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 Nine

Harry stared in awe at the massive creature that had risen from the depths to devour the great white shark whole before splashing the crowd as it sunk back beneath into its watery enclosure. Harry's eyes never left the large predator even as Owen grumbled about getting wet and the platform underneath their seats lowered to give them a front-row view from the other side of the glass. Adrenalin flowed through him as he watched the graceful movements of the dinosaur as it moved through the water with an excited grin. He had seen many creatures that lived underwater in the Black Lake during the second task, but not even the giant squid could compare to the magnificence of the Mosasaurus.

"You are not going swimming with it." Owen said when he saw something spark in the teens' green eyes.

"No... She's a queen of the sea. I wouldn't dare enter her domain." Harry said as he moved forward and raised his hand to the glass just a few feet in front of him.

Owen's gaze shifted to the Mosasaurus as the great beast turned suddenly in the water as Harry's hand made contact with the glass. Time seemed to still as Owen watched her glide through the water before she came to settle in front of the glass facing them. Her gaze seemed almost curious as her snout gently bunted the glass where Harry had placed his hand, and Owen could only thank the animal's caretaker for seating them away from the crowds in a private section that had been cleared by Hamada and his men in the ACLU. Even now they stood away from them watching what was happening with almost awed expressions as they kept others away from them so as not to cause a mass panic like what had happened when they visited the Rex.

"She's so beautiful." Harry murmured and Owen shifted to look between the large animal and the teen who seemed to have her attention; much like the T-Rex the week before.

"What are you doing to have her attention like this?" Owen asked as the hairs on his arm raised at what almost felt like static as Harry reached over to touch his arm with his other hand in answer.

"Is that what happens every time you're around the other animals? With the raptors?" Owen asked in a low murmur so he would not be overheard by the ACLU unit watching them.

"Yes. It's like my magic comes alive. It wasn't like this before..." Harry murmured as he pulled away from the glass when the platform jerked and started to raise; the Mosasaurus surfacing in front of them as the top of the water came into view once more.

"It calls to them somehow..." Owen muttered the observation as the crowds on the other platforms started to disperse as they left the show.

"I guess so." Harry answered as a woman who looked to be in her late thirties stepped onto the platform where they were seated.

"Did you enjoy the show? She's a beauty isn't she?" The blonde woman who had introduced herself earlier a Shandra Thomas smiled as she approached them at seeing the excitement on Harry's face.

"She's bloody brilliant!" Harry replied with great enthusiasm as he and Owen stood.

"I'm glad then. Did you have any more questions for me?" Shandra asked having been bombarded with them when she had met the teen earlier that day.

Shandra had been pleasantly surprised when Mr. Grady had shown up with his son. She had been hearing the rumors about the boy from others she knew working on the island. They had all been notified about Hadrian Grady in case he wanted to meet them, of course, but Shandra had been pleased that she'd had the opportunity. He was a fountain of curiosity and questions about not only the Mosasaurus, but what her job entailed as the caretaker of such a massive reptile.

"Yeah. Will she be getting bigger? This doesn't seem like it's a large enough space for her to swim as it is right now." Harry asked as he looked at how small the space really was considering the size of the Mosasaurus.

"She shouldn't grow much larger than she is now. You're right about the size of her tank though. I don't think they knew she would get to the size she is when they built it. I put in a request for an expansion a few months ago, but haven't heard anything back yet. I don't even know if Mr. Masrani has even seen it. He's a busy man, after all." Shandra sighed helplessly and Harry frowned as he looked back at the water where the Mosasaur had dived back under the water while they were talking.

The Mosasaurus was such a large creature that it didn't sit well with Harry that she was kept in such a small space in comparison. The raptor paddock was large enough for the girls to move about freely and have spaces in the trees to hide as they hunted. They weren't able to be viewed by the public and were kept in better conditions than the Mosasaur or the babies. It wasn't right. The animals were living in inadequate conditions to make it easier for the public to see and interact with them.

'Humans are the only ones benefiting.' Harry thought sadly and hoped that the Compies would have something better.

"Are you still going to see the Compies after this? I can give Aaron a call to have him give you the tour and answer your questions." Shandra offered with a sympathetic smile at seeing both of the Grady men frowning as they looked around the tank.

"Do you think he'd be willing to join us for an early lunch at Ponderosa before we see them? I'd rather see them while people are eating lunch so the crowds won't be so bad." Harry asked as he shifted uncomfortably at the thought of the large crowds that dominated most of the park and the reaction from people when he had visited Rexy.

"I will ask him. Excuse me for a moment." Shandra replied as she stepped away to make a call while Hamada took the opportunity to approach them.

"You're something else, kid. You're like a magnet. It's like they're drawn to you." Hamada said as Harry pushed down the urge to fidget.

"Animals have always liked me." He lied smoothly as he turned his gaze back toward the giant tank to watch the deceptively calm surface.

Looking at the enclosure, Harry knew that for as big as it was there really wasn't enough space for the creature lurking beneath the surface. She wasn't meant to be kept like some pet. None of these animals were. It was the one thing he knew with every new species he met on the island.

The Mosasaurus had been a predator that had ruled the oceans during their time. It was a shame to see such a magnificent animal confined to such a small body of water that was only about the same size as the Black Lake at Hogwarts.

123

"They're starting to ask more questions," Harry mumbled after they had left Ponderosa to follow Aaron Burnham to the Compsognathus enclosure.

Since they were taking the employee entrance route they were just getting on Owen's bike and Aaron started up his vehicle to show them the way. Harry waited for Owen to settle into his seat before hopping on behind him after putting on the helmet that Owen had demanded he wears for his safety. Harry couldn't help but roll his eyes as he remembered that argument.

Honestly, Harry had been flying at faster speeds from hundreds of feet in the air. He had out-flown a dragon! Even still, all his arguments had done was gotten him restricted from flying his broom without Owen's supervision, and the man's scathing mutters about the safety standards at his old school. Harry understood that Owen was just trying to look out for him, it even made something in his chest feel a little warmer, but it also frustrated him as he was not accustomed to an adult caring so much.

"Act like you don't even notice it. If they think you're clueless then the questions will stop eventually. Don't use the snake speaking thing unless your sure no one else is around." Owen replied before kick-starting his bike and shifting so Harry could get on; only pulling his leg from where it was braced on the ground once he was sure the teen was settled.

"I'll be careful... " Harry shouted over the rev of the motor before settling back to watch their surroundings as they made the drive from the visitors center to the enclosed paddock where the Compie's were housed.

Harry could see already that the ACLU team had beaten them there as the area to one side had been cleared of visitors. Visitors to the paddock were looking on curiously as they crowded around the large and very thick glass walls that were there for viewing. They could see Hamada approach them as Owen parked the bike and Aaron stepped out of his park jeep next to them.

"We've cleared an area for you and Hadrian to get a good view. Since the Compsegnathus are small and not as intimidating to the guests as the larger predators I don't think it'll be a problem like with what we had with the Rex." He said as he gestured to the area that had been cleared and had a few of the ACLU waiting for them.

"Thanks, Hamada. Hadrian's been looking forward to seeing them today." Owen replied with an indulgent smile toward the teen who pouted as he almost vibrated from where he stood waiting for Owen and Hamada to walk with him.

"Oh?" Hamada asked with a raised eyebrow as he smiled teasingly at the teen who huffed as he crossed his arms at the teasing from the adults.

"I've seen several of the dinosaurs on the island already, but my favorite will always be the girls. The Compies almost looked like mini raptors from the pictures in the information Mr. Masrani gave me." He explained to the man with who he was starting to become more familiar.

The Unit Commander had made it a point to be there personally whenever Harry had gone to visit any of the dinosaurs over the last week whenever Own had some free time. He had even offered to take Harry when Owen had to work, but Owen had said no. He still wasn't comfortable with letting him visit new animals without him. Even with his girls, he felt nervous as Harry still stuck his arms or legs through the bars whenever he had a chance.

Harry would make his hair grey before he hit forty, he swore.

The teen had visited the Allosaurus, Pachycephalosaurus, Carnotaurus, and Stygimoloch in the last week. None had displayed aggression toward the teen, but Owen had kept a close eye on his son during the visits. The teen showed the same interest and enthusiasm for the carnivores as he did the herbivores. What worried Owen was that he seemed so captivated with every new animal that he wanted to touch. He had respected Owen's no touching rule with all the carnivores so far aside from the velociraptors.

Owen had almost given up on stopping his interactions with the girls. He kept a close watch on them when Harry was around and had never seen any aggressive behavior toward the teen. From everything he could see and figure, it was like Blue had taken his son in as a hatchling of the pack. She displayed a mothering behavior toward the teen even though she was still rather young herself. Having gone so far as to bring him into their nest.

Actually, they had been showing less predatory toward Owen himself. Something Owen had begun to suspect must have something to do with the mixing of Harry's blood with his own. It was the only thing he could think of that could explain the shift in behavior when even the other predators they had seen since had paid him no attention. Like they didn't consider him prey...

He had already decided on something before this visit that he knew would make Harry happy, and also help test his hypothesis.

"I suppose they do, don't they?" Hamada gave a closed-mouth smile at the teen's enthusiasm as he led them through his men with Aaron following to answer any other questions Hadrian might come up with after answering several over lunch.

Looking into the enclosure Harry smiled as he noticed the dense jungle foliage. The area wasn't huge as the paddock wasn't even as big as the one the raptors were kept in. The smaller space made it possible for people to see the movement through the leaves. Once in a while, one of them could be seen jumping over the plants in quick flashes before landing back within the plants. Remembering what he had read in the information on them, Harry knew they must be young still. Fully grown they were supposed to reach the size of a turkey, only reaching two to four and a half feet long at about one or two pounds, or maybe it had something to do with the genetic modifications that they appeared smaller.

"How many are there in this pack?" Harry asked as his eyes darted toward any sign of movement to get a better look.

"Twenty. Fifty were hatched for the original park, but it was decided that such a big community was not necessary when the park was rebuilt." Aaron answered as he watched the expressions on the teen's face that he had been hearing about.

"They eat lizards, don't they? Does that mean you feed them live prey?" Harry asked as he laughed lightly when two of the compies tumble out of the foilage nipping at each other almost playfully before darting back under thick leaves.

"You've done your reading. Yes. It was found that a hundred and fifty million years ago they ate small animals, insects, as well as lizards when the fossilized remains of a Bavarisaurus were found in the stomach of a compsognathus fossil by a man named John Ostrom. The Bavasaurus was a fast-moving lizard. It was from that information that their diet was decided here. We release rodents, lizards, and insects such as centipedes and dubai roaches into their enclosure once a day." Aaron answered and Owen could tell that Harry was happy to know that at least the compies were fed live every day.

It was then those green eyes were turned toward him, and Owen sighed at the pleading he could see in them. He knew this would happen. Out of all the carnivores on the island, the Compsognathus was the smallest. Their heads were only three inches long and so their teeth, while able to rip flesh, would not be instantly deadly like the T-Rex or the Carnotarus.

"Hamada, would you mind arranging a few of your people to be on stand-by if they're needed. It seems my son would like a closer look this time." Owen asked as Harry's smile beamed as he looked at him.

"Are you sure about this Grady?" Hamada asked seriously as he saw the teen's happy expression and the surprised and worried look from the compies keeper.

"I'm going to have to give in to him eventually. The compsognathus will be easy enough to drive off with stunners if needed. The kid is already giving me grey hair with how much he tries to squeeze himself through the bars with the raptors. This would be safer than with the bigger predators, and Mr. Masrani did want Hadrian to interact with the dinosaurs. Might be best to clear out the rest of the guests from this area in case things go wrong. I trust you can put some safety measures in place while still giving him enough space to try interacting with them?" Owen asked as Hamada shifted at the reminder that Mr. Masrani had given the teen access as long as Owen gave the permission.

"Of course. I'll arrange it." Hamada straightened and nodded before walking off to talk to his unit.

"I'll let them know not to let any more visitors in and help clear them out until after you're done visiting." Aaron said before he also stepped away; leaving Harry and Owen alone as the preparations were being made.

It was quiet between them for a moment as Harry turned his attention back to the other side of the glass while Owen watched him. The smile hadn't left his face since he had been told he would be allowed to physically interact with the small dinosaurs, and the man could see the excitement the made him almost vibrate where he was standing. It brought a small smile to his lips as he sighed lightly before reaching up a hand to ruffle the teen's slightly curly hair.

"Thank you, Owen." Harry said softly as he accepted the affectionate touch he was starting to become used to.

Owen had started with little acts of affection like that more and more as they had become more comfortable with each other over time. Harry had honestly been a little uncomfortable with it at first. He had never really had an adult, any adult other than Sirius, express any affection for him that he could remember. Yet, as time passed it was starting to become more and more normal for him. Having his hair ruffled, pats on the back, light and scolding cuffs to the back of his head, a hand on his shoulder giving a light squeeze, on his knee when he had first talked with Sirius and Remus a little over a week before, and again when he had finally gotten to talk to Hermione and Ron the night before. It was something he had only ever seen other parents do with their kids. Owen displayed the affection with such ease now.

It was comforting to Harry now, and he basked in the feeling.

"I know you've been looking forward to seeing them, and these are the only one of the predators that we can take acceptable safety measures with. As long as I'm with you I'll allow it." Owen said with a firm tone that let Harry know he would be in trouble if he tried doing something like this when he wasn't with him.

"You just don't want me trying to get into the girls' enclosure." Harry replied teasingly and Owen rolled his eyes.

"It's not working, is it?" Owen sighed exaggeratedly with a shake of his head as he hid a smirk since he already knew what his answer would be.

"Never! I might like the Compies, but the girls will always be my favorite." Harry replied as he glanced over to see that the people were clearing away from the area under the direction of the park employees.

"You need to remember that they're still wild animals Harry. I know you like them, and I know you respect them, but they are still dangerous. I don't want you getting hurt." Owen's tone became firm as he repeated the words he had said many times already as he tried to drill them into the teen's mind.

"I know it worries you, but you really don't need to. Being with them... I feel safe. More than I ever have before I came here. They won't hurt me. I know it. I can feel it. Just like I can with the other animals on the island." Harry said quietly so he wouldn't be heard by anyone other than the man next to him; only to look over to him when he felt the hand that came to rest on his shoulder.

"I trust you on that Harry, I do. One thing about parents is that they worry about their kids, and I'm yours. You've got me now. You're not alone anymore." Owen said before his hand moved to wrap his arm around the teenager's shoulders and pull him into a one-armed hug.

Harry stiffened for a few seconds. The last time he had been hugged by an adult had been Sirius over a year ago, and he had been the first adult he could ever remember doing so. Warmth spread through his chest at Owen's words as he relaxed into the hold before he returned it. Owen wouldn't use this against him later. He wasn't like those other adults. He was safe with Owen.

"I know. Really, I do. I promise I'll be careful, if I don't feel safe like this around an animal then I'll tell you. In this world, we're all we've got, right?" Harry said as they both let go of one another and Owen's hand shifted to the side of his head to ruffle his hair again.

"Yeah, kid. We're all we've got. Come on. They should be just about ready for us." He said as he stepped back and let his hand drop before looking around and leading Harry over to where Hamada and two others were standing and looking in their direction.

"Everything ready?" Owen asked; receiving a nod from Hamada before the man handed him one of the retractable zappers before holding one out toward Harry.

"No thank you, Hamada. I don't want to display myself as a threat to them." He replied as he held his hands up and stepped back once as he rejected the offer.

"It'll be fine. I won't be too far from him." Owen said when it looked like the man was about to object.

Hamada paused before giving a short nod before turning to lead the way to the doors that would lead them inside. Harry followed inside the first set of steel doors to find that this enclosure had been set up similar to the raptor paddock. The doors were closed behind them before they had to approach another door where Hamada put in his access code. Hamada and his men led the way inside before Harry and Owen followed while they took positions in an alert stance.

Harry led Owen further in those still within eyesight of the ACLU unit. Touching Owen's arm to stop him, Harry took a further two steps before stopping himself. Green eyes kept a steady watch on the foliage as it rustled. He felt the stirring of his magic for the second time that day and his nerve endings seemed to come alive as they had with every one of the animals he had been close to. The leaves rustled as a single compy lept out towards him.

Harry held back a smile so his teeth wouldn't be bared as he kneeled to be closer to the animal's level. He ignored the feeling of the eyes watching him as he slowly stretched his arm out and waited. It didn't take long as the small dinosaur seemed to glance around to where the other humans stood watching before approaching the teen. Harry waited as the little creature sniffed at his hand before bumping its snout along his fingers.

It gave a chittering chirp as it came even closer and allowed Harry to pet it. He finally let himself smile before folding his legs under him to sit on the ground as three more popped up out of the brush. The one in front of him continued to give little chitters before it hopped up to stand on his leg while the others approached. It didn't take long before four more little heads popped up over the leaves.

"Harry..." Owen cautions as Hamada takes a step forward in alarm.

"It's okay. They won't hurt me. They're curious." Harry replied as he was soon surrounded by compies that were chittering and jumping around him as they tried to inspect him and get his attention.

Harry laughed as another lept at him before landing to perch on his shoulder and chitter in his ear. The men from the ACLU watching in dawning awe as the small predators gathered around the teen as they perched on his shoulders and lap with no sign of aggression. Rather, they were acting like excited toddlers. Owen just shook his head as he wasn't too surprised. He had seen how his raptors interacted with his son, and so had an idea of how this would go, given the attention he had gotten from all of the animals so far.

Owen decided to test his theory now that he knew they didn't intend to harm his son. The compies had ignored him so far in favor of Harry so he decided to take a step toward them to get their attention. Following Harry's lead, Owen lowered to his knee as the teen glanced up with bright eyes to watch what he was doing. Seeing the small animals act a little jittery toward the adult he let a quiet hiss leave his lips.

*My alpha.* Harry hissed even as he was unsure if they would be able to understand him as the raptors seemed to.

It didn't take long for him to guess that they could. The nervous screeches, hisses, and clicks settled as the one on his shoulder, who seemed to be the leader, leaped from Harry's shoulder to inspect Owen. After a few curious sniffs, the compy made a clicking chirp before looking at Harry and then back to Owen. Its head lowered a fraction before it darted away from the man to rejoin the others crowded around the teenager. Owen continued to watch them as they seemingly accepted his presence though avoided him in favor of getting his son's attention.

Standing back up, Owen stepped back before looking over at Hamada a few feet away. At the puzzled looks he explained.

"Pack hierarchy. They're recognizing me as Hadrian's father; his alpha. It seems they don't mind me, but also don't want to interact with me as they do him. I think he'll be alright. Seems that, like my raptors, they like him. I swear, any animal he's come across likes him. I caught him by the lake with birds two days ago." Owen told Hamada with an exaggerated huff of exasperation.

It helped that he wasn't even lying. He had seen it a few times over the last months. Harry didn't need to do anything. He just attracted animals towards him. Owen could only guess that it had something to do with the kid's magic. Harry had said that it wasn't like that in the world he had come from. They could only guess it was something about the magic of this world and Harry being the only one of his kind here.

In any case, Owen now had some evidence to support his hypothesis. Something in Harry's blood had transferred to him during the adoption. He would have to speak with his son later to try figuring it out. He could only think that he didn't smell like prey. The hissing and screeching from the compies had been a threat response. Not prey.

If that was indeed the case it had just become a bit safer for him than most people on this island. Also, if it had been something transferred from Harry's blood then that meant they really didn't see his son as prey. The possibility of that was comforting to Owen. It would mean he could worry a little less while watching his son trying to squeeze whatever part of himself through the bar to give scritches to the raptors.

For now, Owen would just watch on as Harry played with the compsognathus pack. It looked like between seeing the mosasaurus and playing with these guys that the dark cloud that had been hanging over him since the night before had lightened. Owen held back the scowl at the memory of the yelling he had heard last night. He had rushed to Harry's room to find him arguing with his two friends through the mirror.

Except for Sirius, he didn't think much of the people his son had known in that other world...

123456

Well, that's chapter nine for all of you! It took me three days, but I got it done. We have internet now so updates won't be so hard to get out to you all. I make no promises though as I've been pretty busy with all the warm weather. We've been doing a lot of work on the backyard to turn it into garden space, and so I've only really had time to rite at night. I also have to get some work done on a few other stories of mine.

I do hope you like this chapter. I've had someone ask when I would be getting into the timeline of the first Jurassic World. Well, it may not be for several chapters yet. There is still a lot to cover as I set things up before I can start that bit. There's going to be more Harry & Owen bonding as father and son. I'm not even going to hint when the pairing will be brought into it. I will say that this will probably be a long fic as I plan on having it follow through the movies. Considering Dominion hasn't even started it'll be a while before the story is completed.

Let me know what you thought of it!

~Ryu