By Reason Of Birth

Friday came two days after the outing, and brought about Hermione‘s fourth visit to the Grangers. The time before, Theo had come with her for a short time so that he could meet her adoptive parents. This time, though, Eugene had insisted she bring Blaise so that he could meet the boy who was dating his daughter.

Hermione insisted that neither of her adopted parents, especially her father, threaten Blaise, explaining that it had already been done many times, though even she wasn’t aware of the extent of the threats. Thus far, the night had been going better than she had expected, with her parents trying to get to know Blaise, and him showing an interest in their dentistry, as well as Muggles in general.

Eventually though, one of Hermione’s biggest fears came true- her parents started telling embarrassing stories of her childhood. She did her best to protest and steer the conversation away, but Blaise egged them on just as much. When they finally changed the conversation, it was to Hermione’s recent Mind Healer appointment, and she wished that they would instead continue on with their stories.

Dinner finally ended, and Eugene stole Blaise away to the lounge, leaving a worried Hermione behind with Madeline to clean up. Hermione was only slightly reassured by the smile Blaise had sent her before he followed her father out of the room. Truth be told, Blaise was more concerned about what the Grangers thought of him than the Notts. A part of it was because he already knew everyone else’s position on the matter, and none of those relationships had changed, including his friendship with Theo. Mostly though, he was hoping to make a good impression because these were the people who had raised Hermione, who had instilled morals and goodness in her and helped her become the young woman he was starting to fall for. He also knew that their opinion of him meant more to her than anyone else’s, just beating out that of Harry and Ron.

The two men settled down in the lounge, a tenseness filling the air. “I have promised Hermione that I will not threaten you, and so I will not,” Eugene said straightforwardly, taking Blaise aback. “But I do want to know your intentions towards my daughter.”

“My intentions?” Blaise asked, wanting the man to explain himself further so he would not end up answering wrongly.

“Where do you see this relationship with my daughter going? Is it just a fling, or do you want more from her?”

“I can’t speak for Hermione, Mr. Granger, but on my part, this is certainly not a fling. I have… had a crush,” he said delicately, not wanting to say that he had been borderline obsessed at times, “on Hermione for many years, and this summer I have had the opportunity to get to know her better. I do not know what the future will bring, but I know that I want your daughter in my future.”

Eugene eyed the teen, whose response was far more eloquent than it should have been; he had either been practicing for the question, had been asked it before, or was a very smooth talker. Eugene just wasn’t sure which one was the answer.

“As I’m sure you are aware,” Eugene started, deciding to continue his questioning rather than try and analyse everything Blaise said- there was plenty of time for that later. “Hermione is a very studious young lady. I do not want to hear of her grades slipping due to her placing more importance on you, or any other boy, than her studies.”

Blaise looked to be genuinely surprised. “Sir, I don’t think it would be possible for Hermione to neglect her studies for anyone. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if she stopped seeing anyone, be it me or one of her friends, if they were to try to take her away from her studies too much. Earning high grades on her N.E.W.T.’s has been one of her highest priorities since before I met her. Nothing is going to change that.”

“I am glad to hear that. So, I assume that once you and Hermione leave Hogwarts, provided the two of you are still dating, that you have no intention of stopping her from furthering her education and pursuing a career?”

While the sentence was a statement, the inflection made it a question and Blaise answered immediately, not having to think about what to say. “None whatsoever. Hermione would never be happy if she didn’t have some sort of mental challenge in front of her, whether it be in learning or in working. I highly doubt she would be willing to stay at home and become a woman of idle society. In fact, I think that if she did, she would end up hurting someone.”

Eugene was overall impressed with Blaise; he thought his daughter had chosen well. The boy obviously understood her, and only wanted the best for her.

Meanwhile, once the men had left the room, Hermione and Madeline moved to the sink to hand wash the dishes- Madeline washing and Hermione drying. After the fifth time Hermione glanced back to the door that led out the room in less than a minute, Madeline started to laugh. “What?” Hermione asked indignantly, causing her mother to chuckle even more.

Once she settled down, Madeline looked at Hermione contemplatively. Deciding to follow through with what she was thinking, she led Hermione back to the table, both with a cup of tea in their hands. “I’m sure your father is grilling Blaise as to his intentions regarding you. I am also sure that a part of their conversation includes telling Blaise not to touch you until you are married, and even then to wait.”

Hermione covered her blushing face with her hands, muttering to herself. “He doesn’t mean any harm in it.” Madeline smiled, resting her head on Hermione’s arm. “After all, he’s your father, what else do you expect? I, on the other hand, am not going to stick my head in the sand and pretend that you’re still our little baby and your father and I must shield from the world.”

Hermione uncovered her face and looked up, curious as to what her adoptive mother was about to say. “I know that legally you are an adult in your world. After all, if you weren’t, you would still be here with us for another year,” she said with a wistful smile. “And, as such, and as your relationship with Blaise develops, you may feel that you are ready, both emotionally and physically, to take things to the next level.”

Her head tilted, her mouth slightly agape, Hermione stared at the woman she had called, “Mum” since she could speak. She had never expected to actually have “the sex talk” with her, and was just as mortifyingly embarrassed about it as she would have imagined. She knew quite a bit about sex from reading, and had always assumed that was how it would be. She had a reasonably close relationship with Madeline, but not that close. Hermione opened her mouth to speak, but for the first time ever, words did not come out. Instead, a small squeak was all she could manage.

“I don’t know what sort of prophylactics and such you have in your Wizarding world, so I am just going to talk to you about what I know, and leave it to you to interpret,” she surged on. “Hermione, love, you are a very mature and responsible young lady, but you are still young and have your entire life ahead of you. As such, you do not need to get pregnant any time soon. Believe me, your father and I, and I’m sure Brisco and Caoilinn as well, would prefer to wait to be grandparents.

“There may be some sort of wizarding equivalent, but you could go on the pill, or the shot, or any of those sort of things, and I would be happy to sign for you if you wanted. While all of those things prevent pregnancy, not only are they not always effective, but they don’t stop sexually transmitted diseases-”

“Mum,” Hermione interjected, before repeating herself twice more to stop Madeline from steam-rolling ahead. “Mum,” she said in a soothing voice. “I already know all this. And while Blaise and I haven’t slept together yet, I have been doing some research on the subject.” Her entire face was slightly pink, embarrassed at admitting any of this to her mother. “There are quite a few spells and such to prevent everything you’re worried about, and they’re not only safer than Muggle birth control, but also more effective. You really have no need to worry.”

“Are you sure that there’s nothing you want to ask me about?”

“Umm, no,” Hermione responded after actually giving it some thought.

“Thank God,” Madeline sighed, and both women laughed.

Chapter End Notes:

so, thanks to lupie as always for betaing.. there was more this chapter than most, but quite frankly, not as much as i was expecting.

but i love that its hermione's adoptive parents to have the real dating birds and the bees conversations with the two of them.