Disclaimer: It's not mine. Tragically.

This story is a crossover between Stargate Atlantis and Harry Potter.

Warnings: This story contains slash, impertinence in the face of authority and Marge Dursley. If any of those offend you, don't read on.

Excellent beta job by Phoenix Catcher, as usual.

You may or may not have noticed that this story is now listened as complete. This is the last chapter for Of Misery and Mystery. The first chapter for the currently unnamed sequel should be posted in the near future. I hope you enjoyed this story and will read the next one as well.

Thank you and please remember to review!

Of Misery and Mystery

Chapter Nine

Colonel John Sheppard stood inside his quarters just enough to allow the door to close behind him. He let out a soft sigh. He'd undergone every test imaginable during his three day long stay in the infirmary after returning to Atlantis and then a debriefing that bordered on interrogation before being returned to active duty. He felt numb. John forced himself to step fully into the room. He stared at his bed and remembered the days he'd spent in it when he was barely able to move through the pain he'd felt. He remembered slowly waking to voices at his bedside. He'd seen Harry and then he'd seen Prince.

"I will not leave him here."

He closed his eyes tightly as he remembered Harry's voice and his insistence to Prince.

"I want you to come back with me. I want you to come home with me."

But going with Harry hadn't made anything easier. Albus Dumbledore only explained their connection to him in a loose way. Harry had said even less on the subject. They were soul mates and separating wasn't likely to be pleasant for either of them. John opened his eyes slowly and sighed.

"Maybe that's why I feel this way."

He felt like he was missing a limb. He stared at the bed for a while longer before climbing into it. He stared at the ceiling and wondered what Harry was doing until he fell asleep. He woke to someone shaking his shoulder gently. He rolled over and found himself staring into the concerned eyes of Carson Beckett.

"You didn't answer the door. I was worried."

John sat up, "I've felt so tired since I got back," he admitted as he rubbed his eyes.

"There hasn't been an opportunity for me to give this to you yet," Carson admitted, "Not without risking it being confiscated."

Carson offered him a thick envelope sealed with green wax stamped with the letters HJP. John stared at the HJP for a moment and turned the letter idly in his hands. Other than his first name written on the front and the wax seal on the back, the envelope was blank.

"I'll leave you to read this in peace."

John opened the envelope and pulled the pages out before the door was completely closed behind Carson.

Dear John,

First and foremost I want to offer you my sincere apology for my patronizing manner and disregard of your opinions and wishes. I did it both to protect you and keep you away from me. Bellatrix was not lying when she told you that people around me, especially the people that I love, suffer horribly. I don't know if I'll see you again, be it because of circumstances or your own choosing. I would not blame you if you never wished to see me again. Albus did warn me that I might cause you to grow to hate me. However, I did promise you that I would explain everything to you. I implore you to read this letter, because within these words is the explanation I thrice promised you. I do not offer it as an excuse or a justification.

Merlin was born on Earth. He was born to an Ancient and a magician, giving him both unseen power and a very special connection to this planet. Unlike most Ancients, he was never as fascinated with star travel as he was with his own home. The Ancients on Earth were struck down by a terrible plague. Merlin was the only survivor and he entered dormata to emerge whenever he might be needed. Your people know of this technology. Jack O'Neill used the sleeping technology after the battle in Antarctica to prevent himself from being destroyed by the Ancient knowledge in his mind before the Asgard could remove it.

Eventually Merlin left his slumber and was confused. The technology had begun to decay. He emerged as a young child, naked and unsure of who he was or where he came from. He almost immediately encountered Aberforth Dumbledore and Abraxas Mungo. You may recall that Abraxas mentioned that he was there when Aberforth found the naked boy. They do not know the specifics, but they know that he is more than just a wizard. The Dumbledores took him in and raised him as though he was their child with such tenderness that even after his memory returned Merlin had so grown to love the Dumbledores that he remained with them and as one of them.

Around the time the muggles were fighting the Second World War there was discord in the wizarding world as well. A dark wizard called Grindelwald had come to some power and acclaim. He gathered a group of like-minded followers and set about terrorizing the Wizarding World. With Grindelwald, the terror wasn't as constant as with Voldemort, but it was spread over a larger distance. He worked to destroy all wizards who opposed him or whom he thought were likely to oppose him. He came for the Dumbledores, but Merlin sent him running. Grindelwald wasn't seen or heard from for months because Merlin had wounded him so severely. However, when he finally did emerge again, he was worse than ever. Merlin caught up with him and confronted him. Merlin defeated him in a duel, but was injured in the process. He forgot that he was Merlin. He truly thought he was a Dumbledore. He thought he had been born Albus Dumbledore. He did not fully remember whom he was for decades to come. Due to that, he did some things he would never have allowed himself to normally. He didn't remain a recluse. He accepted the recognition offered to him. He unintentionally became a very important member of the magical society in Europe. He dated. Two children would eventually come from those liaisons, Severus Snape and Lily Evans. Severus Snape you know as Prince from his mother's maiden name. The other, Lily Evans, was my mother.

Severus did not grow up in a pleasant household. Albus and Eileen had kept their relationship a secret from nearly everyone. Eileen because she didn't want her family to know that she was involved with a light wizard nor did she want Albus to know that she came from a dark family. Albus because he wanted some privacy with a woman he was beginning to love. But they were publicly exposed. Eileen was cast out of her family and they convinced her that she would not receive a better reception from Albus, whose distaste for the dark arts and dark wizards was well known. She fled, intending to hide from them all, but her family pursued her. They had found a dark family willing to wed their eldest son to her. To remove herself from her family's power, she married almost as soon as she could find someone who would have her, a muggle man called Tobias Snape. She was honest with Tobias about her situation and her magic from the beginning and he adored her anyway. When she discovered that she was pregnant and admitted to Tobias that she could not be sure the child was his, he did not complain.

Albus tracked her down not long after the child was born. She thought he had come to kill her or perhaps steal her child, who despite Tobias' kindness was all that she lived for. She attacked him and after he defeated her, he forced her to tell him the truth. She begged him not to take the child away from her. Severus was all that she had. Severus was all that she had left of Albus. Neither of them knew that Tobias had returned home and that he was listening. Tobias had silently begun to compare the baby to himself and his own family and had convinced himself that the child was of his blood. He never forgave Eileen for discovering that Severus was the son of a man she still loved. As he overheard their conversation, he felt that the life he hoped he could make with Eileen and Severus was slipping away. Eileen still preferred Albus to him. Would Severus be the same? Neither Albus nor Eileen ever shared with Severus exactly why they decided it was best that Severus remain with Eileen and as a Snape. If I had to hazard a guess, it would be to protect him from enemies of Grindelwald that still lingered or perhaps from the Princes themselves. Severus was Eileen's father's first grandson and she was terrified that he would try to take her baby away from her and raise him as a cold-hearted dark wizard. So it was a huge irony when despite Albus' dislike of the dark arts and his mother's fear of them that Severus became fascinated with them anyway.

Depressed and lonely, Albus sought comfort in the arms of a muggle woman he encountered in a muggle bar. They met off and on for a year, more friends than steady lovers. He told her about Eileen, the magical world and the pressures he faced. She told him about the never-ending parade of young men her father brought to their house hoping she would marry one of them before she became a spinster. When she found out she was pregnant she looked everywhere to find Albus, but it was as though he had never been there. She married rather than face the shame and stigma of being an unwed mother. When Albus returned she told him she didn't regret her marriage, she was happy, and hoped he didn't blame her. Albus begged her forgiveness for not leaving her with some way to contact him. They parted amicably, as friends, and Albus was comforted knowing that he would be able to see at least one of his children grow up. He visited from time to time as a family friend and when Lily got her letter inviting her to Hogwarts he explained that he'd always known she was a witch and kept an eye on her because he was a friend of her mother's.

Albus was eventually appointed to the post of Headmaster to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Severus entered the school when he was eleven and my mother a year later. Oddly enough the pair had met as children and were already friends to Albus' surprise. They were members of separate houses at school, enemy houses, so they'd taken to meeting in secret. Albus made a point to spend time with them separately. He liked to discuss muggle literature with Lily and play chess with Severus. Albus would occasionally observe them together and when Lily was twelve and Severus thirteen he witnessed something that shocked him. Severus had once again been beaten up by a gang of boys called the Mauraders and was shamefully trying to hide his fat lip and black eye from Lily. She practically had to wrestle him to the ground, but once she was able to get to his face she healed his injuries. But that wasn't what shocked Albus. What shocked him was that she didn't do it with magic. Do you remember when I healed your lip, John? It was in that moment when he saw his daughter make use of her Ancient powers that he remembered everything about his past. The lingering confusion from his battle with Grindelwald was gone.

Severus and Lily grew up in very different homes. As the years wore on, Eileen never forgave herself for believing her family and running from Albus. Her father also repented for his hardness of heart towards his daughter, but she refused to let him near Severus, his only male descendent and intended heir. Tobias was as unhappy as Eileen and their home was a bleak place to be when Severus was at school. When he was home, all they argued about was his future. Eileen felt his path should follow his father's and he should become a powerful light wizard. Tobias never gave up the hope that his son would follow in his path and become a carpenter, as the men in the Snape family had done for generations. Severus, for his part, felt isolated from both of his parents. It was obvious to him that while he loved Tobias, the man was not his biological father. His mother refused to discuss the topic with him, as she refused to tell him about her family. Eileen and Tobias began argue until all they could do was scream at each other.

Lily's mother never regretted her marriage. She had another daughter with her muggle husband, a girl called Petunia. Lily and Petunia were wonderful friends growing up. They drifted apart when Lily went to Hogwarts and Petunia didn't. Petunia never forgave Lily for getting everything in life and leaving her behind. Lily had the good looks, magic, a wealthy boy who adored her and she was the apple of her father's eye, despite how obvious it was that she was not his biological daughter.

The friendship between Severus and Lily became strained. The boy that Petunia was jealous of was another student at Hogwarts called James Potter. He was also a Marauder, part of the gang that taunted Severus. Lily was one of Severus' only real friends and he lived in fear that she would start dating James Potter and he would convince her to hate him. Severus loved her past friendship. She was everything he'd ever imagined if his parents had decided to have a second child.

When he was sixteen and she was fifteen she came across the Marauders bullying him. James Potter and Sirius Black were hanging him upside down in the air and letting his robes fall off. He was completely humiliated and Lily's appearance only made him feel worse. She tried to intervene and in his shame and humiliation he called her a mudblood, a derogatory name to people born to muggle parents. Lily was devastated that everyone who had warned her that Severus was no good was right. He really did hold with the ideas of old purebloods and dark wizards. She refused to see him when he begged for forgiveness. In his loneliness Severus turned to the only other friend he had, Lucius Malfoy.

Lucius felt bad for his unhappy friend and brought him to a gathering of young pureblood men that met during the weekend in the village of Hogsmeade. They met to drink, complain about the Ministry, muggles and discuss the philosophy of a charismatic wizard who went by the name of Voldemort. As a known halfblood, Severus gained access to these meetings because his grandfather was still well respected, Lucius Malfoy was his friend and he was unusually talented at the art of Potions. By the time he realized that he was being inducted into a paramilitary organization, he no longer cared. They were his family now.

Lily eventually agreed to date James Potter, but she put her foot down and warned him that if he or his friends ever harassed Severus again she'd break his nose and write to his father. James cared about pleasing Lily more than tormenting Severus and from that moment on, he never bothered Severus again. Sirius was not so easily persuaded. Despite his new friends, Severus still missed Lily and could be seen skulking about and trying to talk to her. Sirius was worried that he was trying to steal Lily away from James. Hoping to scare Severus off, he told him about a secret place where he might find Lily. Severus was so desperate for Lily to forgive him, that he never questioned why Sirius was telling him this. He went to the Whomping Willow and followed the instructions Sirius gave him to get into the secret tunnel. Instead of finding Lily, he found himself faced with a charging werewolf. James found out what Sirius had done and appeared at the last minute and saved Severus from death or lycanthropy. Severus never forgave any of them, especially James for saving his life.

Naturally, Severus went to the Headmaster with this information. He was shocked to find out the Headmaster already knew about the werewolf and that it was a student, another Marauder called Remus Lupin. The precautions the Headmaster had taken to protect the students were reasonable, so Severus could not begrudge him. However, the only punishments that Sirius Black suffered were detention for the rest of the year and a loss of privileges. Sirius was the first witch or wizard from his family to reject the dark arts in centuries. To give you an idea of how dark his family was I should inform you that Bellatrix is his first cousin. Albus was afraid of losing him. Severus could not forgive that. Albus would have forgiven Sirius in a moment had he wronged him, and he did forgive him for wronging his son, but he failed to understand that his son was not governed so completely by mercy. Severus never again showed up to play chess with Albus for the rest of his career as a student, but Albus never gave up waiting for him.

Severus graduated, received the dark mark and became a Death Eater. He left home to stay with Lucius Malfoy and developed a relationship with his grandfather despite his mother's objections. He was too valuable as a potions maker so he rarely went on the revels. He did participate in one that brought him into contact with Lily shortly after she graduated. They had joined opposing sides. After her graduation, Lily had joined a group called the Order of the Phoenix. When it became undeniably apparent that the Ministry was not equipped to handle the threat of the newest dark lord, Albus formed the Order to oppose the Death Eaters. Despite his cloak and hood Lily recognized Severus. She attacked him with her fists and cursed him for joining the Death Eaters. He held her while she cried and blamed herself for not realizing how bad it was for him.

He asked her why she should be responsible for him. How could she blame herself for his choice? A choice he was slowly beginning to regret as Voldmort's bloodthirsty nature revealed itself and no one was ever safe from his temper. That was when Lily told him something he had never realized. She told him that other witches and wizards didn't have the abilities that they had. She had been doing research for the Unspeakables and had come across references to such things. The most recent reference she had found was about Merlin. And then she asked him something she had been wondering for a long time. Are you sure Tobias Snape is your father? Severus admitted he wasn't and Lily confided that she had doubts about her own muggle father. Before they discussed the matter any further, Albus discovered them. The sight of Severus was like a physical blow to him. And just as Lily had, he blamed himself. The sight of Albus enraged Severus and he fled. After the battle ended Albus took Lily back to Hogwarts and admitted to her the truth about everything. He told her about the Ancients, his true identity, that he was her father and Severus her brother.

Lily tried to find Severus and share the information with him, but neither his mother nor Tobias knew where he'd gone. Sirius once told me that everything seemed to happen so quickly then. It was chaos and people were disappearing, going into hiding or being murdered, on a daily basis.

Sirius and James became Aurors as well as Order members. James and Lily married. A few days after their wedding Narcissa Black, soon to be Malfoy, discovered her cousin Regulus' body had been sent back to his family in pieces. Regulus had admitted to her that he regretted joining with Voldemort and wanted to leave his circle. Narcissa had cautioned him that the dark lord had spies everywhere. Regulus' gruesome death cemented Severus' regret, but also convinced him that there was no escape. And then Lily Potter and Alice Longbottom got pregnant.

Not longer after Lily told Albus she was expecting a child, he went to a pub in Hogsmeade to interview a potential Divination teacher. She did not have much of a reputation, but her grandmother had been a renowned and respected seer. During that interview Sibyl Trewlawney made a prediction about a child with the power to defeat the dark lord. Severus was listening from the doorway and reported the contents to Voldemort. After careful study, Voldemort determined that this threat would either come in the form of the Longbottom baby or the Potter baby. Despite the fact that he held blood purity as a supreme ideal he was more afraid of me, the halfblood baby. He identified with me.

Severus was devastated when he found out what he had done and after much begging Voldemort agreed to spare Lily's life. Under the pretense of obtaining a teaching position at Hogwarts to spy on Albus, Severus went to him and begged for his forgiveness. To his surprise, instead of throwing him out or turning him over to the Aurors, Albus promised to hide him in the castle. Severus couldn't live with the guilt of the danger he'd put Lily and her child in and so he offered to spy for the Order of the Phoenix. It was that decision that gained him Albus' unwavering protection and trust, and kept him out of jail after the first war ended.

James and Lily went into hiding after I was born, using one of the Marauders as their Secret Keeper for the fidelius charm. The charm works by hiding a location in a person's soul. Sirius Black suggested that my parents use Peter Pettigrew as their Secret Keeper despite the fact that he was James' best friend and my godfather. Sirius was sure Voldemort would go after him. He didn't know that for some time now Peter Pettigrew had been spying for Voldemort. He had begun to suspect Remus and Remus him. Neither of them suspected quiet, unassuming Peter. James and Lily were persuaded at the last minute to use Peter instead and no one except Sirius knew.

Peter told Voldemort where my parents were hiding. My parents realized he was there and my father told my mother to get me and run. Voldemort killed him as my mother was running up the stairs towards my room. He told her to stand aside. But she refused. He killed her and she died to save my life. She sacrificed herself for me without a second thought and that love saved me from him. I once told you that I was famous because I had survived a curse that was impossible to survive. I didn't actually survive it. I didn't do anything. My mother's love protected me. The backlash of the spell destroyed Voldemort's corporeal form and he vanished. I was hailed as the Savior of the wizarding world, the boy-who-lived. Meanwhile, Sirius got wind of what happened and went after Peter. When he met up with him, Peter started screaming about how Sirius had betrayed James and Lily. Peter faked his own death and disappeared. Sirius was arrested, thrown in jail without a trial and left to rot for the next thirteen years. People were horrified, but not surprised. He was a Black, after all.

Albus brought me to my Aunt's house, hoping that the blood we shared from my grandmother would protect me. By that time my grandparents had passed away, so he never knew of the discord between Lily and Petunia. He told Severus the truth about everything and my uncle agreed I'd be safer with muggles.

And so I grew up with the Durselys. You know enough about them to guess how that went. I was always terribly ashamed of my life with them. I never felt that shame more acutely then when Severus brought you back to Grimmauld Place and you knew that Vernon had abused me as a child. Don't judge him too harshly. He and Petunia were some of the few muggles that knew that the random acts of terrorism and heightened crime rate was because of the magical community. Our violence had spilled over into their world and they were right to be afraid. Muggles relatives of witches and wizards were frequently targeted for acts of torture, rape and murder. Vernon was terrified of me. He always has been.

I went to Hogwarts when I was eleven. So much happened, John. I saw and learned amazing things. I made my first friends, Ron and Hermione. I was practically adopted into the Weasley clan. I met Remus, the first person to tell me stories about my parents. I also began to discover that I had strange abilities that no one else seemed to have. After it was revealed in my second year that I had the ability to talk to snakes, a trait that mostly appears in dark wizards, and everyone was terrified of me I then decided to keep these powers to myself. I was so secretive about it that not even Albus knew and he was watching me for any sign of Ancient powers. Eventually he decided that perhaps the gene had recessed in my DNA. Severus was never so sure and watched me almost as carefully as Albus did. He was still maintaining his cover as a Death Eater and took every possible opportunity to humiliate and insult me and I hated him. When I was thirteen, Sirius escaped from jail and the truth was revealed. For a short time, I had a family or at least the hope of a family. But Peter Pettigrew aided Voldemort's return to a corporeal form and the war began again and Bellatrix murdered Sirius in front of me when I was fifteen. For all of her other crimes, and I assure you they are numerous and terrible, I will always hate her the most for that one.

I'm sure I don't have to tell you about war, John. I learned the truth about Albus and Severus after I almost killed Severus on the battlefield. I was shocked and angry and I refused to see or speak to either of them for almost a week. One day Severus showed up at the headquarters for the Order after being tortured by Voldemort. He fainted in front of me. I tended to his wounds and realized that I was being given a second chance at having a family. I had an uncle, a wonderful uncle, who was risking his life and being tortured on a regular basis on the hopes that he could get just a scrap of information to help me defeat Voldemort. Because by that point we knew I was the only one who could. Neither of us could live while the other survived. It was another damned prophecy.

The war continued. I finished school. And the war continued. I was on the verge of loosing my mind from the nightmares Voldemort sent me. I tend to downplay it. I didn't want people to know how much it was disturbing me. I was pretty bad off, John. Our minds were connected due to a bizarre magical phenomenon from the first time he had tried to kill me. Albus gave me access to the information on how to build a Stargate. Deep in the vaults of the wizarding bank Gringotts, I built one which I used to escape from time to time for some peace. That's where I met Jack O'Neill. We became friends and when I needed a place to hide Luna, he was the one I went to. Neither of us had any idea we were both from Earth.

Luna is my cousin from my father's side, something like six times removed. Aside from Severus and my muggle relatives, she is my only other family. She doesn't know about Severus although sometimes I think she suspects Albus, and she despises the muggles so much that she counts herself as my only family. Luna is a Prophetess, and unlike Sybil Trelawney she is a consistent and reliable one. Voldemort put a prize out for her capture that almost rivaled mine, but Luna was never much of a fighter so I sent her away for her own protection. She returned to Earth with Jack and once they sorted out the confusion about who was from where, it was determined that Jack would do as he promised and hide Luna. The muggle and magical government gave their consent for Luna to remain in the United States. There hasn't been an American Prophet in nearly a hundred years and they were practically salivating at the mouth for anything she would give them. Jack was eventually appointed, in addition to his other duties, as the liaison between the muggle and Magical community of the United States.

It was on one such visit to Luna that I first saw you. Luna had developed an interest in watching the planes taking off and landing and because of my obsession with quidditch, a game played on broomsticks, she thought I might like it. Jack brought us to an air base and there you were. I don't remember what you were wearing or what you were doing. I only remember that you looked in our direction and you nodded to us and I couldn't move or think long after you'd gone. I knew then that you were my soul mate and I ran as far away from you as I could. I couldn't let Voldemort find out about you.

But he did and he sent Death Eaters after you. He ripped the information from my mind. That's how I knew you were in danger. After the injures you and your niece suffered I was more convinced than ever that I would bring you nothing but pain and destruction. I begged Jack to send you as far away as possible. He mentioned to me that there might be a spot for you on an expedition to the lost city of Atlantis. The irony was not lost on either of us. I told Jack you had the strongest ATA gene I'd ever seen in a human, magical or muggle, and that you would be a valuable asset. I put a monitoring charm on you and silently bid you goodbye.

I half thought I was going to die when I confronted Voldemort for the final time. I never imagined I'd see you again. But I didn't die. I can't write about what happened. I've never spoken about what happened to anyone. Not even to my grandfather or my uncle. But if we see each other again and you wish to know, I will tell you.

I thought about contacting you, but the peace was new and delicate and I was being pulled in every direction during the rebuilding efforts. The Ministry, in its wisdom, pardoned all the Death Eaters involved. They ordered that the Order disband and take down the protections we had our on headquarters. Nowhere was safe for us any more, not even Grimmauld Place, which Sirius had left to me in his will and I maintained for the Order's use. Days and more days passed and we waited for the explosion. We waited for peace to fail, for the Death Eaters to regroup and attack again. But they didn't. And Severus found out it was because they were looking for you. Bellatrix had become obsessed with you. She thought that a child from you and her would be stronger than even Dumbledore. This child would be their chance to retake the magical world. I was angry, but I wasn't worried because you were in another galaxy. You were safe in the home of my ancestors and that brought me a certain degree of comfort.

Except one day the monitoring charm went off and I discovered the wraith had woken up and you were in serious danger. Unconsciously, you were reaching out to me because you believed you were going to die. I used a completely illegal spell to link my soul to yours so I could partially possess you and defend you from whatever was threatening you. Do you remember how I told you that dementors show us our worst memories? That's how I was able to describe to you in such detail what happened that night my parents were killed. When I get near a dementor that's what I see. I hear my mother screaming in her last moments, begging for my life to be spared in exchange for hers.

I was careless in my casting because I was frightened and panicked. I was with Hermione Granger in her muggle parent's home and the Ministry stormed it. They assaulted us, you felt the backlash of that, and arrested us. I made it out okay. Hermione didn't. She hasn't woken up since. I don't know what Umbridge did to her, but it can't have been pleasant. Umbridge did a small stint at Hogwarts wherein she forced me to write lines with a quill that scarred the words into my flesh. There is a scar on my hand that reads 'I must not tell lies' in my own handwriting.

I knew what you were suffering and that there was nothing to be done for it, so I convinced Severus, Ron and Remus to come to Atlantis with me and heal you. I needed them to make sure I didn't try anything foolish like I had last time I was around you. We gated to another planet in the Pegasus galaxy, in addition to the gate I also made what you refer to as a ZPM, where Albus told me I might find a small Ancient ship. The ship listened to my mental commands and we flew to Atlantis. You know what happened from there. Ron and Remus saw Carson's notes in the Old Tongue while investigating and we all panicked.

Please believe me that I've never seen Vernon raise a hand in aggression against anyone in my life, my own self withstanding. I wouldn't have sent you there if I suspected he might attack you. And when I did contemplate your return to Sheffield it would only have occurred after I placed several strong and illegal pacifying charms on Vernon and probably Marge as well.

The only time I felt confident about your safety was when you were with Brother Euan at the Monastery. I don't know what he shared with you about his family and I will say as little as possible to respect his privacy. He is one of the few people outside of the Order that I trust without reservation. I looked after him the best I could after his sister was murdered, but he and Carson were always targets for revenge. Evelyn died in direct defiance of the dark lord and Bellatrix swore she'd kill every Beckett in Britain. They were trying to catch a spy within their ranks. They followed the spy to where he met his contact within the Order, who was Evelyn Beckett. The spy eluded them, but they identified Evelyn and went after her and her family. She refused to tell them who the spy was. She died protecting Draco Malfoy's identity.

Most Order members withstanding, no one understands why Albus and I trust Severus and Draco. Severus is family and his loyalty is without question. I understand why people are wary of him. He is slippery and presents himself still as a supporter of the late Voldemort's goals. To this day he still spies. But I doubted Draco for years. I was the one to tell him about Evelyn's death. I never once doubted him again.

I sent you to Thor because the war had begun again. Bellatrix and perhaps his parents as well had attacked Draco Malfoy and Virginia Weasley with obvious intent to kill. Bellatrix followed them to the Burrow, the home of the Weasley family, and attacked. She flew into an absolute rage when she saw that Charlie Weasley and I were there. I don't need to explain her hatred for me, but during the war Charlie killed Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange, her husband and brother-in-law. Her hatred for Charlie nearly surpasses her hatred of me. We escaped through the floo to Hogwarts and she tried to follow. That's why Albus locked down the school. That's why I was injured when I sent you to Thor.

Thor, as you may or may not know, is an old friend of Albus' back from before the Asgard had their genetic problem. Albus has been extremely forthcoming with whatever Ancient data he encounters and the Asgard are incredibly grateful. So Thor took you without a second thought, but I did promise him I would notify Jack of your whereabouts as I had done since you first came to Earth with me.

I was weak after I healed Thor. It was difficult because he was so gravely injured and because my Ancient powers sense all that is wrong with his body and instinctively work to fix it despite that it is behind my capacity. Perhaps that is why Umbridge and her goons that masquerade as Aurors were able to overtake me so easily. I almost went mad when I woke up in Gringotts and you were gone. I wanted to go find you directly, but there was something seriously wrong with me. Apparently you clobbered me a good one, because my head was bleeding everywhere and the Goblins were afraid I'd suffer permanent damage before they could fetch a wizard healer. So they used their magic to heal me. While I was grateful, wizards tend to react poorly to Goblin magic. I spent the next hour vomiting every time I tried to move. A healer was brought to me and I returned to Grimmauld Place as soon as I was able. I sent fellow Order member and Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt to the Ministry to look for you. Meanwhile Prince and I prepared to infiltrate and sneak you out of the Ministry.

We'd gotten word from Kingsley about where you were being held within the Ministry and we were preparing to move out when the floo opened and Death Eaters began pouring into Grimmauld Place. Prince and I managed to temporarily seal them in the library, but we knew it was only for a time. We tried to get out, but they'd used an arcane spell to seal us in the house. So we laid traps for them throughout the house and hid the best we could. Our biggest problem was protecting Hermione. We could hide her easily, but it would take a lot of concentration and the caster would have to remain near her.

I've been hiding Hermione and myself for more hours than I can count as I write this letter to you. It's been more than a day and I'm starting to tire. The Death Eaters are searching the rooms one by one. Every now and then I can hear one of them get caught by the traps we left. Remus and Ron are working to create a temporary hole in the spell and sneak Severus out so he can go for Dumbledore. For a while now I've felt that someone on the Sheffield property is using magic. It's all been harmless, so I'm not terribly worried. My hope is that Kingsley was able to help you escape the Ministry and you're both hiding at Sheffield and trying to attract our attention. I've relayed this to Prince and he has promised to go to Sheffield and look for you the moment he is able.

They've done it. I can't write anymore. I'm giving Severus this letter in the hopes that he is able to find you and return you to Atlantis. I wanted to keep my promise. I wanted you to know this. And that I love you. I love you. Look for me in your dreams. I will be there when you have want or need of me.

Long after he finished reading the letter, John held it in his hands. He felt an undeniable certainty that he would see Harry again and soon. John smiled. He lay back down on his bed, still clutching the letter, and went back to sleep.