Temporal Flux

Chapter Nineteen: Across Worlds

When the holidays rolled around, Jared found himself traveling to the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix at 12 Grimmauld Place. The place was legendary during the time that Jared came from. It reminded as an important meeting place for the people that had followed Dumbledore during the time of war. It was Jared's first visit ever.

Rather than packing his whole trunk along, Jared had packed his things in a backpack. In order to be invited, Harry had to arrange it with the Headmaster who gave permission and gave Jared a piece of paper with the address of the place. Jared hadn't seen what had happened between his parents, but he did see Ron and Harry bide Hermione a safe holiday. She hugged them both, but Jared could see that she seemed to hold Ron a bit longer. It was also Ron who lingered a bit longer after she had left.

"We'd better get a move on," said Ginny. She turned and said to Jared, "Brace yourself."

"I'm used to it," said Jared as he smiled. "Although, it's going to be strange not getting a Weasley sweater this year." He glanced back at Ron and Harry who were walking behind them. The door opened before they had a chance to even knock.

"We saw you coming," greeted Fred as he looked at Jared. "It's always nice to have family over for the holidays."

"And Harry," added George. "Come on inside."

"Wait," paused Jared, standing his ground. "Does anyone else know about me?" Fred and George just looked at him. "I knew it! Who did you tell?"

"What are you doing at the door? Fred! George! Let them inside," called Molly from the background. She pushed her way past her twin sons and came face to face with Jared. "Oh, you must be Jared Blake from America. Welcome. Come on inside, the rest of you." It seemed like she had pulled them all inside in single instant. Before their coats and things were taken upstairs, she was already fussing over them, "Harry, how are you?"

"All right, Mrs. Weasley," said Harry with a slight smile.

"It's a shame that Hermione couldn't make it," said Mrs. Weasley as she seemed to take a sidelong glance at Ron.

Fred picked up on that and said, "Why couldn't she make it?"

"Family event," replied Ron as he took Jared's coat and put it away for him. He didn't do that with anyone else's.

Molly nodded and turned her attention to the new person in the room. "So, your parents are in America? Where exactly? What do they do?"

"Mum, you shouldn't grill him like that," muttered Ron.

"Los Angeles. My father is an Auror and my mother is a healer," replied Jared smoothly enough. "They're busy, and going all the way back there is way too stressful."

"I see, but that doesn't mean that we can't make you feel at home," said Molly with a smile. She turned her attention back to Ron and Ginny. "Bill and Charlie should be back soon. Your father is busy at the Ministry."

"What about Percy?" asked Ginny impulsively. There were identical scowls on Fred and George's face. "Have you heard from him lately?"

Molly shook her head pressed her lips together. Ginny looked at Ron for some help and he swallowed. Jared looked at each one of the members of his family in the room. "I think I'll have to out and do some Christmas shopping," he announced. "I have to pick up something for my parents. I'll go into Muggle London for it."

"Go where the Muggles are?" asked Molly startled at the boldness of Jared's statements. "But they're wizards, aren't they?"

"Yes, they are," answered Jared. "My mother is Muggle born. My father's a pureblood from a long, well-known line. It's really more for her than him. My dad never really asks for anything. It makes it kind of hard to shop for him."

"Isn't it your father's money anyway?" asked Ron. "I mean you said you got your pocket money from him anyway."

"So, I did," said Jared with a blink. "Are you telling me not to get anything for my father for Christmas?" Ron nodded. "Okay."

"Ron, stop meddling in other families' affairs," scolded Molly. "If he wants to get something for his father, he should."

"Let's take you things upstairs," said George. He picked up Jared's pack. "You didn't bring a trunk."

"I didn't feel like it," said Jared. Before he followed everyone else upstairs, he turned and said, "Thank you for extending your hospitality, Mrs. Weasley."

Molly seemed a little surprised, but smiled. "What wonderful manners you have. You parents must have done a good job raising you. Good manners are always a good indication of that."

"So far," agreed Jared as he glanced at Ron who was the last person waiting for him at the top of the stairs who was smirking at him a little. He followed him up the stairs and into one of the rooms. There was an extra cot that looked a bit uncomfortable with two other beds. The twins had set their things down, while Ginny went off to the other room.

"You take the bed. I'll take the cot," said Ron gruffly. "It doesn't look very comfortably, but it'll do."

"It's okay. I can sleep on the cot," argued Jared. "You don't have to give it up on my account."

Fred interrupted, "You know fatherhood suits you, Ron, normally you'd get all whiney about having to sleep on something like that." Ron's cheeks got red. "So how long before you tell Mum and Dad about their grandson?"

"We're not telling them," hissed Jared. "And keep your voices down. Or at least shut the bloody door."

"You look so much like your dad. I'm surprise our Mum didn't notice," said George. "I guess Hermione's coloring makes for good cover. I suppose you're just as smart as her, too, aren't you?"

"You two are sadistic. You just like watching people squirm," muttered Jared. He crossed his arms over his chest and scowled at Fred and George. Harry was having a hard time keeping a straight face. In fact, he was snickering. "And you never answered me. Who else did you tell about me?"

Neither Fred nor George had to give an answer because Ginny opened the door, following behind her were Bill and Charlie. Bill firmly closed the door behind them and Jared pulled away from the twins with a wave of his hand. "I was born into a family of big mouths," he muttered in defeat. "No one here can keep a secret." He glanced at Ron who looked a little pale at his oldest brothers. "At least one of you hasn't learned how to keep a good secret yet."

"We had to tell them because they were the only ones who could help us with the search on our end," said Fred.

George added, "Besides, you're lucky we didn't send any birth announcements out to the rest of the family."

"I guess you already know who we are," said Bill as he held out his hand to Jared who shook it without look at him directly. He also shook hands with Charlie. "He really does look like you, Ron. I mean I had my doubts, but now looking at him, you can see that he's a Weasley."

Charlie did one better when he started walking around Jared, looking at him at all angles. He picked up one of Jared's hands and observed, "Just like yours and Dad's. Nice slender fingers."

"Do you mind?" snapped Jared as he pulled his hand back. "Stop touching me."

"Ah, that temper," said Charlie somewhat fondly. "We were doing some of the research on Magus. It seems that we haven't been able to find anything on him. I mean there's more than one name like that. It can be a first or a last name, so it's hard to narrow things down."

"I've asked around, too," added Bill. "Either this man hasn't committed a crime yet, or he hasn't been caught for a previous one. We're trying our best."

"Yeah," agreed Ron. "We should have stayed at Hogwarts, but Hermione had to go out to some kind of family event. So, we had to go out, too, just in case. Actually, we need you to help us out with Mum and Dad."

"No problem," said Bill. "We can help out with that. I'm sure that you'd like to see her, Ron." Ron shook his head immediately, but his ears were turning red under the gaze of his siblings, Jared, and Harry. "Okay, and Jared probably wants to see his mum anyway, don't you?"

"I'd like to see my grandparents, too," admitted Jared. "I don't get to visit with them as often as I like. Not since I started in Hogwarts. It's sometimes hard to go back and forth between the worlds. As I get older, I don't get to spend as much time among the Muggles." He saw the looks on their faces. "It's half my heritage. I can't ignore it. I'm proud to be a half-blood."

"We understand," said Charlie reassuringly. "Of course, you can't ignore it. I bet my dad's really happy to have some connection to the Muggle world."

"He uses it as an excuse to go shopping in the Muggle world. I had a lot of toys growing up," confirmed Jared with a smile. It was the first smile that any of his uncles had seen. They seemed marveled by it. It was enough to make Jared uncomfortable.

"Mum's bound to notice that," said Bill quietly. "He's got your smile, Ron. Except for that slight dimple on his cheek."

Ron glance at Jared briefly. "That's from his mum," he concluded. "Come on, let's go downstairs. Mum's going to wonder what's taking us so long."

>

Hermione sighed as she glanced around her childhood bedroom. She finally plopped onto the bed and sighed again. She stared up at the ceiling. It was so quiet at home. Too quiet. She found herself missing all the bustling and noise of the castle at Hogwarts. She wondered what was happening with her friends. She wondered what they were doing at the exact moment that she was laying in her bed.

She grabbed a pillow on her bed and hugged as hard as she could. She remembered last year when she had argued with Ron about her going skiing with her parents, but she only argued with him because he got her ire up. She didn't like him insulting things that he didn't understand, especially things about the Muggle world. At least, Harry was easier to get along with compared to Ron, but it wasn't as stimulating. However, she reflected that Ron had been very good and nice lately. Up until he found out that she wasn't going to be there for the holiday. In fact, he was downright upset about it.

Hermione also thought that she was rather impulsive for inviting Jared to come with her. No doubt that her father would have had a few choice words to say about him. Hermione didn't have such feelings towards Jared, but she couldn't help it. She did care about what happened to him. Jared had a handsome smile. That was what she noticed about him. It was very much like Ron's. Now that was a startling thought as she sat up. Jared did have Ron's smile. Hermione shook her head frantically.

That was impossible.

Or was it.

She covered her lips with her fingertips as she thought about it. It was liable to cause her a headache, if she continued to think about it. She was far too logical to consider it, but she remembered on her third year with the Time Turner. Of course, she turned it back in when she decided to have a regular schedule instead of trying to take on too many classes at once. She must have been mad that year for biting off more than she can chew.

Funny, she didn't see him wearing one that one time she saw him struggling with his shirt. It was very strange indeed. He had to have one on him somewhere. Then again, once one does the spell with the Time Turner, one could remove it and go on without it. Harry didn't have to keep wearing Hermione's Time Turner the whole time they went back in their third year. Hermione wasn't going to get enough time to dwell on it because her mother was knocking on her door.

"Hermione, dear?" called her mother. "Are you all right?"

"Yes, Mum," responded Hermione as her mother opened the door. Her mother was a beautiful woman with warm brown eyes and brown hair. She was also thin and willowy. Many people had compared Hermione to her mother, but she still didn't see what the fuss was about. Her mother smiled at her.

Viola Granger took a seat on Hermione's bed next to her. "So, how do you like the dress? I know it wasn't what you picked out for yourself from the wizarding boutique, but your grandmama would prefer if you had something more in vogue. You can save that other dress for another occasion."

"But I like it better than the one that she decided on. Isn't Dad upset about it?" asked Hermione as she got to her feet. She was referring to the fact that the dress was completely open in the back. The wizarding gowns were wonderfully old-fashion with their large skirts. The dress that her grandmother had picked out was a custom made number. It was a light bluish grey color with some sequins and the back was opened. It was like a halter top, tying in up at the back of her neck. The skirt was long, but a bit loose. It still accented her curves and showed much more skin than she preferred. Rather the dress had been designed to show the few curves that she did possess. In short, Hermione hated it.

Viola stood up and looked at the dress from behind her daughter. "The fabric is beautiful. And the shoes that go with it are gorgeous. I'll deal with your father. If he had it his way, he'd dress you in lots of ruffles and bloomers with an overcoat to cover the whole thing. You're a young woman now, Hermione, so you should start learning to be comfortable in your own skin."

"I'd rather wear what Dad wants me to wear than this," muttered Hermione with distaste as she reached out and touched the material. It was silk. But she expected that from her grandmother. "I don't want to wear it where anyone can see me. Can't I just wear the dress that I picked out for myself?" She was pretty close to pleading with her mother.

"It's up to you," said Viola. "Your grandmother said it was such a beautiful dress, but if you have no problem upsetting her, then you can wear your dress."

Hermione was furious at the manipulation that her mother was employing because it was working. She folded her arms over her chest as she threw her mother an angry glare. Viola placed her hands on Hermione's shoulders and tried to soothe her. "Hermione, just please just this once, could you be a good girl and just do this?"

"It's degrading," muttered Hermione sullenly. "I won't wear. I want to wear the dress that I picked out for myself. The one that you let me pick out for myself."

Viola suppressed the urge to sigh. She knew her daughter was extremely stubborn. It was a trait that she had inherited from her father. Little did Viola know that this stubbornness would be magnified further in the generation after her daughter. She gave her daughter an encouraging smile, which was something that Hermione hadn't expected. "You know someday you'll look back on this argument, Hermione, and realize how unimportant it is. You don't have to make a battle out of everything. You need to learn how to pick your battles better. I just hope that if you have a child, you'll be understanding."

Hermione still had her arms folded over her chest, but she softened a bit. "What makes you think anyone would want to be with me and have a family with me? I know what Grandmama's party is really about. She wants to show me off. The noble families and royals have key members who are old enough to marry. She lost her chance with you when you married Dad."

Viola recalled the morning that Hermione came home. Hermione had mentioned that her friend, Ron, had wanted her to go along with him and the others. Michael wasn't too happy about it. He kept telling Viola that Ron Weasley was more interested in Hermione than just being friends. Michael had become more and more wry of Ron after meeting the young man again over the summer at Diagon Alley. Viola had made the comment that Ron was growing into a fine young man as they walked together down the street. Michael didn't even view Viktor Krum as a threat, but he expressed how much he disliked Ron. All of his reason were thoroughly illogical. Viola gave her daughter a smile.

"What are you thinking, Mum?" asked Hermione.

"Try not to think of your grandmother's party as a trap in the making. You've got a good head on your shoulders, Hermione, and you already know what you want. So, it's best just to enjoy yourself. I allow you to be as smug as you want to be."

"I wish I already had someone to go with me though. It would be so much easier than trying to come up with excuses not to dance. I guess I will have to come up with more creative ways to get away from them."

"You are not to leave the grounds under any circumstances, do you hear me, Hermione?" ordered Viola warningly. "I am serious. And you know you are not to use magic in the Muggle world and outside of your school, do you understand?"

Hermione nodded, which her mother returned with a smile. She sighed, and told her daughter, "Sometimes I think those friends of yours are a bad influence on you."

"Maybe," agreed Hermione as her mother walked towards the door. "Or I could have gotten it from Dad."

Viola gave a shake of her head and sighed, "Your father is coming. Don't listen to him when he says that he isn't. Now, you get some rest. There's dinner at your grandmother's tonight."

"Is Dad coming?" asked Hermione.

Viola nodded, "Of course, he is. Unless of course, someone calls with some kind of emergency." The Grangers had a joint private practice that they ran together. They switched back and forth for any emergencies.

Michael Granger had met Viola Blake while they were in dentistry school and they had gotten married as soon as they had graduated. After they established their practice, they decided to have children. Viola was just as slim and fine boned as her daughter and she could only have one child. With their busy practice, the Grangers only managed to produce one child, so everything worked out.

One could swear the adage of girls marrying men like their fathers was true in Hermione's case. Her father and Ron had a lot in common in the way of personality. Later on Michael would take Ron to his first football game along with Jared just to get away from Hermione's grandmother's for a couple of hours on end. Michael would come to think of Ron as his own son rather than just as a son-in-law, which made Hermione very happy. For his part, Ron disliked going into the Muggle world without Hermione or her parents as guides to it, and Jared would lean how to travel back and forth between both worlds. He was after all a half-blood and his mother was insistent on him learning about both cultures he was born into.

There was a soft knock on the door and Michael opened it before Viola could even open it. "There you are," he said. He smiled at his daughter as he turned his full attention to his wife. "Do I have to go tonight?"

"You asked that question this morning and at lunch. The answer is still the same: yes, you have to go," answered Hermione's mother. She folded her arms over her chest. "And you're setting a bad example Michael, for your daughter."

Michael glanced at Hermione as he sighed and rolled his eyes. "She's too much like you to follow anyone's example. She's the one who sets them, not the other way around. I suppose I will have to go just to not abandon her to the clutches of that—"

Viola cut him off, "You say one more thing about my mother and you'll be sleeping alone tonight." She crossed her arms over her chest for effect. Michael looked rather sheepish for the moment as Hermione covered her mouth with her fingertips in an effort to keep from laughing out loud. "Now, what did you need from me?" asked her mother.

"I couldn't find the shirt I'm suppose to wear tonight."

"Honestly, you can't do anything for yourself. Let's go and set out your clothes for tonight so you won't delay us."

"Why don't you just tell me where it is?"

"Because you still won't be able to find it. Hermione, dear, get some rest. You look very tired."

With that said, her parents left her alone. Hermione closed the door behind her and rubbed her arms. She glanced out the window for a brief moment. She felt like something was watching her, but it was nothing more, but a raven. It flew off just as soon as she had seen it. Breathing deeply, she drew the curtains close, feeling cold suddenly. In her mind's eye, she was back in the Forbidden Forest, but Ron wasn't with her this time. A ripple of fear came down her spine. She immediately went to her school bag and pulled out her wand. Hermione clutched it tightly as she took another glance at the curtains. Then, she stared at the door that her parents had just gone through. Slowly it sunk in, she wasn't the only one in danger.


AN: Ron has a chance to take a look at Hermione's world. I decided to name Hermione's parents, Michael and Viola. I took the name Viola out of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night since Hermione's name is also from a Shakespearean play. Hermione's grandmother's name is Miranda (Blake, being her last name) from The Tempest. Michael Granger really doesn't get along with Miranda. It is only when his daughter will marry when he finally gets a good ally against the woman because Miranda isn't too fond of men in general. She doesn't like Ron either, and the only man she will adore is Jared.

Hermione doesn't have Ron there with her and she can't tell her parents about what she just seen at the end. The Raven won't show up where Ron is because he's in a safer location, but Hermione has left herself quite unprotected in the Muggle world. That won't be for

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