By Reason Of Birth

Two weeks had passed, and Brisco had been as good as his word. Hermione had not been allowed out with Blaise for the entirety of the first week, and when they had finally been allowed to see each other on the second week, Theo was always there with them. Luckily for Hermione, though, Lilah was also there. She had finally told her parents about Theo, using the story they had decided upon: While they had known each other and had been friends for years at school, they had started dating after Lilah had started spending time with Hermione.

Lilah’s parents had taken the news better than she had expected, but they had also placed strict rules on their daughter and Theo. They, also, were never allowed alone, and when they were at Lilah’s house, which her parents preferred, Theo wasn’t even allowed on the floor where the bedrooms were.

The Monday before the Quidditch World Cup, Hermione was shocked by the letter that was awaiting her when she arrived home from the Moon’s, where she, Savannah, and Daphne had been working on their summer Charms work together.

It was sitting in the middle of her desk, her name emblazoned on the front in familiar, cramped handwriting.

She sat down in the chair and stared at the rolled up parchment for a moment before she broke the wax seal and opened it up.

Hermione,

Let me first say that I am sorry for how I have been treating you over the last month, it has been completely childish and unfair of me.

There is a lot that I would like to talk with you about, but I would prefer that it be just the two of us. If it would make you more comfortable, we could meet somewhere neutral, so neither of our families will interfere. Just let me know the time and the place, and I will be there.

I miss you.

Your friend (hopefully),

Ron

Hermione blinked at the words on the parchment, trying to make sense out of them. She had missed Ron very much over the past month, but she had done her best not to let anyone know. Her brother and Blaise hadn’t liked Ron to start with, and thought that she was better off without him. The only person who had had a chance of understanding was Harry, but he and Ron had kept up their friendship, though slightly strained, so she didn’t think he would be the best to confide in. She had told Daphne everything, though, and the other girl had done her best to make Hermione feel better.

She lay on her bed and stared up at the ceiling as she decided what to do. Eventually, she went back to her desk and penned her own letter before she could change her mind.

Three hours later, Hermione found Brisco and Caoilinn in the library, talking companionably while digesting their supper. Since the incident two weeks previous, Hermione had been very careful to call her father only by his given name. After she had called him ‘daddy,’ she had felt guilty, like she had betrayed the man who had raised her, and she didn’t want the word to accidentally slip again. He hadn’t acted any differently towards her because of it either, but she had seen the hopefulness in both his and Caoilinn’s eyes that she was really starting to accept them as her parents, and not just the people who gave her life.

“I just wanted to let you know that I’m going to The Leaky Cauldron. I should be home within a few hours.”

“And just who are you going there with,” Brisco asked, his eyebrow raised.

“I’m meeting Ron there,” she answered, though she rushed ahead when she saw that both of her parents would object. “He wrote me a letter, apologising for how he’s been acting, and he asked me to meet him so we could talk.”

“And he chose The Leaky Cauldron?” Caoilinn asked, distastefully.

“No, I did. Please don’t tell Theo or Blaise. The last thing I need is for one of them to come barging in and ruin things. Ron has been my friend ever since I entered the Wizarding World, and I don’t want to lose him.”

“We can allow that,” Brisco answered after an exchanged look with his wife. “But I expect him to come by tomorrow night so your mother and I can meet him.”

“Thank you,” Hermione said as she gave each one of them a small hug. “I’ll be sure to tell him.”

Hermione was almost out of the room when she heard Caoilinn’s voice call out to her one more time. “Be sure to be home by midnight.”

“Of course,” she responded as she left the room. Another punishment that had been forced upon her was having her curfew shortened by an hour, though it hadn’t made much of a difference, since she mostly went out during the day.

She met Ron outside The Leaky Cauldron and they went inside to get a table. He looked relieved, like he thought that either she wouldn’t show up, or that she would once again bring Theo and Blaise.

They sat in an awkward silence until after they ordered their food. “I’m sorry,” Ron blurted out. “I was an arse to you, and I have no excuse for it. You and Harry are my best mates, and I don’t want that to change. And.. Well… I miss you,” he stammered.

“I’ve missed you, too, Ron, and I don‘t want things to change between you, me, and Harry, either. And I’m sorry, too. I should never have thrown your feelings for me in your face, especially in front of Theo and Blaise. I was mad at your Slytherin comment, and neither of us really listened to what the other was saying.”

“You’re right, we weren’t. I was upset that you didn’t make them leave, but if they weren’t there, we probably would have fought more, and worse things would have been said. And I was mad that you could become so close to them so quickly. You know how I was raised to think that all Slytherins are bad. I’m only now just coming to realise that that type of belief isn’t much better than the prejudices of the Death Eaters, and I’m sorry that I let their House decide my opinion before I got to know them.”

“That’s kind of surprising, but thank you. I can understand where you were coming from, but they really are good people, and I wanted you to see that. The two of them, along with Daphne, Lilah, Savannah, and even Harry, have all made this transition easier for me. It’s the weirdest thing, suddenly being embraced into their society, and I’m still not very comfortable with it.”

“Yeah, sometimes I wish my family had more influence, the way the families who aren’t considered blood traitors do, but then I think of all those stupid social functions, and I’m happy to not be a part of it,” he said, before changing the subject. “So… about Blaise. I hear you’re dating him.”

“Yes,” she replied. “He really is a good guy, Ron.”

“You said that earlier. He hurts you at all, and he’ll have to answer to me.”

“Get in line,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I appreciate everyone’s concern, but it leaves me feeling that we either have to stay together forever, or that I’ll have to be the one to break things off, with no reason whatsoever, or else every male I know will cause him some sort of physical damage.”

Ron laughed in response. “I would say the same thing about Ginny, but I don’t really think it would come to anything. I may want to be well-known, respected, and maybe have some more money, but I want those things to happen because I worked hard and earned them,” he said earnestly. “She wants those things, but she seems to think that marrying a rich wizard will make her happy. I just feel sorry for the bloke she does end up with.”

“She can’t be that bad,” Hermione said, though she remembered how Ginny had acted toward Blaise. “It may just be a phase,” she continued hopefully, wanting the best for Ginny, even if they were no longer friends.

“No, I don’t think it is,” Ron answered sadly. “The worst part is that Mum and Dad don’t see it. They think she’s still a little girl, but I think that she changed for the worse when she was taken in by that diary her first year at Hogwarts, and that

it’s just starting to really show.”

“Oh, Ron, I’m sorry,” Hermione said, reaching out to touch his hand.

“Don’t be,” he replied. He was saved from having to say something else on the matter, which had become uncomfortable, by the arrival of their food. They both started to eat, but continued to talk between bites.

“I wanted to see you after Harry told me about what happened with Malfoy, but I was afraid that you wouldn’t want to see me. Actually, Harry had to stop me from finding him and hexing him into next year,” Ron said, slightly ashamed of the admission.

“Oh, Ron,” she responded after swallowing her bite of potatoes. “I’m sorry you felt that way. And I’m sorry I couldn’t include you in my punishment of Malfoy. You’re probably going to get the brunt of his frustrations taken out on you next school year. If your families just didn’t like each other, I would have included you in a heartbeat, but I’m not going to get in the way of a blood feud, especially when I was trying to avoid one of my own.”

“That’s okay, Hermione, I understand. Besides, Harry has to be nice back, and I have no such restrictions. I think I got the better end of the deal,” Ron laughed, a glint in his eye that Hermione missed as she started to laugh with him.

They had finished eating and were almost ready to leave when Hermione remembered that she had to invite Ron over the following day.

“Ron, do you have any plans for tomorrow night?“ she asked cautiously.

“No. Why?”

“Well- and I’m sorry about this- but Brisco has insisted that you come over so that he and Caoilinn can meet you.”

“I suppose I can do that,” he said with faint trepidation. “What time do you want me there?”

“How about seven, that way you can be spared having to sit down for dinner; it’s absurd- we have to wear dress robes to dinner every single night!” Hermione paused for a moment, as though she were considering something, but then she continued on, having made up her mind.

“Also, if you don’t have any plans for Thursday or Friday, I have an extra ticket to the Quidditch World Cup, if you want to come. We’re going the day ahead, but Viktor sent me tickets to the ‘Friends and Family’ box. We’ll be sitting with Theo and Harry; my parents have their own seats.”

Ron’s jaw had dropped. ‘How-” he squeaked, before clearing his throat. “how do you still have an extra seat? Don’t you have plenty of people who would want to go with you?” he asked, dumbfounded and excited at the same time.

“Well, as I said, my parents have other seats. Mr. and Mrs. Moon won’t allow either Lilah or Savannah to go. Daphne is going with her own family, and Blaise is being forced to go with his mum and her newest boyfriend. We’re all going to hang out the night before at the campground, but we’ll be going to the game separately. So… do you want to go?”

“Of course I do! Just let me talk to my parents and I’ll let you know tomorrow. Is that okay?”

“Of course,” Hermione responded. They then embraced each other in a short and awkward hug, and left their separate ways.

Chapter End Notes:
thanks to the lupie and to the readers and reviewers.