Disclaimer: I'm too young to be Rowling so there is sadly no way Harry Potter is mine…

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A Matter Of Time

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Perseus didn't know what to think.

He knew, he was partly at fault for the mess they were in, but Eridanus wasn't willing to talk to him right now and Perseus knew that they needed to talk.

What about their future?!

Perseus knew that he was unreasonable, but he couldn't just cut of the fear of endangering the future. He had been an Unspeakable for quite some time and he simply couldn't shake the rules he had been forced to learn before he was actually allowed to work in the time room.

Do not change the past.

This had been the first and most important rule when it came to working with the room.

Yet, here, Perseus was.

He had gone further back in time than he should have ever attempted.

He had taken someone else with him.

And, even worse, he had changed time.

Maybe the worst was that Perseus actually slowly but surely stopped feeling guilty about it.

The more he talked to his new father, the more he talked to his new mother and uncle, the more he saw Eridanus as his brother and not just as the husband of his sister, the less he cared for what he had done.

"Perseus," Perseus turned and looked at Eridanus.

The other boy was pale… and unfamiliar.

Over the last few days, both Perseus and Eridanus's features had shifted to look more like their new parents – and not only Marius and Susanna, but also Erich Grey's.

It was disconcerting, but at the same time also soothing.

They weren't the same people they had been before they jumped anymore.

They had a family again.

They were teens again.

They were Blacks – and their features showed it.

Both of them had now sharper features and Perseus eyes had turned grey instead of the blue they had been. His hair was still red, even though it was now closer to Susanna's red than his previous one and his face itself looked slimmer, more like Erich Grey's than Percy Weasley's.

It was odd, and yet, oddly fitting. Somehow, Perseus felt good like he was now. It was odd, but he hadn't felt so good since the day he had lost his family – like he had found a reason to live again.

Eridanus, on the other hand had changed as well.

His features had turned sharper as well, his already slim face had gotten a bit longer, less heard-shaped and he had turned a bit paler while his black hair had turned even darker than before and was now curly. He looked a lot more Black than Potter, like before.

For a moment, Eridanus's green eyes flashed red.

"Done scrutinizing me, Perseus?" he asked, sounding a bit amused.

Perseus shrugged.

"It's… you're different," he said. "And it's not just the earring."

The other boy sighed and then reached for the earring to tuck on it.

"It's odd," he said and his face turned distant. "I know that I should feel upset. I know that I should still grieve… but, something has changed. I'm not actually upset about being here anymore. I feel… home – and I'm sure that in a few weeks I might even end up calling Marius and Susanna my parents without feeling odd about it."

"I know what you mean," Perseus agreed and he couldn't help but frown. "Do you think it's the ritual?"

He was surprised when his brother actually nodded decisively.

"I know it was the ritual," Eridanus said and when Perseus frowned at him. "I remember the ritual used before. It's to ensure that the new family members feel closer to their adoptive family."

Perseus frowned.

"What do you mean, you remember that?"

Eridanus sighed, sounding exhausted.

"I… inherited quite a lot of memories from my, well, my ancestors," Eridanus sighed. "It's… a mess. I remember the previous lives of all my ancestors, of all of Ekrizdis."

Perseus stared at his brother.

"Why?" he asked. "How?"

Eridanus just sighed.

"As far as I found out it's normal in the House of Ekrizdis," he sounded unhappy. "We're the nightmares of the magical world. We are those who ensure justice – and therefore we need to know how to use our abilities. Inheriting those memories just helps us to fulfil our duty in the end."

Perseus frowned.

"And you're just… alright with suddenly having strange memories in your mind?" he couldn't help but ask.

Eridanus shrugged.

"It… feels natural," he said with a shrug. "Just like wearing the earring feels natural or being part of the Blacks feels natural."

Perseus had to admit that he could at least relate to the last example.

"I'm sorry," he said before he could actually think about it.

Eridanus looked at him surprised.

"You're sorry?" he repeated and Perseus flushed. It had been something he had thought about since he had seen the way Eridanus had been treated in Gringotts – no, since the ritual.

This all, this whole mess, had been his fault. He had been the one who wanted to do the first ritual, so everything that had gone wrong in the end had been his fault as well.

Something of his thoughts must have been shown on his face because Eridanus narrowed his eyes.

"It wasn't your fault, Perce," he said. "Yes, you decided on the ritual, but in the end, we both got ourselves in the mess we're currently in."

Eridanus send him a crooked smile.

"And you have to admit, it's a great mess, this time around."

Perseus grimaced in agreement.

"What do we do now?" he asked. "I mean, we're teens again, we will go to Hogwarts next school year… but at the same time, we're Unspeakables. Ghost Unite."

Eridanus shrugged.

"Double identity?" he proposed. "It might be fun to kick some Death Eaters' arses, after all."

Perseus immediately opened his mouth to object, but his brother was faster.

"Oh, come on, Perce," he said. "It's not as if we can keep the time line! So, get over it and we'll do our best!"

Perseus glared.

"And what exactly is our best?" he asked unhappily.

The answer was a blood-thirsty grin from his brother.

"We go out and judge the guilty," he answered and there seemed to be a weight on his words that Perseus had never heard before.

It stopped him dead in his tracks.

"Eridanus," he said slowly and his brother raised an eyebrow at him. "I think, we should go and talk to our Uncle."

The other boy frowned.

"Why?" he asked coolly.

"Because obviously, you want to go out and judge people!" Perseus immediately replied.

For a moment, Eridanus stood there, stunned.

Then he shrugged.

"No," he said. "Not in that way, yet. But I also can't just go to Hogwarts and do nothing. I won't survive it. Hell, even repeating every dull lesson I ever had might kill me – not even talking about boredom."

"We're also going to attend lessons we haven't attended before," Perseus pointed out, thinking about their Ancient Runes training.

"But not enough to keep us busy," Eridanus immediately replied. "And this time around, you won't be Prefect as well. Hell, we might not even be Gryffindor!"

For a moment, Perseus thought that over.

"Might be for the best," he said finally. "Gryffindor… it was interesting, but… it's not me anymore – and it's also not you anymore as well."

Eridanus agreed with a sigh.

For a moment, Perseus thought the whole thing over.

Then he sighed and gave in.

"Unspeakables, Field Operatives," he agreed and closed his eyes. "Let's just hope that we're not called in while we're in class."

Eridanus shrugged.

"There's a reason why Field Operatives all own a time turner," he said. "I bet, there are two under our name in the Department of Mysteries for us as well. We will just have to get them before we are called on as Unspeakables for the first time. And getting them shouldn't be a problem considering that Uncle and our Father are currently getting us ready for our placement tests for Hogwarts."

And Eridanus was right.

Two months and a placement test later, they were not only admitted at Hogwarts for the coming year but also proud owners of their very own time turners.

Perseus wasn't happy.

He was sure, they damned themselves.

But then, he guessed that it was way too late to complain. The future would happen, after all – and no matter what, he knew they would be called in as Unspeakables to fight Voldemort. With their past and expertise, it was only a matter of time…

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Just a short look into Percy and his slow acceptance of the train wreck their life turned into.

I hope you liked it.

Ebenbild