Temporal Flux

Chapter Fifteen: Hollow's Eve

Jared and Ginny waited as Harry brought them some butterbeer. They settled themselves comfortably in their seats and watched as some of the professors from the school walked in. Jared didn't seem to mind at all as they continued to wait for the twins, Ron, and Hermione.

"You hardly ever seem to be bothered by the arguing," commented Ginny.

"Nah, I'm used to it," said Jared. "I slept through most of them when I was a baby."

"I guess you would have to be immune to it," said Harry as he looked at the door. "I think they're starting to get suspicious. I guess it's a good think that you don't have the same coloring at him."

Ginny said, "If he did, he'd be the spitting image of his father. I mean he'd look exactly like him. He already sounds like him when he drops the accent."

"Thanks for talking about me like I'm not here," said Jared with a smirk. "Did I mention you're my favorite aunt?"

"Really?"

"But I think I like my other aunts better right now."

"You're so lucky that I'm not a violent person." Ginny's tone was threatening as she formed one of her hands into a fist.

Harry interrupted in a quiet voice, "Stop. They're here."

Ron and Hermione walked up to the table. "I'll go and get some butterbeer. Be right back," said Jared immediately as he got to his feet before they could even sit down, let alone say a word. Ron and Hermione glanced at each other before taking their seats. "Well, he's eager," observed Ron.

"Will you two stop snipping at each other?" requested Ginny before taking a sip of her butterbeer. "I'm tired of hearing you two fight all the time."

"If your brother would be more responsible, we wouldn't have this problem," said Hermione.

Ron countered, "If Hermione could relax more, she wouldn't get so upset over the smallest thing."

Harry was starting to wonder how they were able to raise a child like Jared together. He seemed perfectly normal. Then again, as Harry had said earlier, perhaps Jared was immune to it because he was their offspring. Jared came back and set the bottles down in front of them before taking his seat.

"Thanks. You should've waited for Fred and George. They'll be along soon enough," said Hermione. "And we could have gotten our drinks ourselves."

"Yeah, thanks. Besides, we could have paid for the drinks ourselves," added Ron. He was starting to notice that Jared did have a lot of money with him. Not that he had seen it himself, but he had seen all the new things that Jared had. With the exception of his trunk, it appeared that Jared's parents made a lot of money.

"It's okay," said Jared with a casual shrug.

That bothered Ron immensely as he said, "It must be nice to have money to throw around so easily."

Jared gave him a startled look. Unlike his father, he never had to wear hand-me-downs and have to worry about money. He never wondered why his father indulged him with toys. Jared was an only child and a tad spoiled by his father, and that irritated his mother from time to time. Unlike Harry who also had money, Jared had both his parents alive and well. "My dad gives me an allowance," Jared explained, feeling somewhat embarrassed. You give me my allowance he thought as he stared into Ron's eyes.

"Ron, stop picking on him," said Hermione. "You can just pay him back for the butterbeer if it bothers you that much."

Ron didn't say anything, but dug into his pocket and placed the coins in front of Jared. Not knowing what to do exactly, Jared just picked them up the money and put it in his pocket. He was thinking that the whole thing was utterly ridiculous and that Ron had ended up giving him more money. Jared shook his head as he heard Ginny snicker.

"What are you laughing about?" demanded Ron.

Ginny shook her head, "Nothing. Nothing at all." She knew where Jared had gotten his money from in the first place. "I just think that I'd take advantage of getting a free drink every once in a while. Say, Harry, would you like me and Jared to pay you back since you got our drinks?"

Harry grinned and shook his head, "It's fine."

"See, Ron. I think you just didn't want the butterbeer because it was Jared who paid for it," said Ginny as she smiled at her older brother.

"What do I have to do get you to be quiet?" asked Ron.

Ginny gave a mock look of shock as she said, "Me? All you have to do is ask."

"Then, shut up."

Hermione shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Jared, is it true that your dad's an Auror?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah," responded Jared slowly, wondering how they found out. "He's an Auror. He's been one for about twenty years."

"Must be exciting. Ron wants to be an Auror," said Hermione.

Ron snapped at her, "Why are you telling him that?"

Jared blinked. Ron normally avoided looking straight into his eyes because they bothered him with their startling familiarity. However, he had accidentally looked into those bewildered brown eyes. He was startled as he turned his head immediate and his eyes settled on Hermione's. "What's wrong, Ron?" asked Hermione. Her eyes were filled with concern.

"Brown eyes are common, aren't they?" asked Ron out loud.

Hermione nodded, "Yes, they are. They're the most common color. The rarest color happens to be either blue or green. I don't know exactly which one though. Why?"

"Nothing," muttered Ron. Lucky for him, he was saved because Fred and George finally came into the Three Broomsticks. "Oi, over here," he called. The twins nodded as one of them came up to them, while the other went to go get their drinks.

"Fred should be here in a minute," said George as he pulled up a chair. "So, what are you talking about?"

"Nothing much," said Ginny. "Although, Ron's gone weird. He's asking if brown eyes are common."

"It maybe common but they're not all the same," pointed out Harry. "I mean for example, the eye shapes can be different." He almost pointed out how Hermione's eye shape was different from the Ginny's and the twins. Jared had Hermione's eyes exactly much like how Harry had his mother's eyes as well. Harry was starting to notice that Ron was getting more perceptive.

"Here you go," said Fred as he handed his twin one of the bottles. "You should have waited for us. We wanted to treat you guys."

Ron said, "You've been doing that all summer."

Hermione glanced at her watch and interrupted it, "Oops, I forgot. I was supposed to send a letter to my parents. They were planning something for the Holidays."

"Isn't Christmas a bit further off, Hermione?" asked Ginny.

Hermione shook her head. "It's some big deal with my grandmother on my mother's side. It can never be too early for her. She's planning some sort of big ball or something. I don't know. I really don't want to go, but I promised my mum that I would tell her my measurements so that she could pick out something for me while I'm away. I guess I'll have to go to the dress shop here to make sure. I'll meet you back at the castle for the feast. I don't want to be late just in case they're closing up early for tonight." She said this all in a very big hurry as she put on her cloak and put her cloak on. "I'm really sorry. The rest of you can enjoy your afternoon. There's been so much to do today."

As soon as she was gone, Ron said, "Does she look more anxious about it?"

Jared couldn't help it but mutter under his breath, "You don't know her."

"Don't know who?" asked Ginny, hearing him perfectly.

Jared cleared his throat, "I mean Hermione's grandmother. Not that I know. Maybe she's one of those types that mean well, but really don't understand at all. You know I just remembered that I have to get some more quills. I'll see you later." He was having a difficult time with the way the other Weasleys were staring at him.

"Are you sure you want to go alone?" asked Harry, trying to be helpful. "Because I could with you."

"I'll be fine," Jared assured him with a smile.

Ron looked a little put off by it, "I think he can take care of himself, Harry. After all, his father's an Auror."

Jared paused for a moment before saying, "Of course, I can handle myself."

When he was gone, Ron had his arms folded over his chest. Now he knew for sure that something was going on. It had something to do with the concern that Harry and Ginny had for Jared. They were being too friendly, but at the same time overly protective of him. What happened was the last straw.

Ginny glanced at Harry as her brother glowered at her. The twins were looking back and forth between them. "Why are looking at us like that, Ron?" asked Ginny.

Ron raised an eyebrow at them and asked, "What the Hell is going on? When did you two become such good friends with Jared? I don't understand what's going on. One day you're telling me he could be a threat, Harry, the next day you're out defending him and offering to go shopping for quills with him. And Ginny, I don't know what's going on, but you've been looking very smug about it."

Ginny sucked in air through her teeth. It was a good thing that it was very noisy inside the Three Broomsticks. No one was paying attention to what they were saying in particular. "I can't take it anymore!" she exclaimed out loud. "But we can't talk about it here."

"Ginny—" started Harry.

Fred interrupted, "Now this sounds intriguing. Why don't we go to the backroom of the shop and discuss it?"

"Yes," agreed George.

"We don't have to go anywhere because Ginny's not going to say anything. You promised Jared you wouldn't," said Harry through his teeth.

Ginny shook her head, "Harry, he didn't exactly say that he wanted me to promise him not to say anything."

"Then, let's go!" announced Ron angrily. "We're going, Harry. You can come with us or run off and warn, Jared, if you're so concerned. I'm you're best friend. What's he to you?" He was on his feet and leaned forward, his shadow casting over Harry. "Either way, I'm going to figure out what's going on."

"We're kind of interested in knowing ourselves," said Fred. "And Ron does look like he's fit to kill right now. We're just lucky that George and I are innocent bystanders."

Harry was the one to scoff, "You maybe bystanders, but you're anything but innocent."

Ginny said, "Harry, let's face it we're in trouble either way. I mean Ron's mad now, Jared will get mad later. Either way, think about it." She was point out the temperaments of the two as being identical.

"Good point," said Harry. "I still think this is a bad idea." He looked at Ron when he said this.

"Come on, Harry, this is too good a secret to keep!" exclaimed Ginny anxiously. "I don't wanna keep it anymore. I want to see how Ron reacts." She had her hands clasped in front of her.

"I don't really like where this is going," said Ron.

George pulled on Ron's arm to get him up as he got to his feet. Fred did the same to Harry, who was harder to get up because he was stubbornly clinging to the chair. Ginny got up under her own and lead the way out of the Three Broomsticks.

They trudged back to the store with one of the twins on either side of Harry. If he wanted to leave, there was a little they could do. He craned his head around to look for Jared, but he was no where to be found. "Damn," he muttered under his breath.

When they got into the backroom of the store after shooing one of the employees away, Fred locked the door and they all turned their attention on Ginny. She looked at each of her brothers and settled on Ron who was looking at her intently.

"There isn't any easy way to say this. I didn't believe it myself."

"What is it, Ginny?" demanded Ron impatiently. He turned to Harry, "What the Hell is going on, Harry?"

"JARED'S YOUR SON!" erupted Ginny.

It was so quiet one could hear a quill drop. Ron stood in stunned shock, while Fred and George had identical looks of wide eyes and wide mouths. Harry looked at them with a raised eyebrow wondering why they weren't saying anything. The silence was broken by the sound of Ginny's relieved sigh. "Oh! I feel so much better now that I said it," she announced happily.

"Ginny, you've got some power," said Harry as he waved his hand in front of them. "You stunned really well without a wand."

"That's not funny!" exclaimed Ron, making Harry jolt back. Ron was seething as he was making wild gestures with his arms, "Come on, Ginny! Who is Jared really? This has got to be the worst joke I've ever seen! He can't be my son! He's as old as me for crying out loud! Harry!" His head whipped around to his best friend.

"His real name is Jared Ronald Weasley," confirmed Harry. "He came from the future with a really good spell."

Ron was still shaking his head, "He's not my son. That's impossible!"

George quipped, "Well, he does look like you now that I think of it. That's why he seemed so familiar actually."

Fred added, "He's got brown hair and eyes though. Not as much freckles. The brown eyes look familiar. Where have I seen those before? They're obviously from his mum." The twins looked at each other as they concluded, "Hermione Granger is mum!"

If Ron wasn't having a heart attack then, he was now. He was shaking his head and blushing furiously. "Now that is impossible!" he sputtered.

"Ron, calm down," said Harry as he placed his hands on Ron's shoulders and shook him gently. "We're not lying. He's your son. In case you haven't noticed, he's been using the American accent because his voice is identical to yours. Take a deep breath and think about it. You know we're not lying to you."

Ron stopped shaking his head but retain a color that resembled a tomato. Fred broke the silence with one quip, "At least we know that you don't die a virgin, Ron!"

Jared was picking through the quills and testing them out. He was only happy when he found one that refilled it with ink. He paid for his quill along with more rolls of parchment. When he got outside, he ran into Hermione.

"Oh, there you are," he muttered as a way of greeting.

Hermione looked up at him and smiled. He always thought that she was pretty and when he was younger he would do anything it took to make her smile and he could do it so easily, too. "Are you on your way back to the castle? I separated from the others. 'Cause I needed some new supplies. I go through a lot of parchment, ink, and quills," he told her.

"I can see why, Jared," said Hermione. "Yes, I'm on my way back to the castle. Are you?"

"I just need to drop by Honeydukes to refill my other supplies then I'm heading back," he replied.

Hermione shook her head and said, "You know too much sweets can't be good for you. Especially your teeth."

Jared knew that she was going to say something like that. "Come on, we're wizards and witches. They have spells to prevent tooth decay. Even you took advantage of wizarding dental care despite your parents being dentists, Hermione."

Hermione blinked in surprise. Yes, she had her teeth shrunk down by Madame Pomfrey after a stray spell made them even larger than they normally were. She didn't remember telling him about it. "How did you know that?" she asked cautiously.

For a moment, a look came over him that looked almost like a look that Ron would have when he was caught doing something, but Jared covered up nicely, "Ginny told me."

"Oh," said Hermione. "Do mind if I come along to Honeydukes with you?"

"No. You always make good company, Hermione," said Jared. "Besides, I wanted to talk to you about what happened at the Three Broomsticks with Ron."

Hermione shook her head, "Oh, that. You shouldn't pay attention to much to that. Ron's just a little upset whenever he's reminded that his family doesn't have a lot of money. It did change a lot last year after the twins business starting booming." She explained as they walked along. "He just feels like he gets overshadowed by his older brothers. There are five of them above him after all, so he finds it hard sometimes to distinguish himself. And having Harry as a best friend also doesn't help his self-confidence."

Jared didn't know what to say to that, so he kept quiet. They finished going through Honeydukes quickly and returned to the castle soon after that. Jared put his things in his trunk, while Hermione had little choice, but to get some work done.

Hermione was plenty annoyed at Ron for choosing Quidditch over his prefect duties. They spent more time arguing than getting work done, leaving Hermione very stressed out. Most of her fellow Gryffindors steered clear of her whenever she was doing prefect business in the common room.

It took another good hour before Ron, Ginny, and Harry returned. They had spent most of the time calming Ron down. He wasn't getting over the shock, but it was a good thing because he was forgetting to stay mad at Harry and Ginny for keeping it a secret in the first place.

"I can't believe," muttered Ron again. "What am I supposed to do when I get there? How am I supposed to face him now?"

Harry shrugged and said to Ginny, "Well, you're the one who had to tell him, so why don't you help him out? Jared's going to be mad at us, too, you know. He's got your temper, Ron."

"Don't remind me," said Ginny before her brother could say anything. "But you've improved from earlier. You'll be fine. Tonight's the night of the feast, so we don't have to worry too much about it until tomorrow."

"Yeah," agreed Harry. "We'll settle in for the feast and then everything will be settled later. I'm also sure that Hermione's back at the castle by now. She was in a bit of rush—"

"How am I supposed to face her?!" exclaimed Ron suddenly. "I mean this is all too much."

"Calm down, Ron," urged Harry. "Don't make me splash you with water again."

"You know I always wondered what happens when two neurotic people get together and reproduce. Now the answer is simple. You get Jared," teased Ginny.

Harry turned his attention to Ginny and snapped, "You're not helping. Ron, listen to me. Just act natural for Merlin's sake. Don't act any different."

Ron responded, "I'm just wondering why she'd marry me in the first place. I've got nothing to offer."

Ginny rolled her eyes and was about to say something if Harry hadn't held up his hand to silence her. "I know that you've had a crush on her for some time now," said Harry. Ron shook his head quickly. "No. Yes, you do. You're just too dense right now to know any better. I think you've liked her since our first year."

"You mean that he was too stupid to realize it," put in Ginny. "Thank goodness Jared got his mother's brains. He'd be in a lot of trouble otherwise. Although, I suspect you've got a brain underneath that skull of yours somewhere."

"Ginny, be quiet. You're not helping," Harry ordered her. "You can keep all your smart comments to yourself."

"I can't help it."

"Shut it."

"I did start to notice that Jared was a lot like her," admitted Ron. "Then, I noticed that he had the same trunk as me. I didn't want to say anything because I thought I'd look mad or something. He's really my son. In the future, I have a son?"

Harry breathed a sigh of relief. "Finally, you're getting it. Let's get there faster. I don't want to miss the start of the feast."

"Hey, wait up!" exclaimed Ginny as she hurried to catch up because Harry had picked up his pace.

Ron followed them reluctantly. He wished he could deny what Harry said about him having a crush on Hermione. Harry was wrong. It wasn't a crush. He didn't know when, but he had fallen in love with Hermione some time ago. And now this, Jared's presence didn't reassure him. It just made him more nervous.

When they got to the common room, Hermione was writing quickly and was in deep concentration. Ron followed behind Harry and Ginny. The latter took a seat in two of the comfy chairs, while the former made his way over to Hermione. He cleared his throat to get Hermione's attention. When she didn't look up, he said, "Do you want some help?"

Hermione looked up a bit startled. "No, I can take care of it, Ron," she replied.

"No, I want to help. Just give me half of it," he insisted.

Her eyes searched his for sincerity, while he was hoping that he wasn't blushing or anything. He was sure his ears were on fire. She smiled a little as she gave him part of the stack. "Are you sure?" she asked again.

"Yea, I'm sure," he replied. "I'm sorry about leaving all the work to you. I'll try to help out more."

Hermione tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. "Thanks, Ron. There might be hope for you yet," she said as she turned her attention back to her work. Ron settled down next to her and took one of the quills on the table. At first, he went straight to work to avoid looking at her. A little later, he found himself looking at her from time to time. He could see it now. He could see some of Jared's qualities as her brown eyes looked over the parchments. If he didn't believe before, he believed now. She was the most beautiful, perfect person he had ever seen.

"Harry," said Jared as he came down, interrupting Ron's thought. He turned to see automatically. "I could use some help. Would you help me please?" It startled Ron. He stared at Jared with his mouth agape.

Jared noticed and turned his attention to Ron. "Are you all right, Ron?" he asked simply. Hermione looked up from her work. "What's wrong? What did I do now?" Jared raised his eyebrow. Ron recognized it as one of his own gestures. It was almost like starting into a mirror, but different. It was starting straight into his future.

"I'm fine. Everything's fine."


AN: Somehow, you've got to figure that Ginny can't keep the secret for that long. It's too good to keep. This is by far the funniest chapter I've written in a while. Now, Ron knows. He was starting to figure it out, but he thought he was crazy if he said anything. I love Ginny in this chapter, while Harry remains as the calm one. Hermione's still in the dark. I have no idea when she's going to find out.

As for background, Jared isn't the oldest Weasley grandchild, but he's the one that people expected because it was clear to his grandparents that his parents would eventually get together. Jared is actually the sixth grandchild out of the Weasleys (just like Ron is the sixth son), and the only grandchild for the Grangers. The whole family did know that Hermione would have problems with her pregnancy because Ron was very vocal about not wanting to risk Hermione's life to have Jared. Of course, Ron found out about Hermione's pregnancy after she told Harry who was there to help soften the blow. Ron was a little freaked with over concern about Hermione during the pregnancy and with impending fatherhood staring him in the face. Perhaps, I should write about it.

Also, since the next book has been announced for release on July 16, 2005, I'll have to speed up to get my next fic out in time before the next book or website information does something to my plot. This means that Temporal Flux might be coming out faster. I'll have to buckle down and keep messing around.

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