A/N: Thank you for the reviews, glad you're enjoying this story!


Chapter 2

2031

Back in her own time, Terri sighed with relief. The lair seemed to be the same, books scattered everywhere, her father's teaching awards on the walls. See? You worried for no reason,she thought to herself as she went into the hallway. All you did was talk to your mom and aunt for two minutes. Really, how much damage could you have possibly -

"Oh. My. Gosh."

She'd arrived in the common area to find a totally unfamiliar space. All of her mother's homey touches were gone. Instead, the apartment looked like every other one she'd seen in Wiztech before residents decorated. There was a wooden table set, a worn couch, and a hearth for cooking since wizards didn't use stoves, or actually cook much at all. The home she'd left had been renovated to meet her mortal mother's standards. This...this wasn't her home. If not for the similar lair, she'd think the return spell had dropped her off in someone else's house.

What did I do?

Raw panic setting in, Terri ran for the door and bolted down the hallway towards the classroom where she'd last seen her brother. "Jay?" she screamed. Strangers often mistook the two older siblings for twins when they were addressed as "Jerry and Terri," and she preferred "Terri," so his nickname was created to avoid the mix up. Usually she only called him Jerry when he'd annoyed her somehow. "Jay!"

"Terri? What happened?"

She nearly crashed into her brother when he stepped out of the classroom, a puzzled expression on his face. "What's going on?" he demanded. "One minute Dad's teaching me a spell. The next...I don't even know, he just vanished."

"Thank goodness, you're still here!" she exclaimed as she hugged him tight. "Please don't be mad," she begged, tears already in her eyes. "I was so angry that you got to learn the time travel spell, I...I..."

Jay's eyes widened. "You got the book out of the lair and cast it yourself?" he guessed. When she nodded, ashamed, he glared at her. "And you didn't think that would be stupid? Or dangerous?"

"I just wanted to prove I could! I didn't mean to mess up time!" Terri insisted. While they both made their fair share of mistakes before, Jay was usually the one who worked out whatever problems they caused. Though not an exceptional student since school tended to bore him, particularly mortal studies, his quick logic always got them out of every rough situation.

Already, Jay's face had taken on that thoughtful expression he wore whenever he was solving a crisis. "We need to find Zeke and tell him what's going on," he declared. "Then go to Professor Crumbs. Maybe he can reset time."

Minutes later, after they'd located a bewildered Zeke who couldn't figure out why his friends suddenly didn't recognize him anymore, the Russo siblings burst into Professor Crumbs' office. He calmly listened to their tale, and when he didn't respond right away, Terri had to ask, "You know who we are, right?" After all, she often kept quiet when she didn't know what was going on to give the impression that she did.

Professor Crumbs chuckled. "Of course I do, Miss Russo," he assured her. "Trust me, after living here for centuries, nothing that happens in this castle escapes my notice."

The siblings let out a collective sigh of relief. "Then you can fix everything?" Zeke asked hopefully.

"Oh no, even I don't have that kind of power," Professor Crumbs informed them. "Time travel and alternate realities are a messy business." He then glanced at Terri. "I suggest you go back in time and undo what you did."

Jay frowned. "That doesn't sound like a good idea. What if she screws up the past even more?"

"If not, then you would need to find the Stone of Dreams," Professor Crumbs explained. "Maybe your parents have mentioned it. However, as that is not an easy task" He paused. "And I think you might better appreciate the extraordinary people you come from, Miss Russo, if you experience their history first hand."

That last remark made Terri give the old wizard a suspicious glance. "Something tells me you could fix all this with a wave of your hand, but you want me to learn some kind of lesson."

"Believe what you may," Professor Crumbs said with a chuckle.

Rather than question the professor's method further, Jay asked, "So, Terri and I will go back into the past, right? That's kind of cool."

"No," Professor Crumbs replied, much to each of the siblings' surprise. "Only your sister. The more wizards you send to a time when they don't belong, the more trouble they could potentially cause. And using magic to keep one wizard in the past as long as he or she needs is difficult enough."

"You mean I have to go alone?" Terri exclaimed. "I can't do this! I need Jay!"

"You do not have a choice, Miss Russo."

As Terri hugged her brothers good-bye, she tried to keep her fear in check. This had to be one of Professor Crumbs' infamous tests. He wouldn't send her back if there really was the risk of changing their reality forever, would he?

Terri stubbornly refused to answer that question while her professor began casting the time travel spell.


2011

"Grandma?"

As it turned out, the professor's spell put her in the past...after the Sub Station was already closed. She didn't have enough money for a hotel, even if she had thought to bring her wallet with her. Not sure what else to do, she'd walked around the area until she was exhausted, then passed out on the bench outside Waverly Sub Station. That was why she'd woken up disoriented, and when her eyes opened to a much-younger Theresa Russo staring back at her, the familiar term slipped out of her mouth.

"No, sweetie, I think you're confused," Theresa replied, but she tilted her head. "Though you do look like you could be my granddaughter. If, you know, I was old enough to have a granddaughter. Which I am definitely not."

Terri couldn't help but laugh. Yup that's my grandma, she thought. "Thanks, I think." She moved over when Theresa sat down on the bench next to her.

"So, what are you doing out here?" Theresa asked. "I wanted to...oh."

Before she could ask, she followed her grandmother's gaze, and realized they were both staring at Terri's wizard wand. She was wearing boots, so naturally she kept her wand there (another tip from her aunt), but overnight it fell out some. "Oh, that...uh..."

"You're a wizard. And you called me 'Grandma,'" Theresa began, her eyes wide. "Who are you?"

Wow. Busted, and I haven't even been in the past for twenty-four hours.

Unable to lie to her own grandmother, Terri nervously confessed, "My name is Terri Russo."

"Terri...short for Theresa?" Theresa asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. I am your granddaughter. From the future," Terri explained, which made Theresa gasp. "I, uh, messed up. More than I ever have. I'm here to fix something. But I don't know how, and... I don't have a place to stay." She felt tears form again, but she managed to hold them back.

Her grandmother stayed quiet for a long moment, shocked bewilderment frozen on her face. "How, uh..." she finally sputtered. "How do I..."

"Your name is Theresa Russo, your mother's name is Magdelena, your brother's name is Ernesto, husband's name is Jerry," Terri began. "Your children are wizards Justin, Alex and Max. You and Jerry met in Puerto Rico. He gave up his powers for you. You and Grandpa always fight about magic because you hate what it does to your family, but you love him and all of us anyway. You..."

"Okay, okay, mija," Theresa interrupted, overwhelmed. "I think I'm convinced."

Terri smiled. "You called me 'mija.'"

"Yes, I did," Theresa replied. The two hugged, both wiping tears from their eyes when they broke apart. She paused. "So, I know you're my namesake. What I don't know is who your parents are."

And there it is, Terri thought. She'd been expecting the question, from whoever first figured out her true identity. "I don't think that's a good idea," she replied, much to Theresa's disappointment. "I've already got enough problems, and telling you might mess up the future more."

Reluctantly, Theresa nodded. "You're probably right." She sighed, then glanced toward the Sub Station, where through the window they could see other family members inside. "Are you ready for them?"

Terri shook her head. She'd given this some thought, and reasoned that it would be even more dangerous for her parents and her dad's siblings to know she was a relative from the future. Surely, Aunt Alex would figure out who she belonged to in an hour. "About that," she replied. "I have an idea."


None of this makes any sense, Alex thought while she sat on the couch and looked through a magazine. She had a list of chores to do that Saturday, but at the moment she needed to figure out what exactly was going on with her best friend. She'd even woken up before noon because of her concern. First, she breaks up with Zeke. For no reason. Then she's not ready to move on?

Of course the obvious had occurred to Alex already, but she dismissed it. She wasn't in love with my brother. She crushed on him all those years since she didn't have any other prospects. There's no way she would ever break it off with Zeke because she had some feelings towards Justin again. That's just normal for her.

So did something happen I don't know about?

As she remembered her conversation the day before, Alex groaned. She could tell Harper had been in the right mood to finally confess what exactly was bothering her. And then that weird girl sitting next to them just had to cough.

Now she had to start the process all over again, find another way to make Harper talk.

"Alex!"

At her father's call, Alex sighed. "I'll do my chores later! I'm thinking!" she shouted.

"Family meeting! Now!"

"All right," Alex muttered. She brought her magazine with her as she went downstairs, surprised to see the exact weird girl from the day before standing with her mother. "Oh, you again," she said in greeting, which made the teen's face redden with embarrassment. She then paused, realizing how odd this situation was. "Wait, what's going on?"

Theresa stepped forward, a hand on the nervous girl's shoulder. "Well, everyone, this is your father's cousin, Terri. She's a wizard too."

"What, really?" Jerry asked, more surprised than anyone. He turned to the young wizard. "Who's granddaughter are you?"

There was a strange moment where Alex could've sworn both her mother and the new relative squirmed. "Your father's sister, Kate," Terri answered.

After a brief hesitation, Jerry nodded. "Oh, yeah. Her oldest son has a daughter who would be about your age now." He shook her hand. "Well, it's good to see you again. I think the last reunion was over ten years ago."

"Yeah, too long," Terri agreed. She then glanced at Alex and Harper. "I'm sorry about yesterday. I'm in some trouble, and I wasn't sure if I should introduce myself."

Concern on his face, Justin asked, "What kind of trouble?"

"It's kind of complicated, but I needed to leave home for a while," Terri explained. "I've always liked New York, then I remembered I had family here." Though the others seemed to buy it, Alex made a mental note to ask about the vague explanation later.

Max chuckled. "Sometimes I need to leave home too. Can't tell you how many times I hop on the train to Brooklyn and these guys never know." His parents quickly glared at him, but he pointed to Terri to distract them. "Hey, there's a new person! Focus on her!"

"So Terri, how long are you planning to be in town?" Jerry asked.

"A few days, maybe more," Theresa answered before Terri could. Then she gave Jerry a meaningful glare. "And she's staying here. She can sleep on the couch."

While the Russos and Harper took in the unexpected news, Alex shrugged. "Hey, as long as I don't have to share a room, I'm all for it." She went over to shake Terri's hand. "Welcome to the family."