Disclaimer: 'Stargate' and 'Harry Potter' both belong to their respective creators, so I don't own them; I'm just borrowing them for the immediate moment in time and space

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Truth and Revelations

As Sam hurried into the temple, she barely even registered the possibility that there could be more Death Eaters and Jaffa somewhere that they hadn't discovered yet; right then, the only thing that mattered to her was the fact that Daniel and the rest of the group were in there, and, from what she could hear from outside the temple, were currently in the middle of a fight of some kind.

Of course, her own combat experience hadn't been exactly straightforward; as Daniel had correctly predicted, bringing in some wizards to help them tackle the Death Eaters had given them an important surprise advantage that their opponents hadn't been expecting, but it still hadn't been enough to allow them to come through the battle totally unharmed. A few lucky curses had left a few of their attack force with various assorted injuries, but fortunately nothing had been done that would leave any permanent damage; the worst injury had been when what had been later describing as a Cutting Hex had struck the giant- Hagrid, Sam reminded herself- in one arm, but apparently his hybrid nature prevented magic from having as significant an effect on him as it might have done otherwise.

Regardless of the Death Eater's advantage of numbers, however, the battle had generally concluded in favour of them rather than their enemies, leaving Hestia and Voldemort's followers collapsed on the ground around them, out of action due to either being stunned, hit with a zat blast, or just having sustained a conventional injury that caused them too much pain to continue fighting (Sam allowed herself a slight smile when she noted that some of the Death Eater's injuries were relatively minor; clearly they had little to no real experience in fighting hand-to-hand or taking damage to their bodies).

Hagrid, Fred and George had volunteered to clean up the last of the Death Eater/Jaffa Alliance soldiers that had so recently tried to attack them- it was easier to think of them by that name more than anything else, although Sam had made it clear to the wizards that Hestia's Jaffa were not the same as all Jaffa- but Sam, anxious about Daniel's safety, had insisted on taking Teal'c, Lupin and Tonks to make sure that their old friends were coping with whatever they'd discovered inside the building.

When she saw Daniel collapse to the floor as she walked into the temple, with the battered body of the young man she vaguely recognised from her last visit as 'Malfoy' slumped against a wall while Mitchell and Hermione lay unconscious on the ground- Mitchell in particular was in a bad state, bleeding profusely from a rather nasty-looking chest wound-, Sam's self-control almost snapped.

They'd barely even started this new 'campaign', for lack of a better term, and Daniel already seemed to have ended up with the short end of the proverbial stick once again.

"Daniel!" she yelled, dropping her gun and hurrying over to crouch down beside her friend, unconcerned about the possibility of there being other people inside the temple as she anxiously examined his eyes and pulse; everything seemed to be in working order, but it looked like the archaeologist had simply passed out from taking so much damage.

"Is Daniel Jackson well?" Teal'c said, walking over to crouch beside Sam as Lupin and Tonks hurried over to examine Mitchell and Hermione respectively; Sam knew she should be concerned about her new commanding officer as well, but she knew Daniel better and the cause of his injury, at least, wasn't hard to work out.

"He's alive, at least; I can't determine anything else right now," Sam replied, looking anxiously back at her old friend before she glanced back over at Lupin and Tonks. "How are the others?"

"Well," Tonks said, as she looked up at the astrophysicist, "it looks like Mitchell's been hit with the Sectumsempra curse- it basically turns the wand into an invisible sword and causes a slash on the target according to the way you sweep the wand, for lack of a better description- and Hermione's taken a non-verbal version of a curse that disrupts her internal organs; they're both hurt fairly badly, but they'll be OK if we can get a decent doctor or mediwitch to look at them. I'd say you'd need to take them off active duty for a few days to fully recover- Hermione'll be on potions for a good few days or so after that curse; it'd be longer, but she's already gone through it once so her body's better equipped to heal from the damage- but otherwise they'll be fine afterwards."

"Right then," Sam said, as she crouched down to haul Daniel up over her shoulder, "Teal'c, you and Lupin can help me get them back to the Stargate; Tonks, you and the others see if you can find some way to keep our opponents contained until we can take them back to Earth for questioning."

"Gotcha," Tonks said, nodding in confirmation as she glanced over at the collapsed form of Draco Malfoy, a small smirk on her face. "Looks like Harry really did a number on this bastard; the guy looks like he hit a wall with his face an almost ridiculous amount of times…"

"What?" Sam said, walking over, unconcerned about Daniel's weight over her shoulder, to look at the body of the young man who'd been his rival back in school. When she saw the bloody mess that had clearly once been his face, she could barely stop herself from wincing; he'd never been exactly appealing before- he'd reminded her of the offspring of a greasy ferret and a snake- but his face now looked like it had been involved in a head-on collision with an Al'kesh.

"Oh my God…" she whispered, her eyes wide as she looked back up at Tonks. "Daniel did this to him?"

She'd seen that Daniel was the last person standing, but she'd assumed he'd just managed to hold himself together after taking that damage earlier in the fight.

To know that he was actually capable of doing something like that to another human being…

Sam wasn't sure how she should feel about the idea that Daniel was capable of that much hate for anybody he'd ever met.

Apparently oblivious to Sam's discomfort, Tonks shrugged slightly as she indicated the pale-haired wizard slumped against the wall, breathing but nevertheless having clearly taken a bashing.

"Malfoy was always a prick to him when they were at school due to his obsession with his 'pure-blood' status," the auror explained, sounding relatively nonchalant about the damage; either Daniel had been that vicious back when she'd known him (And Sam couldn't believe that), or the two men had hated each other so much back then that Tonks had almost been surprised they hadn't come to blows like this earlier. "Even without his father nearly killing Ginny in her first year and him being sent to kill Dumbledore in his sixth year, the two of them were never going to get on well, even without the general hostility that existed between their two school houses. Add on another two decades of resentment, coupled with what it looks like he did to Hermione and that 'Mitchell' guy before he went down- guy must have had some training since he was at school; he could never have taken out anybody this fast back in the old days, even if Harry's a bit out of practice-, and I'm almost surprised that Harry didn't do more to the bastard."

Sam was trying to think of something to say- Teal'c appeared content not to discuss the matter further than it already had been- when a low groan broke the silence before the astrophysicist could decide what she wanted to ask.

"Ugh… my head…" Daniel groaned, blinking dazedly as he raised his head slightly, as though he'd only just registered that people were talking about him, turning to look blearily at Sam; his glasses had fallen off, so his sight definitely wasn't what it could be, but he could probably at least vaguely see who she was. For a moment he stared at her in confusion, as though he wasn't sure who she was, but then his eyes softened and a relieved expression appeared on his face.

"You're OK…" he gasped weakly, his eyes constantly blinking as though he was having difficulty focusing on her. Sam barely had time to register that his eyes appeared to have become surprisingly bloodshot in the last few minutes, as though he'd had a lot to drink the night before and was now dealing with an absolute killer of a hangover, before he wrapped his other arm around her and began to sob softly into her shoulder.

"You're OK… you're OK…" he whispered, and Sam was shocked to realise that he actually seemed to be planting brief kisses on her neck. "Don't die… you can't die… I've lost everyone else… I can't lose you… I love you… please don't leave me…"

"What?" Sam said, pulling back slightly to look at the dazed archaeologist in confusion. "Daniel, what are you talking about? Are you OK? It's me, Sam; not… whoever you think I am."

As he stared back at her, rapidly blinking as he tried to take in the sight before him, Daniel's eyes seemed to widen slightly, as though he was only just starting to realise who he was looking at.

"Sam…?" he whispered, reaching up to gently cradle her cheek, blinking rapidly in a manner that left Sam even more worried. "What… what happened… where… am…?"

Then his eyes rolled upwards and he slumped down in her arms once again, letting out a brief, pained gasp as he did so.

"Daniel!" Sam yelled, staring at the suddenly-comatose body of her friend in shock. She couldn't understand how things kept on changing so rapidly recently; one minute he was talking to her like she was… was Sha're (Or maybe this 'Ginny' person he'd been briefly engaged to back at Hogwarts; from what he'd told them after their first encounter with Voldemort, she certainly seemed to have played just as important a role in his life as Daniel's deceased wife had), and the next he seemed as though he didn't even realise what he'd just been saying, never mind who he'd been talking to.

"Oh dear God…" Lupin whispered as he looked at Daniel, his eyes wide in horror as he looked between Daniel and the unconscious platinum-haired man lying on the ground near them, his eyes narrowing as he studied the wand lying some distance away from the other man. "He couldn't have…"

"What is it?" Teal'c asked, looking critically at the werewolf. "Do you believe you know what is wrong with Daniel Jackson?"

"I might be wrong, but yes, I do think that I know why Harry acted like that; just let me check something…" Lupin said, as he reached over to pick up the wand, pulling out his own as he studied the two for a moment before he tapped his wand against the other. "Priori Incantato!"

As Sam and Tonks watched, a faint, ghostly image appeared of Daniel's head, his face contorted in agony, floating above the wand before Lupin, shooting a brief glare at Malfoy, said "Deletrius!" and the face vanished.

"I was right; Malfoy used the Cruciatus Curse," Lupin explained in a voice that sounded like he was having to try hard not to roar in rage at the unconscious Death Eater, in response to Sam's anxious expression. "It does nothing but cause pain to the target; people have been reduced to the mental equivalent of vegetables by nothing but prolonged use of that curse alone, and, from the image we saw, it looks like Malfoy cast it at practically point-blank range into his brain."

"Oh my God…" Sam whispered, as she looked at Daniel's body, shock once again clear on her face as she took in the implications of Lupin's statement. "You mean that Daniel could be…"

She couldn't bring herself to say the word 'insane'; it was as though it would make the prospect more real as soon as the word was actually spoken. Just the thought of Daniel's brilliant mind, which had helped them to resolve so many problems in his time with them, forever taken from them while his body remained 'alive' was almost too horrific for her to even think about it.

"No, Colonel Carter; Harry- Daniel- whatever you want to call him- couldn't have been exposed to the curse long enough to have anything like that happen to him," Lupin said, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder as he spoke. "However, based on his condition, I would guess that Mr Malfoy here used the Curse on him at practically point-blank range, most likely aimed at his head. That would account for his disorientation earlier when he saw you; he most likely thought that you were somebody else."

"But… he'll be OK in the long term, right?" Sam asked, looking anxiously at the werewolf, trying to contain the momentary stab of disappointment she felt at the suggestion that Daniel genuinely hadn't known who she was when he was talking to her. There'd be time to think about that later; right now, they had to deal with the more immediate issue of getting rid of Voldemort's followers and finding out what he was up to.

"Oh yes; Harry's always had a strong head on his shoulders," Lupin said, smiling slightly as he looked over at the archaeologist. "He'll be fine; he won't be up to doing anything too physically or mentally strenuous for a few days, but let him rest for a little while and he'll be back to normal soon enough. He's like his father in that regard; he always gets back up no matter how much damage he takes."

"You were acquainted with Daniel Jackson's father?" Teal'c asked, looking inquiringly at Lupin. Sam had to admit that she was interested in the answer herself; her initial concern over Daniel's health after learning he'd been cursed had slightly lessened now that she knew he was going to be all right, and she felt more willing to satisfy her curiosity about a less vital issue.

"Oh yes; he was one of my three greatest friends back at school," Lupin replied, a briefly wistful expression crossing his face before he shook his head and looked over at Mitchell's bleeding body. "Anyway, I can tell you about that later; right now, we have to get these three back to… Earth… to get checked over."

Sam had to admire Lupin's resolve to get the job done; for his first time in a combat situation on a totally different planet, he and the other wizards had done a pretty good job.

"Agreed," Sam said, taking one last glance over at Daniel to make sure there weren't any other injuries she might have missed earlier- she didn't want to aggravate any wounds by moving him too rapidly- before she headed back towards the entrance to the temple.

As she heard Tonks and the other wizards utter a few spells around her to ensure the Death Eaters didn't wake up and get away before they were ready- one of the incantations she used seemed to be something about total petrification, but Sam couldn't be sure- the astrophysicist could only hope that this mission would actually provide them with something in the way of useful information about the current crisis once the interrogations were over.

Daniel alone seemed to have taken some potentially serious damage in the resulting fight; she had to hope that they'd gained something useful out of this effort.

If Daniel was going to be out of action for the next few days or so, she was going to make sure that she took care of at least one of his old enemies for him before he woke up…