By Reason Of Birth

The next afternoon, Blaise accompanied Hermione home, but when she went to find Caoilinn and wait for Brisco to come home from work, he made his way to Theo’s room, where he found his best mate working on some of his summer schoolwork.

When Brisco arrived home, Hermione was waiting for him in the library. He walked into the room and was surprised to find his somber-faced daughter sitting straight-back in the chair she had claimed as her own.

“Hello, Brisco,” she said softly. “We need to talk.”

“Yes. We do,” he responded as he sat down in his own chair.

“I’m sorry that I blew up at you and left before we could talk things through like rational adults. I acted childishly, but I still believe in what I said, and that you were wrong in how you treated Ron. I just should have let you explain yourself further while actually listening, rather than jumping down your throat.”

“What made you realise this?” he asked, ignoring most of what she had said for the moment.

“I knew it to begin with, but Blaise calmed me down and helped me to see where I went wrong. But just because I was wrong, doesn’t mean that I wasn’t right as well,” she said pointedly.

“No, you were not wrong in what you said to me, just in how you said it. Hermione, I am your father, even if deep down you still do not want to accept that fact, and I expect you to treat me with respect, especially in my home.

“You were right about how I treated the Weasley boy. I may find him… distasteful, but I am the one who extended an invitation for him to come here, and so I should have been a better host. I will do my best to treat him better in the future.”

“Thank you, Brisco, that is all I ask,” Hermione responded with a hopeful smile.

“Just one thing, Hermione. Every time you get upset with me, you bring up the fact that I was a Death Eater, though you know that the majority of my service was under duress. I thought that you had come to terms with that, but it appears that you haven’t.

“We have had many in-depth conversations on the subject, and I have told you everything you asked, even if I didn’t feel it was appropriate. I do not know what else I can do to help you.”

“Neither do I,” she responded in a small voice as she gazed at him. It was true that they had spoken of the subject many times before, but she had never seen Brisco so candid before. Nor had he given her any indication that he had given her as much information as he had in order to try and help better their relationship. She had thought that he had told her everything she asked because he knew she wouldn’t give up until he did.

“Your mother and I have decided that we want you to see a Mind Healer at least once or twice a week. We feel that it would be beneficial for you to have someone to talk to who will be impartial, who will help you with no agenda other than just helping you to see things clearly- however you want to see them. Your friends, myself, your mother and Theo, and even the Grangers, have our own notions, and no matter how much all of us want to help you through this transition, we are all biased in some way, and that does not help you in the long run.”

“You’re sending me to a shrink?” Hermione asked, surprised. She hadn’t known where this conversation would lead to, but she hadn’t expected this at all.

“A shrink?” Brisco asked, confused.

“Oh, sorry. It’s Muggle slang for a psychiatrist. In the Muggle world, the doctor isn’t allowed to repeat anything I say to anyone, unless I were to confess to killing someone or something like that. If I went to a Mind Healer, would they be able to share what we talk about, or would they have to keep it confidential?” she asked.

She may not have expected her parents to bring up such a subject, but if what she said would go no further, she was willing to give it a try. Brisco was right- she did need someone to talk to who wasn’t emotionally involved with her situation.

“From what I understand, Mind Healers are under the same restrictions as their Muggle counterparts, only with harsher penalties for breaking their patients’ confidences.”

Hermione let out a sigh and ran her fingers through her hair. “Alright. I’ll talk to a Mind Healer,” she said. “But I make no promises on continuing if I don’t like it.”

“That is perfectly fine,” he responded. “I am sure your mother will be glad to hear that you agreed at all. We were both expecting you to turn the idea down flat.”

“I won’t say that it wasn’t a thought,” she said seriously, “but I do think it’s a good idea. We’ll just have to wait and see if I’m comfortable talking to a stranger about my problems.”

“I am glad we had this talk, Hermione. I would have preferred it to happen last night, and in the future, no matter how upset you are, you are to stay here. There will be no more running away from your problems,” Brisco told her as he stood up and helped her out of her chair. “Is that understood?”

“Yes, sir,” she agreed, before impulsively giving him a small hug- just a short squeeze around the midsection, but a hug nonetheless- before she scurried out of the library.

Brisco sat back down in shock. Not only had the conversation gone far easier and better than he had anticipated, but Hermione had never before hugged him; she had hugged Caoilinn and Theo before, but she had never seemed comfortable enough with him to do the same. At the risk of sounding mushy- even if just to himself- that one hug made him happier than he had been in quite some time.

“Imisin!” Brisco called his elf to him. The small creature arrived immediately, ready to serve his master.

“How can I serve you, Master?” Imisin asked, obviously happy that he had been called upon.

“Find Blaise and bring him here,” Brisco ordered. He did not have to wait long, Imisin having taken him at his words and Apparating Blaise back to him rather than walking with the teen.

“Thank you, Imisin, you may go back to what you were doing.” The elf bowed deeply and disappeared, leaving a very confused Blaise standing in the doorway. “Blaise, come sit.”

Once Blaise was seated, Brisco sat and watched him for a moment, making the teen squirm. It was barely noticeable, but said many things to the man, who was skilled in reading body language.

“I will have to thank your mother for taking Hermione in last night, though we have spoken and she will not be going to your house, or anyone else’s, the next time she is upset. I do hope that nothing untoward happened while she was there?”

“There was not much of a chance of that happening, sir. My mother had the house-elves charm all but three of the rooms to only allow one of us access at a time,” Blaise hedged.

Brisco smiled at the answer; he knew that it was deliberately misleading, but he decided to leave the subject alone for the time being. “I think I may choose to follow her example in that, it is a rather smart idea,” he chuckled, even as he planned on sharing the idea with Roger Moon.

“But to the reason I called you in here,” Brisco said, turning serious. “I wanted to thank you for whatever it was you said to Hermione to calm her down. I know that when she left last night she was very upset, and there was nothing she would have allowed her mother or I to do to help her. I am glad that she has friends who can help her where her family cannot.”

“Thank you, sir,” Blaise responded, overwhelmed. He had been friends with Theo for his whole life, and Brisco was the only constant father figure in his life, but the man had never said anything so personal to him. There were many purebloods who would be caught dead before they would share their gratitude to anyone other than blood, and Brisco had always been one of them. Idly, Blaise mused that perhaps the destruction of the Dark Lord had even more of an effect on the people than had been assumed.

Chapter End Notes:
thank to lupie for her mad beta skillz and to everyone who has read and reviewed... or even just read.have a wonderous week, lol.