Just a side note for those who read my Campers! stories... I probably won't write anymore of them for a while - until I finish the Mitchell Files and this Harry Potter one, anyways :).

OOOOOOOOO

They were just finishing up what had to be the best tasting stew Sam and the others had ever tried when a deep, low gong sounded from out of nowhere. It wasn't sharp enough to be startling – which was lucky, because Daniel probably would have ended up with Sam's iced tea sprayed all over him as she'd just taken a drink of it – but it did get everyone's attention.

"What's that?" Daniel asked.

"Professor Dumbledore wants us back," Hagrid explained, standing up. "Are ye finished?"

Since they were – more or less – the others nodded and stood up as well, although Sirius grabbed a couple more rolls before he did.

"Just leave the dishes," their host told them. "I'll take care of them later."

"Thanks for lunch, Hagrid," Sam said, giving him a bright smile. "It was really good."

"Indeed," Teal'c said. The Jaffa had been impressed that the food hadn't been rock hard like the books always said Hagrid's cooking turned out and he had enjoyed it.

"Yer welcomed," he said, and Sam could see he was blushing behind that big bushy beard of his. "We'd better get going. Professor Dumbledore is probably ready ter send you back to where you belong, I reckon."

He led them to the door, and they all headed back up the mountainside toward the castle once more, with Fang following them as far as the door before he went back to the small cottage.

They entered the castle through a smaller, less impressive door than they'd exited, and on the way to the office, they ran into Colonel O'Neill and Minerva – who had been coming down the hall from the opposite direction. Sam wondered what they had been doing, because O'Neill looked red-eyed and pale, and he didn't greet them with more than a nod when they joined them.

"Are you all right, Sir?" she asked him.

"I'm fine, Carter," he said – although he didn't even sound like his usual self.

Daniel frowned.

"Jack?"

"I'm fine, Daniel."

Now he sounded irritated – which made him seem a little more like his old self, so they both let it drop – at least for the moment. Time enough to find out what was bothering him once they knew what Dumbledore wanted.

OOOOOOOOOO

Dumbledore looked up when they entered his office, and he smiled, gesturing for them to have a seat in the chairs that were still gathered around the front of his desk.

"Did you enjoy your tour?" he asked.

Sam smiled, and nodded.

"Your school is even more impressive than the books describe."

"Thank you, Major Carter," he said. "I'm glad you find it so." He looked at O'Neill, and there was just a moment when the amusement left his expression and he seemed sorry – although Sam didn't understand this and it was such a fleeting moment that she wasn't all that sure she hadn't imagined it. "I suppose you and your team are ready to return to the non-magical world?"

Jack nodded.

"We'd better get back."

They didn't have to check in – since they were more or less on down time – but it didn't hurt to be where Hammond could find them if he needed to.

"Arthur here will take you back – he needs to return to the convention any ways, since Molly and the children are all there."

Weasley nodded his head in agreement.

"Not that she can't handle them all without my help, but if I'm gone too long she'll think I've abandoned her."

Dumbledore smiled.

"Are we to return to the hotel by means of another portkey?" Teal'c asked.

"No. There are far too many people running about that hotel to risk it – I can't believe Voldemort was so reckless."

"What we'll do," Arthur said, "is travel by floo powder to the apartment of a young woman I know of – she lives in Seattle, but is out of town visiting a friend in Yakima – and then walk the rest of the way to the hotel."

"Flew what?" Jack asked, curiously.

"Floo powder, sir," Sam said, unable to be just a little excited at the chance. "It's… well… it's kind of hard to explain. In the books, they throw some powder onto a fire in a fireplace, jump in and call out the name of the place they're heading to."

"They jump in the fire…?"

"It's quite safe, Colonel O'Neill," Dumbledore assured him. "Even Muggles can do it."

Jack scowled.

"Haven't you people heard of cars?"

Sirius smiled.

"It's a lot more fun this way, Jack."

"And much faster," Arthur said.

"What if this person you know of has returned from her visit early?" Teal'c asked.

"She hasn't," Arthur said. "We're watching her. We'd know. It's how Molly and I brought the children to the convention in the first place – and how we're planning to leave on Sunday."

"So we're supposed to just jump into a fire?" Daniel asked, just as skeptical as Jack was.

"It's not so bad. Really."

"Professor McGonagall will go along and assist you as you need it," Dumbledore said, smiling at the varied reactions of the group once more. Not that he could blame them. He supposed it sounded crazy to the uninitiated.

"Of course," Minerva said. She gave Jack and Daniel both a wry smile. "It's perfectly safe."

"Uh huh."

You didn't need to know Jack well to know that he wasn't all that convinced.

"Colonel O'Neill…" Dumbledore brought Jack's attention back to him. "Although I'm certain he won't have reason to try again, should Voldemort ever make another attempt at you, we'll be certain to get word of it before he has does it, and we'll most certainly stop it before it happens. You and your team have enough to handle without worrying about looking over your shoulders, and we'll try to make it as easy for you as possible."

"Thanks."

Yeah, there was a little sarcasm there, but only Daniel and Sam caught it. And probably Teal'c – although you never knew with Teal'c, since he didn't show his emotions quite so willingly.

Dumbledore smiled – maybe he had caught the sarcasm?

"You've had a rough day, Colonel, and I apologize for that."

Jack shrugged.

"It's not your fault." As near as he could tell, anyway.

"Besides," Sam said, looking just a little guilty. "In a way I'm glad it happened."

"Oh?"

Jack scowled as he looked over at her, even as Dumbledore asked the question.

Sam nodded.

"I was at the end of my wits trying to figure out how to make Teal'c see that this all wasn't real – and now we know it is."

"Well… no writing books about it," Sirius said. "We already have enough trouble with Rowling…"

"Don't worry," Sam said with a smile. "I have no intention of even trying…"

"Another thing…" Sirius said, giving Dumbledore a look that no one could decipher. "When the next book comes out… don't believe everything you read in it. We're working on giving ourselves a few more advantages – and we're going to leak some information out that may or may not be real."

Sam and Teal'c both looked like they wanted to ask what he meant, but Jack had had enough for the day. And he still had jumping into a fire to look forward to.

"We'd better get going…"

Besides, he still hadn't had anything to eat – and whiskey on an empty stomach wasn't the brightest thing he'd done all day.