Author's Chapter Notes:

A/N: I want to thank those of you who have been following this series on Granger Enchanted. I'm trying to work up to continuing where I left off in story 5, I have it all planned out, but life regretfully got in the way. Now that I have a computer again I'm hoping to pick up, but it has been awhile since I have looked over my outlines. I'm posting this story on this site to expand my audience and renew my interest in this story. One of the biggest problems I have faced in writing this series has been trying to find a reliable beta who has knowledge of both Stargate and Harry Potter. I'm asking anyone out there who could help me to send me an email. I can send you a summary of the next stories in this series or you can look them up at Granger Enchanted under the same penname. Hopefully I will be able to start posting brand new chapters on both sites and be able to finish story 5and maybe begin 6.

Daniel's flight into O'Hara Airport had been uneventful. Having left his luggage at the hotel he had checked out of for the funeral, all he had left to do was get his key back from the front desk and drop off his carry on bag. Pulling out a scrap of paper, he quickly dialed Sarah's number to inform her he was back in Chicago and that the emergency back home had blown over. Being so late, they made arrangements to go out for lunch the next day. Before hanging up he asked about the amulet, only to be told it was still missing.

He grabbed a jacket and headed out of the hotel, having decided to go talk with the curator about the other missing jar. Pulling into the parking area, he quickly checked the time and sighed with relief; he still had forty minutes before the museum closed for the night. Most of the collection was being stored there and items that needed to be studied were brought over to the university labs not too far away. It was late and Daniel hoped he would be able to find some answers quickly so he could go grab a bite to eat.

Walking into the museum storage area, he found the place in complete darkness. Not wanting to stumble into anything, he felt around for a wall and called out, "Hello! Hello!"

"Do you mind?" came Steven's voice out of the blackness.

Barely making out his figure, Daniel asked, "What're you doing here?"

"What're you doing here?" Steven countered.

"I asked first," said Daniel.

With an exasperated sigh, Steven replied, "I work here, Daniel. Remember?" Turning back to the wall he began to prod the area. "Wherever. The damn thing is I'm looking for the breaker box."

Mollified, Daniel said "Right, um, I had a few questions for that curator."

Steven furrowed his brow, thinking, before replying. "Uh, I don't think she's here. The lights were out when I came in. What did you want to ask her about?"

"I needed some information on items from the Stevart Expedition. There's something missing."

"There's nothing missing," dismissed Steven.

Daniel, in an aggravated tone, went on regardless, "Uh, a Canopic jar with some hieroglyphs and some unusual markings."

"The Osiris jar," Steven replied.

"Yes."

"Destroyed in the explosion."

"You sure about that?" probed Daniel. He couldn't believe that even with all the rivalry between them Steven would be so blasé about the possibility of a missing artifact.

"Yes. Positive."

Daniel decided to try a different tack. "Okay, well what about this, uh, gold amulet?"

"Daniel, if you're looking to get back with Sarah, you know, that's your business. I really couldn't care less, but I do have a problem with you coming here and involving yourself in my work."

Startled at the abrupt change in topic, Daniel ignored Steven's implication. "Uh, don't you mean Dr. Jorden's work?" he asked.

Steven huffed, annoyed. "No, my work. Sarah and I were Dr. Jorden's assistants; you haven't been involved since you walked out on him."

Aggravated by what Steven was inferring, Daniel couldn't help but protest, despite knowing it was futile. It was the same argument the two had been having since meeting as students.

"I didn't walk out on him. I was trying to protect him. Look, I don't want to get into this with you right now, but you need my help."

Finally getting the lights to come on, Steven whirled around. "Why, you think there might be Aliens involved?" He wiggled his eyebrows in a mocking way, before his face shifted to one of horror. "Oh God." Turning, Daniel could see what had caused the pale expression on Steven's face. The body of the curator laid by the foot of her desk, blood pooling around her.

She could hear the sounds of fighting growing fainter the further she got from the Great Hall. Turning the corner, she barely managed to stop before she ran right into a pile of rubble blocking the hallway. She stepped on a stray rock and cursed as she felt her ankle turn under her. The sharp pain caused tears to spring to her eyes. Looking around, she couldn't find a way past and began limping back the way she had come.

She was running out of time.

Stumbling back, she tried to avoid the battle raging around her and find another way to the Headmaster's Office. Stopping in the shadows she tried to assess her situation. There had to be a way to make it across the Great Hall and to the staff door without being shot down. Heart pounding, she cast a Disillusionment Charm and took a deep breath; the best approach would be to just run straight out across the room. If she stayed to the shadows around the walls it would take far too long.

She took off at a sprint and was halfway across before she had to duck a stray hex. Looking up, she was confronted with the image of Dolohov towering above her. Fear paralyzed her; it was the same fear she had possessed of the Death Eater since the battle at the Ministry. Frozen, she watched as his mouth began to move to form a curse. With shaking limbs she managed to roll out of the way before the purple light hit. Twisting her body, she was able to fire off a curse of her own, which just missed. She struggled to her feet and they began to duel. Lights danced around them in a blaze of color as they each fought to destroy the other. Finally she managed to hit him with a jet of fire. Seizing the opportunity she took off for the staff door, hearing his inhuman shrieking echo behind her.

She hurtled through the door and slammed it behind her. Staggering up the winding staircase, she found the locked door to the Headmaster's Office. Pulling out a first edition copy of "Hogwarts: A History'", she flipped to the page she had marked, took a deep breath and began chanting in Latin, following the instructions of the book. Using a knife to cut into her palm, she smeared the blood across the door frame, creating runes as she went. She was invoking the Call of Need to gain access to the office. It was an ancient summons to the school for protection. It had been all but forgotten over time as the Wizarding world entered a golden age after the founding of the school, with the threat of outside attack long since forgotten.

When the door gave way beneath her hands she felt herself relax a little. It had actually worked. She had spent the better part of a year researching these spells, ever since she had found the ancient edition of her favorite book in the Black family library, and the first was a success. Stepping into the office, she took in the changes Snape had wrought in his tenure of the room. A tremble in the foundations of the building brought her back to her task. Glancing at her watch, she could see there was barely any time left. Hastily she opened her bag to retrieve the items for the ritual and turned to another page in the tome.

Drawing runes with her still-bleeding hand, she began the ritual using the salvaged Horcruxes as the original founder items along with Gryffindor's sword, which she had stolen back from Griphook, for the final piece. With the portraits of the former Headmasters looking on, she began the chant. According to her research, by being in the Headmaster's Office she would be able to tap into the power of Hogwarts itself and be able to channel that magic into the students fighting for the school. It would increase their power and hopefully give them a fighting chance against the overwhelming numbers of Voldemort's army. It was dangerous and, as the focus for the spell, she could potentially be killed. She had kept it a secret from Harry, knowing it would distract him from his fight with Voldemort.

Continuing her chanting, she began to feel the build-up of power in the room. A smell of ozone tingled her nose and her hair began to spark with an electric charge. Light spilled into the room and with it came a dry heat that caused the paper of her book to ignite. Ignoring the blistering heat, she kept chanting. Pure energy began to travel through her body, causing her to arch up in pain. A ringing began to build in her ears; it was too much, she couldn't control it. The energy kept building, it was suffocating her, leaving her gasping for breath...it hurt...the burning...she could hear screaming...

Jerking awake Hermione tried to steady her racing heart. It was just a nightmare, it was just a night-

She could still hear the ringing. Confused, she finally identified the telephone as the cause of the commotion. Fumbled around in the dark, she managed to find the device.

"Hello," she answered groggily. Glancing at the digital clock on the nightstand, she could see that it was just past midnight.

"Hermione, I'm sorry to wake you, but it's Sarah."

Sitting up straighter at the distressed tone of Sarah's voice, Hermione asked, "Is something wrong?"

"Hermione, they found the body of the curator earlier tonight."

"What?"

"The curator is dead. They say it looks like an accident, but Daniel and Steven have both been brought in for questioning. Look, I know it's late, but could you go down to the station to pick them up? I would, but the headlights of my car just won't turn on," she pleaded.

Hermione was already sliding out of her bed and stumbling to turn on the lights. "Of course," she said, trying to find a notepad and pen. "I'll need directions though."

Once Sarah was finished giving her directions to the station from the hotel, Hermione was able to find some clothes which didn't smell too bad (she had forgotten to take them down to the in service cleaners earlier) and dressed hurriedly. Shrugging on a jacket, she slipped on some shoes while double-checking she had everything in her purse.

Yawning, she made her way to the parking garage while pulling her hair back in a quick ponytail. Twenty minutes later she was pulling up to the station house. She hurried in and made her way to the front desk, where she was directed to wait for an officer to meet up with her.

Just as she was starting to nod off, the door at the end of the hall opened and a detective came to talk with her. After debriefing her about the investigation, she was told both men were being released. Neither was under arrest, but they had been advised to stay in the area for questioning. It appeared that the curator had died in an accident and the only reason that the two had been brought in was of an altercation between the pair. Dr. Rayner had accused Dr. Jackson of being a killer and the ensuing argument had turned into a minor fistfight. The detectives on the scene had thought it best to bring both in to cool down and be questioned.

Turning the corner, Hermione found both men handcuffed to chairs and trying their hardest to ignore each other. Noticing her entrance, both men looked up. Giving them a bemused smile, she said, "I hope that you both can behave civilly for a bit longer while I get you released." She received two glares in response.

Once the paperwork was finished, both men followed her out to the curb where her rental was parked. Before they got in, Steven broke the silence. "I'm not going anywhere with him."

Daniel snapped back, "No one asked you to. If you had just kept your mouth shut we wouldn't even be here."

"I'm not the one who showed up out of nowhere after being missing for years, expecting to be greeted with open arms. You've been poking your nose in where it doesn't belong and disrupting my work."

"Oh please-"

Hermione placed her fingers in her mouth and let out a sharp whistle, causing them to stop their quarrel. "Listen, you two. You will both stop this petty squabbling and start behaving like adults. I'm tired and would like to be able to get back to my hotel sometime tonight. So pipe down and get in the car."

Whirling around she got into the driver's seat. After a short wait, Daniel got into the passenger side and Steven began to walk away. With a sigh, Hermione asked, "Where is he going?"

Also letting out a sigh, Daniel replied, "He said he would get a cab."

"Fine let's get out of here." Hermione snapped, thoroughly annoyed. She pulled out onto the street and began to steer back to the university to drop Daniel off at his car.

Hearing a grumble, she turned to look at Daniel, who shrugged uncomfortably. "If it's not too much trouble, uh, could you pull into a drive-through somewhere? I was waiting until after I saw the curator to eat dinner."

Feeling sorry for the man, Hermione let her earlier anger fade. "Sure, but I have a better idea."

Making a turn, she found the all-night diner one of the researchers had mentioned as a good place to get something to eat late at night. It wasn't too far from the campus and appeared to be full of college students. They found themselves a booth and pulled out menus. Daniel ordered a hamburger with a side of fries, and a coffee. In an attempt to keep herself awake, Hermione decided to get coffee as well, and accompanied it with a sugary dessert.

Breaking the silence that settled over the booth once the waitress departed, Daniel commented, "I haven't been in this place in years."

"Really? I didn't know it was such a hotspot. I was just told it was a good place to find food at any hour."

Once again silence settled over the two. Hermione could sense that Daniel was on the verge of saying something, but would stop himself. Uncomfortable with the scrutiny she finally demanded, "What?"

Obviously startled at her query, he stuttered, "I'm sorry?"

"Daniel, if you want to ask something, just do it."

"OK," he admitted, flustered. "It just occurred to me that I haven't even thanked you for coming to pick me up. We're basically strangers to each other and yet you took the time to come out in the middle of the night to help Steven and me out."

Waving away his concern, Hermione said, "I'm just doing a favor for Sarah. She's been a good friend since I got here and with everything that has happened, it's been a hard few days for her."

Nodding in agreement, Daniel took a sip of his coffee. "The way I understand it, you haven't know each other all that long."

"Well I came in about a week and a half ago now to view the collection. Sarah was a great help in making sure I had everything available to do my work."

"Yeah, she mentioned your mysterious writing." He paused, seeming to choose his next words carefully. "I don't know if she told you, but I'm quite good with translations. If you need any help, I would be happy to take a look."

Hermione was wary. She wasn't sure she should trust Daniel; she knew he was hiding something. Deliberating with herself, she finally came to a decision and opened her purse. She searched through the contents to find a notepad with a few lines of hieroglyphs she had scribbled out. The rest of her work was back at the hotel, with extra copies in her office at the school. "I don't have my work with me, but this is a sample of what I have been working on, take a look." she said, passing him the notebook.

Hermione tried to read his expression as he read, but to no avail. As he continued to flip through the pages, she witnessed shock cross his features. After muttering to himself a bit he said, "And this was off the chamber walls?"

"Yes."

"How far into the translation have you gotten?" he asked, frowning.

Deciding to remain cautious, she lied, "Not too far. I'm still having trouble identifying the symbols. I'm trying to look for common roots and other permutations." Attempting to feel out his intentions, she asked, "Do you have any ideas?"

Still staring at the notepad, he answered, "I'm not sure... I have come across something similar before, but I would need to cross-reference my notes to be sure. Do you, uh, think I could see the original images?"

"I could bring by some copies tomorrow. It's late and I need to get some sleep tonight."

Finally tearing his gaze away from the pages, Daniel looked at her, probably noticing the circles under her eyes. "Of course."

The waitress took the opportunity to show up with their food. As they ate, conversation turned toward more lighthearted topics. They each discussed their respective schooling and careers, skillfully hiding the real truths behind them. The night ended with a friendly argument over the merits of some historically obscure subject that would only be interesting to a few.

Once she finished her dessert, Hermione waited for Daniel to complete his meal. They left a generous tip and made their way back to the car. When they arrived at the parking lot back at the campus, Hermione made sure to drop Daniel off next to his car. Not many cars remained in the lot and to her relief, Steven's was already gone; at least he had made it back safely. Pulling away she glanced at the time; it was 3:17 in the morning.