Chapter 2
Sam led Robin to the Gate Room on way to General Hammond's office. The pair stood before the Gate. Robin took in the site as her life long dreams seem to finally be coming true.
"That is just incredible." Robin stated.
Pleased Sam smiled, "It is! General Hammond's office is above us. This way," she gave a nudge and continued to lead Robin to the Commander's office. She walked up the stairs with Robin in tow and soon came to the Control Room above. The Sergeant sat at his post. Sam introduced her friends, "Walter…I want you to meet a friend of mine, Robin." She turned towards Robin, "This is Walter, he runs the system from up here."
Robin held out a hand, "Nice to meet you, Walter."
The Sergeant took the offer understanding that Sam was one of the few officers who considered him a friend and was first name bases. He realized Sam would only introduce him without a rank and title if Robin was also a close friend. He gave a smile, "Pleasure is mine, Major Hood."
Sam gave a brief tour, "This is our control center for the Gate. We can see everything from up here."
Robin gazed out the window, "I see that."
General George Hammond soon entered the control room looking for a few files. "I'm looking for…" he began and then realized Sam and the new Major were in the control room. He paused.
Walter handed him the files, "The files for the new Major."
"Thank you, Walter." he replied.
Walter added, "The cadets in training." He held up the other files before Hammond even requested the material.
"Yes, I need those." he gathered the files quickly.
Robin spoke up, "Major Robin Hood, reporting for duty sir." She gave a salute and came to attention.
He gave a warm smile, "Welcome to the S.G.C., Major. Major Carter spoke highly of you when she put in the request for your transfer. You will be working directly with Major Carter."
"Yes sir." she replied. She should have known Sam requested her transfer but she hoped that her record would have given her the new position as she worked to hard to get into the S.G.C.
"Welcome aboard," he replied. He then spoke to Sam, "Show Major Hood to her quarters and introduce her to her coworkers and duties."
Sam replied, "Yes sir."
He gave a nod, "Excellent. I'll be in my office." He then left the room as distraction from duties seemed to be never ending at the base.
Robin address Walter, "It was nice meeting you." She then looked to Sam, "Lead the way." She then noticed Walter grasped a file and held it above his head.
Hammond walked back in, "Sergeant I need…"
"Maintenance report sir," Walter stated holding the file.
Hammond grasped the file, "That one." He then gave a nod to the Majors and walked back out.
Robin looked back at Walter and stated, "You knew what he needed before he came into the room."
He nodded, "Usually."
Sam grinned, "That's Walter's magic trick. He seems to be able to read minds at times."
Robin cocked her head in thought wondering of Walter had some magic in him. She wasn't sure if it was just intuition or something more but she decided to watch him closer. Perhaps, he was a wizard for she didn't know many wizards from the United States after her stay overseas.
Sam knew the look. She insisted, "Walter is not a magician, Rob. He's just got a natural gift."
Walter asked, "Magician?"
Sam slightly bragged, "Robin can do magic tricks that are pretty advanced. I can't even figure out how she does them and I can usually figure that kind of stuff out pretty easily. She kind of a challenge for me." she admitted.
Walter spoke to Robin, "You must be really good at it if Major Carter can't figure it out."
"There are others that are way better than me." she meekly replied believing that she was just average when it came to the power of magic. Others were far more powerful and advanced to her estimation. Her grades were average, her friends were average. She found in the world of wizardry and magic that she was just average. The only time she was exceptional at something was when she entered the Air Force Academy and could use her gift to put on a magic show. Her mother and father understood why she did so but warned her not to do too many shows for she would risk exposing the magic as real in a world that would not understand her abilities and possible even fear her.
Sam assumed she was referring to professional illusionist. She assured her, "You could beat anyone of those celebrity magicians. Only difference between you and them is they charge money for a show and you do it for kicks."
Walter asked, "Can I see a trick?"
Robin looked to Sam for guidance.
Sam suggested, "Do the disappearing coin trick." She dug a quarter out of her pocket and held it up.
Robin placed her hand before the pair with the palm side up and Sam then placed the coin in the palm of her hand before Walter.
Robin closed her hand making a fist and simply waved her free hand about for the illusion. She stated, "Evanesco." She then opened the hand and the coin was gone. She then closed her hand against and waved her free hand above, "revelio" she cast the spell. She then opened her hand once more than Sam's coin had returned.
Walter grinned, "Pretty neat trick."
Sam picked up the coin and looked at the year stamped. She nodded, "That's the coin from my pocket. She doesn't switch it out. She never puts the hands together so I don't know how she did it."
Robin explained, "I simply manipulated the coin's surface on a microscopic scale to make it reflect light thus becoming invisible."
Sam stated, "See! That's what gets me. You can use actual physics to explain how to do something scientifically all while doing some kind of magic trick. I know you hid the coin, you didn't make it invisible but I can't figure out how you hid the coin."
Robin simply stated, "I made it invisible."
"Stop it," Sam scolded.
Robin shrugged.
Walter watched on wondering just how did Robin make the coin disappear and then reappear. He figured it was more than just a trick but was also stumped.
Sam stated, "Come on, Rob. I'll introduce you to Daniel. You should like him."
Daniel's Office
Dr. Daniel Jackson sat at the table working on more translations when Jack entered the room. He called, "Daniel!"
The man gave a heavy sigh and looked up for he knew Jack was there for nonsense reasons. He wondered just how bored Jack was today and why he seemed to be Jack's source of entertainment.
"Daniel!" Jack walked over to him. "How do you make fire come out of your finger tips?"
He squinted, "Are you going to set something on fire?"
"What?" he shook his head. "No! Carter's friend, Hood. She can do magic tricks and she snapped his fingers and fire came right out of her finger tips. Not even Carter can figure out how she did it."
"You came here to ask me about a magic trick?" he asked rather annoyed.
Jack paused and then admitted, "Yeah!"
"I don't have time for this, Jack." he huffed.
"Just hear me out." Jack wanted Daniel's input. He was determined to figure out how Robin did the trick. His day would be boring otherwise. He suddenly had something to do.
"No Jack," Daniel shook his head ready to tell him to leave.
Sam then came to the door with Robin in tow. She spied Jack in the office as she entered to introduce her friends. "Daniel! Sir."
Daniel greeted her, "Hey Sam." He noticed the new Major behind Sam. "Major."
Jack stated, "That's her! With the fire."
Sam laughed as she led Robin into the room, "I guess the Colonel told you about this morning. Daniel, meet my friend, Robin. Robin, meet Daniel."
Daniel looked past Jack and spoke to the new Major, "Nice to meet you Robin." He then put her name together. "Your name is Robin Hood?"
She sighed, "My dad had a thing for English tales."
"Ah," he gave her a warm smile. She seemed quiet and pleasant to Daniel.
Jack began to interrogate, "How did you do that thing with the fire from your finger tips, Hood?"
"A good magician never reveals her secret." she smirked at him. She knew she had him stumped.
He shifted his weight. He wanted her to do the trick again in front of Daniel to get his opinion. He also wanted Teal'c to see the trick as well. He challenged, "I bet your can't do it again?"
She replied, "I don't want to do it again. I'm here to work, not do tricks."
Daniel smiled pleased for he liked the work ethic. "See, Jack. Some people are actually here to work and not goof off all day."
Jack squinted, "I'll figure it out."
Sam chuckled, "Good luck with that." Sam figured if she couldn't figure it out then there was no way possible for the Colonel.
The Colonel declared, "If I have to I will take it to the Asgard."
Daniel miffed, "I'm sure Thor would love to be bothered with a magic trick."
Daniel was right and Jack knew it. He decided the best way to figure out how she did the trick was to learn to do it himself. He asked Robin, "Where did you lean to do that trick?"
She replied, "Hogwarts."
Jack asked confused, "Hog what?"
Daniel went quiet and said nothing more but did have a disturbed look upon his face.
Robin replied, "A school for gifted kids overseas." She then added, "It's a pleasure meeting you, Dr. Jackson. Sam, how about you show me where I will be working now?" She wanted to change the subject and leave magic behind her for to Robin it simply interfered with her dreams of space travel and going off world. She was an explorer at heart and considered the gift to be more of a burden that interfered with her goals.
"Sure," she noticed Daniel went quiet and looked rather concerned. She made a note and decided to talk to him in private later. "I'll show you my lab where you will be working." She then led Robin out of the room.
Daniel sat quietly thinking to himself.
Jack puckered, "Hog what?"
"Hogwarts." Daniel told him.
Jack asked, "You heard of this school?"
He slowly nodded, "I've never been there but I heard of it. The school specializes in the occult, Jack."
"The occult?" he asked.
Daniel looked up, "Yes! The occult! Like witchcraft, curses, stuff like that. When I was in Europe, I heard of the school. It's hidden. You can't easily find it. I know…I tried. Rumor has it there is this secret society of actual witches and wizards who have this hidden realm and they can cross between this realm and into our reality with ease. They can live with us and go this secret place to practice their magic. I never saw it myself but a friend of mine did and he said it was real. We lost touch over the years but when I was living overseas I had a friend who claimed he knew of actual witches and wizards and they went to a special school called Hogwarts. I thought my friend was just over worked and needed a break until other friends started talking about this place called Hogwarts and about this secret society. Jack, she confessed to going to a school that is rumored to be a school for magic. She does magic tricks that Sam can't figure out."
"Hell, Daniel…I can't figure it out." he admitted.
He rose from his seat and went to his bookshelf. He removed an old text book and came back to the table. "I got some information on the occult in this book here." He then flipped through the pages. "This is a hand written diary from a an elderly professor that I met while I was studying in London on what he found out about the occult. He found the school when he was a young man. He's long dead now. His name was Professor Harold Snyder. He traced it back to Merlin. In his research he believed that Merlin was an actual wizard who could do real magic. He theorized there was some kind of genetic connection to magic and those who could do it."
Jack asked, "Like a gene?"
"Possibly," Daniel agreed. "He did categorize the wizards, witches, warlocks and sorcerers in his diary. According to Professor Snyder's own research the highest level one could reach is sorcerer followed by wizard, who can also be called a warlock, and witches. He said a sorcerer is harder to detect because they can manifest their magic without the use of magic words or wands. They are the source or sorcerer. He claimed wizards and witches needed the aid of wands, crystals, enchantments, and so on to manifest the magic."
Jack stated, "She made fire come out of her finger tips. She just snapped her fingers, said 'incendio' and waved her hand and poof, fire."
"Incendio," Daniel pondered. "Rooted in Latin. So she does use charms but not the wand."
Jack shrugged, "I have no idea."
Daniel explained, "A sorcerer can use everything a wizard or witch would use or not use it at all. She could do it without a wand would mean she's either really good at magic tricks or she would fall under the category of a sorcerer or sorceress in her case." He sat back with a pondering expression.
Jack asked, "What else does that professor have written in that book?"
"Hogwarts," he informed. He flipped to the middle of the diary. "He says he discovered a castle that was converted to a school for magic. It's hidden from our reality. You have to go through a portal located in a train station to get to a parallel train station and take the Hogwarts Express to the school. The school runs like a normal school but they specialize in magic. They have dorms and houses for the students and professors who teach. They have classes like we do but it's all magic related. There is a town that is nearby for students that is all magic oriented shops. Professor Snyder found the portal, went though it, rode the train to Hogwarts, met the staff who he said were friendly towards him and then sent him back. When he told his colleges what he found…they laughed at him. His tried to get proof but couldn't find the portal again. Imagine if he was right about it all?"
Jack stated, "We can always ask Hood."
Daniel wondered, "She's working with Sam. If Professor Snyder was right about Hogwarts would she even admit to it?"
"Let's ask!" Jack suggested still wanting to know how she did the fire trick.
"Jack," Daniel stated, "Professor Snyder believed that magic was the ability to manipulate the environment around you on a molecular scale with your mind. If someone could do that at will they could be very powerful and if they belong to a secret society…" he alluded.
Jack concluded, "We could be dealing with a real witch." He then wondered, "Would she be a good witch or a bad witch?"
"No, we would be dealing with a sorceress and the question would be is she a good sorceress or a bad sorceress." he corrected. "She made fire without a wand…remember."
Jack nodded, "Right." He then concluded, "This sounds nuts, doesn't it?"
Daniel had to agree, "It does but so would the Star Gate to those who don't understand how it works."
He slowly nodded, "I see your point."