Thanks so much for all the feedback people sent me on the last chapter. I'm glad everyone is still interested and reading this story. I am almost to the end of this fic (only a few more chapters left), that has left me utterly flabbergasted at how long it's become. I really only intended this to be a short answer to Aussie Mel's challenge. Who knew it would turn into this? Well, I've rambled enough. Back to your regularly scheduled programming...
"Just what do you two think you're doing here?" Jack's voice echoed through the trees as he glared at the other half of SG-1 that was currently standing a few feet in front of him.
"Sir, we came to help."
Shaking his head at Carter, Jack groaned. "And you? What do you have to say for yourself, Teal'c?"
"We believed we could be of assistant to you and SiriusBlack." The jaffa cocked an eyebrow in Jack's direction and Jack sighed heavily.
"What about Hammond? What did you tell him?"
Carter glanced at Teal'c and then slowly turned back to her CO. "We sort of told him that you'd explain things when you got back."
Jack bit back the curse that wanted to leave his lips as he glared at his 2IC. "You what?!"
"We convinced him your leaving was important, and that you wouldn't just throw your career away for nothing. He agreed to let us come after you, as long as he got a full explanation when we returned."
"I don't believe this." Jack leaned against the wreckage of his rental car as the rest of his team watched him in silence.
Sirius, who had transformed back into his human form once they had cleared the trees was the first to break the silence. "This is quite the team you have, Jack."
Jack nodded as he looked up at Sirius with a half smile on his face. "You could say that again."
"Well, as long as we're all here we might as well make the best of it." Daniel's voice seemed almost chipper as he looked over at Jack.
The colonel was less than pleased with his friend as he turned to glare at the younger man for moment.
"Let's get the gear out of this thing." Jack pointed to the wrecked car as he stood up. "Then hopefully we can make it back to the shack before dark."
They all nodded and gathered up the contents of the vehicle and readied their packs. As Jack and Sirius started back into the woods, Carter's voice made them turn.
"Are we just gonna leave the cars here like this?" Both wizards looked from each other to her and back. They nodded to one another briefly as Jack pulled out his wand and motioned for the others to move out of the way.
"Evanesco!" He shouted as he pointed at one car and then the next as they both disappeared.
"Um...sir, what did you do to them exactly?"
"I made them disappear, can't you tell?" Jack smirked as he adjusted the strap on his pack and turned back towards the trees.
The others followed at a brisk pace as the group made their way back through the forest. Sirius had chosen to remain in his human form as they traveled back, but was still taking point as Jack and the others followed his lead.
----
Somewhere near the edge of the forest he watched from behind a small rock as the groundskeeper entered his hut and then walked back out with a bowl in his beefy hands. Hagrid set the water-filled bowl down in front of the hippogriff currently chained to a stake in the middle of pumpkin patch. For a moment Hagrid looked up as he heard something move in the distance. He could just make out the outline of the tiny creature creeping through the garden of pumpkins. His hand went down to catch the creature, but the hippogriff was quicker and snatched it up by the tail.
"Let im go, Beaky. That there belongs to sumon else. Give it here." Hagrid stretched his hand out and reluctantly Buckbeak dropped the creature into Hagrid's hand. "Best get you inside. I'm sure Ron'll be lookin fer you."
Hagrid held Scabbers in his hands and carried him inside the hut. He carefully placed him in small cage he kept just above the stove. As he turned back around the soft purr of a cat caught his attention, and he went to the window where Crookshanks was now sitting. He could tell the cat was eyeing the cage where Scabbers was being held and he shook his head at the cat.
"I guess you didn't eat im afterall." Hagrid ran a hand down Crookshank's back and the cat purred louder, still keeping its eyes fixed on the cage.
----
They'd reached the middle of the forest as the sun was setting fast behind them. Teal'c had moved up and was now walking beside Sirius while Jack had fallen to the end of the pack and was scanning the area as they moved on through the forest.
Looking up Jack saw the first stars come into view and a soft whisper met his ears. He sighed and clutched at his pack tightly as he tried to shut the voice from his mind.
"Sir, are you alright?" Major Carter asked as she turned back to see her CO looking slightly flushed.
"I'm fine, Carter. It's just been a long day." With a nod she let it go and kept walking, still casting a glance back in the Colonel's direction every so often.
A few more minutes went and when she looked back again Jack brought his hands to his head stumbled to his knees.
"Jack!" "Sir!" Daniel and Carter shouted simultaneously as they both watched Jack fall to the ground.
Teal'c and Sirius came up behind them as they bent down to check on their friend and teammate, who was crumpled to the ground clutching his head.
As Daniel placed his hand on Jack's shoulder he looked up and Daniel couldn't help but move back as he stared at the vacant look in Jack's eyes.
"Secrets will be undone. Truth will destroy a soul and set another free. Destiny is in the stars. An evil shall come to power. A wrong will be made right, but the darkness will rise again and only a power from stars and the One will end it." Jack's voice was hollow as he spoke and once the words had left him he collapsed into Daniel and Sam's arms.
Teal'c gently picked up the Colonel as he slowly blinked back to consciousness. "O'Neill are you well?"
"What the-" Jack looked around at the concerned expressions on his friend's faces and groaned. "Damn! I passed out didn't I?"
"Yeah Jack, you did. You were saying something weird right before you did too." Jack looked curiously at Daniel and then at the others and shook his head.
"What did I say?"
Sirius was the first to answer. "You were talking about the stars and darkness that would rise again."
Daniel nodded in agreement and then added some more. "You also said something about a wrong being made right. You don't remember any of that?"
"That'd be a big honkin no. Not like that would be the first time though." Jack lowered his head and pulled away from Teal'c and the others as he got to his feet.
"If you're up to moving, we should get to it. It's not safe to be out here in the dark." The tone of Sirius' voice made Daniel and Carter shiver and they all gathered themselves and began to move again.
They made it to the shack an hour or so later. No one had spoken about Jack's odd behavior while in the forest, though it was all any of them could think about. It wasn't until the next morning that Daniel brought the subject up while they were all munching on some of the food he had bought in Hogsmeade the day before.
"What exactly happened last night in the forest, Jack?"
Jack peered over the top of his cup at Daniel, who was seating across the room from him. "I honestly don't know."
"Well, I wrote down what you said, or at least what I think you said." Scooting closer to Jack, Daniel pulled a notepad from the front pocket of his jacket and handed it to Jack, opened to a page that had the archeologist's familiar scrawling on it.
Jack scanned the words and shook his head. "That doesn't make sense. I don't remember much. There were voices and they kept getting louder and louder and then it all went black."
"What voices, sir?" Carter piped up from her spot in the corner across the room from Jack.
"The stars, Carter. They were talking to me. I just couldn't make out what they were saying. They got so loud my head hurt, and that's all I remember."
Carter stared blankly at Jack and curiously shook her head. "You heard the stars talking to you?"
"I know it sounds strange but yes. I think I've always been able to hear the stars." Jack sighed at the skeptical expression on his 2IC's face.
"I once heard a tale as child of a warrior on Chulak that could speak to the stars. It was said that he gained his strength from them, and that they would warn him of impending danger so that he might ready himself for battle." Teal'c voice startled them as they turned towards the doorway where the jaffa was standing after just entering the room.
Jack smiled as he took a drink from his coffee cup. "It's not the easiest thing to believe."
"Neither is believing you can do magic, but I've seen that so I'm inclined to believe you now, even though it sounds insane to me, sir." Jack nodded to Carter and Teal'c as he handed Daniel back his notepad.
"Do you think this has anything to do with Sirius or Harry?" Daniel asked as he stuffed the notepad into his pocket.
"It's possible. If that's true, it doesn't sound like us being here will make much difference in how things turn out."
"Maybe we're here to make sure things turn out the way they're supposed to, Jack." Sighing Jack nodded rather skeptically at Daniel..
"Daniel's right, sir. If this, whatever you said was real, then maybe that's why we're here." Daniel and Carter looked at each other and then back at Jack and he sighed and shook his head.
"When did you become such a believer, Carter?" Jack asked as he shrugged his shoulders at the Major.
"I can't say I'm a true believer, but I'm willing to suspend my own beliefs until I'm proven wrong."
Jack laughed softly and brought his cup to his lips and drank from it. "I guess that's the scientist in you."
"Where's Sirius anyway?" Daniel looked around and then up at Teal'c who cocked in eyebrow knowingly.
"He has gone to seek out the feline, Crookshanks."
Jack cursed under his breath as he shook his head furiously. "I swear that fool wants to get caught. Not many know he can change into a dog, but if someone sees a strange mutt hanging around the school, they're gonna be suspicious."
The others watched as Jack got to his feet and started for the door, brushing past Teal'c as he walked out of the room.
Several hours later Sirius returned with Crookshanks in tow and Jack shook his head as the two four legged creatures curled around each other in the corner of the room.
"You're gonna get caught if you're not careful." Sirius growled at Jack and then uncurled himself from Crookshooks and padded towards Jack.
He transformed just as he came within a few feet of Jack and angrily waved his arms. "Why do you have be so damned overprotective?"
"I'm not overprotective. I just don't wanna see you get caught. In case you forgot, there's a pack of dementors and half the wizarding world looking for you!"
Sirius yelled and reached for a nearby chair and threw it at the far wall, causing Crookshanks to hiss. "Like I could forget that Jack!"
"You could fool me. You keep running around in the daylight like that, and someone is gonna catch you!"
"The only people alive that know I'm an animagus are you and Remus!"
The two continued to yell, and their shouts brought the other members of SG-1 to check things out. They all stood in the doorway watching as Jack and Sirius' shouts grew louder and louder. Finally, Daniel stepped in-between both men. Realizing everyone was staring at them, the two men quieted.
"You two sound like children. What the hell is going on?" Daniel looked back and forth, waiting for one of them to respond.
It was Sirius who answered first, seeing Jack cross his arms over his chest stubbornly. "He's too bloody overprotective. I don't need a mother hen. I'm quite capable of taking care of myself."
"Oh fer cryin out loud! I already told you I'm not overprotective!" At those words Daniel and Carter shook their head and tried to suppress the laugh they both knew was threatening to leave them. Teal'c raised an eyebrow questioningly and Jack sighed heavily. "Okay, maybe I'm a little overprotective, but only when I care. I don't wanna see anything bad happen to you Siri, not if I can help it."
Sirius shook his head. "It's not your job to protect me, Jack."
Jack scoffed and rolled his eyes. "That's what James said when I tried to tell him about Peter."
"When did you tell him about Peter?" The shock in Sirius' voice was clear and Daniel and the others moved closer.
"A few fays before he and Lily died. I didn't know who they were choosing as a secret keeper, but I wanted to make sure it wasn't him. James thought I was crazy. He said I was having one of my weird dreams again, and that it was nothing. He said it wasn't my responsibility to take care of him or Lily. I knew then that he'd already chosen a secret keeper. I hoped he had chosen you, and I left it at that."
Sirius dropped his head into his hands. "He never said a word when I told him to switch to Peter. Why did he agree to it? Why?!"
Jack sighed heavily and stepped closer to Sirius, putting a hand on his shoulder as he did so. "It was his choice. Just like it's your choice to keep going out there. I care. That's why I say something to you about it. In the end if you go out it's all on you."
"Now you're trying to make me feel guilty?"
"No, that's not my intention."
"It certainly sounds that way!" Sirius' nostrils flared as he looked into Jack's eyes.
"Guys. Calm down. No one is trying to make anyone feel guilty or anything like that. You're two friends that want what's best for each other." Daniel's voice of reason made both men step back from one another and turn in the archeologist's direction.
They could see the sincerity and concern in the young man's eyes and they nodded. Carter and Teal'c stepped forward to join Daniel and Jack leaned back against the wall.
"Did you find out anything from Crookshanks?" Jack pointed down to the orange feline that was rubbing against his leg.
Sirius smiled and took a step closed and picked up the cat and gently stroked his fur. "He says that Peter is with Hagrid."
"What's he doing with him?" Jack brought his hand to his chin.
"I think Peter was trying to get away, but he stumbled onto our favorite groundskeeper. He's holding him, so he can return him to the Weasley boy."
"Is this good or bad, sir?" Jack and Sirius turned to Carter and Jack shrugged his shoulders.
"Could go either way. If Hagrid hasn't given Peter back to the Weasley kid we have a chance of getting to him before he does."
"How do we find out?"
Sirius smiled at Daniel's question and let Crookshanks jump down to the floor. "That's what he's going to do in the morning. We can plan from there."