Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

A/N: Thank you to all my awesome readers for coming back to the next instalment, and hopefully those new to this story. I know I said once a week… but couldn't wait.

If anyone wants to join me on Discord, just go to my profile and get the link to the Emerald Library.

Updated A/N at end, 21 Jul 22

-oOo-

Chapter 5

-oOo-

April 11, 1993

Isla Nublar, Costa Rica

Harry put the cup of tea before Sirius, who was still running his own wand over the wound. "Sirius, I would have had Muldoon get you your wand. I was only joking earlier about not giving it to you."

Sirius shook his head. "It was too much of a risk." He took in a hissing breath before starting to chant a soft sing-song spell. The tip of Sirius wand glowed a soft white as he ran it along the jagged scar. Sirius had opened his shirt and Harry had winced to see the rather red and angry looking thing. It went from the top of his left collar bone to just above his waistline over his right hip.

Harry waited until Sirius was done. His godfather let out a soft groan, but the scar looked better, less raw and more like it had been healing for a while. Sirius panted while slumping in the chair.

"What can I do for you?" Harry enquired.

Sirius looked up after a moment. "Nothing, pup. What I don't understand is how I survived. That spell should have ripped be open, but it isn't always fast."

"I think passing through the veil affected some magic. I had to charm my glasses again, but the expansion charm in my jacket held," Harry told him. "What hit you?"

"Some really dark magic. It's called the Night Reaper. Let me try this again," Sirius told him, passing his wand over the scar and doing the same sing-song chant. Harry could see the scar grow thinner and it went from a dark red to a soft pink. When he had passed his wand over the entire wound, having repeated the chant a half dozen times, Sirius slumped into his chair again, panting more than before.

"Sirius, are you sure you should be doing that?" Harry asked.

"I'm fine," Sirius told him. "One of the things the Aurors teach you is a few field spells for diagnostics and healing. I'll start teaching them to you tomorrow."

Harry nodded, concerned to see how tired the man suddenly looked. "If you are sure."

"A few more times and I'll be right as rain," Sirius replied.

They sat for a few minutes at the table in Harry's room. Sirius had been given the room connecting to his. While they sat, he started to drink his tea. It took a few minutes for Sirius to stop panting. His godfather groaned as he sat up, looking down at the scar. "Much better. A few more times and I'll be able to move around like normal again."

"It looks like they had to put you back together," Harry said, looking at the signs of stitching.

"That's about it, if the Muggle doctors are right. They said it was down to my bone, even left a few scrapes, but never went deeper," Sirius commented, touching the scar. He didn't wince or hiss in pain. "That feels better. You going to tell me what really has been going on now?"

Harry sighed. "Sirius, I think we are it."

"What do you mean?"

"I think we may be the only two wizards in the world, otherwise the others can't pick up what I do here, but I think that is unlikely. Some of the stuff InGen is doing seems to use magic," Harry told him.

Sirius regarded Harry for a few. "I think that highly unlikely. I think we are just beyond any detection range."

"You know about Hermione. One of the doctors that is studying my magic is Susan Bones mother. She showed me a picture of her daughter. It looked just like Susan did third year. Hammond's people have been able to find the Abbotts, Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan. Sirius, they all look the same they did third year. They are all going to Muggle schools and live at home. Can you tell me magic would be able to do that?" Harry asked. "Especially when they should all be in Hogwarts so far. Most of the purebloods and half-bloods I knew are nowhere to be found."

Sirius looked a little concerned. "Do you trust this Hammond that he will just let us go?"

"I do," Harry said. "He wants to take me to Washington D.C. next weekend. He wants me to meet his granddaughter and a few others. He's offering to send me to high school next year. He is bringing in tutors for regular Muggle studies this week. I think he means what he says."

"And Lockwood?"

"About the same."

"What about the others? I was having a hard time following what they were talking about. Something about how those monsters are made?" Sirius questioned.

"I don't know all about it yet. I haven't spent much time in the labs, but I like Muldoon. He reminds me a lot of Moody. Dr Timmons is a nice guy that takes me out into the paddocks many times. Most of the guards are good people, once they let their guard down," Harry said.

Sirius had a slight smile come over his face. "You like it here?"

Harry nodded. "Mostly. I'm not sure about some of the people working with Sir Lockwood, and Dr Wu has asked for a meeting this week."

Sirius frowned. "What have they been doing to you?"

"You mean besides making me feel like a lab rat some days?"

Sirius really didn't look happy this time. "Are they making you run in a wheel?"

Harry laughed. "Feels like it," he replied before describing to Sirius what had happened and how he really didn't like Dr Gim.

When he was done, Sirius said, "You let me deal with them. Hammond and Lockwood want a meeting in the morning. I'll bring this up and see what they really want from us."

"I think they just want to understand what we can do and how we do it. I don't think there is an alternative motive," Harry tried to assure Sirius. At least he didn't get that feeling from Hammond, Muldoon or Lockwood. Others were another story...

"I'm still bringing it up," Sirius told him. "Now, what exactly are dinosaurs? They look like dragons, but no wings and no fire?"

"Not even close. They are animals. Ones that died millions of years ago. Sirius, this shouldn't be possible, but Dr Wu and Mr Hammond say that magic has preserved some bugs and plants in amber and they can the blood and DNA from them to clone the dinosaurs."

Sirius looked totally confused. Apparently, Harry knew more about modern Muggle science than his godfather. "I'll take your word for it."

Looking at his scar again, Sirius repeated the healing spell. This time when he completed it, he was only breathing a little heavily. "That didn't hurt as much."

"You really should have let me send you your wand," Harry told him.

Sirius waved him off. "Harry, if we are potentially the last, or the wizards have hidden more than where we came from, then hiding may be one of the best things we could do. How many here know about you? How much have you told them?"

"Not a lot," Harry said. "I've shown them a half dozen spells. Explained some things, like the base transfiguration formula or that all wands have something from a magical animal. The only thing I've really gone into detail is anything I've learned from Care of Magical creatures. Muldoon and Hammond see very interested in that. As for how many that know," Harry shrugged. "Everyone at the table tonight. The four from Lockwood's team, the staff in the nurse's station and all the security people. I've not done anything around anyone else."

Sirius finally reached for his tea, putting some sugar and milk into it. "Good. Let's try to keep it that way for now. I've not told them anything about me being on the run or anything about the Order."

Harry nodded. "What are we going to do if we are the only ones left?"

Sirius took a drink of the tea before answering, "I don't know, pup. If Hammond is good to his word, this might be one of the best deals we will get. I want to go back to England to see if I can link up with anyone or find anything."

"I want to go too," Harry told him.

Sirius seemed to think of that for a few. "That's probably best. I don't want to be separated again, if we can help it. Not until we know this place is truly safe."

They finished their tea, Sirius starting to look like he was drifting off before Harry said, "Sirius, I like it here."

His godfather nodded. "I can tell. Let's see if we can find other wizards before we decide what we are doing."

Harry frowned. He wasn't sure he wanted to go back if he was going to have to face Death Eaters, Voldemort or he found everyone he cared for there didn't know him. The picture of Hermione on his night table reminded him of good times, but it hurt too to think she didn't know him. "Sure," Harry reluctantly agreed. If this was their new reality, Harry wanted to stay with the dinosaurs.

-oOo-

April 15, 1993

Isla Nublar, Costa Rica

Harry was starting to like the jeeps that they took around the island. He took the rocking and jarring of the vehicles like he had been born doing this. Though, today wasn't as nice.

"Just ease onto the gas," Yvonne told him as Harry sat in the driver's seat.

"Don't mess this up, pup," Sirius said in a way that made Harry more nervous.

"Shut it," Harry barked back to his godfather, who laughed. Harry pressed the gas. This wasn't like riding a broom, which he found as natural as breathing. The jeep jerked forward, and he slammed on the break. Yvonne chuckled as Sirius was thrown between the seats and cursed loudly.

"Just press it lightly. If you don't get us there within the next half hour, you'll miss Rexy being released," she reminded him.

"I know," he said, not wanting to miss the juvenile tyrannosaur that was coming over from Isla Sorna today. Muldoon said he could go down with the vets today.

Pressing on the gas gentler this time, the jeep started to move. As it did, Harry found himself fighting the steering wheel until he got the hang of it. They were moving now. "The faster you go, the easier it will be to steer here. Once you get to about ten-miles-per-hour, shift into second."

Harry's eyes bounced between the dirt road and the speedometer. When he hit ten, Harry took his foot off the gas, pressed the clutch with his left foot, moved the shifter as he had been taught in the last hour and then put his foot back on the gas.

The jeep started to go faster.

"Good. Now don't go faster than twenty for now," she told him.

Harry didn't nod or say anything as he concentrated on what he was doing. He only had the gears grinding once when he slowed to go around a corner, stepping on the gas too soon. When they stopped outside the animal gates of the tyrannosaur paddock, Sirius gave a nervous laugh. "At least we got here in one piece," his godfather said.

Harry gave a nervous chuckle. "It wasn't that bad."

"It was better than the first time I drove. I put my father's car into the wall," Yvonne said, getting out of the jeep.

Sirius took in a long breath. "I am going to apparate back," Sirius told him.

"I should learn that too," Harry told Sirius. They had already started on the first aid spells Sirius knew. Dr Rose was amazed when Sirius had walked into the clinic on Monday. Everyone thought it would be a month or more before he would be able to move as freely as he was. No one had told Harry that Sirius had gotten an infection, which was why it took two extra weeks to get him released.

"In good time. Let's get through some of the basics that you seem to be missing," Sirius said. When he realized that Harry hadn't learned some of what he thought of basics when he had attended Hogwarts had been a little bit of a surprise. Yesterday Harry had met with the two tutors that Mr. Hammond had flown in. It was a gruelling seven hours to find out he was about three years behind in most of his Muggle schooling. Harry thought it would be more.

"Let's see this done and then we need to drive over to the airport," Yvonne said. "The plane is supposed to leave about five."

"It's only ten," Harry replied, looking at his watch.

Sirius looked a little apprehensive as they approached the cement pad. The sound of the large Chinook helicopter could already be heard and two large vehicles with water cannons had been parked on either side of it. They had come over from the mainland yesterday.

"What are we doing again?" Sirius asked.

"Adding a juvenile T. Rex to the paddock," Yvonne said. They came up next to Dr Timmons and Muldoon.

"I want you three to stay here. If anything goes wrong, you get into that ATV or to the jeep. Don't stop until you are inside the visitor compound," Muldoon said.

Dr Timmons rolled his eyes. "I think you are too paranoid."

"I don't think anyone is paranoid enough here," Muldoon replied. "We have had two people killed and four wounded since I started here two years ago by the animals here."

"And new safety precautions have been put into place because of it," Dr Timmons countered.

Harry was only half paying attention. He was scanning between the sky and the trees that were a few hundred yards from the gate. "Romilda is here," Harry said.

"You saw that too?" Muldoon queried.

Sirius turned from the sound of the helicopter to the paddock. "Where?"

Harry slowly rose his hand. "In the trees. About five hundred feet down. Her head is above that small tree," Harry said.

Sirius looked, "I don't see it."

The sound of the Chinook increased in volume as it came around the tall mountains that formed the valley on this side of the island. Harry didn't take his eyes off Romilda. From what Harry understood, she was about six years old and fully grown. Rexy, the new one coming in, was a little over two years old and about a quarter the size of the other. He still wanted to get over to Isla Sorna to see the facilities there but had been told that was a Top-Secret facility. He had been able to get that there were five tyrannosaurs total. Romilda being the third, and Rexy the youngest.

"How do you and Muldoon see her?" Yvonne asked, still scanning the trees where Harry had pointed.

"Probably my seeker instincts," Harry told her. She gave him a questioning look while Sirius whistled.

"That is a big cage and a big areoplane," Sirius commented.

"It's a helicopter," Harry corrected his godfather. "Muldoon, Romilda is moving."

The muscular man turned to look back, just in time to see Romilda duck back into the trees. By now, the Chinook was so close, that they had to yell. "Keep an eye on the trees closest," Muldoon told him. "Teams, move in."

The crate came close to the ground and two men each grabbed lines hanging off four corners, guiding the large cage onto the tracks. Muldoon kept an eye on the handlers while moving to the closer LAV, or Light Armour Vehicle. Harry scanned the trees, noticing a few tops moved.

"She is coming closer," Harry yelled to Yvonne. He was forced to shield his eyes a little as the Chinook kicked up debris. It was about five hundred feet between the nearest trees and the gates.

"Muldoon insisted on the clearing here for stuff like this," Yvonne said, moving the large dart gun to her shoulder. Harry pointed to the trees, the Chinook backing off some now that it had been detached from the cage.

"What are you pointing too?" Sirius shouted, shielding his own eyes with his hand.

"Romilda is coming closer," Harry shouted back.

The water cannons on the LAV's turned towards the last area he saw the trees move. The latches for the cage snapped closed. After a few minutes, everyone backed away from the cage. "There!" Harry called out. He saw the adult rex snout in the shadows. Muldoon caught his movement, and the water cannons moved a little.

It took a moment for the younger Rexy to wake. Like with Romilda, a goat was raised into the middle of the field. As they waited, the sun started to cloud over. Muldoon had said they were starting to get into the rainy season, so a storm coming over the mountains wasn't anything much. The crack of thunder was what it took for Rexy to finally come out. The smaller tyrannosaur, perhaps eight feet tall, instead of the almost twenty that Romilda stood, ran out as though scared.

The sudden movement had the trees moving. Harry held his breath as Romilda burst out of the trees. There was a scared sounding squawk from Rexy as Romilda roared. Rexy took off towards the trees a quarter mile away, Romilda closing ground and only slowing after Rexy crashed into the jungle. Romilda came to stop about a hundred feet away from the treeline. He saw her move as though huffing.

Sirius had his wand in his hand. "Bloody hell," he muttered. "You are sure these fences will hold?"

"They have so far," Yvonne told him.

"That doesn't sound that reassuring," Sirius gripped.

"When you start to hang around Muldoon you think about what could go wrong," she casually said, starting to move closer to the fence. Romilda turned after a moment, lumbering back towards where he had originally seen her. She was walking a little hard today, as though announcing this area was her territory. She gave a look to the bleating goat and let out a loud huff that they could hear from where they were.

Harry chuckled.

"What's got your fancy?" Sirius questioned.

"The queen wants to hunt, not be fed," Harry told him, watching Romilda go back into the trees.

"I've said the same to Hammond," Muldoon said, coming back over to them. "That went better than I thought, but we'll need to keep an eye on them. You better get back to the compound. A storm is coming in and the Chinook won't be back until later to get the cage."

There was another rumble of thunder as the clouds cast a deep shadow over where they were. "Sure, boss. Come on you too. Let's get some lunch."

Sirius looked at Yvonne and him as they walked back to the jeep. Sirius gave a look to Muldoon. "Is Harry always that calm about this?"

Muldoon chuckled. "You can tell that boy has been through a lot and has learned to take care of and be mindful around animals. I may offer him a job when he gets older if he wants to keep doing this."

Sirius just nodded before following Harry and Yvonne.

-oOo-

April 16, 1993

Washington D.C., USA

They landed at the airport just outside of Washington D.C. and were now in a car with tinted windows that was weaving its way through heavy traffic. An attractive woman in her mid-twenties with blonde hair, a curvy body and skirt that showed off her calves was leaning around the seat.

The way Sirius was looking at the woman had Harry thinking his godfather would be panting if he was a dog at the moment... or trying to sniff up her skirt. Harry wasn't sure which.

"Mr. Hammond has you scheduled to go to his tailor, then he would like you to see an eye doctor, Mr. Potter. Maybe get some contact lenses? Then we will take a stop to get you some regular clothes and then dinner at the Hammond Foundation at six," the woman said. She had introduced herself as Romy Beauregard.

"Will you be eating supper with us, Romy?" Sirius asked.

"This is for Mr. Hammond and a few guests. I'll be available tomorrow if you would like to explore the Mall or something, but we need to be back at the Foundation by five for Mr. Hammond's granddaughter's party," Ms. Beauregard said, ignoring the way Sirius was grinning at her.

"Is this going to take long to make all these stops?" Harry asked. They had flown to Costa Rica last night, hopped on a private plane to Washington, D.C., getting in at close to one in the morning. He had slept a little uncomfortably in the hotel then had been woken at seven this morning. It was close to nine and he wasn't in the mood for a day of shopping.

"I imagine it will take several hours," Ms. Beauregard replied.

Sirius smiled. "Just relax, Harry. We'll get back to the island in a few days."

Harry huffed. "It's not that. I just hate shopping. Do you think we should go to England?"

Sirius nodded his understanding. "I know there is a MACUSA office not far from here. We were made to memorize a few places if we ever had to go outside the UK. I want to contact them first."

"Do you have a number?" Ms. Beauregard enquired, picking up a large black box from between the seats. "I can contact anyone you need while we are out today."

"Ah, I think this is something I should do in person," Sirius told her.

Harry was very grumpy by the time they pulled up to a large stone house in the middle of a very expensive looking neighbourhood that was full of townhouses, all attached to each other. "This is the headquarters of the Hammond Foundation and Mr Hammonds residence here. You can leave all your bags. John will get everything," Romy said. At some point during the day Harry had started to call her Romy and she didn't seem to mind.

John, no last name, the driver closed the door behind them. Two people opened the door. A woman in a nice dress and a man dressed like a butler stepped out. The man moved to the car, helping John to take out the half dozen shopping bags, four suits in coverings and the backpacks that Sirius and him had taken with them.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Black and Mr. Potter. I am Madam Curie. Mr. Hammond asked me to take care of you while you are hear over the next few days. If you need anything you can ask myself or Mr. Mason," she said, indicating the older man in the butler uniform. John and Mr. Mason were waiting for them to clear the steps.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Madam Curie," Sirius said.

"The pleasure is mine, Mr. Black. If you like, I can show you to the rooms you will be staying in so you can freshen yourself up or just relax some. Mr. Hammond should be back about five and dinner will be at six-thirty." The woman indicated for them to enter the house. Sirius rose his eyes to him.

"Madam Curie, I'll be back at ten to take Mr. Black and Mr. Potter out if they want," Romy said.

"Thank you, Romy. We'll see you tomorrow at ten."

Walking in, Harry was impressed. There were mid-stained woods all over the place. Much of it had an older feel to it, like the nicer estates in Scotland. the main hall had a staircase to the left, a few display cases to his right and a long hall with a half dozen doors. Harry moved to the first display case where there were samples of amber, a completed dinosaur skeleton that was perhaps two feet long and a shelf of teeth, all of which looked like small knives.

"Mr. Hammond is a great lover of fossils and minerals, especially dinosaurs," Madam Curie told him. "You are allowed to wander into any open door, but I must impress that all closed doors are for family or Mr. Hammonds associates only. The first floor and offices in the basement are mostly used by the Hammond Foundation."

"We'll be good, right, pup?"

"I'm always good," Harry replied.

The woman didn't look impressed at Sirius' cheeky grin. "Yes. Up this way. You are to have guests' room on the third floor. I ask you to please be quiet when up there. Ms. Murphy and her children will be sharing the floor with you, and she liked them to complete their homework when they get home."

"Is one of them Alexis?" Harry asked, knowing that Mr. Hammond talked about her and her brother rather proudly.

"Yes. She prefers to be called Lex, but she tends to only let her friends call her that now."

"Is this the one we are going to the party for tomorrow?" Sirius asked.

"Yes. Ms. Alexis will be turning sixteen. Her brother, Timothy, is eleven."

Harry was getting the sense this woman was a very strict and proper type of person. He was already missing the island, where most people were more down to earth. Walking up the stairs, the first-floor landing... though it was probably the second floor like things were labelled at the park... he saw more cases of fossils, amber or rocks.

"This one walks a little stiffly," Sirius whispered as he leaned over. One more flight up they were shown to rooms at the bottom of a fourth flight of stairs.

"I ask you stay mostly to this floor and the one below for the rest of the day. Some of Mr. Hammonds associates work out of the first floor and leave about five most nights," she told them.

John took Harry's bags and placed them just inside his door, as Mr. Mason did the same with Sirius.

"Please wear one of the suits tonight and the other tomorrow. If you need anything, just pull the string next to your doors. I need to go make sure dinner is ready, if you will excuse me," she told them, turning and making her way back down.

"Is she always this uptight?" Sirius asked the two other men.

Mr. Mason replied. "Mr. Hammond likes a proper staff. There are many guests and investors that often visit. You are being allowed to stay on the family floor, so please be respectful." The man gave them a little bow and left for the lower floors as well.

John nodded. "They are good people. I've work for Mr. Hammond and Ms. Murphy for six years and they have always treated me and all the other staff well." He tipped his hand to his hat. "I'll see you tomorrow if you need me."

"Thanks, John," Harry said.

Sirius looked around. "If I had grown up in a place like this, I might not have turned out so bad," Sirius remarked.

"You still would have been a mutt," Harry said, laughing as Sirius gave him a wink.

"Listen. We have a few hours. I am going to go see if I can find the MACUSA offices. We were always told that we could go to New York or Washington D.C. if we needed," Sirius told him.

"I want to come," Harry told him.

Sirius seemed to have some internal struggle before saying, "Stay here. If I'm not back in time for dinner, someone needs to be able to tell Hammond and I need to know you are safe."

"Sirius, I can take care of myself," Harry said a little irritated. Hadn't he mostly been doing that all his life? Maybe the last month on the island had changed him.

"Of course, you can, pup. Doesn't mean that I shouldn't be the adult in this situation." Sirius looked at his watch. "I'll be back in an hour, two at most. It's only a little after two."

Harry stared him down before sighing. "Fine."

When Sirius went to ruffle his hair, Harry pushed him off. With a laugh, Sirius turned and popped away. "Bloody mutt," Harry said, a little affection in his voice.

Turning back to the room he was given, Harry realized that he smelled some and thought a shower was due. He found that his room had a private bathroom. He through his clothes off, grabbed a new pair of boxers and was please to find soap, shampoo and a razor lain out on the sink.

The show was hot. He shaved the stumble he had started to grow more frequently and made sure he was full dry before stepping out of the bathroom. He walked over to the bed and looked at the two suits that had been lain out. Someone had been in here while he showered. His clothes he had on earlier were gone. The bags had been moved to the foot of the bed and as he looked to the door, his eyes widened to find black stocking clad legs that ran up to a pleated skirt. Farther up was a white shirt, with a partially undone tie over what looked like attractive curves and at the top was a pretty face that was framed in golden blonde hair, a cute nose and blue eyes.

He caught her eyes roaming up his body until their eyes met.

"Ah, hi," Harry said.

The girl blinked. "Ah, hi," she copied.

She was beautiful. "I'm Harry."

"Lex."

He looked into her blue eyes, liking how her cheeks took on a little colour. "You know you are only in your boxers?"

Harry's eyes opened wide. "Bloody hell," he said, wanting to reach for something, but deciding to own it instead.

Lex giggled. "I'll just step out."

"Sure," he said, feeling his own face heat some. She stepped backwards, closing the door behind her. He followed her motions until she was outside the door.

"Bloody hell!" he said a little more loudly, letting out a breath and slumping some, not realizing he had stood so tall or puffed out his chest. Luckily, he was more muscular and not as skinny as he had been two years ago. The Tri-wizard tournament and this past year with Umbridge and running the DA had seen that change come. He just wished he didn't have so many scars.

Thoughts of her shapely legs, chest and her blue eyes had him wishing they had met in a slightly different way.

-oOo-

Not long before...

Washington D.C.

"Thanks, John," Lex said as he opened the door of the car for her.

"I want to get in," her annoying brother said behind her. She tried to ignore Tim as she got up, pulling her backpack out. Tim bounced on the seat as he followed her.

"Madam Curie wanted me to remind you that your grandfather's special visitors are here," John told her.

Lex tried not to roll her eyes. Her grandfather always had 'special' visitors. This time it was supposed to be some son of someone he worked with. He probably wanted her to show him around or something. All she wanted to do was change her clothes, start up her computer and play. Luckily Friday nights and Saturdays were mostly her own. Sunday morning, she would have to go to the pool again. The next meet was in a few weeks and was pushing for a new school record.

"Who is here?" Tim asked, rushing up the steps.

"A Mr Harry Potter and Mr Sirius Black. Mr. Hammond said we were to treat them well," John said, making sure they made it to the door.

"Great, another one to babysit," she grumbled.

"You may like this one," John said. "Good day. I'll see you on Monday."

Tim was already tearing up the stairs. Lex looked at John. He usually didn't say anything about the people he escorted around. Actually, John never drove anyone around except them and her grandfather.

He tipped his hat and closed the door. "Did I hear Timothy running through here again?" Madam Curie asked.

"He's probably in his room now, Madam Curie," Lex said.

The woman huffed. "We've already had to have all the cases bolted to the walls after he knocked that other over. Can you keep him upstairs for now? Your grandfather has some people working in the offices and I am making sure everything is ready for dinner."

"Can I just tie him to a chair?" she asked, getting a small, quick smirk from Madam Curie.

"I am afraid that might be frowned upon. To let you know, your grandfather has housed two guests on your floor. Please be polite and tell Timothy not to bother them," Madam Curie told her.

Her eyebrows rose. "On the third floor?"

"Yes. There will most likely be two of his Japanese investors here as well tonight, so make sure you dress nicely, or you can go out with your mother. She was going to take Timothy to a movie," Madam Curie told her.

The dinner was probably going to be dull, so going to a movie may not be a bad idea. "Thank you."

The woman gave her a nod before turning back towards the formal dining room. Oh, that dinner was going to be very dull, especially if they started to talk about InGen. She was getting tired of hearing about genetics and what seemed like secret code words.

When she made it up the stairs, Tim was already on his way back down. "Madam Curie wants you to stay up here."

"I need a snack," Tim said, jumping the last three steps to the landing and then rushing past her.

She had tried.

Up to the third floor, plopping her school bag onto her bed, putting her school blazer and vest on a hanger, she let out a sigh and then plopped on the bed. With Tim three floors down, it was silent. Almost too silent.

Sitting up, she eyed her stereo on the shelf above her new Gateway 2000. The box of the computer was open, and she had already heavily modified it. It had four times the RAM than when she had gotten it, a new video card and three 1GB hard drives, which had to be specially ordered since they were some of the newest technology. She was still trying to convince her mother to get a new motherboard and a new Pentium processor. That was all on her wish list that grandpa would probably get her if she asked, but her mother didn't like Tim or her to do that.

They had been living here all school year after her parents had gotten a divorce.

Getting up to turn her radio on, she heard a bump on her wall. Someone must be in the bathroom next to hers.

Loosening her tie, she thought it best to get the introductions over with. If she had to babysit for the next few days, she hoped he wasn't as stuck up as the last one her grandpa let stay over with his father.

She walked over to his door to find it open. Lex knocked before stepping in. "Hello?"

When no one answered, she took another step into the room. A line of bags were lined up before the bed. The label on them were from an expensive store by the mall. Two suits were on the bed. One was a dark blue, the other black. She liked the blue one.

When the door to the bathroom opened, she was about to rush out. That was until she saw a boy, about her age, walk out. He was dressed in only blue boxers, showing off muscular legs, well defined abs, a chest that was growing a light covering of hair, muscular arms and when she looked up more, he had a rather rugged face, a weird lightning bolt scar on his forehead, but it was his intense green eyes that had her holding her breath. Holy shit! she screamed in her head. The boy was hot!

Looking directly into her eyes, he dumbly said, "Ah, hi."

She started to breathe again, her mind only kicking in enough to reply just as dumbly, "Ah, hi."

His green eyes didn't leave hers. She felt like she wanted to get closer to investigate his, her cheeks feeling flush. When he said his name was Harry, she was sure she was already in love with his accent. "Lex," she said, still unable to string more than a word or two together. He shifted a little, her eyes liking how he moved, then flushing even more as she really took in that he was almost naked. "You know you are only in your boxers?"

He seemed to realize and looked slightly abashed, before standing tall. She felt butterflies in her stomach. "I'll just wait outside," she told him, not taking her eyes off him as she backed out.

Once the door was closed, she leant into the wall. Her hand started to fan her face. "Holy shit," she said out loud this time. The boy, Harry, was perhaps the most gorgeous boy she had seen. Rebecca was never going to believe her or let her down as she had just told her best friend she really wasn't interested in any boy. It had only really been the last year that she had started to dress more like a girl and enjoy it. Baseball, softball and swimming, along with her love of computers, had been enough.

"Shit," she muttered, realizing she wanted to go to dinner now and had to go get ready.

-oOo-

A/N: In response to some reviews and PM's, Lex is a mixture of the movie and book, trying to stay more true to the book. That being said, she was about eight in the book, and this is my projection of what she would be like eight years in the future, with her like of sports, the movie computer genius, and that she has grown out of her kind of whining stage at age eight.

Living through two teenagers right now, there is a large difference on how they act at eight, thirteen and sixteen, but some of their base tendencies still remain, so just trying to use that for projection.