A/N: We are back to Lyra's Oxford, and I am finally updating again after such a long break. There is a good reason- I have been writing, editing and re-writing so much that I haven't really had time to post anything for you. Hope you like.

Lyra's Oxford

Lyra stared at the door, eyes wide, transfixed with shock. A small, rational part of her brain said that there was no way she could be seeing what she thought she was seeing. The rest of her was trying to resist the impulse to run to the door and throw herself into his arms.

A tall boy was entering the room, ducking his head slightly so that he could fit through the doorway. His long, black hair swung over his face, shielding it from view.

"Well, uncle, I don't remember that I was afforded such a grand introduction the last time I came to stay!" he lifted his head and grinned at the Master. His daemon, an arctic fox, leaped from his feet into his arms, and the spell was broken.

"He's not Will" Lyra breathed to herself, forcing herself to remember that fact. His build had seemed so familiar, and with his face obscured by his hair, in the soft light of the naphtha lamps, she had... she had hoped for the impossible. She quashed the hope that had welled up inside herself viciously. Lyra, she reminded herself, you don't have room left for hope anymore.

"Good evening to you too, Jonathan. That was Cousins you met at the door, a butler of sorts. He helps me with tasks that have grown somewhat difficult with the passing of the years. I'm not as young as I used to be, as I'm sure you can see." replied the Master.

"Ah, you're not as old as you pretend to be, uncle, you've still got a few years left in you. Although...you are a bit on the battered side, I'll agree with that" To Lyra, Jonathan's grin seemed slightly more strained this time, the atmosphere beginning to regain the tension that his arrival had dispelled.

"And I see you've still got the same complete and utter disregard for manners as you did before. Haven't you noticed that I have a guest visiting, Jonathan?"

Jonathan turned, and seemed to notice Lyra for the first time. His grin became, if possible, even wider. "No, I hadn't noticed. And you are...?"

"Lyra." She barely managed to choke the word out. He resembled Will so much in looks, and his mannerisms were so much like those of Roger's that she was suddenly sharply reminded of her two best friends, both of which she had somehow managed to lose. She couldn't help staring at him.

"Lyra." Jonathan contented himself with simply staring back at her.

The Master decided that this would be a good point to break up the moment, reminding himself never to leave these two in a room alone together. People of their age, they hated being called children, but they weren't mature enough to be called adults. They got up to all sorts of crazy things, something which he hoped wouldn't be happening here. "Would you like some Chocolatl, Jonathan? I can send Cousins out to fetch some from the kitchens. It's fairly cold outside, and you have just travelled a long way. Some refreshment would be just the thing, isn't that so?"

"Uhh...yes, thank you, uncle. What did you say, again?"

And, the Master noted, he was still staring at Lyra.

A/N: anyone who's read about Lyra's World will know that Chocolatl is not a typo. It is hot chocolate, people!

And, before the public outcry begins, Jonathan is not just a Gary Stu put into this story for the purpose of seducing/ rescuing Lyra. May i remind you that Lyra is a tough one, plenty capable of looking after herself! You have only read him this once remember, so don't fret about him. I've got plenty of things planned for this particular OC of mine, and from what I know about his character, which is more than I have revealed about him yet, he is not perfect. Far from it.