By Reason Of Birth

Hermione arrived home well before her curfew, and was almost to her room when she was accosted by Theo. “Where were you?” he asked curiously, and with a bit of concern. “Mum and Dad wouldn’t say, and you didn’t respond when I wrote to your contact card.”

“Oh,” she said distractedly, “I left the card in my purse and I didn’t even know you had written to me.”

“So, we’re avoiding the question, then?” Theo responded cheekily.

Hermione bumped him with her shoulder playfully. “Promise not to get mad?” she asked, as he followed her into her room.

“If you have to ask, then absolutely not.”

She glared at him, but knew it was best to tell him as soon as possible and give him some time to get used to the idea of Ron coming over the following day. She sighed as she sat on her bed while he stayed standing. “I was at The Leaky Cauldron, working things out with Ron.”

“You what?” he responded incredulously. “Why would you want to do that? He’s treated you like shit ever since you found out about us.”

“I haven’t exactly treated him any better,” she argued.

“But, Hermione,” Theo urged.

“No buts, Theo. Ron is my friend. It isn’t unusual for him to stop talking to either Harry or me for months at a time. I hope he grows out of it sooner, rather than later, but it’s how he’s always been. Eventually, he gets over whatever was bothering him, and everything is fine again. I am not going to stop being Ron’s friend.”

Theo glared at her, unhappy with this turn of events. “At least I don’t have to deal with him that often,” he said, flopping backwards on the bed from his standing position. Hermione started to chuckle, and he looked at her wearily. “What?” he asked.

“Ummm, so Ron’s coming over tomorrow night at Brisco’s request, and I invited him to come to the World Cup.”

“You are joking, right? You did not invite a Weasley to the Cup, where I will have to spend at least a full day with him.”

“Theo, overall Ron is a good guy, and I want you to give him a chance.” Theo lay there for a minute or so, staring up at the ceiling, and Hermione began to wonder if he would ever say something back. “Theo?” she prompted.

“I’ll try,” he sighed. “But if he starts anything, I won’t make any promises about my reaction.”

“Thank you, Theo. He won’t start anything,” she said, and leaned over to give him a quick hug.

“Now all you have to do is get Blaise to behave. Good luck with that one,” Theo grinned, as he stood up and left the room.

*

The next evening, Ron arrived at Nott Cottage with Harry by his side, hoping for strength in numbers. Hermione met them at the Apparation point and led them to the house. Ron was surprised at how cosy it looked, compared to the pretentiousness many of the other pureblood homes exuded.

Hermione and Harry tried to calm Ron’s nerves over meeting the Nott’s, but it didn’t really work too well; all he could think was that he was about to meet with a Death Eater in a social capacity. He knew that neither Harry nor Hermione were yet comfortable with the fact, but they had come to terms with it. He just hoped that he could as well.

When they reached the house, they were met at the door by Caoilinn, who smiled invitingly at them, but Hermione noticed that it didn’t quite reach her eyes.

*

“Why on earth did you treat Ron like that? I wasn’t expecting you to be warm and fuzzy, but I did expect you to at least be nice. He came here because YOU wanted to meet him, and because he’s my friend. You had no right to invite him here only to treat him like shit!” Hermione exploded as soon as she had arrived back to the sitting room from escorting Ron and Harry to the Apparation point.

“Hermione,” Brisco said, trying to be soothing, but instead the one word sounded more placating than anything else.

“Don’t you even think of patronizing me!” she snapped. This time it was Caoilinn who tried to calm her, resting her hand on Hermione’s shoulder. Hermione jerked away and crossed the room, glaring at Brisco. “I’m waiting for an answer,” she told him icily.

“He is a blood traitor,” Brisco finally ground out between clenched teeth, his brow raised. “He is poorly bred, and he can barely hold an intellectual conversation. He does not deserve my respect.”

“You pompous, arrogant, arse!” Hermione railed. “Just because Ron’s family isn’t the wealthiest, or the most proper, does not mean that he is poorly bred. He may not have been raised amongst fancy social functions, but he was raised with a lot of love, and that is far more important.

“You say that he can’t hold up an intellectual conversation,” she continued, shouting over both of her parents, each of whom had tried to interrupt her tirade. “But of course it hasn’t occurred to you that perhaps he is intimidated by you. Brisco, you are a scary person! For Merlin’s sake, you were a bloody Death Eater! Why the hell wouldn’t anyone be at least a little afraid of you, especially when you’re treating them like the dirt beneath your shoes?

“I’ve been treated like that from the day I entered the Magical world, all because I was believed to be Muggle-born. Now, just because it turns out that isn’t true, people act like they’re my friends, and that I belong with them, as a part of their special little group. But you know what? It doesn’t make the past disappear! I remember how I was treated by those exact same people, and I WILL NOT have you treat my friends like that.”

At this point, Theo, who had been sitting on the sofa the entire time, was staring up at her, shell-shocked. Caoilinn had moved to stand behind Brisco, her hands resting on his shoulders as he watched his daughter vent her frustrations on him, in a tirade that was long coming, though he had hoped they had worked everything out between them.

“One more thing. What makes Ron a blood traitor? Is it that his family refused to bow down and follow a HALF-BLOOD SYCOPHANT? Because, if that’s the case, then I’m glad that I was brought up within the Wizarding world with his family. And if they’re blood traitors, THEN SO AM I!!!!”

She whipped around and stalked out the room, stopping just long enough to quickly turn her head back. “I’m going to Blaise’s. I’ll be home tomorrow.” In less than five minutes, she had an overnight bag packed and had Apparated to Blaise and Zarina’s, hoping that she wouldn’t be turned away.