"It'll take her some time to get used to people," Hermione said while rubbing Harriet's back.
"What happened to the people who caused her to be afraid when people are near?" O'Neill asked. His voice was calm, but his eyes showed a hardness of anger.
"Right now, they should be at Area 51. I don't know what happened to them after we sent them there, but the larger group they were with may have done something." Marcus said his voice flat.
"Well, we're not staying long this time I want to get to Hogwarts as soon as possible, " Hermione said while patting Harriet on the head.
"What about that dungeon that guy called you about?" O'Neill asked.
Marcus shrugged, "I told them what they needed to know in a message I sent out to everyone who has a bracer; if they can't figure it out, it's not my problem."
Hermione looked like she was going to protest but held her tongue remembering that they were not here to fix everything, " If we go we'll end up doing the work for the people of this world, Hogwarts is different its entire population is mainly children who are stuck in the mountains of Scotland, " she said after a few seconds of thought.
"Well, we're going to be checking it out soon enough. That portal should help get us there," O'Neill said after glancing at the general, who sighed but nodded.
"Just remember to take at least three people, or you won't be able to enter, and at least one of you needs to know some first aid."
"Yeah, we've all been through the first aid training; Janet made us take it; I was almost tied to the chair when she caught me trying to get out of the course," O'Neill told them as he opened another jello after pushing one to Harriet who was looking around the room now.
"How many of those do you have in that pocket?" Daniel asked, looking incredulously at O'Neill.
"Three or four more," O'Neill said after swallowing a spoonful.
The rest of SG1 shook their heads at his answer while the general pinched the bridge of his nose, "You can go tomorrow if you want, but go to the one in California; just please don't get into trouble over there."
"Ohh yeah when you kill the monsters in there you each may grow stronger over time, I would recommend seeing if anyone here has an old DnD guidebook it won't be exact but give you an idea of what can happen," Marcus said while trying to see if his bracer had anything about role-playing games but most of the information he had was technical data on the things he had scanned.
"Experience points from killing the monsters and then a level upon reaching a certain threshold?" Daniel asked.
Marcus nodded as all but Teal'c looked at him, "We'll have a meeting later so you can give us some heads up on this stuff, " the general told him receiving a nod in return.
Marcus coughed, "Those books are basic skills, if you pick up more the crystal girl may take them in exchange for more stuff or you can bring them back to spread them out among the rest of the SGC," he told them then let them discuss things while he tried to distract Harriet by acting like he was going to steal her jello.
Hermione got into the game by swatting his hand now and then, getting giggles from the little girl; from the corner of his eye, he could see Jack smiling with sadness in his eyes.
After an hour of talking and setting up the plans Harriet began to get fidgety, "Well it's been fun but we need to get going, I hope you guys get things settled and then spread out the help eventually everything should calm down," Marcus said as he stood and held Hermione up as well.
"Thank you for helping us with things around here and whoever you help out there," Hammond said while SG1 gave their agreement.
Hermione smiled, "We may return in time, but we do need to find that school and hope everything is okay when we get there," she said, bouncing Harriet on her hip to make her laugh as she also tickled her belly.
Marcus nodded, "As we've said, there are several groups out there helping just like us while we are going to large groups like here, and they are helping the small groups they find."
"Well don't be strangers," O'Neill told them as he left the room with Carter and the other following so they could prepare for the next day and the dungeon.
Marcus poked a wall opening a portal back to the island, "We'll send you an update on things, we may need a place for refugees, we'll try for Sunnydale as it's fortified but if they can't take them we may contact you through the bracer to see if you guys can set them up outside the base," he said as Hermione and Harriet disappeared through the portal.
"We've been getting reports from outside that it's calming down the mountain," Hammond told him, " we are planning on an exploratory team to go and get a situation report, then go from there."
Marcus nodded, then turned to the portal, "All right, try and keep it together. Things may not go back to what they were, but the humans will slowly get back to the top of things. It'll just take time, " he said, then stepped through the portal letting it close behind him.
On the other side of the portal, he found Hermione sitting on the bench with Harriet happily running around with the little dragon flying behind her chirping and blowing small puffs of flame in its excitement.
Off to the side, he saw the ship resting on the ground, it was ten feet tall and fifteen long with a rounded nose and flat aft where the entry ramp was open to allow them to enter.
Marcus looked at Hermione and then the ship, "I'm sure I designed it to be a sphere," he said while walking close to the ramp to inspect the interior.
Hermione shrugged, "The computer probably found a flaw in the design and made the changes."
'Yes there was a flaw and that was that the shield emitters were not designed to cover a spherical ship also the engines would have lost thirty percent power if they had been on a gamble system as well as being less stable when using faster than sublight speeds, ' the computer answered through the communication system of the ship.
Marcus walked up the ramp, "Okay thanks for fixing the flaws but next time let me know if you need to make changes to a design for the next one, " he ordered the computer as he looked around the airlock that was a little more than a small room that had three environmental suits in cubbies.
'Acknowledged, I can inform you that other than the shape no other changes to your design, also after hearing your comments about placing a tent in one of the compartments I had one placed in the compartment just off of the bridge, ' the computer told him.
"That's good to hear, does it have a training program for learning to fly this thing?" he asked while walking toward the front of the ship inspecting it as he went, there was not much to see other than a few stations that were meant for a backup in case the main system went down.
'Yes, it has three main settings: flight simulator housing, and medical.'
Marcus found the door labeled with a sign that said 'Living quarter,' " Alright let's get this started then, he said opening the door to find the flaps of the tent, stepping in he found the familiar grid pattern of a holosuite, "Flight simulator training for a novice," he called out and watched as the environment change to be the bridge setup of his design.
An hour later, he left the simulator with a grin on his face; it was a very user-friendly way to pilot the ship as he copied the Alteran way to fly a ship using his mind.
He exited the ship to find Hermione still at the table with a book and a mug of tea, while Harriet was stretched out on the other bench with the little dragon curled on her stomach both asleep and Harriet smiling.
Marcus joined them at the table and found a cup of orange juice waiting for him, "We shouldn't have any problems with the ship. It's locked to the two of us for now, " he told her as he sat, then took a drink from the juice.
"That's good, but I will let you do the flying, I may not be the original Hermione and can fly on my own but I don't think I will be a good pilot," she told him as he looked at her confused when she said she didn't know if she would fly the ship.
Marcus shrugged and then looked at Harriet, "How long has she been out?" he asked with a soft smile.
"Not long maybe fifteen minutes or so," she told him as she turned a page.
"Okay, do you want to head to Hogwarts now or wait until morning?"
Hermione hummed then closed her book, "How about you go scout the area and see if we should go now or if they can wait until morning, Harriet has had a few too many scares today so I wanted to let her have some more time to completely calm down, " Hermione told him after a bit.
"Alright I can do that," he said draining the last of the juice then walking to the gate and focusing on Hogsmeade when it opened he stepped through to find himself on the road facing the town which had a few people running around seeming to be in a rush as they went, turning he found himself about half the way between the castle and town.
Suddenly he felt the air around him begin to chill, looking around he saw a few dementors floating slowly toward his location, " Huh guess it's either his third year or a mixed-up timeline, 'Expecto Patronum' he called out raising his hand and casting the spell to repel the soul-sucking demons, from his palm flew a long-whiskered serpent that looked like an eastern dragon, the thing was fifteen feet long and breathing an ethereal flam that engulfed the creatures.
The dementors' screeching wailing drew in more and more of the creatures; his Patronus charged them, bathing them in flames. Soon, it grew quiet as the last demon fell to the ground as ashes, only to be blown away in a gust of wind.
Hearing a loud clang from toward the castle, turning, he found Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall, and Rubeus Hagrid exiting the gates of the school, leaving a crowd of people locked behind the gates.
Marcus watched the group come rushing to his aid just as the last of the dementor's ashes flew away and his Patronus curled around him then faded away.
"Greetings, " he called out as they stopped fifteen feet away.
"Yes greetings, I must ask your reasons for coming here and fighting off those things, " Albus said with a smile and twinkle in his eyes.
"Ah, I am traveling the world; you may have noticed that something strange has happened in the last few days, " Marcus said while pointing up to the blood-red sky.
"Yes we noticed that but have been unable to contact the ministry to learn if the Statute is broken, " Albus said while looking at the sky.
Marcus shook his head, "No there's no need for the Statute anymore, a chaos mage performed a spell on Halloween night and he lost control over it, now the world is filled with many creatures and powerful people, I am from outside reality and was sent to this world to help the people in the transition."
Minerva McGonagall listened to him, and then she saw that he was in armor similar to that of the Seidr from the legends of when the gods walked the earth, only it looked modern.
"Me lord did Odin send ye to aid us?" Minerva asked trying to keep from falling into speaking Galic.
Marcus looked at her, then at his armor, "No, Minerva McGonagall, I am here by the grace of Lord Janus, though my daughter is favored by lord Loki," he answered while waving his hand over his armor, replacing it with a pair of jeans, and a tee shirt and combat boots.
"Ye wear the armor of the Norse Seidr though, " she replied and received a nod.
"Yes, I am of Asgard but am not a member of the people of Odin's Court; as I said, I am from outside reality, the world is in chaos, and I am here to offer aid to those who need it."
Albus was stunned hearing about the chaos and then the words he and Minerva were exchanging, "Would you care to join us in the castle?"
Marcus nodded, " Yes, that would help. I need to speak with each of you to find your needs and make an offer to allow you contact with the outside world," he said, then walked to join the three.
As they neared the gate, he saw the large black dog that was Sirius Black, slinking toward the gate, " Padfoot, come, " he called out, causing the dog to jump.
"You know this animal?" Albus asked as he watched the dog slowly join them, its tail between its legs.
"Yeah, I know it, but that can wait for later. Right now, I need to see everyone who is here at the castle so I know who is here and what changes in reality have been made here at the castle."
As they walked, Marcus cast cleaning and healing spells on the dog, "Ye don need a wand to do yer castin?" Hagrid asked.
"No, I don't. Magic is a part of everyone and everything; a wand is a useful tool for more delicate casting; as long as you can picture it clearly in your mind, eventually, you can work magic without the need of a wand."
Albus nodded, " That's true, though, in my old age, I've found the wand most helpful," he told Hagrid with a smile.
When they reached the gate, they found a group of people watching them approach; one thing Marcus noticed was there were only a few teens but several teachers. He did note that Harry Potter was in the group along with Hermione Granger, but he didn't see Ron.
When the gate opened the group stepped back to let them enter, "Padfoot guard, " he said pointing to Harry receiving a happy yip from the now clean dog that scampered to the side of the thirteen-year-old boy, Hermione who was holding Crookshanks eyed the dog until it licked the cat who simply swatted the dog on the nose playfully.
"Is there a reason for that?" Albus asked as he watched the cat and dog play.
Marcus nodded, "Padfoot is a special dog, but we can get to that later; I see most of the people I expected to find here, but I don't see Ronald Weasley or Snape; are they not here?"
"Ah, Severus is in his lab, and I believe Mister Weasley is in the great hall for lunch, " Albus replied.
Marcus nodded, then looked over the crowd again, "I would like to have a meeting with everyone later, but for now, could I speak with you, Minerva, Harry, Miss Granger, and Mister Weasley, " he said, looking back to Albus.
As he was speaking, Padfoot had begun snuggling to Harry, trying to get the boy to pet its head. Hermione was slowly waving her wand over Crookshanks to clean off the dog's slobber.
"Yes, we can adjourn to my office, Miss Granger. Please fetch Mister Weasley and let him know that he can return to his meal soon," Albus said, then addressed Hermione, who nodded and then ran into the castle to get Ron.
"Please follow me," Albus said after a few seconds. Marcus nodded and then followed him with Minerva and Harry behind him. Padfoot had followed as well, but now and then, it would run off to sniff something and then return to Harry's side.
The walk was long and twisting; when they reached the gargoyle, it stepped out of the path, revealing the moving staircase leading up to the office of Albus Dumbledore.
When they reached the door, it opened to reveal a large office filled with bookshelves and tables with doodads and trinkets doing who knows what.
Albus went to his desk and sat while waving his wand, conjuring several comfortable chairs for the others to sit on, "Lemon drop?" he asked, taking one for himself from the ever-present bowl on the corner of his desk.
Marcus shrugged, then took one, popped it in his mouth, and tested it for potions as his fingers touched it, "Oh, interesting, I haven't tasted this flavor in almost twenty years," he said as the flavor spread over his tongue.
The others looked at him, confused for a moment, until Hermione and Ron entered the room; Hermione sat with Harry with Crookshanks in her lap while Ron just plopped down in a chair; the boy was holding a plate of food, almost spilling it as he sat down.
"Mister Weasley, please some decorum." Minerva snapped conjuring a table for the boy to put the plate.
Marcus shook his head, "Has Poppy ever scanned the boy for a parasite of something?" he asked while leaning away from him as he began shoving food into his mouth.
"That'll be something to ask her but she wouldn't be able to inform us without breaking her oaths, " Albus replied while avoiding watching the boy inhale the food.
"She is his in loco parentis while here at the school so it won't violate the oaths," Marcus said gesturing to Minerva
The other adults nodded, " I'll escort him to Poppy after the meeting," Minerva said while casting a cleaning charm as well as a small shield to stop the food from hitting her.
"Okay, I'll get right to it, as I've said before a chaos mage performed a spell that messed up the world, what he was trying to do was pull a prank on an old friend of his but he lost control over the spell, it pulled people from several different realities to this world, I am here with several groups of people going around helping who we can, and I came here to see if Hogwarts and you all were pulled here," he told them as he watched the rat known as Scabbers climbed out of Ron's pocket to beg for scraps.
When Padfoot saw the rat it jumped toward it only to be stopped by a wave of Marcus' hand, then the rat floated from the boy's pocket and to the center of the room where it began to shift and squirm, Ron was alternating between yelling about his pet and trying to stuff more food in his mouth.
Silence filled the room when the rat began to swell and take on the form of a dirty man with rat-like features, "Hello, Peter, so nice of you to join us." Marcus said while waving his hand to bind and disarm the man; three wands and a dagger flew out of his robes, and with a flick of his wrist, the items flew to the corner of Albus' desk.
Padfoot was growling at the man but was being held back by Harry and Hermione, "How did you know that he was here?" Albus asked while adding a few more bindings to the man.
Marcus shrugged, "I am from outside reality and my home world has books and movies that follow your lives somewhat, but that's for later right now you need to make sure he doesn't get away,"
"If Peter is alive what about Black?" Minerva asked, trying to keep from attacking her former student, whom everyone thought was dead.
Marcus looked at Padfoot, "Well?"
The dog seemed to sigh before it stepped away from Harry, then stood up on its hind legs and shifted to reveal a dark-haired woman who looked like she was barely able to stand; she looked similar to the actress who played Bellatrix Lestrange.
"Huh, should have seen that coming," Marcus murmured, seeing that Black was a woman.
The others looked at him confused until they saw his confusion as well, "Come again?" Albus asked.
Marcus looked at the old man and then pointed to Black, "In my world, the books have Black being a man, but wherever you were pulled from Black is a woman."
He then stood and walked to a wall, opened a portal to the island, and tapped his bracer, "Is she still napping?" he asked, ignoring young Hermione, protesting that technology shouldn't be able to work within Hogwarts.
'No, she just got up a few minutes ago. We are having a bite of dinner; what's going on with the school?'
"For the most part, things are fine. I did have to clear out the Dementors, but things are going well; I'm in a meeting with Albus, Minerva McGonagall, and Harry Potter and his friends. Can you come here after you two are finished with your meal?"
'Sure, give us ten minutes; we both need a shower; Skippy just gave us a smoke bath.'
"Skippy."
'Yeah, that's what she named the little guy after watching it try to walk, only for it to skip around like a bird.'
"Ah well, that's nice, alright, well, when you are finished, come through and leave Skippy on the island," he said while focusing on trying not to laugh about the naming scenes of a child.
Marcus turned to the group to see them all looking at him Minerva and Albus held their wands ready but down.
"Yeah, sorry about that, but we'll need to get someone here. She can explain better than I can. I'm just the muscle, and she's the brains, " he said, walking back to his seat and sitting down.
"A little forewarning would have been nice, " Albus said while sitting down and gesturing to the others to sit as well.
Marcus looked a bit sheepish, " Yeah, I am used to working with someone who knows what I can do, I should warn you that my companion is going to look a lot like an older Hermione, " he warned them.
Young Hermione was bouncing in her seat, eyes alighted with curiosity, "What is that thing on your arm? How did you make it work in Hogwarts? What do you mean by your companion looks like me?" she asked rapidly until Harry put his hand on her shoulder.
Marcus smiled at her enthusiasm, "This is an Omni tool; it is a scanner and communication device that is powered by ambient magic, so even Hogwarts won't have any effect on it; my companion is a you-only older. "
"Why is she with you and not Harry?"
"Ah, well, she is a clone of an adult counterpart of you from a world that is further down the timeline, " he said.
"A clone of me, why do you have a clone of me?" she asked after a few seconds of being stunned.
Marcus shrugged, "Intelligence and her research abilities have helped me with a few things as well and her kind nature is soothing to be around while I am working on a project, " he told her, not seeing Hermione and Harriet stepping into the room from the portal.
She leaned over and kissed his cheek "I love you too," she said with a smile before plopping Harriet on his lap.
Marcus wrapped his arms around the little girl and then looked at his Hermione, and smiled, "You're not going to get any complaints from me," he told her then kissed her cheek as well.
Young Hermione was watching them, her face burning with a blush from seeing an older her showing such open affection to someone, not family.
Black was ignoring the two to focus on the little girl who looked like her long-lost friend Lilly Potter, "Lilly?" she asked while looking lost in thought for a few seconds.
"Harriet," the little girl answered while pulling Marcus' arms tighter.
"Celeste," The now named Celeste Black introduced, still looking at Harriet, her eyes filling with tears; Marcus noticed that the other two adults were looking at Harriet with similar interests.
"Harriet Jasmine Potter, meet Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ronald Weasley, " Marcus said while pointing to each person.
Harriet followed his finger to see who he named; then she looked from the young Hermione to the adult Hermione, confused, "Why is there you over there?" she asked adult Hermione.
"The world may have many of me out there, just like Harry over there. Remember the little boy with Joyce who we helped heal?" she asked after a bit, " Look closely, and you'll see that this is the same boy just older."
Harriet looked closely at Harry, then nodded, then frowned, "He has a scar as I did. Can you fix it too?" she asked while the others were processing the news about another Harry out there somewhere.
Marcus shrugged then pointed to the portal, "Harry, Celeste walk through that and Celeste hold onto Harry and if you have to pull him through, then go on up to the house you'll see I'm sending a message to a servant to lead you to medical " he said while casting a holding spell on Albus and Minerva while also typing on the bracer for the computer to have an android wait for them to show them to the medical room.
Albus could be seen trying to move to stop the two as they got up and neared the open portal; Minerva was still looking at Harriet with tears in her eyes as she was lost in memories of her time with Lilly Evans as a student and then a friend after her graduation.
"Will it hurt?" Harry asked, not noticing that Hermione was at his side holding his hand.
Marcus nodded, " It will; there is dark magic behind that scar; the portal is like a barrier, and it will cleanse you of that, but it is stuck inside you, so it'll force it out."
Harry took a deep breath and then stepped forward with Hermione at his side and Celeste behind him, as soon as he was halfway through his scar burst open just like the younger Harry's, as the screaming black mist was ripped out of the scar Hermione pulled on the teen's hand while Celeste pushed him past the barrier then scooped him up as he fell to the ground in a faint.
Minerva was torn from her memories by the screaming and tried to rush to her student only to find herself held in her seat, "Release me," she demanded realizing that Marcus was the one holding her in place.
Albus was glowing from his effort to remove the magic holding him down only to fail and then slump back in exhaustion.
"Why? You two are the reason he is in such a state. If you had not left him in the care of Petunia, that magic would have been found and removed if he had been living with a magical family like his parents wanted."
"There was nobody that could take him in," Minerva snapped while trying to get up again.
"Really? In all the realities we are aware of you two and Hagrid dropped him off not an hour after Riddle attacked, none of the people able and willing to take him in had been attacked or falsely imprisoned," Hermione growled out adding pressure to the spell holding the two in their seats both people and chairs groaning in response.
Marcus held up a hand then pointed to Harriet who was shrinking into his lap at Hermione's angry voice, "Oh honey I'm sorry, " she said scooping up the little girl in her arms and then turning to glare at the two thinking that this little girl had been through the same thing because of the counterparts of these two.
Marcus stood then looked over the three magical raised in the room Ron had seemed to forget everything other than the plate of food, " We came to help but I've seen your minds and it sickens me, you," he pointed to Albus, "Only saw a path to further your goals to gain more fame," then he pointed to Minerva, " and you blindly followed him," his eyes were now glowing in his rage, all the time he had been in the office he had been searching their minds with gentle Leglimins probes.
In the mind of Albus Dumbledore he found the memories of the man grooming Tom Riddle in the art of manipulation and at the same time in the background having the other students torment him until he found his heritage and killed Myrtle, that he stood and watched as Tom forged his identity as Voldemort, all was going to Albus' plans to have a new Dark Lord to battle and overcome until the prophecy was given.
In Minerva's mind, he found a loyal lapdog who followed the orders of the man who defeated Grindelwald; he also found many of the people here in the magical world had been similar to her outside the neutral and dark families.
"I've decided that I will take the children away from this place well the muggle-born at least and possibly some of the purebloods, " Marcus shook his head then looked at Hermione, "Go make sure younger you get a scan as well this old man has been dosing her with alchemical potions and if not for her loyalty to Harry she would be completely under his thrall," he said while pointing to Albus.
Hermione glared at the two again before storming through the portal, closing it behind her. Harriet all the time was hugging her tightly.
"You will be able to move once I've left the castle wards but know this should you leave the castle to return the children that leave your magic will leave you as Mother magic and I deem you unfit to wield her gifts," saying that Marcus left the office Fawkes flashing away with a mournful song as the bindings Albus had forced on him broke.
Slowly walking the hall to the great hall Marcus made his plans, "I need an elf," he called out as he walked.
"You called?" an elf in an old pillowcase asked as it popped in and fell into step with him.
"Yes, send the other elves to gather all the students in the great hall; I have an announcement to give."
"I do," the elf said before popping away to follow his request.
When he entered the great hall, he found a few students and teachers already there; when he walked to the head table, all eyes followed him; he found that every teacher other than the half goblin teacher's mind was similar to Minerva's sighing he cast the same spell to hold them in their seats.
He stood there and watched as the students trickled in over the next ten minutes; he noticed that most of them were already under the charms of Albus Dumbledore without the need for potions.
Casting a sonorous on himself he cleared his throat to gain everyone's attention, "I have a few statements to make and an offer to make to you..." he then went on to explain how the world was not the world they knew, it took him an hour to get through that and then he made his offer to those that did not wish to remain here or to try and find their families.
"Now I can't promise that you'll find family beyond these wards but I will let you know that staying here may not be safe as well, I'm speaking mainly to you muggle-born and raised, but I can offer you a safe place to go until you can either find family or a home," he concluded watching the students and seeing at least sixty were worried while the rest were the ones that were either dark or under the thrall of Dumbledore.
He let everything settle in their minds and watched as they broke off in groups, " For those that wish to leave, stay in the great hall. For those who do not leave now, " he commanded.
It took some time for the students who were staying at the castle to leave and he was shocked when there were almost seventy-five children of all ages still in the hall, when he turned to the teachers he saw them smirking, they all thought that once he was gone they would be able to reclaim the students that he took, in his mind he was laughing as he again noticed that magic had done to them what it had done to Albus and Minerva.
"House-elves gather the belongings of these students and bring them here to them, remove all tracking magics and ensure no blood, hair, or skin is left, vanish those as well as anything that has their magical signature is destroyed, free elf Dobby if you are here do the same for the belongings of Harry Potter and Hermione Granger and bring their belongings to me and don'tforgettheir pets," he called out and watched as trunks and brooms were deposited in front of the students and two trunks and a broom where placed at his feet, Hedwig was poped to his shoulder her feathers ruffled.
"I am not finding Missy Grangys kitcat," Dobby said from beside Harry's trunk.
"That's fine he is with her in a safe place, " Marcus said waving his hand to open a portal, "You'll find Harry and Hermione at the house on the other side, please take their stuff to them," Marcus told the elf who grabbed the trunks and popped away followed by Hedwig jumping from his shoulder and flying through the portal.
"Alright, everyone that is leaving, step through and spread out; all house elves that wish to leave as well, follow the students," he was shocked to see thirty of the elves pop in and then reappear on the other side of the portal as the students trickled through.