dance thoroughly with Ron, there was no way she was going to make a fool of herself. However, by the look on Harry's face it appeared he had not been practicing.
"Ready Professor?" Harry asked quizzically, causing Nadia and Ron to giggle slightly, besides Nadia and Ron were practically professionals.
"To dance. It's traditional that the three champions or in this case five are the first to dance. Surely I told you that." Nadia laughed again after she said this because by the look on the professor's face it looked like she was having a hard time containing her own laughter. At least Nadia and Ron weren't the only ones finding this so comical. Nadia watched as Harry slowly replied with a shake of his head and a blank expression plastered on his face. His answer seemed to have angered Paravati because it seemed as if she was reconsidering her choice of date.
"Oh well now you know." McGonagall replied and she began to usher us all into a line, Nadia was so preoccupied with the excitement and the surreal feeling of the whole thing that she missed Ron's reaction to Hermione's date.
Ohh well, she imagined he probably looked rather pissed.
Suddenly the great hall doors swung open and the sound of a string quartet travelled through Nadia's ears and made her stomach knot with nerves. The line proceeded to walk forwards into the hall, with Ron's arm slinked through her's she began to feel her nerves slightly calm, however not by much. She glanced around at all the students surrounding her and her eyes met Ginny's first and she gave a soft smile and a little wave to Neville. She noticed some more people like Luna, Fred, George and even Hagrid. However, the last person her eyes sought out made her blood boil and her ears ring with anger.
Draco Malfoy.
And he wasn't alone.
His partner was Pansy Parkinson.
How dare he come with her! Didn't he realise how much she hated Pansy? She hated her with every ounce of her soul and he turns up with her! What for? Then it sunk in, it was all part of the game, he was making the next move and this was exactly how he wanted her to react. He wanted to win. Well she wasn't going to let him.
All through the dance all she could think about was Draco, there had to be a way of getting him back. A way to make his move look like child's play. A kiss, she had to kiss Ron. That was it! He would never kiss Pansy, she knew that, they were so far into the game that she knew that he cared enough for her. He wouldn't spend weeks on someone he didn't care about surely. Which meant he wouldn't kiss Pansy and Nadia would win the game.
Eventually the dance had ended and Nadia was surprised to find it went quite well given the circumstances. She glanced around and found that Draco was still in the hall and was in clear sight of Nadia, great. Now all she had to do was kiss Ron. She glanced at Ron and gave him her best charming smile. If she was going to kiss Ron she had to make it look good.
"The dance went well Ron, well done. Although I need you to do me a favour, I need you to kiss me." Nadia asked quickly all the while smiling up at him.
"Kiss you? Hell, yeah, I'll kiss you! This is part of the game, isn't it? Is he watching?" Ron's ecstatic response made Nadia feel a lot better about the situation and she hoped Draco was still watching, she had to win this game.
"Yes, it is and yes, his watching Ron, now kiss me."
And then his lips were on hers and she was kissing Ron. It was everything she had expected it to be, it wasn't exciting at all and there were no feelings or passion behind it. So, this is what it must feel like to kiss a friend then.
She was glad it wasn't turning her on.
She quickly stole a glance over towards Draco and she was overjoyed to see he was angry very angry indeed. Good, maybe she had finally won this thing. She continued to kiss him for a few seconds and once she had deemed it enough she broke away. She continued to smile brightly up at him again, she couldn't have her ruining her move now.
"Wow, wasn't as good as I'd thought it would be." Ron replied slowly, as if he was still in a daze.
"Yeah, I know, I weren't really feeling it to be honest, either." Nadia replied with a laugh and she was pleased to find he was laughing with her.
"Anyway, did he see?" Ron asked, causing Nadia's heart to grip with anticipation, she quickly stole another glance towards Draco to find he wasn't angry anymore, now he was smirking. Dread consumed her body like water as she continued to stare at that annoying smirk of his. This was bad. That smirk meant Nadia had not won the game, Draco had thought of something better, better than her kissing Ron. Draco was going to take this further, much further then she thought it was ever going to go, maybe Draco would win this game after all.
****
2 hours had passed and still Draco had not made his move, waiting was excruciating for Nadia, it was if Draco was enjoying watching her suffer for the all important next move. Maybe Draco enjoyed seeing her consumed by the thought of his actions. She was so annoyed with him! She had been looking forward to this night for a whole mouth and now she couldn't even enjoy it properly, thanks to Draco!
However, it didn't look like Nadia was the only one having an awful night because in two chairs were two very bored looking boys. Harry and Ron. Nadia had no idea what had crawled up their butts and died. Yet, she assumed maybe hanging with them for the rest of the night would help matters.
"Hey, are you guys fed up with this night just as much as I am?" Nadia mumbled and she plonked herself down on a chair beside Ron. They then both looked at her and then proceeded to reply with grumpy grunts that she assumed to be yes's.
They continued to sit in silence and Nadia began to wonder if maybe she should give up with this stupid ball and retire to the dorm. However, she didn't get to wonder for long, because she spotted Draco and Pansy, doing something that made Draco instantly win the game.
Draco had officially taken it too far and Nadia had no idea what to do about it.
There they were in the corner of the room making out, but what they were doing wasn't as plain and simple as that, gosh no, He was roaming he hands along her back and down towards her hips, even from here she could tell that Pansy was moaning. Yet Draco was still going and now he was moving on down along her neck and he wouldn't stop.
Which meant one thing.
He wanted to do this and he liked it.
Nadia was done, she couldn't watch this anymore. Weeks and weeks of playing this stupid game in the hopes of him feeling the way that she did, yet by the end of it she was back to where she started. She couldn't watch this anymore so she run out of the hall and into the cold night of the courtyard.
The winter air was cold and started to prick against Nadia's skin, but she couldn't even feel it, she was to numb. The courtyard was decorated with fountains and high hedges that were draped beautifully with fairy lights, that seemed to magically dance in the wind. Maybe it is magic Nadia thought. She continued to walk in
between the hedges and the fountains, until she made it to the end of the courtyard, where she found a secluded spot behind a hedge.
She hid behind it and began to pace, while waves of anger began to emit from her body. How could he? How could he string her along like that? She was so stupid, stupid to think he had even liked her!
"Nadia?" A quiet voice asked, as it cut through her train of thought and made her heart beat even more erratically. Only one person could make her heart do that, Draco.
"You!" she spun around and pointed her finger up towards his face in a menacing manner. "You took it too far Draco! How could you" Nadia shouted as tears began to pool from her eyes and travel down her face, damn it why did she have to cry!
"Do what? I was just playing the game love. Was it getting a bit too much for you? Would you like me to go a bit easier on you next time?" Draco replied sarcastically, making Nadia's blood boil even harder. How dare he joke around at a time like this.
"Are you kidding me right now! This game wasn't meant to go this far! You ruined it again, like you do everything!" She continued to shout as tears still began to travel down her cheeks. She just wanted him to understand, to apologise and then he was free to do whatever he wanted, with whoever he wanted. His face then began to soften as he notices Nadia's seriousness and pain.
"How was I supposed to know when you wanted to stop! You kissed Ron, why couldn't I kiss Pansy?" He shouted back and Nadia flinched away in shock at the realization that this was her first argument.
"I kissed him you were touching her and making her moan it was disgusting! I don't like Ron so I don't even see what the problem is!" She shouted back and even though she tried to stop it fresh tears began to tumble down her cheeks.
"Who cares? Why does this game even matter so much to you? Why do you care so much if I kissed Pansy or not?" He shouted back at her, his face contorted with anger. Suddenly Nadia's anger boiled over and she began to rant things she knew she would regret later.
"Because I like you, God Damn it! Can't you see that! No, you can't because you were too busy kissing perfect Pansy Parkinson. But who cares if I like you right? Obviously not you, so, why don't you run bac- "
But she never got to say it because Draco's lips were on hers, his hands were cradling her wet cheeks and he was pushing her up against the hedge.
Draco Malfoy was kissing her.
And it was if the whole world had stopped spinning, electricity was jolting through her veins, making her brain go fuzzy and her limbs go weak. Although, the kiss deepened and the electricity began to multiply, causing Nadia to move her hands and do something, so she placed them on his back and pulled him closer, causing him to push up against her and she let out a tiny moan. Yet, this must have been the right thing because he started to move his hands down her side and over her hips.
And Nadia couldn't help but feel like this was the best thing she had ever experienced.
Then she realised he was turning her on, haha what a thought.
Then she realised they had both played the game and they had both won.
Nadia may not have succeeded in her revenge; however, but she was given the next best thing.
