Temporal Flux

Chapter Five: His Mother's Son

It was a revolting sight from where Jared was sitting.  That Casey was the most annoying person he had ever encountered at any time.  She was constantly talking to Ron over the next few days.  Why didn't he just shoot her down?  Bloody Hell!, thought Jared as he continued to watch.  He wasn't the only one who was noticing.

Harry and Ginny were paying close attention because they were on the Quidditch team; they had seen Casey come to all of the practices.  Harry was elected team captain and most of the team this year was new.  He had the most experience and directed the team flawlessly.  Harry did it because they needed him, but he was more interested in DA than he was in Quidditch.  Hermione told him that DA was good, but Quidditch was better for Harry to escape with. 

If anyone noticed as much as Jared did, it was Hermione.  To his surprise, she didn't appear upset or angry.  Instead, she was surprisingly calm to the point of being completely dispassionate.  Jared disliked it even more than Casey and Ron together.  The whole made him extremely irate.  What the Hell was wrong with these people?  He couldn't understand it at all.  He wanted know why.

"We still need to get a better beater," said Ginny to Ron and Harry.  She had been helping them fill in the team because she had surprising insight.  To know a Weasley, was to know Quidditch.  Jared knew that.  In fact, he was an excellent Quidditch player, but he was usually a keeper.  He didn't say anything because he was supposed to not know how to play Quidditch at all, but a weak, strange American version.  As much as Jared wanted to play Quidditch, he decided against it.  He did have a broomstick, but he had it in his trunk.  It was much more advanced than Harry's Firebolt, so Jared had to keep it hidden.  He needed it just in case.

Besides, Jared was building a reputation for being smart, not athletic.  People from other classes were asking him for help, but he didn't offer any.  Hermione said he was being mean, but she helped them anyway.  Jared also accidentally did something that he shouldn't have.  He wrote an advanced, proven Transfiguration theory in his paper.  Professor McGonagall summoned her to his office and they had a long talk about it.  It became a heated argument.  In the end, she still didn't think it was possible, while Jared still insisted it wasn't far off.

The theory that Jared wrote about was the ability to transfigure a wand into another object altogether, so that one still could carry.  A wand could even be transfigured into a weapon like a sword.  Jared had seen his father do it on more than one occasion.  It was extremely difficult and Jared hadn't been able to do it himself, despite many hours of practice.  Jared was no where close to being as good, skilled, or powerful as his parents.  He was still a child after all, even though he was fast maturing.

"Are you sure you don't play?" asked Harry to Jared.

"Nope," answered Jared.  "I don't play Quidditch.  In fact, I think it sounds weird."

Ron gave him a dismissive wave of his hand.  "You Americans play that weird game.  What's it called?"

"Quodpot," answered Jared.  "I mean, where's the explosions?!  You guys don't have that."

"Crazy American," muttered Ron.

Jared shrugged his shoulders as he spotted, much to his dismay, Casey approaching the table.  He glanced at Hermione who looked upset, but it only lasted for a flicker.  Jared exhaled and kept his hands wrapped under the sleeves of his cloak.  Ron's hands were right on the table.  He didn't want anyone to notice that he had his hands.  Jared didn't visibly flinch when Casey put her hands on Ron's shoulders.  Inside, he was cringing and his anger was bubbling up.

Yes, he did have his temper, but at the same time he had his mother's high tolerance.  He had to develop a thick skin when he started in Hogwarts.  His temper flared up frequently when he first started.  One of his professors warned him that he couldn't just his temper control him, even his father had to learn how to channel his anger properly.  Jared was having a hard time because it was hurting Hermione. 

Breakfast was over Jared could even notice.  He went off to class, trailing behind the others.  Things were going to get a lot worse before they were over.  Jared had to remind himself that he had to refocus.  If he wasn't worried about Harry because he knew that everything would be fine, then why was he so concerned Hermione and Ron?  Jared had to focus because if he wanted to figure out who need protection.

The Gryffindor Quidditch team continued to train and Casey continued to see Ron.  This continued to vex Jared.  Ginny started to notice it over time.  After over a week, Jared was no closer to figuring out who the target was and what Ron saw in Casey.  Jared thought Hermione was better and that Casey was infinitesimal compared to her.  Yet, Jared didn't do anything about it.

Jared started attending the Quidditch practice, even though the first match was a week away.  Hermione didn't come all that often because she stayed in the library.  He knew that she only tolerated Quidditch for Ron's sake, and eventually Jared's, too.  Jared tried to chalk Ron's current relationship with Casey as youthful stupidity, but Jared didn't suffer any foolishness lightly.

Just when Jared thought problems couldn't get worse for him, he ran into one named: Draco Malfoy.  When it became obvious that Jared was becoming friends with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, Snape lost interest in him and gained irritation towards him.  In fact, Snape had given Jared detention for being a know-it-all.  As far as Jared was concerned, it was a relief because what was happening was just unnatural.  He didn't really like Snape being so nice to him.  That was the unnatural part.  The main problem with Draco was that he didn't like Jared very much at all.  Now that was ironically funny to Jared, but he couldn't bring himself to do anything to Draco really.

On one particular bad day, Draco did say something that did set off Jared's temper.  He was on his way to see the Quidditch practice.  Hermione and Neville were walking with him.  Neville needed some help in Transfiguration, so Hermione was going to tutor him in exchange for some help on medicinal plants in Herbology.  Draco was determined to get a rise out of either Hermione or Jared.

"So, off to go to see the Quidditch team practice, Blake," sneered Draco.  "I thought Americans played a water down version."

Jared had enough tolerance to ignore that snide remark.  "No, I happen to like watching Quidditch."

"Bet you couldn't even get on a broomstick."

"We have broomsticks in America, Malfoy.  In fact, we've developed some of the fastest ones in the world."

"Blake?  That's not a common name here in England," said Draco, coming in for a kill.  "What are you?  A Mudblood?"

"No," answered Jared coldly.  "My father is a pureblood."

Hermione intervened, "Malfoy, get out of our way.  I'll take points off if you keep blocking us."  She glanced at Jared.  He looked paler, but the tips of his ears were reddening with every passing second.  Warning bells were sounding in Hermione's head. 

"I'm a prefect, too, Granger," Malfoy reminded her.  "I guess Mudbloods stick together."  That was one step too far.  Jared gripped his wand tightly.  Malfoy went on, "I don't really know what's worse really.  I mean someone who is just a Mudblood or a pureblood mixing with one.  It's hard to say, isn't it?"

Jared released his wand, but Malfoy noticed and drew his.  "Come on, Blake.  What are you waiting for?" he taunted.

"No magic in the halls!" shouted Hermione as she stood between them.  "Jared, let's just go.  Jared."  She faced him and startled at the expression of absolute fury on his face.  Jared jaunted past with inhuman speed and went toe to toe with Malfoy.

"I don't need a wand," he said coldly as he gripped and twisted Malfoy's wrist, causing him to drop the wand.  Malfoy was surprised, but not enough to keep from fighting back.  His pale face was red in pain and anger.  His other hand rolled into a fist and came at Jared, who blocked it deftly as if it were nothing.  In that split second, Jared released Malfoy's wrist and punched him in the stomach.  As Malfoy went down, Jared used his elbow to hit Malfoy's back.  He hit his kidneys before he hit the ground.

Neville and Hermione stood there with their mouths and eyes wide open.  Hermione took a step back when Jared twisted Malfoy's wrist.  The other students in the hall stopped when they saw the fight break out.  Malfoy's cronies came running over with Pansy Parkinson just behind them.  The Slytherins had their wands drawn. 

"You racist, son of a bitch," heaved Jared.  "I've been dealing with people like you long enough to know that this is the only thing you understand."  He looked at all the wands drawn at him without any fear.  His jaw was clenched. 

"Stop this immediately!" shouted Professor McGonagall as she came over.  "What is the meaning of this?  What is blocking this hallway?"  She stopped short when she saw Malfoy on the ground.  He was bleeding from the mouth and doubled over in pain.  Jared stood over him without turning to face the Transfiguration professor.  "Mr. Blake," she whispered.  "Come with me.  Someone get Mr. Malfoy to the infirmary."

Crabbe and Goyle picked up Malfoy by the shoulders and lifted his feet off the ground as Jared surrendered to Professor McGonagall.  The Slytherin all parted along with everyone else.  Pansy stayed just long enough to threaten Hermione, "He's going to get expelled from here for doing that to Draco."

"Malfoy started it," retorted Neville.  "Get out of our way."  Hermione was stunned into silence.  She glanced at the direction that Jared had walked off in.  No one had ever actually said that about Malfoy.  No one had ever dared to state the obvious like that.  Hermione had seen Ron lose his temper just like that, but it never came down to that.  She decided it was best not to tell Ron about what happened in the hall.  He would probably go and find Malfoy and do something even worse than Jared.

When practice was over the Quidditch team came back to the common room to find it a buzz with news of Jared and Malfoy's fight.  Hermione was sitting at her usual chair, ignoring it.  None of them had heard from Jared since Professor McGonagall took him away.  She was nervously biting her lip, not concentrating on her homework. 

"Harry, you're killing us!" declared Ron as he took off his outer Quidditch robes.

"We need to get ready for the next season," insisted Harry.

The rest of the Quidditch team was too tired to respond or argue.  They all dropped into chairs, sinking into them.  Ron noticed that the other people were talking about something and didn't seem to have noticed that seven members of the house just came in.  "What's going on?" he whispered.

"Jared and Malfoy got into a fight in the hall while you were in practice," answered Neville.  "He put Malfoy in the hospital.  Broke his wrist and punched him in the stomach.  That's what we're talking about.  Professor McGonagall caught the end of it, and she took him to her office.  I think he might have even gone to see Dumbledore.  He hasn't come back yet."

"Why did he fight with Malfoy?" asked Harry in amazement.

"He called him and Hermione," Neville paused.  "I'd rather not repeat what he called them.  Jared disarmed him by twisting his wrist.  That's how he broke it."

"He's one Hell of a fighter," said Seamus.  "We saw him just knock him to the floor."

"He elbowed his back on the way down," added Dean.

Ron felt his temper rise.  He had completely missed the details of the fight because he was only paying attention to one thing.  He strode over to Hermione who looked up at him.  "Are you all right?" he asked.

"Fine," answered Hermione.  "I'm just worried that Jared might get expelled."

"Never mind him," said Ron with a wave of his hand.  "I can't believe Malfoy said that to you.  He's rotten git.  He hasn't got a leg to stand on.  His father's already in Azkaban—"

"Ron," interrupted Hermione.  "Just calm down.  Please.  Jared's already in trouble."

"I don't care about him!" exclaimed Ron, still stinging from what Jared said about him the night before.

Hermione shook her head at him.  "You both need anger management.  I didn't think it was possible for anyone else to have your temper, but he seems to have it," she said completely exasperated as she rose to her feet.  "I'm going to bed."

Ron looked flabbergasted.  "He doesn't have my temper!" he shouted out loud.  "We're nothing alike!"

Harry glanced at Ginny, who glanced at Neville.  Around the common room there was a general agreement that Ron and Jared had a lot in common.  Not that anyone would say that.  In fact, when Ron looked around again, everyone tried to look busy.  Harry was now thinking that there was something distinctly familiar with Jared.

The following morning was Saturday.  Jared was sleeping soundly behind his curtain.  He had returned to the dorms after he had his first night of detention.  Jared was lucky that he didn't have to answer to Snape.  Instead, he was given detention with De Luca.  Jared didn't want to spend time alone with either of those two professors, but De Luca was the lesser of the two.  He was sent back to the dorms after spending one grueling night cleaning the DADA classroom with nothing more but a mop.  He had to scrap gum from under the desks, and the wizarding variety was particularly difficult to remove.  In the end, he was just dead tired.  Professor McGonagall didn't send Jared to Dumbledore, despite probably wanting to.  There was something going on that Dumbledore had to attend to. 

Jared had to serve out two weeks of detention with De Luca and he wasn't allowed to go to Hogsmeade with the other students.  Twenty-five points were taken off from Gryffindor.  Jared just added it to the mental count of points that he had taken off over the years from his house.  McGonagall was going to send word to Jared's parents, thinking that she could easily inform them.  Jared got some pleasure out of the fact that his parents were easy enough to reach, but McGonagall wasn't going to be able to get much help out of them.  In fact, one of his parents had witness what he had done.

The punishment worked to Jared's advantage.  He didn't really want to go to Hogsmeade anyway.  He knew that Ron and Casey were going to meet there for a date.  Harry and Hermione were probably going to go along with Ginny, Luna, and Neville.  Also, Jared wanted a chance to look around the boys' dorm uninterrupted.  He had to look through two trunks: his father's and his godfather's.

He kept his eyes closed as he listened to the other boys rustle around the room.  His curtains were drawn indicating that he was there, but not awake.  He could hear the sound of footsteps pacing around him.  If his eyes were opened, he would have seen someone tugging at the curtains, deciding whether to draw them open or not.

Ron pulled his hand back from the curtains, leaving them closed.  He was dressed in his best clothes, but they weren't that great.  He picked the jeans that were the least worn out and the least faded shirt he had.  He didn't know why he was hovering around Jared's bed like that.  His eyes fell on the trunk that Jared had.  Now that struck him as strange.

The trunk was old.  Older than Ron's, but all the clothes that Jared had along with his schoolbooks been brand new.  It didn't make much sense to him.  Why would someone have a really old trunk, when he could afford new things?  It would have made a lot of sense to buy used books and get a new trunk to hold them.  Ron glanced at his trunk and noticed that it was almost the same color as Jared's, only brighter.  It was clear that Ron owned the newer trunk between the two of them.  He saw the top part of the Jared's.  It didn't have the circular disk on it with Ron's last initial on it, but there was a sign that something used to be there.  There were wheels attached to the bottom of the trunk, but those looked newer than the rest of Jared's trunk.

Before Ron could examine the trunk with his fingers, Harry showed up from the bathroom, drying his hair.  "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Nothing," answered Ron.  "Just looking."

"Jared came back late last night or early this morning.  I think he needs to sleep," pointed out Harry as he hung his towel over his trunk.  Dobby would come back later on and take it for laundry.  "You wanted to ask him about last night?"

Ron stuffed his hands into his pockets.  "No," he muttered.

"It shouldn't bother you," went on Harry.  "I mean he stood up for Hermione and himself."

"I'm not like him," repeated Ron from last night.  Harry looked at him with a raised eyebrow and stopped himself from insisting that Ron and Jared were alike.  Too much alike at times because there were moments when Jared was completely different from Ron.  Actually, Harry was thinking at first that Jared was a lot like Hermione.  Now he was just plain confused.

Jared listened to all of it.  He had opened his eyes part way through and wanted to say something.  Sure he was like Ron, but not so much so.  He glanced at his hands.  They were rough from polishing the desks.  He clenched them into fists then released, thinking just how much he was like Ron.  He had his hands, damn it!  And his feet along with a lot of other things. 

His mind went to where he had come from.  There was no doubt in Jared's mind that his parents were worrying about him.  His mother cast the spell, but his father sent him almost unwillingly.  It was the only way.  That's what his mother had said.  His father didn't want to risk Jared at all, but relented in the end.  It was Jared's idea in the first place.  He could still hear them discussing it with his godfather.

"Ron, we have to get going," said Harry.  "You don't want to be late do you?"

"No, of course not.  Why am I wasting my time here?" responded Ron.  The sound of rushing footsteps followed soon after.  Jared laid there for a good five minutes before sitting up and drawing the curtains open.  The first thing he decided to do was scrub himself clean.  Ron was the only one at the dorms who didn't use the same bathroom as the boys' because he had access to the Prefects' Bathroom.

Thankfully the bathroom was empty because almost everyone had gone to Hogsmeade, giving Jared some time to take a long bath.  Smiling, Jared recalled how much he used to detest taking baths.  His father had to be the one to coax him into the tub at home every other day until he was about six years old.  His father ended up chasing him around the house, much to his mother's amusement.  Jared soaked for a long time, relieving his muscles from the strenuous work that De Luca made him do.  Like his father, Jared didn't like cleaning the Muggle way.  After an half hour, Jared got out and dried himself off.  He dressed in plain Muggle clothes that his mother had bought him.

Jared walked barefoot to the room, preferring not to put on his shoes and socks until the last minute.  Besides there was no one there to compare his feet to Ron's.  At night, he was forced to wear his socks until everyone was asleep before he could pull them off.  As a baby, his mother said he would pull off his booties with sighs of happiness.  No one had any idea why he didn't like socks and shoes.  It was an exasperating problem for his mother because his feet were dirty in the summer and cold in the winter.  On top of that, his mother kept finding socks in the piano when he got older.  His father just laughed and called Jared, "his weird child." 

The first thing Jared did was take his key out and unlocked Ron's trunk.  As he predicted, it wasn't as organized as his.  Still, Jared carefully took things out of Ron's trunk.  Disappointed, he saw that there wasn't much in there other than clothes and books.  Jared knew about the Weasley family's financial status.  He also knew about the Grangers being much more well off even by wizarding standards.  So, when Jared found the sack of money that Ron had, he didn't bother to open it.  There was nothing in the trunk of any use to Jared.  He even went so far as going through the false bottom, but only found more money and some candy. 

He carefully put everything back the way he remembered it being.  Not that Ron could tell the difference, but from personal experience Jared knew that Ron was more observant than most people gave him credit for.  The next thing Jared did was go through Harry's trunk, which would have been trickier to open.  Jared also had a key to it.

Harry's trunk was more organized than Ron's.  Jared found the invisibility cloak at the bottom and the Marauders' Map, but he already had those.  There wasn't much else.  There was a mirror that was foggy, but Jared didn't know why it was there.  Jared left it alone and continued rummaging through the rest of the trunk.  He didn't find anything there either, so he placed everything back where it belonged and shut the trunk.

Jared glanced out the window and realized that it was still sunny enough to enjoy the weather, but glanced down at the tree that was near the lake.  Hermione was sitting there by herself.  Why hadn't she gone to Hogsmeade like she was supposed to?  Jared hurried to put his shoes and socks on before going down to see her.  He was hungry, but he felt like being around Hermione more than getting something to eat.

Hurriedly, he practically ran out of the castle looking for her and hoping that she hadn't moved from the tree.  He saw that she was still sitting there without any books or homework.  He caught his breath trying to appear as casually as possible before approaching any closer.  Jared cleared his throat when he noticed that Hermione didn't seem to see him.  "Hermione," he called after a minute passed.

Hermione turned her head slowly.  She hadn't been crying, but her eyes were sad.  "Oh, I didn't hear you," she admitted as she stared at him.  "Do you want to sit with me?"

Jared didn't need to be asked twice as he sat down next to her.  "Why didn't you go to Hogsmeade?  I didn't go because I got it as part of my punishment for fighting Malfoy," he told her.  "I have two weeks of detention, no Hogsmeade this time, and twenty-five points off Gryffindor."  He was feeling ashamed of himself at the moment.

"Fighting Malfoy wasn't worth it," said Hermione, but without the usual disciplinary tone that Jared would have expected.

"I'd do it again in a heartbeat," admitted Jared.  Hermione whipped her head to look at him.  Now that was the look that Jared was after.  "I mean…you know—look I have a really bad temper.  I can hold it, but sometimes I just can't.  Haven't you ever gotten so mad that you wanted to hit Malfoy?"

Hermione laughed.  "I did.  I did hit him once in the face actually.  I slapped him," she said in a soft voice.  "It was during third year, but it wasn't because he insulted me.  You have to pick your fights better, Jared."

Jared wasn't going to say that he fought Malfoy because he had insulted her more than him.  Malfoy had insulted Hermione twice over.  That was really what set Jared off.  He didn't really fight Malfoy for himself.  "That still doesn't answer my question about you being here by yourself, when you could go to Hogsmeade with everyone else," he said, changing the subject all together.

"I just didn't feel like going," answered Hermione in a soft voice. 

"Is it because Ron and Casey are having their date?" asked Jared rather impulsively.  Hermione closed her eyes, while Jared silently prayed for her not to cry.  He couldn't stand it when she was upset, but he hardly ever saw her cry.  "Look, I know it isn't any of my business.  I'm sorry if I'm prying too much," he added hurriedly.

"Am I that obvious?" asked Hermione in a whisper.  Her lip was trembling.  She didn't know why she was telling Jared any of it.  There was something in him that brought her some comfort.  "You know the last time I really cried was my first year here.  Ron said that I was a nightmare and that was the reason why I didn't have any friends.  I didn't know what was worse at the time.  The fact that it was true or the fact that he was the one who said it."

Jared knew that there was only one person in the world who could hurt Hermione that much was Ron.  Honestly, Jared never thought that Ron was that oblivious.  For a very passionate person, Ron was just plain unfeeling at times.  Maybe he didn't need to be so careful with Ron's trunk after all.  Jared fought the urge to put his arms around Hermione.  He had to keep his distance. 

"Then why don't you do something about it?" asked Jared.  "Why don't you just say how you feel?  It's better than this."

Hermione shook her head slowly.  "I don't think he would do anything about it.  We're just best friends.  And that's better than nothing, isn't it?  I don't want him to feel like he has to do anything else.  It's good enough just being there."

I don't believe you!, screamed Jared in his mind.  He rolled his hands into fists and swallowed the words he wanted to shout out.  He wanted to tell her everything was going to be fine and that he was proof of it.  He wanted to ease her heartache.  These were all the things brewing in him, but he fought it.  He pushed it down.  "I care, too, you know.  I care about you," he whispered.  I love you.  And you love me.  You've loved me even before you knew you were going to have me.  You love me because I also come from my father.

Hermione swallowed, but the tears remained close to the surface.  Yet she didn't cry.  She believed him and found solace in his familiarity.


AN: So, I plagiarized from myself by taking my old idea from Runaway Fox and using the wand transfiguration thing.  It will come up later again.  I said that Jared had his father's temper, so I thought it would be best to demonstrate it.  And I just had to find the right trigger to set him off.  Draco's always good for that purpose.

I think Jared might be a mama's boy (who could really blame him, if he is?)  Why throw in Casey?  I need to bring Hermione and Jared together that's why.  Eventually, Jared will just lose control again where she's concerned, and Ron may end up being at the receiving end of it.  There will be a chapter later on entitled, "His Father's Son."  It won't be for a while though.

I won't be able to update as often as I wished due to my new job with a summer camp.  I work with five and six year olds (some seven year olds, too), so they will be getting my attention and energy. 

kirikarin.livejournal.com

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.  This story belongs to me and cannot be posted anywhere else without my permission.