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 she reappeared in the library in a disorientating swirl of magic, Sam made a mental note to ask Hermione how she ever got used to travelling in that manner; apparition might not require the variety of technological resources necessary for the other forms of teleportation she'd encountered in the last decade or so, but that didn't make it any more pleasant to actually experience.

"Yeah, I was never that comfortable travelling that way myself," Daniel said, smiling slightly as he noted the expression on Sam's face as he released his hold on her arm. "Just be glad you haven't had to go anywhere by Floo powder yet; that's not only disorientating, but you get soot in your face."

"Oh, right; that's the thing where you travel by... fireplace, right?" Sam asked, as Hermione turned away from the two SG-1 members and began to pick some of the books off the shelves. "Siler really had trouble getting that set up in one of the spare rooms earlier..."

"Well, it gets the job done and it saves people having to think about the destination themselves; personally, though, I could never really get the hang of saying my destination around a mouthful of flame and soot when I had to go somewhere," Daniel replied, before he shrugged slightly as a slight smile crossed his face. "Of course, my first time using it could have been the cause of that; I ended up coming out of the wrong fireplace and arrived in the wizarding equivalent of the black market before Hagrid found me."

"How old were you?" Sam asked, looking curiously at Daniel.

"Twelve; I was staying with the Weasleys when the time came to go to Diagon Alley- it's a secret street in London that caters to the wizarding community-, and I wasn't clear enough when I was saying where I wanted to go," Daniel replied, smiling slightly whimsically at the memory- it sounded like one of those things that would have been scary at the time but amusing to look back on when everything was over- before he shook his head and turned his attention back to the library around them. "Anyway, we'd better get started; if you can try and find some way to deactivate that console physically, Hermione and I might be able to find some sort of pass-code to shut down the knight..."

Sam simply nodded in understanding before she turned around and headed down the passageway that lead to the console, taking care not to stand exactly where Daniel had stood when the light on the console had activated- there was no point 'triggering' the Black Knight if she could figure out another way to learn how this thing worked and what it could tell them- as she began to try and analyse the device in front of her.

Admittedly, she hadn't had much chance to explore this kind of console in depth- further analysis of the time machine they'd discovered on P4X-639 had generally been dismissed given what Jack and Teal'c had been able to tell them about its limited nature, and she had never felt it appropriate to ask for a chance to examine the weapon at Dakara more closely as it could have caused religious controversy among the Jaffa-, but with examples from the various other examples of Ancient technology she'd been able to examine over the last decade, she was fairly confident that she'd be able to find something useful eventually...

"Damnit..." Fred muttered as he tried to keep himself pressed up against the walls of the village huts, looking in exasperation at where Mitchell was meant to be standing. "Didn't you say you fought this 'knight' thing before?"

"As Jackson already mentioned, this isn't the same as the last time; there's really no guarantees about how the new Black Knight will operate compared to how the old one performed, and this is really not the time to be talking about that kind of thing..." Mitchell muttered, looking back at the source of the red-headed jokester's voice with a frustrated expression that still did little to express his feelings about their current position.

It wasn't that he wanted the Black Knight to show up and start killing people, but he'd hoped that the thing would show some sign of activity sooner rather than later; how could they deactivate the damn thing if it wasn't here to deactivate?

Add in the fact that Landry was definitely getting more than a bit annoyed at their delayed return without even being able to provide any kind of guarantee that they would come back with something worthwhile- Hagrid's return to the SGC might have updated them on the essentials, but that hadn't stopped Landry from making his frustration clear-, and Mitchell supposed that it was only natural for him to feel a bit worried right now.

Even without the Ori, they still had that 'Voldemort' sucker to deal with, and Mitchell wasn't sure how they were gonna cope with that guy; even if they could find him, what he'd seen of 'SG-M's' abilities made it pretty clear that someone dangerous enough to make them scared was somebody he really didn't want to mess with...

He'd fight the guy if he had to, of course; he just really hoped that it didn't come down to something like that. From everything Daniel had told them, he had his doubts that Voldemort would be remotely interested in letting him get in close enough for any fight between them to become physical- he was trying not to think about the fact that the guy was a Goa'uld; from everything he'd heard about the guy Voldemort probably wouldn't know how to use his new strength-, and for all their tests on how magic responded to bullets there were still a lot of x-factors in a match-up like that one would be that Mitchell, for one, didn't want to test unless he really had to.

Still, he supposed that it could be worse; their new allies definitely opened up more than a few possible new lines of defence that they wouldn't have had otherwise, to say nothing of the sheer 'wow' factor of learning about a whole world of magic that had been hidden on Earth for centuries. Fred and George had already invited him to check out a couple of quidditch games after they'd tracked Voldemort down- that was one thing he liked about those guys; they might still be freaked about Voldemort being back, but they were also confident that Jackson could beat him again-, and he'd really enjoyed his talks with Hermione so far...

That was the thing about SG-1, he supposed; they might discover some dangerous stuff out in the galaxy, but they could also make some interesting and useful discoveries in the process (Even if magic had existed on their world already and one of them had already known about it, they'd still been the ones to introduce it to the Stargate program), to say nothing of forming some of the most interesting friendships and alliances in the universe.

It might not make up for the danger presented by Voldemort's addition to the galactic scene as far the politicians were concerned, but Mitchell wouldn't forget about his new discoveries for anything.

Besides, Hermione had mentioned to him that she really wasn't looking forward to learning how the rest of the Ministry would cope with her absence, but she was already taking steps to arrange a formal agreement between her people and the SGC even after this crisis was over; in the long term, Mitchell had a feeling that their lives were still going to have some literal magic in them even once that 'Dark Lord' sucker was down for the count.

"So," Hermione said after a few moments of silent research, Daniel currently reading in one corner of the library while Sam and Hermione read in another, "apart from that wife he mentioned... what's Harry's personal life been like relationship-wise since he left us?"

"What?" Sam said, looking sharply back at Hermione.

"Look, I'm not asking for in-depth details on why each relationship fell apart; I just... I want to know that he wasn't alone, that's all," Hermione clarified, looking awkwardly away from the other woman for a moment before she looked back at her. "I mean, he didn't have anyone when he was younger- the Dursleys only tolerated him as far as they could without actually kicking him out-, and then we were there for him at Hogwarts, and I know he's had you and your team since he started working here, but in between..."

After looking silently at the other woman for a few moments, Sam shrugged.

"Well, you know about Sha're, of course," she said, deciding to begin at the beginning.

"Yeah, how did that happen, anyway?" Hermione asked. "I mean, Harry said that she was a native of the first planet you visited through the Stargate..."

"It wasn't actually a 'love at first sight' thing, if that's what you're asking," Sam said, guessing where her new friend- she might still have some ambiguity about the other woman, but she was a friend of Daniel, and that earned her more than a few 'points' in this situation- was going with her current train of thought. "Actually, when Daniel, General O'Neill- back when he was a colonel- and the rest of the team initially arrived on Abydos, they were taken to be emissaries of the gods, and Sha're was presented to Daniel as... well, as a gift."

Hermione blinked.

"A gift?" she repeated, her eyes narrowing as she looked over at where Daniel was reading another book, oblivious to the fact that he was the current topic of conversation. "His wife was a gift?"

"He didn't... do anything with her then," Sam added hastily, guessing that Hermione's thoughts were going where her own thoughts had gone when she'd first heard the full details of Daniel's marriage. "He just didn't explicitly turn her down because he didn't want to affect her reputation among her people, and then he got to know her a bit better, and... well, he'd pretty much recently ruined his academic career on Earth, he didn't have any family that he was still in contact with..."

Her voice trailed off as she noticed the way Hermione was looking at her. "Look, I know that you considered him family, but he really hadn't-"

"I get it; he wanted to get away from it all, so when he got the chance he took it," Hermione said, shaking her head slightly as she dismissed her new friend's comments, clearly trying not to think too much about them. "And... when he came back?"

"Well, he was still married to Sha're for the first three years before her death, so he didn't really do anything then- apart from when he was briefly accidentally addicted to alien technology we encountered during another trip because a local princess developed an obsession with him-, but after that, there hasn't really been anything serious," Sam said (She acknowledged that she still didn't want to really share anything too personal about Daniel with the other woman in case he didn't want her to know it, but that didn't mean that she couldn't reciprocate if Hermione gave her some information). "He's... well, he's attracted a bit of attention once or twice, but it never really went anywhere; other things kept on getting in the way, and he never showed any real sign that he wanted to take them further."

"Yeah, Harry wasn't exactly a 'ladies' man' back at Hogwarts; apart from when he was with Ginny, he only really had a few dates, and a couple of those were because he needed a partner for an event of some sort- there was a ball in fourth year and a kind of club in sixth; the latter one was more of a 'gathering' by a new teacher for those students that he thought had future potential-, and the only one that was really a date-date fell apart because she was too busy coping with her grief over the loss of her last boyfriend," Hermione explained, smiling slightly at the memory- it sounded like one of those things that would be amusing in hindsight even if it wasn't fun at the time- before she shook her head to bring the conversation back on track.

"Ginny was different?" Sam asked, pushing her own ambiguous feelings aside.

"She was the ideal for him then, really," Hermione confirmed. "They each had a unique connection to and understanding of Voldemort- she was possessed by him in her first year due to one of his horcruxes-, she was willing to confront and challenge him on certain issues without making him feel like he was being forced, things like that..."

"She sounds... nice," Sam said, smiling slightly even as she fought down a brief surge of jealousy that she wasn't sure she wanted to analyse in greater depth; this wasn't the time to think about that right now.

"Well," she said, trying to take her mind off the topic, "it's good to know that he had someone back then; some of his relationships since he started working with us... well, let's just say that there's been a couple of difficult ones and leave it at that."

"And... you and him?" Hermione asked, a slightly teasing smile on her face as she looked at the lieutenant colonel.

"Pardon?" Sam asked, looking back at Hermione in surprise.

She understood what the witch was implying, but she just couldn't believe that it was even being brought up at a time like this; Daniel was only at the other end of the building...

"Where do you fit into Daniel's life relationship-wise?" Hermione asked, smiling slightly at the other woman. "I mean, you've been around him constantly for the better part of the last eight or nine years-"

"That doesn't mean anything; he's just a... a really good friend," Sam interjected, trying to ward that question off as she looked pointedly at the other woman; she didn't know why she felt so defensive all of a sudden, but she did know that this wasn't the time for this conversation. "Look, we need to focus; let's... let's just get back to work, OK?"

"I'm just looking out for him, you know," Hermione said after a few moments, even as she continued to read the book in front of her.

"What?" Sam asked, looking over at the witch.

"I just want to know he's going to be OK; I'm not... interested in him or anything, if you were worried about that," Hermione clarified, looking up at Sam with a reassuring smile. "I've known Harry a long time, but I've always just thought of him as my brother; we worried too much about various things back then- we'd have driven each other to early graves from anxiety if we'd dated back then-, and even after we got older..."

"You never... thought about it?" Sam asked, unable to stop her curiousity despite her best intentions.

"No, Harry remains that sometimes-frustrating-but-always-loved brother that I never had more than he's been a potential boyfriend as far as I'm concerned; we're good friends, but... well, I think one reason we were both interested in a Weasley back then was that Ron and Ginny were very determined; they knew what they wanted and focused on it without worrying too much about extrenuous details," Hermione explained, shrugging slight as she smiled at Sam. "Harry and I worried too much about everything back then; even these days, I think I always need someone who's willing to help me learn how to relax."

"Ah," Sam said, nodding slightly at the comment. For a moment, she thought about voicing her own thoughts that Daniel preferred someone who could challenge him rather than just someone who could help him relax, but that admittedly rather pointless thought- it had been over two decades since Hermione had last seen Daniel; she was almost certainly fully aware that his tastes relationship-wise must have changed- was pushed aside when she heard Daniel close a book.

"That's it," he said, turning around to look at them.

"You have something?" Sam asked.

"Yeah," Daniel confirmed. "I've cross-referenced half a dozen passages that mention the Black Knight, and now there's a series of recurring words and phrases that stand out if you know what you're looking for…"

"You think they're access codes?" Sam asked.

"I think they might be," Daniel said, smiling back at her.

"Well," Sam said, indicating the room leading to the control console with a wave of her hand, "let's go; the sooner the better."

Picking up a couple of the books he'd been reading, Daniel turned to hurry towards the console room, Hermione and Sam close behind him as he walked down the corridor into the still-illuminated room holding the console. Just as he was about to step back up onto the platform, however, Daniel paused, looking uncertainly between the books in his hands and the device in front of him.

"What's wrong?" Sam asked.

"Well..." Daniel said, turning to look uncertainly at his teammate, "what if I'm wrong about this? What if-?"

"The others are out there to take care of the Black Knight; if that thing shows up again, I think they've encountered enough things in their time to handle a renegade holographic knight," Hermione said, smiling encouragingly at her friend. "Harry, we followed you when we were going out into a hostile world to face a potential army of dark witches and wizards; we can handle something that risks us going up against one knight."

"And what if our skills aren't enough?" Daniel asked, looking grimly back at Hermione.

"Look, Cam's ready to pull that sword from the stone if he needs it-" Sam began.

"I get that we're ready based on what we know about past contact with this kind of thing, but we have to accept the fact that this is a completely different scenario," Daniel explained. "In the Avalon cave it was pulling the sword from the stone that caused the Knight to appear in the first place; here, we don't even know if they're connected…"

"Except that we know that... Merlin put the sword there, right?" Hermione put in, only a slight sense of uncertainty on her face as she spoke (Not that Sam could blame her; learning that someone you knew from history was an alien was probably a bit different from learning that about someone you thought was only a myth, particularly since she'd only even learned that aliens existed a few months ago).

"Probably," Daniel admitted.

"Which means it's no ordinary sword, which probably means that it ties in to the Knight somehow..." Hermione said, her voice trailing off for a moment before she shrugged helplessly, clearly recognising that she'd run out of useful things to say. "Besides, it's not like we have a choice right now; you said yourself that we need to find out what Merlin might have left here to try and work out where he left that weapon, right?"

"Yeah..." Daniel said, his voice slightly hesitant before he nodded in resolution and stepped onto the platform, Sam and Hermione on either side of him as he opened the books and began to enter a combination after they'd confirmed a notable lack of screaming from above.

"Uh-oh," Daniel said, after he'd pressed down on three of the console controls in front of him.

"What?" Hermione asked, looking anxiously at him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing happened," Daniel replied, looking back at the woman he would always consider his sister.

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Hermione asked, just before the sound of screams coming from the upper areas answered the question for them.

"That's bad," Sam finished, looking apprehensively over at her old and new friends.

"Right then," Daniel said, taking a deep breath as he turned his attention back to the books in front of him, "while they deal with things up there, looks like it's up to me to tackle things down here."

He just hoped that he could work out the actual access code in time; as he'd said to the two women earlier, there was only so much that Mitchell, Teal'c, and the others could do against a knight that they didn't know how to stop.