the_debt_of_time

apparently even worse—Weasleys, but did no one ever even try to explain Wizarding
customs to you?"
"I'm confused," Harry muttered.
"I'm not surprised," Draco replied.
Remus sighed and rubbed his eyes, wishing he had stayed in the bakery where things
were quiet and smelled wonderful. He wondered if he ran back quickly, if there would be
any of those almond cream tarts left.
"Draco," Sirius said warningly.
"What?" Draco asked, poorly feigning innocence. "I'm not. It's the godfather's job
to instruct a magical child in the traditions and customs of our world, and you've been
otherwise engaged. Granted, I would have assumed that the herd of gingers would have at
least attempted to step up and fill in the obvious gap in his proper education," he added,
tossing a negligent hand toward Ron, "but judging from the blank expression on
Weaselbee's face, I gather that they haven't even informed their own offspring, let alone the
Muggle-raised castaways they've accumulated over the years."
"Would you stop prattling on and just explain what you meant about Hermione not
being Muggle-born?" Harry snapped impatiently.
"She was adopted by a pureblood family, you simpleton," Draco said, speaking very
slowly as if talking to a child; Harry bristled at the tone. "That makes her a pureblood."
Ron furrowed his brows. "Adoption doesn't change blood."
"No, but it changes their magical signature. If a Familial Bond was created and
sealed between her and her proud Potter parents, then she's not just a Potter by name, she
might as well have been born to them. Her magical signature was altered to adjust to her
family. By all Wizarding laws and rights, she's a pureblood."
Harry frowned. "That still doesn't make sense. Her blood hasn't changed. What the
hell did we just fight a war over? If it's about pure magic and not pure blood, then why
even bother talking about blood?"
Draco shrugged, clearly never having bothered to worry about such things before.
"I suppose because 'Mudblood' sounds less ridiculous than 'Mudmagic?'" he surmised, his
tone indifferent. When Harry and Ron tensed at the word, he rolled his eyes again. "I wasn't
calling her one. I was just making a point. No need to get your hand-me-down knickers in
a twist."