A/N: Ok, so I know I promised you a longer update. Consider it a compromise: I'm giving you an earlier update, so it's going to be a little shorter this time. I'll resume my normal Sunday updates after this. If you must know, life has gotten in the way this weekend and I don't want to leave you all hanging.

"Now do you see, Sirius Black?"

The voice spoke clearly into his ear. It was Godric again, Sirius knew.

"The Wraith are a problem." Sirius conceded. "I still don't see the danger of the Achnids. It seems Marcus can protect Lorena well enough on his own."

Sirius was enveloped in the white light he knew was Godric Gryffindor. It surrounded him, penetrated his inner mind. He could feel it in his very bones; he could feel it running through his blood veins. Nothing had ever felt as intimate as this.

He could feel it when Godric laughed. "My dear boy, you do not understand. That was one Achnid mage, and a pretty mediocre one at that. There are thousands more where he came from, and hundreds more powerful than the one Marcus defeated. Not all of them are Water Mages, either. The Achnid Magi are formidable forces, especially when combined. Imagine facing armies whose soldiers are able to command the elements! Imagine Death Eaters leveling houses with a breath of fire, an uprising of trees, or a major earthquake. Do you really think one man can stop a force of five thousand Achnid War Mages?" Godric paused, letting what he'd said sink in.

"Many years from now, the Achnid Magi will partner with the Wraith. Then, the Achnid Magi will not only be able to control the elements, but life and death itself."

Sirius frowned. "What do you mean, control life and death? Only in legend is that possible."

"On Earth, perhaps." Godric allowed. "But not in the Pegasus Galaxy. The Wraith can give life just as easily as they can take it. Those who partner with them have access to an elixir of sorts, as long as the Wraith allow it."

"So they can't actually… bring someone back… can they?" Sirius questioned.

"No, thank Merlin." Godric said, with relief. "Can you imagine? The Wraith would feed on a host until he died, then resurrect him and start the process all over again." Sirius shuddered. No, that was not a pretty picture at all.

"So, Sirius Black, I ask you again: now do you see? Now do you see why you're needed?"

Sirius thought. He could see why those forces needed to be stopped. He could see why they were the root of all evil; well, save Voldemort. But, try as he might, he couldn't see why he was the only one who could stop him.

"I see in your heart you still don't understand why it must be you. With time, you will." Godric said.

Sirius sighed. "If I do this, will I be sent back to Earth?"

He could feel Godric smile sadly. "It shall be an option, if you wish. You are going to be in contact with Earth, after all. Eventually."

"Eventually? How long will I be on Lorena?"

"Thirteen years, at lest. Thirteen years until you meet other Brotherworlders." Godric answered.

Thirteen years. Harry could die by then. Everyone he knew, everyone he cared about could die. Thirteen years. Another isolation.

"Your godson will survive; Merlin has seen it."

Sirius looked up. Harry would survive. He'd marry – hopefully that Weasley girl, if all went well. He'd have kids, raise a family. He'd live. He'd defeat Voldemort. Harry would survive without his support.

If Merlin and Godric were right, Lorena wouldn't survive without Sirius's support. Lorena would fall. Lorena's people, their heritage, their culture, their magic, would be destroyed. How he could possibly stop that from happening, Sirius had no idea. He did know one thing: the Gryffindor inside him wanted to Protect.

He felt Godric smile. "Now you see." It wasn't a question. "It's in your blood, for it's in my blood."

And indeed, Sirius did see. He could feel his magic inside him trying desparately to burst out of its shell. It wanted nothing more than to Protect. It was a raging fire – a raging fire that attacked only the unjust, the unworthy, the evil, the monsters. He could feel the raging fire roaring inside of him, and now he could see why the prophecy had called him the Black Lion. It wasn't because he was a Gryffindor, though that was part of it. It was because he was like a lion, fiercely brave and fiercely protective of his Pride, his family. It was amazing, but he already considered the Lorenians a part of that Pride that he protected so dearly.

That was probably part of why his Animagus was a dog, come to think of it. He'd always been extremely loyal to his friends, and if anyone had ever tried to hurt one of them, they were often in a world of hurt themselves. Dogs were just as loyal to their owners, and they would go through Hell and back to protect their family. Just like a lion would, just like Sirius Black would.

Thirteen years. A long time. Sirius would be in for quite the ride, if he accepted. Still, this world was supposed to be more of a home for him than Earth ever was. It certainly was a beautiful little world. And he would have the chance to go back to Earth, if he wanted, at the end of that time.

At long last, Sirius spoke. "Lorena needs me. I will go."

He felt Godric smile. "Good luck, Sirius Black."

The next thing Sirius knew, he was naked in a clearing on a planet in a galaxy far, far away.

~~~ Lorena, Present Time ~~~

Sirius stirred, waking slowly from his sleep. He felt the turquoise blankets over his body and knew he was in the "cottage" Marcus's family had owned for generations. Sirius sighed and opened his eyes as he sat up in his bed.

Sirius heard a snore. He smiled, watching Hermione as she slept in a chair nearby. She began to stir, waking just as slowly as he had. "Hey." She said when she opened her eyes. "What just happened?"

"My memories got the better of me." Sirius answered. "How long was I out?"

Hermione shrugged from her chair. "Half a day. It's about noon on Lorena."

Sirius glanced around. "Where is everyone?"

"Maggie and Marcus took Ronon to lunch in town. John, Teyla, Rodney, and Kleit left Lorena last night." Hermione said.

"Why'd they leave?" Sirius asked.

"Rodney found references to four other Ancient cities, so they went to organize a search." Hermione explained. "He was right jittery at the thought. Imagine – four other cities like Atlantis! It boggles the mind!"

Sirius smiled. "Does it really?"

"You haven't seen Atlantis yet." Hermione accused. "Atlantis is incredible; it's like the muggle version of Hogwarts."

Sirius's eyebrow perked. "Seriously?"

Hermione gave him an 'act your age' look. "Yes. Most of it's so far advanced that even the experts don't know what it is. Half of what we can figure out we either can't use or can't control. And we haven't even finished exploring the place yet."

Sirius looked mildly impressed at that. "Why not?"

"Well, parts of the city are still flooded, but mostly it's because we don't have the power." Hermione expanded.

Sirius frowned. "Still flooded?"

"You've heard the story of Atlantis, right?" She asked. Sirius nodded. "It really happened, just in another galaxy."

Sirius blinked. "So Plato's Atlantis is…"

"The city I'm living in now, yes." Hermione confirmed. "Now you see, don't you?"

Sirius shuddered at the familiarity of her words. He didn't think he'd ever like that phrase again. Now you see. She was looking at him worriedly. "Sirius?"

He shook his head. "It's nothing. That phrase reminded me of something."

"What?" Hermione met his eyes.

Sirius hesitated. "That's a very long story. Can it wait until the others are back?"

Hermione searched him for awhile, before deciding that she'd get her answers soon enough. "Alright."

"Let's talk about other things. Like how Harry's doing." Sirius said. He was eager to learn about his godson's life.

Hermione smiled sadly. "I'm sorry, Sirius. I really don't know. I haven't talked to him at all in ten years. You know that."

"Right. Blimey." Sirius said, cursing himself. Of course! She'd been living in the muggle world all this time. "Sorry."

"No, it's okay." Hermione contradicted. "It's natural that you're curious." Hermione sighed.

Sirius floundered for another topic. He'd never really gotten to know Hermione that well. "Are you settling in at Atlantis alright?"

Hermione nodded. "Yes, I am. The team's been great, especially Ronon." She blushed.

Ah, so maybe there was something there after all. "You and Ronon, then?"

Her mouth dropped, but the sound of three people Apparating into the living room stopped her from denying anything. Maggie, Marcus, and Ronon were back.

"Hermione?" Ronon asked. She'd moved from where they'd left her in the living room.

"In here, Ronon." Hermione called. "Sirius is awake."

That got the three into the room faster than a speeding bullet. Well, it got Marcus and Maggie into the room faster than a speeding bullet. Ronon just walked in like normal, an amused smile playing on his lips.

"Finally decided to wake up, did you?" Marcus asked. "You're a right slorath."

Sirius glared. "How many times do I have to tell you that I need my beauty rest before I get it through that thick skull of yours? A Bernien has to look positively dashing if he's to save the day AND get the girl."

"Slorath?" Hermione questioned. She'd heard Sirius's humor often enough that his retort wasn't much of a surprise.

"It's an animal like a sloth, Hermione." Sirius answered. "It sleeps most of the day."

"We're happy you're alright, Certus." Maggie said, slipping on Sirius's name. She frowned. "Can we still call you Certus?"

Sirius shrugged. "I don't mind at all. It's a nicer name than a few I've had in the past."

Marcus's eyebrows rose. "So you remember, then?"

Sirius nodded. "Yes, Marcus. I remember everything…"

~~~ Icetower ~~~

John guided the Icetower puddle jumper up from the city's jumper bay. It was the first chance in two hours he'd been able to take the ship out. From the moment they'd arrived, Icetower had been attacked by a terrible snowstorm. Luckily the city's shields were intact.

The bubble protected Icetower from the brunt of the storm.

Icetower was aptly named. The planet they were on was a giant snowball. It was constantly stormy, with frigid winds reaching over two hundred miles an hour in the air, and a hundred miles an hour on the ground level. Icetower sat in a valley created by tow very large glaciers. The glaciers were separated by a long rock wall.

Physically, the architecture of the city looked exactly like Atlantis and Safehaven, with one major difference. Icetower was built of some strange alloy they'd never seen before. The alloy, probably created specifically for the city's environment, gave the city a purplish tint. Rodney said that Icetower's walls were stronger than anything they had back on Earth, even the titanium walls they used at the SGC and in nuclear missile bunkers.

Icetower was a bit of an enigma. The city was fully powered, shield and all, but its ZPM's should be completely depleted. Exactly how the city was still powered was a question left unanswered by its database. John suspected that the city used something like Atlantis's lighting rods, a power source specifically designed for the city's environment.

That was why John was in the 'jumper. He was trying to see if there was anything outside that could be charging Icetower. If there was, he was supposed to determine if the charging device could be used on Atlantis and Safehaven. He wasn't having any luck, though. Icetower looked just like Atlantis and Safehaven from the outside, except for its purple tint.

He could see the energy fluctuations of the city's shield. John counted himself lucky that he was still inside the shield. He wasn't sure if the 'jumper would work in -100 degree Fahrenheit weather – the temperature outside the shield. The shield kept the temperature down two – 40, perfectly bearable for the 'jumper.

The high winds of the storm, which had persisted even after the snow stopped, were now disappearing. John could see past the shield for the first time since they'd arrived. The winds had picked up the newly layered snow, so even though it wasn't snowing, there was still too much snow around to see anything. Soon the winds stopped altogether.

"What the…" John watched in amazement as the shield started to shrink. As far as he knew, it only had one size. Still, the shield shrank. John raced to get to the 'jumper bay on the control tower before the shield passed through the ship, but it was too quick. The energy passed through the little 'jumper.

The ship short circuited, but not before John could get it to avoid hitting Icetower. He crashed nearly a full football field away from the city.

A/N: I know, I'm evil. Be sure to tune in next time!