Author's Note: COMMA!!!!
LRH: So, Eriu can't punctuate worth her wand. She's still a good writer, at least when it comes to SG-1.
Eriu: *from the freezer* we have ice-cream!! =-D *Three seconds later* Not anymore! And I can punctuate EXCLAIMATION POINT!
LRH: Only in the Author's Notes. And you can't spell "their".
Eriu: Tooth paste? 'ni way we have a game for you readers out there, COMMA!
LRH: See if you can pick up where we switch who'se writing. We do it about once every two paragraphs or so, so keep on your toes. Or tentacles. Or whatever. If you can figure out the exact places, you win a prize. What was the prize again?
Eriu: What am I, Vanna White? You get the fricken' golden Kewpie Doll, babe.
LRH: I thought they won a trip to Colorado.
Eriu: no we used the tickets last week remember the pie?
LRH: (Hee hee hee, she still can't punctuate!) Oh, right. I do remember the pie. And the whumping ^L^ and…stuff.
Eriu: We will feast on Micheal Shanks! ;-)
LRH: Oooookay… Anyway, read and play! And review!
Eriu: And eat pie!
Chapter 3
Harry looked warily at Daniel and his companions. "I've never heard of the Ankh-ish."
Draco snorted. "Binns covered it in our fourth year."
"That would be why I've never heard of it, then."
Then, a voice came from the boiler-room behind them. "They are in here, Headmaster." Snape stormed in, robes billowing behind him like a storm. Striking like a snake, he grabbed Harry's ear.
"What are you doing down here, Potter?" he hissed. "These rooms are off-limits to students."
Jack rushed forward, grabbed Snape by the collar and slammed him up against the far wall. Growling between gritted teeth, he whispered, "Don't touch the kid, grease-ball, or I'll take off that ugly head quicker than you can say Charles Manson."
Daniel stepped forward, gesturing calmingly. "Er, Jack, calm do-…"
"That will be quite enough, gentlemen," said a gentle, yet commanding voice. "Ah, Severus. I see you found our missing dententionees, and a few new arrivals." The man, an old man with hair and beard so white that they nearly glowed in the dim light, cocked his head politely, awaiting an introduction. Jackson quickly obliged.
"Oh! Hello, I'm Dr. Daniel Jackson. That is Major Samantha Carter, Teal'c, and-" Daniel grimaced and pointed at Jack. "Colonel Jack O'Neill."
Dumbledore nodded in benediction. "A pleasure to meet you all, I'm sure. My name is Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." He smiled. "The 'grease-ball,' as you so charmingly titled him, is Severus Snape, our Potion's Master."
Daniel offered his hand to Dumbledore, smiling genuinely. "It's an honour to meet you, Sir, and I'd like to apologize for Colonel O'Neill's behavior. He's very protective of children." The doctor paused for a moment, changing subjects with a practiced ease. "I was wondering if some one could help us. You see, we seem to be a bit lost." Daniel stopped a moment drawing another lungful of air then rusted on again. "It would be greatly appreciated, Headmaster Dumbledore."
Dumbledore smiled benevolently (he does that a lot) "People who arrive in our basement usually are-"
"There's a basement?" Dumbledore just looked at Sirius.
"Of course there's a basement, Sirius." He turned back to Daniel "Come, lets go back up to Hogwarts Proper, where some explanations shall be made."
"Thank you, Headmaster."
"Finally!" Jack exclaimed, "Lets get out of this dingy cave- hole!"
Dumbledore led the was out of the room with the gate, passing through the boiler room and into a large chamber, filled with laughter and industrious house- elves, who were washing the castles sheets. They stopped and stared as the group passed through, then resumed their frantic activity as soon as they were past the next door. Now they found themselves at the base of an immense spiral staircase. It seemed to go up forever, lost in the mists of altitude.
Harry, who had been watching the strange muggles on their short walk, smirked at their shocked expressions.
"Oh god no..." Carter whimpered.
O'Neill glared at the offending architecture. "I hate stairs."
"Stay here then." Snarled Snape. "The house- elves would be glad of the help." Sirius smiled, then scowled as he realized that he had just agreed with Snape.
Jack glared at both purebloods and started up the stairs at a crisp march. Jackson sighed and fallowed after him, Dumbledore right behind.
Dumbledore spoke in an amiable voice as they all climbed the stairs. "Dr. Jackson, is it? I would be interested in knowing how you activated that portal. To the best of my knowledge, it has been defunct for as long as this school has stood."
"Well, we weren't supposed to end up here. You see, that 'portal,' as you call it, is a Stargate, part of a network. My guess is, we – well- I misdialed or… er… something." Daniel winced. He seemed to do that a lot, Harry noticed.
Dumbledore seemed interested. "So there are other Stargates like ours? Where do they lead?"
"Well, there's one in Colorado, and another in Antarctica… That's really about it." Again a wince.
Sirius piped up from the back of the group. "You told me that we were on another planet, in that wet place, with the jellyfish."
Jackson flushed red. "I'm not a…" He paused. "Oh… right. That was, er, Colorado?" He scratched his ear, flashing a grin that tried and failed to be convincing.
Major Carter closed her eyes in what was most likely embarrassment and groaned loudly. O'Neill stopped dead in his tracks.
"For crying out loud, Daniel! Either shut up or don't lie!"
Teal'c raised his eyebrow fractionally. Sirius wore an unholy smirk. "Stick-boy that, asshole."
Harry and Draco exchanged perplexed looks, but did not comment. There was definitely a story behind this.
Dumbledore smiled at Daniel, and winked. "We all have secrets to keep, Dr. Jackson, whether our own or our people's."
O'Neill looked at Dumbledore, mouth agape. "How did you know that?" Dumbledore just smiled cryptically, continuing up the stairs.
From above them, quick footsteps came hurrying down. "Albus? Is that you? Did you find Harry?"
"Yes, Remus," said the Headmaster, looking up at the newcomer, who was silhouetted against the light from above. "We found him."
"Unfortunately," muttered Snape, bringing up the rear. Sirius shot him an evil glance.
"We also found Mr. Malfoy," continued Dumbledore. "And Sirius Black, and four muggles. It has been an eventful day."
"Sirius!?" Remus sounded shocked, and he sat down abruptly on the steps. "He's alive?"
"And well," confirmed Dumbledore happily. "The muggles-"
Daniel cut him off irritably. "Will you please stop calling us that?"
"Muggle, muggle, muggle," taunted Sirius, poking Daniel to keep him moving. He didn't expect a reaction from the nerd.
Daniel turned on Sirius and punched him squarely in the face, sending the long-haired man falling down the stairs. His arms flailing, Sirius grabbed the front of Daniel's shirt in a last-ditch attempt to stay his fall, but he only succeeded in pulling him down with him. They fell backwards and Harry saw it as if in slow motion. Sirius tumbled backwards down the steps, but Daniel lurched against the wrought-iron railing, unbalanced enough to topple over it.
"Wingardium Leviosa!" shouted Remus while everyone else was stunned by the sudden turn of events. His spell caught Sirius, but Daniel fell right through it, yelling in choked terror.
It wasn't a terribly long fall, as these things go, but the fall wasn't really the problem. The landing was. Daniel hit the ground hard, landing directly on the back of his neck. Spikes of white-hot pain shot down his back, leaving in their wake cold nothingness. He knew he wasn't bleeding; bleeding felt subtly different. Cold fire burned through his neck and up into his head. Slowly it dawned on him that he couldn't breath. He could hear Jack screaming his name, so ready to take revenge on Black. Daniel couldn't speak, couldn't tell Jack not to do it. He couldn't save them, ever. He was going to die, without hope. Terror filled the emptiness that was his body.
'I'm really going to die this time.'
There was nothing, no one there to help him. The world began to fade to gray and gray to black. His hearing began to fade, and Daniel dies to the sounds of his surrogate family's tears.