The headmaster smiled softly as he stood and moved towards the door. "Severus if you would be so kind as to take our guests with you, I must take care of something."
The potion's master tried to hide his surprise at Dumbledore's request as he stood to do as he had been told. Daniel was incensed as he made to approach the headmaster, who was already moving out of the office door. The rest of SG-1 sat dumbfounded for a moment as they glared at Snape, wondering what had sent the older wizard moving quickly away from them.
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"I understand what we are supposed to do, Corrigan, but how are we supposed to get close enough to the cup without anyone noticing? I know I was able to get to the Goblet before, but Dumbledore will have fixed so the Triwizard Cup is impenetrable." Crouch asked as he glared at Jack, the displeasure clearly noted on his face.
"We'll figure something out."
"Dumbledore will surely know if we even attempt to tamper with it."
Jack sneered at the other wizard. "Don't worry about the old man. Once we find a safe way to get to the cup, I can put a charm around it so that even he won't be able to detect a thing we've done. You just worry about getting us to the cup."
"When will we do this?"
"It'll take a few weeks before Master is ready, so for now we'll wait. The night before the final task I'll be back to help you with the cup. Until then you need to make sure Harry is ready. Also you'll need to break into Snape's Dungeon and collect a few items." Jack reached into his robes, pulled out a small bit of parchment and handed it to Crouch. "Master will need these very soon."
Staring at the list, the younger wizard groaned in frustration. "Snape may be a traitor, but he's no fool. He'll notice the moment any of these items go missing. He's already getting suspicious about the ingredients for the polyjuice potion …"
Jack raised his wand, pointed it at Crouch's face effectively silencing the wizard with a spell. "I didn't ask for your complaints. Do as you're told or if you can't I'll make certain Master knows you're of no further use to him."
Crouch stopped in his tracks, his breath caught in his throat. A slight smile crept across Jack's face as he once again waved his wand at Crouch, undoing the silencing spell he used a moment before.
"I'll have everything ready in a day or so. What else?"
"For now, just continue your work with Potter and wait until I contact you send the items from Snape's Dungeon."
"What about you? What you are you going to do now?"
"I have to get back to our Master. You do as you've been instructed. I'll return soon to check on your progress."
With that Jack turned away, transfigured himself into his snake form and slithered off through a small crack in the wall just beside the window on the far end of the room. Crouch sighed in relief once the older wizard was out of sight as he slumped into the nearby chair and buried his head in his hands.
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Harry couldn't shake the images that flashed through his mind. The events that had taken place in the Black Lake had embedded themselves in his head, playing over and over again as he went through his days waiting for the next task to take place. Ever since the second task in the tournament he'd also been focused on getting in touch with Sirius. He was certain that his godfather would be able to explain what was going on.
As yet, nothing was making sense to him except that someone appeared to be trying to kill him and his uncle Jack had mysteriously showed up to save him. Even Hermione and Ron hadn't provided much assistance when Harry mentioned it to them after they were all safely away from the lake. It had been two days since then and none of them were any closer to understanding the strange happenings that were taking place.
As the young wizard moved through the trees in the school courtyard he was struck with the odd sense that he was being watched. The feeling roused him from his thoughts and he made his way to the owlery as quick as he could. Hermione was waiting for him, Hedgwig on her arm as he approached her.
"What took you so long, Harry?"
Adjusting his glasses Harry shook his head. "You ever have the feeling someone is watching you?"
The brunette raised an eyebrow in concern. "This can't be good."
"Did we get a message from Sirius?" Harry asked as he nervously looked about to be certain no one was listening in on their conversation.
"He says to meet him in the woods near the Black Lake tonight." The uncertain look was clear on Hermione's face as she handed Harry the piece of parchment from his godfather.
Harry read over quickly then used his wand to burn it. They shared a quick glance at one another before they gathered themselves and retreated from the owlery.
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Once they had set their plans for the final task of the tournament Jack had made to return to Lord Voldemort. He'd gotten to the edge of the forest where he would be able to apparate when he transfigured himself back into his human form. An odd sensation passed through him as he stood up, reaching for his wand in order to apparate and a voice began to whisper softly in his mind. For a moment he swore he'd finally gone insane, but the familiarity of the voice made him stop. He focused on it, realizing quickly who it was he turned back around and heading back to the school. He got to castle walls when he saw a familiar face step out of the shadows just a near the entrance.
"Well, well, well…I always suspected you'd learned to transfigure yourself." Dumbledore's voice sounded almost uncharacteristically patronizing to Jack as he peered upwards, hissing in his snake-form.
He didn't protest when the headmaster carefully picked him up, placed him in his robes and carried back into the castle.
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Harry reached the edge of the lake near midnight, careful to check that no one had followed him. Near the water he saw the familiar frame of Sirius in his animagus form. The dog cocked his head in Harry's direction and trotted off toward the nearby treeline. Once they were safely in the trees and away from any possible prying eyes Sirius transformed back into his human form.
"It's good to see you well, Harry." The haggard looking older man pulled the young wizard in for a hug
"What's going on? Why is my uncle here? Have you found anything out…?" The myriad of questions left Harry's lips in a flood, causing the older wizard to put his hands up as if to surrender, wanting the younger man to slow down.
"I'm not entirely sure what's going on, Harry. As for Jack, I think he's here to help you, but I can't be certain."
Harry nodded, hanging his head, not at all pleased with his godfather's response. "Did you hear about the Centaurs?"
Sirius cocked his head in Harry's direction and shook his head. "What about them?"
"They burned down Hagrid's house. Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall helped him rebuild it, but no one will say why the Centaurs actually came onto school grounds."
"That's unheard of. It's no secret they don't approve of witches and wizards, but they've always respected Dumbledore." For a long moment Sirius stared off in the distance, muttering quietly to himself before he finally turned to Harry. "I don't know what your uncle is up to but I have a feeling the bloody Centaurs attacking on school grounds has something to do with it."
"Well, what are we going to do?"
"You're going to go back to the school, and ready yourself for the rest of this tournament. Something's not right about all of this."
The two wizards said goodnight and went their separate ways that evening, both anxious about what would happen in the ways and weeks to come, and both certain that something dark was brewing that would soon envelope them all far more than they already were.
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Dumbledore casually strolled through the corridors, smiling at the few paintings that were still awake as he approached his destination. He reached the door he had been looking for a quickly checked over his shoulder before entering. Once inside he nodded the small group of people that were already waiting for him.
Daniel and Carter were seated beside one another on the far end of long table that took up much of the space in the room. Teal'c was standing stoically with his back against the nearby wall, a few feet from where his team members were seated. Snape was just beside the doorway, his hand stuffed into his robe pockets as he watched the headmaster enter the room.
"I believe an explanation is in order." Dumbledore said as he reached into his pocket, pulling out the animagi form of Jack and placing him on the table.
"What the hell is that for?" Daniel asked he jumped out of his seat and stepped back from the table.
"All will become clear." The old wizard nodded as he motioned for Daniel to sit back down.
The snake hissed loudly and then before their eyes Jack transfigured himself. His team members stared in shock as their leader materialized and knelt before them in the center of the table where the snake had been.
"What the…?" Daniel couldn't find the words as he gaped at his friend.
Jack smiled and tried his best to put on an innocent expression as he waved at those in the room. "Hi guys…long time no see."
"What's going on? How did that just…happen?" Daniel waved his hand in Jack's direction in a mix of confusion and anger.
"That's a very long story…" Jack trailed off seeing the disgruntled expressions on Daniel's and Sam's faces as they glared back at him from the opposite end of the table. "Of course, I'd be glad to tell it you…unfortunately I don't think we have that kind of time."
Dumbledore nodded in agreement as he took a step closer to Jack and motioned for him to get off of the table. "Corrigan is quite correct. I do believe there are much more important things to discuss."
tbc...almost done (only a few more chapters left before Book II is finished G )
Thanks so much to everyone that has sent feedback and encouraged me to continue this story...it's taken me forever but it's been a lot of fun and I'm glad so many have enjoyed it.