Temporal Flux

Chapter Twenty-Six: The Case File

Jared was tossing and turning again in his sleep. He woke up with a start and in a cold sweat. He was heaving for air as he got out of bed. He gazed out the window and saw very clearly that the Raven was just sitting out on a limb watching him. "Nevermore," he whispered as he stared at it. He could feel his neck tingling a bit. He ran his finger down the side of his neck, and then covered the scar with his palm.

It was at that moment he wished he was back at his own time. All he would have to do was go down to his godfather's office and he would be there. Jared had his problems starting out in Hogwarts and it was Harry who kept him out of it. Some of the other kids thought it was nepotism at work, and it was. He didn't know until now that Harry was keeping an eye on him to keep him safe at his father's request.

Jared wished that he was more aware after that attack that put him in St. Mungo's. He still didn't know how his father succeeded in capturing Magus. And now the Raven was watching him. It was going to be difficult to send messages via owl, but that was why Professor De Luca recommended that no messages be sent that way anyway. Jared marched up to the curtain and drew them closed.

Jared went to his trunk and dug around until he found what he was looking for. It was his copy of The Little Prince. His mother used to read it to him all the time when he was younger and it was one of her favorite books as well. It was the first book the he ever read by himself. Jared settled back in bed, reading the book until he fell asleep.

The rest of Christmas day was a mixture of satisfaction and embarrassment for Ron. After the morning kiss with Hermione, he had to keep a straight face around his brothers, but it seemed that Bill and Charlie had a talk with Fred and George. Hermione found herself at the end of some very nice treatment from Molly.

"Hermione stopped asking about Jared. How did you get her to stop?" asked Harry.

Ron shrugged. "She just decided to stop asking on her own." Like he was going to tell Harry about how she got her to stop. "I talked to Jared earlier. He seems fine, but I don't know if he's still safe."

"Yeah," agreed Harry. "We know that there ways of getting into the castle that is discreet. But getting to Jared isn't going to get him what he wants, which is you."

"I wish there was some way of me to get a message to myself," said Ron. "If only had I had taken the time to give Jared some kind of plan."

"Now, there's a thought," said Harry. "There's a way for you to get a message back to yourself. Assuming that what's happening right now is affecting the future timeline. The theory of Temporal Flux. Jared mentioned it. Maybe there is a way for you to send yourself a message. One that you would receive sometime later on."

"Yes, but how would I do it?" asked Ron out loud as he paced back and forth. He stopped in front of his trunk. "Jared has the same trunk. Just older." He got down on his knees and opened it. He pulled out a roll of parchment paper along with a quill and some ink. He emptied out the rest of the contents and put it all on the bed, then pulled out the panel. "Normally, I keep my extra pocket money in here along with some sweets. Jared used it to hide Hermione's diary along with the photograph. Harry, watch the door, tell me if anyone is coming."

Completely understanding what Ron was about to do, Harry went to the door without hesitation and closed it. Ron began to write a letter to himself. He didn't want to delay anything, so he wrote as quickly as possible giving himself instructions about what to do in the event of Jared leaving. Somehow, Ron was going to have to get himself to put a plan of action or at least the case file of Magus into the trunk.

"Okay, this is confusing. I have to put this letter in the hidden bottom of this trunk," said Ron out loud. "Then, assuming that I trust myself enough, I have to get the case file to Jared back in the trunk as well. I don't even know where this trunk will be. I don't even know if Jared uses it the whole time he's attending Hogwarts or just for this."

"We'll just have to take that chance, Ron," said Harry. "Are you done?"

"Yes," answered Ron as he put sealed the letter without any wax because there wasn't enough time. He put it on the bottom of his trunk. "All I have to do is keep the letter here." He piled his things back inside. "I hope that I get it back."

"There's one way to find out fast. Jared would have to open the trunk and check," said Harry. "We can't send a message via owl. Not if Magus assumes his Animagi form. He'll intercept any messages."

"But he didn't put the diary back in the bottom, did he?" asked Ron. "Where is the diary?"

"I think that Ginny has it and she's sharing a room with Hermione," answered Harry. "Why?"

"I need it," answered Ron. He thought about it for a moment. "Okay, I'll distract this time. You go to Ginny and get the diary. Put it in your trunk."

"All right," agreed Harry. "This works out better. You're better at distracting Hermione than I am anyway." He grinned from ear to ear. Ron shook his head as he closed his trunk. They walked out of the room, looking for them as soon as soon as they came downstairs they saw that the girls were downstairs helping Molly with something.

"Mum, we need to get some help on the winter homework assignments," announced Ron.

Molly gave him a mystified look and asked, "Didn't you say that you finished those already?"

"We need someone to double check it," answered Ron. "Hermione always does it for us."

"This is my winter vacation from school and you expect me to help you out with your school work?" asked Hermione.

Ron and Harry replied in unison, "Yes."

Hermione opened her mouth and closed it again. "I always have to help you guys out with school work when we're not in school. When we're in school, you don't want to listen to me. I'm not helping you." She folded her arms over her chest.

"Fine," agreed Ron. "If you want us to fail, that's fine. We didn't need you anyway."

Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed as she handed back the cloth she was using to wipe down the dinner table. "Fine, I'll help you. The last thing I want is you to blame me for it. I'm sorry, Mrs. Weasley."

"It's all right," said Molly as she walked off with Ron. Harry lingered behind and waited for Molly to go back to work at the stove. He really had to hand it Ron because he really knew Hermione better than anyone would have thought.

"Ginny, mind giving us back what Jared gave you?" asked Harry in a low voice. Ginny nodded and said to her mother, "Mum, I'll be back. I'll have to go and give Harry back something of Jared's." He gave her a sharp look.

"All right, Ginny," said Molly as they walked off.

As soon as they were going up the stairs, Harry asked, "Why'd you just tell her the truth?"

"Because there's a lot of lying going on around here anyway," answered Ginny. "I'm starting to fail to see why we have to continue lying like this. My mother already knows what's going on. She's been practically gushing at Jared since she found out who he is. Suddenly, she's paying more attention to Ron than she normally does and that's way more than what he's used to. It's funny because Ron would rather be left alone, but she's been giving him a lot of parenting advice while you were with our brothers." She paused and then added, "And another thing, the best thing about a good lie is one closest to the truth. The further you get from the truth, the harder it is to keep it up and make it believable."

"Good point," agreed Harry begrudgingly. "You know I think I like it better when you were too shy to speak to me directly."

"Those days are long gone, Harry," said Ginny as they stopped in front of the girls' room. "You can wait out here. I'll bring it to you."

Harry tapped his foot impatiently as he waited. Ginny came back with the diary, wrapped in parchment. "You can have it back because I can't read it while she's here anyway. And I feel kind of bad for having it and sharing the same room with her."

"Right," said Harry, feeling some of the guilt. "I have to go and drop it off in my room. You can go back to your mother now."

"All right," said Ginny as she went off.

Harry shook his head and wondered about how little he really knew about Ginny. Not that he really cared, but she had a cunning nature about her that Harry had only really seen in Fred and George. When he got to the room, he put the diary in his trunk and grabbed his assignments. He came back down to the living room.

"Where were you, Harry?" asked Hermione. "We turned around and you were gone."

"Mrs. Weasley talked to me for a bit," answered Harry. "And I had to find my assignments."

"I was just asking Hermione if we could just check her homework against ours. She said no."

"Ron, Hermione's homework is at her parents' house."

"That's what I've been trying to tell him, Harry," said Hermione as she shook her head at Ron. "He thinks that I memorize my homework. Why didn't you ask Jared while he was here? He probably finished the assignments before he even came here. And knowing him, he would have memorized it, too. Let me guess, he wouldn't help you."

Ron raised his eyebrow and cleared his throat. "Well, he never helps anyone. We didn't expect him to help us."

"He has the right idea. It's my fault for helping you both in the first place," said Hermione.

Harry started laughing. Hermione glared at him. "You know that you're going to help us in the end," he told her. "You always do. Hermione, did you get in contact with your parents yet?"

"I got a letter from my dad. Thanks for letting me use Hedwig. My mum's really mad and so is my grandmother. He'll try to smooth things over, but he said that it will take a while to pull off." Hermione glanced at both of them. "It will be hard to do because my dad still doesn't know why I left so suddenly. I can't explain it either because neither of you will tell me anything."

"Don't worry about it, Hermione," said Ron soothingly.

"You were the one who freaked out when you saw that raven," pointed out Hermione. "And what about Jared? He collapsed near that pond. I don't think he should have left and you made him leave, Ron."

"How do you know that I made him do anything?" asked Ron. He asked Harry, "When has he ever actually listened to me?"

Harry shrugged, "Why would he listen to you?"

Hermione glanced back and forth between the two of them and sighed. "Fine. Have it your way. You know for all the times that I have been there for you two; you'd think that you'd trust me with some big secret. Ron, I'm always there for you when you complain about pointless things. Harry, I'm there when you feel like the rest of the world doesn't understand you. Did either of you think that I might need something from both you just once?"

"Did it occur to you that what we might be doing is for you?" asked Ron as he looked her straight in the eye. Suddenly, Harry felt like he didn't really belong in the room. He just sat there are Ron continued, "And stop thinking of Jared so much. He's not here, so he's not part of the problem. It's between the three of us. And Harry, don't leave the room. Now, would you mind helping us with the assignments?"

Hermione reluctantly went back to helping them, but both of them knew that she wasn't letting this go. She was going to keep at it until they broke. However, they went right to work and it seemed that things would stand still for a bit.

Magus sat at the top of the tree branch. He knew that the Mudblood pup was back in Hogwarts and that they were actually careful about him leaving the castle. However, he had tangled with the boy before and knew that the child's naturally inquisitive nature would get the better of him soon enough. Yes, Magus still regarded Jared as a mere child, yet he didn't deem Ron Weasley that way.

As smart as Jared was, he was still a child and didn't have his father's remarkable skills when it came to wizardry and he had his mother's intelligence. The child was not to be underestimated, but Magus had cut the boy's neck before and nearly slit his throat in the process. The scar was inflicted with a metal that afflicted the blood itself. It was the Muggle blood kept the child alive.

Ron had to stay alive. Magus wanted him to live long enough to feel the pain and the loss of his family. The mistake was separating them and sending Jared away. Magus needed him for bait. And he was going to make sure he would get to the boy. It was only a matter of time. Jared was cut off from his family now.

The one person that Magus underestimated was Ron. He had no idea that Ron had come up with a plan that was going to derail Magus'. The case file was waiting in the trunk in the false bottom. That was going to be the key to end it.

Professor De Luca received a message through his fireplace. He got to his feet and read it. With that, he went up to Gryffindor Tower. He knew the password to get inside and walked up to the boys' dorm. He found Jared fast asleep. "Jared," he said as gently as he could.

"Professor De Luca? What time is it?" asked Jared.

"It's still early. It's only eight. Why are you sleeping right now?" asked Professor De Luca.

"I was feeling tired," whispered Jared. "Why are you here?"

"To check your trunk."

Jared got up and went to his trunk and opened it. "What are you looking for?"

"Your father sent a message. It was the only chance he had. Check the bottom. That's what he wrote."

Jared pulled all his things out and felt for the false bottom. "I put things in there already. Why would there be anything else? I would have noticed if there was." His eyes widened as he pulled out a thick manila envelope. "Okay, this wasn't here before."

"One of time travel's confusing things, isn't it?" asked Professor De Luca.

"Yeah, I'm starting to get a headache from all of this," answered Jared. He opened the envelope. "I don't believe this. It's the case file. He actually sent the case file." It was a lot thicker than Jared thought it would be. The file was organized chronologically. Some of it was typed using an old0-fashion typewriter, some in using a Quick Quill, and other part were handwritten by Ron's hand. Jared felt sick to his stomach when he saw one of the crime photos of one of the victims. For a split second, he thought it was a doll, but it was a little girl. He quickly put the whole contents back into the envelope.

"Do you mind if I take a look?" asked Professor De Luca. "Let's take it to Professor Dumbledore's office."

Jared nodded, but he refused to hand it over to him. "I'm not giving it to you right now. It was meant for me. The only other hands it will go back to are Ron's." The DADA professor nodded obligingly and stepped outside the dorm room. Jared changed quickly and met him out in the common room.

They made their way to the Headmaster's office and saw that Professor Dumbledore was waiting for them. Jared took a seat so did Professor De Luca. "I have the case file," said Jared. "Shouldn't we wait until they get back?"

"I think it would be more prudent for us to take a look at this now," said Professor Dumbledore. Jared handed him the envelope. "This is heavy," observed the Headmaster as he opened it and started to leaf through the contents. "Your father spent a good three years hunting this man down."

"It started the year I started here," confirmed Jared. "My godfather might have taken the position as the new DADA professor to keep a closer eye on me now that I think of it. I remember one night on my first week here. I was so homesick, but at the same time horribly intimidated. My parents are tough acts to follow. Everyone was expecting greatness out of me immediately. I went into one of the halls to look at some of the trophies. Imagine seeing your father's name on a Quidditch plaque and thinking you had to match it. Uncle Harry found me. At first, I thought I was in big trouble because he was mad at me for wandering around in the dead of night, but then he mellowed out so suddenly. It was relief. Relief that nothing happened to me."

"It started prior to your start at Hogwarts," Professor Dumbledore corrected. "Magus had sent pictures of you and your mother outside your house in London. He knew where you two were at all times. He sent pictures of you and your mother to remind your father."

"Oh," said Jared as he visibly paled.

"This case consumed your father for three years." Professor Dumbledore looked up at Jared and looked closely at him. "You were the last victim according to this case file." He picked up a photograph that was taken two years ago in Jared's time and handed it him. "That was the final straw. Here's an account of how your father captured Magus."

Jared took the photo in his hand. It was him. It had been taken at the hospital. It must have been taken right after the attack. His lips were blue, while the rest of his skin was pale. He had bruising around his neck on one side, while the cut was on the other. He flipped it over and saw that his father had written, "Jared Ronald Weasley, 13. Survivor." Jared noticed that the first writing was handwritten, while the last word was printed out in capital letters. "I'm part of the case file," whispered Jared.

"The second to last part," said Professor Dumbledore. "Your father hunted him down to an old abbey and finished him off in a graveyard. Your father almost killed him, but brought him in. The case file concludes with the court proceedings and the outcome. Magus was sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban. The only reason why he was kept alive was because he never revealed where all the bodies were buried."

"He should have killed him when he had the bloody chance," said Jared softly. His natural accent came out and he sounded close to tears. He seemed to tremble. "I forgot about it. I didn't want to remember it."

"The blade that he used was coated in poison. A poison that would have killed a pureblood almost instantly, but lucky for you the cold water slowed the toxin as well as your Muggle blood. You had to undergo a full transfusion. Your blood was filtered out of your body and the toxin was taken out. Magus had a dagger that he attempted to kill your father with, but your father used it and stabbed him instead. It ended up not killing him, which means that Magus is probably a half-blood as well. That was how he was able to stop him."

"I don't understand," said Jared as his anger surged. "How could he go around killing Muggles and thinking that any Muggle born witch or wizard or half-blood inferior, when he's one, too? Who's he to decide who deserves to live or die? Look at my neck! This is permanent. If my parents could have gotten rid of it, they would have. It twitches from time to time."

"Hate is hardly ever logical. As for the twitch that's probably the toxin. You're suffering from some kind of relapse from it," said Professor Dumbledore.

Professor De Luca asked, "Did you ever have to take extra potions here and there, Jared?"

Jared nodded, "Yes. I had to go to Madame Pomfrey's everyday for the past two years to get some kind of potion. I tried to ask at first why and what it was, but my godfather said that it was because of the accident. What happened to me wasn't an accident. I can't believe this. They lied to me! My parents! My godfather! Even my best friends lied to me!" His voice echoed in the office. He was getting paler and paler.

"Did you stop taking that potion recently?" asked Professor De Luca.

"Eventually, I didn't have to go to the infirmary anymore to take it. I was given the potion to take on my own. But I didn't pack it when I was coming here. I left it back in my room in my parents' house. I've been fine for months now. But I must have started to relapse again."

"That's not in the file," said Professor Dumbledore. He got to his feet. "Take this all of this back and go to Madame Pomfrey's. I want you to give her a blood sample and tell her to give the results to me. I would say to forward it to your parents, but that wouldn't be a good idea."

"Thank you, Professor," said Jared as he got to his feet and walked out of the office. When the door closed, Professor De Luca asked, "Do you suppose he'll be telling his father about this?"

"Probably not," answered Professor Dumbledore.


AN: Jared is having some problems here. He hasn't really gotten fully cured from the poison and like most teenagers he thinks he's invisible. He's also pretty mad at his parents and Harry at this point. He didn't really tell Ron that he was mad about that, but this will probably keep him from telling Ron about the possible relapse.

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