"really?" Draco raised his eyebrows teasingly as the couple walked down the deserted hallway.

(y/n) was grinning madly as she held onto his hand, her head resting on his shoulder. she was careful not to roll up the sleeve of his Slytherin robe.

"yes! i almost died!" she retold the story about how when she was younger Fred and George would push her around, excited about the new girl in the family.

"how did you almost die? surely you were fine." Draco playfully rolled his eyes.

"you see this scar?" she asked, pulling up her hair and showing her shoulder.

"your faded scar?" he smirked.

"Fred and George were practicing with some magic and they weren't being careful, and i got struck by it. mum screamed her head off about it for years."

"sounds like you ran into it." Draco said, causing (y/n) to push him slightly as she laughed.

"shut up you arse." she said.

Ron and Harry came around the corner causing the four to stop. Harry and Draco glared at the other as Ron looked at where his sister's hands were.

"so you two are back on again?" Ron asked.

"we were always on." Draco said defensively.

"didn't seem like it." Harry muttered under his breath.

Draco tensed under (y/n)'s touch as she squeezed his hand.

"what was that, Potter?" Draco narrowed his eyes at the brunette.

"nothing, except you are a-" Harry began.

"stop." (y/n) spoke up. all three boys looked at her.

"Merlin, i'm so bloody tired of this. come on." (y/n) said, grabbing her boyfriend tighter and dragging him away.

"can you learn to just ignore him?" she asked him when she was sure they had some distance from everyone.

"can he learn to stop talking to me?" Draco replied.

"he thinks you're a Death Eater, you know." she blurted out. Draco stopped walking as he looked at her in shock.

"he- he- what?" he asked in disbelief.

"well you haven't exactly been the most discreet." she mumbled.

"i-i-" his breathing started to become heavier as he looked more panicked.

(y/n) noticed the quick change in behavior and felt her stomach drop. people were starting to give them weird looks as they walked by and Draco was trying not to cry.

"follow me." she told him, gently taking his hand and leading him to the nearest loo. she locked the door and watched as he slid down the wall onto the floor.

"love.." she cooed, watching as he curled into a ball. his shoulders started moving up and down signaling he was hyperventilating.

"Draco." her voice cracked as she heard the young man sobbing. she slowly walked up to him, wrapping her arms around him as she rubbed his back.

he clutched onto her tightly as he sobbed into her chest. all the anxiety and pressure just now dawned on him as Draco let his emotions flow freely.

he felt safe in her arms.

she played with his blond hair as she tried to calm him down. "can you feel me breathing, love? try matching my breathing pattern, okay? can you do that?" she softly asked.

he gently nodded against her and tried to follow her slow breaths. they were pressed tightly together as the couple sat on the bathroom floor.

"you're doing so good, Draco. thank you for breathing with me. i'm so proud of you." she told him.

he lifted his head slowly, tears still escaping his eyes as he let out a sniffle. "i'm so sorry, (y/n). and i mean it, i really really am sorry." he apologized.

"shhh, it's okay. don't worry about that right now, just focus on my breathing and me. i'm here for you, Draco. i'm always going to be here." she smiled.

"i love you so much." he told her through another sob.

"i love you too. so, so much." she said, taking him back into her arms.

❤️