"Are we there, yet?"

Voldemort scowled, trying very hard to ignore the voice behind him.

As the sky had lightened in the east, the forest had grown lighter in response to the day beginning, showing Jack a thick forest that held a lot of odd noises as the hidden creatures in it started waking up and starting their day, but nothing to be afraid of. Certainly nothing that would warrant the caution Voldemort was using as they walked along the narrow trail they were following. Since he didn't see anything to be afraid of, he switched back to taunting – because he still had a feeling that this was going to be his key to escaping.

He didn't know a lot about magic, of course, but he wasn't stupid, and if all the other wizards were so afraid of this guy, then he was obviously good at it – and Jack wasn't. Which meant he didn't have a chance in a one on one battle – not without a gun, anyways. So he'd have to rattle him – which meant pissing him off enough to get him to make a mistake. So he was.

"Hey! I asked if we're there, yet."

Voldemort turned; wand still in hand as it had been since they'd left the clearing. The irritation on his face was plain to see, but Jack didn't allow his satisfaction to show.

"Be silent!" He hissed. "There are all sorts of creatures here that we don't want to dist-"

"Like what?"

"You wouldn't know what they were if I named them," Voldemort said – and it was the truth, really. "Just take my word for it."

"Well how much farther is this place?"

"Not far, now."

Voldemort turned to resume walking.

"Have I mentioned I don't like trees?"

The Dark Lord scowled again, but didn't turn around to acknowledge the comment.

"Just keep walking, Jack. We're almost there."

It wouldn't be soon enough for him. He'd never met anyone so annoying in his life.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

This time the carpet ride was much shorter – luckily. They were barely in the air it seemed, when they already started descending, and Daniel dared a peek over the edge. What he saw in the dim light of the early morning wasn't a huge school. It was a small town – a village, maybe. Of course, magic was involved, so maybe they had magicked the school to look like a little village from the outside. He thought he'd read something like that in the first book.

"Are we at Hogwarts already?"

Minerva shook her head.

"We're a fair distance from the school, but since the sun is coming up, we're going to have to abandon the carpet – too much chance of being seen by Muggles. One of the cottages here has a connection to the floo network, and we're far enough from Grimmald place to use floo powder, now."

"Oh."

She smiled at his decided lack of enthusiasm at the revelation that they were going to be traveling by floo powder again, and patted his forearm lightly.

"It's quicker than carpet, Daniel."

Which was true, even though it was small consolation. It was, however, better than being hundreds of feet in the air with nothing but a thin piece of fabric between him and a nasty fall.

They landed with a thump in the back yard of a house that had definitely seen better days, and looked like it was going to fall over at any moment. There was a hen house with chickens making sleepy noises from inside, and a large hedge surrounding the back yard.

"Where are we?" Sam asked, looking around curiously once they'd all stood up and gotten off the carpet. The way she said it, though, made Daniel think that she had a vague notion of where they were before she asked, and was simply looking for confirmation.

"This is the Weasley house," Lupin said as they headed for the back door. "Molly knows we're coming, so-"

The back door opened, interrupting him, and a short, rather round, woman with red hair and a welcoming smile greeted them.

"Come in! Come in!" She nodded greetings to them as they walked past her, but when Sirius neared, she threw her arms around him, hugging him warmly. It seemed to surprise him, but he recovered quickly and returned the embrace. "I'm so relieved that the rumors about you aren't true!" she told him as she pulled away. "I know we've had our spats, but I was heartbroken when I heard…"

Sirius smiled, taking her hand and giving it a light squeeze.

"Thank you, Molly." He looked at the others, who were looking around curiously. The house was warm and bright, and smelled of something wonderful cooking. "Molly, let me introduce you. This is Major Samantha Carter, Doctor Daniel Jackson and Teal'c."

She beamed at them as she greeted each of them.

"Arthur will be so disappointed he missed you," she told them. "He loves Muggles, and everything to do with them, you see. But he had to go to work early, you see, and-"

"Molly," Minerva interrupted gently, "we must get to Hogwarts."

Mrs. Weasley colored, slightly, but her smile never faded.

"Did you find out anything?"

"Not much," Minerva said. "We'll hopefully learn more when we get to the school."

Which was another not so subtle hint that they needed to get going, and Sam realized that while she was worried about Jack, she wasn't the only one. She remembered then that Jack and Minerva had actually spent a little time in the bar in the hotel in Seattle chatting – before Jack knew Minerva was a witch – and decided that Minerva was probably almost as anxious to get him back safe and sound as she and the members of SG-1 were.

"I made breakfast," Molly said, as she led them deeper into the house, which was a lot bigger inside than it appeared to be from the outside – which wouldn't have taken much.

"Thank you," Lupin said with a smile. "We don't have time, though, I'm afraid."

They all went to the fireplace, which wasn't lit, and Molly Weasley brought down a small pot from the mantel, handing it to Sirius.

"You'd better go last," Lupin said to Black. "Just in case someone's in Dumbledore's office that shouldn't be."

It wasn't like he could use floo powder in dog form, after all.

Sirius nodded his agreement, and Minerva reached into the pot, taking a small handful of the powder, which she threw into the fireplace. Flames roared where none had been before, and Daniel suppressed a sigh as he watched her step calmly into the fireplace, proclaim her destination in a crisp, clear voice, and vanish a moment later. Sam followed, then Teal'c, and Lupin looked at Daniel expectantly. Now he did sigh, and he took a small handful of the powder, throwing it into the fireplace. God, he hated floo powder. It was a good thing he wasn't a wizard, because he'd still end up walking everywhere he went.

"Hogwarts!"