Chapter 1: Into the fire

Harry Potter and Stargate do not belong to me. No copyright infringement is intended.

Newly inaugurated President Hayes stared tiredly out the window behind his desk in the Oval Office. As he watched the sunset the graying man considered the two diametrically opposed worlds he had recently learned of. The first new world had been exposed by General Francis Maynard. The dark-skinned, no nonsense, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff had exposed a world of aliens, technology beyond comprehension, and dangers abound. It had been all he could do to keep from resigning when he considered the headaches he was already dealing with over the whole thing.

The second new reality he was thrust into had been an almost comical in how distinctly opposite it was to that of the Stargate Program. When the portrait of Thomas Jefferson began speaking to him on his first night in office Henry had simply blinked at it. After having sat through a briefing on the Stargate Program and alien technology his mind instantly assumed this was some new covert communication method. It wasn't until Jefferson said something about the Secretary for Magical Affairs that he began to question his own conclusions.

It turned out that Gary Dauthmoore, a man President Hayes vaguely recalled seeing on occasion around Washington, was in fact this Secretary. Magic was real and apparently regulated, as much as anything was, by the governments of the world. Hayes sat through Dauthmoore's briefing on the reality of magic with the same good natured appearance he had given General Maynard. However, he had only been half paying attention after he suddenly got a mental image of a Gandalf-like figure holding a conversation with a little grey alien.

“It was my first day,” he muttered quietly. “They really should've given me a day.”

Henry sighed and turned around in his chair to face his file-covered desk. It seemed that the Stargate Program and its universe of details would occupy far more of his time and thoughts than the magical world. Dauthmoore had made it exceptionally clear that the Department of Magical Affairs only interacted with the non-magical departments when absolutely necessary. The President at first had been wary of such an autonomous entity, but now after delving further into the world of secrets that was Stargate Command he thought autonomy was an outstanding idea.

His mind drifted to his recent appointment of Dr. Elizabeth Weir as the head of the SGC. The lifetime anti-military diplomat had been the last candidate that anyone else would have thought of, but he knew she would be perfect. The woman had a personality that allowed her to excel in International Relations and Diplomacy, but also a backbone of steel that could not be budged when necessary. She was exactly he type of civilian the Stargate Program needed at its helm in the event it ever became public.

“What a nightmare that would, will, be…may it happen in eight years,” he thought to himself as he looked over yet another report on Earth's latest enemy: the Goa'uld Anubis.

The more he read about the semi-ascended Goa'uld the less he understood or liked. The entire concept of Ascension still sounded a bit implausible to him. The problem with flat-out scoffing at it though was the fact that one of the SGC's top personnel, Daniel Jackson, had once done it. That was a file, and a headache, he was all too glad to put aside.

When Hayes had first learned of the wraith-like state of Anubis it had sparked a memory of something he had read elsewhere. Imagine his shock when he realized he had read something similar in one of the files that Gary Dauthmoore had left him. The idea that a solution to the technology-filled problems of the Stargate Program could come from the Magical world had seemed ludicrous at first. He had reread the file and still couldn't believe it. Henry was positive there were details missing; after all the events described had taken place in England.

President Hayes' second meeting with the Secretary of Magical Affairs was far different from his first. The man was surprised, to say the least, when the President granted him security clearance of the highest muggle level. In a childish way Henry enjoyed getting to be the one to shock the Secretary with a world-changing briefing this time. That enjoyment only escalated when he further flabbergasted Dauthmoore by explaining his curiosity over a boy and Dark Lord from England.

Now, as the President's mind turned back to the present he wondered exactly how the recruitment of Harry Potter was going. His slightly weathered and lightly tanned face pulled into a grin as he made a mental note to call Dr. Weir in the morning. “She's had a whole day and a half to settle in after all,” he thought with a slightly dark humor.

Elizabeth Weir stood amid a veritable sea of boxes and packing foam with a sense of growing frustration. Somewhere in the room was a ringing phone, but damn if she could find it under all this mess. With a sigh she resumed the hasty shuffle of boxes, folders, frames, and foam to find the offending device. She muttered to herself as she repeatedly brushed her dark brown hair from her eyes as it impeded her hunt.

“Ahha,” she cried triumphantly as she moved aside a stack of reports from SG-4. However, as she reached for the handset the phone stopped ringing. Her eyes narrowed at it as though the entire situation was a plot of some sort. Luckily her slightly paranoid frustration was quickly sapped away as a knock on her door refocused her mind.

“Come in,” she ordered while now moving the mess that had covered her phone off of her chair. She couldn't help but let a sigh escape. This was getting out of hand.

“Dr. Weir, Major Davis is here to see you. We tried to call but…” Airman Harriman announced as he poked his head in the door.

“Yes, I was having a bit of moving-day troubles. Please, send him in Walter,” she replied with an exasperated grin.

Nodding the Airman disappeared from the partially open doorway. Elizabeth resumed her shuffle and soon managed to actually clear her chair enough that it could be sat in. Perhaps not the greatest accomplishment one could hope for at the SGC, but she was happy with it for now.

“Dr. Weir,” a mild voice called from the doorway drawing her attention. She looked up with her usual smile and held out a hand to the Major.

“You must be Major Davis. After speaking so often on the phone it's nice to meet you.”

“Likewise ma'am,” replied the Major with his own grin as they shook hands.

Elizabeth looked around the cluttered office and her smile became hesitant. “Perhaps we should take this into the briefing room. That is unless it should remain totally private?”

“No ma'am, the briefing room would be fine.”

The two exited the office by the side door and soon found themselves comfortably seated at the large conference table. Major Davis opened his briefcase and removed two file folders.

“As you and the President requested I visited Mr. Potter yesterday.” The Major accompanied his statement by sliding the first of the folders across the table to Dr. Weir. “He was understandably confused at first about why the Air Force was approaching him.”

“I can believe it. People don't usually receive unexpected visits from the military if they or a family member aren't in the service themselves.”

David nodded. “I'm afraid the confusion wasn't helped much when we told him that we needed his help.”

Elizabeth nodded in understanding. “Usually a program like this is going to only be looking for the top specialists in their fields. While he's certainly got a wide breadth of knowledge he's not remarkable in any field,” she replied while giving the signed disclosure documents in the folder a glance.

“He said something very similar. As you requested I tried to gloss over exactly what we had in mind for him. I simply told him that as a member of…his community…and someone skilled in science and technology he would be an asset to us.”

“Excellent Major. The dirtier details I'd like to explain myself.”

“Yes ma'am.”

“How did the briefing go? Did he seem to accept what you were telling him? I know it can be a lot to take in,” she inquired mostly out of her own curiosity.

“Actually that's something I wanted to discuss with you ma'am. Do you know if the…that is, his community, has any sort of records of the Stargate's existence?” There was not small hint of confusion in the Major's voice as he asked the question.

Weir's eyebrows furrowed a bit in thought. “As far as I know they don't, but that isn't saying a lot Major. Everything I've learned about them from the Secretary indicates that they keep more secrets than the SGC and have been doing so since the Dark Ages. There is honestly no way to know without asking directly. That said, I honestly believe the Secretary at least had no knowledge what-so-ever about the Stargate before the President briefed him. Why do you ask?”

Davis' eyes narrowed slightly and his face took on an edgy and confused appearance. “When I began the briefing I started with the discovery of the Stargate in Giza. We showed Mr. Potter the photograph of Dr. Langford and his daughter in front of the Stargate.”

Elizabeth nodded as she recalled seeing the same photograph at her briefing.

“The moment he saw that picture he got a strange look in his eyes and when I mentioned the word Stargate…”

Dr. Weir's frowned and leaned forward, folding her hands and resting them and her forearms on the table. “Go on.”

“It was like a word association game ma'am. I said Stargate and he almost instantly replied with something that sounded like Latin to me. 'Astria Porta' I believe is what he said,” replied the Major in a slightly perplexed tone.

The two sat in silence for a few moments and they pondered the mystery. Finally, Elizabeth spoke up but it was clear she wasn't sure of her words. “We can only assume that his community, the branch in Europe perhaps, does indeed have some sort of legend or myth that can correlate to the Stargate. It stands to reason since they would have been just as much under the rule of the Goa'uld thousands of years ago as the rest of humanity. With such a small community I can see how legends might have survived where they didn't amongst the majority of people on Earth.”

Again the new head of the SGC paused before asking, “Did anything else about his reaction seem off?”

Major Davis nodded, but it was clear he was still unsure. “Mr. Potter was, I believe, genuinely surprised by the rest of the briefing,” the obviously confused man replied. “I don't know what else it could be ma'am, but your explanation seems the better than anything I've figured out.”

Weir nodded. She was about to ask another question when the Major slid the second folder across to her. “Once the briefing was concluded I explained to him that I was there to recruit him as a civilian consultant. As usual the invitation to join the SGC was jumped on.”

This statement broke the somber mood and both the Major and Dr. Weir grinned.

“So when will Mr. Potter be joining us Major?”

“He requested two days to put some affairs in order. He should be here day after tomorrow.”

“Excellent. Thank you Major. I'm sure Mr. Potter is going to be a valuable asset in our fight against Anubis,” she stated while glancing at her watch. “If you'll excuse me, I believe SG-1 is going to be here momentarily. We have news about some rogue NID activity.”

“Of course ma'am.”

As the Major repacked his briefcase and made his way out of the briefing room by way of the staircase Dr. Weir remained seated. Her thoughts were on the real reason the President wanted Harry Potter at the SGC. She still found it hard to believe what she had read, but the President assured her of its veracity.

A fourteen year old boy had defeated a man who couldn't die. She wasn't sure how destroying a seemingly immortal wizard corresponded to being able to aid in destroying Anubis, but she'd take any help she could get.

…Two days later…

It had been a whirlwind two days for the former savior of Magical Britain. Making arrangements to sub-rent his apartment had been the easiest of his to-do list, and explaining his new job to Sirius had been the hardest. Telling his Godfather that he had an exciting new job in Colorado, but not saying anything more, had been a disaster. The man had, to put it lightly, gone into his overprotective and suspicious mode immediately after the first “I can't say”.

Harry had finally managed to talk the Animagus down, but neither had been totally happy with the way the conversation ended. It was the first time that Harry's secrets had truly come between the elder wizard and himself, and he was positive he didn't like the feeling. The two had parted with Harry promising to floo or apparate over with his new address and contact information once he had set it up. All in all the only bright spot in the conversation had been Sirius' announcement that Harry living in Colorado would allow them to finally try Skiing.

Packing was a pain even with magic and Harry was glad he had never really been a packrat. He was able to box everything and shrink it in time and eventually he was ready to depart his home in Texas. While he was excited about his new job and living someplace different he had to admit that the change of climate was less than appealing. When Sirius and he first moved to the United States they could live anywhere and Harry was given the choice. “Somewhere warm,” had been his snap-response.

Years of living in the warm Texas weather had not only given him a nice tan, but spoiled him horribly. He had barely even seen snow in his years in the U.S. and now he was moving to an area known for it. Harry was not one to complain, however, and merely chalked it up to one of the few drawbacks of the job. If a moody Sirius and snow were the only down-sides to the job he would be ecstatic. Yet, Harry knew his luck and fully expected there to be entire sides to the whole offer he had yet to learn about.

Sometimes Harry hated being right.

Now, Harry sat alone at the large table in the briefing room on level twenty seven of Stargate Command. Scattered across the table before him were dozens of file folders in various states of disarray. A forgotten cup of tea lay half hidden under an ill-shuffled stack of photographs and somewhere there was half of a sandwich missing in action. None of this mattered to him, however, as his eyes were firmly glued to the contents of the folder in his lap.

When he had first arrived on the base he had spent nearly half the day going through security checks, security briefings, and a security health screening by the medical staff. It was all a bit overdone he thought at the time, but after reading just the first handful of briefing reports he understood. Finally, he had been escorted by one of the enlisted men to the briefing room where dozens of boxes sat waiting for him.

“Dr. Weir is unfortunately tied up with an emergency situation at the moment. She's requested that you start reviewing these files in the meantime,” the Airman had explained when he noticed Harry's confused look.

A woeful and wide-eyed stare at the mound of boxes was the wizard's only response other than a disheartened, “Oh.”

The prospect of sitting in one spot reading so much did not appeal to Harry at first, but that had all changed soon enough. It was unbelievable the amount of knowledge, and danger, that the SGC had accumulated in only seven years. Of all the mission reports he had been provided, however, his attention was always drawn to those involving the Ancients and their technology. Ever since his initial briefing by Major Davis five days ago he felt a strong urge to learn everything the Stargate Program knew about the mysterious and forgotten race.

That desire had only grown by immeasurable levels when he happened across a photo taken of the Ancient's written language. Though he couldn't read the script he knew instantly that it was the same language as the Chorus. He had let slip a sigh at the discovery. It had been one thing to learn to understand the spoken language, but now he was going to have to learn the whole package or his curiosity would kill him.

Two days had passed with him doing nothing but immersing himself in the reports. Harry now sat reviewing the latest mission statements about a rogue NID cell and a Goa'uld-human hybrid dated just the day before he had arrived on the base. Every report he had reviewed in relation to the Goa'uld made him feel ill, and though he considered it a little illogical, angry. The parasitic race had amassed far too much power in the galaxy, but he was proud to know it was Earth that had begun to shatter their stranglehold.

In his totally focused state he failed to notice the woman enter the Briefing room from the attached office. She stood grinning at him for a moment, hands folded in front of her, before clearing her throat to get his attention. Harry's head jerked up to look at her and for a moment it was obvious he had forgotten where he was.

She smiled at him. “Mr. Potter I presume?”

Offering his own, slightly embarrassed, wry grin; Harry sat the folder on the table and stood. A quick stretch of his muscles preceded his moving toward the woman.

“Sorry, I tend to get a bit focused at times. You must be Dr. Weir.”

“That I am. It's a pleasure to meet you,” she replied lightly and shook the hand he offered. “It's nice to meet the only face around here newer than mine.”

Harry raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

The brunette chuckled and offered a smile. “I only took command of the SGC about a week ago. So, if you ever get lost and see me wondering around don't ask for directions because we're most likely in the same boat.”

Harry couldn't help but laugh. “Reminds me of my first year at boarding school,” he replied. “My best mate and I kept trying to follow one another to our classes not realizing neither of us knew where to go.”

Elizabeth chuckled. “Please, why don't you join me in my office? I'd like to discuss your role here at the SGC,” she said with a gesture to the office she had just come out of.

Nodding his agreement he followed the dark haired woman into the office, closing the door behind himself. Settling into the comfortable leather chair in front of her desk as she took her seat he waited for her to begin. He was interested to hear what she had to say as he had yet to really get a clear answer on what his role at the SGC was to be or why she wanted him to read so many briefing reports.

“First, I understand that Major Davis gave you the full background briefing on the history of the SGC and the major players so to speak.”

“Yes ma'am. I haven't had the pleasure to meet any of the famous names so far, but it has seemed a bit busy around here since I arrived.”

“Yes it has, but we'll get to that in a moment. I'm sure you're curious as to why we specifically sought you out. I know that Major Davis didn't provide you much detail other than your…unique…qualifications. Oh, and I am fully aware of your background.”

Harry nodded in understanding while he idly wondered if the U.S. government told everyone about the magical world. “I have to admit I'm curious.”

“You've had a chance to read over the mission reports from the past seven years. I'm sure you've read about our encounters with races that possessed abilities beyond those of average humans.”

Again, Harry nodded his affirmation. The reports about the Nox and Oma Desala especially interested him.

“Not long ago the U.S. disclosed the Stargate's existence to what is now being called the International Oversight Committee. During that disclosure the allied nations present were less than pleased with the total control the U.S. military had over the Stargate. Recently when President Hayes took office, it was decided that certain additions and changes needed to be made to the program. We realized that a member of the magical community could give us an invaluable insight into the unique abilities of these other races.”

Eyes widening slight at the implications Harry couldn't help but interrupt. “You believe they may actually have some sort of ties to human magic?”

Weir nodded with a smile. “Exactly. We know that humans were spread across most of this galaxy by various alien races. It is very likely that these races with other powers may have either evolved from human magical ancestors or, and this is what we want to look into, been altered by one of the non-human races such as the Ancients or Nox.”

The idea was almost like a shot of adrenaline into his system. The whispered chorus within the depths of his mind seemed to rise to a new level as his thoughts toyed with various ideas. Finally, his mind settled enough for him to ask the obvious. “That explains why you needed a magic user, but why me?”

Smiling at his obvious excitement thus far Elizabeth continued. “You're unique among magic users in that you have a firm and, from what I understand, fairly advanced understanding of modern science and technology. That's obviously a fairly important component of what we do here and our interactions with other races.”

Harry's eyes grew slightly distant as he mentally put all the pieces together. When Major Davis had first shown him the picture of the Stargate the young wizard had known he had to be a part of the program, but how or why was unclear. Dr. Weir's explanation made sense, but he could tell there was something more involved.

“I can see what you're talking about Dr. Weir. Just about any other member of the magical community would be more of a danger around this much technology much less be able to make a contribution.”

Elizabeth nodded. “Exactly. That's why when your qualifications were uncovered we were very excited.” Her smile faded a bit and her tone became serious, “I must stress, however, that here at the SGC only Major Davis and I know about the existence of the magical world.”

The importance of that warning took no time to set in. “I'll keep that firmly in mind Dr. Weir. I have no desire to blow that secret and get people obliviated.”

Harry's face grew pensive as he considered the best way to nudge the rest of the explanation out of the woman; after a moment he decided to go with the direct approach. “Dr. Weir, I hate to sound distrustful but what's the rest of the explanation?”

Dr. Weir's face grew slightly hesitant. “Mr. Potter, Harry, you're aware by now of our current problems with Anubis?”

Harry nodded in confirmation. “I've reviewed the reports on him.”

“Anubis poses the single greatest threat to our galaxy above all Goa'uld because of his knowledge of Ancient technology. The problem is that no one knows how to stop him.”

He began to question her on that point when she interrupted by saying, “Oh we know how to stop his super soldiers now, and his ships are impressive but destroyable.”

She sighed and continued. “It's him we don't know how to stop. He's proven that he can lie in wait for a thousand years or more as he did after his banishment by the System Lords. How do you stop someone that can play dead for so long just to pop up when you least expect it? Combined with his apparent semi-ascended state and we're at a loss.”

There it was. Harry's eyes grew a shade darker as things began to make sense. “You know about Voldemort.” It was a statement, not a question.

Before she could respond the warning klaxons began to sound throughout the base. A second later a male voice came over the PA system announcing an incoming wormhole and calling Dr. Weir to the control room. Harry gave her a questioning look and she nodded. The two quickly made their way into the Briefing room and down the spiral staircase into the control room.

“Receiving IDC,” reported one of the technicians, “it's SG-1.”

“Open the iris,” commanded Dr. Weir as she and Harry gazed at the Stargate.

Harry's attention became riveted on the glowing puddle of energy in the center of the gate. The sense of familiarity and rightness at the sight was only interrupted when debris and energy blasts began to emerge from the wormhole.

The radio crackled to life and the voice of Maj. Samantha Carter yelled across that they were taking fire and coming in hot.

Instantly the blast shield began to lower over the control room's window obscuring the view. All eyes turned to the video monitors of the gate room as the ringing thud of energy blasts against the shield rattled teeth. The image of SG-1 almost literally flying through the gate into the embarkation room was the queue the technicians has been waiting for and moments later the Stargate laid dormant once again.

“Please excuse me Mr. Potter,” was all Elizabeth said before rushing from the control room toward SG-1. She didn't notice Harry's distracted nod as he considered what had just happened.

Breaking out of his slight trance Harry decided to get out of the way of the control room personnel and returned to the briefing room. He was just starting to reorganize the mess of folders he had created when the voices of Dr. Weir and who he presumed to be SG-1 echoed up the stairs. As the group reached the landing in the Briefing room all eyes fell on Harry.

“I was just cleaning up, but I…can come back later if you need me too,” he said unsure of what the proper protocol would be in the situation. Curious stares met his questioning look as SG-1 pondered who the new guy was.

“Thank you Harry. I think perhaps I'd actually like you to stay. You might have some insight into the current situation,” was the unexpected response from Dr. Weir which resulted in changing the curious stares into slightly untrusting ones.

“Er…sure,” was his ever-so-articulate response. He quickly resumed gathering up his mass of folders and file and arranging them at one end of the table while SG-1 and Dr. Weir took their usual seats. Harry settled himself at the far end of the table and looked around curiously.

These were the most famous members of the Stargate program. The front line team whose names were known on dozens of planets. Harry couldn't help but feel a deep respect for them. They had, on countless occasions, stood against challenges and evils the majority of the world didn't know existed. These four, more than any other SG team, had been protecting the world without any real recognition or ceremony for years. In a way it only made them bigger heroes to Harry who was all-too familiar with hero worship and false adulation. His childish thoughts were interrupted when Maj. Carter began her report.

“We arrived on P3X-439 and made our way to the colonnade where the Ancient repository device was supposed to be housed. It took us a bit longer than we expected, but we managed to locate the device. Unfortunately, before we could come up with a way to remove the device our position was compromised as Goa'uld ground troops, Gliders and Al'kesh began an assault.” She glanced toward Col. O'Neill.

O'Neill sighed. “Long story short we couldn't let Anubis get his hands on the thing so… I did it again.”

Dr. Weir blinked in surprise while Harry tried to remember everything he had previously read about the repository devices. He quietly flipped through the spiral notebook he had been keeping a few hastily jotted details in. Trying not to draw attention to himself as he scanned over his notes on the Repository device he quickly refreshed his memory and closed the notebook.

“I offered to do it,” started Dr. Jackson, “but Jack had a point when he said I would be the only person to be able to translate once the download begins to override the language center of the brain.”

Major Carter jumped in again stating, “…that's assuming the device would have even responded to you.”

Dr. Weir finally found her voice again and calmly asked, “How long before you begin to experience the effects of the device, and do you believe the location of the Lost City is among the knowledge you gained?”

“No idea,” was O'Neill's slightly flippant response. The debriefing took on a slightly more mundane tone at that point as they discussed possibilities and 'what-ifs'.

Throughout the entire debriefing Harry has sat quietly listening and considering. He considered what he knew of the Ancients and their technology. All in all he wasn't sure what Dr. Weir had hoped he could add to the situation after only three days on the job. His talents were with more mechanical or magical situations, not the human brain overdosed on Ancient knowledge.

“…then for now we just wait. In the meantime I'd like you to meet the newest member of the SGC. SG-1 this is Harry Potter. Mr. Potter, this is Col. Jack O'Neill, Major Samantha Carter, Dr. Daniel Jackson, and Teal'c.”

Harry had snapped out of his musings as Elizabeth began the introductions. He gave a polite nod to each member of SG-1 was they were named. “It's a pleasure to finally meet you all. I've been through all your mission reports so it's nice to finally put a face to the names.”

Raised eyebrows and communicative glances passed between the members of SG-1. It seemed to them that a lot of people had been reading their reports lately.

“Pleasure, I'm sure,” was the only reply he got from Col. O'Neill who had leaned back in his chair and was simply staring at Harry.

Daniel leaned forward an inquired, “And what exactly is it that you'll be doing here Mr. Potter?”

Clearing his throat to buy himself a moment to think Harry replied with the simplest truth. “Actually that was what Dr. Weir and I had been discussing when you dialed into the Stargate.”

Sensing Harry's floundering Elizabeth jumped in to his rescue. “Harry is something of a Renaissance man when it comes to the various fields of engineering, but more than that he has also made a study of the unique abilities of some of the races we have encountered and will be acting as a consultant in that regard.”

That bit of news brought SG-1 up short. They gave newly speculative glances toward Harry who suddenly felt like an ant under a microscope.

Life at the SGC was turning out to be anything but boring. It had only been a day since SG-1 had returned with their dire news about Col. O'Neill and the repository of the Ancients when the Jaffa, Bra'tac, arrived. With him came news of Anubis' imminent attack on Earth. The timing of the Colonel's mental transformation seemed to be cutting the deadline short as O'Neill's behavior had yet to significantly change.

Harry was once again seated at the conference table in the briefing room reading over files and taking notes when O'Neill wondered through from Dr. Weir's office. At first Harry just ignored the man as usual. It didn't really seem as though SG-1 liked him that much though Harry wasn't sure if that was because of him or because Dr. Weir hired him.

It hadn't been difficult to pick up on the friction between the flagship SG team and their new commander. What wasn't clear is why, or how, it seemed to be translating to himself also. A few subtle inquiries had given him a great deal of insight into the situation when he learned about the near-undying loyalty the majority of the base personnel had for their former commander. That loyalty, coupled with prior bad experiences with bureaucratical interference, was a recipe for mistrust.

At first the apparent loyalty the SGC had for the man, a General named Hammond, had disturbed Harry; devotion and loyalty like that always reminded him of Dumbledore's sycophants. However, as he asked more questions about the man and even Harry had to admit it sounded like the loyalty everyone had to the man was justified. Now, the young wizard found himself hoping to someday meet the man.

When he overheard the muttered word 'locas' come from the passing Colonel his head shot up.

“What did you say Colonel,” he asked instantly. He was sure he had just heard the graying man speaking the language of the Chorus.

“Hmm,” was the only reply he got from the man. As their eyes met an undisguised look of surprise registered on both their faces. In that instant their minds seemed to brush by one another and near identical choruses echoed in an oddly harmonious discord.

Harry suddenly found himself standing in a hallway that looked very similar to those of his mind, but these were somehow older looking. Standing across from him, much as he had been in the briefing room, was Jack O'Neill.

“This is new,” commented O'Neill is his usual dry and sarcastic tone.

Harry glanced out the nearby window trying to get a better feel for where he was. Unlike the complete and gleaming spires of his mind the skyline outside the window was incomplete. Many of the towers looked as though they were under construction and some appeared less than stable. The biggest difference that Harry could see was that the entire city was set among a sprawling snow-capped mountain range rather than an ocean. “Er, Colonel what's going on?”

“No idea. Like I said this is a new attraction at the Ancient amusement park of my mind,” the grey haired Colonel replied with a false grin.

“Uh, right. Any idea how I get off this ride?”

“Not a clue,” was his succinct reply.

As the two stood staring at each other in confusion, and in Jack's case annoyance, a soft sound began to echo along the hallway. Harry instantly focused on the sound. It was faint, but there was no doubt it was the chorus of voices. Yet, as he listened to it he could tell there were subtle differences from the one he usually heard. It was like listening to the same song sung by a different choir. The longer he listened he also began to feel that there was something missing from this chorus's 'song'.

Jack watched the kid in front of him. He never trusted new people, and he especially didn't trust new people hired by new people. He paused to consider that for a moment before shaking it off. The kid obviously heard the voices now just like he did, but something about his reaction left Jack uneasy.

There was shock at the sound, yes, but it wasn't that the voices existed. It looked more like the shock of recognition than discovery. Jack's eyes narrowed.

“Something sound familiar there Potter?” The question held a none-too-subtle accusatory tone to it.

“Hey! We're in your mind here not mine. How should I…” Harry began before stopping himself. His jaw snapped closed with an audible click. He hadn't felt so stupid in years.

“And just how would you know that,” Jack queried as he shoved his hands in his trouser pockets.

As Harry was about to respond with a less than polite response the volume of the chorus grew exponentially. He quickly covered his ears with a wince and shut his eyes in pain.

Jack's face became slack as the sound grew to an almost physically jarring level. Clearly acting out of instruction and not self-motivation the older man moved the distance between Harry and himself. Reaching out he placed the tips of his fingers on Harry's forehead and in a brilliant flash of golden light the scenery changed.

The chorus had vanished, but Harry's head still pounded from the teeth-rattling experience. As Jack's fingertips receded from his forehead he opened his eyes and tried to refocus on the world around him. A gasp escaped his lips as he recognized where they were.

Number 4 Privet Drive, Surrey.

“No,” he whispered to himself as Jack looked around in confusion.

“Where are we Potter?” O'Neill barked the question more as an order when he saw Potter recognized their location.

“This is my Aunt's house in Surrey,” was the only reply he could offer before shouts from within the house became audible.

On instinct Jack started moving toward the front door to determine what the shouting was about, but Harry remained frozen in place. He didn't know or care which occasion this was, but he knew the shouting was about him. Harry had put his childhood behind him and he really didn't want to relive it. Why had O'Neill, or was it the chorus, brought them here?

The Colonel turned to look at Potter when he realized the kid wasn't moving. As a man who had spent the better portion of his life in the military he had learned to read people and situations. This was no different. Everything added up: the expression on Potter's face, the yelling from within the house, and the reticence the kid showed to move off the sidewalk. He obviously hadn't had a wonderful home life. As if queued by the conclusion a piercing yell of pain assaulted the man's senses and drew his attention to the window he now stood in front of.

His eyes settled on a small messy-haired boy kneeling before a large purple-faced man. The kid was cradling his left arm and trying to fight off tears of pain while the man screamed, arms flailing, at the child for yelling so loud. Jack's eyes narrowed dangerously at the sight when he realized what had happened.

Just as the Colonel was turning to make his way to the front door there was another flash of all-enveloping golden light and the scenery changed again.

Jack looked around at the stonework chamber they now found themselves in. It looked like something out of a castle. In the center of the room stood a tall gold-framed mirror and beside it stood a lanky guy in a turban who was babbling about someone being too weak. Across the room stood a little, messy black-haired kid of maybe ten or eleven staring in confusion at the babbling guy.

“Oh for cryin out loud,” Jack muttered before looking toward Potter. “Any ideas on where this is?”

Harry was starting to understand now. “We're in my memories. This was my first year at boarding school. The man there is one of my professors…” his words trailed off as Quirrell began to unwrap his turban.

Jack turned to look at the man since whatever he was doing had shut Potter up. He took a reflexive step backward when the second face was revealed on the back of the guy's head. “Oh that's just gross.”

Harry and Jack stood in silence as they watched an eleven year old refuse an offer of power and struggle against his would-be killer in an effort to save the Philosophers Stone. Harry couldn't help but feel a little proud. He'd never really thought about what happened with Quirrell in any sort of analytical way. “Handled that pretty well for an eleven year old,” he thought to himself.

As eleven year old Harry passed out on the stone floor his older counterpart looked at Jack who seemed mildly impressed. “Not going to ask what the hell that was?”

O'Neill shrugged. “I travel through a Stargate regularly, battle Aliens bent on galactic domination that live inside people's heads, and have the entire knowledgebase of an ancient civilization downloaded in my brain. That, whatever it was, seems a bit mundane to me.”

Harry blinked at the response and was about to respond when the world was again set awash in golden light.

When their eyes cleared they were instantly filled with the sight of a sixty-foot Basilisk slithering off into a nearby tunnel. The sound of running feet splashing through the tunnels echoed ahead of the giant beast and told Harry all he needed to know of the memory. He groaned slight and shook his head. This was not a memory he cared to relive.

Jack, for his part, was handling the sight of the massive serpent fairly well. “Was that a giant snake,” he inquired in a falsely bored tone.

Harry just nodded. “Yes, this is the end of my second year at school.”

“Let me guess, the snake's chasing you?”

Nodding again Harry gestured toward the fallen body of Ginny Weasley and the smug-looking Tom Riddle. “That guy kidnapped that girl and set the snake on the students. I came to rescue her, and Tom didn't really like that idea so he set the bloody great thing on me.”

“Ah.”

The two watched the disorganized battle and subsequent destruction of Riddle with mild curiosity. Harry was wondering over and over how the hell he had been so lucky. Jack, on the other hand, had been thinking of something a bit more off-subject. “Why are all of these memories from a third-person view if they're yours Potter?”

Harry could only blink at the Colonel before the world again dissolved into golden light.

If you later asked Jack or Harry how long they spent watching key moments of Harry's life neither would be able to give a clear answer. A dozen times or more their world was washed out by the same golden light before the setting changed. Finally, the two found themselves standing on a balcony overlooking a gleaming skyline of towers and spires rising above a calm sea.

“Where are we now,” Jack asked in a far less hostile tone than he had used after the first several 'hops'. He would never admit it, but he had actually started to like this kid who had led a life almost as strange as his.

“Welcome to my mind Colonel O'Neill,” Harry replied with a wince. It was one thing for the Colonel to see his memories; those he could explain away as Jack's mind pulling the images out. Having the Colonel visit his own mind, however, could raise some messy questions.

“I don't suppose you'd care to explain why your mind looks like mine while on an Ancient techno-high?” O'Neill's tone had reverted to a false innocence.

“I honestly don't know Colonel. I've seen my mind like this since I was fourteen. I usually visit it in my dreams,” Harry replied honestly.

Jack raised a single eyebrow at the explanation. He could hear the same chorus of voices in the background that he knew as the Ancient's knowledge. If what Potter was saying was true then the kid had the same information in his brain.

“Stick your head in any strange alien artifacts when you were a kid,” Jack inquired in a slightly sarcastic way. “You'd think that you would remember something like that.”

Harry couldn't help but chuckle. “I swear Colonel I've never seen anything remotely like one of the repositories outside photographs at the SGC.”

O'Neill nodded his understanding. “Okay, so if you've got all this in your brain how could you not have known about the Stargate or aliens until you joined Stargate Command?”

With a sigh Harry leaned against a nearby railing and shrugged. “I honestly don't know. Until I saw your mind when this…whatever it is…started I had no clue there was anything too abnormal about my mind.”

“Too?” Jack couldn't help the smirk that came over his face.

“Well it didn't take a genius to figure out this wasn't what a normal person had in their head. That, and how many people have those voices in the background of their mind?”

“Fair enough. So I'm assuming those voices don't make you do things?”

Harry blinked. “What?”

“You know…build strange devices, speak odd languages…” Jack left the rest hanging.

“Ah. No.” Harry began then frowned. “Well not often. There have been times…” his voice trailed off as he thought over the few occasions where the chorus of voices had become clear and he acted on what he heard.

“Times when…” O'Neill prompted.

“Eh? Oh…sorry.” Harry shook himself out of his thoughts. “There have been a few times when things had gotten hairy that those voices became clear. I mean, I can understand the language, but it's not usually clear. More like hearing tidbits of other people's conversations when you're at a restaurant.”

Jack nodded in understanding and motioned for Harry to continue.

“At times though all but a single voice fades out and I can completely understand what it's saying. Usually the voice is giving instructions on how to not die horribly in the next few minutes.”

Jack gave a cheeky grin. “Hey, that's the best kind.”

Harry laughed and nodded. “I'd agree. Most of the time,” he continued back on topic, “the chorus just provides me kind of a…instinctive…feel to things. It's hard to explain. I suppose when Major Davis showed me a photo of the Stargate is a good example. When I was looking at the picture and he said the word 'Stargate' I instantly knew and said 'Astria Porta'.”

“Ahh yes, that little chestnut. Gotta love using words you don't know.”

“Oh I know the language.”

O'Neill just raised an eyebrow at that statement.

Rushing on to avoid more questions he didn't want to answer Harry continued, “as to what's happening to us at the moment I honestly don't know. How or why we're here is beyond me. Nothing like this has happened before.”

Jack shrugged, letting the issue about the language go for now. “I'd say it's safe to assume the ancient mumbo-jumbo in my head is the cause.”

Suddenly a single voice broke from the background chorus and its words reverberated all around the two men. “You are correct Colonel O'Neill.”

The two blinked in shock.

“It was imperative that you trust each other and yet you, O'Neill, would not trust who you do not know,” the voice continued before either had a chance to respond.

“Who are you,” Harry asked as he looked around. “Are you one of the voices I've always heard?” He blinked after asking the question. It really sounded odd when you said it aloud. Based on the look O'Neill was giving him he guessed it sounded odd to hear someone ask it too.

A soft golden-white light began to form and take shape between Harry and Jack. Within moments it solidified into the form of a woman dressed in a flowing white dress. “No Harry, I am not one of the voices. They are simply your minds way of manifesting the knowledge you possess. It is remarkable really.”

Jack and Harry stared at the woman for a moment before simultaneously asking, “Who are you?”

The woman chuckled. “Who I am is not important. What is, however, is that Colonel O'Neill is successful in his quest and that you, Harry, aid him.”

“Why,” they both again asked in unison. Jack shot Harry a dirty look as if he was doing it on purpose.

The woman suddenly took on the look of someone who is doing something they know they shouldn't. “There are four great threats among the stars which you are currently unable to stop. What O'Neill seeks will provide the solution to one and potentially open the doorway to another. Should you, Harry, aid him then he may be able to provide the solution to a second threat before his mind is lost. More importantly, however, it will begin you on your true journey Harry.”

The enigmatic statement had both men raising their eyebrows in confusion.

“My time here is over. Remember this if nothing else: time is not your ally O'Neill. Rest as soon as you are able.”

Before Harry or Jack could respond their vision was once again washed out by the familiar golden light.

O'Neill staggered back and Harry leapt to his feet. “Colonel, are you okay” he asked while moving around the conference table toward Jack.

The grey haired man's eyes grew distance as he replied with a slightly awed, “Tua ani Anqueetas Videum”

Something about the words felt right to Harry, but he'd really rather the Colonel not go around calling him the Ancient's Legacy where people could overhear.

O'Neill continued to stare for a moment before suddenly moving into action. With a motion for Harry to follow Jack quickly began to descend the stairs into the control room. Snapping out of his momentary confusion Harry quickly ran to catch up to the Colonel. He had to jump down the last few steps to catch up to the man as he quickly passed through the staring technicians and out the door.

Following the Colonel through the hallways of the SGC managed to get Harry totally lost. They had paused briefly in a supply room where O'Neill began to babble in what Harry now recognized as Ancient. Mostly it seemed the Colonel was thinking aloud, in Ancient, but one struck a chord with him: journey. He wasn't entirely certain what the Colonel was talking about, but he had an ever growing and totally sinking feeling that he was to be included in this journey of his.

“Do you have any idea what you're doing,” he couldn't help but ask when O'Neil started helping himself to what was apparently a Naquahdah Generator.

“Not really, no,” came the light reply as Jack began loading cable and other supplies onto a dolly.

“Didn't think so,” Harry replied before asking, “You do realize you're babbling in Ancient right?”

Jack shot the younger man a dirty look. “Yes and don't think we won't be discussing, in depth, what I saw in that head of yours.”

Harry couldn't help paling a bit and was about to respond when he noticed Dr. Jackson and Maj. Carter approaching to join them.

Jack noticed their arrival as well and preempted them with a simple, “Don't ask. I don't know.”

They moved to stand beside Harry who was simply watching the impromptu shopping trip. “Apparently he's preparing for a journey,” he stated quietly to the two members of SG-1. They nodded in reply.

“I figured it was something like that. He gave us the name of a planet earlier and we discovered the gate address. Unfortunately the stargate on the planet appears to be buried so the only way to get to the Lost City is by ship. Teal'c and Bra'tac have acquired a cargo ship for us. I'm guessing that Jack's preparing what he'll need,” responded Daniel as they watched Jack compare two rolls of electrical cable.

At Harry's inquiring look Sam picked up for Daniel. “There's no way the cargo ship could make the trip to the planet and back to Earth in the time we have. We can only assume the Colonel is preparing some method to increase the ship's speed. We also don't know what condition the Lost City will be in so he may be preparing the tools he'll need to repair it.

Harry simply gave a thoughtful nod in understanding as he surveyed the supplies. Something told him that the Major was partly right, but there was more to the sum of the parts than they were seeing.

Moments later Dr. Weir found her way into the storage room and simply raised an eyebrow at the sight. O'Neill repeated his “Don't ask” statement and Elizabeth turned her questioning look at the other three standing there. They simply offered shrugs at first, and then Harry spoke up.

“Dr. Weir, from what I've heard Col. O'Neill mutter in Ancient I believe he's planning an off-world trip.”

Three sets of eyebrows rose as questioning stares turned his way. “Hmm. Not the best way to let people know you understand some of the Ancient language I suppose,” he couldn't help but think as he cleared his throat.

“You say you understood what he was saying? I wasn't aware you had learned Ancient,” inquired Weir in a tone the brokered no hedged response.

“Oh. No, you misunderstood. I recognized the word 'journey' among what he was saying. I've only just started learning the language.” He hoped she would leave it at that. Even if he could explain something he was just coming to understand himself he wasn't sure how she, or the rest of SG-1, would react.

“I see. Well I'll remind you all that Prometheus is needed here as a last line of defense against Anubis. How do you plan to go on this journey?” Elizabeth's tone was only slightly accusitory.

“Bra'tac and Teal'c have acquired a cargo ship for us. They should be here within a couple hours. Once they arrive; the Colonel, Daniel, and I will join them and leave for the Lost City. With any luck the Colonel will be able to modify the ship to get us there and back before Anubis' fleet arrives.”

Weir simply raised an eyebrow but before she could respond O'Neill chimed in with a simple, “and Harry” before returning to his scavenging for parts. This redirected everyone's raised eyebrows to him once again. The wizard wasn't sure if he wanted to groan, strangle O'Neill, or possibly both.

Harry simply gave a shrug and a half-hearted chuckled. “I have no idea why, but he wants me to come along.”

He sighed as it became readily apparent that not a single one of them believed him.

Again, before anyone could speak Jack chimed in. This time, however, his words were a bit more damning and his eyes a bit vacant. It was obvious to everyone it was the Ancient's knowledge speaking more than the Colonel. “Tua ani Anqueetas Videum.”

Harry groaned and began rubbing the bridge of his nose. Daniel's eyes bulged and Sam and Weir exchanged slightly confused looks.

“You are the Ancient's Legacy? What does he mean,” snapped Daniel as he overcame his shock.

Harry raised his hands defensively. “I swear I have no idea myself,” he began then gave Dr. Weir a significant look. “…but earlier when we were in the briefing room something odd happened when we looked each other in the eyes. That's when he started insisting I come with him.”

It was, after all, essentially true. Lies by omission were not his strongest skill, but he had to hope it would work in this case. Luckily for him it seemed Elizabeth had jumped to her own conclusions based on her limited knowledge of the magical world.

“Perhaps this is simply another manifestation of the powers we know the Ancients had. If that's the case then it would be a good idea for Mr. Potter to join you. He is here to help us learn more about abilities such as this,” she quickly suggested.

Sam and Daniel remained unconvinced, but were willing to follow Jack's lead.

Things were getting complicated and Harry was getting a headache.

Only two hours later Harry found himself in the locker-room dressing in a pair of utilities along side Daniel, Jack, and Teal'c. It was the first time he had worn the military style clothing, but he was very surprised at how comfortable they were. That was, until he began to strap on all the extra paraphernalia that went with the clothing.

“You haven't been cleared for any sort of firearms, but a Zat isn't hard to figure out Potter,” the Colonel had told him. The snake-like weapon now rested in a holster on his thigh, but Harry didn't plan to ever use it. Among the other items he was given to wear was a utility vest and the wizard turned Engineer fell in love. So many pockets, including a nice spot on the inside for a wand, provided the perfect means to keep not only handy muggle items close, but conceal the magical ones he didn't want to be without.

Harry stared out the cockpit window of the small cargo ship as it accelerated out of Earth's atmosphere. It was his first journey off planet and he couldn't contain his excitement. Teal'c and Bra'tac looked on in mild amusement while Jack, Sam and Daniel were in the main hold preparing their gear for hyperspace launch.

Moments later the ship broke out of the planet's atmosphere and the expanse of starts and planets filled the view from the window. Harry's consciousness was assaulted with a wave of feelings and emotions at the sight. Closing his eyes he tried to make sense of what he was feeling. Noticing Harry's sudden stillness the two Jaffa exchanged curious looks.

“Are you well Harry Potter,” inquired Teal'c.

“Yes, it…it's just a lot to take in the first time.” Harry opened his eye before giving the Jaffa a slight grin. “I never imagined I'd be out here among the stars.”

Teal'c simply inclined his head in understanding before returning his attention to the ship's controls. The pilot, an unknown Jaffa who apparently owned the cargo ship, announced their immanent hyperspace launch. Harry watched as the purplish energy formed in front of the ship and then burst open into a hyperspace window moments before the ship leapt into it.

While Harry was questioning the Jaffa as to the abilities of the cargo ship Major Carter and Colonel O'Neill were busy modifying the ship's engines. Daniel remained in the ship's hold while he reviewed his notes on the Lost City. Shortly after their departure Sam entered the cockpit to announce that the Colonel had completed his modifications to the engines. Teal'c confirmed that the ship was now traveling at speeds far beyond what it should ever have been capable of.

The planet of Praclarush Taonas was little more than a ball of molten rock and sulfurous ash. Hope for finding the Lost City quickly dwindled as initial scans of the planet confirmed its lifeless and uninhabitable state.

“I do not believe the Lost City could have survived this destruction,” Bra'tac commented as they put the cargo ship into a standard orbit.

“We knew something like this might be the case when the Colonel packed hazmat suits. There must be something here,” chimed in Sam with an optimistic tone.

As the others began to discuss the situation Jack and Harry stood staring at the planet. Neither of them saw the molten and lifeless surface that existed now, but rather the memory of a lush and tropical world. Harry struggled to understand the strange double-vision like experience he was having while O'Neill simply proceeded with his plan by directing the others to scanning the surface.

Harry blinked his eyes and the memory of what the world once was faded away.

“Scans have detected some sort of dome of hardened magma. It is too perfect to have been naturally occurring,” reported Teal'c as the computer's heads-up display shifted to present the anomaly.

Jack tapped the display before moving back to the main cargo hold. Sam studied the readings for a moment. “It must have been caused by the magma covering a shield of some sort. There could still be a structure intact under there,” she said with no small amount of awe in her voice.

It didn't take long and all four members of SG-1 and Harry were suited up in the red environmental suits of the SGC and gathered in the center of the ship's ring platform. The high-pitched whine of the rings filled the room as white light enveloped the five.

Moments later they found themselves standing within a small cavern illuminated solely by the hole in the dome the rings had created. The temperature of the cavern was stifling, but not beyond handling for a time.

“I'm detecting a power source just ahead,” reported Sam as she looked at the readings of her handheld scanner.

The group quickly moved through the rocky terrain in the direction indicated. After a few moments they passed what was obviously a manmade wall. Daniel paused to inspect it and shortly confirmed it resembled Ancient architecture. Uplifted by the discovery that something of the Lost City must have survived the group picked up their pace.

No more than a minute later the group entered a circular room dominated by a throne-like chair situated on a short dais. While Teal'c, Sam and Daniel looked around both Harry and Jack began to move toward the chair. Jack stopped him with a slight shake of his head before continuing onto the dais. Harry didn't know why exactly, but his instincts told him that Jack's decision was the right one.

When the others started to protest Jack's actions he simply ignored them and sat. The chair and dais lit up with a bluish light. O'Neill manipulated the hand pads of the chair briefly and there was a shimmer of blue light around the room. A short whooshing noise filled their ears a moment later. When the noise ceased the others again started to protest and move toward Jack as he removed the helmet of his hazmat suit.

Carter blinked and looked at her scanner's display. She blinked again. “Apparently atmosphere has been restored. It's safe to breath.”

That was all the prompting everyone needed to join O'Neill in shedding the hot hazmat helmets.

A slightly mechanical hiss came from the chair as it reclined backward. Jack closed his eyes and began manipulating the gel-like pads on the hand rests of the chair. Harry watched, and in the back of his mind he knew that what Jack was doing was right.

Above them a holographic map of the universe appeared before zooming in on the Milky Way galaxy and them the Sol star system.

“That's Sol! Our star system.” announced Sam with no small amount of awe at the sight of the holographic star map.

The group studied the map for a moment before Major Carter again spoke up saying Earth didn't look right. As Harry looked at the map he instantly knew why and spoke up, cutting Daniel off. “The map is based from when this planet was still alive and held an active Outpost. That must be what Earth looked like at that time.”

The others nodded in understanding. Suddenly Jack spoke up.

“Terre Atlantus.”

Daniel did a double-take. “What?”

Jack repeated, “Terre Atlantus.” Suddenly the holographic image again zoomed in this time on Earth. The globe suddenly highlighted the southern continent and it began to move further south until it rested at the southern most pole of the planet. “Subo Glacius,” he concluded.

Again Daniel translated, “Under the ice. Atlantis is on Earth under Antarctica.”

“Then why did we have to come all the way here just to find out we have to go back there?” Carter asked in a rather perturbed tone.

Harry stared at the image and his mind was consumed by the image of a sprawling cityscape of towers and lights surrounded by endless fields of ice. An intense feeling of sadness filled him and it was all he could do to shake off the image before tears started. As he refocused on the world around him another detail of the star map jumped out at him. Beside the planets were small lines of Ancient text. The chorus narrowed to a solitary voice in the back of his mind and he knew what they were meant to depict: the name of the planets.

His heart and mind both began to race as he realized what the line of text above Earth said even if he hadn't learned the language. One word from the chorus' voice rang in his mind: Avalon.

O'Neill's eyes shifted from the map to Harry briefly as if looking for something. When he saw the wide-eyed expression on the young wizard's face he knew his work was done. The chair suddenly moved back into the upright position and Jack started putting his hazmat helmet back on.

“Uh, guys.” Daniel said to get their attention as he too noticed O'Neill's movement.

Just as the rest of the group secured their helmets O'Neill stood and the lights on the chair and dais went dormant. Stepping down from the dais he turned and crouched beside it while waving his hand over a small section. A cover panel slid away and a large yellowish crystal began to rise out of the platform. When the glowing crystal cleared the top of the dais the walls of the room shimmered blue and the shield supporting the atmosphere fell.

“It must be the power source. That's why the Colonel had us come,” Carter suggested as she saw Jack carefully remove the device from its mooring.

While the rest were busy examining the power module in O'Neill's hands the Colonel was looking fixedly at Harry. That's when the young wizard knew there had been more to it than that. Jack had wanted him to see the hologram; he wanted Harry's memories to draw out the image of the city surrounded by ice and the planet's original name. “But why,”  Harry asked himself.

“Scans indicate the dome has begun to collapse. I am moving the ship into position to ring you out. You must hurry,” announced Bra'tac in a sudden report over their radios.

Sam secured the chair's power module in her pack and with a nod they all followed Jack back out of the chamber. The cavern they had entered through was indeed collapsing around them and lava was flowing in from the ceiling at an ever increasing speed.

As they reached the designated pickup zone Teal'c radioed for transport and yet nothing happened. The group looked between one another and the rapidly deteriorating dome with slightly worried expressions. Finally, just when the collapse of the cavern was becoming critical the rings descended and picked up the five.

The sight that greeted them was unexpected in the extreme. Bra'tac lay in front of the ring controls holding his badly bleeding abdomen while the body of their pilot lay crumbled beside him.

“He was…a traitor,” Bra'tac managed to get out between strained breathes.

Harry began moving toward the fallen Jaffa while surreptitiously slipping his wand from inside his utility vest. There was no way he would let the man die if he could heal him; statute of secrecy be damned. Jack's hand suddenly squeezed his shoulder to stop him.

The look in the older man's eyes told Harry all he needed to know and he stepped back with a nod while slipping the wand back into its holster inside his vest. O'Neill returned the nod before kneeling beside the aged Jaffa and placing his hands over the wound. Harry's eyes widened slightly as he could actually feel a slight pulse of magic building from the Colonel's hand.

A moment later Bra'tac looked down in surprise as his wound vanished. Everyone stood silent in shock for a moment, but for the same reasons. SG-1 and Bra'tac wondered over the fact that Jack had healed the old Jaffa, but Harry was trying to figure out how O'Neill had gone from muggle to wizard in the blink of an eye.

“O'Neill has the healing powers of the Ancients,” Teal'c rhetorically commented in awe as he looked between his friend and his mentor. Harry's neck audibly snapped as he turned his head to look at Teal'c. More questions surfaced at the proclamation and Harry decided he needed to know more about the Ancients sooner rather than later.

The atmosphere aboard the cargo ship was a somber one as it raced toward Earth. They knew their time was up and that Anubis' fleet would be in orbit. O'Neill was working on modifications to the ring transporter while everyone else simply watched in confusion and apprehension. They could only pray that whatever idea was locked away in the Colonel's Ancient-overwritten mind would save their world.

When they were within sensor range of Earth they confirmed their fears. Anubis' fleet had taken up position over the planet and was effectively blocking their approach. Their only choice was to exit hyperspace right above the planet's atmosphere and on the opposite side of the fleet. It was a risky plan, but the only one available.

SG-1, Bra'tac, and Harry braced themselves as the cargo ship dropped out of hyperspace and the cloudy atmosphere of Earth instantly filled their view. The ship shook and groaned as Teal'c attempted to pilot it to their destination as soon as possible. Anubis' fleet would have detected them the moment they appeared over the planet, and it wouldn't take long to discover their destination.

The race was on.

“Where must I go O'Neill,” the younger Jaffa inquired once they had decelerated enough to ensure they weren't going to crash.

Jack simply motioned for Teal'c to swap places with him. With a nod the Jaffa relinquished the controls and the Colonel took the helm. Only minutes later the ship came to a halt above a large ice field. Suddenly the hum of the ring transport filled the ship, but didn't stop. Sam looked in confusion at the heads up display. “The Colonel's using the ring's mater-stream to burn through the ice.”

Jack stood and gave each member of SG-1 and Harry a significant look before moving to the cargo hold. The others looked at one another before following him and letting Bra'tac take the controls. The elder Jaffa's voice called out on the rapid approach of Goa'uld Death Gliders and Al'kesh.

Tense moments ticked away as the modified ring transporter burned a massive hole into the glacier below the cargo ship. SG-1 and Harry prepared themselves as the Colonel began moving aside his tools and other clutter from the rings.

Bra'tac's alarmed voice announced the approach of a second group of ships from the opposite direction. The moment of panic died quickly, however, when the voice of General Hammond came over the radio announcing the approach of Prometheus - Earth's own battleship. Tense moments past and everyone waited. Suddenly the sounds of explosions echoed from outside the ship and everyone knew their time was running short.

Above the ice field that had been devoid of life for millennia an air battle of epic proportions raged between Earth's F302 fighters, Prometheus, and a several squadrons of Goa'uld Gliders and Al'kesh. The tide of battle was distinctly in Earth's favor as the superior design of the F302's and their pilots showed through.

High in Orbit over the planet Anubis' fleet prepared to wage an all-out bombardment of the planet at their lord's command.

In the blink of an eye the energy beam from the rings cut off and Jack motioned for the others to step into the ring platform. They wasted no time and in one bright flash of light the five were transported deep within the Antarctic Glacier and the lost outpost of the Ancients. Above, Bra'tac moved the cargo ship away from the rapidly concluding battle and Prometheus began its ascent toward Anubis' mothership under a constant bombardment of Goa'uld fire.

The final confrontation was about to begin.

Within the Ancient outpost the three members of SG-1 not under the influence of an Ancient repository stared in confusion between Jack and Harry. The two had stopped at the entrance to what appeared to be another chair room like the one on Taonas. Jack's right hand rested on Harry's shoulder while his left was tapping a human-sized niche in the nearby wall.

Harry searched Jack's eyes for understanding when the older man said a single word, “Dormata” and Harry understood. The only way for Jack to save himself was to use what Harry now recognized as a stasis pod. Harry nodded.

“I understand Colonel, but why now? What about the chair,” Harry questioned with a gesture toward the dormant Ancient device.

Jack again stared into Harry's eyes as if willing the meaning of his actions to the younger man. In a sense it worked as Harry tried to search out Jack's intentions. Then he recalled what the strange woman had told them. “How can I help now? I don't know how to use the chair!”

Jack's eyes took on a kind look as his lips twisted into a grin. “Tua ani Anqueetas Videum.”

With those words he tapped Harry on the side of his head. Harry stared at him for a moment before understanding. He lowered his voice so only O'Neill and he could hear before repeating his words from not long ago, “It's usually instructions on how to not die horribly in the next few minutes.”

Jack chuckled and nodded before clasping Harry on the shoulder. With a final look to the totally confused members of SG-1 the grey haired colonel stepped into the alcove of the stasis chamber.

“What's going on? Why's Jack saying 'sleep',” Daniel inquired as he watched Harry move away from the chamber Jack now occupied.

“It's a stasis chamber I think. In order for him to survive long enough for us to get help in removing the Ancient's knowledge he has to go into stasis now.” Harry replied, only fudging the truth a little, as he removed his pack and dropped it next to the dais the chair sat atop.

“But he's the only one that can do whatever he was going to do,” Carter interjected as she watched the Colonel become encased in what appeared to be a solid block of ice.

“I…” Harry started to respond as he sat in the chair, but was interrupted by the sound of the rings activating. Two of Anubis' super soldiers appeared in the opening and instantly opened fire. “Cover me while I use the chair!”

The others leapt into action without even questioning how Harry expected to use the Ancient's device. It wasn't the time to doubt the Colonel's last orders.

Prometheus's ascent out of the atmosphere was dogged by the constant bombardment from Anubis' ship. Shields began to fail and the ship was starting to suffer from the strain. As General Hammond gave the order to accelerate to ramming speed the crew was ready to accept their fate for the sake of their world, but they all silently prayed that SG-1 would save the day once again.

A small pile of Super-soldiers now cluttered the entrance to the outpost as weapons fire was exchanged between SG-1 and Anubis' creations. Harry sat eyes closed in the throne-like chair, his hands manipulating the gel-like hand pads beneath his palms. The chorus of voices had once again faded out to a single understandable string of instructions. While he didn't know on a conscious level exactly what he was doing it didn't matter right then.

“Whatever you're going to do, it's now or never,” called out Major Carter between bouts of fire from her Kull Disrupter. She silently gave thanks once again to the work she and her father had put into the devices; they were the only advantage they had over Anubis' normally unstoppable Kull Warriors.

No response was necessary as suddenly the floor between SG-1 and the Kull Warriors melted open and a brilliant golden glow illuminated the room from the gaping chasm. Suddenly, millions of glowing yellow projectiles rocketed up from the opening in the floor and enveloped the Kull Warriors before continuing on up the shaft created by the ring transporter.

Daniel, Teal'c and Carter stood in shocked silence as they watched a steady stream of the golden weapons leave the chamber below them to rise out of sight through the access shaft and out to the surface. Slowly they each turned to gaze in a mixture of amazement, confusion, and a little fear at the reclined form of Harry Potter.

On the surface the remaining Goa'uld Death Gliders and Al'kesh were unceremoniously destroyed by the waves of golden projectiles as they sped ever upward toward Anubis' fleet. The column of golden weapons parted like a great river around the still-rising Prometheus to impact on the hulls Anubis' mothership. General Hammond immediately ordered evasive maneuvers.

At strategic sites around the globe communications chatter burned up the airwaves as news of the destruction of the Goa'uld fleet was relayed. Earth had survived impossible odds once again.

When the last of the Goa'uld ships, bombers and fighters had been destroyed Harry deactivated the ancient weapon's platform and command chair. The throne-like chair moved back up into a normal seated position and he leaned forward placing his elbows on his knees and cupping his face with his hands. He had never felt so tired in his life.

“Potter? Are you alright,” Daniel inquired softly as he rested a hand on the young man's shoulder.

Sam and Teal'c moved to flank the clearly exhausted Harry as they tried to make sense of what had just happened. After a moment he looked up and smiled weakly at them.

“I'll be fine. It takes a tremendous amount of concentration to operate the chair and weapon's platform. I kind of had to stretch the power module to its limits to make everything work.”

Sam blinked at the information. His statement about the condition of the power supply brought her up short. “It's depleted then?”

Harry nodded. “Close to it. I really don't know but toward the end I think it was starting to fluctuate. To be honest, trying to understand everything that was happening is a bit difficult. I'm sure it would have been easier for O'Neill with direct access to the knowledge on how to use the chair.”

It was another fudged truth, but essentially correct. Jack had more of an active access to the knowledge of the Ancients than he apparently did. Still, he wasn't looking forward to trying to explain how he was able to utilize the technology when he didn't have the Ancient database downloaded into his skull. “Well, not that I'll admit to, or am sure about,” he wryly thought to himself.

Teal'c looked up at Harry's last statement. “And what of O'Neill?”

Harry couldn't help but shrug. “I honestly don't know.”

Sam looked thoughtfully at the frozen colonel. “I'm guessing it's like cryogenics and he's in some sort of state of suspended animation. Hopefully there will be something here in Atlantis that can help him.”

“I don't think this is Atlantis Sam,” Daniel suddenly spoke up. “It's too small. It's like Taonas; just an outpost.”

“You mean we still didn't find the Lost City?” Sam's face made her thoughts all too clear along with her clear agitation. “We lost the colonel for nothing?”

Harry raised an eyebrow at that statement but wisely chose not to comment.

“Not for nothing Sam. We stopped Anubis, and there must be something here that will lead us to the city. Think about it; Jack said 'Terre Atlantus'. That means the city has to be on Earth somewhere,” Daniel replied in a placating tone.

For some reason Harry found Dr. Jackson's last statement amusing but for the life of him couldn't figure out why. While he searched for some explanation in the recesses of his mind a thoughtful silence had fallen over the group.

“Potter…Harry,” began Daniel suddenly, “how is it you were able to operate the Ancient technology without having a repository downloaded into your brain?”

The archeologist sported a highly curious look on his face. There was a hint of suspicion in his voice, but Harry could tell most of it was honest confusion. “I really don't fully understand it myself Doctor Jackson. It was just clear from Colonel O'Neill's words that I could and just needed to sit in the chair to know how.”

SG-1 as one seemed to raise an eyebrow at him. Rubbing at the bridge of his nose he went on with his explanation. “As soon as I sat down I got this rush, like being on a rollercoaster. Then, it's hard to describe, but it was like I was looking at a computer monitor in my mind. I just had to think about what I wanted to do, concentrate, and it happened.”

Sam's eyes seemed to gleam as she processed the information. “Some sort of neural interface, amazing.”

Teal'c and Daniel smirked as the look on Carter's face made it clear she was intrigued. However, before she could ask anything more their radios crackled to life and the voice of General Hammond interrupted them.

“SG-1, do you read?”

Sam reached up to her left shoulder and depressed her radio's send button. “We read you General.”

“What is your status? Is everyone alright?”

“We're fine General, but Colonel O'Neill is in a form of stasis. Please inform the SGC that we need to attempt to contact the Asgard as soon as possible.”

“Understood Major. Now, what happened down there?”

The four non-frozen occupants of the outpost glanced between one another with wry grins. “That's a long story General, and we'd love to tell it, but after we're somewhere a bit warmer.”

The General could be heard laughing for a moment. “Understood SG-1. Standby for transport; we're approaching your location now.

Harry went to stand so they could all get to the ring transport, but his legs were a bit wobbly. Immediately he was steadied by Jackson who moved beside him. “Easy there. Teal'c, grab his pack would you. I'll help him to the platform.”

“Indeed,” was the Jaffa's only response as he picked up Harry's pack from where he had set it by the dais.

“Thanks Dr. Jackson; still a little light headed it seems.”

“Call me Daniel,” replied the archeologist with a grin.

Sam too smirked and with a nod added, “…and I'm Sam. Come on Potter lets get out of here.”

“You have served your people well Harry Potter,” was all Teal'c said before they all stepped into the alcove with the ring platform.

Harry couldn't help the lump that formed in his throat. He replied with a simple, “thanks” as the white light of the rings surrounded them.

“I swear I'm fine Sirius, but I really need to go now. I have to get back to work,” Harry said for the sixth time in as many minutes. He was going to strangle Hermione for insisting his godfather get a cell phone.

It had been two weeks since the battle against Anubis and he was kicking himself for waiting so long to call his godfather. Already he had been read the riot act over vanishing, but now it seemed they were going into act two. It wasn't even as if it was really his fault either. The last week had been a whirlwind of activity.

There had been debriefing after debriefing until Harry was certain he had met everyone who worked in, or possibly even lived by, the White House and Pentagon. Then, he had to write a report on everything he had spent three days debriefing on. It was maddening. Then there were the International Oversight Committee debriefings and negotiations over how to handle the discovery of the outpost. Harry still wasn't sure why he had been in attendance at half the meetings he was, but he went along anyway. Top it all off by having to travel between Antarctica, Colorado, and Washington D.C. by muggle means and of course he hadn't had time to call Sirius.

“Don't take that tone with me Harry. You basically just up and vanish off the face of the earth…” Sirius began his rebuttal and Harry tuned him out. His eyes falling apologetically on Dr. Weir as she stood with a bemused grin on her face in the doorway of his temporary office.

“Yes Sirius. I swear I'm sorry for vanishing and I promises I will come by next week for dinner. Now I'm going to hang up on you because my boss is in the doorway staring at me.”

A few moments later he finally managed to hang up the phone and turned his attention to Elizabeth. “I'm so sorry Dr. Weir. My godfather basically raised me and tends to be a bit overprotective.”

“No, don't worry about it. I was just stopping by to see if you had a free moment.”

Nodding he gestured to the stool on the opposite side of his worktable. “Be my guest. It's actually been a little slow around here since there's no gate activity. I'm making up for it by doing a bit of research on the abilities I saw O'Neill use.”

“That's actually what I wanted to discuss with you.” Weir began as she took the offered seat. “Well, the bit about no gate activity that is.”

Harry's confused look cleared up as she explained herself and he nodded. “Okay, but I'm not sure what gate travel and I have to do with one another.”

“Teal'c and Major Carter have left in the modified cargo ship in an attempt to find Thor. They hope he will be able to remove the Ancient's knowledge from O'Neill just as the Asgard did before. In the meantime we've received word that the System Lords want to meet with us.”

Harry considered the news he had just received, but still wasn't sure how he played into it all. “Okay, what is it that you wanted to discuss with me though?”

“While Dr. Jackson and I are here negotiating with the Goa'uld for whatever it is they want, the international negotiations over the Antarctic Outpost have stalled again. That means no research and no planetary defense. With the Goa'uld coming to Earth that's a risk that the President and myself feel we can't afford.”

Though he thought he could see where this was going he wanted to be clear. “So you want me to be ready to leave for the Outpost at a moments notice.”

Elizabeth nodded. “Yes. With Colonel O'Neill in stasis you're still the only one we know of that can operate the Chair. If the Goa'uld are up to something we need you ready to defend the planet. I know the power module may not have much energy left, but we have to be ready to try.  In the meantime, I frankly don't want to risk you being on base while the Goa'uld are visiting. If anything did happen to the SGC we can't afford to have you here.”

Harry nodded his understanding. “Makes sense. Where do you want me then?”

“Actually that's up to you. Consider it a short vacation; maybe visit that over-protective godfather? Just be prepared incase we need you.”

He chuckled before replying, “Nothing like a vacation after less than a month on the job.”

Dr. Weir smiled as she stood. “We'll let you know how things go.”

Harry had never been more bored in his life. Something about having traveled across the galaxy at speeds faster than light goes a long way to ruining commercial airline flights across the U.S. While he could have simply apparated or taken a portkey to his Godfather's home he had decided against it. After reading enough files on the N.I.D. he knew that doing anything suspicious could lead down a road he didn't want to travel. One of the more suspicious activities he could undertake would be visiting someone in another state without booking a flight or owning a car.

He had tried to sleep on the flight, but the question of how to handle Sirius kept bothering him. How was he supposed to tell his godfather about his new job when he wasn't allowed to tell him anything? Keeping secrets had become second nature to Harry, but they had always been of a strictly personal nature. He had never had to hide details about his activities since he left Hogwarts.

He could tell this trip was going to be a headache just as much as it was going to be a vacation.

It had been a week since Harry left Colorado, but it felt like a year. Once he had gotten over Sirius' attempts to pry information out of him at every breath he was able to relax and enjoy the down time. Midway through the week he bought an international portkey to London and enjoyed an evening with Ron and Hermione. It turned out that Neville was actually in the States for a conference on North American Carnivorous Plants.

His oldest friends had asked him questions about his new job, and as with Sirius he did his best to give evasive answers. Luckily, Ron and Hermione were a both a bit more understanding about his inability to answer questions. In Ron's case he worked for the Ministry now and understood how the government liked its secrets. Likewise, as a muggle Hermione was also familiar with the concept of governmental security and top secret projects.

Harry just blinked and agreed when Hermione told him that she expected he was using his degree to help the muggles build something. Sometimes the overly-smart witch made Harry's life so much easier.

He was just sitting down to dinner with Sirius a few evenings later when his cell phone began to ring. Ignoring his godfather's indignant look he pulled out the offending device and answered the call.

“This is Harry.”

“Harry, it's Daniel. Elizabeth wants you on the next flight to McMurdo.”

The blood drained from Harry's face at the news. “I understand. I'm leaving now.”

The stormy look on his godfather's face warned him that his unexpected departure would not go unquestioned. Harry couldn't help the sigh that followed his realization. “Sirius I'm sorry, but I have to go and no I can't explain why.”

The older man stared intensely at Harry for a long moment. Then, just as Harry expected him to say something he simply gave a slight nod. “Be safe Harry. You know I'm always here.”

“Thanks Sirius” he replied earnestly before rushing out of his seat and up to his room to pack.

When Harry arrived at McMurdo Station he was both relieved and slightly annoyed to find out the emergency had passed. Apparently the Goa'uld had claimed to be sending a ship to Earth to test their defenses, but it had been destroyed in route by an opposing System Lord named Ba'al.

Got to love Goa'uld in-fighting.

It also turned out that the Asgard Thor had shown up long enough to borrow Daniel and the still-frozen O'Neill in an effort to save his homeworld from the Replicators. Harry couldn't help but wonder if there was ever a normal week when you worked at the SGC. Having received new orders from Dr. Weir he once again found himself on a long, and very boring, flight to Colorado.