Disclaimer: I own nothing of either Harry Potter or Stargate. Dialogue is borrowed from the episode 'Acension.'

Chapter 14 Friday, part 2

Friday 8:28am Mountain Time, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Still half asleep, Harry turned over in the bed, reaching for Ginny only to find himself frowning at the absence of his wife. Sitting up he rubbed his eyes to remove the fog from his vision before grabbing his glasses resting on the night stand, searching the room. Catching sight of the crib he noticed James was missing too and with a reluctant sigh he got out of the warm bed to start the day.

Shuffling into the front rooms wearing an old Quidditch shirt and boxers he found both Ginny and Hermione seated at the kitchen counter already dressed for the day, having what appeared to be a very serious discussion while James sat in his highchair eating some dry cereal.

At his approach both women stopped speaking and turned their attention to him. Warily he continued to enter the kitchen, feeling their eyes following him all the while as he made his way toward the awaiting coffeepot. It looked like he was going to need it. Once he had a mug Harry cautiously began to take a seat at the awaiting dining room table studying their reactions.

Ginny tried and failed to give him her usual warm smile; instead it was marred with an expression of concern. Uneasily he focused on Hermione who was absently stirring her cup of tea and had a smile plastered on her face that made him think of a large cat hunting her prey.

It took a moment for Harry to remember why his best-friend might be upset with him and when his brain finally decided to kick in he winced. He opened his mouth to begin apologizing for the previous night, he knew she would be mad at him for keeping her in the dark over her new celebrity and the changes her papers had helped spark in the Wizarding world, but was stopped by Hermione picking up a copy of Witch lying next to her.

Confused at how she had managed to get a copy of that paper he froze at her next words.

"In a stunning turn of events Hermione Granger, who has mostly remained secluded from Wizarding society with a few notable exceptions, since her exile after the Final Battle of the Second War Against Voldemort has once again involved herself in current events.

"Previously Miss Granger had made headlines for her involvement with Omar Abassi the scion of the Abassi Clan during his father, Mohamed's recent run for a seat on the International Wizarding Council. The daring pairing helped boost the previously conservative standing of the Abassi name to be a forerunner on the ticket. A more in-depth study of the potential motivations of these two political players is available on page 15.

"This time, however, Miss Granger once again is being pulled into a Ministry investigation concerning several suspicious artifacts that have found their way into the black market in recent months. These artifacts are imbued with Dark Magic and a high priory is being given to stopping the distribution and sale of said items. At present the origin and nature of these artifacts is unknown. While no official statement has been released to confirm or deny her involvement, according to our sources in the Auror Office it has become necessary to contact outside help in hopes of identifying these artifacts, and Miss Granger is one of the ones being consulted for this case.

"No mention has been made on why exactly Miss Granger has been chosen, but speculation is high in certain circles that her previous dealing with the Dark Arts may be what the Ministry is interested in. When asked about the skill-set that attracted the Ministry's attention Anthony Lennwood the Head of the Magical Law Enforcement Department said,

"'We are exploring any and all avenues of inquiry regarding these artifacts. The Ministry considers them a high priority and asks anyone with knowledge of them to step forward.'"

"It goes on, but do I really need to continue Harry?"

He didn't know what to say. He hadn't even been able to broach the subject of the investigation yet during this trip. Cursing Jeff and his fan-boy attitude, the only one who could have possibly leaked that Hermione was being used as a source of info, Harry opened his mouth only to close it at her icy glare. "Don't. Don't even try to say that you were trying to protect me. I get that you didn't want to upset me about talking about the Wizarding world, I really do, but this…" She held up the paper and faltered before taking a deep breath and continuing. "You know what forget it." Standing she placed her cold tea in the sink and began to leave the room.

Feeling horrible he called to her. "Hermione."

Turning around he was silenced by the resigned expression on her face. "Harry I'm never going to be part of the Wizarding world again, whether they see me as a messiah or a monster, it doesn't matter." He could tell she did care, but didn't call her on it. "What does matter is that I still interact with individuals that come from that world, not just yourself. I need to know these things if I'm going to be able to protect myself from any opportunistic bastard out there. I need a friend who is going to give it to me straight."

"Alright, alright," Harry said, trying to pacify the enraged witch before him. "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you anything."

"And you agree not to do it again." Her tone brooked no room for disagreement. Shaking his head in agreement, he said, "I promise."

Thinking the discussion was at an end Harry was again put on the defensive as Hermione switched topics. "Now that that is all cleared up how about you tell me all about this important investigation I'm helping you with."

Uncomfortable and guilty at not telling her before, Harry outlined the case and even shuffled back to the bedroom to track down the copies of the rune inscription he had brought. Handing over the photos, he watched with amusement as Hermione quickly snatched them up and began to mumble as her fingers moved over the page trying to figure out their hidden secrets. He could tell that she was still upset about his actions when after he finished talking she sat up, stumbling across the room on her crutches in her haste to get away and headed toward her office to get some work done.

Feeling helpless Harry looked at Ginny who had kept out of the conversation. With a sigh she decided to enlighten him. "She's mad."

He raised an eyebrow at the understatement. "I think I got that. I knew she would be mad at me about keeping her in the dark, but…"

Ginny interrupted before he could begin to brood. "She's really not mad at you. She's mad at herself for letting others take advantage of things."

Maybe it was the fact that it still was early or that he was a guy, but Harry's brain couldn't seem to figure out what she was talking about. "Ginny I'm sorry, but I'm not sure what it is you're going on about."

She gave him an exasperated look. "Harry, the article."

He still didn't get it. "Look, I know I hadn't exactly gotten a chance to ask her to look at the translations on the artifact, but she does this kind of stuff with her archeology colleagues all the time; I didn't think she would mind," Harry protested.

Waving a hand to stop him Ginny spoke, her tone indicating that she was more than a little upset with him as well. "Dear, try not to dig yourself too deep a hole. We'll come back to the issue of your investigation later. That's not what this is really about."

What?

Seeing his lack of comprehension she elaborated, "Harry the article basically implied that she has been manipulating events in the Wizarding world from behind the scenes for years. That the last real relationship she had was a calculated political move on Omar's part to elevate his father's standing in the eyes of the public."

"Oh." There wasn't too much else he felt he could say. Omar wasn't really someone he had known all that well, an old friend of Bill's from Egypt. When Hermione had announced her intention to move into the region Omar had been someone she had been told to make herself acquainted with. Their relationship had progresses quickly from the beginning to the abrupt end.

"Yes, oh. She knew that Omar wasn't Mr. Right, that he had some very old fashion beliefs about a woman's place in society. This isn't the first time she has questioned why he was with her; the article just reinforced her doubts," Ginny explained. "Give her some time to get her thoughts sorted out."

Friday 11:06am, Cheyanne Moutain, Colorado

Sitting at her computer scanning the projected calculations, Sam resisted the urge to sigh. It wasn't working. Leaning back in her chair she tried to ease the tension by tilting her head from one side to the other to stretch her neck, but it was only a temporary measure.

Ever since she woke up this morning everything had felt off. She knew that she could figure out the right numbers, but given the way things had been going lately she was pushing herself far more than normal with the need to prove herself, and the continuing dead ends were driving her up the wall. Adding to her stress was the meeting with Hammond she had just come from.

Thankfully Daniel's entrance shook her out of her pessimistic thoughts.

"That's the last of it," he said, setting a cardboard box on her workbench.

"Thanks."

An awkward moment passed as he nervously shifted before finally speaking. "What are you working on?"

Ignoring the elephant in the room. "Well, based on your translation and SG-16's latest report, the Pentagon has started putting pressure on General Hammond to try to find a way to activate the weapon."

"You think that's going to be possible?" he asked with genuine interest.

"Well yeah." A smile tugged at the corner of Sam's mouth, her spirits lifting as she described her solution. "A naquada reactor can be interfaced easily enough. The problem is the burst of energy that's required makes the whole thing pretty dangerous."

A frown crossed Daniel's face. "How?"

Fully in her element now she explained. "Well, basically you have to start an overload in the reactor and then release it into the device. The problem is, once the overload is started, you have no choice but to release the energy, or the reactor will explode.

"So you'd better be sure you want the weapon to fire," Daniel simplified.

"Yep. I'm working on a way to try to buffer the energy in a safer environment prior to the release, but General Hammond hasn't given me much time." Her earlier frustration seeped into her tone.

Watching Daniel, Sam saw he was not listening to her, lost in his own thoughts, before he seemed to come to a conclusion. "By all accounts, this device on 636 is a pretty powerful weapon."

Catching onto what he was hinting at, Sam asked, "You think we should just leave it alone?"

"Well, let's just say I'd feel better if there was someone left to explain how to use it."

Friday 11:54am, Colorado Springs, Colorado

She entered the room with a bang, the office door swinging open to loudly collide with the flat's wall, startling the occupants of the living room. Pulling himself up from the reclined position he had taken on the couch, Harry watched with amusement as Hermione swung into the room, struggling to balance on her crutches and sling her arm into the sleeve of a coat at the same time.

Standing, Harry rushed over to help her. "Wow, slow down there Hermione."

With a huff of frustration she responded, "I don't have the time, I'm already running late."

"Late?" queried Ginny from her seat on the floor. They had been playing with James all that morning, patiently waiting for Hermione to emerge from her studies and calm down from the earlier showdown. He felt guilty for not telling Hermione about the case earlier and allowing her to lock herself in her office all day doing research in an effort to avoid him.

Without a glance in his direction, Hermione answered his wife's question. "Yes, late. I promised Kevin I'd meet up for lunch to continue our conversation."

Harry blinked in surprise; that was news to him.

As he watched Ginny let a smirk curve the corner of her mouth. "Really now? A date Hermione."

Letting out another huff, this time in exasperation Hermione replied, "Don't be silly Ginny. I'm simply helping the poor man better understand the world his daughter is part of."

"That may be what you think, but that's not what he is thinking. That man has the hots for you," commented his wife.

"Ginny!" shrieked Hermione, turning bright red and Harry could feel his own face becoming quite warm as well in mortification.

She only rolled her eyes. "Honestly Hermione you need to loosen up a bit, get laid-"

"Alright, alright, enough. I don't need to hear this," Harry protested. He didn't need to hear about his quasi sister's sex life.

"Don't be a prude, dear," his wife teased.

Before they got too off track Hermione steered the conversation back on course. "Anyways I need to get going, the cab should be here in a moment." Finally gracing him with her attention, Hermione addressed him with just a bit of her earlier ice beneath the words. "I'll be going into work after to get a book of mine, which should help me finish working out the remaining runes."

Caught off guard, Harry replied, "Okay. But really there is no rush."

"You two can go out if you want, do a little sight-seeing before the party tonight," commented Hermione as she opened the door, ignoring him.

"I'm glad you could make it" came the warm greeting Kevin sent her as he stood up to pull out her seat before taking his own. "I'll admit I was a little worried for a moment."

Hermione sent him a warm smile automatically, put at ease by his gentlemanly manner and let the relaxed atmosphere of the place lessen some of the tension she had been fighting all morning. "I'm sorry for troubling you. I was a little caught up in a project that came to my attention all of a sudden."

A small frown crossed his features. "Nothing serious I hope. I don't know much about my brother's work, but from what I've seen over the years it has not kept him out of harm's way."

Carefully avoiding the unasked question, Hermione was quick to change the subject back to her original objective. "Harry actually had me looking over a case of his."

"Is that a fairly common thing for you to do?" Kevin asked, successfully diverted.

She let a small sigh escape. "Not really, but I'm not unfamiliar with, at times, lending a hand to my friends when they're in a bit of a bind."

"You don't sound that happy about it," observed Kevin.

"It's complicated" was her halfhearted way of saying she didn't want to discuss it.

He didn't say anything; just studied her and she could feel her resolve to keep quiet slowly melting away. "Uncomplicate it."

A small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. "There's not much chance of that…It has to do with a lot of what happened around the time I…departed the Wizarding world," she replied diplomatically.

"You never did explain much about that last night," he remarked, reaching across the table and taking her hand in his. "I know that we don't really know each other, but I would like that to change. Give me a chance to know the real you under all those layers."

Caught off guard at the familiarity he was taking, Hermione resisted the urge to pull her hand back. Despite her protests to Ginny it wasn't lost on her that Kevin was attracted to her and it had been a long time since she had allowed herself a chance to keep company with a man. The spectacular disaster that was her relationship with Omar, and her work schedule left little time for such things. She paused to examine her feelings. It felt nice, the human contact.

It was probably a combination of both the confrontation with Harry that morning and the memories that had been stirred the night before that loosened her tongue. "Your daughter called me The-Exile because that is what I am. I was expelled from Britain and had my magic stripped shortly after the war."

Her statement obviously startled him. "Uh, why?"

A bitter laugh escaped her. "Those struggling to remain in power thought that I was a threat. The trial caught me unprepared, and before I knew it I was living out of a hostel in Paris before an old friend let me crash at his castle in Bulgaria. Two months later I was living in Australia with an old friend of my parents, trying to cram an entire curriculum of high school into my head."

She found the partially unhinged jaw amusing. She had obviously caught him off-guard. "But why didn't you do anything?"

"I couldn't."

He frowned. "I don't understand, there had to be ways…"

Shake of the head. "No. My friends, the Order, my fellow students…well everyone really, were still recovering from wounds. I tried sending appeals, writing papers, doing everything I could think of, but as the months passed my initial fervor in trying to overturn the verdict dissipated. Everything was taking forever, I could see the years of battle still lying ahead of me. I was alone and tired. I didn't want to put my whole future on hold trying to fight for my place in a world I wasn't really sure I wanted to be part of anymore. That didn't want me."

She paused, carefully gauging her next words while watching his reaction. Even after so many years the lie never became easier. "My decision, as you can imagine, caused some problems with my friends. They eventually accepted my choice, but we haven't been as close since."

"You are a very brave woman, Hermione Granger," remarked Kevin as he took her other hand in his.

"Thank you." She could feel her face warming as a blush spread across her cheeks. It had been a long time since a man had treated her this way, and not just as something to ogle. Not that working at the base was a problem; the soldiers working there were great, but the other scientists tended to treat her like an oddity because of her age and gender.

"It's the truth. You really are remarkable, and I'm glad that my daughter decided to go all fan-girl last night so that we got the opportunity to meet."

Laughter. "I'm glad too." She let go of Kevin's hands and picked up the previously forgotten menu. "So, what is good here?"