Sorry this has taken a while, I've had lots of exams and have also been working on another fic (if you like slash, that's what it is).
The thing about Harry being two- I meant that later in his life, after Voldemort had tried to kill him the first time, the spells would have to be said. In the HP universe, Sirius would have been the one to say them, but was obviously a little tied up at the time (what with Azkaban and all). The Book of the Dead was just because it sounded cool.
This I should have said before- I'm not sure about the timeline of this in the SG universe. Sam is a Major, Daniel has Ascended and returned, and Dr Fraiser is still alive. So sometime in the seventh (is that right?) series.
Muchos gracias to Technetium for ideas. Yay!
To confer, converse, and otherwise hob-nob with my brother wizardsGeneral Hammond had left the room to consult the President on his cool shiny red phone. Jack looked across at Sirius. "So, I died."
"Yeah."
"Bummer."
Sirius had a pained expression. "I'm sorry, Jack, I shouldn't have broken…"
Jack shrugged carelessly. "It's ok. What you went through… no one should have to deal with that."
"You know, you're awfully fine with hearing about your death," Sirius remarked.
"Oh, he's died before."
"What?" Sirius exclaimed.
Daniel shrugged. "Not completely, he's always been brought back to life. He was once tortured to death though."
"Several times, if you remember."
Sirius looked incredulously at Jack. "You've died? What was it like?"
"Don't remember, and it was only for a short time. Danny here really did die. For about a year."
Daniel shook his head. "I didn't die, I merely Ascended to a higher plane of existence."
Sirius gave up at that point, and threw his head down upon the table. Carter reached across and patted him on the back. "Don't worry, Mr Black. It gets easier."
Sirius looked up and saw Sam Carter. He smiled slightly, turning on his charm. "Please, call me Sirius."
Jack kicked him under the table and glared at him. "I think it's about time Sirius got some rest."
Sirius cocked his head. "Sirius doesn't think so."
"Sirius Black. What was happening before you came through the mirror?" Teal'c questioned.
Sirius suddenly looked a lot older than his years. "My godson, Harry, was tricked into going to the Ministry of Magic building with some of his friends. He thought that… he thought I was in danger, and he went to rescue me. It was a trap set by Voldemort. His Death-Eaters attacked, and we got there to try and fight them off. I was duelling my cousin when she hit me and I fell through a veil."
General Hammond came into the room, his hand on the mouthpiece of his telephone. "Mr Black, the President would like a word." Sirius got up and walked into the adjoining room, shutting the door behind him.
Jack sighed. He found he couldn't bring himself to look at the others. "So, guys…"
"You should have told us."
"I know." He nodded his head. "But you understand why I couldn't, don't you?"
Daniel leant forward. "All those times we've talked about Charlie- you never told me the real reason he died."
"I know, and I'm sorry. But as well as the whole 'I never want to be reminded of magic and the death of my son' thing, it would have been against the law for me to tell you."
"What law?"
"The M.C.S. The Magical Control Service. Basically they give us all our laws, and enforce them."
"It must have been painful. To have Charlie die, because of something in you…"
Jack nodded, and spoke in a pained voice. "It was, and still is."
Carter leant forward, an excited expression on her face. "How do they know who has magic? Can anyone have it, or does it just run in families, or…"
"Carter, slow down. I have no idea how it goes. But anyone can have magic. Old families are more likely to have it, but some muggle-borns have it."
Daniel pushed his glasses up his nose. "Sirius mentioned 'muggles' before. What are they?"
"It's the wizard word for non magic people."
"You have your own language?" Daniel sat back in his chair, playing with his pen on the side of the table. "That could tell us a lot about your heritage, about where wizards came from."
Jack made a face. "I know what heritage means, thank you Daniel."
"Perhaps the wizards are descended from the Ancients," said Teal'c.
Carter nodded. "That's what I think. I mean, we already know you possess the gene, colonel, so maybe we should test Sirius' DNA. And any other wizards we can get."
"That might be difficult, Carter. I'm a recluse from the magic world, and Sirius is dead. Well, technically."
"I'm breathing pretty well for a corpse." Sirius entered the room and sat at the table again. "Were you discussing me?"
"Sirius, could I take some of your DNA?"
He goggled at the Major. "My what?"
"DNA. Deoxyribonucleic Acid. It's in all your genes, what makes you the person you are. All I need is a blood sample. Wouldn't hurt a bit."
Jack leaned across and spoke under his breath. "Just don't let Dr Fraiser take it. She's evil. Likes to stick needles in people."
Daniel drummed his hands on the table. "I'd also like to talk to you, Sirius. You could tell me about your culture, and I'd like to know some of the magic words so that I could trace their etymology…"
"OK, Daniel? While you're being all 'dusty professor', Sirius is falling asleep."
Sirius jerked. "No, I'm not."
"Padfoot, I know you. You probably slept three days ago."
General Hammond walked in. "Before you sleep, Mr Black, we'd like to give you a physical." Sirius grinned, and Jack hit him on the arm. "Major Carter, accompany him to the infirmary and then see about getting him a room. Colonel, my office."
"Sir, I…"
General Hammond sat behind his desk and gestured at the seat. "Sit down, Jack. What I don't understand is why you didn't tell at least one of us."
Jack shifted uncomfortably in the chair. "Well, sir, you would have had to tell the President. He knows about magic, but I didn't want him to know that one of his favourite soldiers could also go bang bang with a stick, not just with a gun. And you know how good Kinsey and the NID are at finding out things they're not supposed to know."
"Why not tell Dr Jackson? He's your best friend."
"When we went on the first mission, it was a suicide mission. I didn't feel much like telling anyone anything, seeing as Charlie was dead and Sara had left me. After that, I didn't want to be reminded of it, and I wasn't planning on doing any magic. I was just too used to keeping it a secret."
"Well, I've told the President that we have a visitor who came through the quantum mirror, and that he's a wizard. The President did not seem surprised by that. In fact he said he'd been wondering when we'd stumble across the existence of magic."
Jack smiled wryly. "Carter wants to take samples of wizard DNA to look for the gene, and Daniel's getting all excited about wizard culture and language. What's going to happen with Sirius, sir?"
"The President has agreed to leave that up to me. For now, we let him sleep."
"OK, sir." Jack stood, saluted, and left the room.
Sirius lay on the bed he'd been given. It wasn't too uncomfortable, a lot better than what he'd had in Azkaban. He moved, trying to make sure that he didn't put too much pressure onto his nether regions. Merlin, Jack hadn't been kidding when he said about Dr Fraiser liking needles. His ass now felt like a dartboard.
He rolled onto his side and breathed out. From here he could see his things on the little bedside cabinet. There wasn't much. His robe had been taken away. His wand was there, along with a packet of Polos he'd had stuffed into one of his pockets. And the two-way mirror… he'd given the other one to Harry for a Christmas present. After all, it had belonged to James. Sirius grabbed for it and spoke.
"Harry Potter." The mirror didn't change. It was still Sirius' reflection staring back at him. It had been a long shot. They were in different realities. But still… Sirius would give anything for just one more glimpse of his godson. Harry had given him a reason to live again, but now he'd lost that. Molly Weasley thought it was just because Harry looked like James, but it was more than that. Harry was his own person, and if Sirius would admit it better than James had been at that age. He had Lily's ethics, wasn't a bully like James had been until seventh year. And he was brave. He'd faced Voldemort down so many times…
Oh no. What if Voldemort had turned up to the Ministry? What if this time Harry's luck had run out?
Sirius lay back, ignoring the stab of pain. He'd never know. It was impossible to hope that he'd get back to his own reality. But he hadn't been there for Harry when he was most needed. Again.
It was going to be a long sleepless night.
Right, so I've changed the cliché of 'Sam hates the idea of magic because it goes against science'. I think she would be quite open minded, and excited about the possibility. She was when it came to the gate.
Because this gets a good response when I did it in my other favourite fic that I write, I'm going to respond to my reviewers. Hello!
mew-xena- You were my first reviewer ever, and are therefore very special. And I'm glad you think I've got Jack's character!
SarahTee- I hope you think this is a good story, except at the moment I'm not sure where I'm going with this. So it may be disjointed.
blackmagic- Jack being a wizard just kinda makes sense, you know? He's the coolest one there.
sexyirishBeep- Aw, only quite good? ;) Sorry it's been such a long wait.
technetium- As I said before, thank you for your long reviews. They're so cool!