I'm not sure if I'm going to continue this one or not. Give me feedback, tell me what you think. Be honest, please!

As usual, not mine, wish they were...blah blah blah.

Bloodlines

With my undying love to my lovely beta Laura: without you...I don't know what I would do. You are the best!

Ron sat under the tree looking morose. The scene kept playing in his head. He still couldn't quite believe it. Hermione blew up at him in the middle of Potions. Ms. Shhh! The Professor is Speaking Hermione Granger, yelled at him in the middle of class!

He was actually excited about the lesson that day, most of the students had been. They had been told of it from the day they were born, well the pure-blooded children anyway. It was a potion that tested how much Wizarding blood was actually in a person. It always made those that claimed they were purebloods nervous, and the half-bloods always wondered if there was more in their heritage than they first thought. Heck, most of the muggle-borns even liked the potion. It gave them some idea of where it may have come from, some distant relative or squib in their family history somewhere.

Ron had been talking with Harry about how brilliant this potion was, and Harry had been just as excited. Hermione had been silent and then she blew up and at him! She told him he was no better than Malfoy. In fact, he was worse than him. She knew where she stood with Malfoy, he had been upfront all these years about his hatred of her, and now her very own boyfriend was siding with him. She yelled they were through and stormed out of the class, leaving stunned looks on everyone's faces.

"And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why Mudbloods do not belong here," Malfoy said sarcastically.

Snape smirked, but didn't say anything, just continued teaching class as if the entire outburst had not happened.

So, Ron sat under the tree, running the scene through his mind over and over again. He looked up when someone kicked his foot. He didn't have the heart to yell at Pansy to go away, so he just looked up at her. His pain was apparent in his eyes.

"It's not easy, you know, being raised in two different worlds." She said gently. "She will never understand how interesting bloodlines are to us, even if we didn't care if the other person is the same as us or not. There is always some kind of doubt that something will show up that we don't know about…that 5 for error that could push us below the pureblood status. We grow up worrying about it, being teased about it, being told you were adopted…isn't that what you were once told?"

Ron watched quietly as she sat down next to him. "Am I worse than Malfoy?" He didn't even question why he was asking Pansy of all people this question.

Pansy laughed at him. "It depends on how you look at it. Who's perspective do you want? He is one of my best friends." Ron gulped when he realized what he just asked. This made Pansy only laugh harder.

"Hell, the muggle-borns don't really comprehend why anyone would find that potion interesting. Surprisingly enough, I figured Granger would want to know. The half-bloods understand the concept, but they want to know more. They want to know if say their muggle-born parent is really something more than they were told originally. Us, well we are all scared. You never realize how much until the day you get to the cauldron. All of us were on edge today. You talk too much when you get nervous."

Pansy sighed and continued, "Today, by showing your excitement, you showed the other purebloods that you are more than her boyfriend. You actually have interests in the Wizarding world around you and you care about your family lines. You are one of us, whether you act it or not." Pansy took his hand that he had folded in his lap and began looking at his palm, like she was in one of Trelawney's classes. "Today, you didn't think about anyone else – just yourself. That brought you into higher esteem than you will ever know. Hell, even Potter was excited about the potion. Hermione was the only one that was upset over you wanting to know about your heritage. So, no, you aren't a bad person."

Ron was still just sitting there, looking at his hand in hers. He didn't notice when other people started gathering around or when Harry sat down on his other side. He just kept listening to the one voice that was drowning out the awful accusations that were thrown at him from Hermione.

"Didn't you notice that not a single insult was said when Professor Snape mentioned the potion? The other muggle-borns in the class actually got excited when he mentioned it. Everyone wanted to do the potion. Something is wrong with her, Ron, not you. Don't you forget that. Maybe it is time you start spending time with more of your own kind and less with her. You might realize how special it is to be a pureblood. You know exactly where you came from, how just about every drop in your body you can trace back years and years."

Ron just kept staring at her. "You know, Ron, she is right," Harry said quietly. "I have been talking to them more lately while you have obsessed over Hermione. It was all a part of Dumbledore's great plan: get to know your enemy and learn how his mind works. I didn't tell you or Hermione because I knew how she would react if I had told her that. They aren't evil or bad. They just think in a different mindset, they are honest."

Ron heard Harry and looked up. He was surprised to see the others. Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Susan Bones, and Neville were surrounding him. The rest of the class was slightly behind them. Everyone was nodding their agreement. Ron was a bit shocked at that. He still hadn't comprehended how it was Pansy out here talking to him to begin with. Now, the rest of his class was standing surrounding him.

"You are one of us, whether you choose to admit it most of the time or not," Malfoy said without his normal insult.

"Ron, something is going on with Hermione, we have all noticed it. She isn't her normal self. We have all noticed it. She is going over the edge, I have already started questioning her loyalties," Neville said quietly.

"It's up to you, Ron. Come join us for lunch. Show her and the rest of the school that you are one of us. It is tradition for the class to sit together and discuss their results loudly at one of the tables," Pansy suggested quietly.

"Come on, Ron. Let's go sit with Slytherin today. It will do you good and it will show the school that she hasn't gotten to you. Neville is even going to brave it." Ron looked over at Harry for even suggesting they sit at Slytherin. "Come on, Ron. If we sat at Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff, it wouldn't have as much of an effect of not caring about her tirade as it would if you were at Slytherin. You know it will just irritate her to no end to know that we are all willingly sitting there. She might realize that she is behaving like a spoiled brat."

Pansy and Harry stood up. They looked down at him. Pansy offered her hand to help him get up. He looked at her hand and then up in her face. He saw something there he had never seen before. He took her hand and stood up. He was still quiet as they walked back to Hogwarts, but he had more to think on now. Maybe they were all right, but he didn't know just yet. He just knew that he had to show that she didn't destroy him.

To the smug looking girl sitting quietly at the Gryffindor table reading a book it looked innocent at first when the Slytherins began walking into their table. She didn't have a care in the world. She knew she would have Ron before the day was out. Her heart stopped when she saw Harry sit down next to Malfoy and begin an animated talk with him. When Neville and Susan and the Patil twins sat down there as well, she couldn't believe it. Ron walked in alone, as if he had been following the others. The entire Potion's class was sitting at the other table. Ron stopped at the door. She knew he would come to her. He looked over at her, his broken-heart on his sleeve, and he made up his mind. He turned his back on her and walked over to sit beside Pansy.

He didn't look up to see Hermione's shocked expression. Pansy looked over at the other girl and gloated as she took Ron's hand in hers. She leaned in and whispered something in his ear. He smiled a faint smile and began to eat. Hermione got up and stormed out of the Great Hall.