Chapter 2: Falling In
They had waited in the infirmary for the doctor and presumably the rest of the base, it wasn't a particularly long wait. However, when a doctor and a bald authoritative man entered the room accompanied with two armed airmen, Harry realized that the blonde may have mentioned his presence to whomever she had sent to notify everyone. The doctor ignored him like a trained professional and immediately bustled over to check the Colonels.
That left him with the man who very much looked like he was in command and the two soldiers behind him. Just as they locked eyes, he watched him be pulled aside by the blonde. They spoke quickly and quietly, not two minutes had gone by before the conversation finished and they approached Harry. The leader spoke first.
"I'm General Hammond, U.S Air Force and commander of this facility," Then he gestured to the blonde beside him, "And this is Captain Samantha Carter," He said this all with an air of no nonsense.
Harry introduced himself tentatively, still not sure which direction this would go but his thoughts were answered when the general smiled and offered him his hand to shake. He seemed to be genuine in his sincerity which was a huge relief for Harry. He preferred a peaceful resolution whenever possible.
"It's my understanding that we have you to thank for closing the Stargate."
Harry could feel his signature grin creep up and couldn't contain it as he shook the general's hand.
"I'm not even sure what I did but you're welcome."
The general raised an eyebrow at this, "I see," After sharing a look with the now named Samantha Carter, he continued with a vague gesture towards the Stargates direction, "Well maybe you can tell us how you came through the Stargate?"
Harry, enthusiastic to share how he had opened the veil, had opened his mouth ready to respond before realizing how stealing and detonating a nuke may not be the best thing to disclose to military personnel. He settled on omitting that part for the moment but telling them what he could.
"Well you see, where I'm from we have this archway called The Veil and I just sort of walked through," He paused for a moment to see if that was enough but the General was still looking at him expectantly, so he continued.
"People have tried going through since its discovery but have never come back. I guess it was my turn to make that leap," Harry realized that the chances were nearly none but he figured that he had to ask anyway, "Actually, have you had any other people come through like me?"
To his credit, General Hammond didn't even twitch when he replied with a confident negative but Harry had been bullshitted by the very best and he could spot a lie easily. His use of Legilimency helped too.
He was about to call out the General on this before the Captain interrupted him, "I'm sorry but that's not possible."
Harry looked over at her puzzled, "What is?"
"You couldn't have walked through your Stargate to ours because we had already dialed out. A connection was already made between our planet and another so unless you arrived from that planet, the very same one with a black hole currently orbiting it," It seemed to be rhetorical because she didn't even wait for his response.
"And even then, we dialed out, entering the Stargate on your end would have disintegrated you," She finished her explanation and then looked at Harry like he should have the answers.
"And yet, I did," Was all he replied. After all, he barely understood how the Veil worked too. His success was a fluke but Harry had gotten use to that. Most of his life was one unlikely possibility after another.
She looked ready to tear into him but the General was faster, "Perhaps it would be best if we discussed this at a later time," With that he turned to his guards and made a gesture for them to approach before turning back to Harry, "Mr. Potter I'll have to ask you remain on base until then. These men will escort you to a guest room."
Harry understood that he wasn't being asked to stay rather told to so he didn't bother doing anything but nod to confirm he understood.
- Λ -
He had to give them credit, the room was more than he was expecting, certainly more than the Dursley's had ever given him, after all this room was furnished. Turning to the men who had escorted him he only had one thing on his mind.
"Do you have a cafeteria or…" He let himself trail off with the unasked question. One of the airmen looked like he might have smiled but it was gone in an instant, then he exited the room to stand guard outside, the other grabbed the door handle.
"Food will be brought to you in an hour," and with that he shut the door behind him leaving Harry to get acquainted with his five-star treatment.
He immediately considered leaving and going to see if he really was in America but decided to play nice for once and patiently waited, it was terribly boring and he bounced around from reading the rather dull selection of reading material available to playing with the deck of cards that had been laying on the center room table. The food arrived and it was okay, certainly not Hogwarts' level of taste but it surprised him given how this was a military base.
When he finished his food, he checked the clock hanging over the door and was irritated to see that it had only been an hour and a half. Well that was more than he gave most he decided. He grabbed a pen and paper from the dresser and wrote.
Gone out.
Be back soon.
Harry Potter
With that Harry turned to acknowledge the camera in the corner of the room and gave it a two fingered salute along with a grin before he apparated several thousand feet straight up. Along the way he felt the familiar feeling of passing through a tight rubber tube before he was free falling through the fresh air.
As he was falling, he noted that it seemed to be close to mid-day. Reaching for his wand he gripped it tightly before pointing it at himself and casting a silent Arresto Momentum. The effect was near instantaneous as his momentum slowed considerably and before long, he was slowly descending back to earth. He took this time to look around for a nearby town or city. Once he spotted the direction of civilization, he focused on a building he could barely make out and apparated there.
A few more apparitions and he was happily walking around town. It seemed to be all very similar to Britain so Harry figured that he was indeed on Earth which was disappointing to hear in regards to his theory on the Veil. Although the Captain, had mentioned something about their Stargate making a connection with another planet. They definitely seemed more knowledgeable then they let on.
He would have to visit again to see what could be found about the Stargate but first he wanted to reach New York for the Americans version of the Ministry so he could Portkey back to Britain, he wasn't trying to cause an incident with the Americans anymore then he already had.
- Λ -
Apparating across the country was annoying. Harry had spoken to a few people about where they were and where New York was located in correspondence to their location but he hadn't thought it would be this far, he had been making his was across the country for a little under an hour with short breaks every so often due to the nausea and mental effort of so many apparitions. He had no desire to be splinched and as such was making his way across carefully and with shorter bursts than usual.
As it turns out, New York was absurdly large and Harry had a hard time navigating the city in the direction he wanted to go. He had never been to the American Magical Congress, he could only remember that it was located somewhere in Lower Manhattan.
A few hours of searching later and Harry was incredibly frustrated. He'd searched up and down lower Manhattan for any sign of any magical signature. He'd discovered no wards, no wizards making fools of themselves, and most importantly no Magical Congress.
For a brief horrible moment, he entertained the thought that perhaps this wasn't the same Earth he had come from. A parallel universe could be possible, he vaguely remembered Hermione mentioning it before but he had a way to know for sure and he was sick of searching. Grabbing a nearby flyer, he walked down an alley way before casting the Portus charm on the flyer, his destination firmly set to be outside the British Ministry of Magic.
For a moment the flyer glowed with a blue light before it faded. Harry stuffed his wand away before grabbing the flyer with both hands and disappeared.
- Λ -
Back at the Cheyenne Mountain Military Complex, General Hammond had been informed that their guest had seemingly disappeared from his room without anyone knowing how. He had proceeded to order the base to go on full lockdown until they could resolve the issue.
That had been hours ago and he was waiting on any news from anyone under his command. Phone calls had been coming in and out about a potential security breach and for all nearby forces to be on the lookout for a young man matching the correct description.
He had personally reviewed the security footage and was equally as perplexed as all the other officers who had seen it, the area where the young man had been standing had seemed to twist and then cave into itself for a second, leaving nothing disturbed, yet distinctly missing one Mr. Potter. He had watched it play a couple times and thought it might be some form of invisibility or teleportation. Perhaps technology rivaling or even surpassing the Tollans.
He had put Captain Carter and the recently returned Doctor Jackson in charge of figuring out what sort of technology might be able to do such a thing; The Captain had mentioned that she had no immediate idea but that Colonel O'Neill may know more about the young man.
So, he had ventured down to the infirmary only to discover the Colonel resting, and at the doctor's recommendation, he let the Colonel be. Although, he had orders to meet him in his office when he awoke, he had headed up to said office to wait for any news.
The General had finally started working on some paperwork while he waited when Teal'c walked into his office, his expression did not give anything away to how the search was going but Hammond knew that he would have received a phone call if they had indeed found him.
With a gesture for Teal'c to take a seat, he finished signing off on a requisition before putting his pen away.
"I take it the search hasn't turned up anything?"
"Indeed," Was Teal'c's confirmation and Hammond couldn't help but sigh.
"Do you know of any technology that could do this?"
"The Jaffa do not currently possess any technology capable of this."
He nodded, not surprised but he had to ask.
After a thoughtful moment Teal'c continued, "Although they do possess technology capable of disrupting an invisible entity. The Goa'uld use it to fight against the Reetou. An enemy known for being capable of natural invisibility."
"Do you think the Tok'ra would have some?" He asked neutrally.
"It is likely."
He would be sure to get in contact with them at soon as possible. Mr. Potter may not be invisible but it would certainly help in case of a future event such as this.
With a lull in the conversation the door to his office once again opened revealing a now awake Colonel along with the rest of SG1. He was just about to greet them when his phone went off, he picked it up and answered a short, "Hammond."
"Sir, Mr. Potter is back in his room."
"I'll be right there," then he put his phone back and stood up to address SG1, "It would seem Mr. Potter has returned."
The Colonel couldn't help but comment, "Seems we're right on time then." Then he made a gesture for the general to take the lead.
Mr. Potter certainly had a lot to answer for.
- Λ -
Harry appeared in an instant. He stumbled over to a chair by the table and practically fell into it. With one arm on the table supporting his face he wouldn't help but stare at no particular spot in the wall. Merely recalling recent events, it came as quite a hard blow to Harry.
When he had first learned about the wizarding world, he had finally felt like he a part of something. In a way he felt like part of a large family, he had a connection with every witch and wizard. To now be the only wizard in existence felt lonely. Harry couldn't say he liked it and he wondered if he should have given a proper goodbye to Ron and Hermione after all.
When he had Portkeyed over to Britain, he had found no Ministry.
In fact, it would be more accurate to say he found no magical world at all. There no longer was a Ministry, nor were there any magical creatures wandering around. It was like magic simply did not exist in this world and that thought scared Harry more than Voldemort ever did. For better or for worse magic was a part of him and he would fight his hardest to never part with it.
The good news was that his magic seemed to be as lively as ever. It didn't seem to be fading or weakening from being in a world where magic did not exist.
He was interrupted from his thoughts with the door swinging open quite abruptly and the same general that he had spoken to before walked in accompanied with the same three people he had met before along with one additional man who wore similarly shaped glasses like Harry.
The general seemed to calm down slightly upon seeing him and visibly took a breath to calm himself before speaking in a neutral tone, "Mr. Potter, I seem to recall asking you to stay on this base. Perhaps you can explain to me where you've been?"
Harry's first instinct was to lie but then he remembered that technically the world of magic didn't exist here and because of that there would be no point in doing so. With a sigh he said, "I went to Britain to try and find some friends but I didn't have much luck."
The general to his credit tried to hide his incredulity, his next question came out as a combination of sarcasm and seriousness.
"And might I ask how you've accomplished this feat?"
No matter how bad of day he was having, Harry couldn't resist the perfect opening for a quip, with a tired smile, "Magic," was all he said.
That got a mixture of different looks, on one spectrum, a raised eyebrow from a particularly stoic man to a scoff from the Colonel. Surprisingly, the Captain along with the other man who wore glasses were both looking at him intently, there didn't seem to be completely disbelief among their expressions. More along the lines of curiosity.
The general let out a little laugh, "Surely you're joking, you expect me to believe you magically exited this room?" He followed that with a small gesture towards the rest of the room.
"You can feel inclined to believe whatever you like, although you'd be an idiot to accept my claims without proof."
Before another word could be said he stood up and in one gesture drew his wand and transfigured the nearby potted plant into a lion. It let out a large roar and only when did the guards run into the room with their weapons drawn and ready, did he transfigure it back into a potted plant.
There was a rather resounding silence that lasted for a noticeable amount of time, but it was disturbed by the glasses wearing man who had yet to speak, he looked at Harry in complete awe, "Incredible," was all he said.
Harry nodded his appreciation and then introduced himself, "I'm Harry Potter by the way."
The other man only nodded back in turn and then seemed to remember his manners because he pointed to himself, "Oh, I'm Doctor Daniel Jackson," A hesitant moment went by before he asked, "Could you do it again?"
The Colonel at hearing this said a warning "Daniel," To which the doctor in question replied "Jack."
It seemed to be a regular occurrence among them and it only made Harry miss Hermione and Ron but instead of letting that show he turned to the deck of cards on the table and transfigured it into a rather tiny puppy, to which he then picked up and deposited in the doctor's hands.
"It won't last forever of course," He said as he watched the man stare at the transfiguration in complete wonder.
Whatever interest the Captain or Doctor had in him seemed to be completely forgotten at the moment as they poked and prodded the puppy they currently held. It pathetically growled and yipped at them back.
The general cleared his throat to draw attention back to himself and with a nod he dismissed the rather mesmerized guards, who looked rather disappointed to be ordered to leave.
"Mr. Potter that is truly an amazing gift, I have to ask, is there more like you?"
At this he grew a little sad, his earlier revelation still recent and it showed clearly on his face as the general had uttered an apology for bringing up poor memories but he explained the situation anyway.
"I had actually gone out looking for them earlier, that was my reasoning for leaving but I couldn't find any trace of them ever existing. It's probably safe to assume I am the only wizard alive."
Harry found that a little more difficult to say out loud than he thought and he found himself with what felt like a rather large lump in his throat.
The Colonel ever so helpfully leaned into the general and whispered "He said he was from Britain,"
At this the general looked calculating, not exactly nefarious but more like he could see a benefit to this situation. After a moment he said, "I have to go make some calls, Mr. Potter I trust you won't be taking any more excursions for the time being?"
At his nod the general look satisfied and turned to leave the room but was stopped by his second in command saying, "Uh actually, general do you mind if we were to…" And he pointed back towards Harry. The implied question was clear as day and the general smiled and let out a small laugh before saying, "Keep the young man company," then he walked out.
A 'yes sir' followed after him.
All four remaining people turned to Harry and after an awkward yip from the puppy, the Colonel said, "You hungry?"
"Starving, actually."
"Excellent."