Temporal Flux

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Time's Up

Things were worse off than Jared would have predicted. Madame Pomfrey was so alarmed after she had finished doing an analysis of his blood that she was insistent that Jared stay until classes started up again. Jared reluctantly agreed. Professor De Luca just sent back a message that the case file had arrived.

Madame Pomfrey sent the results back to Professor Dumbledore, while Professor McGonagall dropped by to see to Jared. She must have been told about the situation because she kind enough not to ask any questions. She merely told him that if things got too much for him that he had an excuse not to go to class and that she would cover for him. That only served to make Jared more anxious because it seemed so much more serious.

Jared got well enough to get out of the infirmary and return to the dorms. Apparently, the kind of blood poisoning he had hadn't occurred to anyone else yet. What he didn't know was that Snape and Dumbledore were looking further into it. Jared was given nothing in the meantime. He was able to get enough rest and felt safer in the infirmary than he did in the dorms alone. Madame Pomfrey kept him far from a window at his request and sealed off that corner with the curtain.

He had heard Malfoy come in with some kind of injury from practicing Quidditch, but other than that nothing else. When he was released back to the dorms, he checked his assignments again and waited for everyone else to come back. During this time, he had time to think about what Ron had said about keeping himself. It just made Jared angrier when he thought about it.

The first creature to greet him when they had returned was Crookshanks who immediately came up to Jared and rubbed against his legs. "Hey, Crookshanks. It's been a while since I've seen you," he whispered. He resisted the urge to pick up Crookshanks. "It's good to see all of you. I hope you enjoyed the rest of your holiday." It almost came out mechanical.

"Happy New Year, Jared," greeted Hermione as she walked up to him. She immediately noticed that something was wrong with him. No one could ever accuse Hermione's maternal instincts. "You look kind of pale. Are you all right?"

"I've been staying up late," answered Jared. He couldn't really stay mad at her. "So, how did the rest of your holiday go?"

"Nothing much," answered Ron.

Harry added, "We finished the assignments. No thanks to you, but Hermione saved us."

Jared smirked. "Of course. What about you, Ginny?"

"Things got a little boring after you left," she admitted. She looked at him a little more closely. "Hermione's right. You do look a bit peaky. Are you sure you're all right?"

Jared nodded as he picked up Crookshanks. Hermione didn't even try to stop him as he continued to pay more attention to the feline than to anyone else. He settled on the sofa with Crookshanks on his lap. "I was five when my family's pet died. I was so upset about it. My dad offered to get me another cat, but I said that it wouldn't be the same. Things didn't improve until he brought home a little African Gray hatchling that was found in an illegal animal raid. I was ten. It was just a baby, too. My dad found a way for me to keep him. He's my familiar, which is just right for a wizard. Those things live for like a hundred years easy."

"What's his name?" asked Ginny.

"Paolo," answered Jared. "I hope that my parents are looking after him."

"I'm sure they are," said Ron. He, too, was noticing that Jared didn't look any better than he did before.

Hermione watched silently. She looked more closely at the way that Jared held on to Crookshanks. He seemed to know exactly how to hold him. Hermione looked closely at Jared's hands, his fingers. She smiled at him. "Jared, why don't you just keep Crookshanks with you for right now? He seems to like you a whole lot. And you must miss home in America for a bit. How were your relatives?"

"They were all right, but you're right. I did miss my parents," answered Jared.

Everyone else was gathering back at the dorms and soon dinner rolled around. He went to dinner with them and hoped that Malfoy and his cronies wouldn't say anything about Jared being there. He had to make sure that they wouldn't say that he was there for Christmas. He sat next to Ron who was next to Hermione. He kept to himself and was withdrawn.

It wasn't until everyone else had gone to bed that Jared was able to talk to Ron and Harry about the case file. When everyone else was fast asleep, Jared took the envelope and started down the stairs with Ron and Harry following behind him. When they got to the table, he merely dropped the envelope and let it slide to them.

Ron was the first one to open it and it was in order. Jared didn't say much as they read through it. Harry looked at some of the pictures and nearly reeled back from them. "You do learn how to take really good notes, Ron," he pointed out.

"A good thing, too," said Ron as he read the file closely. "God, there isn't a word to really describe Magus other than disgusting."

"Jared," said Harry softly. He looked at Jared who was sitting absolutely still. "Are you sure you're all right? I mean being alone here must have done something to you."

"I had time to think of a few things," he said softly. Harry glanced at Ron. Jared continued, "Like how you all lied to me for three years about what really happened to me. All of you, even you, Harry. You even got my best friends to lie to me. To keep this from me." He got up. "I'm going to bed. Do whatever you what."

"Jared," said Ron as he got up. "Don't go like this."

"I'm really tired, Dad," retorted Jared. "I have to get some rest."

Ron was about to go after him when Harry placed the picture of Jared on the table in his viewing. Ron froze when he saw it. He reached out and touched it. "He looks dead in this, Harry," he said. "I can't let anything happen to him. Not even here." He pulled out Hermione's diary and took out the picture that he had been looking at from time to time ever since he got the diary back. Ron put the picture of baby Jared with his mother next to the picture of a nearly dead Jared.

"I know what he's going through," said Harry. "I know what it's like to have secrets kept from me. Things that are important to my life aren't just told to me, but I can see why it's sometimes it's for the best."

Ron flipped to that part of the case file. He noticed that it was handwritten and that as it went along, he must have gotten tired, but he had done it all in one seating. Ron could picture himself sitting next to his son's bed, writing this report for the case file, watching every breath. Ron read in greater detail how the treatment for the poison was done. The whole thing sounded very clinical, professional to start with but eventually dwelled down to a very personal account.

The next part of the case file was an arrest report given by himself. Ron read how he had done it. He had gone toe-to-toe with Magus, knowing that he if he had been stabbed or cut, he would have died. It didn't matter. He had do whatever it took to keep his son safe. The arrest date indicated that it was a day before Jared had regained consciousness. To be frank, Ron would have never believed that he had the courage to do something like that, but seeing Jared made him believe it.

"There you have it," said Harry. "You didn't kill him though."

"And I don't intend to," said Ron firmly. "He killed lots of people. If I kill him, then I'm not any better. You had the right idea before Harry about not letting Sirius and Remus kill Wormtail. I wouldn't give him that satisfaction. Let's go to sleep."

"Sure," agreed Harry.

When they had gotten to the room, Jared had already drawn his curtains. Ron went up to the window and not to his surprise; he saw that the raven was perched on a tree branch, watching them. He looked straight at it for a while before it flew away. Ron went to bed without drawing the window curtains closed, leaving the room bathed in moonlight.

Classes resumed the following morning, so everyone was up ready early. All the assignments were turned in and everything seemed to settle for the moment. Jared was still rather sore at Ron and Harry, which Ron couldn't quite understand. Ron chalked it up to Jared taking after his mother, not knowing that Jared's ability to hold a grudge came from him.

Hermione was actually quite concerned about Jared's behavior towards her best friends. Although, Jared was still perfectly nice and sweet to her, which was a mystery to her. Ron and Harry were still trying to get him to talk to them, but he had refused how he was managing to keep it up was really a marvel to Hermione. She did observe from time to time during the first week back that Jared had gone to see Madame Pomfrey.

When Jared didn't show up for a DA meeting, Hermione voiced her concerns to Harry and Ron, "I saw Jared coming out of the infirmary today. Is it me or is he getting worse?"

"He was coming out of the infirmary?" asked Ron as he glanced at her.

Hermione nodded, "Do you want me to find out what's going on with him since he's obviously mad at the both of you for something that I don't know about?"

"Yeah," agreed Ron reluctantly. It was Jared's idea in the first place not to tell her who he really was, so Ron was sure that Jared would keep his identity a secret. Ron also wanted to know why Jared was looking so ill. "Just be careful, all right?"

"Be careful about what?" asked Hermione. "Jared wouldn't hurt me. Even you should know that by now. And I don't think he's interested in me."

"I know that," said Ron, understanding her meaning. "I just don't want you upsetting him anymore than he is already."

"Now who's fault is it that he's upset?" retorted Hermione.

Harry chose not to say anything. To him, this was an argument between parents. Come to think of it, Jared had gone out of his way earlier to cause Ron a lot of agitation. Harry just listened to him and wondered if his parents would have been having any discussions like this one. Harry shifted uncomfortably as Hermione awaited Ron's answer who was sort of looking a way from her. "Does it really matter who's fault it is?" asked Harry, breaking the silence. "Maybe, he's not mad at all. He might be acting this way because he doesn't feel well. He's not going to tell Ron and me because he doesn't feel like it. He might tell you, Hermione, depending on how you ask."

"Where is Jared?" asked Ron, noticing that he wasn't there. He looked at his sister expectantly, but she was in the middle of reviewing her textbook. "Ginny," he prodded. "Where is Jared?"

"Jared?" she asked, barely looking up. "Oh. I haven't seen him in here."

"He might have gone to Madame Pomfrey again," said Hermione as she got to her feet. "I'll go and get him. You two wait here." She didn't allow them to say anything and the common room was too crowed for either of them to talk to each other about the situation.

Hermione had a bad feeling about the whole thing. She didn't know exactly why she was so concerned about Jared's well being, but he looked so sick that she had to do something. He was definitely hiding something more than he normally was. There was always an air of mystery surrounding him. She made her way to the infirmary and stopped at the doorway as she heard Jared talking with Madame Pomfrey.

"It's just getting worse," said Madame Pomfrey. "You may have to stay here if you feel any worse. I wish you would explain to me why you're so ill. I'm looking at your blood test, and it seems that the problem is in your blood."

Jared said, "I know. I don't want to stay here. I've had my fill of hospitals, Madame Pomfrey. I spent weeks at St. Mungo's before." He sounded frustrated as if he had had the same conversation with the nurse before.

"You should have brought the potion you were taking with you or at least the formula for it. I might have been able to make it here," chided Madame Pomfrey.

"I never had a relapse before. I thought I didn't need it," he said. He then said impatiently, "Can I go now?"

"Sure, but come back. Professor Dumbledore and Professor Snape may have something for you. The Headmaster is a renowned alchemist. He might come up with something yet," answered Madame Pomfrey. "Now, if you feel any worse, just come back here and stay over night again."

"Thank you, Madame Pomfrey."

Hermione's mind was reeling at what she had heard. She quickly dashed far enough down the hall so that he wouldn't noticed. She saw that he wasn't walking back down towards the tower. Instead, Jared walked purposefully towards the exit of the class. Classes were done for the day, but he was headed outside. She went right after him, knowing full well where he was headed.

It was still cold out and the snow threatened to fall again. Yet, Jared pressed on until he made it to the tree. "Jared," called out Hermione. "Jared!"

He turned around and seemed startled. "Hermione, what are you doing out here?" he asked.

"You're not all right, are you? I went to go find you," she answered. She felt guilt about listening in on a private conversation. "I heard you talking to Madame Pomfrey, but there's something I don't understand. Okay, there are a lot of things I don't understand. First off, why did you just tell Madame Pomfrey that you were in St. Mungo's before when this is the first time you've ever been here? Have you been lying to everyone the whole time?" Her eyes were penetrating. Only she could make him feel guilty like this.

He felt weak as he leaned against the tree for support. "I can't explain it all to you." He was breathing hard. He looked at the lake and felt the air chill him to the bone. "But you're not wrong about it not being any of your business because it is. Partly."

"Jared, just tell me what's happening to you? You look so sick," pleaded Hermione gently. "Just tell me what's wrong."

Jared felt his neck tingling. "It hurts," he moaned. "It's burning." He was heaving. Hermione reached out her hand and lifted his chin up slightly. She could see the scar along his neck, but it wasn't a scar any longer. It was now red and it looked like it blood was going to break through. His eyes were nearly closed. His body felt heavy.

Hermione pulled her hand back and that was when she saw the blood on her fingertips. "Oh my God," she whispered. "We have to get you back to the infirmary."

"Mum," whispered Jared. He opened his eyes for a moment. He saw the Raven diving down. "Mum! Look out!" he shouted in horror. Hermione turned around and saw a man standing in front of them. She instinctively threw herself between the man and Jared.

"Foolish boy," whispered the man. "You came back in a time where your father is incapable of defending you."

"Stay away from him!" shouted Hermione as she drew her wand. "I won't let you hurt him!"

The man walked up to her. "You are exactly who I want right now." He pointed his wand at her. "Come with me now and nothing will happen to him."

"Hermione, no! Don't do it," gasped Jared.

Hermione glanced back at him. "Don't worry. Everything is going to be all right." She paused. "I understand now." She turned her attention back to the man. "You gave me your word that you won't hurt him." She walked up to him as she ran her fingers through one part of her hair, letting something drop to the ground.

Jared was getting weaker and weaker. "No, don't go," he whimpered as everything went dark.

Ron and Harry were working on their assignments and had lost track of time. It wasn't until they came across a question they couldn't answer that they realized how long Hermione was gone. "Harry, do you have the answer to question eleven?"

"No, don't you?"

They looked at each other, and then Ron reached for Hermione's assignment. She had been ahead off them, but she had stopped at number ten. "Hermione's been gone for a while now," pointed out Harry. Ron was already on his feet. "Yeah, let's go and look for them, Ron."

Ron was already out the door as Harry followed closely behind them. "I should have gone with her," he said as he took fast strides towards the infirmary. "Something's happened."

"You don't know that," insisted Harry. "I'm sure they're all right."

When they got to the infirmary, the found Madame Pomfrey doing some paperwork at her desk. She looked up at them as the walked in. "What seems to be the trouble?" she asked.

"Where's Hermione and Jared?" asked Ron.

"I haven't see Miss Granger all day, but I just had a consolation with Mr. Blake," answered Madame Pomfrey. "He left ten minutes ago."

"Did you see which way he went?" asked Ron.

Madame Pomfrey shook her head, "No, I'm afraid not, Mr. Weasley."

Ron didn't say anything as he dashed out of the infirmary. Harry said very quickly, "Thank you, Madame Pomfrey. Ron! Wait up!"

Ron didn't know where he was going. He felt panicked as he looked around. "Ron! Hang on a second," said Harry forcefully. "I've got the map. Let's go someplace where no one can see us, so we can find out exactly where they are." Ron nodded and followed Harry into a more private part of the hall. Ron looked around to make sure that no one was listening to them. Harry pointed his wand at the map and said, "I am serious up to no good."

The map immediately began to show and they looked at it. "They're not in the castle. They're no where in the castle," said Ron. "Where the bloody Hell are they?"

Harry looked at the map. "They're outside. Jared's out by the tree by the lake. Wait…I can't tell where Hermione is."

"Let's go and get Jared. He might know where she's gone," said Ron. He immediately started for outside as Harry said, "Mischief managed." He folded up the map and followed Ron out of the castle. Ron started running full tilt as soon as they were outside. Harry could only run after him.

Ron stopped cold as he saw Jared lying face up in the snow. There was some blood as Ron walked up slowly and got down to him. "What happened?" he whispered. He saw something lying on the snow. It was one of the combs that Ron had given Hermione for Christmas and there were some errant black feathers. He picked up one of them and the comb. Harry stood still, holding his breath as Ron reached his hand out and check Jared's pulse. "He's alive." He sounded somewhat relieved. "Harry, help me get him up."

Harry nodded and came on the other side to help support Jared. "He took her," managed Jared. "She's gone. Time is going to really run out now."

Ron stopped and said, "We'll find her in time." He tried to sound sure of himself. He and Harry had to get Jared to the infirmary.

"You don't get it," whispered Jared. He didn't look up at Ron, but something else. "My hand's fading."

Harry looked at Ron. "He's getting lighter," he observed. "The blood stains that was on your clothes are gone. He's right. Something's happening to Hermione."

Ron shifted all of Jared's weight over to Harry. "Harry, get Jared into the infirmary. Give me the map. I have to go and find her. You stay with him. Go! Now!"

Ron didn't give Harry much of a choice because he was already leaving before he had a chance to say anything. Harry felt the weight of Jared against his shoulder. He could feel it changing from lighter to heavy. He could feel the life fading from him. Harry used all the strength he had to keep going back into the castle.

Time was now really running out.


AN: By the time Jared is attacked, Professor Dumbledore would be dead. Jared's in real trouble and so is Hermione. Ron is about to go into a fight that he's not prepared for. He's going into this with two lives to fight for other than his. This marks it towards the climax and the story is ending soon.

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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.