Crumpets Aren't My Style

By Marz

Other Opportunities

There was a sharp, stinging pain across his chest whenever he breathed in. The curtains around the bed looked as if they were made of foggy sheets of plastic. That didn't make much sense to Harry, but at that moment, very little did. He was sure that if the room would stop spinning, he'd be able to puzzle things out. There was someone standing at the end of his bed, watching him. He stood on the outside of the curtain, barely more then a shadow, but Harry was certain he recognized him. He vaguely recalled seeing the same shadow before, but he didn't know if it was earlier that day or months before. Whenever he could keep his eyes open, the shadow was where they rested. Harry had something to say, to explain to the strange figure hovering just out of reach, but it took forever to find the words.

"I'm sorry," he choked out around the tube in his throat.

The shadow leaned closer against the curtains, a misty, poorly defined palm pressed against them.

"I'm sorry you died…my fault…so sorry…didn't know."

The shadow moved, circling the curtains, but made no further move to approach. Harry wanted to get up from his bed. He wanted to push past the curtains, and explain face to face, but his legs wouldn't move, nor his arms. Just trying to move them stole all his strength away.

"I'm sorry," he said one last time before drifting off again.

"Did you hit the call button?" Dr. Morris asked as he strode into the isolation ward.

"I did," replied the alien.

Morris waited for him to continue but the alien just stood there staring at him. His half-lidded eyes gave him a peaceful and almost sleepy expression, but Morris wasn't fooled by it. The golden symbol branded into the alien's forehead told him very clearly what this being was capable of.

"Well?" Morris prompted.

"Approximately fourteen minutes ago I attempted to summon you because I heard HarryPotter speaking," the alien said.

"You didn't open the curtains, did you?" Morris asked, eyes darting to the plastic curtains that temporarily separated the burn unit from the rest of the infirmary. "If he's going to live, that area has to remain sterile!"

"I did not open the curtains. I summoned you because HarryPotter regained consciousness. He is most likely disoriented. I could not hear him clearly but I believe he was calling for assistance."

"Yes, yes fine. I'll do a quick check up, but we've given him a large dose of painkillers. I doubt he's awake."

"I heard him speak," the alien said.

"I'm sure you thought you did. You'll have to leave."

"Please inform me when you are finished," the alien said.

"Alright, fine."

The alien nodded. Morris noted it was regular nod, rather then the formal half bow he usually gave to other humans on the base. The alien walked out, but Morris could see him standing in the hallway right outside the door. He picked up the phone on the wall and punched in the extension for Lieutenant Rogers.

"Infirmary now!" he barked into the receiver as soon as Rogers picked up.

He slammed it back into the cradle and went to the locker to find fresh scrubs. Rogers scuttled into the room a few minutes later, still looking disheveled and only half awake. Upon seeing Morris, he went to his locker and began to change as well. They slipped on their face masks and stepped through the outer layer of plastic where a series of pipes and fans circulated an antiseptic mist through the air. They pushed on to through the second curtain with barely a pause.

"Did you give him the sedative at 0800?" Morris asked quietly.

The security cameras and microphones were still on, but the curtains muffled sound and obscured their forms to blurred outlines. Still, if someone started shouting the security office would probably notice something was up.

"I did. He should have stayed out for another twelve hours at least," Rogers said.

The boy watched them with slightly glazed eyes. He was trying to talk around the breathing tube taped into his mouth, but it was a very effective gag. He pulled at the padded straps that held his wrists and ankles to the rails on the sides of the bed. Morris went to the cart by the bedside and picked up a syringe.

"We'll have to increase the dosage."

He injected the faintly yellow liquid into the I.V. The boy's struggles faded and his head lolled to the side. Morris leaned in to inspect the rapidly healing skin on the boy's chest. His regenerative abilities weren't quite as good as those of a Jaffa or Goa'uld, but they were definitely superior to those of a human. The thick band of darkened tissue that depicted a skull and snake were the only part of him showing no signs of recovery.

"Is everything still on schedule?" Rogers asked.

Morris nodded.

"Good," Rogers whispered. "I think Teal'c is starting to suspect something."

Morris swallowed to hide his nervousness that suddenly tightened his throat. "Just keep cool. We'll be out of here in three days. Just keep cool until then."

The alien was still waiting outside when Rogers left, and reentered the infirmary without invitation.

"I didn't see any indication that he'd regained consciousness. Are you sure you heard something?"

"I am."

"I'll make a note of it," Morris said, sounding put-upon.

The alien raised an eyebrow, then took up his usual post, standing at attention a few feet away from the curtains of the burn unit. Morris sat down at the desk and began filling out paperwork, trying not to think about what would happen to them if Stargate Command caught on.

The alpha site gate room was much smaller then that of the SGC. Consoles and monitors were arranged just out of reach of the Expanding event horizon created when a wormhole was opened. The alpha site was smaller, less protected and less armed then the SGC, and their greatest defense was secrecy. They were the emergency back up position all SG teams headed for when the Earth's Stargate was unavailable. The staff prided themselves on being just as if not more prepared for trouble then the home world.

Teal'c stood by the console with Colonel Pierce, watching the crew load supplies onto a cart. Doctor Morris and a medical team were taking antibiotics, water purifiers, and other supplies to P3X117, a small human inhabited world on the edge of Ba'al's territory. There had been a massive outbreak of cholera and the System Lord was unlikely to render assistance. Alpha site would start humanitarian aide operations, laying the ground work while Earth got a larger delivery ready. Teal'c noticed Morris watching him with something not unlike a smirk on his face.

As soon as the supplies were through, Teal'c would be transmitting his report to earth. He was going to request that O'Neill replace Morris as head of the medical staff. He had no proof that the man had something untoward planned, but his instincts were telling him that the man could not be trusted.

The air was thick and stuffy. Harry's legs and arms cramped painfully and he tried to move, only to strike hard surfaces in every direction. There was no light. His head was pounding painfully and his ears were ringing. He remembered being in a hospital. He remembered doctors looking at him, but the rest was a blur. Each breath came faster and faster.

I'm running out of air, he thought.

It made sense then.

They must've thought I was dead and…and…

He pounded on the sides of the box again. He wanted to push against the opposite walls of the box, to force it open, but he realized then that his hands were tied. He tried to kick and found his legs were tied together as well. Since people usually don't bother to tie up a corpse he came to the conclusion that he was being kidnapped rather then prematurely buried. He pounded on the sides of the box again.

Death Eaters…

But that thought faded as memories worked their way through the cluttered mess that was currently functioning as his brain. The doctors--they were different. They weren't the doctors Mr. O'Neill had sent him to. They'd tied him down. They were always muttering to each other as they poked at him and gave him shots, but he could only recall a few words.

Experiment…samples…vivisection…

He didn't know what to think, but he knew he had to get out. He thought of calling for help, but if they knew he was awake they'd just come back with needles and give him more drugs. If he could do some sort of magic the Ministry would probably come in to arrest him. He didn't want to be dragged into another trial for underage magic, but he didn't see any other options. But without a wand he couldn't cast any spells. His only other option was accidental magic.

Which of course I can't control, he thought.

It had been three years since he'd been emotionally out of control enough to blow anything up. Accidental magic only seemed to work when he was terrified or enraged. He tried to get angry, tried to think about how unjust it was to drug him and put him in a box, but all he felt was depressed. He hadn't been able to get really angry since Dumbledore had revealed the truth of the events surrounding his parents' murder and Sirius' death, and how easily he could have prevented the latter. As the box suddenly tilted and was set with a thump onto another surface that started rolling toward an unknown, but no doubt unpleasant fate, he felt a churning in his stomach that told him perhaps a burst of terror borne magic wasn't beyond him after all.

SG 8 had gone through the gate fifteen minutes earlier and had radioed back an all clear. The last of the supplies were loaded and an airman was going over a checklist. Teal'c watched Morris looking over the cart as well. He seemed to be paying an unusual amount of attention to a large black crate.

"You're good to go," announced Pierce, signing off on the checklist the airman handed him.

Two airmen started to push the cart up the ramp toward the gate. Morris followed them closely.

"Stop," Teal'c said, stepping forward.

Morris eyed him nervously as he approached.

"What is in this crate?" Teal'c demanded of Morris, who was growing more and more pale.

"It's rations," Colonel Pierce said, giving Teal'c a concerned look, as he tapped the label.

"I do not believe that is true. Please open this crate," Teal'c said to one of the airmen.

The airman looked to Morris rather then Pierce. Morris nodded. The airman reached for his side arm. Teal'c's hand went for his zat as Morris ran for the gate. Before a single shot could be fired, the rations crate exploded.

The shock wave knocked all those standing off of their feet. Medical supplies and chunks of black plastic flew all over the alpha site gate room. Pouches of nutrient solution splattered across the consoles, walls, and floor. In the middle of the mess, sprawled on the ramp, lay Harry Potter. A loop of plastic still hung on one wrist, another set of restraints he'd managed to free himself from. The burns Morris claimed were infected were mostly healed, but the skull symbol was still blackened and raw.

Morris was on his feet in the next instant, diving for the gate. Teal'c hit him with a blast from his zat but Morris' momentum carried him through the event horizon. The airman was up and running as well. He fired at Teal'c, who dodged, but felt a hot stinging pain spread across his side. Two other soldiers ran for the gate as Teal'c and the rest of the alpha site command fired after them. Teal'c stopped two with his zat, but a third leapt through the gate unharmed. Teal'c ran up the ramp. He looked down at Harry Potter as he went. The boy was sitting up and blinking rapidly. He could be trusted to Pierce's care. Teal'c dove past him, through the gate, after Morris and the other traitors.

The room was a blinding blur and they were reaching for him again.

"Get away!" Harry shouted, scrambling backwards off the ramp and across the cluttered floor.

The room was spinning, but the air was cool. He didn't recognize anyone, though without his glasses he could have missed a familiar face. He looked down and saw he was wearing little more then a sort of skirt made out of blue papery cloth. He scrambled backwards until his back hit a wall. He grabbed an exposed pipe and pulled himself to his feet. The dizziness grew worse.

"No one is going to hurt you," said a man in a camouflage uniform.

Harry couldn't see his expression clearly, but he could see the other soldiers in the room had guns pointed at him. There was a dark rectangle in the wall on the far side of the room, and people were moving in front of it. Harry was pretty sure it was a door. The man who'd spoken reached for him.

He wasn't trying to do anything, but on later reflection he supposed that's why they called it accidental magic. As hands locked around his wrists there was a sudden feeling in his head, like a rubber band had snapped inside it. The room went pitch black. For a panicked moment he thought he had gone blind, but other people were shouting around him in tense American accents. He'd only turned out the lights.

Harry jerked away from the man holding him and scrambled across the room to where he remembered seeing the door. People bumped him and stepped on his feet. One man grabbed his arm, but Harry kicked at him hard and the man let go with a wheeze of pain. He found the wall with his outstretched hands and felt along it until he reached the door. As he stepped through it, someone ran into him and knocked him sprawling on the ground. Somebody stepped on his ankle before he managed to roll out of the way. He saw a tiny orange flame and realized someone had a lighter with them. He hobbled away through the dark tunnel, away from the light and pounding feet.

It took him hours to find his way outside. He didn't understand until he found the ladders in the ventilation shaft that he was underground. He saw no sign of Mr. O'Neill or the rooms he'd been allowed to see before…before Voldemort caught up with him. It came back more slowly than the rest. Voldemort had activated whatever curse was buried in the mark on his chest. And now he was somewhere else.

He found a huge empty room that looked like it ought to have a blimp or something in it but didn't. The room did have windows though, high above the concrete floor. In another boon, he found a set of only slightly sweaty blue coveralls hung over a rack of power tools. He put them on. A ladder led up to a catwalk that ran under the windows and he climbed it, still barefoot. The sky outside was almost blindingly bright, and had a faintly purple tint. Harry supposed it was nearly evening.

The windows wouldn't open, and pounding with his fists didn't even crack them. He walked along the catwalk, finally locating another ladder that led even higher. At the top was a heavy metal hatch, with a keypad and a little slot to slide in a card on the side, but it seemed broken and the hatch opened with one good shove.

He crawled out onto gray stone, strewn with pine needles. Wind ruffled his hair as he looked about. He stood on the side of a mountain which was sparsely covered with trees. As an afterthought he closed the hatch behind himself and started down. He'd gone all of twenty feet when someone yelled halt. He ran, and the sound of gunfire echoed after him.

The first things Teal'c noticed as he came through the gate were the lanterns. The computer consoles were dark and smoking camp lanterns and glow sticks were the only sources of lights in the alpha site gate room. Teal'c raised an eyebrow as Colonel Pierce and a regiment of guards came forward to relieve him of his prisoners. He had captured Morris and three conspirators on P3X117. Six others had died fighting. Though they refused to speak, he suspected they were members of the Trust. He had treated them accordingly.

"What has transpired here?" Teal'c asked.

"All of our equipment shut down a few seconds after you left. Everything from batteries to the Naquada reactor went out and we can't start them up again. Nobody here can figure it out. The SGC tried to contact us, but none of our radios can transmit or receive so we don't know what's going on," Pierce said. "I think it has something to do with that kid."

"Harry Potter?"

Pierce nodded. "When you went after Morris and the others I tried to calm him down." He paused for a moment. "General O'Neill didn't explain why he sent the kid here, but I was given the impression he was human."

"He has done something to make you believe otherwise?"

"He was backed against a wall and I caught his arms. I don't know how else to describe this…it was like something when through me, and then the lights went out. We're going to have to wait for them to send a MALP through to check up on us, and that won't be for another eighteen hours."

"Where is Harry Potter now?" Teal'c asked.

"We don't know. A pair of guards on the mountaintop reported someone in a mechanic's uniform running into the forest. I've sent out search parties, but they haven't found anything."

"I will join the search," he said.

"You've been gone almost thirty-six hours. Don't you need to rest? Do you have enough Trutonin?"

"I have several more days' worth," he replied.

"There's a storm headed this way," Pierce warned.

"I will pack accordingly," Teal'c said. He gave the colonel a slight bow and set out.

Harry sat huddled before the pile of sticks. They were still damp from the previous days' rain, but they were all he could find. It had been three days since he escaped the base. It was more then enough time to realize how much trouble he was in. Now night was coming on again. He didn't mind the dark so much. He hadn't run into any animals that looked big enough to eat him, but the small things he had seen were much more disturbing. The stars were wrong.

He was not exactly a stellar student of astronomy, but he knew most of the constellations in the northern and southern hemispheres. The first night out he'd seen none of them. He'd been looking for the hazy light pollution of street lamps to lead him to a city, but saw nothing. He looked for planes passing over, but the sky was empty. He knew what it had to mean, but couldn't possibly be.

Another bout of uncontrollable shivering brought his mind back to matters at hand. He closed his eyes and concentrated. He'd seen Professor Lupin conjure flames without a wand. Of course those had been heatless flames, but Harry figured regular old burning flames should be easier, not harder.

His teeth chattered as he whispered "Incendio!"

Nothing happened. He tried again and nothing happened. He spoke louder. He enunciated more carefully. He focused so hard it made his head hurt. He held out his hands as if to warm them over the not yet existent blaze.

"Incendio! Incendio! Incendio!"

For an instant his palms felt as if they were burning and his forearms ached. Then he heard hissing steam and the crackle and pop of burning wood. He opened his eyes and smiled at the small fire. He had only a few moments to savor his accomplishment before he saw the shadowy figure standing mere yards away. As he scrambled backwards the figure came forward, boots pounding heavily, even on the carpet of pine needles. Harry was about to sprint deeper into the forest when he saw a faint glint of gold on his pursuer's brow. He froze.

"Mr. Teal'c?"

"It is I," responded a calm voice.

"Er…hello?" Harry said, not sure what he should say.

Mr. Teal'c nodded in response. He stepped closer and Harry saw he was carrying a strange staff with metal ovals stuck on either end. He looked at Mr. Teal'c more closely across the fire. He knew what had happened, but it seemed a struggle to bring forth the words. If he didn't mention it, if it wasn't confirmed, maybe it wasn't really happening. But he had to say it. He needed to know.

"We're not on earth, are we?" Harry asked.

"We are not," Teal'c replied.

"I couldn't find my way to the city," Harry said, filling as if the bottom had dropped out of his stomach.

"This planet is, in fact, uninhabited except for the base from which you fled."

"Oh," Harry said.

He started inching back toward the fire. Things were getting incredibly and unnervingly weird, but running further into the woods didn't seem to be a viable option any longer. He was thinking about sitting down when Mr. Teal'c moved suddenly. Harry tensed, preparing to run, but he merely removed his pack and took off his jacket. He held the garment out to Harry.

"Won't you be cold?" Harry asked.

"I have endured greater extremes of temperature."

Harry watched him for a moment. If he came close enough to take the jacket, Mr. Teal'c could probably grab him. As if reading his thoughts the man raised an eyebrow, and then threw it to him.

"Thank you," Harry said.

"It is not my intention to harm you," Mr. Teal'c said.

Harry started at him. He wanted to believe him. Mr. Teal'c hadn't lied to him as far as he could remember, but if he was here then he might be involved with those fake doctors.

"At the base, they drugged me and put me in a box, and then they shot at me," Harry said.

"That was not an action sanctioned by the United States Air Force, or by Colonel Perice, the commander of the base. I believe those actions were in fact undertaken by members of a Tauri rebel group called the Trust. That group had not previously succeeded in infiltrating Off World bases, but they have been expanding their influence in recent months. The men involved in attacking you have been captured and detained, or killed in battle."

"People are dead because of this? Because of me?" Harry asked, feeling sick. He looked down at his feet.

Mr. Teal'c stared at him. "Are you of the Nox?"

Harry looked up. "What?"

"The Nox are a race that abhors violence, even to preserve their own lives. Are you a descendent of that race?"

Harry shook his head. "I've never even heard of them. Are they from Europe?"

"Their home world is many thousands of light-years from your home world."

"You're not from earth?"

"I am from a world called Chulak," the man replied.

"This is getting complicated," Harry muttered.

Over the next half hour, Teal'c (the Mr. was unnecessary) explained to Harry how he had ended up on another planet. Harry did not understand much after wormholes were introduced into the conversation, but he understood enough of the explanation to know that they had traveled using science and technology, rather then sorcery. Teal'c also had emergency rations, which tasted like cardboard with sugar on it, but were far better then nothing. Then came the awkward part.

"How is it you were able to start this fire, HarryPotter? What manner of technology is this?"

Harry looked at his own hands for several minutes. The International Statute of Secrecy dictated a rather long and unpleasant prison sentence if Harry disclosed anything about the wizarding world to a muggle, but a muggle was a human without magic, not a Jaffa, so would that even count? And since he was on another planet an International Statute shouldn't really have any power. But then if Harry told someone and it got back to earth...

"If I tell you, you can't tell anybody else," Harry said.

"I am bound by oaths to report to General O'Neill anything that could endanger Earth or any other world with which Earth has a treaty."

"Well…I'm sort of bound by oaths, and threats, not to tell any human who isn't a part of our group," Harry said. "Though I don't really know how any of that will work out, legally I mean, since we sort of didn't know there were other occupied planets in the universe, and its not as if they can come here and arrest me, but I do want to go home eventually, but the-"

"I will give you my oath that no one but General O'Neill shall hear what you say to me this night."

Harry nodded and began.

Teal'c took most of what he had to say in stride. He did not seem surprised when Harry said he had magic powers, or that his people hid because they didn't want to interfere with the lives of muggles. He asked Harry about wands and Harry explained that they were only used to focus power, not create it. He couldn't very well explain what he had done to the power systems in base, since he did not really know. The mention of accidental magic caused Teal'c to raise an eyebrow, but he did not interrupt. Harry gave him a brief overview of Voldemort and the Ministry to explain the power struggle he was involved in. He left out the Order and the Prophesy just to be on the safe side. When finally stopped speaking he was surprised at how much better he felt. The bizarre nervous and guilty feelings he'd had since the muggles had taken him in had faded to almost nothing.

"What of the cat?" Teal'c asked.

"What?"

"Your cat, Professor I believe you called it. Is it what it appears to be?"

Harry felt the guilt come rushing back. In all the chaos he'd forgotten about Professor McGonagall, trapped and with out her powers because of the collar they'd put on her.

"Where is she?" Harry asked.

"The animal is currently in the barrack in which I am stationed. It is very unusual for an animal to voluntarily pass through the Stargate."

"She isn't a normal cat," Harry started.

He stopped then, his mind whirling. If he told Teal'c about his Professor, he would most likely take the collar off. But what would McGonagall do, insist they return to England most likely. Harry took a shaky breath. She would make him go back. And she didn't take rules lightly. If they let her out she would bring in wizards to erase memories, and what would she do about the gate? Would she let him explain why he thought the muggles should be told, why they had a right to know? Would she even consider letting Harry stay?

He realized then that he did not trust her nearly as much as he once had. Had she known that Voldemort was sneaking into Harry's thought? Had Dumbledore warned her about false visions and the prophesy and all the things Harry would have died to know before the Department of Mysteries disaster? Could anyone be trusted after that? His head hurt from all the questions.

"She's much smarter and much older then a cat should be. She's supposed to watch me and make sure I don't do anything stupid until Ministry comes to get me."

"Is she sentient?"

Harry nodded.

They talked a bit more about what Harry's people would do when they could no longer track him, but Harry couldn't give him a definite answer. He honestly didn't think his people cared all that much about where he was as long as the muggle news wasn't broadcasting definitive proof of the existence of magic. Teal'c told him to sleep, as they would not return to the base until the morning. As the alien spoke into his radio, and the fire crackled a few inches away, Harry's eyes drifted closed.

Harry didn't know what woke him, but he had suspicions it had something to do with the rock he was lying on top of. He started to roll over. There was a strange chiming sound from the left, then everything disappeared in a blue light.

"…the Jaffa. The kid's wearing his jacket. He's got to be around here. Miller, Parks, Lee, fan out. I want him dead before we go back." A large group of people were talking in low voices and moving all around him.

Harry swallowed to hold in a groan. A very large man was holding him part way off the ground by the back of his jacket, and it was putting uncomfortable pressure on his still sore chest. His arms were just barely touching the ground and his legs were twisted about oddly. He supposed he'd been dragged away from the camp. Though he did his best to play dead his captor noticed he was awake. He dropped Harry and he tried to run, but he slipped and the man wrapped an arm around his neck, pinning him to his chest. He was lifted completely off the ground and he started to choke.

"Shit!" the man grunted. "He's awake. Burke, get me more sedative! No! The needle with the yellow stuff in it."

Harry kicked harder but he couldn't get loose. He tried to work up enough fear to do something, but a vise-like grip closed on his arm and the needle jabbed in. He went limp. He was still awake but he couldn't move, or even bring up his arms to catch himself as he was dropped to the ground. The man standing over him took a walkie-talkie from his pocket.

"Miller, report," he said.

After a few seconds pause he repeated himself, but Miller wasn't answering. Neither were Parks or Lee apparently. With paramount effort Harry rolled over and started to crawl away. A knee dropped down in the center of his back and his arms were twisted up behind him. Plastic zip ties tightened around his wrists.

"We're falling back," his captor commanded.

Harry was lifted bodily off the ground and thrown over the man's shoulder. There was sickening pressure in his stomach as the man started to run. There were other people moving with them. Harry thought there might have been four, but he wasn't sure of his count. They'd gone no more then a few hundred yards before Harry was dropped again. A bright orange light flew over him and there was a gargling scream. The forest filled with echoing gunshots and shouts.

"He's on your six-"

"Duck!"

Harry was hauled upright again, just in time to see Mr. Teal'c strike a man across the face with the weird staff he was carrying. Harry called a choked warning as he saw the man holding him draw a handgun, but to his dismay the barrel of the gun was pressed against his own temple. An arm looped around his neck again. Mr. Teal'c didn't seem to notice, and pointed his staff at another soldier who was already firing at him. He dove forward and rolled out of the way, coming up again with the staff still aimed. An orange light flew from it, and the gunfire ceased. The forest was suddenly very quiet. Mr. Teal'c turned slowly and aimed the staff at them.

"This will gain you nothing," Mr. Teal'c said.

"You're going to shoot through the kid?" the man holding Harry said.

Thinking he should do something, Harry stomped as hard as he could on his captor's foot. Apparently he didn't feel it through his boot though. He just kept talking.

"Drop the staff or he dies."

"If he is dead you will be unable to study him, and I will have no reason not to kill you. His death would serve no purpose."

His captor shrugged. "If I let him go I've lost, and I'm kind of spiteful."

Mr. Teal'c stared at him for a moment, then he changed his grip on the staff and the end began to glow. In a very casual voice he said "So be it."

A blast of orange light came at them.

Harry was uncertain of what happened in the next few moments, but it seemed as if in the blink of an eye he'd gone from standing up right to lying on top of his captor, with a horrible head ache. The man's arm was still around his neck, but the pressure was gone. Harry rolled away from the man and sat up. His ears rang. Teal'c knelt in front of him and said something.

"What?" Harry said.

Teal'c leaned to Harry's left and spoke louder.

"…away form here…be others on the way."

"I can't here you very well!" Harry said.

"…have grazed…your ear…when we are further away."

Harry was pretty sure Teal'c had said he'd been shot in the head. The man leaned around him and cut the zip ties off his wrists, then helped him to his feet. Harry stumbled a bit, feeling dizzy. As he turned in an attempt to get his balance he looked back and saw the man who had taken him hostage. He had a very large hole in his face. It was burned and blackened around the edges and Harry could see the ground through it, illuminated by a few still smoldering bits. The rations returned.

Teal'c dragged him away from the battle ground, half carrying him at times. They spent the rest of the night moving. Night on that planet seemed to be longer. When the sun came up, a little too orange in purple hued sky, they settled down under an overhang of rock to rest. Harry fell asleep again, but woke soon after when Teal'c slathered some horrible stinging liquid on the side of his face.

"The wound is not deep but may be infected," Teal'c explained. Harry was relieved that his hearing was coming back, though there was still a strange background buzz in that ear.

"Were those more of the Trust?" Harry asked.

"I believe so," said Teal'c. "I would not have thought it possible for so many of them to have come through the gate. They may have a ship in orbit."

"A space ship?"

Teal'c nodded, and pulled another alcohol wipe from the pockets of his vest. The stinging went up and down the right side of Harry's face from temple to eyebrow. That was a very close call.

"That was a good shot," Harry said, thinking back to the dead man who'd come so close to killing him. His eyes went to the staff weapon, and he found he couldn't keep his mouth shut about the dead man.

"It was kind of messy though. Isn't it hard to aim that thing? Do you think he actually knew he was dying or do you think his face melted to fast for him to notice?"

Harry's stomach gave a violent twist. He supposed Teal'c noticed something in his expression.

"If this disturbs you so greatly, why do you speak of it?"

Harry shrugged and realized he was shaking.

"I don't know. I…I want to know how you do it."

"What it are you referring to?"

"How do you kill somebody?" Harry asked.

Teal'c raised an eyebrow at him. "Why do you ask this question?"

Harry looked down. He didn't know why he felt so awkward. It was a reasonable question. And Teal'c was a good person, despite the fact that he killed with no discernable emotion. He was defending both of them, but Harry felt a bizarre kind of shame on his behalf.

"That guy, Voldemort, that I told you about? I explained how he's rather set on killing me right?"

Teal'c nodded.

"Everyone is always telling me to stay back, to stay out of the way. They say they'll handle it for me, that they'll protect me, but every one who tries ends up dead. He'll keep coming and I know one day it will be me who has to stop him. I need to be able to kill him, and you do it so easily-"

Teal'c shut him up with a sharp glance. The first real expression Harry had ever seen on his face.

"With much training killing becomes simple. It is not easy."

Harry's face started to burn.

"I didn't mean…I didn't mean anything bad about you…"

"I understand. It is important that you are able to defend yourself. You have exhibited skills which may, in time make you a capable warrior. Do you truly wish to learn what I have learned about death and battle?"

Harry nodded. "What do I have to do?"