Temporal Flux
Chapter Twenty-Four: Kiss and Tell
When everyone gathered again for dinner, it was a tense affair. Hermione didn't mention the kiss to Ginny at all because Ron acted like he hadn't done anything. She had a feeling that he was thinking of something else. There was something that was really worrying him because he seemed more anxious than anyone else. Molly wouldn't allow Ron just to send Jared on his way without feeding him first.
If anything, it seemed that more attention was being heaped on Jared as Molly heaped more food on his plate. He was as polite as his parents had taught him to be and he didn't want to hurt his grandmother's feelings. He was sitting between Ron and Arthur. Jared didn't feel very hungry as he twirled one a noodle around his fork. It was one of his favorite dishes, spaghetti and meatballs.
"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley," said Jared politely as he tried to eat some more. "It's very good."
"I'm glad you like it," said Molly.
Jared gave her a grin. "I love international food. I've been all over the ethnic enclaves that are near where I live."
"They have a lot of India food and Chinese food as well in London," offered Hermione. "I think that there's a Chinatown in every major city in the world. At least that's from what I noticed. Too bad you're not staying around London long enough. I could take you around."
Jared nodded, "My mother said it started when she was pregnant with me. She wasn't putting on enough weight early on and so she decided to take off from her job at the hospital before she was supposed to. She stayed with her parents while my dad went off to work. I suppose she was watching too much television during that time." He laughed. "You see she started carving whatever she was seeing on the screen. My dad didn't want her Apparating all over the world because of her condition, so he did."
Ron nearly choked on his water, while everyone else was laughing. "My mother told me that the first thing he said when I was born was, 'So, you're the one I've been going all over the world for.' At least that's what she tells me. My dad has never denied it." He glanced at Ron. "Are you all right, Ron?"
"Fine," croaked Ron. "It just went down the wrong way." He saw that Jared was on the verge of laughter. "You've got a lousy sense of humor if you're going to laugh right now."
"I've been told that I've inherited my father's sense of humor," Jared told him mildly. Arthur laughed first, followed by everyone else. Hermione was clueless, but she was getting the feeling that Jared was just teasing Ron.
"I see," said Ron. He said the next thing through his teeth, "By the way, I've been meaning to apologize for any headaches that I might have caused for you, Mum and Dad. It's come to my attention that I can be very annoying."
"Downright obnoxious actually," corrected Fred.
George added, "And stubborn as a pig."
"That's enough, you two," chided Molly as she settled down with a plate of food for herself. These days she spent more time serving food than actually eating it. But for the first time in weeks, Molly felt at ease with the knowledge of Jared's existence. She smiled fondly at her grandson. "Are you sure you'll be all right, Jared?"
"I'll be fine. I can take care of myself," answered Jared. "If that's one thing my parents made sure of, it's that."
"Do you ever worry about your father having such a dangerous occupation?" asked Arthur, remember what Jared had said before.
Jared nodded and said, "It's what he does though. It's important. No one else can do the job that he does because he's the best at it. He doesn't talk about his work that often because he doesn't want my mother and me to worry about him. Not knowing sometimes is worse. At least what my mother does isn't dangerous in the least. She makes sure that things come out all right one way or another."
The rest of the dinner went on with less tension because of Jared's more humorous comments. The twins, Bill, and Charlie delighted in asking questions about his father, while Ron didn't know whether to laugh or deny things that hadn't happened yet. Ginny reminded rather solemn and it seemed like she wasn't there from time to time. She knew that Ron had other things to think about, but she couldn't help but think of the empty space that she felt.
When dinner concluded, they were graced with the company of Remus Lupin who none of the people from Hogwarts had seen until that moment. Jared was greeted warmly as he observed the ongoing conversation.
"Can I talk to you later, Arthur?" asked Remus. "I mean in private." Arthur gave a nod as an answer. There was definitely something going on as Arthur excused himself from the room for a moment to do something. Jared didn't have time to really think about it because he soon found himself under the gaze of Remus. "So, you're leaving? Whereabouts in America are you from Jared?"
"Los Angeles," answered Jared smoothly. "So, how well do you know everyone here? I was told that this is the headquarters for the group that has worked with Dumbledore since the last time that Vo—I mean You-Know-Who was around." In his generation, they were taught not to be afraid of the name.
Remus nodded. "Why are you leaving so soon? I don't think it's in the Weasleys' nature to throw anyone out," he said with some amusement.
"My relatives in England want to see me. My parents got in contact with them. I just wished they would have figured it out sooner, but my parents are busy people so it's understandable."
"What is it your parents do?"
"My father is an Auror and my mother is a Healer."
"Very interesting."
"I always thought so."
There was a lull as Remus seemed to study Jared at great length for a moment. He shifted uncomfortably. "Well, I think that I should get going soon," he said. Yet he didn't seem to be able to move from the chair. They were staring at each other now.
Ron cleared his throat to interrupt what was happening. "Jared, are you sure you're ready? My dad will take you. Right, Dad?"
"Yes," answered Arthur with a slight smile at Jared. It looked like it was for his son, but it was really for his grandson. "Come along. We mustn't keep them waiting."
"Of course," said Molly, but she didn't look entirely too happy about it. For some odd reason, neither she nor Arthur objected to Jared leaving. It seemed that they were following along with whatever Ron had to say or what he thought was best. "I do have something for you, dear." She handed him a bundle that was wrapped in brown paper. "Now, don't you open it until Christmas, you hear?"
Jared nodded as he accepted the lump bundle. He already knew what was in it. He had been getting a Weasley sweater every year since he was born. He had a feeling it was in maroon. Not that Jared minded so much. Molly had a tradition of giving her grandchildren whatever color sweater she had knitted for her children. Rather impulsively, he embraced her and Molly hugged him back with all her might. He normally would have given her a kiss on the cheek, but decided against it. "Thank you for everything," he told her.
She smiled back at him. "I was right. I can tell that your parents taught you good manners."
Jared laughed as he turned his attention to Hermione briefly. "Here's something for you. It's not much, but I hope it's something you like. Have a Happy Christmas," he told her. "I'll see the rest of you back at school."
"Are you sure you're all right to leave?" asked Hermione suddenly. "I mean what about what happened to you earlier?"
Jared gave her a gentle grin as he answered, "I think that I'll feel better as soon as I get back with my relatives. Perhaps, I'm just a little homesick. I've been in England for a long time now."
"All right," agreed Hermione as she gave him a brief hug. She could see that Ron wasn't reacting the way she had expected as he watched them.
"Let's go. See you all later," said Jared. "I'll see you back at Hogswart." He gave them a wave as he walked up to Arthur. They walked into one of the dens. It was the only one that had a fireplace that went out of the old manor. He threw some Floo Powder into the fire and said the name of an inn that was in Hogsmeade. As soon as he was gone, Jared followed the same procedure.
To Jared's surprise, they were met by Professor De Luca. He looked at them expectantly. "Who told you I was coming?" asked Jared as he looked at his grandfather for an answer.
"I had to tell someone to make sure that you stayed safe and out of trouble," answered Arthur.
Jared spun around completely to face him. "My dad doesn't know about this. You didn't tell him you were going to do this."
"Now, now," said the professor calmly as he got to his feet from the soft chair that he was sitting at. "There is no reason for you to be upset. I have already figured out who you were weeks ago. I was wondering why you were even here. Arthur contacted me earlier."
"That's why you left when Remus Lupin came. You were calling him."
Arthur licked his lips as he saw his reflection in Jared's eyes. How betrayed he must have felt at the moment. It was the same look that Arthur had seen for the briefest instant on someone else's face. "I have to do what it takes to keep you safe. Your father isn't old enough yet nor does he have the experience to even fathom what it might feel to lose you," Arthur told Jared plainly.
Jared's expression softened slightly. Arthur marveled at how much he resembled Ron. He put his hand on his shoulder and pulled him into an embrace. "You keep yourself safe. We will do what we can to keep your parents safe as well. Happy Christmas," he murmured softly into Jared's ear. Arthur pulled back and placed a kiss on Jared's forehead. It was a gesture that Jared remembered as a small child. Arthur turned his attention to Professor De Luca and simply said, "You keep him safe."
"I will."
Arthur left before they made their way to the castle in silence. Jared wondered if he was going to have to face Dumbledore. This wasn't Order business at all. He also wondered what was going on back where his parents were. The biggest question of all was what was going to happen next.
Things were pretty much at a stand still while Hermione was there. Ron didn't want to talk about Magus while she was awake with Ginny. However, she wasn't making it easy not to talk about Jared. She was worried about him obviously. Ron forced the twins to lend him one of the Extendable Ears to listen until Hermione and Ginny went to sleep.
"What's going on? It seems sort of sudden to send Jared on his way like that," said Hermione as Ron listened. "I have a feeling that your brother had something to do with it. What happened? I mean you kept me in here for a while picking out clothes."
"Hermione, haven't you noticed how similar Jared is to Ron?" offered Ginny. She was aware of the fact that anyone could be listening to their conversation. That and did notice Fred handing something to Ron earlier. "I mean other than just personality wise."
"Well, I did find out earlier that they were the same size."
"Other than that."
Hermione paused for a long moment contemplating what Ginny was asking of her. "He doesn't have red hair like Ron. But he seems to have the same body structure. That's kind of odd, isn't it?" She turned her attention to more pressing manners. "Are you sure it's okay that I borrow your clothes for tonight until I can get my own? I don't know if my mum will be okay with me coming back for just my clothes. She's probably very ticked off right now."
"It's all right," said Ginny brightly. "After all what are sisters for?" Hermione gave Ginny a strange look. What a strange phrase to be using. Ginny immediately corrected herself, "What I mean is sometimes I think you're like the sister I've never had."
"Oh," said Hermione as she bit her bottom lip. She had something to talk about. She wasn't particularly close to any of the other girls at Gryffindor, but she didn't know if she wanted to bring it up with Ginny, especially since it concerned Ron. "Ginny, something happened. It was the way that Ron showed up suddenly. He came to see me at the ball. At the time I was just grateful to be away from there, but now I'm wondering why he did it. Then, Jared collapsed and just left, so I can think about it now."
When Ginny didn't say anything, it prompted Hermione to continue, "I wasn't going to go with him. He said something about the raven. I didn't tell you, but Ron and I saw one when we got lost outside of the maze for Professor De Luca's class. He saw it outside. We both did. It was black in a sea of white. He told me we had to go, but I couldn't just go. Then, he kissed me."
Now that got Ginny's attention as she stared at Hermione somewhat dumbfounded. "H-he kissed you? My brother, Ron, kissed you?" she practically squeaked. She went on in a hurried pace. "Where? I mean did he kiss you on the cheek or on the lips? How long was it? Did anything else happen? Tell me! For Merlin's sake, don't just stand there!" Ginny was very excited as she grabbed Hermione by the shoulders and shook her vigorously.
"Calm down, Ginny. Not so loud," pleaded Hermione as she blushed. "Other people might hear you. Stop. Calm down."
Ron who was listening carefully wasn't paying much attention to the discussion that Harry was having with his brothers. It was Charlie who noticed that Ron had turned as red as tomato, which really clashed with his hair. "What's wrong, Ron?" he asked.
"Nothing," muttered Ron as he didn't pull the Extendable Ear away. He just had to find out what Hermione thought of him. He was calling more attention to himself as Fred and George got to their feet and made a grab for the Extendable Ear. Bill, Charlie, and Harry stood back a little bit because they didn't want to get involved in the scuffle.
Ginny was staring at Hermione intently in the other room. "Well? You said you were going to answer me?"
"Why are you so excited for Ginny?"
"Because of morbid curiosity. Come on now. On with it."
Hermione regretted saying anything. She should have never brought it up at all. She sighed, "He kissed me on the lips. It wasn't that long. Maybe a second or two. He wanted me to come along with him and I didn't want to. That's when he kissed me."
"I never knew you to be the type of girl who just went along because a boy kisses you, Hermione," teased Ginny. "I guess it depends on who that boy is, doesn't it? So, this begs the question how do you really feel about my brother, hmm?"
"Leave me alone," moaned Hermione, avoiding the subject all together.
Meanwhile in the other room, Fred and George had managed to get up close enough to hear what was making their younger brother so red. They pulled back when they heard Hermione's answer to Ginny's question. The twins were giving Ron a pretty strange, yet stern look. "You kissed her?" asked Fred, quite flabbergasted. "You?"
"Come on…now, don't be shy. You obviously get to kiss more times than that one time tonight. After all, you're going to have to do a lot more than kissing to pop out a kid," added George slyly.
Bill came to Ron's rescue, "Lay off him, you two. What kind of uncles are you going to be? I declare that Jared's penchant for trouble making is heavily influenced by you two."
Harry was trying very hard not to laugh at Ron, but there was definitely a smile tugging at his mouth. Charlie joined the twins in the teasing. "So, that's how you got her to come along with you? You must be quite the kisser."
Ron could only repeat what Hermione had said earlier, "Leave me alone!" It seemed like that bright red hue on his face wasn't going to go away any time soon.
Just as Jared had predicted he was ushered up straight to Professor Dumbledore's office. It was much different from the office he was used to. Jared had made frequent trips to that office in his own time. The other time that Jared was in Dumbledore's office, he hadn't really taken a close look around. It seemed that Professor Dumbledore was a man who liked puzzles because there seemed to be a few of them about. Jared was immediately drawn to Fawkes who had just finished a burning day, so the phoenix was a beautiful red color with gold feathers.
"I see that you have returned to Hogwarts so soon, Mr. Blake. Or would you prefer Mr. Weasley?" asked Professor Dumbledore with a twinkle in his eye.
"What happen to calling me just Jared?"
"You are very much like your father. Tell me, do I get to meet you later on? I am curious."
Jared looked at the Headmaster directly. "Yes, I was about two or three. My parents came here for some sort of event. It was during the summer. I managed to get separated from them and wandered up here. You asked me who I was and I asked you who you were. I wasn't supposed to talk to you. You were a stranger after all at the time. But you let me call you Bumblebee."
Professor Dumbledore chuckled at Jared's account. When he was done, he said, "It is a bit of a relief to meet you, Jared. The last few years have been rather difficult. Even I am allowed to have some of my own doubts. So, I take it that Harry Potter is your godfather?"
"He is," replied Jared. "A very protective, caring, and loving one as a matter of fact. If there was anyone who loves me just as much as my parents do, he does. And that's saying a lot."
Jared's statement seemed to put Professor Dumbledore at ease. Jared never noticed how tense Harry would get at the mere mention of the Headmaster. "I need you to explain everything to me right now, Jared. If any of my students are in danger, I must be made aware of it."
Jared knew there was no way out of it, so he started telling Dumbledore the whole story from beginning to end without stopping or diverting into things that were unimportant. When he was done, the Dumbledore looked like he was in deep thought as he regarded Jared's problem. "Coming here was probably meant to be," concluded Dumbledore. "You were meant to be here."
"I don't know what's going on back there. Ron thought it was a good idea to send me back here because Hermione's with him now. I'm starting to think that it might be easier just to tell her what's going on, but Ron said no."
"And you're going along with it?"
Jared shrugged. "I have selective hearing. But you can't really expect me to sit idle when bad things are happening. That's really how injustice can happen. At least that's what my father always says."
"Your father is right," said Professor Dumbledore. "But do you understand the ramifications of your actions? The Ministry of Magic has very stern punishments for those who tamper with the time stream and I'm afraid you have caused many violations."
"I'm aware of that, but I don't think my grandfather, who works for the Ministry, really cares and neither does my grandmother. And even now, I know that you aren't getting along any better with the Ministry than I am. Of course, by the time I come along, the spells are better developed."
"I see. I suppose I have to give some credit to Hermione on your ingenuity," said Dumbledore musingly. "I won't even ask."
"Thank you, Professor Dumbledore," said Jared as he got to his feet. "If you don't mind, I've had a hard night and I need some sleep." The professor nodded and Jared exited the room.
He returned to the Gryffindor common room and found that it was pretty much empty. Most of the parents preferred to have their children home with them for the holidays and with the attacks that were going on from the Death Eaters, none of them were willing to leave their children over the holidays. To Jared, that didn't make much sense because Hogwarts happened to be one of the safest places to be. He doubted that most of the other children's parents' houses were anything like 12 Grimmauld Place. So, Jared had to find another way to amuse himself before he went to bed. And since he had already finished all of his homework and didn't feel like studying, he took out his sketchbook.
Jared began to do a more detailed drawing of a raven just as Ron had described to him. No one really knew where Jared had inherited his artistic inclinations. The Grangers and Weasleys dealt in words and numbers quite well. However, very few of them were artists. Actually, none of them were artists. Jared was a very good drawer and was quite gifted. He thought of becoming an artist when he was older. It was the only career that he thought a lot of.
He wasn't discouraged by his grandparents on his mother's side, but on his father's side, they exhibited some discomfort at his artistic abilities. Jared was the one Weasley who knew how to play different musical instruments as well. His mother spent a good amount of her time nurturing these gifts. However, the Weasleys were a little fazed by his drawing more than anything else.
Perhaps, it had something to do one summer when he was around eight or nine and he wandered into a room that wasn't used by anyone. It was the room that faced the backyard on the third floor of the Burrow. It was strange that no one ever used that room. It had belonged to Jared's uncle, Percy, and it was left as it was the day he had walked out on the family. It became a sort of shrine after he had died. It was there that Jared felt the most comfortable because there wasn't anyone going in there to bother him, and sometimes he couldn't stand all the activity because he was an only child after all. Jared would go up into his uncle's room for a couple of minutes at a time. It was there that he had found his uncle's old school books and things along with a notebook that had drawings in it.
His grandmother was very upset to find him in that room that summer. Molly calmed down after Jared expressed how little he understood. He had never heard of his uncle much and had only seen a few pictures of him. His grandmother explained that the room was just as Percy had left it and that she and his grandfather just couldn't change it. Jared asked about some of the pictures. One of the pictures in particular almost made Molly cry. It was a portrait of a girl who had curly hair and it was dated sometime in Percy's last year in Hogwarts. She didn't say who it was, but said it was someone who was very special to Percy.
After that talk, Molly escorted Jared out of the room, but didn't make him promise never to go there again. When he had gone home, he drew a picture of his uncle and the following day he put the picture back in the room without telling anyone. He had drawn it from memory.
Jared finished drawing the picture of the raven. He had thought about how Magus looked. The picture that was in the file was of Magus when he was taken to Azkaban. It was vastly different than what he would look these days. In truth, Jared was afraid of falling asleep. He didn't want to relive that again. His mind had buried for years and now he could remember it better. However, in his vision, he managed to block most of it. It was the face that was the problem.
There was no doubt in his mind that Magus changed his appearance, but he wasn't a Metamorphmagus. Magus was a clever man who employed everything in his disposal to cover up his crimes. He would kill other wizards and assume their identities by making Polyjuice Potions. He killed Muggles and left their bodies at the steps of the Ministry, but he was always gone before anyone could get to him. By the time, Jared was born the Ministry had all kinds of security measures that including wider areas where barriers prevented Apparation/Disapparation. It made sense that Magus was an Animagus because the Ministry foolishly thought that people would register themselves.
Jared sighed as he closed his sketchbook and left it on the table. He was going to have to go to sleep. He didn't get up to go to bed. He had to sleep so that he could dream. So that he could see the face of his father's enemy.
AN: Jared does hold the key and he knows how Magus really looks like, but is he really safe? That's a good question because he's by himself in Gryffindor. I did have to throw in some humor to balance things out. Poor Ron and Hermione. They are really stumbling along and the cool thing with a time travel story is that I can plan for any plot loop holes.
kirikarin. I do not own Harry Potter. This story belongs to me and cannot be posted anywhere else without my permission.
