A/N: I'm really, really, really sorry about the last month. Shortly after I posted chapter five, I realized that my school grades were drastically low. Thus, school became a big priority, and I shunned myself from FFN until I pulled my grades up. I have been writing, and I'm currently working on Chapter 10. So to make it up to you all, I'm going to post a chapter every two weeks on (starting with the next update) Sundays. You have my permission to stab me to death with your pencils if I don't.

Last chapter recap (because it's been so long): During SGA-1's meeting with Marcus, Certus, Levin, and Kleit appeared, fresh from the Achnid base. They brought the disturbing news that two of Certus' team was captured. Just as the group was discussing further options, a silver mist appeared that materialized into a snake. The snake carried a warning: turn over Marcus Ventrius and Certus Calhoun in five days' time, or both Lorena and the prisoners would suffer utter destruction.

The tension in the room was so thick it could be cut with a knife. The Lorenians' faces all held expressions of sheer hatred, anger, hurt, and betrayal. Certus's hands were clenched in tight fists around his wand; Kleit glared with slits for eyes and a mouth that (Madeline noticed) would rival McGonagall's when she was angry. Levin was pale, his hands red and sweaty. Marcus paced the floor back and forth, back and forth; Maggie watched him with concern, her face red and ashen.

The Atlantians watched the scene with confusion. They didn't know the voice, or what "Grand Empire" it referred to, or what made Certus react the way he did. Rodney glanced at John, whose face screamed "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!!!" He felt much the same way.

Madeline had guessed, silently, that the snake was the Patronus of the betrayer in Certus's team. That, she believed, was probably how Certus knew what was coming. Curious, she thought, Sirius reacted the same way when he saw... No. I can't think like this. Sirius is dead. He died thirteen years ago. Thirteen years ago… that's how long Certus and Marcus have known each other…NO! Stop it! She shook her head in frustration, trying to clear her thoughts. She couldn't believe he was alive. If Sirius was alive… then, perhaps… NO!

Ronon turned from watching the Lorenians to check on his team. John, Lorne, and Rodney both wanted to know what was going on – that much clearly danced across their faces. Not that Ronon expected any different. Those three never had their emotions in check. Teyla, on the other hand, let nothing more than concern show. If the Athosian woman was feeling anything more, Ronon couldn't tell.

Ronon looked towards the newest member of his team. He hadn't been around her long enough to detect a pattern, but he suspected that Madeline was a lot like Teyla and himself in these situations. She, after all, had remained calm when Levin, Certus, and Kleit had explained what transpired on the Achnid base while the rest of the room had erupted into hysterics. He expected her to appear just as solid and stoic as she was then.

Madeline wasn't, much to Ronon's surprise, but that's not what concerned him. She wasn't hurt, angry, confused, or worried like the rest of the group. Madeline had a frown on her face, staring openly at Certus as he started to pace the room with Marcus. She dropped her nose, letting her mouth hang slightly open. She closed her eyes, opened them for a while, then closed them again and shook her head forcibly. If Ronon were to hazard a guess, he'd say that she was having some sort of internal debate. What that debate was, and what it had to do with Certus, he had no idea.

John was the first one to speak, finally voicing the question that had been burning his tongue since the strange mist flew into the room. "What the h- what was that?" Okay, so maybe he edited it a little. Elizabeth would be proud of him for being diplomatic. John closed his eyes, trying to send thoughts of Elizabeth away for now. He'd have time to continue grieving later.

"That was a Patronus Charm." Kleit explained. "It is used for communication. Each person's Patronus takes a different form. My Patronus is a duck."

"THAT Patronus," Certus spat, stopping suddenly, "was the Patronus of Darien Doren, the traitor." He stared at the ground as he spoke, and slunk slowly to the floor, gripping his hair in his fists.

Kleit walked over to his CO, placing a hand on the long-haired man's shoulder. "Certus, Certus please-" Kleit paused. "You can't turn yourself in. You can't listen to Achnid demands."

"What choice do we have?!" Certus demanded solemnly. "If I don't – if we don't – they'll bring the full forces of the 'Grand Empire' upon us. You know they will. Machien and Cally will…" his voice trailed off, but the unspoken word echoed loudly throughout the room.

"Certus is right." Marcus agreed. "We must turn ourselves in. There is no other option."

"NO!" Maggie declared, surprising the Atlantians. Maggie had always seemed polite and well-contained to them. She rarely stated her opinions in that way, from what they could tell. "Can you imagine what message that would send to the galaxy? The highest leaders of the biggest threat to the Achnids turn themselves over to their enemy. It would seem like you are giving up – like Lorena is giving up."

"My dear Maggie," Marcus cast his pleading eyes towards her. "If we do not, there will be no Lorena left to fight."

"And there will be no Lorena if you two are not here to lead us," Levin spoke for the first time. "Pardon my frankness, sirs, but you do not know how much your people depend on you. Certus, you are a symbol of what it means to be Lorenian – you are a hero. Marcus, it is often said that without you, the Preliums would fall apart – you are our Prolium."

"Levin is right, Certus," Kleit affirmed. "Though they'd never show it, most of your troops would die to have your skills with a wand and your bravery in battle. No one can rival you."

Maggie nodded. "You two are not alone, Certus, Marcus. The whole of Lorena follows your lead. We all – even your political opponents – would fight for both of you. We wouldn't follow another's lead."

"Maggie's right, Marcus, you aren't alone." John spoke. "We will do all we can to help protect your world from the Achnids and Wraith." The rest of his team nodded in agreement.

Maggie turned to Marcus in sudden remembrance. "Marcus, the Atlantians are not true descendants of the Ancestors. They are from Earth."

Marcus looked up sharply towards the Atlantians. "Is this true? Are you really from Earth?"

Madeline nodded, slightly confused. "Most of us are. Teyla and Ronon are native to the Pegasus Galaxy." Every Lorenian in the room turned to them in shock, surprise, and, amazingly enough, reverence. Maybe it had something to do with the "Brotherworld" Maggie spoke of earlier.

Marcus thought for a while, turning between Certus and the Atlantians. "The records in Merlin's Library speak often of Earth, the planet known to all as the Brotherworld. Merlin prophesized long ago that we would ally with the Brotherworld to end the 'Battles of Old'. All Lorenians memorize the prophecy before they can read. You all will be welcomed as heroes here. Perhaps… Perhaps there is hope after all."

Rodney looked up and opened his mouth to speak. John, knowing his scientist was planning to ask about Merlin's Library, shook his head and mouthed later.

Certus, in the meantime, had grown quite silent. He was staring, just like the other Lorenians, with his mouth opened in a wide O. But unlike the other Lorenians, he was staring because, for the first time, he felt like he'd finally discover who he was. Madeline was talking about Earth, and about England. She was talking about the same Ronald he – for some reason – remembered. Certus knew, though she didn't say anything, that Madeline knew who he was. He stared hard at her now. "Have we met before?" He asked, surprising the entire room.

Madeline was stunned. She hadn't thought Certus would ask anything like that. Now, her brain was in overdrive, trying to come up with theories as to how Sirius could have possibly become Certus. She stammered, realizing he was waiting for an answer. "I - I don't think so, unless you've somehow lived on Earth before. I'm new to the Stargate program."

Certus closed his eyes, thanking Merlin that he'd found someone from his home world at last. "I have."

"Certus?" Marcus questioned, concerned but hopeful. "Have you finally remembered?"

"Remembered what?" Kleit questioned. "What are you talking about, Certus? You grew up in Tralla."

Certus shook his head. "I did not, and I am not Maggie's cousin."

"Certus speaks the truth, Kleit." Marcus confirmed. "I found Certus on the banks of the river. He was, well, nude. He seemed to suffer from memory loss so severe he'd forgotten who he was. I named him Certus because he was determined to find civilization, in hopes that someone who recognized him would see him. Before now, he has not found anyone who recognizes him, or that he recognizes himself." Marcus turned to Certus. "When did you remember?"

"As I was running for the Portal, with Achnid and Wraith on my tail." Certus answered. "I remembered that I had been betrayed like this once before, that I had lost people very dear to me because of it. I dove into that memory, and many more started springing foreword. It was like I was watching my past life flash in clips before my eyes."

Madeline grew pale. Here was further evidence that Certus was Sirius. It sounded as if Certus ascended, then descended and landed on Lorena. She still knew it would be a huge coincidence if Certus and Sirius were one in the same. There were six billion people on Earth, after all.

"I remembered my name, Marcus. My real name, my birth name." Certus smiled broadly, white teeth glistening brightly. He looked directly at Madeline. "I am Sirius Black. I lived in England, on the planet Earth. I don't remember how I ended up on Lorena, or how I lost my memory. But I remember who I am, and who I once was. No longer am I Certus. Sirius Black is back."

Madeline's heart stopped pounding entirely. Her vision grew blurry, her head started whirring. She clutched her sides and keeled over to keep from fainting. She barely registered the shouts of surprise and concern erupting from both her coworkers and the Lorenians.

Ronon had his arms around her in a second, enveloping her in his protective bear hug. He was concerned – near hysterics, in all honesty – but he couldn't let that show. Right now, he knew she needed him as a rock, as something tangible she could rely on. From the sounds of things, he'd been the first real friend she'd had since she moved away from home. Right now, she needed whatever strength he could give her.

Sirius (Merlin it's been long since I've called myself that, he mused) wasn't quite sure exactly what was going on. He hoped beyond hope that Madeline recognized him, that she knew who he was, but most importantly that she could bring him back to Harry. He didn't remember much about the boy, except that he was James's son and that James was dead. He figured that, by now, Harry had grown used to being alone, but he wanted James's son to have something that resembled a family. He couldn't remember why, but something inside him told him that Harry's home life – well, his life in general, really – wasn't exactly pleasant.

In the meantime, John had pulled his weapon out and was pointing the gun at Sirius. "What the hell did you do to her?!" He demanded. He wasn't sure what it was, but he knew – somehow – that Certus (he doubted the man's real name was Sirius) had read Madeline's mind and pulled some name from her past. He figured if magic can move tables and torture people, it could read minds too.

"JOHN!" Teyla scolded. "He did not do anything to her. She reacted on her own."

John snorted as if he were Rodney. "Do you honestly believe that?! There's no way she recognized him. She's never been off world before moving to Atlantis, and we don't have a magical community on Earth."

Marcus looked up in shock. "That's not possible."

"Exactly my point!" John said happily.

Marcus looked confused. "No, it's not possible that Earth has no magic."

Rodney rolled his eyes. "Of course it's possible. It's true. There are no 'magic folk' on Earth."

Kleit shook his head. "It can't be. Merlin moved there with the Ancestors."

John rolled his eyes this time. "Merlin wasn't a wizard. He was an Ancient. They had big toys that could do magical things."

"Merlin was a wizard. We have memories that show him using magic that we use ourselves." Maggie disagreed.

"Yeah, well memories don't prove much when the people who lived them are dead." Rodney retorted.

"They may not in the Tofauti world, but they do in the Wizarding world." Levin said. "Besides that, our records of the Brotherworld tell us that it was brimming with untapped magic, just like ours. That's why we call it the Brotherworld."

"Then your records are mistaken." Rodney countered. "There. Are. No. Wizards. Or. Witches. On. Earth."

"Well, I know for a fact that's not true." Sirius laughed.

John swung his gun back on Certus again. "Don't you dare say what you were about to say."

"John, please." Madeline's voice spoke up. It was shaking, small; obviously insecure even to those who didn't have any training in the area. She was still recovering from the shock of Sirius's reappearance. "He's telling the truth."

John hesitated for a second before turning back to her. The young diplomat was looking up at him from her place in Ronon's grip. She was pleading, her face filled with worry as she glanced between him, his gun, and his target. "What do you mean?" He finally asked. "He can't be-"

"He is, John. He is. I know it's hard to believe, but please put away your gun and let me explain." Madeline pleaded again. She just discovered Sirius was alive – she wasn't about to let John bugger this up by shooting Harry's only "relative" in the head. Harry would be thrilled to have Sirius around him again. And she was going to make sure that happened. Finally, John started to lower his weapon, though the Lorenians still watched his hand carefully. "Thank you, John." Madeline whispered.

John nodded mutely, still seething in anger. He didn't think he was making the right decision, but he figured he should probably hear her out before he shot the bastard before him in the head. "Explain why I just did that."

Madeline took a deep breath. She knew eventually that this day would come, that the ruse would end, that sooner or later she'd have to face her past once again. "It's not an easy thing to explain, and it's not technically legal for me to do it, either. I don't think it should be a problem for me, though, since Sirius has already exposed our kind to you." She glanced at Sirius, whose expressions made him seem like Harry on his first true Christmas morning.

It took a second for her words to register in the minds of the rest of her audience. Predictably, Rodney's mind was the quickest. "Wait – our kind?"

A/N: Yes, I do realize that's a little short, but it was the best place to stop. The next installment will come in two weeks, so mark your calendar!