Magic Will Find a Way

By: Ryu Katanna

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Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Chapter Five

Owen knew that the next few days would be busy ones for both Harry and himself as they tried to get settled into their new living situation. They had agreed to try to build a bond as a family, and so Owen decided he would drop any pretenses and treat the kid just like he would if he'd been living with him for years. He had learned one thing in the process. Harry really wasn't a morning person.

Like at all.

"Time to get up kid." Owen said as he passed by the couch on the way out from his room to start on his morning workout.

When no response came after a minute, Owen looked back at where the teen had been curled up to find that he hadn't moved at all.

'I've got to get him on a schedule sooner rather than later. Best to do it early. I can't take too much time on light duty from the raptors.' Owen thought with a small shake of his head.

"Up kid." He called again only louder only to see that while Harry twitched, he refused to wake.

"Hadrian, up!" Owen tried again, but reached over the couch to shake his shoulder this time.

"Tired..." Harry groaned and rolled over while he pulled the blanket over his head.

"Sun'll be coming up soon. Time to wake up kid." Owen told him only to see that Harry had fallen right back asleep.

A mischievous smile slowly spread as Owen looked down at his new son. He had tried several times to get him going, but Harry refused to wake. Alright. If he didn't want to wake up then Owen would wake him another way. He had warned him when he'd had to wake him the day before. Moving to the door, Owen propped it open before moving back to the couch.

"Last warning, kid. Wake yourself up before I do it for you." Owen said as he moved back over to the couch.

"Alright." Owen said when Harry didn't respond.

Leaning over, Owen hooked one of his arms under the teen's legs and the other under his shoulders before lifting him easily into his arms. He couldn't help the impish smile as Harry only groaned and clutched tightly at his blanket in a feeble protest. Carrying the teen out the door he went over to the railing that overlooked the edge of the lake where it was deep enough for what he had planned. In one easy movement, Harry had been tossed over the rail to fall right into the warm water with a great splash.

"BLOODY HELL!" Harry spluttered and cursed as he surfaced spitting water with his hair hanging lank over his face.

"If you wanted to start the day out with a swim in the lake then you should have just said so." Owen chuckled as he leaned on the wooden rail and looked down at the soaked teen.

"What was that for?!" Harry scowled as he stood in the water and brushed his hair from his eyes to glare up at the man.

"I told you it was time to get up several times. Had to wake you up somehow." Owen laughed as Harry's scowl darkened before he turned away from him to untangle himself from the soaked blanked and trudge up out of the water.

Harry threw the blanket down on the ground as he stepped out of the lake. His hands curled into the hem of his soaked sleep shirt as he pulled it up over his head. He threw it at Owen's head only to miss as it was dodged with a chuckle from the man. Brushing a few dirty blond strands of hair from his face, Harry came up to the stairs grumbling. Owen shook his head when Harry moved to go and change.

"No point. It's time for our morning workout. You can shower and change afterward." He said briskly as he stopped the teen from coming up the stairs.

"Are you serious? I'm soaking wet Owen!" Harry growled as the man passed him to the ground.

"Yup. Sooner we start is the sooner you can get cleaned up. Come on. I'll lead you through the reps until you get used to it." He replied as he turned to face him.

"I'm too tired for this." Harry grumbled irritably as his shoulders slumped and he moved to follow Owen's movements.

"It'll get easier as you get used to our morning schedule. Keeping in shape is important. I told you. I want you safe Harry. That takes more than just me protecting you. You'll have to learn to defend yourself for when I'm not with you. This is just the start." Owen told him as he led him through the stretches.

"Yes, sir." Harry muttered sullenly only to pause as Owen reached his arm over to run his fingers through the hair on the top of his head before taking the drying curls in a gentle grasp and leaning their foreheads closer for eye contact.

"Hey. This is one thing I do feel strongly about. I might not have been your dad your whole life, but you are my son now. We're all we got. You've already been through a lot. I'll feel a lot better knowing you can take care of yourself until I can get there if something happens. You can understand that, right?" Owen asked seriously, and Harry's eyes widened as he spoke before they softened and shifted downward.

"Yes, sir. I understand." Harry answered; his shoulders straightening as he stood straight and looked back up at Owen with a steady gaze.

"Good. Let's get started so we can get showers and food after." Owen replied; running his fingers through the rest of the strands to grip gently at the teen's neck before pulling away.

Their relationship would take time, hard work, a lot of communication, but they would get there. Owen was just glad that Harry already seemed to be comfortable enough with him to express himself. He hadn't said or asked about his home life with his relatives before, and he didn't plan to. Harry would tell him about it when he was ready if he ever did at all. Until then, they would take it one day at a time.

123

The rest of the early morning passed quickly for the two. It was just as they were finishing up breakfast that a knock came at the door. The contractor that Mr. Masrani had told them he would send out had come to get their input to start on the plans for the addition of a room for Harry. They had gone over the plans for what they wanted before the man said that it should only take a week. He turned to Harry before he left and handed him a thick manelia envelope.

"Mr. Masrani also instructed that I pass this along. I'll be back with my team tomorrow morning to get started. Good day, gentlemen." The man said with a nod before he got into his truck and drove away.

"Bring that with you for now. We have to get to the paddock. We're already late." Owen said as he pulled his keys from his pocket and directed Harry toward the jeep they had borrowed the day before.

Harry hopped up into the seat and clicked the seatbelt into place. It wasn't a very long ride, but Harry opened the envelope on the way. As Mr. Masrani had promised, Harry found a pass for the park inside. What he hadn't expected was everything else that had been included in the folder. There was a packet of papers that he set aside as he pulled out a Jurassic World patterned lanyard attached to a park identification badge. It looked a lot like the one he knew Owen had used during their shopping the day before. On it was his name and his residential status on the island. It also showed a designation for the raptor paddock, an empty space for his picture to be added, and the chip that would be read when passing into certain areas that were off-limits to the guests of the park.

"Hey, Owen. Look at this." Harry said; handing Owen the ID after the Jeep pulled to a stop at the paddock and been put into park.

"He set you up with identification? Let me see that." Owen held out his hand for the envelope and papers.

He pulled out the papers after Harry had handed it over. He was surprised to find that it was an information packet on the different dinosaurs on the island along with a letter from the owner. Reading through the letter from Mr. Masrani, Owen paused to reach back into the envelope to find the two microSD's that were mentioned.

"Well... It looks like Masrani wasn't kidding about you meeting other animals on the island. Says here that he would like it if we took time to enjoy the park and visit some of the other animals on the island. He's included the numbers for the other handlers and the information for the different species on the island. The microSD has a program for both of us to transfer to our phones that will show a map and include the information in the packet." Owen explained as he finished reading and put the papers back into the envelope.

"So what does that mean?" Harry asked in a bit of confusion.

"It means he's giving you limited access to the dinosaurs on the island. He wants to see how the other animals interact with you to see if it's not just the raptors. He's trying to find out if it's something about you that caused the girls to act that way or if it's just them. You have full access to the raptor paddock as my son, and because your ID states that this is your designated area. That's mainly so that you get it back if someone else finds it." Owen explained before picking up the bracelet that was the pass Mr. Masrani hand originally promised.

"This gives you unlimited access to all the attractions in the park. You won't have to wait in line or pay for any of the rides or shows. Masrani really meant it when he said this island is your home now. Guess he was feeling generous. Either that or he was impressed with what he saw yesterday. He's a businessman first, but he does care about the animals here from what I can tell." Owen explained as Harry's brows raised with all the information.

"So, what? He thinks that I may be a special case with the other dinosaurs like I was with the raptors?" Harry asked with disbelief and some sarcasm when he talked of being 'special'.

"Looks that way." Owen smiled at Harry's sarcasm and shook his head.

They both knew that Harry actually was special. He was a wizard, and the only being alive that they knew of who had a connection to magic. What they didn't know was if it was the magic that made the raptors fond of the teen or something else about him. They could test it in small ways, but to do any in-depth research would involve scientists, and Owen wasn't about to let them think of using Harry as a test subject.

Mr. Masrani was already interested in Harry. What Owen didn't know was how deep that interest ran. He would have to be careful to watch those around his son. The last thing they needed was more questions to be raised about the teen.

"I wasn't sure we would be seeing you two today." Barry greeted them with a smile; walking up to the jeep before they could say anything more on the subject.

"I figured the sooner we work out some kind of schedule the easier it'll be to get Harry settled with the routine. Thought we could start out by showing Harry what exactly it is we do here." Owen replied as he hopped out of the Jeep and waited for Harry to come to stand next to him.

"Put that on. You should be wearing it every time we leave the bungalow." Owen told Harry; throwing the ID to him and watching as the kid put the lanyard over his head to let his identification hang from around his neck.

Barry whistled as he plucked it up to look at it before looking at Harry seriously.

"Might want to wrap that around your belt next time. Less chance of it getting caught on anything." He told him and Harry nodded in agreement after thinking about it for a second and knowing that Barry was probably right.

"Thanks for the tip." Harry replied before following Owen as he led them to the feed shed to prep for the morning feeding.

"Why don't you feed them live prey all the time? Wouldn't it be better for them to actually hunt rather than just hide the meat and then have them search for it?" Harry asked as he remembered the game of hide and seek he had watched the day before with meat chunks that had been coated with a bloody meat slurry.

"We use live bait to entice their co-operation when we run drills. It's also more practical to do it this way because we can make sure they are getting enough nutrients. Even so, we wouldn't be able to feed them live prey every time. We wouldn't be able to keep up with how much they eat." Barry answered the teen while Owen got started with the meat slabs and he moved to get started on the slurry that they would use to coat it and provide the extra nutritional value.

"Oh." Harry replied as he thought about it.

He could understand what they meant. This was an island full of dinosaurs, and with the meat-eaters, it would be harder to keep up with the production of live prey. Yet, Harry couldn't help but feel that the use of live prey only to entice their hunting instincts when it came to drills wasn't the best choice. It would get them that much more excited for live prey. If there was ever an accident were someone else fell into the cage it could be bad.

Harry had learned enough in his Care of Magical Creatures classes with Hagrid to know that there was no way to train the hunting instinct out of a predator.

"Come over here, Harry. We'll show you how to prepare the girls' breakfast." Owen said; drawing his attention away from his thoughts.

Owen and Barry went through the steps of the meal preparation with Harry for the half an hour it took to get it all ready. They then got the girls to go into their separate release pens before Harry helped Owen hide the meat around the enclosure for them to hunt and find. Barry listened to the conversation between the two as Owen explained what their research was for as they did so. He couldn't help grinning as he watched the two interact and the interest that Harry was showing in their work.

'Hadrian will be trying to convince Owen to let him work here in the next few years, I bet.' He thought with some amusement as he watched them working their way around the enclosure until all the meat had been placed.

The next few hours were spent showing Harry the things they did every day and telling him of the time spent doing drills to train the raptors and observe behavior patterns and reactions to different stimuli. By the time Owen had gotten caught up with reviewing Barry's reports from the last couple of days, it was already time for lunch. Knowing that Harry was already too skinny for his age he went searching for the teen. He found him watching the raptors from where he had sat down on the metal grated walkway that ran over the top of the enclosure.

It was only as he came closer that he could hear the sibilant hissing that he had heard Harry use toward the raptors when he has watched them the day before. Looking over the rail, he could see Blue and Delta looking up at him and listening to the kid. Did they understand him or were they just responding to the sounds he was making? Was this hissing just nonsense like it sounded or was it a part of his being a wizard? Owen knew there was still a lot that he had to learn about Harry. He also knew that he had time and that they would need it to get to know each other better and to learn to trust one another.

"Time to go, kid." Owen called over to him; drawing the attention of Harry as well as the raptors below.

"Yes, sir." Harry looked up to him before looking back down and hissing quietly as he stood.

"Make sure you have that information packet you got this morning. We can look it over while we have lunch at home." Owen told him as he turned to lead the teen down the stairs where Harry darted over to the jeep they had used that morning.

He returned as he tucked the envelope into his pant line while Owen started his bike. Once Harry was settled behind him, Owen headed for the back toward the bungalow.

123

"It looks like Mr. Masrani gave you the information for some of the more docile animals to start with." Owen said as he fiddled both of their phones at the table next to their now finished sandwich plates.

"There are so many..." Harry murmured as he looked through the list of the different types of dinosaurs on the island.

"You don't have to do what Masrani's asking you to do, Harry. This is your choice. You're only fourteen. Really, you should be in school." Owen told him as he started downloading the program into his phone before starting on Harry's.

"Yeah... school. Have I mentioned that they don't teach the same things at Hogwarts that they did in muggle school? I wouldn't even know where to start, and that's if things are even the same here." Harry said with a grimace as he thought about it.

"Well, we are on an island. It's not like you would be going into a classroom every day. You can take classes on the computer if we get you into a homeschooling program. That way you can go at your own pace. It might take longer or you just might be able to graduate early. It all depends on how hard you want to work to make it happen." Owen explained what he had discussed with Barry just before they had left the paddock.

Owen knew that he couldn't take a lot of time off to be with Harry for much longer. He was the Alpha for the raptor pack. He was needed for more than just a few hours of the day. There would be time to spend with Harry in between feedings on days when they didn't run drills or have health and growth exams. This had been something he brought up with Barry while Harry had been watching the raptors hunt from the walkway overhead.

Owen liked having Harry with him at the paddock with the raptors. Watching his son interact with his girls was fascinating, but Owen also knew that they would have to be careful. There had been some talk the last couple of days already as it was. It was only a matter of time before Hoskins would show up once he heard about it. It was inevitable that he would meet Harry at some point, but Owen was determined that it would be on his terms.

"Think about this. What do you want to do in the future? You're going to need an education." Owen continued when he could see that Harry was reluctant.

"I don't know anymore. Things are different here. I'd thought about becoming an Auror, but that's not possible now. Even that was only if I'd survived Voldemort and the Death Eaters trying to kill me." Harry sighed before closing the information packet.

"Alright then. Let's think of this a different way. What were your best and worst classes? What classes did you like most at school? Maybe we can find a few options for you to look at. That way we can get an idea of what you could study for." Owen suggested as he laid Harry's phone down to let the program download and looking up to give the teen his full attention.

"Well... my worst classes were History, Divination, and Potions." Harry said with a grimace as he remembered the professors for those particular classes.

"Why?" Owen asked having seen Harry's expression.

"History was taught by Professor Binns. He was a ghost, and the only thing he taught was about the goblin wars. Most of us just used his class as a time for self-study or to sleep." Harry smiled a bit sheepishly at Owen's raised eyebrow.

"Really? A ghost?" He asked curiously getting a chuckle from Harry.

"Yeah. He would drone on in this way that just put the students to sleep. He wasn't the only ghost at the school either. He was just the only one who taught a class." Harry explained.

"I see. Divination? Is that like the crystal ball and palm reading?" Owen asked as he moved on from the ghost professor.

"Yeah. Divination was taught by Professor Trelawney. She was completely batty. No one really took her class seriously. She liked to try to predict my death every week in the most ominous way she could. My homework was mostly coming up with new ways I would die." Harry shook his head as he thought of the woman who he had tried to avoid speaking to after his third year when he wasn't attending class.

"Potions was taught by Professor Snape. He went to school with my parents. He hated my dad and his friends, and I guess me as well because of them. He was always making comments about how like my father I am. I liked potions well enough, but the Professor made the class difficult because he didn't s really explain much. He was the Head of Slytherin House and tended to favor them. I was a Gryffindor, so that certainly didn't help." Harry tried to explain as he thought of the dour professor who had threatened him earlier that year with a truth potion.

"Slytherin? Gryffindor?" Owen asked at hearing the unfamiliar terms.

"There were four Houses the students were sorted into at the beginning of our first year. Each house was named after one of the founders of the school and the students were sorted based on traits the founders valued. Hufflepuff is for the loyal and fair, Ravenclaw for the wise, Slytherin for the ambitious and cunning, and Gryffindor for the daring and the brave. There has been a rivalry between the houses of Gryffindor and Slytherin since the time of the founders. We're taught that Salazar Slytherin had a disagreement with the other founders over who should be allowed to learn at the school. He didn't want to take is students of 'impure' blood. Don't know how true that is though; it was at least a thousand years ago." Harry said with a shrug as he knew that after that long there would be no way to know the truth about it now.

"Okay. So what was potions about?" Owen asked as he got them back on topic.

"This might be easier if you see my books..." Harry muttered as he stood to grab his bag off the table near the couch before sitting back down and taking out his books from first year and from this last year.

"Here." Harry handed the two books to Owen to look at.

Moving the phones over to the side, Owen placed both books in front of him before flipping through them. His brows raised as he looked over the recipes and ingredients. He paused a few times, trying to understand what was written only to shake his head before moving on. Once both books had been flipped through, Owen looked back up at Harry, who couldn't help but laugh at the lost look in the man's expression.

"So... it looks like cooking, but also with a bit of chemistry. At least as far as I can understand it." Owen said before handing the books back to Harry; who set them aside before pulling a few books out from his other subjects from his bag.

"Yes. Potions are also very useful when it comes to healing for wizards. I played a sport at school called Quiddich. My arm was broken during a game in my second year. A professor, who didn't know what he was doing, tried to show off by healing my arm. He removed all the bones instead." Harry told him, rubbing his arm at the memory while Owen let out a choked sound.

"He removed them?" Owen asked faintly as he looked at the teen's arms as if making sure they were still functioning properly even though he knew they were.

"Yeah. The school Medi-Witch, Madam Pomphrey, had me take a potion called Skele-Grow. One of the nastiest potions I've ever tasted, but it grew the bones back overnight. A Pepper-Up potion can be used for a cold. It will cause steam to come out of your ears, but it gets rid of the cold right away. I stocked up on ingredients over this school year. I'll have to be careful about how much I use, but at least I can still make some things. Maybe there is something that would work just as well here. I'll have to experiment a bit." Harry muttered thoughtfully.

He only had a limited supply, but if he could find the ingredients or something that worked the same then he'd still be able to make potions in this new world. It was something he would have to think about. He definitely wanted to avoid exploding his cauldron and waisting ingredients that he might need later. For now, there was more for him to think about than just that.

"I also took Transfiguration, Astronomy, and Herbology. They weren't my best classes, but I did alright in them. My best classes were Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, and Care of Magical Creatures." Harry said as he pointed at each book as he said which classes he had taken.

Owen looked through the books slowly as Harry occupied himself with putting the potions books away and fiddling with his tablet while he waited for him to finish. Owen had downloaded the videos of the raptors for him to watch when he wanted. Harry honestly found them fascinating. Watching their development since they had hatched until now could keep him engrossed for hours. He liked to watch the videos as they helped him understand the pack dynamics more fully.

"Well, I'm not sure how most of this can be used with any of the jobs that you could study for. Most of what you've learned can't really be used without your magic. That's something we don't want people knowing about. Astronomy, Herbology, and Care of Creatures look to be the closest you'll get to anything you could do. Even then, you would have to learn the difference between what you know and what we have here. Charms might be helpful for some things as long as you were to use them only while there isn't anyone else around but there's no way to make a career with them." Owen explained as he started to feel a headache coming on with the realization of exactly how much work they would have to do to make sure Harry could adjust in order to have a future here.

"That's if I can even use my magic anymore. My wand was destroyed from the fight with Voldemort. I'm going to have to try to figure out how to control my magic without one. Wandless magic isn't easy, and I don't know how well it will work." Harry explained with a small scowl as he turned his gaze to his wand hand morosely.

"Hey." Owen drew Harry's attention away from his darkening thoughts; waiting for green eyes to raise to connect with his own.

"I can't even pretend to understand anything that has to do with your magic. I don't know how it works. I can't tell you that there's going to be an easy solution, but I do know what I saw the other day. I know that wasn't done on purpose, but I did see how strong that storm was. Have you tried doing anything since?" Owen asked already knowing that he had been with the teen almost constantly since finding him in the paddock and that he hadn't tried as far as he knew.

Harry sat back in his chair and let out a heavy breath. His hands clenched anxiously as he chewed at his lip at the thoughts that had been lingering in the back of his mind. He knew what Owen was alluding to. He hadn't even tried casting a spell since he had found his wand destroyed.

The thought of not being able to actively use his magic had become an almost paralyzing fear since he had woken to this new reality. The ambient magic around him cradled him like a loving mother did her child. He ached to connect to it with the magic in his own core, and he was afraid that he would not be able to. It was these fears that had kept him from even trying.

Harry knew that he would have to find out. He couldn't live the rest of his life with this fear. He was a wizard. Magic was so much a part of what and who he was at the core of his being. His magic would find a way to manifest itself either way. It would be better for himself and the life he would build here that he controlled it. Untrained magic caused outbursts of accidental magic.

He would become a threat to himself and everyone around him. One slip up. One display of magic around the wrong person was all it would take to expose him. Owen could only do so much to protect him. Harry would have to meet him halfway. He was a Gryffindor, and as much as he didn't want to admit it, the hat had found him fit for Slytherin as well. He would not let fear rule him and keep him from living the life he was capable of having.

Closing his eyes, Harry breathed deeply to steady his mind and focus. He let the feeling of the ambient magic of this world cradle him in it's embrace as he breathed. In through the nose and out through the mouth. He allowed his body to relax as he held out his arm. Letting the feel of his magic flow through him, Harry incanted the words when it felt right.

"Wingardium Leviosa..."

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Well that the latest chapter. Posting is slow going right now, but I am still working on getting chapters out. I'm working on this one as well as a few others so updates will come when I can. I hoped you liked it, and let me know what you thought with a review. Feedback does help motivate me to work on my stories though reviews with the single word of 'update' will be ignored. Those actually irritated me as they come across as more of a demand, and I write for fun. I'm not going to be pressured to update any faster just because someone tells me to. Anyway, I hope you're all staying safe and healthy out there with the current COVID pandemic going on.

~Ryu