Chapter 6

"See, the team is covering my back." Harry said, disconnecting the display, which was showing the Boardroom at the SGC. "No need to worry about my chatting to aliens without backup." Pansy was there and giving him a check-up, just to be certain. He'd not even had the chance to celebrate, yet.

"The backup is there for your protection." Remus fumed. Cooper hadn't been taken with them when they were transported away and it turned out that wherever they had gone, it was either blocked or outside the range of the Comm system. Cooper had been contacting everyone with an urgency that had Daniels call in everyone, in case something happened. Half the fleet had been waiting above Cimmeria, when Harry and the team arrived back on Prometheus.

"Well, maybe Cooper should stop being invisible half the time?" Harry asked.

"Or maybe we should start on Project Galaxy Seed." Remus countered. "Cooper's invisibility gives him an advantage should something unexpected happen."

"But that would take years!" Harry argued. "And Thor is on a space vessel. Project Galaxy Seed is only going to establish connection to the most likely planets that may have Stargates. It won't allow for communication if we're transported to anywhere else. And the resources we'd need for the Project haven't even been produced yet. That could take months!"

"Then find a way to keep in communication some other way!" Remus said angrily. He had been just as worried as everyone else.

"You're going too far." Pansy told Remus, dangerously. "Harry isn't your pet. You can't leash him."

"But-!" Remus started again.

"You are stepping into the territory we warned you about." Pansy said again. "We will not have you drive Harry away by making unreasonable demands. You are not his Alpha. He's already refused to become a wolf, because he's worried you'd treat him like you are trying to now."

Remus seemed conflicted at that. Harry had always wanted to be a wolf, but he'd changed his mind when Remus had tried to assert his dominance in their relationship, one too many times. He loved the young man like a father would, but he was also the Alpha, and he would not, could not, allow him to endanger himself needlessly. That was his duty to the pack. To the cub.

As a man he recognized that he had been a bit more than slightly overbearing. Taking liberties, because Harry had allowed it, because of the familial love between them and being overprotective of Harry, because Tonks had given him a son, and he wanted them to be brothers. He wanted the young tyke, Teddy, to grow up learning from and trying to emulate his older brother, Harry.

His wolf side, though, required and demanded respect. His pack came first and he was the one that knew best. You do things together, or not at all. There was a reason why there were hunting parties and never solo missions. Wolves would fight and die for each other, and they'd do it till their last breath, always giving each other the support they'd need until they could fight no longer. It would give Harry the best protection, but only if they could find him!

Finally he took a breath, to centre himself. His wolf was raging inside him to call the pack together and have them accompany Harry everywhere. He knew that that would be going too far. He needed to be a man now. "You are right." he said. "But I don't like it. Couldn't I just assign one more wolf to you?" he tried. He'd tried it before, but it hadn't worked. "Susan is almost finished with her training, she could-"

"You'd ask me to endanger her?" Harry asked, his own eyes glinting dangerously as his mood changed from saddened at Remus's conflict, which he knew of, to angry.

"You endanger yourself!" Remus barked.

"It's my life to endanger!" Harry shouted back.

"No. It's really not." Pansy said, calmly, placing a hand on Harry's shoulder. "It's our lives, Harry. We are a family. If something happened to you, you'd tear all of us apart. You are the cornerstone to a great legacy. A legacy which you have not achieved, yet." She was talking about children, and he knew it, but he wasn't ready to talk about becoming a father just yet.

"But he would use his position to break the ranks and his promise." Harry said, referring to Remus, trying to calm himself down. It wasn't as easy as it had once been. "He promised me that he would not interfere in Susan's life directly, if she joined the pack. He's planning on doing just that."

"I wasn't going to order her, Harry." Remus said, also calming himself. "I wouldn't break my word to you. It's just… When these kinds of things happen, I worry that Teddy will never get the chance to know you. To learn what a wonderful brother he has. I love you so much and it breaks my heart when I see you drifting from the pack. The other wolves were devastated when you decided not to join us."

"I'm still part of the pack, Moony." Harry said. "I'm just not a wolf. I can't risk becoming someone else, when I still have so much to achieve as the person I am." It had been found that wolves become more emotionally inclined and he needed to keep his head straight, to do what he did. Remus knew this and accepted it. The wolves did too, but being more emotional meant that it still hurt their feelings, even if they respected the choice. He had been planning to become a wolf for years and many of them had been looking forward to it. Harry didn't like breaking his word and he'd told the ones who were closest to him that he'd still be joining them in a few years. He just needed a bit more time.

"It's always been Harry's choice." Pansy said. "Though, I am working on something that might help breach the divide one day, in the meanwhile." Harry looked at her in question, but she just winked at him. "Trade secret, I'm afraid." she said, smirking.

"You know what Pansy?" Harry asked, smiling at her. "I love you." he said, as he grabbed her in a hug.

"You know, I thought you might." Pansy said, as she happily hugged him back. "And don't think there won't be a celebration tonight." she said leadingly, before a frown crossed her face, not that Harry could see it. "Though, be careful to add your own protections. Fleur had a look in her eyes, when she saw you telling stories to the children of Cimmeria last night. She may be feeling a need to have some of her own."

"Not until you're married." Remus said sternly, but he smiled sadly at the young man, as if to prove that he wasn't too serious about it.

"Yes, about that…" Pansy said, pulling away from Harry.

"We can get married in a few years." Harry said instantly. "Luna isn't even of age yet."

"Actually, you may want to pay some extra attention to your schedule for the next week." Pansy said.

"It's her birthday isn't it?" Harry asked, shaking his head. Where did the time go?

"Those tend to sneak up on you when you have so many loved ones." Pansy said, just as Daphne walked in.

"You have it all on your schedule." Daphne confirmed Pansy's statement, like she'd been listening in to the whole conversation. "I've set aside a bit of time for you to either go shopping, or to make her something. We know you love to do that." as she said it, she looked happily at her ring. The mood ring stone had been replaced by a diamond, with just a sliver of blue diamond in the base, next to the EMF emitter. She didn't have a laser, but she now had both a focus and a wandless enhancing effect, like most of Harry's girls. He'd wanted to replace the stainless steel ring, but they'd all refused, stating that it was special to them. They hadn't one taken theirs off in all these years and Harry still didn't know what they had promised, as their passwords on the rings.

He'd been upgrading the rings for his girls on their seventeenth birthdays, so they all suspected they knew what he'd be doing for Luna. The diamond upgrade was meant as an engagement gift as well, turning the girls from his betrothed, into his fiancées. He intended to start calling them all his fiancées as soon as Luna had her diamond as well. He didn't want any of them feeling left out, after all.

"So," Harry sighed out, "it's time for us to start talking ceremonies?"

"We know you don't want that yet, not that I understand it, but we can wait." Daphne said.

"We want to move in." Pansy said. "We already share your bed sometimes, but we're still living separately." Some of them lived on their own, but some of the others still had rooms with their parents, for the parents' sake. They knew what was going on, but the girls had graduated school and been declared adults two years prior to normal teens and the girls didn't want to hurt their feelings, by instantly moving out. Well, except for Fleur, who had insisted on climbing in his bed and staying there the moment Harry had moved to Harmony.

"I'll just excuse myself." Remus said, getting up and beating a hasty retreat.

When he was gone, Harry looked at his girls and saw expectant looks. "That wasn't a tactic to get rid of him was it?" he asked.

"Harry…" Pansy said dangerously.

"Fine!" Harry said. "Daphne, would you please call a family gathering?"

"Of course, Harry." Daphne said. "The whole thing, or just us?"

"Just us, I think." Harry said. "I'm assuming you girls have all discussed it and I just need to be told what you've decided?"

"Pretty much." Daphne allowed.

"Well, the rooms have been ready for you girls for a long time now." Harry said. "And I know you've already chosen rooms and want some large room for yourselves, so I've left a space on the western side of the mansion for that."

"You told me that that space was set aside for a vegetable garden!" Daphne objected.

"I can't make you girls think that I don't plan surprises for you." Harry said, slightly smugly. "I can have that set up really quickly, so we'll make that the focus for today, okay?"

The girls did meet that evening, slightly later than usual, because Luna had the evening news to oversee. The new presenters of the news show were almost perfect, but Luna had taken a lot from mundane television, except for with her own flair, and she was in the final stage of handing over the reins to her father. Xenophilius Lovegood had eventually dropped the paper and started working as a director and editor for the first magical television station, named the Quibbler, in tribute.

Pandora Lovegood had finally completed her contract with whatever research company she had been working for, but she was still unable to talk about what she had been doing, since it seemed she had Obliviated herself of the experience, leaving a memory of only that, to confirm it. She suspected it had to do with divination, since she kept on seeing strange things that hadn't happened in the past, but felt like they could have, in her dreams. She was now working on understanding mundane sciences and how to apply magical energy with scientific principles.

Meanwhile, back at the Quibbler, there was even a bit of a nature show with Neville as a host. He had finished his Hogwarts education and moved to Harmony, along with Hannah. They looked to be the first of their friends planning to get married. Neville was a much changed young man. He had a calm confidence and sported longer hair in a ponytail, tied into place with a leather strap. He usually wore a combination of light brown and white robes, which gave him the distinct look of someone roleplaying as a Jedi. Especially with his lightsaber always on his hip.

His show had a few of the more boring subjects, like oxygen generation for the town and proper compost usage, but every now and then there was a bit of an interesting one where he'd discuss the latest plant he had cultivated, using a combination of mundane and magical techniques to hybridize plants and what properties they contained.

Neville had an eye on also joining the local sword fighting club. They trained exclusively with the safe lightsabers. They weren't at a professional level yet, but, with the sport picking up speed on the international stage on Earth, now that lightsabers were being distributed at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, there was a hope that with his participation and skill, Harmony could stand a real chance at the upcoming world championships. Since they couldn't say where they were from, they'd simply have to compete under the Marauders' Banner.

Neville and Hannah were already living together, even if it was in Longbottom Manor, which Harry had brought to Harmony at Augusta Longbottom's request. She wasn't going to leave her son and daughter-in-law behind, though, so she'd ordered their release from St Mungo's into the hands of Poppy Pomfrey, who had brought them to Harmony General. Pansy was even of the opinion that she might be able to help them someday. Alice Longbottom was already more alert, which honestly wasn't a lot, and it was only for short periods of time. Unfortunately Frank was basically still the same, even if Neville believed that he looked healthier. Pansy had fixed what nerve damage she could, but something else was interfering with their recovery and she couldn't put her finger on it.

OOO

When the girls were all assembled, Harry walked them through the large mansion, which, in tribute to the Marauder heritage, had many hidden passageways and hidden rooms. It didn't take long to reach the western-most part of the building and Harry smirked as he raised his hands in the air and an entire wing seemed to rise from the ground, complete with curtains, windows and a high vaulted ceiling. It was an illusion of course, and Harry had simply lifted the security magic, but he thought they deserved a display.

"There you go." Harry said. "You can do with the space whatever you want, so long as it's not to keep a zoo. I don't know that I'd like the smell." he joked.

"'arry! Eet eez perfect!" Fleur exclaimed, her French accent slipping out in her excitement, as she attached herself to his side, with her eyes taking in the space. Their seraglio would be magnificent! Her only complaint being that there may be too much space for only the eight of them. It would be a place for the girls to gather. A private place where no man would be welcome, except maybe Harry, on occasions.

She already saw a large hot bath with marble statues and hot running water coming from the mouths of lions, off in a corner. Divans and large soft pillows on which to lounge. She'd need to add a couple of bookshelves of course, but filled with romance novels and books on the intimate arts. Exquisitely made drapery hanging from the ceilings, thick rugs and every kind of luxury imaginable. This would be a place to be who you were, with no worries about anything but bonding and pampering.

Harry was instantly about-faced and told that he was no longer allowed in 'their' wing of the Black Mansion. Harry just chuckled at that. He had a pretty good idea what Fleur intended to do with the space, which was why he'd already had Daphne put funds aside for it. Not that he needed to worry about money, but Percy, being the stickler he was, and wanting to know what happened to every cent, or credit, would be asking questions otherwise.

Harry and the girls had some alone time, for the first time in what seemed like weeks, with all of them being present, so they had something to eat in the dining room, which was a bit large for Harry's taste, who preferred the comfort of the den, but he wanted the girls spoiled, so Dobby and the other house elves (they'd freed some more, who had decided the Great Harry Black was the perfect person to work for) had served them a splendid three-course meal, while they chatted about the latest happenings in all of their lives.

Susan was bouncing with excitement. Her last trials were coming up, before she'd be considered trained enough to be on the security force. She'd still have a year-long rooky period, where she'd be assigned a senior partner who could show her the ropes. Harry hoped it was someone good, but refused to request anything, since he knew the wolves could be trusted to take care of the Cub's mate.

Luna had a bit of sadness about her. She'd been working on the news channel for more than a year at the time, but she had decided to start on other projects. There were magical movies being produced now and she wanted to write a screenplay or two for beloved magical children's stories, like the ones from Beedle the Bard. Disney movies had been some of their first entertainment of the kind and she wanted to try her hand at something similar.

Hermione and Padma were very happy where they were. At their current positions and with what they'd learned already, they had access to nearly any of the magical breakthroughs coming from the other research departments. Their success with their storage devices and the functions on the Plutus had given them some ideas for expediting the functions and they were currently working on using the StellarNet to have the Plutus and other, similar ships, capable of swapping out their storage devices to have access to a large store of empty ones, with the used ones going into a separate storage facility. Hermione was working on that, mostly, while Padma was trying to figure out a way to create an illusionary display of what was stored.

Parvati was doing brilliantly at her fashion company. There was a bit of a grumble about people stealing her ideas, but she had come back strong and used some fresh ideas that she had gotten with some feedback from their many friends. Fashionable, but functional, was her current trend. Her brand name, 'Patil Couture', was becoming large and she had been requested to present her clothes in many fashion shows at this point. Her aloof nature in always sending representatives was just helping her image. The fact that her designs could fit all sizes was getting her even more recognition.

Fleur had found her calling, strangely in construction. She was no architect, but her attention to detail and her unique embellishments had gotten the attention of quite a few people. She was able to use her wandless magic to help in the building processes, while making impossible designs possible. Spiralling towers of concrete, animated to move in the wind, like trees, all without making a sound or adding unnecessary stress to the structure, which would light up at night with awe-inspiring designs that, while never bright and flashy, still drew the eye and could entrance, much like a Veela with just a hint of allure.

Pansy could run the hospital, but because they were so efficient, she spent most of her time on her private research, which she refused to tell anyone about. Harry suspected it had something to do with Neville's parents, since the project started up shortly after their arrival. She'd already perfected a process by which magical prosthetic limbs could, somehow, work for non-magical people. That included eyes. It was one of her breakthroughs that allowed Harry to share x-ray vision with mundane people, even if it was a temporary thing.

Daphne seemed fine with just running Harry's day and tempting him as often as she could. She wasn't just a secretary, of course. She functioned like a PA, but nobody said it aloud, because Dobby still claimed that title. Daphne was also Cooper's backup, when Harry was off on whatever mission he had taken on most recently. She reported with glee to the other girls that she hadn't seen Harry as happy and active as he was when he was with the team, so they all contented themselves with the knowledge that he was doing something he was passionate about, even if it wasn't what he had set out to do. Once he'd saved the universe, he'd have something to fall back on. He wouldn't be young forever, after all.

Harry didn't need to report on his days, since the girls all knew what he was up to. They did ask questions, though and reminded him of things he may have overlooked and he listened to them and took their advice on things like useful tools the teams could use, like short-range comm devices, small enough to fit in the ear. It would be invaluable, since Harry's idea of short range was the distance of an entire planet, as long as it had an atmosphere and there wasn't some form of energy shielding.

By the time dessert was served, they'd covered their recent activity and the subject of moving in came up. Harry handled that by saying that they should have a larger gathering and maybe show the parents their individual rooms first, even if they ended up never using them. He doubled they wouldn't, though. Apparently there were times when a girl needed some alone time, and those times tended to be at the same time for all his girls. There were also other occasions, like when one of the girls wanted his undivided attention.

That was not the case that evening, though, and at around three in the morning, Harry finally fell asleep on his giant bed, surrounded by all his naked and sated girls. As always, Fleur had been last and she'd refused to get off of him, falling asleep with the two of them still connected.

OOO

It was the very next mission with the SG-1 team that something unexpected happened, two days before Luna's seventeenth birthday. They'd scouted the area with the Stargate and found that there was a single man running through the woods in what looked to be a dead panic. Porting down to ask the man what was going on, they were taken captive in what looked like a dark room with only the light that had taken them still shining on them. There was no feeling of movement and Harry sent his magic to find out what was happening. It seemed they were in some sort of hologram, but constructed out of what he could only classify as solid light. Very interesting.

"You are prisoners." a female voice said.

The team started trying to speak, but a male voice interrupted. "You trespass on sacred grounds."

Again, they tried to explain themselves, but the female voice was back. "For the crimes of trespassing on the ancient grounds."

"Of aiding a murderer."

"Of carrying weapons on ancient grounds."

"You will be sent through the Stargate."

"To the prison Hadante."

"For the remainder of your lives."

"Okay, that's enough." Harry said, surging his magic and dispelling the hologram.

It was instantly back though.

"For attempting to evade justice-"

"If you do anything to me or my team against our will, you will have started something you can't finish." Harry threatened. "My people are watching and they will react badly to this."

"For threatening us for carrying out our justice." the voice just added, before the light went out.

The next moment, they were thrown through the Stargate and exited into some sort of underground location. Harry could see roots coming through the ceiling and the man that had been with them ran off. "You there Cooper?" Harry asked. He felt a tap on his shoulder. "Good." Harry said. "Keep an eye. I'll need a moment." he said, as he looked for anything on his person. All their equipment was missing.

When the Stargate closed, Jack said, "They've taken all our stuff. I really hope you've got something for us, Harry."

"There's no DHD." Sam said.

"And we've got company." Daniel said, as people started appearing, all whistling. "What are they doing?"

"Pocket." Cooper whispered, and Harry felt something land in his pocket.

"Hah!" Harry exclaimed, taking out the device that looked like a thicker version of the Comm. "They didn't know you were there and couldn't take your stuff!"

"Cooper's good?" Jack asked.

"Seems like it." Harry said. "Hand Jack the sword." he suggested. Jack soon felt something land in his pocket.

Cooper didn't mind sharing a weapon. He had magic after all. He'd need to inform Harry later, that he had needed to apparate to them and follow them through the Stargate, since they hadn't captured him. He'd already put his own Comm in Jackson's pocket, to check out and he was busy doing that already.

"Please tell me-" Jack started as he took the item out. "Oh, hell yeah!" he exclaimed, as the lightsaber lit up.

Harry reached over and switched it to the deadly setting, showing Jack how it was done. "Watch out." he warned, as he continued fiddling with the device in his hands.

"Comm's dead." Daniel said.

"That happens when there's no Eudaemon in orbit." Harry said. "Any chance anyone saw the gate address for where we are?" he asked.

"Just darkness." Sam said, as the people started approaching, but Jack stepped in front of them.

"This kills." he warned, waving the magical sword that seemed to be made of plasma, through a stalagmite, which cleanly slid from its base. "Come closer and I will defend my people."

"He carries a weapon into Hadante." a big man said. "Get it!" he commanded. It should be noted that he didn't approach, himself, as his men slowly closed in.

"A warning, if you please, Cooper." Jack asked.

The big man lifted into the air and was flung against a wall, from where he got up shakily.

The people didn't approach after that.

"What are you doing Harry?" Daniel asked, finally turning to him and looking in his hand. "Is that-?"

"A DHD, yes." Harry said. The device had already scanned the inner ring of the Stargate and the symbols appeared on the device in the order of the ring, starting from the topmost symbol. "Care to dial us back?" he asked holding the device out to Daniel.

"When did you make this?" Carter asked.

"About six months ago." Harry said. "After you all got stuck at the repository, I prioritised an interface for the Stargate."

"And you didn't tell us?!" Jack accused. He wasn't all that serious about it. He was just relieved that they wouldn't be spending any time in what seemed to be a prison, ruled by the prisoners.

"Where would be the fun in that?" Harry asked. Daniel had already pressed the coordinates for the Stargate on Earth, but nothing happened. "The other teams have these as well, but it's supposed to be a surprise, so don't go telling."

"The Stargate doesn't have power." Sam said. "Where are we going to find power here?"

"There's lights, kind of." Jack pointed out.

"Perhaps, I could be of assistance?" an elderly lady asked, as she walked up to them confidently, some of the people coming out of hiding when she did so.

"No need." Harry said, as he pressed another command on the handheld DHD. Four beams connected from it to the Stargate.

"Are you capable?" the woman asked. Getting no response from the young man who seemed to be in charge, she decided to change tactic. "Could I come with you?" she asked.

"Sorry, but no." Jack said.

"This is a prison. We don't know what you did. We'll send someone back, as soon as I strangle the information out of the people who sent us here." Harry said, as he handed the device to Daniel. "Dial the planet we were on, when the bar is full." he instructed, pointing at the device. It was reading the charge on the Stargate. "I'm not letting this one go. Abduction is against our laws. I've got half a mind to throw them into their own 'inescapable' prison."

"How is this thing powering the Stargate?" Sam asked, eyes wide.

"Trade secret." Harry said. "Each of these devices only has enough charge to dial three times. They won't get the chance to throw us back in prison, though."

"Are you sure?" Daniel asked, as he watched the device slowly charge the Stargate. The laser-points which seemed to be somehow charging the Stargate were locked in place and the little movement that had happened had not affected their position at all.

"I'm not your boss, Daniel, but do you think we should let this go?" Harry asked. "Their Stargate opens up in their 'ancient grounds'. They've likely been throwing innocents in prison, simply for coming to their world."

Daniel's eyes got a hard cast. "Good point." he said.

"Please!" one of the men asked. "Take us with you!" he begged.

"Like I said, someone will come around, so just have a little patience." Harry said, as he started putting up a temporary ward, inscribing the runes required from a temporary transfiguration.

One of the idiots decided to rush on them again, but Harry lifted his hand and clutched it in the air. The man lifted up in the air, clutching at his neck, and the others fell back in shock. "I will not ask politely again. I'm not in the mood." Then he tossed the man back.

The old woman had an angry look for a moment, but she smoothed her features, when she saw Harry noticing. He quickly finished his runes and activated the shield. Nobody should be able to approach them now. "We're safe." he said. "Jack, you can put away the lightsaber."

"Can't I just-" Jack started.

"Cut a few of these people down, for fun?" Harry asked sarcastically. "Maybe use it on a few walls and bring the cave down on top of us?"

Jack sighed, but disabled the lightsaber and it soon disappeared again, as Cooper took it back. "I will find the opportunity to use one of those someday." he promised.

"We'll see." Harry said.

"Almost charged." Daniel reported. It was only a few more seconds, before the light was full and the Stargate's lights started shining. Daniel typed in the address and the Stargate activated again.

They didn't wait. They were all through as soon as it was stable. Harry didn't wait long to take them back to the Prometheus, either.

"Where the hell were you?!" Bill asked.

"The natives threw us in prison." Harry said. "We'll be having a word with them presently." he said as he went to take his seat.

"I've seen that look before." Bill said. "You're about to do something dramatic."

"They took our stuff." Jack said, as he went to take the gunner's position. "Unlock the weapons for me?" he asked Harry.

"Not all of our stuff." Cooper said as he became visible and took his own seat. He'd already retrieved his Comm and the Portable DHD from Daniel. It was a good thing that both he and Harry had one of those.

"You're unlocked, but don't shoot until we're in actual trouble." Harry said. He started flying over the planet until he found an island with tall buildings and hovering vehicles. It seemed too clean. Harry didn't like the place already. "This should work." he said as he found a large enough park.

He focussed his power into a tractor beam and pointed it to the park, before starting to construct an illusion and feeding it his power to give it a physical presence.

To the people of the city, it seemed like a giant had materialised. A giant with Daniels's massive build and face. They had some sort of solid holographic technology, though, so this should be something they could achieve. "Citizens under the Taldor!" Daniels's voice boomed from the construct. "You have attacked our people! Imprisoned them without just cause! Stolen our technology! For these crimes I will pass judgement!" it roared as he bent down and punched the ground.

There was a visible shockwave as the massive impact rocked the ground and some of the nearby citizens fell over and, when Bill zoomed in on them, it was to show fear. Apparently they either hadn't or couldn't do this.

The illusion was suddenly encompassed in darkness, but the voice continued. Harry couldn't tell what was going on inside, but he didn't need to as he brought the fist down again and there was another tremor. "For trying to evade my justice, you will pay!" the voice roared again, as the darkness vanished again.

Harry turned to Cooper. "Take a Cacodaemon down. I want to hear what they are trying to say the next time they try and communicate."

"Done." Cooper said as he activated the system built into his seat and the Cacodaemon was almost instantly there.

The giant's fist came down again and the crater grew as a crack formed in a large nearby building.

"Harry!" Sam exclaimed.

"I can fix it." Harry said. "We need to make our point."

The darkness formed again and Harry had the giant stand up and focussed a bit of his power to track the source, while the Cacodaemon relayed the words and what it saw.

"You've broken our laws." the male voice said. "When we find you, you will be sent to prison with your people."

The Giant responded. "The laws of your planet do not apply to our people! We follow the laws of the Galaxy!" The giant held his hand out and a similarly giant device formed in it. "Do you know what would happen to this city if it was hit by a laser of this size and power?" it asked as it mounted it on its shoulder. The device started to hum as energy started to build up in it, a visible bar filling up with liquid light.

"It is a construct!?" the female voice exclaimed\pleaded.

"A construct of light!" the giant roared. "Do you think I'm incapable of doing this?!" Lasers were light, after all, and Harry did seem to have the power.

In the meanwhile, he'd followed the energy in the darkness to its source. The energy was coming out of the very conveniently placed nearby building. The one that had cracked. That meant they were either using it as a relay, or he was very lucky. He doubted he was that lucky, though.

"No! Stop!" the male voice pleaded. "Please! We'll set this right!"

The giant stopped, the bar still building, showing that it was almost completely charged.

"What do you want?" the female voice asked.

"We demand our equipment, which you stole, the location of the prison, and for the crimes against our people; the schematics for your hardened light technology." The giant said in a much more tolerable volume.

"You cannot expect us to hand you our technology!" the male exclaimed.

"You've had time to study our technology." the giant said, as he pointed the charged device skyward, and released the payload. The beam of energy left the giant laser canon and flew past Prometheus in a thick visible cone of light. Then the canon vanished and the construct started to shrink. "You will do this, or we will flatten your city, or inform the Goa'uld where to find you. We don't care what happens to your heartless race." the now normal-sized Daniels said. "You will deliver on our demands in one hour on the altar built in your shame in this place, or your civilization will become as dust on the wind." he finished before vanishing.

"Nice!" Jack exclaimed.

"Told you." Bill said. "Dramatic."

"You wouldn't really let the Goa'uld know about them, would you?" Sam asked. Harry didn't answer, but he looked at her in disgust for a moment.

"You know Harry better than that." Bill reprimanded.

"That was out of line." Jack said.

Cooper didn't react one way or another, but he refused to look at the woman.

"I believe that was an insult." Teal'c said, with a raised eyebrow.

Daniel, who had been about to ask the same thing, wisely shut his trap.

Sam knew she had made a mistake. She'd make it up to him later. For now she watched as Harry used his power to summon forth sand from a nearby beach, to create a large glass statue, depicting Daniels with his fist in the centre of the crater. It was just as large as the illusion had been. Next to it an altar was formed and on it stood the words, 'We judge others, as we wish to be judged.' He added a bit of magic that would protect the statue and altar, and added a few runes to make it indestructible, before finishing it off with a bit of magic that would play a specific message when the statue or altar was touched. It would say, in Daniels's voice, what was written on the altar, since they likely couldn't read English.

That was about all Harry could do, before he sat back, panting.

"That was a lot of power." Bill pointed out.

"The Prometheus will recharge me." Harry said. Hermione's suggestion was paying off already, and he'd been able to use much of what it was generating to make what he had done, possible. Powering the laser canon, which had actually built up the energy in a solid illusionary mirrored chamber, was done by channelling energy directly from the MGA and powering a Lumos on the inside of the cannon. Changing a part of the cannon to release the energy through a distortion field, and a focussing, one was simple science and had ended up making a nice impression, since the people of this city would likely have been able to pick up on the power build-up.

Ten minutes after Harry was done, a young man walked out of the building, leading a floating device with all of their equipment and a large cylindrical device which looked like it could be a storage device of some kind. Harry hadn't specified how the schematics would need to be given to him, so he supposed it could come in any form.

The man directed the floating device onto the altar and jumped at the voice, as the recording played, before the Cacodaemon transported the floating trolley and everything on it onto Prometheus. When that was done, Harry made one more stop, to fetch both their DHD and their Stargate. These people had been abusing it, so they could live without. Perhaps, in a few years, they could visit again and see if things were better. Until then, they would need to learn and change. Harry would need to ensure that they contacted the prison soon, to ensure that they weren't meant to feed the prisoners or something.

Finally, Harry took them back to Harmony. He did not greet Sam, but he shoved the cylindrical device in her arms, before apparating away.

"You screwed the pooch there, Carter." Jack said.

"He's just giving us this?" Sam asked, knowing what the device meant.

"He knows we're looking for technology." Daniel pointed out. He felt bad for her, but he'd not be admitting he'd been thinking something similar.

"He likely asked for it, for the SGC. After all, he doesn't seem to need it." Teal'c added, before he turned to a transport room. He wanted to go see his family. His son had joined a local sword fighting club, which he had not yet gone to see himself. Perhaps today he could practice with Rya'c and see how he was doing with his training. He had plans to re-join his family soon, but hadn't yet made an official request with the SGC, Harry Black or his family. In the meanwhile, he tended to visit on weekends, since his wife and son were mostly busy at work and school, respectively.

Drey'auc, Teal'c's wife, was reasonably accustomed to life on Harmony and had started working in construction. Labour was something she was familiar with and could understand, so she was doing that to be of use, until she knew enough, to look for something that suited her better. Fleur had actually allowed her to join her own team, stating that she could always use a strong woman to show the men how it was done.

Sam had been considering a visit with Narim, the man from Tollana, who she had given a cat and who now had his own Transport Tunnel to visit Harmony. He needed to leave all his technology behind before the wolves would allow him to transport through, but he seemed content with that, as long as he got to see Sam.

They had met a few times, and while there was definitely a spark between them, every time something came up which reminded her that he saw her as a primitive, it drove a wedge between them. They were still good friends, though, and they enjoyed spending time speculating on how much of what was seen on Harmony was achieved. Unfortunately, neither Sam nor Narim were allowed to discuss magic, even with each other, so they had to suffice with speculating on how they'd achieve feats like flexible concrete, self-mowing lawns or flying carpets.

Having realised her mistake, however, didn't mean that Sam was ready to apologise. While nobody else had asked the question, she had needed to, since the General would definitely ask about it in the debriefing. Wouldn't he?

It turned out he did ask, but he didn't ask if they'd asked. He asked if they believed he was serious, because it seemed out of character for the young man. It was at that moment that Sam finally realised the truth of the matter. It wasn't that she was questioning his words. She was questioning his character. If someone had asked her if she would endorse human experimentation or the Nazi regime, especially if it was someone who knew her, she might have a similar reaction. It didn't help that Teal'c pointed out that she'd done so and the General had given her a hard look and told her to fix it.

OOO

So it was that Sam called Daphne the next morning, to make an appointment to see Harry.

"What do you want?" Daphne asked coldly.

"Good morning, Miss Greengrass." Sam said. "I was wondering if Harry was available for a meeting sometime today?" she asked.

"No." Daphne said. "Mister Black is unavailable today, since he's working on a project."

Sam sighed. Of course Daphne knew. She saw everything and reported anything of note to Harry's other girls. "Please, Daphne?" she tried. "I want to apologise."

There was silence on the other side, before Daphne replied. "We'll have to squeeze you in. Harry's got a full day planned tomorrow with Luna's seventeenth." she said. "Be here in an hour. I'll meet you by his lab." Then she hung up.

Sam quickly got dressed in her formal military uniform and made it to Harry's lab with time to spare. She waited outside for the proper time, before going to knock on the door. Before she could reach the door, a voice spoke from behind her.

"Harry isn't in his lab." Daphne said.

"Good morning." Sam tried for friendly, but all she got was a cold gaze.

"This way." Daphne said, as she turned and led Sam back to the Transport Room. They got in and Daphne took out a metallic disc, holding it next to the buttons, where you chose your location. The door closed and opened and Sam did a double-take, as Daphne led her through what seemed to be the SGC, except, there was nobody there.

"Where are we?" Sam asked.

"Backup site." Daphne said, as she led them through the corridors to the control room, where Harry was working with Doctor Pike, on installing something that looked very similar to some of the equipment she knew was in the SGC control room. Looking through the window, she noticed there was even a replica of the Stargate, with the ramp and everything looking exactly like they did at the SGC.

"What is this?" she asked.

"Backup site." Harry said, as he turned around. "Captain Carter." he greeted, before going back to work installing the hardware.

"I still don't see why we're not using better equipment." Doctor Pike said. "We can make it look like the stuff they have, after all."

"That's not the point." Harry said. "If this place is infiltrated, we want people to think they are in the real SGC."

"Who could get past your wards?" Pike challenged.

"It would be the height of hubris to expect ourselves to be the only people capable of bypassing those." Harry said. "For all we know assailants that come through might believe that they are the ones coming to help us, in which case the wards would allow them through. I'm not taking chances."

"Your paranoia has stepped up a notch." Pike said, even as she sighed and started working on another control panel. "I blame Moody. Why did you even make him the Police Chief?"

"Because Amelia is our Chief Justice." Harry said.

"You're making a decoy?" Sam asked.

"No, that is a real Stargate." Harry said, as he continued working. "We even modified the symbols to be the same as yours and ensured everything works as it should."

"We'll be automating a system, which disables your Stargate and directs the wormhole here." Pike said. "You know how these systems work, Captain Carter. Get your hands dirty."

Doctor Pike and Captain Carter were both engineers and they got along famously normally, when they had a chance, but there was something in her tone, which told Sam that Pike wasn't leaving the room to make this easy for her. Daphne standing off to the side and avoiding her gaze, said much the same thing.

Sam sighed again. She'd been doing that a lot lately. "Listen, Harry-" she started.

"Apology accepted." Harry interrupted. "Now get in here and help."

Sam was completely caught off guard at that. She was ready to make a long speech.

"Harry doesn't like dragging things out." Daphne said, a little humour in her voice, for the first time. "He gets it from his dogfather."

"Godfather?" Sam asked.

"Yes." Harry said. "He can turn into a dog at will." he explained.

"Oh." Sam said. "That's interesting."

"Are you going to help or just look at us working?" Pike asked.

"Let her get out of her uniform first." Daphne suggested.

"Not in here, please." Pike said. "I don't need to be in the same room as another naked woman today."

"You could have knocked." Daphne said, primly. "His office door was closed."

"Yeah, yeah." Pike said. "I said I was sorry. But you two need to get a room when you start getting frisky."

"Hey!" Harry objected. "It's my lab. It's literally a room!"

"Well, lock the door or something!" Pike said.

"What's happening?" Sam asked, having developed a slight blush.

"Pike decided that she just had to walk in this morning, while I was doing my secretarial best to seduce my boss." Daphne said.

"That wasn't seduction, Daphne!" Pike said again. "That was you standing there naked!"

"I was asking Harry to look at a bruise, and I was still wearing my underwear." Daphne said.

"The bruise was on your elbow!" Pike exclaimed again.

"Well, I'm not a healer." Daphne defended herself. "Who's to say he didn't need to see more?"

Pike just shook her head and looked at Sam. "This happens all the time. Miss secretary, here, thinks that office flirtation is part of her job."

"She is my fiancée." Harry pointed out.

"I thought she was your betrothed?" Sam asked. They meant the same thing, but Sam had noted that they used 'betrothed', specifically.

"Come, let's get you into some overalls. You'll be getting dirty." Daphne said, as she led the woman from the room. "We've been engaged since my seventeenth birthday a while back. Luna's the last of us to get a diamond. That happens tomorrow. We called it betrothal, while it was still just an agreement between our parents. When Harry proposes to Luna, we'll call her engaged, like the rest of us."

"Isn't she turning seventeen?" Sam asked.

"Magicals reach their majority at seventeen." Daphne said. "Not that we've really been sticking to the limitations of the law, if you know what I mean." she added, while winking.

Sam didn't respond to that, but entered the locker room and found that her locker had some clothes in her size and even a personal item or two. "Why is this here?" she asked.

"Copies." Daphne said. "Don't worry, I did the work on the female section."

"Because you want to sell this place as the real base." Sam said in realization, as she started getting dressed.

"We intend to have all incoming portals come here at some point." Daphne said. "There will still be wards, but more security checks before people can go back to base."

Sam was impressed. If they had this capability before, there'd be much less stress and they could likely start receiving more visitors. Sometimes they didn't know if the thumps they heard on the other side of the Stargate iris was friendly or not. "When do you intend to inform the General?" she asked. Daphne was silent, so she turned to her and noticed she was staring at her ass. "Hey!"

Daphne shook herself. "Sorry. You've got a fantastic body, though. How do you keep in shape?"

Sam quickly finished getting dressed, before saying, "I joined the military. Physical conditioning was a requirement. I just kept in shape normally."

"So the intensity of the training did that, and you just kept it up?" Daphne asked, finally coming back to herself.

"Yes." Sam said. "I don't know that I'm comfortable talking about this."

"Oh, sorry Captain Carter." Daphne apologised. "Harry's girls tend to spend a lot of time together in various states of dress. We don't usually mind, with a few exceptions."

"Well I'm not one of them." Sam pointed out.

"Of course." Daphne allowed, as she turned to exit the room. "Harry's been training for years. You could grate cheese on his abs. Not to mention that ass."

"I don't know that I'm comfortable with talking about that either." Sam insisted. Harry was a good-looking young man, but he was just that; a young man. He was also a teammate and she kept things professional.

"I'm the one talking though." Daphne said with a grin. "And show me a girl that doesn't like bragging about her man and I'll show you an unhappy girl."

Sam just let that go and was glad when Daphne dropped the subject. "So, this backup site. Is it on Mars?"

"No." Daphne said. She didn't elaborate.

"Somewhere else in the solar system?" Sam tried, thinking that they could more easily redirect the Stargate that way, but Daphne was keeping her silence. "Fine." she finally said.

They were soon back at the control room and Sam started helping them assemble all the equipment they had there. It took a few hours, before her Comm rang.

"General Hammond?" Sam asked.

"Is there a reason that you're still off-world?" he asked. He'd tried contacting her normally and finally he called her Comm, realising that she was still not in the base. He was aware that she had an appointment to go apologise to Harry, but she was still gone a few hours later.

"I'm helping Mister Black with a Project, sir." Sam said, looking at her watch. "Sorry, sir, I didn't notice the time."

"Are you on Harmony?" the General asked.

"Sir, to be frank, I have no idea where I am, but I'm helping Mister Black setup what I'm told is a secret contingency." Sam reported.

"Contingency for what?" he asked.

Sam looked at Harry. "Can I tell him?" she asked.

"Tell him it's a security measure for the SGC." Harry said, from where he was lying underneath the control table, plugging in some of the last wires.

"Sir, Mister Black is taking a precaution that will add security to future Stargate missions." she said. "I'm told it's meant to be a failsafe."

General Hammond considered this, before deciding he could always use more security. "Very well. Consider yourself assigned to him until your next off-world mission." he decided.

"Yes, sir." Sam said.

"Tell him that we're grateful for everything he's doing." General Hammond said. "I'm sure that we'll appreciate whatever you're helping him with and that it will only save more lives."

"Will do, sir." Sam agreed. "And, you're right sir. It will." General Hammond said goodbye and disconnected. "I suspect I'll be having to explain everything you're putting in place." she sighed.

���Sorry to keep you from your own work." Harry said.

"I'm not." Pike said. "With her here, we're getting this done more quickly. I've got my own shit to get back to."

"Sam, if you want to go, don't stay on our account." Harry said. "I know you've got something more interesting to study." he said, referring to the hologram technology.

"Actually, General Hammond put me under you until the next mission." Sam said. Daphne giggled at that. "I meant, at your disposal." she added quickly.

"Cool." Harry said. "You'll be helping Sam here with the installation tomorrow, while I'm busy with other things."

"The Sams, engineering team deluxe." Daphne said. "I'll get her an access pass." she said, as she turned to leave.

"Oh, and Daphne." Harry said, stalling her. "Please can you stop making Sam uncomfortable on purpose? She came here to apologise."

"She's not earned it yet." Daphne said unrepentantly, as she left.

"Sorry about that." Harry said. "The girls are trying to give me space, but they do get a little defensive."

"She did that on purpose?" Sam asked.

"Well, she also did it because she knew I had monitoring charms on her to make sure she didn't go too far." Harry admitted.

"So, you were listening in the locker room…?" Sam asked.

"Yes." Harry nodded. He was happy that she hadn't made the mistake of suggesting that he had been watching. Maybe she had learned her lesson?

They broke for lunch and Dobby served up sandwiches, with the juiciest cuts of turkey Sam had ever tasted, with some sort of home-made mayonnaise that had a slight bite to it and a glass of butterbeer, which was quickly becoming one of her favourite beverages. As they ate, Harry explained what he had planned and what needed to be completed, before they implemented the new system. Sam had to admit, it sounded perfect. They could use their Stargate without fear of anything coming back to Earth without their say so. Pathogens, enemies, bombs. They'd be protected from all of it.

When they were done for the day, Daphne handed Sam a metallic tag, which was connected to the Transport Rooms. Apparently, it worked on any Transport Room, as long as it was on Earth or in Harmony, and would bring her here. Transport rooms were not usually used this way, unless it was for transport to and from the same planet. Sam didn't know what to think about that, but suspected that they had figured something out.

It wasn't really all that simple. Harry had set the facility up on Earth… initially. The results of testing with the quantum Mirror, however, had finally yielded usable results and he'd moved the new facility into a new dimension, sustained entirely by magic. What the Quantum mirror did, was warp time and space, which was likely why it needed a quantum singularity to function, allowing a person to see into alternate timelines.

That wasn't something they intended to emulate, though. The ability to breach into other dimensions, however, was very interesting. They'd realised that since light was able to escape the mirror, that it could be used as their transport mechanism. There was even a magical method of creating small pocket dimensions, which was how the magic trunks with multiple compartments worked.

Creating one large enough for an entire facility, though, was a bit more power intensive. For that reason, an entire football field's worth of magic gathering solar panels had been needed, but keeping it suspended in that dimension was the best way to protect from other-dimensional threats. Anything coming to them through the Stargate and jumping dimension to attack them, would still be stuck in a different one.

Should that dimension be compromised, Harry could simply collapse it and start it again. That's also why Pike was involved. She had used the scientific knowledge gained from all their branches and some of Harry's discoveries from over the years to build a new device, with his help of course. This one used part of their data storage capabilities with a large blue diamond at its heart, and part of the Index system's buffering function to allow a certain form of memory, or recall.

Not only was the dimension suspended outside of their normal space, it was also capable of resetting in time, erasing anything that wasn't there at the time that they set the buffered return state. It was basically a backup and restore function. Leave it to one of the world's smartest engineers with magical knowledge to create a separate dimension that she could backup like a computer hard drive, so that it could be restored.

Harry shuddered at the thought of what the engineer would come up with next. She was starting to give off a mad scientist vibe. A part of him was worried, while another part of him envied her. She didn't have as many distractions as him and could focus all her energy on her own projects. Once she had her own pocket dimension, she'd be able to test some truly scary things from anywhere in the world and know for certain that she could simply start again, if whatever project she was on failed. Or restore it from a restore-point, not needing to lose any resources.

OOO

Luna's birthday was celebrated by the entire family. Music, dancing and partying in general. There was also a special notice on the Quibbler station that the creator of the station was coming of age, along with becoming officially engaged to the first founder of Harmony. Harry didn't notice that Luna's father was recording the event, when Harry bent a knee to her and asked her to join his family officially, but he'd be hearing about it over the coming weeks, when every person who saw him, that had access to a magical television, would congratulate him.

The after party was a private affair, where Harry gave Luna some personal attention, with nobody else in attendance. He'd scanned for and found four recording devices and Luna confessed to having put them there herself. Apparently, it was meant to record the event, for them to watch many years in the future. Harry had summarily banished the devices and added security, saying that he'd be able to show her the memory in perfect clarity in a Pensieve, and so would she. He wasn't planning on starting to branch out to the pornography industry, even if he knew some magical people were doing that already.

OOO

The backup site was not ready by the time they set out on the next mission to a barren world, which didn't even have an atmosphere anymore, but they had detected an energy reading, so they had suited up in the magical space-suits and set off to the planet on Prometheus. What they found was a strange orb device, which Harry scanned to be certain that it didn't pose a threat. Unfortunately that's exactly what it would have done, it seemed.

"I'm picking up on both biological life signs and something technological in this thing.�� Harry said. "Don't touch it." he added.

"It's alive?" Jack asked.

"It reads that way." Harry confirmed. "I'm also picking up on some funky elements in the construction of the orb. Stuff I've never sensed before."

"We'll need to study it further." Sam said. This was very exciting to her.

"Only if we can do it safely." Harry said, before he felt something new. "Whoa. It sucked up the magic I was using to scan it."

"Maybe we should step away?" Teal'c said, as he readied his staff.

"Good idea." Harry said. "I'm thinking we don't take this thing away, until we have a safe site ready." he said.

'Please.' Harry suddenly heard. 'We want to live.'

"Guys, this thing is talking to me." Harry said. "Anyone else hearing this?"

"I'm not hearing anything." Jack said.

"It's telepathic?" Sam asked.

'Your power has awakened us.' the voice said. It had a weird reverberating quality to it, like many voices speaking at once. 'We do not understand, but your power is allowing… communication."

"What do you want?" Harry asked it.

"Don't talk to it!" Jack insisted, backing the rest of the team away. If this thing can get in people's heads, it could pose a massive threat.

'To live and expand.' the voice said.

"I woke it up with my magic." Harry said. "I'm just seeing if I can help it survive, until we can come up with what we should be doing." He turned back to it. "Are you a threat to us?"

'We are threatened, but do not possess the required materials to threaten you.' it said.

"It's saying it's at our mercy." Harry said.

'Your power is giving us understanding.' it said. 'As you understand it, we need breathable air and energy to survive.'

"So, your planet is dead and you would like us to set you up with everything it lacks?" Harry asked.

"Why are you even listening to it?" Jack asked. "If it could sleep before, tell it to sleep again."

"He's got a point." Harry said. "Can you hibernate again?" he asked.

'We do not possess enough power.' it said.

"If I give you more energy, could you safely hibernate?" Harry asked. It didn't get a chance to respond, as Cooper tackled Harry away and apparated them a short distance.

"It was trying to do something." Cooper explained, as he helped Harry up. "It felt like it was reaching for you."

Harry was instantly on the defensive. He couldn't set up a ward, if it could simply consume the energy. "There's only two ways to deal with this." Harry said. "We either use Fiendfyre, or we leave it to die."

"Leave it." Cooper suggested. "It's obviously malicious."

Harry sent out a very small probe of energy, and felt a reaction close to them. "It's reaching again. It's the same thing as I felt in the orb. It's like the nanites, but somehow organic." he said as he backed them away. "Let's get some distance, before taking the portkey." he suggested, and they started jogging out of there.

Having an idea, Cooper whipped out his wand and cast multiple concussive blasts on the ground behind them sending up dust clouds.

"What are you doing?" Jack asked.

"If it could feed on the matter of its own planet, it would not have gone into hibernation, right?" he asked.

Harry was impressed at the thought and nodded at the man. "If there were nanites involved, that should stop them or slow them down, at least." he said. "We'll have to decontaminate after we've gotten some distance."

"Should I be blasting that building, Harry?" Bills voice came in over the magical earbud communicator in the team's ears.

"No!" Sam said urgently. "If that thing can use magic to do things, it could possibly feed off directed magical lasers!"

"What about directed magical concussive force?" Harry asked.

"I don't know." Sam said. "Maybe once we're on the Prometheus."

"Bill, get Pansy on the Prometheus, so that we can be sure there's nothing on us." Harry instructed, once they stopped, having gotten quite some distance. He turned to Sam. "This thing said it needed energy and air. We likely got too close and it was feeding off the air suspended around out suits."

"We'll need to smother anything that could have gotten on us, then." Sam said, in understanding. "The orb likely worked as a way to protect whatever is in it. Once there was an energy-rich oxygen-capable atmosphere close-by, it tried to feed on it. If that's true, we should be able to starve it."

"But we'll need to follow protocol." Harry said. "Bill. Activate suspended stasis. Guys, hold your breath."

"Yes, Harry." Bill said, as he activated the system to portkey them away, but directly into a storage disk. Harry hated this. It meant he was completely helpless and was unaware for the entire time.

OOO

Harry's next moment was filled with some sort of gas being sprayed over him and he manually disabled all the suits protective features. It looked like a fire-extinguisher was being used on them and they seemed to be in a quarantine lab at the SGC. The magic he felt around them, however, told him they were at the backup site. After a few moments the gas stopped and they were pelted by a hose of foul-smelling liquid. It was likely water with a potion in it.

"What's happening?!" Jack exclaimed, the moment the liquid stopped. His eyes were burning.

"Decontamination." Harry got out. "Mundane and Magical."

It didn't take too much longer before they were able to look around them. The liquid burned, but didn't blind.

"You just had to go and mess with alien technology." Doctor Pike said. It seemed she had been directing the hose from outside the chamber with a joystick. "Decontamination is complete. Please wait for confirmation." she added, as Pansy started scanning them over.

"All clear." she reported. "I'm not picking up that anything was on you."

"Then why the treatment?" Daniel complained.

"We couldn't give it time." Sam said. If only one nanite made it into their systems it could have been the end for them. "How did you get this set up so fast?" she asked.

"It's been a couple of hours, Captain Carter." Bill said, from next to Pansy. "We needed to co-ordinate and discuss options with the medical and scientific staff. Pansy insisted on a long range scan of the orb as well, to know what to look for."

"How many hours?" Harry asked. For them it had felt like they had been transported the normal way and instantly arrived, which was how it was supposed to work.

"Four." Bill said. "And a bit."

"Makes sense." Harry allowed.

"How have we been gone for four hours?!" Jack asked incredulously.

"Stasis." Sam said in realisation. "This is what you do with the motherships that Plutus takes?"

"Exactly." Harry said. "Here one moment, stored for however long we need, with no indication of the passage of time."

"How long can things be stored this way?" Teal'c asked.

"Indefinitely." Harry said. "That's why I don't like it. Someone could have potentially stolen us and we wouldn't know."

"You have that little faith in me?" Bill asked, smirking at them.

"Could we go take a shower and get dressed?" Sam asked. Her uniform stank and she wanted whatever was on her washed off, as it still burned.

The door to the quarantine lab opened and Harry led them out after taking off his shoes. Doctor Pike had gotten that potion into everything. Fortunately taking the Transport Room back to the labs was going to clean them.

"Where is everyone?" Daniel asked, looking around the seemingly abandoned hallways.

"Was the threat that severe?" Teal'c asked, also not understanding.

"This isn't the SGC." Harry said. "It's something I've been working on. It was a good idea to bring us here. If it turned out we couldn't be saved, we could be contained until we found a solution, or we could be destroyed."

"You know we wouldn't do that." Pansy said as she joined them.

"If we were a threat, I'd suggest that you did, in fact, do that." Harry said.

"What are you all talking about?" Jack demanded.

"It's the function of this base Colonel O'Neill." Doctor Pike said. "It's both a decoy and a safe landing location, completely inside our control."

"Keep that to yourselves for now." Harry said. "We've not set everything up yet."

They soon appeared in the labs on Harmony, but Harry transported them to the Prometheus immediately, so that they could change into their normal clothing, as everyone sighed a breath of relief, when the burning sensation vanished as they arrived.

"I'm liking these Transport Rooms a little better these days." Jack said, looking down at the clean and dry suit.

"I don't care that we're clean already, I need a bath." Sam said.

"You should go try the hot tub in the lido deck." Pansy suggested, as she fished a vial out of her lab coat. "Pour this in the water. It works like bath salts and does a few other useful things."

Sam wasn't going to complain, taking the vial and setting out to the Lido deck. She'd been wanting to try the huge Jacuzzi anyway. "Thanks." she called behind herself.

Harry smiled at his fiancée. "You're being nice to her." he noted.

"I realise she's your friend and teammate." Pansy said. "If she forgets her place again though, the next time I hand her a vial, she may wake up puking slugs for a few hours."

"She apologised." Harry said.

"No, she didn't. You were being clever and forgave her before she could." Pansy said.

"Well, we all know she was going to." Harry said. "She got dressed up and everything, like she was showing up for a court martial, or something."

"Stop being so insightful when it's working against you." Pansy said. "She needed to do it properly. You may have forgiven her, but she also needs to work through things and it won't help her in the long run."

"You've been upgrading your skills again." Harry said.

"It's difficult not to when you work with Aunty Poppy." Pansy said. "She knows so much about the mind these days that I suspect she could be a psychologist in the mundane world."

"Aunty Poppy is the best." Harry agreed. "She helped me a lot when I was a kid."

"I know." Pansy said, as they walked into his room. "And we're all very grateful to her. Especially Daphne and I. She was amazing after what almost happened first year."

"You still think about that?" Harry asked.

"Only in the sense that it was the event that got us the best boyfriend and fiancé in the world." Pansy said. "Something I could almost thank the stupid boy for. Almost. I'd rather thank you, though." Suddenly the door slammed shut and her wandless magic stripped her in less than a second. "I'm thinking of thanking you again right now, in fact."

OOO

Harry was putting some of the final touches on the backup site, when his Comm rang. He was surprised to see 'Thor of the Asgard' on his Comm's display.

"Supreme Commander Thor, good afternoon." Harry greeted as he answered, with a smile on his face.

"Hello Harry Black." Thor's soft voice said.

"Is there something I can do for you?" Harry asked.

"The Asgard High Council has finished their deliberation, and we have decided that we would like to extend a hand in friendship to you, in hopes that your unique perspective might be of aid to us." Thor said.

"Sure." Harry said. "How can I help?"

OOO

The SG-1 team, along with General Hammond and Harry's girls had gathered together on Prometheus, when he broke the news that he had been asked to meet with Thor, so that he could go help with an issue they were having in their own galaxy. For Hammond, it was the first time on the ship and he was looking around at the Lido deck, which seemed like a very comfortable room, with windows that looked out into space, one of which showed a view of Earth, from orbit.

"We're going where?" Pansy asked.

"Somewhere called the Ida Galaxy." Harry said. "The Asgard have requested my presence for my 'unique perspective' with a problem that they are having."

"And you want me to go with?" Pansy asked. "Is there any specific reason?"

"Well, they didn't ask for anyone to join, but I'm hoping they don't mind if I take you along." Harry said. "Supreme Commander Thor is going to be in orbit above Cimmeria and we'll be setting out from there."

"Do you know how long this trip is going to take?" Pansy asked.

"Nope." Harry said. "I'm thinking a couple of months. Thor was able to travel here relatively quickly and easily, so I don't think it will be too dangerous. Understanding the problem and coming up with a viable solution, however, may take a bit of time. The only reason I want you there, is because Thor showed a reaction when I mentioned our medical means, and you're our strongest healer."

"Hold on!" Jack said. "You're going to another Galaxy to help these aliens with an unspecified problem for an unknown amount of time?" he asked incredulously. "What if you can't help them?" he asked.

"I'm not really worried about achieving success, as much as I'm interested in showing a willingness to help." Harry said. "That's what allies do, right?"

���That's admirable." General Hammond said. If these Asgard were as advanced as he'd heard, they'd be a wonderful ally to have. "Do you believe you can trust them?" he asked.

"They've shown me no reason to mistrust them." Harry said.

"But you'll be gone for that duration?" Daniel asked. "Can you come back on your own?"

"I'm not sure if my system could make the trip, just yet, but I'm going to be asking them about some things that may help us achieve that." Harry said. "After all, if they can establish a connection to our galaxy from theirs, it's likely that I'll be able to build on that concept with my systems."

"What about the team?" Jack asked.

"It's not like you guys need me on every mission you take." Harry said. "I'll be sure to have Daniels assign someone to replace me for the duration. We can even put the backup site in action before we leave, so you'll have that." he promised.

"Backup site?�� General Hammond asked.

"I'll show you later." Harry promised.

"It's not like we have a choice in the matter." Sam said.

"That's why I called everyone together." Harry said. "I want all your input."

"Well, you're not going without us." Hermione said.

"I was actually planning on taking only Pansy." Harry said. "You all have your own things to do."

"Hermione and I can just move our research onto the Prometheus again." Padma pointed out.

"I'm not taking Prometheus." Harry said.

"Of course you are." Bill said. "You're not going to another galaxy without your equipment, your friends, or your co-pilot."

"I can't authorise that the team goes with you." General Hammond said. "Not for an unknown period of time."

"But we could likely help him." Sam said.

"We're not discussing you, Captain Carter." General Hammond said. "It is my understanding that the invitation was for Captain Black to go, for what he can do. If they wanted our input, they'd have been able to ask long ago."

"But-" Daniel started. They knew about Harry's official rank in the Wolf Brigade. Only General Hammond used it, and very rarely.

"General Hammond is right." Harry interrupted. "I would love your participation, but they specifically asked for me. That means that they'll want to see what I bring to the table." He turned to Sam. "Can you honestly tell me that you know enough about magic to contribute?"

Sam said nothing at that. Of course the Asgard could already do everything they could, especially if they had intergalactic capabilities.

"But you could likely use the input of people like yourself." General Hammond agreed. "I would suggest that you heed Mister Weasley's advice. Take the Prometheus if you can, with as many magicals as you can. An advanced race that doesn't know about magic, would likely benefit from a wide range of magical skills and knowledge."

"I like him." Luna said, smiling at the General, who smiled back at her. The girl reminded him of one of his grandchildren. She was always smiling. "We'll go with." she decided.

"I don't know if we can." Harry said.

"Then store us, and the Prometheus in storage and take us along that way." Daphne persisted. "You'll be needing a place to stay and will likely focus better in your own lab anyway."

"There's also no way that I'll be able to sleep peacefully without you around for months." Fleur said. "So don't make me pull rank."

"Pull rank?" General Hammond asked.

"Didn't you know, General?" Jack asked. "His girls rule his world."

"We're not that bad." Susan said. "We make polite suggestions and he wants to do what we say." She turned to Harry. "Now call the nice alien and ask him if you can bring the Prometheus." she suggested. It didn't sound like a suggestion.

Harry sighed. "Yes, dear." he agreed. He knew she was joking. They didn't really control him; they worried about him. He also didn't want to spend all that time without them. Hermione and Padma would be useful to have around as well. If the Asgard were able to help them figure out how to emulate their interstellar capabilities, they would be the best ones to implement it, if he and Padma were busy with other things.

He pulled out his Comm. He didn't know if Thor had done something similar to him and left a relay, or if they were in orbit around Cimmeria yet, but he suspected he'd get through, just now. "Video call Thor of the Asgard." he said.

The Comm rang a few times, before Thor's face appeared on the Comm. "Mister Black?" he asked. "I was unaware that the device had holographic capabilities." he said.

"Hi Thor." Harry said. "That device is connected to a vast collection of knowledge and has many capabilities, but it will only work when in connection to the current system. I doubt it will work when we get back to your world."

"Perhaps we can help you extend its reach?" Thor offered.

"That would be fantastic, thank you." Harry said. "I'm calling because I was wondering if I could bring my vessel, the Prometheus, and some of my people with us. I don't know if you have tethering capabilities on your Biliskner, or if it is possible, but it would help me to bring some tools and people along, who have talents like my own."

"Do you have the dimensions of your vessel?" Thor asked.

"Do you know what the measure of a meter is, which we use?" Harry asked. Thor nodded. Harry produced an illusion of the Prometheus at its full size, with its dimensions illustrated.

"That may be too large to tether." Thor said.

"What if I modified its dimensions, like this?" Harry asked, changing the dimensions to the smaller size.

"You can modify its dimensions this way?" Thor asked.

"For quite a long time, yes." Harry agreed.

"Then we can easily dock your ship." Thor agreed. "Your people are trustworthy?" he asked.

"They are my closest friends and confidants." Harry promised. "I'm also bringing our most learned medical person, one of my affianced."

"I foresee no problem with that, then." Thor said. "I will inform the council. Have your people finished their deliberation?"

"If we can bring the Prometheus and my people are given your sworn protection while we work, I believe we are on-board." Harry agreed.

"Very well." Thor said. "I will expect you in twelve of your hours."

"Thanks. See you tomorrow." Harry said, before hanging up.

"You're awfully chummy with the Supreme Commander of the Asgard Fleet." Daphne smiled at him.

"I'm going for friendship." Harry shrugged. "Better for them to expect me to be myself, than putting on airs at the beginning and then having them expect me to be that way all the time."

"So, you're leaving in twelve hours?" General Hammond asked.

"Seems that way." Harry agreed.

"Do you have enough time to show me this backup site?" he asked.

"Good point." Harry said, getting up. "We'll need to put a couple of systems in place and show your controllers how to switch."

"Switch what?" General Hammond asked.

"Come, I'll show you." Harry said.

OOO

The General was grinning from ear to ear, having finally seen the backup site. He recognised its strategic value and ordered his people to allow the Envoy and his people to do what they had planned. Putting everything in place took Harry only about three hours, having been prepared for it. Having shown Sam how everything worked, also meant that she could assist, should the need arise.

The new Transport Room, which was installed inside the embarkation room on both sites, under the guise of a high-tech scanning system, but with actual scanning functions and even an x-ray enabled camera disc, would allow them to see the teams and check for invaders, before allowing them back to the SGC. For the purposes of security, the default setting was to have Stargate establish its connection to the backup site, which was not referred to in any documentation and would be considered top secret, known only to the control room personnel, who controlled the system, General Hammond and the SG-1 team.

In practice, the outgoing teams would depart from the SGC normally. When they returned, even if they called first, the Stargate would open on the backup site. They would then enter the transport room, which would scan them, before the controller would activate the transport, bringing them back to the SGC, without them even knowing that they had been moved. For everyone else, things would appear to work normally, except for that one step.

The controller also had the benefit of switching the view of the window in front of them between the two sites. There was an Iris installed on both sites and everything would be controlled based on what the controller was currently seeing through the window, not even needing to specify which site they were functioning in, so the fact that it was switched over to the SGC before departures meant that the SGC was always in the safest position, with people only ever entering the embarkation room, once an address had been successfully dialled, just in case an incoming wormhole interrupted the process.

Having everything in place was reasonably quick and explaining everything before Harry needed to leave was the most difficult part of the process, but they managed it with an hour to spare, with Sam staying behind to confirm everything was understood correctly.

OOO

They arrived in orbit above the planet, with Harry and his girls all being packed and having told their families that they were going on a mission for a few months.

The whole thing was a difficult pill for Remus to swallow, but Harry had put his foot down and told the man that he'd been an adult for long enough to make this decision for himself. Sirius was easier. He'd just begged to be taken along, but Harry refused, saying that the only people going, who were not engaged to him, were Cooper and Bill.

The other parents had complete faith in Harry, but still worried for their children, so the farewells were heartfelt. Especially since they didn't know how long it would take to re-establish connection. Harry did promise that that would be one of his primary focusses and that he'd be making contact as soon as he could. He'd likely ask Thor to establish a connection for them to Cimmeria, through which he could then establish connection, if the need arose. He had no doubt that the Asgard would be able to accommodate them for that.

When they were in orbit, Harry called Thor.

"Mister Black." Thor greeted.

"Thor." Harry greeted back. "We are in orbit. I'm emitting a radio frequency for you to find the ship."

It took only a few seconds for Thor's ship to appear before them.

"That's big." Bill said, looking out the window at the truly huge vessel.

"We have opened a bay for you." Thor said, even as Harry shrunk the ship.

"Where do we dock?" Harry asked. Thor sent what was undeniably a tractor beam and led the ship into an opening on the huge ship. When they were docked, without any visible means suspending the ship in the air, Harry was informed that they were allowed to exit and Harry decided to go meet the alien in person first.

"Good afternoon, Thor." Harry said as he appeared outside the ship.

"That was a disquieting sound." Thor said, referring to the pop.

"It's a form of wormhole travel my people are capable of." Harry said. "The sound is what happens when the air is displaced."

"Interesting." Thor said. "Is that how your long distance transport functions so quickly?"

"No, that works on another principle." Harry said. "If I informed you of how it's achieved, can you promise to keep it off of any official record?" he asked.

"Perhaps later." Thor said. "I was hoping to meet your people, but was unable to penetrate the hull of your ship with my sensors."

"It's protected." Harry said. "I can transport you on-board if you want?" he offered. Thor nodded. Harry put a finger to his ear and said. "Bring us aboard, Bill." There was a very familiar looking beam of light, without the sound that usually accompanied the Asgard version, and they were suddenly standing on the bridge of the Prometheus. "Welcome to the Prometheus." Harry welcomed him.

"Good afternoon, Lord Thor." Pansy said, smiling at the small alien. "I am Doctor Pansy Parkinson."

"Good afternoon, Doctor." Thor said, looking at all the humans. "Welcome. You are currently docked on Biliskner, the flagship of the Asgard Fleet."

Harry did the introductions, starting with his fiancés, followed by Bill and then lastly, Cooper, who slipped from invisibility.

"You have personal cloaking technology?" Thor asked. "Is it based in manipulation of light, or dimension?" he asked.

"It bends light." Harry confirmed. "We have other methods as well, but we need to inform you of how we achieve most of our feats, before we continue."

"Gairwyn informed me that you achieve your feats through what she believed is magic." Thor said. "It is often the case with less advanced civilizations that they believe technology of a sufficient level is magic."

"In this case, Gairwyn was right." Harry said. "Our people developed the ability to manipulate energies that encompass a wide range of spectrums. We find that understanding makes it more capable. It was based off this knowledge that much of my technology is built."

"Magic?" Thor asked. Harry was pleased that he didn't sound sceptical, just confused.

"Let me demonstrate." Harry said. "Pansy, would you please turn me into an Asgardian."

"Of course." Pansy said. "Thor, would you mind if I scan your physiology, so that I may better understand it. It is harmless and you will feel nothing." Thor nodded, slowly, before Pansy lifted a hand and moved it between the two of them. "Very interesting." she said. She turned to Harry. "You will feel strange." she said. "There are large fundamental differences. I'd suggest you sit down."

Harry nodded and transfigured a chair which would be around the right height for after the change and sat down. Pansy focussed her magic on him and he started to change. In under a minute Harry was looking at his strange new hands.

"You were right." Harry said in a much changed voice. "It feels strange. Do your people have difficulty expressing emotion?" he asked Thor.

Thor seemed shocked and looked at Harry as he got up, moving slowly as he did, since the body was slightly top-heavy, but he found his balance with a bit of effort. "How is this possible?" he asked.

"Magic." Pansy said. "His genome wasn't changed. His physical form was simply sculpted using the energy we call magic. He is still the same person, though now he's in a different form."

"This is much different than what I expected." Thor said, seemingly in thought.

"I imagine that if you couldn't predict this, your enemies would not be able to either." Harry said. He was looking around the bridge. "Everything seems so much bigger."

"Our race is not as large as yours, though we were taller thousands of years ago. Comparably so to humans." Thor said. "If you decide to remain in this form, you'll find that our accommodations would be well suited to you on Biliskner."

"I don't think I will remain in this form." Harry declined. "No offence, but I am finding that physiologically I am more limited in this form." He countered the transfiguration on himself and returned to normal, his clothes, which Pansy had shrunk, also growing with him. "That's better." he said. "I'm assuming your emotions are more repressed due to some sort of chemical difference in the brain?" he asked.

"We do not possess adrenal glands, and I suspect you were feeling a lack of emotion due to that." Thor said. "Our people are more of a cerebral sort. Did you experience an increase in your mental capacity?" he asked curiously. If these magical humans could modify existing bodies, perhaps they could use that to counter the genetic anomalies that their race suffered from. A new clone, without the limitations imposed by the flawed bodies they currently held, due to the repetitive copying of their genome and a genetic disease which cost them 90% of their genetic diversity and people.

"My mind was still the same." Harry denied.

"My understanding of genetics and the human form allowed my magic to apply some of the physiological changes on Harry, but I cannot modify someone's mind to increase their intelligence." Pansy said. "If I turned him into a simpler creature, for example, he'd still be as capable as he is now. The chemicals in the brain may sometimes affect things. Instincts and physical capabilities do become available in the other form."

"So your scan of me revealed more of my body's makeup than something other humans from Earth are capable of?" Thor asked.

"Yes." Pansy said. "I can tell, for example, that your body is only a couple of months old."

"What?" Harry asked.

"That is a subject we can discuss once we arrive on Othala." Thor said.

"Othala." Harry said. "Is that your homeworld?" he asked.

"That is correct." Thor said.

"Do you need to go, before we can depart?" Harry asked.

"We are already in transit." Thor said.

"Oh." Harry said. "Do you mind telling us how long this trip will take?"

"A few hours." Thor shocked them by saying.

"Really?!" Harry exclaimed excitedly. "That's awesome!"

"Are you using hyperdrives?" Hermione asked. She'd had a few discussions with the scientists about the hyperdrives they were studying.

"The Biliskner is equipped with Asgard Hyperdrives, yes." Thor agreed. "The Asgard have succeeded in creating the most efficient and powerful hyperdrives in the known galaxies. The only vessels that were ever capable of going faster, were ships equipped with the Alteran stardrives. Those could travel to distant galaxies in the same amount of time it will take us to reach the Ida Galaxy, which is comparatively close."

"When speaking of different galaxies." Harry scoffed. "It's still impressive." he said.

"Your own technology could not achieve this?" Thor asked.

"Our means are limited by another factor." Harry said. "Technically, if we could find a more stable, or focussed way of seeing further, we could potentially travel to different galaxies in seconds."

"Your technology is impressive, then." Thor said. "Perhaps, when the Replicators are no longer a threat, we could work together to achieve this feat."

"Thor, my friend, I'm thinking we'll be the best of friends in a very short amount of time." Harry said, smiling at the small alien. He didn't know what replicators were, but he had a suspicion magic would be able to help, as it always could.

"Master Harry." Dobby said as he appeared. "Your dinner is being ready." he said. He turned to Thor. "Wills you be joining us for dinner?" he asked.

"Thor, this is Dobby." Harry introduced. He'd forgotten that the little miscreant would be there. "He's another friend of mine. I didn't mean to forget to tell you."

"Of what species is he?" Thor asked.

"He's of a magical race, called House-Elves." Harry said. "It's his people who the Nox are helping. They require a magical to bond to, to survive."

"Hello Dobby." Thor said. "I am sorry for your predicament."

"Dobby is not sorry." Dobby said defiantly. "Dobby is the luckiest elf in the world. Master Harry is a powerful and kind wizard." He cocked his head. "Will yous be joining?" he asked again.

"I will return to my quarters." Thor said. He turned to Harry. "How will I contact you, if your communicators are offline?" he asked. He'd offer them one of his communicators, but he couldn't be sure it would be able to reach in, if his scans could not.

"Oh, right." Harry said, as he quickly removed one of the short-range ear-pieces. Noticing that the alien didn't have similarly shaped ears, however, had him pondering until he simply enlarged the thing, changing it to look like a Comm, and changed its function with negligent effort. Handing it to Thor, he said, "Simply speak into this. One of us will be listening."

"Thank you." Thor said, taking the now flat device.

"We'll probably be going to bed shortly after dinner." Hermione said, then. "Harry has been rushing around for the last twelve hours, implementing a new security feature for his human friends on Earth."

"You will require rest then." Thor nodded in acceptance. "I will return for you in twelve hours." he said.

"Bill, if you'll please?" Harry asked Bill, after nodding in appreciation. It was almost 10PM for them.

"Of course." Bill said, activating the function and transporting the alien back to the docking bay, where Prometheus was docked.

"You're right." Luna said. "Thor does seem quite friendly."

"Poor creatures." Pansy said.

"What?" Harry asked.

"I don't know enough to be certain, but Thor's body is diseased. I don't know that I'll be able to fix it." Pansy said.

"Do you think he's some sort of clone?" Harry asked.

"Oh, definitely." Pansy said. "The magic tells me that his body is too young. The Genetic code is flawed, somehow. I'll need more time and a sample or two to be able to understand what I felt, to even attempt a resolution."

"You can tell there's something wrong with his genes?" Padma asked. "Isn't it too complicated to know? I mean, you're only just now meeting him. You've never even met his race."

"The mundane doctor I got my education from was an expert at genetics." Pansy said. "She spent many years studying genetic flaws and diseases. I don't know how, but my magic can pick up that there's something wrong, because of that."

"Let's go have dinner." Harry said. "We can discuss this when we know more." he decided. Discussing the more mystical aspects of magic usually led to arguments with the more logic-driven of his girls.

OOO

The next morning Harry received a call exactly twelve hours after Thor had left. Prometheus un-docked and resized to the proper size, when they were told that they had arrived already. He and Pansy left to go meet Thor back on his ship, with Bill, Cooper and the rest of his girls either going back to their pastimes or watching remotely. Both, in some cases.

Thor took them for a walk through the ship, showing them some of their own technology. Harry realised he was doing it since he had taken him on-board his own ship. The technology was impressive and intricate and Harry scanned some of what he saw very delicately.

"That is strange." Thor said, as Harry scanned an interface. "This interface is showing activity."

"I was scanning it." Harry said. "I need to know that our magic won't damage your systems. We have found that magic can sometimes cause damage to delicate equipment, but I noticed on Cimmeria that your transporters work on something that was reasonably resistant. I was even able to repair it and feel the energy running through it without interfering."

"Is it an electromagnetic problem?" Thor asked, interestedly.

"Very insightful." Harry said, nodding. "Yes, since magic spans into the electromagnetic spectrum and can, as a result, affect the functions of electrically operated systems."

"Our technology should not have that problem." Thor agreed. "You were able to repair our technology?" he asked.

"It's not that I understand it, but I could return it to its proper form, having scanned it previously." Harry said. "When we know how something works, our magic gains the understanding that we do."

"The energy is sentient?" Thor asked.

"Only in a manner of speaking." Pansy said. "Magic, as we understand it, is a source of both energy and life. It is capable of many things, including learning from the ones that wield it. When we learn something, magic takes that knowledge and functions differently than before because of it."

"Adaptive interfacing?" Thor tried.

"Let's try to explain it like this." Harry said. "When I asked Pansy to turn me into one of your people, she used you as a template. Before then, she had never done that before, but her initial scan of you revealed many things and she was able to emulate your body on me, to a cellular level. She didn't have to think about changing every cell, the magic used the knowledge she gained to achieve it. It took her knowledge and intent, and applied more specific changes."

"So the energy is directed, but more intelligent than you?" Thor asked.

"Let's consider the conscious human mind, versus the subconscious." Pansy tried. "When we try to remember something, we look at our perception of the memory. Our subconscious minds, however, takes in more details. When we look at the whole of the memory, we notice things we didn't see or perceive consciously before. Our magic functions that way. It learns and stores more details than our conscious minds are capable of."

"Interesting." Thor said, nodding at that. "Would you say that your magic could be considered to have greater potential for recall than your conscious minds, considering this fact?"

"It depends on the spell." Harry said. "Spells are what we call the shaping of magic, to perform a function." He held his hand in front of him, making a fire appear above it. "This spell was created to make fire. It was probably one of the first applications of magic. Back then, magical people didn't know that there needs to be oxygen or carbon, for the fire to have this specific colour or heat. They only knew that increasing the power, produces a bigger flame. Magic knows how to emulate some things and how to change others, to allow for these things."

Harry made the fire spread all around them, encircling them and then walked into the fire. "Knowing how the fire operates, how it spreads and affects its surroundings, allows for better control. It's our conscious minds' access to more information that allows us to do more, as our understanding grows." The fire was lazily lapping at his body, without the heat affecting him at all. "If you touched this fire, you'd still burn, because it's real fire." he finished.

"It is not a hologram?" Thor asked.

"Harry is good with illusion magic." Pansy said. "That's what we call our magical holographic capabilities. In this case, it is real, though."

"Since magic learns from the user, our magics are all unique." Harry said, cancelling his fire spell and created an illusion of himself. The illusion kissed Pansy's cheek and hugged her, picking her up. "My illusions have a form of physical presence. It is capable of this because I have a strong form of telekinetic magic. I learned to emulate heat, sound and other factors along the way, until my illusions are now solid enough that a scan of one of them would look completely real to less advanced forms of technology." the illusion finished.

"That is why you requested to bring Doctor Parkinson along." Thor said in understanding. "Her medical knowledge would allow for a greater skillset when it comes to medical application." He nodded then. "I appreciate that you considered this. I would like to know why you believed we required a medical consultation."

"Harry said that he mentioned our medical capabilities and that you reacted visibly to it." Pansy said.

"I was intrigued." Thor allowed. "Have you come to any conclusions since your initial scan of me, Doctor?"

"Your body is a clone, with some form of disease and genetic anomalies I'd need to study to counter." Pansy said.

"You could tell?" Thor asked. "How? Without a comparison to another sample that should be impossible."

"I think you'll find that, with magic, there is no such thing as impossible." Harry said.

"I studied genetics and developed magic to detect certain disorders." Pansy said. "While I don't know the specifics, my magic informed me that there was a problem. Your health is also in a constant decline. A little known fact of magic, is that all living things contain trace amounts of it. The magic in your body works as a record of what it's been through and how long it's been alive."

"Very impressive." Thor said. "It seems that we were correct in allowing you to bring your people. For only the possibilities that Doctor Parkinson brings, it would have been worth the effort."

"We still have more people on the ship, who'd like to help." Harry said. "Just let us see what you need me for first."