Temporal Flux

Chapter Twenty-Five: Christmas Morning

Ron couldn't sleep. He was too anxious to do so as he lay awake. Sometimes Harry fretted a bit when he slept. Ron was a little used to it. However, Harry seemed to be sleeping peacefully for a change of pace. Ron had no idea that he was going to end up with a child very much like Harry.

There was no denying that Jared was special. Of course, Ron was his father, and like every proud parent, he thought his child was something special. It was more than that. There was something very special about Jared, but Ron didn't quite get it. He doubted that his future self understood it any better than his younger self. It seemed fairly obvious that Jared was going to grow up to be some extraordinary person.

Ron didn't have much money, but he did pick up something for Hermione, Harry, and Jared. He had meant to give Hermione's present a bit earlier but with the interruption of the raven that was not possible. He had picked her up a simple necklace that had a small pendant on it. It wasn't anything all that expensive or special just a bit of crystal actually. Ron couldn't afford to get Hermione's birth stone anyway.

Jared was a little hard to shop for, but he expressed that he did like to read a lot. Ron picked up a book at Flourish and Blotts. It was novel written by a wizard. For Harry, Ron got him another book about spells against the dark arts to add to Harry's ever growing collection. It seemed only right considering what Harry was going to become in the future. The book was an advance one that a former Auror had written.

Ron was very restless and couldn't sleep very well at all, so he got up and ventured downstairs. He was stared at the fireplace for a long period of time, wondering if Jared would call. When that didn't happen within the first ten minutes, he got up to pace around back and forth. In the silence of the night, he was starting to think about how Magus wanted him dead because of what he would do. Ron's jaw clenched as he sped up his pacing. There was no way he was going to let someone like Magus get away with what he was doing. He was going to stop him one way or another.

"Couldn't sleep either?" Ron's father's voice interrupted. Arthur was at the bottom of the staircase looking at Ron with a bit of a wry smile.

"Can you believe it, Dad? I haven't even had him and I'm already pacing and worrying," moaned Ron as he plopped down on the chair in front of the fireplace. "You'd think he'd call or something. Doesn't he know, I'm sitting here?"

Arthur chuckled at Ron as he took a seat next to him. "You sound like your mother," he observed.

"He's like his mother. He doesn't like to listen to me," said Ron gruffly. "I told him back where he came from not to do this, and he went and did it anyway. I'm thinking of leaving myself a note to punish him when he gets back. I'll just seal it in an envelope and open it after he gets back."

"You must admit that his intentions are good," pointed out Arthur. "He's a good lad. He's like you."

Ron exclaimed as he threw his arms into the air, "Why does everyone keep saying that? Even Hermione, and she's got no idea who he really is. She said that even before I found out."

Arthur shook his head and chucked again, "It's sort of gratifying to see you so anxious."

"Were any of us like this?" asked Ron.

"Last year, when you and your sister went to the Department of Mysteries," answered Arthur promptly. "Your mother had a fit. And I swore that if you were both all right, I would kill you both anyway for making us worry so much. I think that wishing children just like you and having it actually happen is satisfying enough."

Ron shook his head, "Well, there's only one thing left for me to do then." He got to his feet and smiled at his father, "Good night."

"What's the last thing, Ron?" asked Arthur.

"I'm just going to wish the same thing on Jared," replied Ron as he grinned and climbed up the stairs to go to bed. All Arthur could really do was shake his head because the cycle was continuing.

The following morning, Jared got up early because it was too quiet sleeping in a room that was normally occupied by more than one person at almost any given time. It was the silence that roused him and this was also the first holiday that he ever spent separated from his family. His mother and father always had him home every winter. He couldn't remember one Christmas and that was the one when he was attacked. He now understood why none of his friends or family really talked about it. It was because he had blocked it out of his memory and they didn't think it was a good idea for him to bring it up until he was ready.

Jared got up and proceeded to the bathroom as he washed his face. He stared at the scar along his neck. He remembered how protective Harry had been up till his third year. His parents did let him go to Hogsmeade, but Harry always seemed to pop up at the same places that Jared was in. They had spent a lot of time keeping him alive and untroubled. Harry made it his mission not only to keep Jared alive, but ensure him as normal a childhood as possible.

Harry didn't have a normal childhood. By the time he would become a professor in Hogwarts, he had spent more than half his life just trying to stay alive. There came a time that Harry realized that he was never going to be normal and to accept that he would always be different. Deep down , Jared knew that Harry envied Ron for having all the things that he had longed for. Jared was practically Harry's first child, even though Harry would eventually get married and have children of his own.

He finished up and ventured downstairs to the common room. The fire was there because the house elves kept it up during the night. He opened the brown parcel that Molly had given him and found the customary Weasley sweater. It was maroon just as he had expected. Jared shrugged and put it on. He was starting to feel less lonely and warmer. Who knew that a Weasley sweater had that much power?

The fire roared again. Jared nearly jumped because he could see Ron's head in the fireplace. "Gah!" he exclaimed. "You almost gave me a bloody heart attack!"

"Not so loud," warned Ron. "Hermione might be up any minute. I was just wondering how you were doing. You didn't call last night."

"I was under the impression that I wasn't suppose to," said Jared as he crouched down closer to the fire. "I'm fine. So, how do I look?" He was referring to the sweater.

"Do you actually like maroon?"

"Not really, but she likes knitting them for me, so I don't mind. It makes her happy to see me appreciate it." Ron was wearing a sweater that wasn't very different from Jared's. In fact, they were identical. Jared was just a good kid who really didn't seek to hurt anyone's feelings. "And it feels like having a slice of home."

"Happy Christmas, Jared. Stay safe," said Ron.

"Happy Christmas," said Jared. He didn't add the last part until after Ron was gone. "Dad." It was time to go and get some breakfast. He put on some shoes and went down to the Great Hall.

Professor De Luca greeted him with a smile, "Happy Christmas, Jared."

"Happy Christmas, Professor."

Professor Snape was watching Jared carefully. He must have been appraised of the situation as he walked up to Jared. "So, you're their son?" he asked.

"Yes, Professor Snape," answered Jared plainly. Unlike Ron, he bore no ill will towards Professor Snape. In fact, he seemed to have a certain amount of respect towards him. "I knew that you would be here for the holidays as well, but I didn't expect Professor De Luca to be here."

"I chose to stay rather than return to my order during the holidays," said Professor De Luca.

Jared joined some of the other students who were sticking around. It seemed like he was the only one remaining from Gryffindor. There were three from Ravenclaw, two from Hufflepuff, and to Jared's utter surprise Malfoy had remained with Crabbe and Goyle.

"So, you're here? Blake? I thought you left with Weasley and Potter," said Malfoy. "Let me guess: they didn't want you either."

"I was wanted, but it was overwhelming," said Jared. "What are you doing here? I thought a spoiled boy like you would be home with his parents."

"My father is in Azkaban," Malfoy informed him. "Thanks to Potter and his little friends."

"Oh, I forgot that." Jared added quite genuinely, "Sorry about that."

Malfoy snapped, "I don't need your pity, Blake." He seemed utterly frustrated so he stalked off so suddenly that it too longer than normal for it to register with Crabbe and Goyle to go after him. Jared almost felt bad for Malfoy. It was hard for him to understand how that bitter boy could turn into one of the best teachers in Hogwarts, but that was almost twenty years from that point. Jared marveled at the idea that someone could change so drastically over that time.

He ended up sitting with the two Hufflepuffs because they were the friendliest of the others. He didn't really talk that much to anyone in particular. Professor McGonagall was probably told what was going on based on the way she looked at him when he walked in.

After breakfast, Jared decided to take a walk out to Hagrid's cabin and see if the groundskeeper was in, but he interrupted by Professor De Luca. "Do you really think it's wise to go outside?" he asked with a tone that told Jared it wasn't.

"It's boring in here," said Jared mildly.

"Yes, you seem to be the type who prefers a lot of excitement," agreed the DADA professor. "You are a bit of a handful for your parents."

"My parents are used to it," said Jared. "Although, my father always says that my body isn't mine until I'm of age, so it's up to him to keep me in one piece. Whatever that means. Do you ever wish that you could have a wife and kids of your own?"

"Not really," said Professor De Luca. "There is a lot of evil in the world. And from the looks of it, there is more in the future as well. I have devoted myself to this life. To rid the world of evil and to keep others safe. I am never really lonely in my fight or in my life. It is very gratifying existence. One doesn't need to have his or her own children in order to feel that they have contributed something to society, Jared."

Jared nodded as he found himself walking with Professor De Luca. "I think you're the one who baptized me," he said thoughtful. "I don't remember, but I was raised Catholic. My father's family have been Catholic for generations and my mom never converted, but her family hardly practices whatever they're supposed to be. My maternal grandparents are too scientific to take things on blind faith."

Professor De Luca chuckled. "That's really what blind faith is about. I suppose they believe in magic because they've seen it. Or at least a small part of it. But it didn't stop with the generation before you?"

"I was a handful compared to her. They really weren't ready for me. My nana always said that I had more energy and could cause more trouble than my mother ever could," admitted Jared. "I was disruptive at their house. You know Muggle things are surprisingly delicate to magic. I once shorted out their DVD player because my papa wouldn't let me watch something on it." Jared glanced at Professor De Luca who had a mystified look. Obviously, he didn't know what a DVD player was. Jared smiled as he continued, "I was okay to be baby sat until I hit two years old after that my mum or dad had to be there otherwise they couldn't handle me. It's not simple to tell a child wizard that magic is a no-no and try to explain it using the laws of adults. It wasn't until I was eight when I was old enough to not use to my magic when I was upset."

"There is a theory that is running in some circles," said Professor De Luca. "The pureblood families like the Malfoys and others like them are truly afraid of people from Muggle lines just suddenly having magic. However, some believe that a hybrid child will function best between both worlds."

"The racism is more rampant, I'm afraid," pointed out Jared. "There are more and more children like me and Harry. He was always the one who could talk to me about being a half-blood. My parents have their arguments over how to raise me. It's either too much magic will prompt laziness or it's part of my heritage I should use it. Usually, they try to reach some kind of compromise."

"The world only gets more complicated as the time marches on," concluded Professor De Luca.

Hermione was having a hard time trying to figure out what was going on with Ron. He was withdrawn. He and Harry had their heads together discussing something or someone. Hermione was also getting strange looks from Ron's brothers, who were being very nice to her for some strange reason. Perhaps, Jared did have the right idea of leaving.

She had to get away from Ginny for a little bit because she was making her feel rather uncomfortable. She crept downstairs early in the morning to put some more presents at the tree. She put Ron's gift next to Harry's. She had bought a nice scarf for Ginny. She would have made them herself, but she couldn't knit very well.

Hermione was concentrating so hard at that moment that she hadn't heard Ron come down the stairs. "Happy Christmas, Hermione," he said softly. She whirled in surprise. He pulled back with his hands in front of him. "Sorry, didn't mean to surprise you."

"You've been doing that a lot lately," murmured Hermione. She was unable to look him in the eye. At least when they were alone, and right now they were very much alone. She added hastily, "Oh, Happy Christmas to you, too, Ron."

"Yeah," sighed Ron as he looked away from her. His ears were bright red. He was lucky that his whole wasn't as red as it was last night. "I got you something. It's not much really."

"It's all right. At least you got me here," said Hermione softly as she accepted Ron's gift. She opened it and found a pair of combs for her hair. "These are beautiful." She smiled up at him, but he wasn't look at her.

Ron was having some difficult getting over his shyness. "I'm glad you like them. I got them at Diagon Alley. The lady said that if you lose one, you can get them both to glow to find the other pair. Just in case. I don't think you'll ever lose them," he said with a grin. "So, what'd you get me?"

Hermione laughed as she put one of her hands on her hip and said, "Why don't you go and look for it yourself?"

Ron started searching for his present. He was going to have to pretend that he was surprised at the gift. He already knew what it was and that it was going to fit him just fine. He picked it up and carried it to the sofa. He sat down with the box and to his surprise, Hermione took a seat next him. Ron tore off the wrapper and opened the box. He stared at it for a moment. "What is it?" he asked.

"It's a jacket, Ron," said Hermione. "I didn't want to get you just anything, but I thought that you'd like something from the Muggle world."

Ron pulled it out of the box and put it on. It was a little long, but it fitted just fine on the shoulders. He wasn't overly surprised, but he did like the feel of it. "This is nice, Hermione." He stood up.

"I was worried that it wouldn't fit," said Hermione as she stood up with him. "You look great."

"How did you know it would fit?" asked Ron as he finally looked her in the eye. He saw that she had tipped her chin upwards. She was at a disadvantage because she didn't have her heels on any longer, so she was much shorter than last night. "About last night," he started as he cleared his throat, "forget what happened, all right? I didn't really mean anything by it."

Hermione's expression changed from smiling to mystified to angry in less than thirty seconds. "What's that suppose to mean, Ron?" she demanded. "I can't figure you out these days. What's wrong with you?"

"There's nothing wrong with me," answered Ron. "Nothing at all. If anything, there's something wrong with you."

"Me? I wasn't the one who showed up suddenly and just took me away. You know what's going on and you won't tell me anything. And what's worst is that you trust someone you barely know over me. We've been friends for six years. You've only known Jared for less than six months. And then, you kissed me and act like it was nothing!"

"What difference did that really make?" shouted back Ron. He didn't mean to lose his temper so easily, but he wasn't about to back down from a fight. "You said that you wanted me to get along with Jared and now you're mad because I am. I can't believe you. Everything I do is wrong. No one can do everything as well or as right as little Miss Perfect. I don't even get what you're complaining about now?"

"The fact that you told me to forget about last night, Ron," said Hermione. Her feelings were hurt and that would have been obvious to almost anyone, but Ron was missing it all together. "You won't even have a civilized conversation about it."

"What do you want me to say? This is just getting stupid," he declared. "I don't want to continue this any longer. Come on, just tell me what you want me to say."

"I want you to stop dancing around things, Ron. I want direct answers to my questions," said Hermione. "I want you tell me what you've been hiding this entire time. There's more going on around here than you're telling me. Everyone knows something and I think it's you who's keeping everyone from saying something. Even your parents seem to know what's going on."

Ron looked at her plainly for a moment. "You really are too smart for your own good." He looked at her musingly. "And has it really been just six years? It seems like less. But at the same time, it's like we've known each other our whole lives. So, you want me to tell you the truth? Which truth are you talking about?"

"Why did you kiss me? You brought it up first."

"We're back to where we started. I thought you were asking about why I took you away from your grandmother's house. Do you want me to answer that question?"

"No, I want you to answer why you kissed me, Ron."

Ron shrugged off his new jacket and folded it before he put it down. "If you have to ask that question, Hermione, then you don't get it," he said simply. "I'm not going to explain it to you. I know that I'm no where near the type of bloke who should be kissing a girl like you in the first place."

"I didn't know we were categorized as types, Ron. For one thing, in the world that we're in, I can be the smartest witch in the world, and your opinion would still matter more than mine because of who you are," said Hermione as she crossed her arms over her chest, but she was thinking of what he was saying. She took his hand. "Sit back down, Ron. My neck is hurting looking up at you."

"I saw your grandmother's house," said Ron. "It's huge and your parents aren't bad off either. This jacket looks like it cost a fortune. I haven't got anything else to go with it. This is second major piece of clothing I have that's mine to start with. And all I got you were those combs."

"Do you ever notice how I smell, Ron?" asked Hermione. He wondered about that from time to time as he sat closer to her, and he shook his head. He never thought she smelt bad. She shook her head and laughed. "You're so forgetful sometimes. Honestly. I wear the perfume you gave me last year for Christmas. Don't you remember?" Ron noticed that she hadn't let go of his hand yet. It was just so natural to feel her hand against his. She went on, "I'm sorry that I kept asking just now."

Ron didn't know what to say at that point. He was thinking of how nice it was to sit with her. He couldn't help but think of how much he really knew. Even with Jared around, he could never consider himself as that lucky.

Now it was his turn to be surprised, Hermione leaned in and kissed him gently on the lips. He deepen the kiss and she responded in kind. She slowly pulled back with a smile on her lips. He grinned back at her. It really the best Christmas Ron had thus far, and what made it even better was knowing even better ones were coming later on.


AN: The dialogue is particularly aggravating to read as it was to write between Hermione and Ron in this. I wanted to write an adult argument. Doesn't the end make you feel all warm and squishy? Poor Jared. Things aren't going to get any easier for him.

Confession: I am official done writing Temporal Flux. It has been finished for the past couple of chapters. If anyone kept up with my journal, they would know that. At the end of the last chapter (which isn't the chapter after this), I will put up a preview for the next story. No, I don't want people making demands of me updating immediately because I'll do it when I feel like it. Anyone attempting will to do will be ignored. It's imperative that I post both stories before July 16th because that's the due date that I set up for myself.

kirikarin. livejournal. com

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