By Reason Of Birth

Once Mrs. Parkinson was occupied elsewhere, Pansy's eyes narrowed on Hermione. "Nott? You can't be serious. You are a Mudblood; always have been and always will be."

"I doubt your gargoyles would agree. After all, I am still alive," Hermione responded, sitting down demurely next to Daphne Greengrass.

Pansy glared at Hermione as she realized the truth of her words. "Fine, say I believe you. Why didn't the Nott's raise you? Weren't you good enough for them?"

"I am not going to answer that; not only because of your condescending attitude, but because I have no idea what my parents intend to make public on the matter." Pansy glowered at her, but her companions looked at her with respect. None of them would willingly divulge their family secrets either.

"Look, Pansy," Hermione sighed. "I'm not asking you to like me. I'm certainly not asking you to be friends with me. Rest assured that I feel the same way about you as you feel about me. I am asking that we be civil to each other if only for the public's sake." They stared into each others eyes for almost a full minute before Pansy nodded her head in agreement. Soon after, the conversation went back to gossip on everyone's summers, Hermione feeling included in a group of girls for practically the first time in her life.

After about twenty minutes of socializing amongst her peers, Mrs. Parkinson stood in the center of the room, clinking a glass with a spoon. "Tea time!" she called out. Oddly, the announcement seemed perfectly normal coming from the snobbish pureblood. Everyone in the room stood up from where they were seated and moved to another room, the setup identical to the room they had just left, confusing Hermione about the purpose of moving. In the new room, everyone found the spot with their name and sat down.

Hermione found herself seated next to her mother. On her other side was a regal looking woman with warm mahogany skin, slanted eyes, and a beautifully sculpted face, whom was introduced to her as Zarina Zabini, who asked that she only be called Zarina since she had been married so many times and hated to go by her surname. Across from her sat Daphne and a woman who Hermione assumed to be her mother.
Zarina seemed to be particularly interested in Hermione, watching the young woman out of the corner of her eye. The group of women made small talk on the reforms that the new Minister for Magic was already pushing through mere weeks after gaining the position.

"I just don't know if Minister Shacklebolt can handle the position," Mrs. Greengrass was saying when Hermione cut her off, seeing red.

"Kingsley can handle anything that gets thrown at him. His position of Head Auror has amply provided the intelligence needed for the position that was thrust upon him and, unlike his two predecessors, he would not hide his head in the sand and pretend that by refusing to acknowledge what is happening in the Wizarding World, the unpleasant issues will simply go away.

"Furthermore, he knew the situation as it presented itself and did not go into the position blind nor daft. Kingsley is a very astute man and he will do wonders for the Wizarding World!" She didn't raise her voice, or even lean forward to seem intimidating, but she had attracted the attention of the tables surrounding her own through the sheer passion in her voice.

"You sound as though you know the Minister personally," Mrs. Greengrass responded, the tone of her own voice making it obvious that she thought the idea laughable.

"I've known Kingsley since I was fifteen," she reluctantly responded, flushing at the scene she had made, as well as having to admit to this group of gossip mongers that she knew the new Minister for Magic personally. She didn't know what had come over her to cause her to snap at Daphne's mum, but there was no way she would let anyone speak ill of someone she knew to be a good person.
The silence abated as the other tables started tittering about this new information, and even Caoilinn looked slightly shocked at the connections her daughter had made. It wasn't everyone who could say they personally knew the Minister for Magic.

"How does someone of your previous standing meet someone in such a high position?" Mrs. Greengrass sneered to her daughter's ultimate chagrin.

"You do remember that Harry Potter is my best friend?" she responded, the Minister's involvement in the Order of the Phoenix not being common knowledge.

Much to Hermione's relief, her mother chose that moment to change the subject in a most blatant way, the new topic of conversation being the current price of tea in China, where she had recently had to go to procure some herbs. Daphne took hold of the topic and ran with it, wishing her mother would give up her old prejudices, especially when they didn't even apply to the person in question.

Whenever there was a lull in whatever the most recent topic was at the moment, Zarina would find a way to ask both girls questions about school, such as their favourite subject and what they intended to do with themselves once they left Hogwarts. When tea time ended half an hour later, the woman had found their newest member to be bright, ambitious, and loyal; three qualities she very much approved of.

When the group stood back up and mingled again, Hermione stayed with Caoilinn while the week's guests of honour came by to meet her. By the time the women had made their rounds and Hermione had adequately impressed them, though more than one woman still looked at her as though she were unworthy to be there, Hermione was exhausted. It was hard to be sociable to such a goup of self-important people who she didn't care one bit about. Her first genuine smile in hours came when Caoilinn said they could leave.

Arriving home, Hermione toppled onto her bed, glad to finally be free of all the airy socialites. She contemplated changing, but knowing she would just have to dress again for dinner in another hour, changed her mind and made and decided to keep on what she was wearing.

She was still sprawled across her bed when Theo knocked on the open door. "Have fun?" he asked, leaning against the door jam.

"Never more," she replied sarcastically, causing him to smirk at her.

"And to think, you still have to go to tea every other Saturday for the rest of the summer."

"Don't remind me," she groaned. "But at least Pansy and I have come to an understanding. Most everyone else seemed nice enough."

"Pansy? An understanding? This I must hear," he joked to her as he moved into the room and sat on a cushy sofa that had been bought when the interior decorator had come just days earlier.

"It's nothing. She just knows that I don't want to be sudden friends with her any more than she does with me. So, we're going to try and be civil to each other. No big deal."

"You got Pansy Parkinson to agree to be civil to you? Hermione, that is a big deal."

"Her mum was there, what was she going to do? Cause a scene? Besides, I'm sure she'll still be a right cow in private, the deal was just while we're in public."

"Still, though," he commented, shaking his head in amazement. "Pansy is only ever nice to three people consisently, and everyone else in Slytherin would fall under the category of 'civil.' The rest of the school falls under 'supreme bitch mode,' as I'm sure you well know."

"Oh, yes, I'm quite familiar with that Pansy," Hermione chuckled. "So, your week is up. Now that you're free to not have to hang out with your poor sister, what do you plan on doing with your time?" she asked jokingly.

"Blaise will be staying with us for the next week. Every summer he stays here one week and I stay with him for one week." Hermione knew that Blaise was Theo's best mate, having talked about their friends earlier in the week. Hermione had explained her friendship with Harry and Ron to him, and he had explained his with Blaise to her. He didn't really have any other extremely close friends, but there were a few people he was friendly with, much like her.

"I guess that would explain why his mother was so interested in me. I assumed it was because I'm still a novelty."

"Who knows," he responded, knowing full well why Zarina would care what Hermione was like. Before they could say anything else, each of them felt a warmth in their robes and pulled out their contact cards, which held reminders that dinner was in ten minutes. Theo left to change while Hermione went to the vanity mirror and retouched her hair before heading to the dining room.

Chapter End Notes:
Thanks to those who read and review. Thanks to Sugarquill39 and to Lupie for betaing for me! Also thanks to Lupie for Hermione's little diatribe there... what I had written was a lot more me than her, lol.