By Reason Of Birth

Confessions

Hermione knew that Theo and Blaise wanted to talk to her about what had just happened at the Weasley's, but all she wanted to do was go to sleep. She was quiet as they walked through the house, and bid them good night when they reached the doors to her and Theo's bedrooms.

The next morning after breakfast, Hermione made her way to the kitchen to do the dishes. The house-elves were wary of her in the beginning, but they saw that she was far better at the task than her brother, and were even taken aback that not only did she not complain about it, but she seemed to be happy with the task.

That afternoon, Theo and Blaise found her on a blanket in the front gardens, taking in some sun and doing her summer homework. Blaise was staring at her long, bare, legs and was jerked out of his reverie by a glare and elbow in the ribs from Theo. He couldn't help himself, though; she was laying there in her short shorts and a small tank top, showing so much skin. It wasn't his fault that he was becoming even more infatuated with her every day that they spent in each other's company.

"Why did you defend the Weasley's yesterday?" Theo asked as he sat down next to her, getting straight to the point.

She closed her book after marking her page and sat up between the two boys. "Because I had always been treated like family there."

"You weren't treated like family last night," Blaise accused before Theo could.

"Maybe not, but it certainly looked as though Ginny would be happy to make you a part of the family," she bit out, her tone far from the teasing she had intended.

"Please, don't remind me, that was just vile," Blaise answered with a disgusted shiver while Theo narrowed his eyes at his sister. If he was not mistaken, she was just a little bit jealous at the thought of Blaise with Ginny.

"You're evading, Hermione. Last night you were not treated like family, and Blaise and I were treated as though we were not good enough to step foot in that monstrosity of a building they call a house. Why in the name of Merlin would you defend people like that?"

"Mrs. Weasley's never acted like that towards me before," she answered in barely a whisper, bringing her knees up against her chest and hiding her face behind her arms and mumbling into them.

"Hermione, I can't tell what you're saying," Theo said, gently rubbing his hand on her back while Blaise crouched forward in front of her to try and see her face.

She peeked her face out, not looking at either of them. "She's never acted like that to me before... so cold. She wasn't happy that I took Harry's side over Ginny's, and she hasn't exactly been loving towards me since then, but she's still been warm, and nice. How is it she could accept me when I was a Muggle-born, but now that I'm not, she can barely even look at me? She was like a second mother to me for years."

Hermione's body was shaking from her tears as she let out her emotions, more upset at the way Mrs. Weasley had treated her than the way Ron had, which she had been expecting. Theo leaned against her, his hand still rubbing her back, though he didn't think it made any difference.

Blaise glanced up at Theo, then moved so he was seated at her feet, his legs spread so they were flush against hers. He draped his arm over his knee, his fingers resting on her back and his head sitting in the crook of his elbow. He was forced to look at her hair, as it was the only visible part of her head and completely blocked the bit of her face that wasn't buried in her arms.

"It will be okay, love. I promise," he murmured to her in a low, soothing, tone.

"You don't know that," she sniffled, looking at him from inches away through wet eyelashes.

"Yes, I do," he answered while Theo strained but still couldn't hear the whispered conversation.

"How?"

"Because you have your real mum and dad. You have the Grangers. You have Theo and Harry. And because you have me. Whenever you need me, for whatever reason, I'm here for you, too."

"That's very sweet of you, Blaise, but you don't have to say that," she whispered, giving him a wry smile.

"I know, but it's the truth," he told her, gently brushing away a stray tear.

"Thank you." She gave him a genuine, if watery, smile and tilted her head so it was touching his.

Theo cleared his throat, bringing their attention to him. "Is there anything you need? Anything we can get you?"

"No," she answered, shaking her head slightly as her hair bounced around her. "I have to owl Harry about Ron, though chances are he already knows. If he was mad at me for socialising with your friends, at least I have an excuse. Harry's probably received the brunt of his anger since he couldn't take it out on me."

"Why did Weasley go off the handle like that?" Blaise asked, now sitting up straight and twirling a lock of her hair around his fingers, though he hadn't moved from his postition.

"He probably feels jealous, angry, hurt, betrayed, and excluded. He has a hot temper. So did Harry for a while there, but Harry's managed to reign it in, while Ron hasn't.

"Why would he feel betrayed? This has nothing to do with him," Theo commented, his steady gaze centered on Blaise rather than Hermione.

"For a lot of reasons, but he is still my friend and I don't really think he'd appreciate me talking about him to the two of you," she answered, her lips spread in a wry smile. Before either could protest, she stood up, using Blaise's knees for balance, and excused herself to her room to continue her reading.

As soon as she was out of earshot, Theo's eyes narrowed on his best mate. "Blaise, I know you've... had a thing... for my sister for a long time now, but why is it that all of a sudden you can't seem to keep away from her?"

"Is this your way of saying you want me to leave her alone?" Blaise asked in response.

Theo sighed and rubbed his hand against his forehead, his face slightly scrunched up. "Yes. No. I don't know. Blaise, just because I was never able to tell her she was my sister, doesn't mean that I haven't considered her as such." He paused for a moment, deciding to let Blaise in on a secret that only his father had known up until now. "Do you remember in fourth year, after the second task in the tournament, Krum sported a black eye for a week because glamours couldn't cover it?"

"That was you?" Blaise said, his jaw hanging slightly. "But Krum said-"

"Come on, do you really think Viktor Krum would admit that a fourth year gave him that shiner?"

"Why did you punch him to begin with?" Blaise asked, though he had a feeling he already knew the answer.

"It was the day we were working on that Charms essay in the library, and he wouldn't keep his hands off of her, even though she kept removing them. That evening, I found him alone outside. I went right up to him and punched him in the face before pulling my wand. I think he thought I was jealous of him and saw him as competition, but as far as I know he didn't get all grabby on her again."

"And so the moral of the story is that if I hurt her, you hurt me," Blaise said bluntly.

"Glad we're clear, mate. We should probably go dress, it's almost time for dinner."
Chapter End Notes:
as always, thanks to Lupie, the bestest beta ever, and to everyone who reads ans who reviews, i love you all.