It was getting more difficult every day. The pressure from his family, the requirements he had the complete, the secrets he had to keep. It felt like the walls were constantly closing in on him, and that no where was safe, not even Hogwarts. He quit quidditch at the beginning of the year because it would only add onto his stress. He was forced to become a death eater right before the beginning of the school year. He didn't want it, but he had to. By this point he began to push everyone away. However, you kept by his side, absolutely persistent, determined to keep close to him, and as much as he wanted to hate it, he couldn't, but it didn't make things easier for him. Unbeknownst to you, he was struggling, deeply. He started having panic attacks alone, usually at night, or in the astronomy tower, or the room of requirements. Everything was overwhelming, everything was too much work, too much effort, too much noise, too much light, too many assignments. He started to fall behind in his classes, something that would've never happened the year before. Being the center of attention, something he loved just the year prior, now filled him with dread, and anxiety. Public settings made him equally anxious. He knew something was wrong with him, and he knew the cause, but he couldn't figure out what exactly was wrong with him, and that only increased the anxiety, the panic attacks, and feeling of being absolutely overwhelmed, and this constant feeling of drowning. But he's kept it all hidden pretty well. Hidden until now that is. When Snape hands out yet another assignment, not just any assignment, a partner assignment. You and Draco are supposed to be working together on this, and something in him breaks. Maybe it's the pressure, maybe it's the pile of assignments he still hasn't completed, or maybe this was just the last straw for him, it was such a small thing, most students wouldn't think twice about it. But it was a lot more than just another assignment for Draco, it was the final thing to crack his shield, the final nail in the coffin. The final pieces of Dracos well constructed walls finally came crashing down, and for the first time ever. Draco publicly breaks.