A/N: Thank you so much to those of you who reviewed, those of you who added this story to your alerts, and those of you who added me to your author alerts. It's nice to see this story being read.

For clarification,

Sirius's memories, present-time storyline.

"Avada Kedavra!" Bellatrix Lestrange screeched.

Sirius felt the curse hit his chest. His body staggered back, falling to the floor, sliding through a silky fabric as he went.

He could hear Harry calling him, Bella laughing shrilly with glee. He tried to call back to Harry, to tell him he was alright. He tried, but Harry heard no sound out of his godfather's mouth.

Sirius jumped up, shoving the silky fabric out of the way. The fabric didn't budge. He could see harry through it, could see him fighting Bella. Soon the fight was taken out of the Death Room., and all was uncannily silent.

Sirius didn't know why Harry hadn't seen him, despite all his jumping and arm-waving. Sirius didn't know why Harry hadn't heard him, despite all his shouting and cursing. Sirius didn't know why the Veil wouldn't move, despite his fingers grasping and pulling at it. All he knew was that he had to find a way to help Harry - that he had to find a way out from behind the Veil.

"There is only one place you can go," a Voice said behind him.

Sirius's wand arm shot up as he turned. "Who's there?" He demanded.

"I am neither here nor there, but I am all around you, and in you. What am I?"

Sirius's temper rose. He didn't have time for riddles. Bloody Death Eaters, he swore to himself, for he was sure that was what this was.

"Answer the riddle, young one."

Sirius clenched his jaw. "No."

"If you do not answer it, I cannot take you home."

That changed matters. It wasn't much of a home, but Harry was there. Harry needed him. "How do I know I can trust you?"

The Voice laughed. "What do you have to lose, Sirius Black? Your life? It seems you have already lost that."

So the spell had worked? "If I'm dead, how am I still here?" Sirius demanded. "How am I still-" Sirius stopped. There were plenty wizards he knew that should be long dead, long departed.

"You see, now, don't you?" the Voice said. "You see what you have become? Answer the riddle, and you will be taken home."

"My home? To Harry?" Sirius asked.

"Your home." The Voice replied. "To your home."

Sirius thought about the riddle. It was difficult. He'd wished he had paid more attention to Remus's riddle games with Lilly. The two had spent many hours studying old riddles, but none he remembered were like this one.

The answer had to be something that was invisible, and all-encompassing, like air. That wasn't right, though; air wasn't "in him" like the riddle required, since he was a ghost at the moment.

Sirius thought for awhile more, discounting theories until he came up with only one possible answer. Sirius looked around, not knowing where the Voice was coming from. "Energy." He said finally. "You are energy."

"Sirius," a voice called to him, but it wasn't the Voice.

The wizard looked up when he heard his name. Hermione was staring at him, concert written on her face. "Sirius, are you alright?" She asked.

Sirius waited before speaking. "I need a pensieve," he said before falling into his memories once again…

As soon as he spoke, the room around him grew blindingly bright. The light lifted him with it, enveloping him and rising upwards with him in its grasp. "Where are you taking me?" Sirius asked.

"Home," answered the Voice.

The Voice took Sirius, who watched as they rose above the Ministry, through floors, then ceilings, then the roof itself. Now they rose above muggle London, rising higher and higher until, after another blinding light, they rose no more.

Sirius opened his eyes, not realizing he'd closed them. He was on his back, on the ground. He was clothed in his robes, which were sprawled around him.

"Welcome, Sirius Black."

"SIRIUS!" Hermione screeched. The wizard had dropped to the floor, where he lay motionless. John knelt down next to him, pressing his fingers into the Englishman's neck.

Thank God, John thought. He could feel a pulse – slight, but there. "He's alive." He saw Hermione breathe a sigh of relief. "Do you know what's going on?" He asked the witch.

Hermione shook her head. "N-no."

Sirius stood slowly, desperately looking around. He wanted to be home; this wasn't it. Instead, he was in a diner. A muggle diner. People sat in booths, waiters shoved past him. No one seemed to even notice he was there.

No one, that is, except a tall man with bright red hair, wearing a medieval tunic and breeches. He had an athletic figure, standing six and a half feet tall. He was a man Black knew from his History of Magic textbook, a man he always revered even more than Dumbledore himself.

It was impossible that this man was standing before him. It seemed Sirius really was dead; that Bella's spell did its job.

The man before him spoke. "You will be going home, just as I promised. But first you need to see where your home truly is, for it is not on Earth."

Sirius frowned. "What do you mean?" He paused. "There's no other world with life on it, is there? I mean, only nutters say that aliens exist, and I'm no nutter."

The man laughed. "I'm glad my descendants have kept their courage, especially you. You will need it to protect your home."

Sirius's jaw dropped. "I'm…"

The man's eyes twinkled, much like Dumbledore's would have if he were here. "Yes, Sirius Black. As Slytherin as your family seems, they are my descendants."

Sirius couldn't help himself – he laughed. And laughed. Because there was just no way that the Black family was descended from Godric Gryffindor. "I'm sorry." He said once he got control of himself. "You must be mistaken. There's no way my – family – is related to you."

Godric smiled. "Are you absolutely sure? What about the bravery that runs in your family? The stubbornness? Two qualities I am known for, if I am correct."

Sirius thought. Though they weren't the main qualities most of his family possessed, he had to admit that the Blacks were known for stubbornness and bravery in most cases. He realized that, as horrible as her actions were, his cousin Bella was a brave witch for joining a mostly male organization like the Death Eaters. From what he understood, it was difficult to be placed in a leadership role as high as Bella was as a witch. And he knew from personal experience just how stubborn his mother, father, and brother were. He still had the scars to show it.

Godric smiled. "It was not until the 15th century that your ancestor decided to follow Salazar's teachings instead of mine. From that moment on, the Black family became a Slytherin family. Until you."

"Why is that? If we really are your descendants, shouldn't we be in your House? All of us?" Sirius argued. "Doesn't the Sorting Hat take blood into consideration?"

"It does, but it focuses most on what House suits the personality of the student the best." Godric explained. "There have been muggleborns and half-bloods sorted into Slytherin, after all."

Sirius winced, imagining what a muggleborn's life in Slytherin would have been like. "Still, nearly five centuries of Slytherin Blacks, and we're related to Gryffindor. How the bloody hell did it happen?"

"Ah, dear Sirius, that is a story far too complicated to describe here. Not without other explanations first." Godric replied. "Suffice it to say that your Sorting proves that your place in the universe is not among the Gryffindors of Hogwarts, but the Hariens of Brooklan."

"Brooklan? Is that another magic school? I've never heard of it." Sirius said.

"I doubt you would have, for it is not on Earth, but my homeworld Lorena."

Marcus was surprised to find Sirius lying on his back when he entered the room after Floo-ing from Brooklan Castle. "What happened?"

Hermione stood from where she knelt by Sirius's side. "We don't know. He was fine, but then he spaced out for awhile."

"When we got his attention, he asked for a – pensieve, right?" John continued at Hermione's nod. "He collapsed after that."

"What's a pensieve used for?" Rodney asked, coming up behind Marcus.

"It's like a DVR for memories," Hermione replied. "You put your memories into the pensieve and you can play them back. You can even bring others into them if you need to. They're very useful in criminal trials."

"Then he's probably getting a rust of memories." Rodney said.

Hermione nodded. "It makes sense. The overflow would probably knock him out."

"So what do we do?" Ronon asked.

"We wait." Kleit answered. "He'll wake up sooner or later."

Sirius's head swam. "Like I said, that's impossible. Life only exists on Earth."

"Sirius, let me ask you this. Have you ever looked at the stars and felt like you were meant to live on one of the stars spread out that sky?" Godric said. "Have you ever truly felt like Earth was your home?"

Sirius began to reply, then stopped. He was now realizing that he really hadn't felt at home his entire life, not even at Hogwarts, not even at the Potter's family home. He'd always felt wrong, somehow, and had credited that to his oh-so-wonderful mother and father. He opened and closed his mouth, not sure what to say.

Godric grinned. "See, young one? You are not meant to live on Earth."

"How do you know?" Sirius challenged him.

"A prophecy written long ago spoke of the Protector of Lorena, the One who would lead them against their enemies to end the Battles of Old."

Sirius shook his head. "I'm not your man. I'm no leader. That was always James's job, and Harry's. I'm the faithful sidekick."

"You were meant to be more, Sirius Black." Gryffindor insisted. "Listen to the prophecy set by Merlin, long before he ever lived on Earth.

" From the forest the Protector shall appear,

From the Brotherworld he shall come.

From a line of blood-traitors he shall rise,

And a lion shall he become.

" When the Brotherworlder dies,

The Lorenian is born.

The Protector he shall be forevermore.

" Betrayal he has known twice,

From both the Snake and the Rat.

But the Otter, Duck, and Eagle are true,

And will help him see his job through.

" The Protector, young yet bold,

Will ally with the Brotherworld

To end the Battles of Old."

"Well that's an uncharacteristically specific prophecy." Sirius commented.

"That's because it was written by Merlin himself, who saw these things come to pass during meditation. He knew what was coming, and he knew you would be the Protector. He could see, even then, what you can't see in yourself." Godric said.

"Wait, you said before that Merlin wrote that prophecy before he came to Earth." Sirius said. "Is he from this – Lorena, is it?"

"No, he is not." Godric said. "I was wondering when you would ask that. It is a miracle he did prophesize this, for there is no other way I would be allowed to tell you this." He sighed and motioned to a nearby booth. "Sit. We have much to discuss."

Sirius sat, and Godric explained everything.

Time passed slowly for those in the Prolium's office. Hermione sat vigilantly next to Sirius, Ronon wrapping his arms around her as he sat beside her. Marcus paced his office, Maggie read from a book she pulled form the downstairs library. John, Teyla, Rodney, and Kleit discussed their tactical situation at the table Maggie had conjured earlier.

"How many Hives are we talking here?" John asked Kleit.

"One that I saw. There could've been more in orbit." Kleit answered. "And at least a platoon of Achnid war mages."

"How big is a platoon?" Rodney asked.

"Around 150 mages." Kleit answered surely. "And each one is a forced to be reckoned with. Together, they're about as difficult to defeat as a Wraith Hive Ship."

"What are your forces like?" John questioned.

"Well, we have fairly large numbers, but we're dwindling fast. We have 29 reconnaissance teams of five and four platoons of fifty war mages in Tara alone."

"And the other cities?" Teyla asked.

Kleit shook his head. "I don't know. That's part of Certus's job." He paused. "Excuse me; Sirius's job. He's our General."

John nodded. "So we have plenty to work with if we went with a full-out offensive."

"Yes we would," Kleit conceded, "but I doubt that would be a good idea."

"Why?" Rodney challenged.

Teyla sighed. "You have enough experience with the Wraith by now that you should be able to understand, Rodney."

"In other words," John explained, "foot soldiers – even magic ones – aren't enough to bring down a Hive Ship on their own."

"That's where we can help." Rodney said, connecting the dots.

John nodded, reflecting on Rodney's ability to state the obvious.

"So when are we sending teams out?" Rodney asked.

"Huh?" John said blankly.

"Hello? The library finds?" Rodney said.

"Library fines? What fines?" John answered.

"Library finds, not fines." He pulled a book from the floor next to him. "I found records of where to find four other cities like Atlantis, and what machines in the cities build ZedPM's."

John's ja2 dropped. "That's a pretty big find. Why didn't you mention it before."

Rodney shrugged. "Blame Sirius. He's the one who fainted and distracted me."

"Certus didn't faint. He collapsed. There is a difference, Dr. McKay." Kleit contradicted.

"Whatever." Rodney sneered. "He still distracted me. Anyways, I wouldn't get your hopes up, if I were you. One of the cities has already been found, remember?"

"Oh right, that group that used it as a royal palace." John remembered.

"And that city was mostly underground and in no shape to fly." Rodney added.

"Atlantis flies?" Kleit asked, wondering if he'd been following the conversation correctly.

"With enough power, it flies, it has a shield, and it has regenerating weapons…" Rodney's voice trailed off.

Teyla looked at John. "We need to talk to Colonel Carter."

John nodded. "We'll send teams out ASAP."

"Can't we just send our reconnaissance teams?" Kleit asked.

"We could," Teyla said, "but our teams know what they are looking at. Would your reconnaissance teams know if the city they find is functioning properly?"

"No, they wouldn't" Kleit conceded. "So what do we do know? We don't know what we'll find, so we can't plan anything yet."

"Now, we find out what our forces are." John said patiently. Maybe Rodney and Kleit have something in common after all, he mused. He stood and turned to Marcus. "Marcus, we need to talk to our leaders."

Marcus stopped pacing. "Yes I heard," he said without turning. "Are you all leaving?"

"John?" Hermione called. "I'd like to stay here, if I may. I won't be much help on Atlantis and… well, I might need to help Sirius."

"I'll stay with her." Ronon declared.

John nodded, facing Marcus once more. "Then I'll go with Rodney and Teyla."

Marcus moved towards him. "We shall travel the way Major Lorne did before with Levin. Maggie will take Teyla and Kleit will take Dr. McKay." He turned. "Ronon and Miss Granger may remain here with Cer- excuse me – Sirius until we return. It should not take us long." Hermione and Ronon nodded, and Maggie, Marcus, Kleit, John, Rodney, and Teyla Apparated away with a small pop.

The group reappeared to feet from the Stargate. Marcus looked at John expectantly, waiting for the usual comment about Apparation.

Instead, Rodney made a comment. "That's like 'Gate travel." Marcus shot him a surprised look.

Maggie nodded. "We think Apparation uses the same magic as the Portal."

Rodney shook his head. "No, that's not right. The Stargate isn't magic, it's technology."

"Then perhaps the Ancients got the idea from Apparation, Rodney." Teyla interrupted before an all-out intellectual fight could begin.

"As interesting as I'm sure this conversation will be, we're on a bit of a time crunch." John reminded them. With that, the group walked up the rest of the way to the 'Gate. Rodney dialed Atlantis and when the wormhole engaged, John punched his ID into the transmitter. He explained what he was doing to the Lorenians as he went. "Now, will any of you be joining us?"

Marcus glanced at Kleit, who shrugged. "I can help tactical planning as the results of our search come in."

John nodded and turned on his radio. "Atlantis, do you read?"

"Loud and clear, Colonel." Carter replied.

"Teyla, Rodney and I are coming home; Ronon and H-Madeline are staying. You've been made aware of our situation?"

"Yes," Carter confirmed.

"A Lorenian tactical advisor wants to join us." John said. "And Rodney's found something that's gonna solve a lot of problems for us, including our current one."

"What did he find?" Carter asked, intrigued.

"It- takes a bit of explaining." John said.

"Alright come on through; your 'tactical advisor' is welcome to join you." Carter said.

Marcus and Maggie watched as the team of four stepped through the Portal. As soon as the Portal turned off, the two Apparated back to the Prolum's office.

Marcus hoped that Certus – Sirius – would be awake by the time they returned. Marcus's hope was proven wrong as he ascended the stairwell to the second floor. "Alright. Enough is enough. We should get him to the Hospital. Perhaps the Healers will know what is going on."

"Marcus, you would cause a panic." Maggie disagreed. "Call over Healer Thornkin. He's helped before when we've needed privacy."

Marcus nodded, smiling down at his wife. "Where would I be without you, dearest?"

Maggie laughed, looking back up to him. "Right where you are, Harien."

Hermione smiled at the show of affection between the two. From her experience, that showed that the couple was becoming more comfortable with her and the members of her team. It bode well for future relations.

When Marcus had left, Maggie walked over to Hermione and Ronon. "Marcus will likely move Certus to our cabin. Once he returns we shall go there."

Hermione nodded, and a few minutes later Marcus returned with a short man trailing close behind him. The newcomer wore white robes that billowed about his sinewy frame. He looked pleasant enough, with brown hair and a grim smile. He had on plain black pants and a grey shirt underneath his robes. "Where's our patient?" The man asked as he reached the second floor.

"Here," Ronon said from where he sat with Hermione.

"This is Healer Thornkin." Marcus explained, watching the wizard examine Sirius.

Thornkin stood back from Sirius and turned to Marcus. "He seems to be in some sort of deep sleep He should be fine. Move him to a bed and wait for him to wake up. Floo me when he does."

"Thank you, Vex." Marcus said. "We shall move him to my cabin."

The Healer nodded, and Apparated away with a pop.

Ten minutes later, Sirius was settled in his room at Marcus's cabin. Hermione was poking around the numerous bookshelves in the Cabin's living room. Ronon was sitting next to Sirius's bed in a big, plush purple chair. Maggie was cooking food in the kitchen. Marcus had had to return to the Prolium office to prepare for the new work day.

In other words, the two Lorenians and the two Lanteans did something to busy themselves while they waited anxiously for Sirius to wake up from his sleep.

A/N: So what'd you think? Interesting chapter, no?

To head off questions about the riddle, he didn't say "magic" because magic wouldn't have been a universal thing, while energy would've been. At least that was my reasoning :)