By Reason Of Birth

"Ron wanted to see me?"

The Burrow

"Oh, yes. I'll go get him for you," Mrs. Weasley answered, leading the three teens into the lounge, where Ginny happened to be sitting, reading a magazine. She glanced up when the others came in and her eyes widened.

Once Mrs. Weasley was out of the room, Ginny's eyes passed over Hermione and Theo, settling on Blaise. "Blaise, what are you doing here?" she asked in a syrupy sweet voice, batting her eyelashes like there was something in her eye, though Hermione thought it was intended to look sexy.

Ginny stood up and moved closer to Blaise, and he pressed closer to Hermione, who in turn pressed closer to Theo, who was making quiet retching noises in Hermione's ear.

"Umm, Ginny, I think you're scaring him," Hermione said as Blaise crushed himself against her in his plight to get away from the redhead.

"Shut up, Hermione. This has nothing to do with you," Ginny sneered. She had yet to be civil to Hermione since Harry broke up with her, blaming the older girl for turning Harry against her.

"Actually, it does," Blaise responded harshly, taking her hand off of his arm and placing it back in her lap, touching her as little as possible.

When she didn't take the hint, opting to trail her finger up and down his chest, he made a rumbling noise that sounded very much like a growl and sent butterflies to the pit of Hermione's stomach. "I suggest you remove yourself from my person before I am forced to do something drastic," he warned, his voice dangerously low.

Ron came into the room then, finding Hermione and Theo pressed against each other at one end of the sofa, his arm over her shoulder so it wouldn't get crushed between them, Blaise practically sitting in Hermione's lap, and Ginny stroking her finger down his chest. He cleared his throat, and the four teens on the sofa looked up at him. "I only asked to see Hermione," he commented rather rudely.

"Yeah, and we weren't going to let her come all on her own," Theo replied nonchalantly, staring Ron down while twisting a lock of Hermione's hair with his hand that was resting on her shoulder.

"Hermione, what I have to say to you is none of their business. Can you send them away?"

"I could, but I'm not going to. Whatever you have to say to me, you can say in front of them," she responded, causing both Ron and Ginny's jaws to drop.

"How can you trust them like that?" he implored. "Hermione, they're Slytherins, you know that you can't trust a Slytherin."

"No, I can't trust some Slytherins, just like I can't trust some Gryffindors, or some Ravenclaws or even Hufflepuffs. Theo is my brother. You may not like it, but that's how it is-"

"Package deal," Theo interrupted only to give a sharp groan when Hermione's elbow found itself connected with his side.

"Blaise is Theo's best mate, and if Theo trusts him, then so do I," she continued, bringing attention to Blaise. He, however, looked absolutely murderous as Ginny leaned over him, no longer touching him, but whispering in his ear and leaning over just enough for him to get a glimpse of her cleavage had he actually felt the urge to look.

"Fine, whatever," Ron said, glowering at the two young men flanking Hermione. "Ginny, please leave, this doesn't concern you," he told his sister, annoyed that she was throwing herself all over the black Slytherin.

"If they get to stay, I want to, too," she pouted up at her brother.

"Fine, you stay, we'll go," he said.

"I'll go," she harrumphed, standing up and leaving the room gracelessly with one last, longing look thrown in Blaise's direction.

Theo, Hermione, and Blaise spread out over the sofa once again, and Ron sat in the chair a few feet away that Ginny had vacated after their arrival.

"Seamus saw you in Hogsmeade yesterday," Ron said, his eyes never leaving Hermione.

"Really? I didn't notice. He should have come over and said hello," she responded, confused as to why the Irishman would have ignored her and Harry only to turn around and tell Ron.

"He was with his mum and he didn't feel very comfortable going up to you and Harry when you were with a group of Slytherins that he didn't even know you spoke to."

"That's interesting considering how much stock his mother has always set in the Prophet," she said, her annoyed tone conveying the bitterness she also felt.

"I think they stopped receiving it after it was proven that You Know Who was back," Ron said, defending his friend. "But that is beside the point," he continued and Hermione could tell that both Theo and Blaise wanted to say something to try and urge him to actually get to the point.

"Hermione, I'm your best mate, me and Harry, so why is it that he was invited to go with you and I wasn't?" Ron was obviously having a hard time controlling his words and his temper, but he knew that with her two 'bodyguards' on either side of her, it would be a big mistake to let loose on her like he wanted.

"Ron," she answered in a soothing voice, "I couldn't invite you because we really only did go out for a few hours and I was only allowed one person. We went to meet with Lilah, Savannah, and Daphne because they're going to help me out with all this stupid social stuff I've been roped into. Harry didn't want to be the only guy there, so Theo and Blaise came along," she told him, hoping the story they had prearranged for their parents would work for Ron as well.

"I invited Harry instead of you because he's less judgmental of other people than you are, and because I know you like me as more than a friend, but I only see you as a brother," she said as nicely as she could, not wanting to hurt his feelings.

"Great, so that's all I am to you-a judgmental brother who you can't take anywhere. Merlin forbid I have an actual opinion on something, and not just what you want me to think," he replied, his voice getting both louder and harsher.

"Ron, that's not tr-"

"Just save it, Hermione! I don't want to hear any of your lies you use to try and make me feel better. You yourself just said that you don't care about me, so-"

"I did not say I don't care about you!" she responded with tears in her eyes, hitting the cushions of the sofa on either side of her for emphasis. "Just because I'm not attracted to you romantically, doesn't mean-"

"Leave," he cut her off again. "I really don't want to see you right now. Maybe when you stop attacking me, we'll talk again, but not right now while you can't see things rationally."

"Ron, just because I don't agree with you and don't think the way you do, doesn't mean that I'm not your friend, that I don't care about you," she told him, a slight pleading tone to her voice as the tears started to fall.

"Hermione, let's go," Blaise said after sharing a glance with Theo. The two stood up, and she followed suit, looking sadly over to Ron, who was looking at her, his eyes full of hurt, disdain, and anger.

Blaise put his arm around her shoulder and led her out of the house, whispering into her hair that everything would work out. Theo stayed behind, glancing over to his sister as she and his best mate left the room.

Theo turned to Ron, a look of loathing on his face as he stared into the taller boy's glowering face. "You may be like a brother to her, Weasley, but I am her brother. If I ever hear of you making her cry again, I will make sure you understand the difference."
Chapter End Notes:
as always, thanks to the lupie and to the readers/reviewers. i know, i know, not as explosive as some of you were expecting, but i hope you still liked it, lol.