The Magic of Amber

by WolfgangNH

Harry was drawn to the DOM to save his godfather, only to see Sirius go through the veil. Desperate, Harry dives in after him, only to find that they are both in a strange new world where science is the new magic and creatures extinct for millions of years are being brought back to life. M for a reason. Harry Potter / Lex Murphy pairing.

22. Intoduction to the World Stage

Chapter 22

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Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

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This time on The Magic of Amber: The world finds out about Jurassic Park, plans for Isla Matanceros and the Church

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October 5, 1993

San Diego, California

John hated Board meetings, but knew they were an essential evil of a multinational corporation. Today was the day he would finally reveal what the large secret of his pet project in Costa Rica was. He had been able to hide its development over the last ten years by having three major drugs come from the research that had netted the company more than two billion dollars in profits.

With the first of the teaser advertisement starting next month, he couldn't hide this. It would also provide a boost for the genetics research that the company had been originally founded on, as the first of the large scale genetics trials on cancer was starting first quarter next year. If things worked out, he would have the funding to keep up his pet project and break free of the investors within the next decade. He would like not to have to report into the board or others.

Benjamin was sitting next to him, and for once, his daughter was here. She had proven to be a much larger asset than he had imagined as she turned her formidable mathematic skills to either proving or disproving Malcolm's projections and to bring a new avenue for their genetics research with a strong statistician and analytical program. To say John was pleased he might not need to deal with the egotistical Malcolm soon was an understatement.

He watched as the other eight members took their seats. Behind the Sato Group's representative, Mr Hiro Sato, sat Genaro. The man was still a little jumpy at him since the issues in August but had agreed that the park was on the way to correcting the issues and the potential lawsuits for wrongful death were not coming. John didn't like it that people had died, but he wasn't sad about the thief that had been working with Nedry. As far as construction projects and new park hiccups went, the six deaths were not that out of the norm, with five of them being workers from Costa Rica. He had ensured their families were well taken care of.

When the clock on the wall indicated it was ten o'clock, he stood up and clacked his cane on the floor. "Thank you all for coming to the third quarter review. We have a few guests here today that I would like to introduce before we get going. With me today is my daughter, Doctor Lynne Murphy, who has been brought on as a senior consultant and mathematician. We'll be using some of her work later and is here to answer any questions," he said indicating Lynne.

She rose her hand.

"The Sato Group has brought Mr Robert Gennaro to represent them and a few other investors on our special genetic research division. He is a senior partner at Cowan, Swain and Ross." The man raised his hand and ducked his head a little to indicate the acknowledgement.

"We also have Doctor Henry Wu, who is the chief Research Scientist under Sir Benjamin Lockwood for our Costa Rica operations. As posted in the review for this meeting, we will be discussing the sensitive information about our Costa Rica Operations, especially since we will be announcing it to the world towards the end of next month at Thanksgiving to help raise expectations for the Christmas season," he said, a little bit of his showmanship coming out. A little more than watching the dinosaurs, his true passion had always been in the sale of his passions to others.

He noticed that many around the room were looking interested. Outside the Sato Group, only Benjamin and him really knew what the whole purpose of this company was.

"Now that I have introduced our special guests, I will turn the meeting over to our Chief Executive for North American Operations, Robert Bennings," Hammond said. He had recently made that decision to get Bennings off the island as he still had some issues with Muldoon and Harry. John found himself trusting them more than his Operations Chief.

"Thank you, John. As I know there is much to do today, I would like to start with the second quarter earnings report and projects. Then go over the major projects in our medicines division before getting into our genetics divisions…" Benning said.

John was trying hard not to be bored over the next two hours. The only good thing was that even though the Special Genetics Division was still bleeding money, the biomedicines was propping up the company well enough to satisfy the investors, while the normal genetics division was finally breaking even due to some large grants from a few governments.

When the meeting finally came back around to him when Benjamin completed his presentation on the genetics division, John stood up. His cane clunked on the floor as he walked over to the large screen at the front of the room. He was waiting for people to get food from the lunch that had been lain out at the back of the room.

"Uncle John, are you finally going show us what you have been up to?" his nephew asked. He was from his wife's side of the family and was on the board only because her family owned about five percent of the company.

"I will today," he said with a smile as he pressed a button on the controller that went to the slide projector. It turned on. He wanted to make his annoying nephew quiet down. The twenty-something young man had wormed his way past his father for this position and seemed very ambitious. Too ambitious at times.

As the projector warmed up, the other members took their seats again. He heard a few comments about the design behind him. "Jurassic Park?" Bertha Jorkins asked. She had been brought onto the board for her experience in medical research.

"Are you telling me we've been funding an amusement park and not genetics research?" a rather put out Dr Eric Tasker questioned. Tasker was a leading researcher in biomedicines at Harvard and son to one of Benjamin's friends.

"Uncle John, this isn't funny if this what I think it is," his nephew commented.

John gave them all a smile. "Let everyone settle down with their lunch and then I will show you what Benjamin and I have been doing and what it will mean for this company," he said congenially.

"Forty-one years ago, I met my late wife, Margaret. She was a vivacious young woman who was making plans to go to Mongolia to dig for dinosaurs. Palaeontology was her passion, and she would always talk about what it must have been like to walk among them," John said.

"Do you have a point, Uncle John?" his annoying nephew said.

"Patients, Peter," he said indulgently.

"Over the years, she collected fossils, amber and other items from around the world. Most went to whatever museum or university she was working for at the time, but she had quite a private collection as well. Then, in nineteen-seventy two, we found out she had cancer. Soon after, Benjamin and I started a relationship to find a cure for cancer. From that, International Genetics Corporation, now known as InGen, was founded," Hammond said, clicking the remote. A timeline showed on the screen.

"In the last twenty-two years, InGen has been one of the leading medical research companies, bringing more than twelve new drugs to the world stage, and being the first private company to directly invest in genetic research."

Most in the room already knew this, but this was his big sell for the Sato Group and others over the last decade.

"What most of you don't know, and the world will soon find out, is that this company has two mission statements. The first is to be the leading medical research group, focusing mainly on genetic research, which is going to soon take off. The second is to bring back extinct animals or save those on the verge of extinction."

He clicked the remote, and a second timeline came up. "InGen is now decades ahead of any other company in the world on understanding genetics. While the major universities are just trying to start the first real mapping of a complete genome, InGen was able to accomplish this in nineteen eighty-two using a secret computer bank that was built in Costa Rica," he said, smiling at the shocked gasps and mutterings around the room.

"Soon after, I was able to start fulfilling one of my Margaret's deepest wishes: to see real life dinosaurs," he said with a little flare.

With a click, a picture of the valley in Jurassic Park came up on the screen. It was full of brachiosaurs, parasaurolophus and two of the large diplodocus. "This here is a view from the main overlook trail of Jurassic Park. You can see where so much of this companies resources have gone into over the years."

His nephew scoffed. "You want us to believe that you made dinosaurs? That is impossible."

"I had a feeling you might feel this way. Benjamin," he said, indicating his partner.

Benjamin got up and walked over to a side door. When he opened it, he said, "Bring her in."

There was a chirping sound as a large sheet covered box was rolled in by two men in the blue Handler uniforms of the park. He knew he had taken a large risk with this but needed proof. "Now, this is a wild animal, and you need to keep your hands away from the cage, but gentlemen and ladies, I give you proof."

Benjamin pulled the sheet. A two foot tall compsagnathus was in the cage. It ran about, calling out its bird like chirps, most likely looking for others in its pack as it felt threatened.

"Holy shit," Tasker said.

"That isn't a robot, is it?" Jorkins questioned.

"It's not autoerotica," Genaro stated. "I have seen the bigger ones in real life."

His nephew looked at the running and jumping therapod with wide eyes.

"As of nineteen-eighty-seven, InGen has had the full capability of cloning dinosaurs and other species. You are looking at the efforts of the last twenty-two years of what this company has stood for. I now want to show the world. As such, Jurassic Park will be the world first biologically themed park and nature preserve for extinct species," he said proudly.

"How the hell did you do this?" Tasker demanded. "Not even the best labs have been able to do anything close to this."

"That is the secrets of InGen, Eric. Your research has been pivotal for Dr Wu and Benjamin, not to mention many others that InGen has funded over the years. Starting next June, the park will open for the general public, but in April we plan to start bringing groups for weekend visits, starting with the board, our general investors, special guests and InGen staff. Call it a soft opening before we go fully live in June," he told them.

"We have to sell this everywhere," his nephew said, a glint of greed in his eyes. "People will pay out the nose to see this."

"Now, Peter, this is not going to be for the super-rich. I want everyone to be able to see these beauties. That is what Margaret wanted and what I will stand for. If things go well, InGen is already in talks with Japan and Spain to lease areas to establish other preserves. Projections would have Park Cretaceous open on Amani Oshima in about five years, and Jurassic Park Europe in about ten, hopefully sooner," John told them.

"What kind of revenue projections do you have for this?" a man further down the table asked.

John clicked the remote a few times. "Park admissions are thought to be about five million for the first five months, going to about twenty-million the following year. Like I said, I want this to be affordable for families and we have only a limited ability for guests right now. If we meet our projected capacity, a new guest village will open on the north side of the island in two years and admission should climb to fifty to a hundred million a year. That doesn't include what we expect for merchandising or other revenue streams, so two-hundred to five hundred million a year per park shouldn't be that far out of the question within five years, with a projected fifteen to twenty percent profit. This will also open the possibilities for InGen to get some patents on some genetic treatments we have been working on as a side project here, which will have far more reaching impact."

"This should make billions a year," his nephew said.

"Those are really real?" Tasker questioned again as the little compsagnathus started to call out, looking for its pack.

"This will be affordable to all," John insisted.

"When do we get to go out to this place?" Jorkins asked.

"April. I will have the board and your families as the first official guests. In the meantime, we do have a few special teams that will be coming and going from the island. Mainly Dr Alan Grant, Dr Ellie Sattler and their graduate teams over the winter to study and start research papers on these wonderful creatures. Eric, you are obviously invited as well," John said.

"John, we really need to talk about your pricing scheme," Genaro stated.

"Your clients haven't had any issues with my proposals. This is also fully out of the boards control," John stated.

"When do we go public with this again? This is going to be a media sensation," another woman said.

"Thanksgiving. The first round of merchandise and toys will be released to stores in Japan, the US, and Europe. On that Monday I will be leading a press conference, with items hitting stores that Friday. Tickets and bookings will open the following week," he said, planning on that six months before the park opens to drum up support.

"My god, this is incredible. Not even our biggest drug has the potential of this," another woman said.

John beamed. "This has been my dream for years and InGen has been the force to make it. Now, if you have questions, my team and I would be pleased to answer them."

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October 17, 1994

Isla Nublar, Costa Rica

Harry pats the side of Rexy's neck. They were on the north side of the island where a small enclave had been built for them. It was surrounded by electric fences and populated by trailer homes. With activity picking up around the main Visitors Center and having so many magic users on the island, it had been decided this small compound would be better for them.

It was originally built to protect construction workers and equipment, but with the main workers' village completed and most of the construction work now in the centre of the island, this compound had been all but abandoned.

The now ten-foot-tall tyrannosaur at his side was watching the line of people set against wooden poles in the ground. Today they were working on stunning spells. It may be something a little advanced for people like Tim, Owen, Lex and Astoria, either because of their age or lack of experience, but Sirius and him thought this a very important spell given where they lived and if the church's hunters ever found them. Mr Greengrass and Karl both seemed very paranoid about that.

He started to walk down the line of seven people. Lex was first. She was getting the words right, and her wand moved in the right way, but she still had some issue calling on her magic when she wanted. It was like she was fighting it. He wondered if that had to do with her more computer and scientific mind. He could remember Hermione had issues if she hadn't researched and practiced the spell in her head a minimum two dozen times before trying it. If she didn't, she usually failed the first time.

Rexy stopped as Harry moved to her side. "You're thinking too much again," he softly said.

She gave out an aggravated sound. "It just seems so hard."

"Only because you make it," he commented, moving in behind her. She huffed, but her body pressed into his as he reached around to take her arm. His other arm slipped around her waist. "Remember, this is magic. Not science. You need to feel it, as much as thinking about it."

"I bet she feels something," Sirius muttered from next to him as he was trying to help Owen.

"Ignore the mutt," Harry said as she glared at his godfather. "Feel it. You know what it feels like to call your magic. I've seen you do it many times now."

"But lifting a feather or trying to transfigure a needle is different," she whinged.

He tried not to shake his head. "Most think transfiguration is hard," he said. She did seem to have a particular knack for it, already having gone through most of what he remembered from first year. She got it even faster than Daphne, who was the quickest learner on the island. Daphne was a bit more of an instinctual caster, like him, not to mention incredibly motivated. Only Astoria was close to the same motivation and raw magical talent.

"I like transfiguration. I figure I can make a computer someday," she told him. Harry could believe that.

"Then think of that. What does it feel like to use your wand while doing transfiguration?" he asked her. He wouldn't bring up that charms were essentially the same thing they were doing now, just that most of the ones she found easy also manipulated physical objects. Using pure magic, like the stunning spell, seemed hard for her.

"There is a warmth in me, but I just don't feel it when I cast this spell," she said annoyed with herself.

"Just calm down, luv," he said, letting his breath brush her neck. Lex shivered in his arms. Harry enjoyed it. Being a teacher, he probably shouldn't be doing this, but she was his girlfriend and the way Karl had been looking at her again today had him wanting to claim his mate… damn it!

He was spending too much time with Rexy.

As though picking up on his agitation, the tyrannosaur growled. He didn't need to look to see the tyrannosaur looking towards Karl. Enough, Rexy, he growled back.

The yellow fur one tries to steal your mate, Rexy responded.

He gave a sharp bark. I will take care of it.

Rexy growled at him, not happy that Harry wasn't doing more.

Tim looked behind him, a concerned look on his face.

"It's alright, Tim. Rexy is just getting hungry," Harry told him.

"He's not going to eat me, is he?"

On the other side of Tim, Owen gave a chuckle. "I doubt it. He's not looking at you."

"If you're talking, you aren't casting," Sirius scolded at them while trying to hide a smirk. "Harry, finish with your girlfriend, then help Anders."

Harry nodded. "Now, think of that warmth, then imagine just that leaving your wand."

Lex sighed. "I'll try."

"Do or do not. There is no try," Harry told her.

She laughed. "You are such a dork. I'm never letting you watch another movie again."

Harry laughed. "It was Owen that wanted to watch Star Wars."

"That's a great movie," Owen defended himself.

"You're still a dork," Lex chastised. She took a deep breath, then let it out. After repeating it a few times, she flicked and jabbed her wand. "Stupefy!"

This time a fairly strong jet of red light leapt from her wand. It sailed a few feet to the left of the post. Harry kissed her neck, enjoying how she shivered again. "Now just work on that aim."

"Stay?" she asked, pressing her body in closer to him.

"I'll be back," he said.

"Tease," she whispered.

Tim did the same thing and gave a little 'whoop' as a weak stunner left his wand and hit his pole. "I did it!"

Harry stepped away from Lex after kissing her neck again. He went to run his hand through Tim's hair to mess it up. "Good job."

"Stop doing that! I don't want my hair as messy as yours," Tim complained, trying to straighten out his hair.

Harry chuckled while Owen was concentrating on casting the spell. He was shooting one off every few seconds, with four out of five hitting the post. "Excellent, Owen."

Owen gave him a huge smile. "Does this mean we'll work on our sword fighting later?"

"Simmons will be available in the morning. You still need to get the basics down," Harry told him.

Next to Owen were Astoria and Daphne. They were both shooting off stunners as fast as they could. "Stupefy!" they both barked out. Their stunners hit the poles. There was enough power in them that they were both making small black marks on the wood as the spell dissipated.

"Astoria, if you flick your wand less you can cast faster," Harry told her.

"Like this? Stupefy!" she said. It was slightly faster, but she was still over exaggerating the move. For someone like Tim or Lex that was struggling some, that was fine. For the sisters, he knew they could do better, and being just half a second faster could be the difference between life and death.

Harry took out his wand. "Like this," he said, just barely flicking the tip of the wand. Daphne snorted.

"I've seen you do that without even doing that much," she said. Unlike Lex, who was annoyed because she was having issues casting the spell, Daphne seemed frustrated that she wasn't as good as him or Sirius. Of course, she was right. The wand movement really was just a way to train your mind and magic to understand what you wanted it to do. You really didn't need the wand movement when you mastered a spell. That was something Sirius was teaching him.

"Well, until you cast the spell silently, it may be hard to do it without the movement," he told the other blonde who had a sheen of sweat on her brow as she stopped. Daphne was panting a little. Since coming to the island, the Greengrasses had started to dress a little cooler, but they still wore a rather heavy material, even in short sleeve dresses that went below their knees.

"And how do you do that?" she challenged.

"You want to really want to cast the spell without saying it or moving your wand. You train your magic to know what your mind wants, and you just think it. It's harder than it sounds," he told her.

"Just ask the pup how many stinging hexes he took before he finally got it," Sirius said with a laugh as he walked by them to get to Karl.

Daphne rose an inquisitive eyebrow at him. "Perhaps you should teach me the same way?"

Harry shook his head. "Not right now. You still have to get more of the basics. I'm already teaching you a spell that should be hard for what you know."

"I want to know more. Papa said you can come over for dinner and then we can practice after that?" she offered, sounding a little hopeful.

Harry shook his head. It was Sunday and tonight was date night for him and Lex. They had decided that Friday and Sunday nights were for them alone. "Not tonight. We will have more lessons tomorrow."

Daphne looked disappointed.

"Alright, I think that is enough for today," Sirius called out.

Harry looked over to Mr Greengrass. He was struggling just a little as he seemed more set in his ways than his children.

"I need to talk to your father for a few. Come on, Rexy," he called over his shoulder. His familiar had stayed close to Lex as though protecting her for him. Rexy moved, growling again as he passed Karl. Harry could feel the ground shiver a little. He knew that Rexy could move in a lighter fashion. Karl looked a little concerned when he took his eyes off of Lex to look at Rexy. Harry gave the older boy a glare.

Mr Greengrass was leaning over and had his hands on his knees. He looked like he had been really trying. Of course, the small workout they had done before this probably hadn't helped him either. He was fit for a man his age, but not used to the type of activities they put the group through.

"Sirius said you are struggling?"

"A little. It is different than using my rod," Mr Greengrass told him.

"Let me see," Harry asked.

Mr Greengrass lined his body and wand up on the log. "Stupefy!"

Harry felt the surge from the man and the spell was by far the most powerful of all those he had seen today. The issue was it also looked to take a bit of effort on the man's part. Harry thought about it for a moment. "I think you are trying too hard. I can give you an exercise that one of my old professors gave me when I was having some issues with my control first year."

Professor Flitwick had taken him aside one class when he noticed that Harry's spells were either too weak, or severely overpowered, to teach him a simple control technique. It was time to pass on that lesson. He rose his wand up after the man nodded. "You remember the light spell we taught you last week?"

"Yes. Lumos?"

"Exactly. Now, Professor Flitwick said most wizards don't realise you can change the intensity of your light. It's a good way to learn control because if you concentrate on it, you can feel your magic after a time," Harry told him. "Lumos."

A light as soft as a candle came to the tip of his wand.

"By concentrating on what I want, I can make it bright," he said, focusing on the light on the tip of his wand and channelling more magic into it. After a few seconds, Harry had to squint while Mr Greengrass shielded his eyes.

"Is this the same way you drove off those demons that night?" the man queried.

Harry smiled. "Nox," he said for the man. "No. That is a different light spell that made a tiny sun. The dementors didn't like that. That is a spell that can easily overwhelm you if you don't know how to control your magic. Spend twenty minutes, once or twice a day, practicing making the light brighter and dimmer. You are putting too much magic into your spells. A stupefy like you cast might do more than just stun something."

"I can do that," Mr Greengrass said.

Rexy nudged his back, causing Harry to stumble. The man smiled, not looking afraid of the big two-legged dragon. He had seemed to accept Harry's bond easily. "I think someone wants your attention."

"He just wants to go for a walk," Harry said, turning on the big guy. Rexy bared his teeth, giving him a playful growl. "Don't you start with me."

Rexy snorted, showing his belief that Harry couldn't do anything to him.

"Bloody giant lizard," Harry groused. Lex giggled as Rexy nudged his chest again and Harry stumbled backwards. The Greengrass girls looked to be stifling their own giggles.

"I thought you told me not to call him names?" Lex asked.

Rexy snorted as though agreeing with her. Harry growled something and Rexy growled back. "Great!" Harry exclaimed as he threw his hands up. "Everyone's a comedian today."

Lex giggled at him again. "Are you two done playing? Rexy needs to get back and we need to get to the meeting with grandpa and mom."

"Yeah, I'm done. Are you?" Harry asked his big baby of a dinosaur.

Rexy snorted.

Harry took Lex's hand as they made their way over to one of the three jeeps in their little compound. "Remember, about forty minutes," Sirius called to him.

"I remember," Harry yelled over his shoulder.

Lex pecked his cheek. "What has you so grumpy?"

"Nothing," he said. Karl was leaning against the another jeep, looking as though he had been waiting to talk with Lex. Rexy growled and Karl looked startled. Harry thought, 'Yeah, you better be scared. Berk!'

Harry opened the door for Lex and made sure she was in the jeep before he went to his side. Rexy ducked his head down. "I'll race you back," he said to Rexy as he started the Jeep.

"Don't try to dump us off the road again," Lex said, grabbing the hand hold over her head.

"I never dumped us off the road," Harry grinned at her. The gates were barely open before Rexy started to run. Harry put the Jeep into first and took off after the big guy.

A grinning Lex and him walked into the Visitor's Center a few minutes before the meeting. They were going to go over the latest plans for Isla Matanceros today. He had hoped it would be started already, but apparently planning out a self-sustaining village and school wasn't as easy as he had thought. It might also have to wait until next year to start because of all the workers that Jurassic Park still needed. The aviary was way behind schedule, two new paddocks were still being constructed and eight more bungalows were being added to the village, not to mention the hotel behind the village.

They walked hand-in-hand into the conference room.

"Harry! Lex!" a girl cried out.

Harry grinned as Charlotte hugged them tightly. "I didn't know you were coming," Lex said to Charlotte, looking as pleased as Harry to see her.

"Dad said I had to come out here," she said a little uncomfortably.

Harry looked up to Sir Benjamin. "I've had to try to explain to Charlotte what she is after an incident at her school."

"What did you do? Lex asked.

Charlotte looked extremely embarrassed. "Are you really a wizard?" she asked Harry. Charlotte had missed the group over the summer.

"Yeah, I am. So is Sirius and Mr Greengrass," Harry said, indicating the others in the room. "Lex is a witch, like you."

"No bloody way!"

"Charlotte, watch your tongue," her father scolded.

"Sorry, dad," Charlotte said.

Lex was grinning. "I'll teach you some better swears later," she whispered to the girl.

"Charlotte, you are welcome to stay in the meeting if you want, but we need to get this underway," Sir Benjamin said.

"Uhm, I think I want to go see Henry, if that's alright?" she asked.

"He's not on Isla Nublar right now. Most of the science team is not here," Hammond told her.

"Oh. Can I go watch the dinosaurs from the control room?" she asked.

"Muldoon and Dr Timmons were going to be heading over to the triceratops. Dr Timmons thinks he knows how to treat them now we know what is going on," Harry spoke up, seeing them getting ready in the garage when they parked the Jeep he was using.

"Oh, can I?" she asked excitedly.

"Listen to Muldoon and do everything he tells you," her father told her.

With a huge smile, she ran out of the room. Sirius was chuckling. "I think she loves those dinosaurs as much as Harry and Owen."

Lockwood smiled. "She wants to be a geneticist and work here. I hope she can be."

"No reason she shouldn't. How bad was the accidental magic?" Sirius enquired as Harry held out a seat for Lex.

"Two girls she's had issues with in the past got pink hair. The issue is it's not turning back, and no dyes will change it," Lockwood sighed.

"Yeah, that is one thing we've noticed. Magic is a little more permanent here than where we come from," Harry commented.

"If you want, I can go with you to see if I can reverse it," Sirius told him.

"What about all the classes and training?" Harry questioned.

"You can't leave them with pink hair if they don't want it," Lex told him.

"You seem to do pretty well on your own," Sirius said.

"If you could, Sirius, that would be appreciated," Lockwood responded to Sirius. He looked a little relieved. "Harry and Lex, could you also spend some time with Charlotte over the next few days? She needs to learn about what she is. At least until she can learn to control herself. I pulled her out of school for the next week or so until I decide what I'm doing. I'm afraid she may be staying as a more permanent resident for now. "

Harry shrugged. What was one more tag-a-long? "Sure, Mr Lockwood."

Lex sighed. "Well, at least I get one girlfriend here now."

Sirius gave a barking laugh but didn't say anything as Mr Greengrass looked towards them. He had been talking with Hammond. "Did we miss something amusing?" Hammond enquired.

"No. Nothing much," Sirius said, giving Lex a wink.

"Are we starting this?" Harry asked.

"I was just waiting for Lynne," Hammond said.

"I'm here. Sorry to be late. I was going over the new math formulas that Lex needs for the vision software. I think we can get it this time," Mrs Murphy said before taking a seat next to Sirius. They had started to see each other but were keeping it pretty quiet.

"Thank you, Lynne. Now, if you all want, I have had the architects put together some models and pictures of what we are going to do with Isla Matanceros. On the table are the draft plans," Hammond said.

Harry looked at the models on a table in the front of the room. It wasn't a huge place, but it would be enough for what they needed. Two large buildings stood off to the side. Hammond pointed out that they would be condominiums with four units each. There was plenty of space on the island to add more if the enclave ever grew that large. Opposite the condominium was a small apartment building, mainly for those that would be there by themselves. In the centre of the small community would be a community centre, sort of like the Visitor Center in Jurassic Park.

"The centre will have rooms that can be used for classrooms or meeting places. I know that Lynne and Ben would like to have their children continue with a normal education, so we will fly the children here a few times a week to help keep magic hidden from the tutors. We are going to build a school building just past the clinic," Hammond said.

"Dad, what about a school building on Isla Matanceros?" Mrs Murphy asked.

"The centre will have everything that is needed. A computer lab. A library. Six rooms for classes or whatever you need. I don't think we need more right now," Lockwood answered her.

"Will I be able to get into the servers here?" Lex asked. "I want to finish the vision program and Mr Arnold has asked for other help."

"We will run fibre optics under the ocean and give you a direct link," Hammond told her.

"What about water, food, and electricity?" Sirius asked.

"A desalination plant will be put in and electrical lines from Isla Sorna with a portable generator when needed. As for food, you can plant gardens, otherwise you will get deliveries when Isla Sorna does. There will be storage facilities in the community centre. Store houses can be built by the docks if the town grows. There isn't much on the island besides the forest. You'll be set up in the large cove, which should block view from the ocean from whatever you are doing," Hammond told them.

"And all the research into our magic?" Harry asked, looking at a building that hadn't been talked about yet.

Lockwood looked at him. "I would like to keep researching, but not like we have. Doctor Bones and I will be the lead scientists now. Doctor Gym has broken off from us. She is pursuing other endeavours now."

"You mean the magical creatures that we keep hearing about?" Harry pressed.

There was a feel of unease around the room. "We believe so. As far as we know, there has been only the two incidents, and we now have the sea serpent, but I can't say those are the only ones," Lockwood replied.

Sirius gave him a look. Harry understood. They would have to try to find the other sanctuaries before anyone else, and then decide what they were going to do about it. The question was, do they look for Beauxbatons first, or K'was Nun in Canada. The next was, should they go looking? The Bones were going to be moving to Isla Nublar at Christmas, and Hermione was going to join them at the same time.

Lex poked his side. "Are you paying attention?" she asked softly.

"Yeah," he said as her mother and grandfather talked about the facilities.

"Grandpa said the lagoon will be good for swimming," she told him.

"And the pool here was finally opened," he teased her.

She grinned. "I didn't hear you complaining when we went swimming the other night."

And she never would, especially since they had ended only in her knickers and he in his shorts. Being able to apparate and having an invisibility cloak had so many advantages.

-oOo-

November 22, 1993

San Diego, California, USA

Word of this press conference had caught the eye of the observers. Since the Order had met, they had looked for signs of the ones that had escaped and found little. What they had found though, was of great concern.

In Norway, stories of things long lost dead were starting to appear. Trolls. Horses with men's bodies. Dark things that were more demon than not.

In the Southern Pacific, stories of giant spiders and small men with sharp teeth and light skin that come from the ground…

Now this unholiness.

Father Reginald stood at the back of the room. Today he was in his street clothes. As much as he would prefer the trappings of his faith, it was necessary to be among the flock as one of them at times.

If the rumours were true, this press conference would expose the world to magic again. The one thing that the Order had prevented since Pope Pius VII disbanded the Inquisition was the exposure of any magic to the flock and the world in general. Now, the International Genetics Corporation was about to make a spectacle of this knowledge.

If it was as bad as suspected, the Order may finally be able to convince the bishops and Pope John Paul II that magic really does exist and that the Church needs to make a final purge.

As the gathered crowd talked, he watched the stage, looking for the people that he had been told to look for. The first one walked out at a few seconds past the hour. The man clumped his cane on the stage, gathering everyone's attention as he moved to the podium. By the time he got there, the smiling man in an expensive suit and white beard with glasses on his face had the attention of the crowd.

He bungled for a few seconds with some cards in his hand before greeting the crowd. "Good morning. As you may or may not know, I am John Hammond, director of the Board and co-owner of InGen. To my left is the other co-owner, Sir Benjamin Lockwood. We are so glad you could all come to InGen's corporate headquarters on this beautiful day in San Diego. This is a day that has been two decades in the making."

The man came off as a little bit of a bumbling fool, but his oratory skills were excellent as he had caught everyone's attention. Father Reginald suspected the man wasn't as much of a fool as he seemed at first impression.

"Just to get the background over with, my partner and I, Sir Benjamin Lockwood, started this company in nineteen seventy-five to research cancer and lifesaving drugs. We have had some success over the years, like Maladovan for treating diabetes, or Terangoden for reducing the symptoms of AIDS, but our real vision is to cure cancer and other genetic abnormalities," Hammond said.

It was true. InGen was one of the top medical companies in the world and had made some truly groundbreaking discoveries that had garnered much attention in the field. Even with this, the Church knew very little of the company. It was known to be very secretive and tight lipped and its employees very loyal. It was a troubling and encouraging sign.

"Towards this aim, InGen has undertaken years of research into discovering the secrets of genetics in both humans and animals. As you all know, human genetics, or more specifically the ability to correct issues in genetics, is a complicated and still young field. To learn how to do this, we have been able to work on learning how to work with animal genetics," Hammond told them.

There was murmuring in the crowd.

"As you all know, we asked you here today to witness the marvel and spectacular nature of this exciting field of science. If you would all look to the curtain," Hammond said.

Cameras were going off as the man hobbled to the curtain, his cane echoing over the growing noise. This was what they had all gathered for. A rumour of an ancient creature that would astound the world.

Hammond fumbled a little with a cord, before pulling it. The curtain opened. Behind it a large steel door was opening. The sound of something moving came through the door. Men in blue jumpers and holding large metal sticks walked out alongside a cage. Father Reginald's eyes grew large as cameras went off and the noise of the crowd grew. The thing in the cage looked a little agitated as it called out and hit the cage. The thick metal bars held it.

"Holy shit," someone from besides him said.

"Dear god," another commented.

The fool on the stage was grinning like a loon. His voice, even with the speakers, barely came over the noise of the crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to the pinnacle of our current endeavours. This is a triceratops and will soon be able to be seen by all at Jurassic Park when we open for the world in June of next year."

Father Reginald couldn't keep from making the cross. "Lord, give me protection and mercy," he asked.

He wasn't sure if this was worse or better than he had thought. He had feared that a dragon or other creature would have been revealed. This was something that was within the realm of normal human science. He couldn't help but think that this was still an unholy thing. It was like man was playing at being God. The Order would need to talk to the pope, but he didn't think they would get what they wanted. This didn't wreak of magic like the ones they were looking for.

Father Reginald got up. He had to report this before it broke in the news. Making his way out through the crowd, he could hear reporters bombarding Hammond and Lockwood with questions as the dinosaur was being led back into the door. It was agitated and trying to get out of the cage.

"I promise you all that we will answer your questions and that you will all be able to witness the majesty of Jurassic Park in the near future," Hammond's amplified voice could barely be heard as he walked out the doors of the massive room.

-oOo-

K'was Nun = Cloud Land in the Sekani First Nation Language

-oOo-

Next time on The Magic of Amber: Jurassic Park gets ready to open, the team decides where to go next and more drama on the islands…