Daniel led Jack down the path and twenty minutes later they reached the edge of Hogsmeade. They were mere yards from the Shrieking Shack when Daniel saw the familiar animagus form of Sirius Black trotting towards them. The dog barked and led the duo to doorway at the back of the old building and they followed him inside.
"What happened?" Sirius asked once he had transformed into his human form.
"We were in a car accident. He blacked out while we were on our way here." Jack had finally collapsed and Daniel carried him up the steps of the house to a bedroom with a small cot and placed him on it. "He has some cracked ribs and I don't know what else. Can you do anything?"
"If I had a wand-"
"Jack's is in the bag." Daniel motioned to the backpack on his shoulders and Sirius pulled it from him and rummaged through it until found what he was after.
Once he had Jack settled in the bed Daniel stepped aside and let Sirius work. The wizard swished his wand around and spoke words that sounded familiar to Daniel, but nothing that he knew for certain. A few hours later Sirius was finished and he turned to Daniel with an exhausted look on his face.
"He was badly hurt. I did as much magic as I could. Some of it will have to heal on its own."
"He's still unconscious?"
"He probably will be the rest of the night." Sirius put the wand back in the bag he'd found it in and led Daniel down the stairs where they could talk more.
"Jack will be alright, won't he?" Daniel's insecurity was clear and Sirius patted the younger man on the shoulder.
"Of course. He just needs his rest for now. Like I said, he was badly hurt. By tomorrow he should be awake and driving us mad as usual."
Daniel laughed softly at the thought, and both men sat down on two worn wooden chairs that were near the bottom of the steps.
"So why did you come back so soon?'
"Jack had a dream while we were on the plane home, and he said he had to come back. I came with." Sirius shook his head. He hated it when Jack had dreams like that. It always spelled bad things for those he dreamt of.
"Did he say anything about the dream itself?"
Daniel shook his head. "He wouldn't say anything about it. Whatever he saw was enough to freak him out though. He had half the plane terrified with all his screaming."
"You're friends didn't join you?"
"They couldn't this time." Daniel sighed thinking of Sam and Teal'c and what they must be going through with them gone. Hammond would have been grilling them hard by now to get info on where they were.
----------
Teal'c and Carter each a carried a single bag with them as they boarded the plane headed back to England. As they took their seats they glanced at one another. They had no idea what was waiting for them when they reached their destination, but they both hoped that they would reach their friends before anything bad happened.
----------
While Daniel and Sirius conversed below Jack slept restlessly in the room above them. His body healed as he lay there in the nearly too small cot and his hands and eyelashes twitched as his dreams overtook him.
"I can't take it anymore, Sev. These dreams are killing me. I just want them to stop." Jack cried out into the night as Severus put an arm around his brother's shoulder for comfort.
"It'll be alright. Dumbledore is trying to help you."
Jack threw his arms in the air and shook his head at Severus. "Damn him! He can't even give me something to help me sleep. I haven't slept in three weeks. I see things, Sev, terrible things all around me. My nightmares follow me even in the daylight."
"He means well, Jack. He wants to help you. Give him time. I'm sure he'll find something."
Pulling away from Severus, Jack moved towards the window of the owlery where they were talking. He looked out and saw the stars coming into view as the sun slowly set.
"It may be too late by then. I can already feel the dreams taking control of me. They're destroying me, Sev. Soon there won't be anything left for Dumbledore to help. I'll just be a shadow, a mindless tomb." Turning around Jack saw the confusion in his brother's eyes and he stepped closer to him. "I have to go now. The stars are calling me."
Before Severus could respond Jack took off at a run out of the owlery. He ran until his legs burned and the sweat was pouring out of his body like a sieve. His breathing was rapid he thought his heart was going to jump out of his chest when he finally dropped to his knees. Looking around him he saw that he was in the Forbidden Forest.
He scanned the area and then brought his hands up to cover his face. Silently he wept as the voices in his mind began to call out to him again. Struggling to get to his feet he cursed the voices. Covering his ears with his hands he pushed himself forward, going deeper into the forest.
When he could move no more he collapsed to the cold ground beneath him and closed his eyes. The visions came as soon as his eyelids shut, and he screamed as the pained images flashed through his mind.
"NO! Leave me alone!" His voice echoed into the night air as he writhed on the ground. The images were all he could see, people frightened and running, people dying all around him. All his strength was gone and he shut his eyes tightly allowing the visions to control him. He began to shout even louder, in words he didn't quite understand, but somewhere in his mind he knew they were a desperate call for help. "Accium Ligertas Nothas Duendem."
Over and over he repeated the words, until his throat ached and burned from the shouting. When he could no longer speak he curled himself tightly in a ball and waited, for what he couldn't be sure, but as the tears slid down his cheeks he hoped that either death would claim him or that help would save him.
Sometime later Jack opened his eyes once more and felt a cool breeze brush past him. He was still in the forest, but there were strange voices talking around him. He tried to lift his head, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. Kneeling beside him he was shocked to see a young Centaur resting one hand on his shoulder and the other dipping into a small bucket of water and bringing back a wet cloth to place on Jack's forehead.
"Rest child. You are safe here." Frightened Jack tried to pull away from the touch, but the Centaur's grip on his shoulder held him firmly in place. "Do not fear me. I mean you no harm."
"W-What are you doing?" Jack's voice faltered as he nervously looked around and saw he was surrounded by several other Centaurs, all of whom were staring intently at him.
"We heard your call. We've come to help you."
"B-but I thought C-Centaurs hated humans?" Still stuttering Jack turned his gaze away from the Centaurs.
"It is not hatred, we merely dislike your ways. Muggles and wizards alike have no understanding or like of our ways any more that we have of theirs."
"Then why help me?"
"You called to the forest with the old magic. That is something no magical creature can ignore." Jack watched the Centaur curiously as he dipped the cloth back in the water and brought it to his forehead again.
"I don't understand. How did I call you?"
"The words you spoke. Do you remember them?"
For a moment Jack paused and tried to think back to what he had said. "I think I do. It was something my grandmother taught me when I was a boy. She told me if I ever needed help to say the words and help would come."
"And so it did. Your grandmother was very wise. Most have forgotten the old magic. You are lucky to have been taught it at such a young age, for that is when it will remain with you."
The Centaurs words seemed strange and confusing to him, but he nodded quietly. "Can you really help me?"
"My brothers and I can try."
"Can you make the dreams stop?"
"Why would one wish to end their dreams? They are the pathway to the future." Jack cringed at the thought and the Centaur couldn't help but notice it.
"If my dreams are the future, then I want no part of it." The stars shone down on the two of them and Jack sighed heavily as he pointed to them. "They talk to me, the stars I mean. I hear them at night. They tell me things, dark things. I wish they didn't tell me the things they do."
The other Centaurs gathered around as Jack spoke. His words seemed to draw them in and they knelt beside him to listen.
"I've seen the darkest of things. A war to encompass all the magical world is coming, and nothing will be able to stop it. Many will die, and many more will wish they had. No one will be safe from it." Jack turned to the Centaur and stared deep into his eyes. "If this is the future, I'd rather not be a part of it."
"You underestimate your power, child. If you can hear the stars, then you are stronger than you realize. Most wizards are never able to hear the message of the stars. You seem to hear it clearly."
"It's driving me mad! I can't stop it!" The pain in Jack's face made the Centaur look away.
"You will come with us and we will help you." A tear rolled down his cheek as Jack nodded to the Centaur and slowly got to his feet.
"You haven't given me your name, Centaur?" The other Centaurs laughed softly and Jack raised an eyebrow curiously. "What so funny?"
"If you truly hear the stars then you already know my name, you already know all our names."
For a moment Jack looked around and as he made his way forward, following the Centaur whose name he wasn't quite sure of. As he followed he turned his eyes towards the stars and a soft voice began to whisper to him.
"You're name is Firenze." The Centaur stopped and turned his head to Jack as he nodded. "The others are Ronan...Bane...Morrigan...Aedan...and Torin."
The other Centaurs nodded as he pointed to each of them and gave their names. "You are truly gifted, Jack Corrigan, more so than you realize."
Slowly Jack opened his eyes. His mind was still swimming with the remnants of his dream and the long forgotten memory. He brought his hands up to chest and to his surprise the pain was gone. Looking around the room he realized he was back in the Shrieking Shack and he could just make out the sound of Daniel and Sirius talking somewhere below him.