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Piercing the Veil	By : trudyw000 Category: Harry Potter Crossovers > Slash - Male/Male Views: 8941 -:- Recommendations : 3 -:- Currently Reading : 4
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Stargate Atlantis, I make no money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 6
- 7
- 8
Author's Note : Hi there, here is chapter 7, apologies for the delay, unfortunately I had to go away to Germany for work and managed to lose the 2000 words I was able to write whilst I was there. It took a little while to recreate them to my satisfaction. Please enjoy.

Chapter 7

Elizabeth and the rest of the command team found themselves staring in through the large viewing window at the front of the small craft. There seated in what was obviously the pilot's seat was a man with long black hair and a neatly trimmed moustache and beard. As they watched the stranger brought the ship in for a gentle landing in front of the stargate where he shut off the engines and then mouthed something, although they couldn't hear what.

"What the!!"

"Who!!"

Burst from two mouths as Jack O'Neill and John Sheppard both reacted sharply to something only they could hear looking around wildly before focussing back on their radios as a sudden shriek of static indicated several people trying to transmit at once. Jack recovered first, years of dealing with the strangeness that was normality for gate travellers standing him in good stead and he raised his radio to his lips, keying the transmit button.

"Anyone who heard that voice to the gateroom, everyone else carry on with your assigned duties."

They watched as the man waved briefly from the cockpit before standing and making his way towards the rear of the craft. Colonel Sumner led the way down the steps from the command level with his P90 poised for action, closely followed by Elizabeth, John, Rodney, Jack and Daniel.

They were interrupted briefly by pounding footsteps as Carson Beckett charged out of one of the corridors leading into the interior of the city. As soon as he reached the small group he stopped, dropping his hands to his knees as he leaned forward panting heavily from the unaccustomed exertion. "Did any of you hear that?" he finally managed to gasp before finally dragging himself upright and freezing with a comical expression of shock on his features as he took in the ship which had appeared in the centre of the gateroom.

They turned away from the breathless Doctor as mechanical noises echoed through the large chamber indicating the ship had opened up. Moments later a figure appeared from the rear of the vehicle, tall, straight-backed and broad-shouldered with long, flowing black hair and enchanting grey eyes. He was dressed in black trousers, a charcoal grey, open-necked shirt under a black velvet vest and a long black velvet coat of distinctly vintage design.

Before anyone had time to react he stepped forward, clasping Elizabeth's hand eagerly with both of his before gently touching his fingers to her cheek as he gazed reverently into her eyes. "You must be Elizabeth, you have no idea how happy I am to see you."

The sight and sound of several very efficient looking muggle weapons being leveled at him brought Sirius back to his senses and releasing Elizabeth he stepped carefully back, holding his hands clear of his body in a gesture of peace.

"I'm so glad to see all of you," he continued looking around at the people arrayed before him. "You must be John Sheppard," he decided, nodding towards the youngest of the obviously military men before him, "and I'm assuming one of you is Colonel Marshall Sumner" his eyes flicked between the older two members of the military.

Colonel Sumner briefly lifted the barrel of his P90 in acknowledgment before levelling the weapon on the stranger once more. The mystery was too much for the breathless man standing behind the others and he gasped in his soft, Scottish brogue, "how d'ya know our names?"

The accent sparked immediate recognition within Sirius, "Ah-ha, you must be Carson Beckett. I'm very pleased to meet you." Sirius raked the group with his eyes, "that makes you," he settled on Rodney, "Dr Rodney McKay, I'm so very honoured to meet you!" And forgetting himself once more he enfolded Rodney's hand in both of his own for a brief moment.

The Stargate team shared a bemused look and Carson repeated, "OK, who the devil are you and how d'ya know who we are?"

Sirius just smiled and looked around them and at the other two soldiers who had returned to the gate room after hearing Lantia's voice in their heads. Nodding to the ship parked in the centre of the room he suggested "perhaps I could return the ship to the docking bay and then we can all sit down and talk, I have a lot to tell you."

The military men surrounding him all tensed at the thought of allowing this stranger in their midst back into his ship. Sirius noticed the reaction and acted quickly to dispel the tension, "maybe Major Sheppard would like to accompany me, I believe you're a pilot?" he added to the man in question.

John Sheppard's eyes lit up at the thought of viewing the interior of the alien craft, maybe even flying it. However he hesitated to accept the offer until Colonel Sumner, after looking thoughtful for several moments, nodded his agreement. Smiling widely the Major gestured towards the rear of the ship, "lead on."

Sirius paused only for a moment to speak aloud to Lantia, "can you direct these people to a room where we can all be comfortable."

This time the female voice was audible to all through the network of hidden speakers throughout the city. "Of course Sirius, I'll take them to your office."

Sirius hadn't known he had an office, but in the interests of presenting a united front he didn't quibble and simply led the Major into the ship where he gave the other man a quick tour of the craft before having him take the co-pilot's chair. A few more minutes were spent in explaining all the instruments available and how they reacted to the pilot's thoughts before he gently eased the ship off the deck and followed the lighted path to the hanger.

John watched enviously as Sirius piloted the craft with a gentle touch and the power of his mind. Oh, he just had to log himself some hours in one of these.

They set down with barely a bump in a large chamber and Sirius triggered the rear door. Together they walked down the ramp and around the vehicle to stand in the centre of the room. John spun slowly on his heel as he gazed in awe at the stacked ships around the walls.

As Sirius watched him he saw the same look in John's eye that he saw in Harry's when his god-son pored over the pictures of broomsticks in the latest edition of his Quidditch magazine with Ron. He couldn't get back to Harry, at least not any time soon, but he could make a life for himself here with these people. "I'll teach you to fly one later, if you'd like" he offered.

John whirled to face him, an expression on his face like a kid at Christmas, "you're on!" he exclaimed. "Come on, we'd better head back before the Colonel decides you've kidnapped me."

Sirius simply nodded and led the way out of the hanger bay. "Why did you do it?" Sirius asked as they walked, only realising at John's confused look that he'd only articulated half his question. "Why would you leave Earth and travel to another galaxy with no idea what you would find and no guarantee that you can ever return home?"

John thought about the question for the moment, about the way that General O'Neill had used shame and guilt to manipulate him into agreeing to join the expedition. "If I figure out the answer to that question then you'll be the first to know" he finally answered.

The answer seemed flippant and Sirius was inclined to take offence but as he looked at the other man's face he saw the thoughtful expression and accepted the answer. Sheppard's distraction gave him the chance to speak to Lantia before rejoining the rest of the Atlantis expedition command team and he called out in his mind, "Lantia, where is this office of mine then?"

To Sirius' great relief Lantia's reply was immediate, "it's the old administrator's office, I hope you don't mind. I didn't want any of them laying claim to it."

"That's fine," Sirius replied with a mental chuckle, "can you hear what they're talking about in there?"

"Of course I can." Lantia sounded almost affronted that there might be something going on in the city without her being aware of it. "They're mostly talking about you." Then Sirius heard the light tone of Lantia's laughter in his head. "One of them just suggested that you are the Guardian of Atlantis!" her voice rang in a portentous tone in his head for the last three words.

Sirius chuckled at that, but then he noticed the wistful note as Lantia's voice trailed off. Before even thinking about it Sirius found himself forming the words inside his mind, "would you like me to be your guardian?"

"I would like that very much, but as soon as these people find a way back to Earth you'll leave. They seem very determined, I doubt it will take very long." Her thoughts were so sad, Sirius felt for her, sleeping for ten thousand years before being awakened, only to face the prospect of being abandoned again when those who had awakened her left. "Even if they can't find a way home one of them is talking of something called the Daedalus which they are building. If they can't find a way home on their own then apparently this Daedalus will come to get them when it's complete."

Sirius felt hope once again rearing its head, however he had had a long time to think whilst he was alone on the mainland and this subject had occupied most of his time. Yes he would very much like to go home again, to see Harry and Moony once more, but they believed he had died 8 years ago. Maybe the Ancients had told them that he was still alive but Sirius doubted it. After all that they had seen in his head it seemed that the Ancients had no faith in the wizarding world to do what was right They seemed to be determined to keep Sirius safe and apparently they considered that the best way to do that was to keep him as far as possible from any wizards.

For eight years everyone he cared about had thought him dead, they had moved on with their lives. The war had to be over by now, either for good or for evil, and since the expedition team seemed to be as oblivious to the world of magic as muggles had been before Sirius left he strongly suspected that Harry had triumphed. As much as he wanted to go home he wasn't sure that he would be able to fit in anymore, it had been over twenty years since he had truly been a part of that world and it had changed, as had he. Realising just how long he had been silent Sirius formed the thoughts in his head, understanding that Lantia could easily distinguish those thoughts intended for her from his private thoughts. "Yes, I would like to go home, to see my god-son and my friend, but they have their own lives now and I'm not a part of that any more. If the opportunity arose I would like to go to visit them, to say goodbye, but only" Sirius strongly emphasized the word "only if I had a guarantee that I'd be able to come back here to you. I'd like to make a life for myself here, and if you'd have me I'd very much like to be your guardian."

Before Lantia could reply Sirius and John walked in to the office where a large crowd appeared to be awaiting them. Lantia remained silent but he could feel her glee bubbling in the back of his mind and it made it difficult for him to maintain a suitably dignified expression. Sirius crossed the room swiftly to stand behind the large desk of the administrators of Atlantis. He had not been in this office before but as soon as Lantia had told him where she had sent the expedition members to wait for him the details of its location and purpose had popped into his head.

John Sheppard crossed the room with him and came to a halt beside the desk where he leaned nonchalantly against a large piece of furniture. Sirius surveyed those arrayed before him and spreading his arms intoned "welcome to Atlantis!"

It never occurred to Elizabeth to doubt his right to welcome them to the city and as Sirius listened with half an ear she accepted his greeting and talked of their hopes of what they might find in the Pegasus galaxy. Sirius seated himself, happy in the knowledge that he had gained an advantage as she unconsciously granted him some level of authority within the city.

"That's all very well," the silver-haired man who Sirius had at first thought might be the one his Elizabeth had referred to as Colonel Sumner interrupted the woman. "But what we all want to know is who is this guy, how did he get here and who was that voice we all heard after he arrived?" As he said the last he gestured to those perched on any available surface around the room the majority of whom were nodding in eager agreement.

The fair-haired man stood at the older soldier's elbow spoke up, "as we appear to be the interlopers here perhaps it would be polite to introduce ourselves" he suggested pointedly. "My name is Daniel," he indicated the older man beside him, "this is Jack. Elizabeth, John Sheppard, Marshall Sumner, Rodney McKay and Carson Beckett you appear to recognise, that's Stackhouse and Markham." He completed the round of introductions and waited expectantly for Sirius to return the courtesy.

"My name is Sirius Black, the lovely lady who's voice you heard earlier is..."

"Don't tell them my name!" Lantia interrupted him sharply, her words clearly for him alone.

"The voice of the city, Atlantis," Sirius finished smoothly hoping that no-one had noticed his hesitation. He didn't know why Lantia didn't want them to know her true name but he trusted her on this and followed her lead.

"That's all very well," Sumner spoke up, apparently frustrated by the diplomatic pleasantries, "but it doesn't answer the question, how did you come to be here in the city, who are you?"

Sirius had given some thought to how much he could tell these people whilst he waited on the mainland for them to arrive. He had finally decided that the statute of secrecy could not be expected to hold this far from home. He sincerely doubted that the Ministry had any owls capable of flying the inter-stellar nay inter-galactic distances required to deliver a reprimand to him now.

"I am Sirius Black and I am a wizard." Sirius announced to be greeted by all the disbelief he could have wished for from his audience. His marauders soul danced a gleeful jig as Sumner demanded a sensible answer to his question, John and Jack both smirked at what they apparently considered a joke on his part, Elizabeth searched for words that would not sound like she doubted their host, McKay openly scoffed at the thought of magic, Carson crossed himself as he, Stackhouse and Markham simply stared at Sirius.

Standing once again Sirius moved out from behind the desk to stand beside John Sheppard in clear sight of all of those in the room. Looking around he quickly caught the eye of everyone present then with a brief push of power through his body his form shimmered and suddenly where he had stood there was now a large, shaggy black dog, his shoulders measuring around waist height on the man beside him.

All talk in the room stopped dead as the people gathered there registered his change. He held his animagus form for a full minute then with another brief push of magic he shimmered back into his normal shape. He was very pleased with his little demonstration, whilst on the mainland he had discovered an interesting side-effect of the changes that the Ancients had made to him whilst he slept behind the veil. Normally his animagus form was fairly stable, however he had discovered that while he still had just the one form, he had much more control over that form than he had previously had. The first time he had tried to shift without having his wand on him he had put in too much power and had found himself in the shape of a dog the size of a small horse. Playing around with how much power he used in the transformation he had discovered that by varying the power he could vary his size. He had pushed it up to the size of a large shire horse, and by using the barest whisper of power had transformed into a shaggy, black dog about the size of a Chihuahua. Suffice it to say that that was one form he never intended to be seen using in public.

The silence held as he moved back to take his seat once more. As he watched his stunned audience he noticed that one of the men, Daniel, seemed much less surprised by the whole demonstration than the others in the room. As they recovered Sirius discreetly watched Daniel, the man reminded him of someone but he couldn't quite determine who. Then as he registered the way the man had his arms wrapped around himself. He looked a lot like Harry, not physically, this man was tall, broad-shouldered and muscular, but there was something in the way he stood, the way he held himself, and something deep in his eyes that brought his god-son firmly into Sirius' mind.

Concerned at what that similarity could mean Sirius made a mental note to keep an eye on Daniel, and on the older man beside him, Jack. From his brief observations he had noticed that Jack was never far from Daniel, the others had apparently sat wherever they could find a space when they arrived in this office. Jack and Daniel however stood together, a little way apart from the others.

Sirius hoped that he might be imagining things, but with the knowledge of how he had failed Harry in the forefront of his mind he couldn't help but be concerned when he saw the same body language in this man. He resolved to be watchful and if this Jack had any part in putting that hunted look in Daniel's eye then Sirius would do whatever it took to help the younger man.

"How did he...?" someone finally muttered as Rodney burst out with "that's not possible, the laws of physics..."

Elizabeth managed to pull herself together enough to ask, "can everyone from your planet do that?"

Sirius just gave her a strange look before answering in a strangled voice "no." He seemed to struggle for a few moments against laughter before finally bringing himself sufficiently under control to expand. "I was born in Grimmauld Place, London in 1960. I lived there until I was 11 and started school at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in Scotland. After that I only returned home for the summer holidays and after my 16th birthday I didn't even do that, I moved in with my best friend's family until I finished school." Sirius carried on to give them a brief history of his life up until the moment he fell through the veil in the Department of Mysteries.

"That was June 1996, Khala and the rest of her people... found me I guess... they examined my life and decided that things had gone badly wrong with the wizarding people of Earth. They took me apart and then put me back together again fixing all the damage that had been done to my body and mind. A week ago they sent me on through a new portal and I arrived here, that's when I met the city, Atlantis and you Elizabeth." Sirius stopped and a deathly silence fell as the others absorbed the meaning of what he had said.

"How....how could you have met me here a week ago?" Elizabeth eventually asked.

"Atlantis," Sirius stared into the middle distance as he spoke to the city "do you still have those recordings?"

"I do Sirius, would you like me to play them now?" Lantia asked in her soft voice and Sirius quickly agreed.

The lights in the room gently dimmed themselves and the images started to play, hovering just inches above the Sirius' desk. They saw Sirius standing next to a bed in which lay an incredibly old woman. They all listened, beyond shock after the events of the day as the scene played out in front of them. Some periods of time were compressed in the playback, those times when the older Elizabeth was sleeping, and Sirius noticed that somehow Lantia's name had become fuzzed out in the playback. Two hours later the recording ended with the image of Sirius carrying the elderly woman away and slowly the lights in the room came back up. It was only when the story was finished that anyone had time to realise that night had fallen outside the artificial light of the city.

Sirius had tears in his eyes as he watched the image fade. "We made it to the surface in time to watch the sunrise together, then Elizabeth slipped back to sleep as I flew us to the mainland." He paused briefly, obviously overcome by emotion. "When we arrived I tried to wake her, but..." He broke off with a sob, unable to continue.

For several minutes everyone sat around the room feeling increasingly uncomfortable as Sirius tried to staunch his tears but couldn't. All he'd lost, everyone he'd ever known and then the only human company he'd had in the last eight years, it all caught up to him and he wept for it all.

Looking around the room Jack realised that no-one knew quite what to do. Exasperated he stepped forward, skirting the desk to stand beside the sobbing man, laying a hand on his shoulder. "Daniel, come help me" he requested and together the two of them lifted Sirius to his feet.

With no idea where to take Sirius Jack lifted his eyes to address the city in the same way he had seen the wizard do it. "Atlantis," he called softly and was rewarded with a reply filled with sadness.

"Yes Jack."

"Can you direct us to Sirius' quarters?" he asked practically.

"Of course, follow the lights in the floor please."

And leaving the others to their silent contemplations Jack and Daniel helped Sirius from the room and along the short walk to a spacious apartment one floor above. Jack's first thought was that the room was very bare but then he recalled, as much as Sirius seemed to belong here, and as the city obviously wanted him to be there, he was only a recent immigrant like themselves. Looking around he saw a wide open living space with a comfortable seating area around a low table, on the other side of the room was a larger table surrounded by high backed chairs.

Leaving Daniel to support Sirius Jack went to investigate several doors in the surrounding walls, one led to what might be a kitchen, another room was clearly a bathroom and finally he found the bedroom. Surprised he noted that the bed appeared to be made up with crisp white covers, what kind of material could survive ten thousand years he wondered to himself as he beckoned Danny over and moved to turn down the bed.

Sirius had finally managed to recover himself somewhat now that he was away from the pitying eyes that had surrounded him in the office. Seeing the easy interaction between the two men who had helped him he realised that he had done Jack a grave injustice. The caring between the two men was clear, Jack could never have had any part in causing the worrying signs he had noticed in Daniel. He muttered an embarrassed thanks to the two men and just as they were leaving asked Lantia, "is there somewhere close by that they could stay?"

Lantia assented and the familiar lights lit up a path in the floor to the next apartment.

Jack and Daniel easily understood the other man's wish not to be completely alone and were perfectly happy to take the next apartment, especially if it was as spacious and pleasant as this one. They stepped through the door and were not disappointed.

Sirius meanwhile slowly stripped off his outer garments and slid into the large bed, grateful to note that the room Lantia had directed them too had an entire wall of glass overlooking the ocean beside the bed. There was no need to fear reminders of those bleak days and nights in Azkaban in this room and under the light of distant stars Sirius gently drifted off to sleep.

AN: What did you think? Please review.
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Piercing the Veil