Pure-Blood? I'm B Positive

"Get up." I knocked on Draco's bedroom door for the fifth time that morning. It was 11am and he still hadn't made a sound.
"Draco. Hiding isn't going to solve anything. Draco." There was no response.
"Draco, answer me." Again there was no noise. "Fine. I'm coming in." I put my right hand around the brass door knob and turned it, the door clicked open and I pushed it ever so slightly.
It was dark and dingy, the heavy curtains hung to the floor, stopping most of the light from entering the room. I looked over to Draco's bed; he was laid wide awake, staring at the ceiling.
"Very mature. Get up." I walked over to the window; drawing the curtains back and opening the latch of the window, allowing the birds song to the fill the room and fresh air to circulate.
"Why?" Draco groaned.
"You're taking me somewhere, and you can't do that from your bed." I left the room without explanation in order to let Draco get dressed.

"Right, I'm ready. Where are we going?" Draco was dressed in his usual black attire.
"We're visiting Neville's parents." I looked up into Draco's grey sunken eyes; I doubt he slept at all last night.
"What?" Draco's eyes widened with fear.
"It might help. I couldn't think of anything else and I'm not going to let you waste your life and rot away with guilt."
"I'm not your responsibility."
"And I'm not yours, yet you still took me in for Christmas." I stared up at Draco, who was looking everywhere except in my direction.
"So, how are we getting there." I put my hands on my hips and decided the only way I was going to make him go was to make him think he had no choice in the matter.
"we're not going." Draco choked out the words as if he spoke with his last breath.
"Sorry, what?" I crossed my arms and clenched my teeth together in order to contain my temper. "We're going. You can't keep hiding, it's not going to get any easier for you until you face it!"
"You're very stubborn, remember I'm your teacher - you should be careful how you talk to me..." Draco turned off his emotions and returned to how I imagine he was in his youth.
"weren't you the one who told that we're not in school anymore? Now, you didn't answer my question; how are we getting there?" There was a momentary silence that was filled with nothing but me staring angrily at Draco.
"Fine. We'll go by floo powder; St Mungos have a fireplace... I think." Draco spoke through gritted teeth and walked past me down the stairs to the dining area he briefly showed me the previous day.
"Wicked. Let's go." I stood inside the fireplace and waited for Draco to join me, although at that particular moment I was radiating confidence I still wasn't comfortable traveling by floo powder. Draco sighed as he walked towards the fireplace, on top of the fireplace was an oak wooden box filled with grey powder, Draco took a handful of the powder and joined me in the large fireplace.
"St. Mungos!" Draco shouted the words loudly and clearly, throwing the ash to the base of the fireplace, as it hit the ground it reacted forming a vivid green flame which engulfed us both; transporting us to exactly where we needed to be.

"I can't believe you forced me into come here."
"Did I physically remove you from the house? No." I looked at Draco, who was brushing dust off of his otherwise immaculate suit. He grumbled as we walked to the reception of the hospital, which was decorated with huge and small glass baubles with snowmen, reindeer & penguins encased inside. For a place filled with so much sadness, chaos and misery it sure was beautiful and, well magical.
"Do you know if Neville will be here?" I asked, curious about Nevilles perspective on this, now we were here it seemed like so much more of a bad idea than it did a good; what if Neville didn't want people around his parents? What if he wanted to visit them on his own? What if he didn't think Draco had the right to visit his parents?
"How am I supposed to know?" Draco snapped at me and walked along the long corridor which the receptionist had directed us to.
"I was just asking." We reached two double doors, I peered through the window to see various beds with patients laid in them, some of them had patients - others didn't. At the far end of the room was a closed curtain which surrounded a small area of the ward.
"Well, I don't see Neville." I looked at Draco who was facing in the other direction.
"I can't go in." His words came out in a faint whisper, and at that point I knew that this moment was scarier than any threat Voldemort made.
"You made it this far, don't give up." I looked at the back of Draco's head and could see how he has slightly shaking; denial was no longer an option, he had to face what his family did, what he helped them do.
"I'm not brave. I'm a selfish coward, okay?" Draco turned, his eyed bulged as he spoke.
"Courage isn't the absence of fear. You were courageous enough to tell me, someone you hardly know about your most personal thoughts and feelings - that is brave. I can't do that; I'll probably never be able to do that." I whispered the last part and looked up at Draco who was staring at the door handle.
"Just... you go in first." Draco nodded towards the door and looked at the floor.
"I'll be back in a few minutes." I opened the door silently and stepped inside, taking one look back at Draco before closing the door.
"Excuse me, I'm looking for a Mr & Mrs Longbottom?" I asked a nurse and she pointed me towards the closed curtain. I had no idea what to expect, Draco hadn't told me much about what happened and the closed curtain which concealed them from the other patients just made me more curious, and with that curiosity came fear. I thanked the nurse before walking over to the curtain, I was about to open it when I heard a voice - Nevilles voice.

"Thankyou, Mum." I heard a rustling of what sounded like a sweet wrapper and a sigh from Neville. It felt rude and intrusive to listen in, but even ruder to disturb them. I put my hand on the curtain just about to open it slightly to make my presence known when Neville opened the curtain for me.
"Araina?" Nevilles eyes were red, as if he had been crying, and were filled with shock and confusion at the sight of me.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to invade or intrude it's just... I didn't know what else to do." I looked into Nevilles eyes searching for understanding. Neville closed the curtain and took me a few steps away.
"What do you mean? Why are you here?" Neville put his hand in his trouser pocket, stuffing a sweet wrapper into it.
"It's Draco; he's a wreck. I tried to help him, but I couldn't, I can't."
"So you brought him to the hospital? Is he going to be okay? Is it fatal?" Neville stepped closer to me.
"Uhh."
"You said he was a wreck, what happened?"
"No, he's an emotional wreck. He's bottled up years and years of guilt for what his family did. The bottle broke, and the contents flew out on me - figuratively." Neville gave a weak smile.
"He told me everything. About his aunt, Bellatrix; your parents, I'm sorry. I thought it might help him if he visited them. I know it won't make everything okay, but I didn't know what else to do."
"Where is he?"
"He's outside the room, he doesn't think he's strong enough to come in - he wanted me to come in first. I understand if you don't want me here."
"No." I looked up at Neville and smiled, my whole body filled with warmth; Neville wanted me there, and that meant the world to me. Neville opened the curtain again and allowed me to sit beside his parents beds. Their expressions were so friendly, regardless of the fact I was a stranger. Nevilles father had dark grey hair and warm eyes just like Neville, and his mother has short brown hair with streaks of grey running through it - they looked healthy, happy. Unconsciously, I reached for Nevilles hand and squeezed it tight. I rested my head on his shoulder and smiled at his parents, who looked on with hazed expressions. We spent a few moments in silence, just existing.

Draco joined us a few moments later, the three of us stood in silence looking at his parents. Neville was the first to break the silence.
"Draco. This happened when we were kids, beyond kids - we were babies. This wasn't your fault. You don't get to feel guilty for somebody elses wrong doing... Besides, Bellatrix is dead now, Voldemort is dead now. It's over."
"But it's not over; people died, people are still hurting because of what I did." Draco spoke with so much emotion and pain in his voice it was almost exhausting for him to finish the sentence. Neville sighed and handed his mother a packet of gum before turning to Draco and looking him straight in the eye.
"You don't get to feel the guilt for those deaths. You don't get to burden yourself with the hurt their deaths caused. You were never that important, you were never that powerful. It would have happened without you. You're not the origin of the pure-blood's cause; you were the result of it." Neville opened the curtain and left without saying another word.
"He's right." I finally spoke, although I was positive anything I said would fall on deaf ears. "However, us telling you this isn't going to change anything, you need to believe it." I followed Neville out of the curtained off area, leaving Draco alone with Nevilles parents.
"Are you okay?" I asked in a whisper to a Neville whose back I was facing.
"I'm... fine." Neville didn't turn around when he answered me.
"No you're not, I can tell." I stood beside him. "Is it your parents? Do you want us to leave?"
"I've dealt with my parents state for my entire life, you being here isn't making that any harder." Neville sighed.
"Then what is the matter - there is something up, I can see it in your eyes."
"Something is happening, just like before."
"How so?"
"There has been a few disappearances, and muggles have been found dead up and down the country."
"People are killed all the time, in both worlds - why does that mean something is happening?"
"It just feels like it did last time. Muggle borns are the main target of the disappearances, and people talk. Why am I telling you anyway? You're a child and it's none of your concern."
"A child? None of my concern? You can't be serious. I'm the one who will be getting the blame for all of this if something major does happen. And anyway, weren't all of you still in school when you defeated Voldemort and his army of death eaters? Youth doesn't mean immaturity, nor does it mean weak. Don't patronise me, and don't ever call me a child again."
"I'm sorry, I'm just nervous and don't want you getting involved if anything does happen." Neville grabbed both of my hands and held them.
"Your hands are cold." I smiled at Neville who instantly dropped my hands as if they were hot coals, I reached for his hands and rubbed them in between mine, warming them up.
"Stop." Neville crossed his arms are faced away from me, internally running from the situation that faced him.
"But, I don't want to." My words were barely a whisper and yet when they left my mouth, it felt like i'd shouted them at the top of my lungs. Neville sighed and walked through the curtain to return to his parents and Draco.
I decided against joining them and instead stood outside the curtain listening to the silence. After a few moments of silence I heard a voice from behind the curtain, it was Neville.
"You okay now then, drama queen?"
"A little. Thanks for the reality check, mate." Dracos voice was still a little shaky.
"Good, because we've got problems, big problems. There are signs of a kind of resistance group forming in London. I got an owl from Harry; they've been intercepting owls secretly and seem to think someone in Hogwarts is a member, they can't tell who though, code names have been used."
"Araina?" A sickness came over me as Draco said my name - accusing me of starting some revolution against muggles. I almost fell to the floor with shock and betrayal.
"Don't be stupid. She would never do that. It's more likely you than it is her."
"I didn't mean that... I meant, I'm not sure what I meant." Draco sighed and I sat in silence listening for more, but there was none.
Draco was the first to exit, Neville followed shortly after. Nothing was said about Draco's 'breakdown' and instead the three of us pretended it never happened, and I pretended I didn't hear what the spoke of beyond the curtain.

Back at the house everything seemed to return to normal; however normal it can be when you're staying at your professors house and being waited on by house-elves. I attempted to get some work done, considering there was not much else to do - unlike 'muggle' holidays where you can sit for hours on end staring at a computer monitor doing nothing, I had to do nothing whilst staring at books. The rest of the day seems to drag on as I sat alone in my room practicing spells and enchantments.
"Madam, dinner is ready. Perhaps you want me to clean your room while you eat?" Linny was standing in the doorway of my room holding her broom with a large amount of pride.
"Erm, thankyou Linny. It isn't necessary, I'll clean up my things before I go to bed." I spoke with politeness, and yet Linny seemed offended by my words, although she kept her composure and attempted to brush her feelings aside.
I walked down the old stairs cautiously; unaware of what state Draco would be in at the present time.
"Evening, Araina. Sit down." Draco was sat at the table, wearing his usual carbon attire. he seemed much chirpier than he was this morning, and I welcomed that, sitting across from him whilst Dee-Dee brought various plates of meat and vegetables.
"Araina... I'd like to thank you for forcing me to go to the hospital today, i needed it and if it wasn't for you, I'd probably still be wallowing in self-pity." Draco clenched his knife in his hand as he spoke; Draco was a very proud man, and it took a lot to say those words.
"It's really no problem, I consider you a friend and I couldn't just see you like that and do nothing." I picked up my utensils and began to eat. I sat thinking about what was said in the hospital... I had no idea how to react, or if I should tell Draco that I overheard his and Nevilles conversation.
After the silent meal I retreated to my room to think about how I should go about it. The truth was, I had no idea how to deal with this, I was still dealing with the fact I was a witch, never mind that I was a wanted witch.