The Arrival

In the South Pacific, as the Sikorsky soared above the ocean, Harry glanced out the window, searching for an island. It seemed that if Phipps and Fobbs had forgotten to buy him anything on the mainland, it was a watch.

Hermione sat next to him, except there was no map to follow, so she leaned into his ear, instead.

"What do you suppose the island will look like?" She whispered.

"I wouldn't know," Harry murmured. "The only one I've ever been to is the Queen's Isle. Also, remember what I told you about failing geography?"

Hermione's eyes widened in remembrance, but shrank back again as she searched for an idea.

"You saw volcanic mountains and green everywhere," she reminded him. "That might be it."

"Maybe," Harry agreed. "To my relatives, anyway."

"Haven't they ever taken holidays?" Hermione queried.

"Definitely," Harry confirmed. "Still, I didn't think of this until now but... what business do geneticists even have in island resort building?"

Again, Hermione shrank back as she tried to find an answer, but her thoughts were interrupted from the static fuzz sounds of a CB radio microphone.

"Ladies and gentlemen," spoke the voice of Phipps. "We are now approaching our final destination; Isla Nublar, home of what will be the most advanced island amusement park resort in the world."

"At least that what Mr. Hammond says," interjected the voice of Fobbs. "We're not due to open until next year."

Harry and Hermione laughed, shaking their heads as they looked out the window to see a beautiful, mountainous, green island approaching in the distance, its mountaintops scraping the bottoms of clouds.

The closer they flew, the more trees they saw growing on the mountains, which became cavernous, until they were dead-ended with a mammoth waterfall that looked like it was pouring from the heavens.

"It's beautiful!" Hermione marveled.

"It's a jungle island..." Harry realized.

"Ladies and gentlemen, unfortunately due to bad wind shears, we'll be dropping rather quickly," Phipps added.

"Please make sure your seabelts are securely fastened as we descend to the helipad," Fobbs continued.

The Sikorsky shook a little as it dropped, signaling everyone to fasten their seatbelts. With a scrawny frame like his, Harry's seatbelt wasn't such a tight fit, unlike the three in the back, where more grumbling was heard.

During the drop, Hermione grasped Harry's hand again, for she knew he was used to these types of drops. She clutched it until they reached the ground, where the Sikorsky's wheels touched another helipad at the waterfall's base.

As everyone unbuckled, two men in pink Polo shirts and khakis, wearing baseball caps printed with the logo, opened the side and back doors.

One held the side door open for the passengers, while the other hauled the Grangers' luggage to a couple of gray Jeep Wranglers, trimmed in red, waiting nearby.

Both Jeeps were numbered 7 and 17. But even if Harry recognized the InGen logo, he'd have found the logo on the Jeeps even more peculiar;

It was the silhouette of a large reptilian skeleton against a red sky, circled in yellow. Printed in white, in what had to be a tribal font, read Jurassic Park.

Harry, slinging his bag over his shoulder, folding up his new hat, climbed into Jeep 7 with the Grangers, while the Dursleys climbed into Jeep 17, behind them, while the uniformed men climbed into the drivers' seats.

As the two cars pulled away from the pad, Harry watched from the back, Hermione and Jane seated next to him;

Behind them, Phipps and Fobbs presented the group with one final wave as they and Sikorsky began to ascend away, back into the sky.

"What kind of resort is this?" he muttered.

"Maybe it's some kind of biological preserve?" Hermione suggested. "From prehistoric times, I guess."

"You guess?" Paul puzzled, tuning his head back to his daughter.

"Then what do you reckon they'd want with an electric fence?" Harry interjected.

Up ahead was a gate through an electric fence, about thirty feet high, bearing a sign reading, 10,000 VOLTS.

"A bit much, isn't it?" Paul suggested.

"Now Paul," Jane insisted. "We're guests here. Save it for the end."

The cars drove until they reached another fence with a massive stockade gate. Atop was another sign reading, Jurassic Park Visitors' Lodge.

"I take it back," Paul reconsidered. "This is a bit much."

The gate opened to reveal several circles of round bungalows with cone-shaped grass roofs, built on platforms, connected with boardwalks and spiral staircases, its supports extending from a lily pond below.

Some bungalows looked completed, others still with people in hard hats climbing them. At the center was a larger rotunda with a taller roof. In the distance, there appeared to be some kind of pumper truck with a hose extending from it, partly covered by some exceptionally large ferns.

The jeeps drove through the gate and turned a corner, pulling to a complete stop. The drivers of both cars each helped their respective passengers out before hauling the Grangers' luggage out of Jeep 7, motioning to a stairway to the center rotunda.

"Please follow us," one of them instructed. "Once again, we'll show you to your rooms."

The drivers started up the stairs, the others following over the center walk into the open doors of the rotunda.

Inside was a curved reception desk with woven rattan chairs. Behind them were barred windows, rather like the skylight on the ceiling. Hanging from rafters, circling a round table in the center, were rattan baskets containing plants of extraordinary sizes, some of them resembling large flytraps.

The drivers waited over at the concierge; One dialing another white mobile phone, the other pulling out envelopes with the Jurassic Park logo printed on them.

"Ladies, and Gentlemen, here are your keys for the weekend," He announced, handing out the envelopes.

Again, one envelope was handed out per group, each numbered; Number 8 for the Grangers, Number 9 for the Dursleys, and Number 7 for Harry.

As they exited the rotunda, Harry watched as the first driver dialed his mobile phone. As they were ushered down the walks, Harry didn't really hear what the man was saying, except for the last couple of words;

"They're here."

Finally stopping at their respective huts, the keys were removed from the envelopes and placed in their keyholes. While the first driver assisted the Grangers with carrying their luggage in, Hermione went to join Harry.

Harry's door opened to reveal a room plastered with green jungle-print wallpaper, like at some tourist trap. The furniture (beds, chairs, and tables) were also thoroughly rattan, like from someone's backyard luau.

Another skylight shined through, covered with bars like the windows. At the other end of the room was a Phillips television set, whose cables stretched across the floor.

Harry laid his bag on the bed before seating himself on the edge. He laid his hat on the bedside table and removed his clips, stuffing them in his pocket, while fishing around for a remote control. He found one in the night table drawer as Hermione seated herself next to him.

"You're watching television? Now?" She puzzled.

"Something on could give us a few pointers about this place," Harry suggested.

He pressed the power button and a ball of white light on the screen expanded to reveal a man with dirty blond hair, wearing the same uniform as the men that took the helicopter off the island.

"Hello, and welcome to this exciting new resort from International Genetics, Incorporated," he spoke. "We hope you enjoy your stay with us, surrounded by absolute luxury with tennis courts, swimming pools, putting green, a fully equipped gym, jacuzzi, and sauna, as well as your choice of four different three-star restaurants. As you can see, we spared no expense..."

"I can see that," Harry muttered. "Especially being as the pool's not even filled yet."

"What do you think, so far?" Hermione asked.

"Neville would definitely be in heaven here," Harry replied.

"No doubt," Hermione agreed. "Did you see what was growing in the lobby?"

"And what about those lily ponds?" Harry added. "I'd hate to see them filled with koi, if I were him."

Harry tried to change the channel, but however much he clicked, the image on the television didn't change; instead, he pressed the power button again, as the white ball condensed, turning the screen turned black.

"Well, they aren't joking when they say there's nothing good on the telly," He murmured.

Hermione giggled, but Harry just smiled; he knew that the Dursleys had probably discovered this, as well. Most likely, it was because of the shouting they barely heard from a couple of huts down.

Harry laughed to himself, his hat still waiting on the nightstand.

"Have a hat?" He offered,

"Keep it," Hermione suggested. "It seems to bring out your inner jungle man."

Still, Harry made himself as quiet as possible, until another knock was heard upon the door.

"Come in," Harry replied.

The door swung open to reveal the first driver waiting, along with Hermione's parents.

"Are you kids settled?" He asked.

"Yes," Harry confirmed.

"Perfect," the man congratulated. "Now come along, Mr. Hammond is waiting for you in the lobby. You ought to bring that hat with you."

Harry shrugged as he picked up his hat as Hermione rejoined her parents. He spotted a rattan wardrobe in the corner to place his duffel. He quickly pulled his wand from the bag and carefully slipped it in his pocket, as to not be spotted with it.

Outside, behind the gathering were the other driver and the Dursleys, who were still grunting about their troubles.

They sounds they made were so much that Harry thought maybe they could pass as some sort of creature hiding in the plants.

When they finally reached the rotunda, there was another entourage waiting there; five men, one woman.

The first man was blue eyed in a blue shirt with a red bandana, khaki pants, mountain boots, and a straw hat. The second was clad in black leather from head to toe, with curly black hair, wearing thick, horn-rimmed glasses. The third wore a grey suit and shorts, a blue pinstriped shirt, and a darker checked-spotted tie. Atop his balding head was a black banded straw fedora and in his hand was a leather briefcase.

The woman was blonde, wearing a pink shirt over a blue-violet tank top, a pair of khaki shorts, and brown mountain boots.

The fourth man was the shortest in the group, slightly round in the face, with blue eyes framed by oval-shaped glasses. He had a short, white beard, which indicated his older age. He was dressed entirely in white, a straw hat atop his head and an odd-looking cane in his hand. It resembled a stalk of bamboo with a translucent yellow tip containing a large insect.

The fourth man extended his arms jovially; he had to be Mr. Hammond.

"Welcome! Welcome!" He exclaimed. "I'm thrilled to have you all here with us this weekend. Now, which one of you is Mr. Potter?"

"I am, sir," Harry replied, shyly.

"Well, I'm delighted to finally meet you in person, Harry," Hammond introduced, shaking Harry's hand rather tightly.

"Your parents were fine people," he continued. "I see you've taken on quite a few of their best qualities."

Hammond was mostly eyeing Harry's black hair and green eyes, as one usually does when admiring a child's looks.

"So, where are these relatives of yours?" he asked.

Harry gestured to the walrus-faced Vernon, the horse-faced Petunia, and the gorilla-faced Dudley behind them, looking somewhat rugged in their used clothing. Hammond eyed the gathering up and down before stepping up to shake hands.

"Well..." he begin, nervously. "A pleasure to meet you Mr..."

"Dursley," Vernon replied. "Vernon Dursley."

As they shook, Hammond felt Vernon's grip to be tighter than his own. Vernon motioned to Petunia, who was waiting with her arms crossed, keeping Dudley close.

"My wife Petunia," he continued. "Our son, Dudley."

Hammond slowly shook hands with frowning, horse-jawed Petunia and a snidely-looking Dudley, who tried to swing a punch at him.

"Kid's got a good throwing arm, doesn't he?" Vernon chuckled.

Hammond chuckled back, though he held onto an apologetic grin.

"Right," he breathed out. "Now, where are the Grangers?"

"Over here," Paul called out. "I'm Paul, this is my wife, Jane."

Hammond stepped in to shake hands with them, this time, actually looking relieved.

"Welcome, welcome," he greeted. "I was very pleased to receive the investment, especially from a small town practice."

"This is our daughter, Hermione," Jane continued, pulling her daughter to the front.

"A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Hammond," Hermione smiled, shaking his hand.

"A pleasure to see another young person like yourself here this weekend," Hammond replied. "It's going to be a real family affair, we spared no expense."

Hammond chuckled as he motioned to the others waiting at the other end of the room.

"Now, let's introduce you to the rest of our entourage for the weekend," he suggested. "In the blue, Dr. Alan Grant, paleontologist. In the pink, Dr. Ellie Sattler, paleobotanist. The rockstar, Dr. Ian Malcolm, mathematician..."

"Chaotician," Malcolm corrected.

"Last but not least, Donald Genarro," Hammond concluded. "Attorney at Law."

"Nice to meet you," Harry stammered.

Dr. Sattler looked to be smiling with pride at Hermione, while Dr. Malcolm was grinning more ferociously, though rolling his eyes back and forth, making it hard to tell who it was for. Dr. Grant, however, stared at Harry blankly as he slowly extended his hand.

Vernon bristled through the crowd towards Genarro, as Harry had expected, until Hammond stepped in.

"There'll be plenty of time to talk over lunch, Mr. Dursley," he promised. "But there's still much to see and only forty-eight hours to see it in. Come along, now."

Hammond escorted the others out the rotunda doors, down the stairs, where two more jeeps awaited with drivers in the same uniforms as before.

The other two drivers climbed back aboard their respective Jeeps as the groups split and climbed into their respective jeeps. Hammond glanced back at the families, smiling, along with Dr. Sattler.

Aboard Jeep 7, Harry pulled out his clips and reattached them to his glasses. Grant, somewhat hesitantly, pulled on a pair of aviators, shaking his head as he climbed in next to Sattler.

"What are you thinking?" she asked.

"That Potter kid seemed a little 'too cool for school', didn't he?" Grant suggested.

"Stop it," Dr. Sattler giggled.

"He didn't even put his hat on!" Grant insisted.

Sattler smiled teasingly at him, which Malcolm raised his eyebrows at, sitting in shotgun.

The jeeps started up and pulled out of the stockade gate, one by one; the first carried Malcolm, Sattler, and Grant, with Hammond and Genarro behind them. After them came Harry and the Grangers, followed by the Dursleys.

As they continued down another trail, Harry just barely heard a conversation in the back of the Jeep ahead of him.

"The full fifty mile of perimeter fence are in place?" Genarro requested.

"And the concrete moats, and the motion sensor tracking systems," Hammond confirmed. "Donald, dear boy, do try to relax and enjoy yourself."

"Let's get something straight, John; this is not a weekend excursion," Genarro reminded him. "This is a serious investigation of the stability of the island."

Hammond smiled at Genarro, who was gesturing to the experts in the next Jeep up.

"Your investors, whom I represent, are deeply concerned," Genarro added. "Forty-eight hours from now, if they're not convinced, I'm not convinced. I'll shut you down John."

"In Forty-eight hours, I'll be accepting your apologies," Hammond chuckled.

It was either Hammond's chuckle or his referral to Genarro as "my boy" that got Harry thinking of someone else back home.

They drove until they reached a mountainside clearing. Downhill was a small pond behind unusually tall trees that looked like their tops were torn off.

"Just stop here," Hammond ordered.

As the jeeps came to a halt, Grant noticed something moving out of the thicker trees and removed his aviators. Sattler, meanwhile, was examining a fern she'd picked up, rather like the ones covering the pool area.

"Alan this shouldn't be here," she pointed out. "This species of vermiform was been extinct since the cretaceous period..."

Grant grabbed her head and turned it towards what he was looking at. Two Jeeps behind, Harry removed his clips and grabbed Hermione by the hand.

"Harry what are you..." she demanded.

Her face froze as the figure was completely out of the brush; walking along was a long-necked brachiosaurus, its head just below the trees. Grant and Sattler didn't notice the two youngsters approaching behind.

"It's... it's a dinosaur!" Grant stammered.

"This has got to be magic," Hermione whispered.

"How?" Harry whispered back, loudly. "Dumbledore says there's no way to magically raise the dead."

"Please don't tell me they heard that," Hermione demanded, gesturing to the scientists ahead of them.

Hammond chuckled as he climbed out of his Jeep, while Malcolm and Genarro watched behind.

"You did it!" Malcolm muttered. "You crazy son of a bitch. You did it."

"We are going to make a fortune with this place!" Genarro gasped.

"Ellie, we can tear up the rule book on cold-bloodedness," Grant insisted. "It doesn't apply, they're totally wrong! This is a warm-blooded creature."

"This thing doesn't live in a swamp!" Sattler laughed.

"That thing's got a what, twenty-five, twenty-seven foot neck?" Grant pondered.

"The brachiosaur? Thirty," Hammond replied from behind.

The gathering watched the brachiosaurus stand on its hind legs, grabbing some leaves off the treetops in its mouth. It tugged a little before the leaves came loose and the dinosaur landed back on its front legs.

Two jeeps behind, other ideas were emerging from the passengers. Petunia herself was looking torn between feelings of disbelief and horrification.

"Oh, how I pity my sister," she muttered.

"This is impossible!" Vernon grumbled. "Unless the freaks had anything to do with it."

Dudley, meanwhile, was in such amazement, that he jumped out of the back. He waddled his way towards the gathering, where Harry and Hermione had gone up a little closer.

"I'd dare Norbert to try and tear this thing apart," Hermione suggested.

"Forget Norbert," Harry dismissed. "I'd dare it to stomp on a basilisk."

Behind them, Sattler was watching the kids, her curiosity piquing.

"What do you suppose they're thinking?" She wondered.

"Probably wondering how fast these are," Grant suggested.

"Well, we've clocked the T-Rex at thirty-two miles an hour," Hammond replied.

Now Grant, Sattler, and the kids' heads were turned to Hammond, but that didn't stop Dudley from coming.

"T-Rex?" Sattler gasped. "You've got a T-Rex?"

"Say again?" Grant demanded, grabbing Hammond by the shoulder.

"We have a T-Rex!" Hammond laughed.

"Cool!" exclaimed Dudley as he brushed past Grant.

Grant felt faint and Dudley's movement was enough to make him lunge forward, but Sattler was quick to catch him.

"Honey, put your head between your knees and breath," she instructed.

"Perhaps I spoke too soon," Harry sighed.

He nervously shook his head before he felt something push him and Hermione to the ground.

"Out of my way, freaks!" Dudley shouted.

Hammond triumphantly stepped outward, disregarding the peanut gallery.

"Dr. Grant, Dr. Sattler, my dear children," he began. "Welcome to Jurassic Park!"

Hermione brushed grass stains from herself as Harry took her by the hand, pulling her back up. Grant's seat fell to the ground before regaining his composure, catching wind of Dudley.

He shook his head, not seeing Harry's glare, until he heard a soft braying in the distance;

Two more brachiosaurs were stepping out of the pond, while a whole gathering of horned parasaurolophuses were leaning in for a drink.

"They're moving in herds," Grant gasped. "They do move in herds!"

He smiled as Sattler and Hammond squatted next to him, along with the kids behind them.

"If only the Weasleys could see us now," Harry sighed into Hermione's ear.

"How'd you do this?" Grant whispered to Hammond.

"I'll show you," Hammond replied.

"Well, this should be interesting," Hermione muttered in Harry's ear.