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.
Today's story: What it means for Lex, her family and her magic…
-oOo-
Chapter 10
-oOo-
July 19, 1993
Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, USA
When they got back, Harry asked Lex to just wait a moment or two. She had reluctantly agreed. He found Sirius and Mr. Hammond in the man's office.
"Come in," Mr Hammond called through the door.
Harry opened the door. "I'm sorry to bother you."
"Back really early, aren't you, pup? I figured we be sending a search party out for you two," Sirius said with a grin.
"I trust my granddaughter with Harry," Mr Hammond said in a significant way.
Sirius took in his face and asked, "What's up? Why are you back so early? Why do you look worried?"
"I messed up," Harry said.
"That bad? Well, there are always other birds out there," Sirius joked.
"That is my granddaughter," Mr Hammond warned.
Harry rubbed the back of his neck. "Some girls bumped into me when Lex and I, ah, were, ah, talking. I kind of freaked and took out my wand. She saw my holster while it was still disillusioned," Harry told them. Sirius went from teasing to serious in no time flat. "Sirius, she made sparks come out of my wand when she touched it."
Mr Hammond gave him an unimpressed look. "I hope you didn't mean that in the way I think you did."
Sirius waved the man off. "You are sure that you just didn't do that on accident?"
"It wasn't my magic that the wand responded too," Harry told him in no uncertain terms.
Mr Hammond looked to him, then Sirius, who now had a hand over his mouth. "Bloody hell," Sirius cursed.
"That's what I thought!" Harry exclaimed.
Mr Hammond looked concerned. "What are you two talking about?'
"You are sure?"
"I bloody hell know what my magic feels like, Sirius. It was bright gold and red sparks, like the first time I held my wand, and it wasn't me," Harry told him.
Sirius nodded after a moment. "Right. You go talk with her. Let me talk with John, and I'll come join you in a short bit."
"Are you sure?" Harry said, knowing they wanted to limit their exposure.
"You aren't telling her what InGen does?" Mr Hammond demanded.
"Harry will keep the dinosaurs secret, but he needs to tell her about our magic," Sirius said.
Mr Hammond seemed to suddenly realize something. "Wait! Are you saying Alexis has magic?"
"Ah, yeah," Harry said, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Harry, go talk with Lex. I'll have a conversation with John," Sirius told him. "You are sure?"
"It wasn't me," Harry said.
Sirius shook his head. "You never do it my halves."
"It's not my fault that everything seems to happen around me," Harry shot back.
"Go find Lex," Sirius told him.
"Are you sure Alexis showed signs of magic? We haven't been able to detect anyone else," Mr Hammond said.
With a nod, Harry went to find Lex.
Ms. Murphy saw him as he walked by the sitting room. Tim was nodding in and out as they watched a movie. Harry waved to her. "Lex went out to the deck. Is everything okay?"
"It'll be fine," Harry assured her.
Out on the deck, Lex was standing against the rail. The wind that had been blowing all day was throwing her hair over her shoulders and her dress tight against the front of her body. Harry had liked Cho. She was a pretty girl and loved to fly. He had been starting to realize how much he liked Hermione. She was pretty. Probably better looking than Cho. But with Hermione, he didn't feel like kissing her. As much as he cared for her, it wasn't romantic. She knew most of his secrets, didn't judge him for being The-Boy-Who-Lived or anything like that. No. Her judgements were out of real concern for him.
Lex, on the other hand, had nothing to judge him on. She always seemed happy to see him. Harry knew it was not because of his past or the fame he once had, but because she just liked him. Also, Harry found he liked being treated as a normal teen, and that she was also just a normal teen he found beautiful.
Looking at the side profile of Lex Murphy, he had found something he never thought he would: someone that only looked at Harry as Harry.
Now, that was about to change. He was going to have to tell her what he was... what she probably was.
That was probably why he was hesitating.
Harry wanted to be a normal teen.
Things were going to change.
Lex turned to him after a moment. "I didn't hear you come out," she said, a smile coming to her face.
Harry nodded, moving over to the railing and leaning against it a few feet away. He considered how to tell her, before deciding it was best to just rip off the bandage. "Lex, would you believe me if I told you that magic was real?"
She looked at him, Harry seeing something going on behind her blue eyes. "Grandpa used to have a magic show. He told me as a boy it would help him earn money on the streets in Inverness. He used to do that so he could get enough to start his first business."
Harry gave her a small smile. "I'm not talking about tricks," Harry said. Looking around, he made sure no one was looking. His hand went to his left arm, and he pulled his wand out of his holster. The disillusionment charm faded as his wand slid out.
Lex's eyes widened. "Is that some new technology that my grandpa or Mr Lockwood developed?"
"No. Mufliato," he said, circling his wand. Lex shivered.
"What was that?"
Harry rose an eyebrow. "You felt that?"
"What was it?" she asked again.
"Magic." he told her, twirling his wand. "Mugglium Repelleo," he muttered. Sirius had taught him how to cast the muggle repelling charm after they had been found practicing. Lex shivered again, shuffling just a little closer to him.
"What did you just do?"
"I cast a spell that would not let anyone listen into our conversation and would make all non-magicals look away from us. If any cameras are around, they will still be able to see us. Magic works a little differently here," Harry explained.
Lex was silent for a moment. "You really mean magic is real? Can you do anything else?"
Harry chuckled. "You seem to be taking this really well. You believe me?"
"Can you do anything else?" she asked again.
Harry did a little flick. "Accio rock," he softly said towards the sand below them. A rock about two inches long came zooming up and he caught it easily. Lex's eyes grew even larger. "Avifors."
The rock morphed in his hand to a small blue bird. It started to sing a song before taking to flight.
"Holy shit," Lex muttered. "It is real?"
"That spell will last for an hour or two and then the bird will turn back into a rock," Harry told her. "There are ways to make it permanent, but I don't know them."
"Mr Black taught you, didn't he?" Lex asked, moving a little closer.
"You aren't more surprised?" he asked.
"I know you've been hiding things. I overheard grandpa talking with Mr Lockwood. They said that Mr Black seemed to heal overnight. They mentioned magic. I assume that is how you were only in a cast for two weeks?" she questioned.
Harry shook his head. "I knew you were bright."
Lex gave him a pleasant smile. "Mom says too much at times."
"Never too much," he replied. "Are you okay with this?"
"Are you kidding? This is amazing!" she said, more of her bubbly self coming back. She really must be Mr Hammond's granddaughter as she just accepted it.
"You really think so?"
"Yes. There is some literature on new computer designs that are speculating that there is a way to bend energy in order to increase speeds. Some call it quantum computing, others an energy bending. There are a few groups working on it, but it sounds like they don't understand how to fully make it work. Could it be magic? How do you do that? Is it some type of energy bending? When you change the rock, are you changing it only on the surface, like an illusion, or is it deeper? Holy shit, Harry! Do you know what you could do if you can figure out what you are doing?" Lex rambled as quickly as she could. "I, mean, how do you do that? I know I am only going into physics II next year, but I haven't heard of anything that would do that. Can you change anything else? Oh, if you could figure out how to make that permanent," she said.
Harry had to laugh. He had seen her get worked up before, but not like this. He also hadn't realized how much she read and must have been a bigger geek than he had known. Even so, she was always more down to earth than anyone else he knew.
"Lex," Harry said, trying to stop her.
"Harry! We have to understand what this is. This could be the greatest discovery since the atomic bomb..." she stopped for a moment, as though suddenly coming to a realization. "Do you think you could stop something like a nuclear bomb?"
"No clue. I could probably vanish it. Sirius has been working on the more advanced transfiguration stuff with me. We figure I might need it," Harry told her.
"Transfiguration? Vanish?" she asked.
"Vanishing makes things just disappear. It is a part of transfiguration, which is the magic of changing things, like the bird," Harry explained.
"Oh. Scotland! You went to school in Scotland. Is that where you learned magic? Where you kicked out or was that just a story?" Lex asked, looking very intently at him.
Harry's smile faded. He turned away from her expressive blue eyes and out onto the ocean. The sun was finally dipping low on the horizon. "I went to a magical school. It was called Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. About a thousand years ago, it was built by four people that most of the magical world regarded as some of the greatest wizards and witches of all time. I think only Merlin and Albus Dumbledore were regarded as more powerful."
Harry's voice became a little wistful. Perhaps it had been too long since he had really talked about what he had lost and went on. "Hogwarts was brilliant. There were hidden passages, a stairwell where the stairs kept moving and the ceiling of the great hall was enchanted to show the sky. The first night I walked in, I can still remember looking up and seeing the heavens just opening. There were no lights to obscure any of the stars. Floating candles were high above the tables and blended in with the stars. That was always my favourite when the skies were clear."
"Is that where you met Ron and Hermione?" Lex asked, as though sensing this was something extremely important to him.
He gave a sad smile. "They were my best friends. Ron and I became best friends while on the Hogwarts Express. We saved Hermione from a mountain troll that first Halloween. After that, it was the three of us against the world."
He fell silent as he thought about them. He still wondered if they survived that night, though he was starting to accept he would never know.
"You sound like Hogwarts and your friends aren't there anymore," Lex gently said, moving closer. Their arms were almost touching now.
Harry let out a long breath. "They aren't," he said rather sadly. Talking with Lex, being able to tell someone something serious about his life, was something he had found he had been missing. Harry hadn't told Mr. Hammond or any of the others half of this. That, and the fact Lex leaned into him, her hand reaching out to touch his, was what gave him the courage to say. "Sirius and I don't come from here."
"What do you mean?"
"Lex, where I come from, I'm rather famous, but not in the good way. They called me The-Boy-Who-Lived because I survived a curse that kills everyone. I survived because my parents did something and sacrificed themselves. Everyone either loved me for saving them from an evil man that was killing everyone or hated me because I killed him. Then the ministry turned almost everyone against me," he said rather bitterly.
Lex looked at him a little concerned. "You were famous because your parents died for you?"
"That, and I killed Voldemort, though he really wasn't dead. The night we stumbled into this world, Sirius and I were involved in a fight against Death Eaters. They were people that followed Voldemort. Sirius fell through a weird veil, and I jumped in after him," Harry told her.
"Harry, how do you know that your friends and Hogwarts aren't there anymore?" Lex asked.
"Sirius and I went there," Harry told her.
"After you visited in April? Where you broke your arm?"
Harry wove his fingers into Lex's. "Yes."
She nodded and they looked out at the ocean for a few. Lex broke the silence. "Where did you get all the scars?"
Harry closed his eyes. He had seen her looking at his bare chest, back and arms today, but she hadn't commented on any of his scars. "That is a long story."
"Are you planning to run away from me?"
He shook his head, turning back to her. Lex was looking at him, her head slightly cocked and her blue eyes meeting his. "I'm more afraid you will run," he admitted.
She gave him a shy smile. "I meant it earlier that I really like you."
"And the fact I am a wizard?"
"That is totally cool," she said, moving in a little closer. "I kind of wish I could do magic. I only know computers and how to swim."
Harry chuckled, feeling himself getting pulled into her. "Computers are pretty magical to me. I have no clue how they work."
She giggled. "I can tell."
Her laugh changed into something that Harry could only describe as sultry. The look made his pulse quicken and the butterflies he had felt earlier come back. The only kiss he had ever had before had been watery and full of sadness. The peck they had shared earlier had felt like it could have been the start to something brilliant. The inviting look she gave him as she leaned closer to his face had the look of something beyond brilliant.
He took his Gryffindor courage and closed the gap. When their lips met, it was a little awkward at first, but soon Lex started to move her lips. Harry did the same. It was like small static shocks dancing across their lips as they kissed. Harry leaned into her; Lex shuffle a little, so their hips were touching.
When they pulled back, Harry had a goofy grin for a moment. "Wow," he said.
Lex was taking in a few deep breaths. "Can we do that again?"
Harry chuckled. "Definitely."
Lex moved in. Harry met her and he felt the pull of his magic to her. It was like she was pulling him in. When they separated, they were both breathing a little heavier. "Kissing has never felt like that before," Lex said.
Harry raised an eyebrow in question. "How many other boys have you kissed?"
Her cheeks flushed a little. "I may have been to a few parties where we played spin the bottle."
"I guess I have some catching up to do," he commented.
"We could catch up now," she said.
Harry pulled back and Lex pouted. "Lex, before we kiss again, I have something else to tell you."
Lex looked a little apprehensive. "You have a girlfriend from where you come from, don't you?"
"Ah, no. I can honestly say that was my first real kiss," he told her.
"Really? That was pretty good," she told him, a smirk coming over her face.
Merlin! Harry wanted to kiss her again. "Thank you," he said, his cheeks warming a little. He kicked himself to pull back again. "Lex, I think you're a witch."
He shouldn't have just blurted it out. Her eyes widened; her mouth dropped open in surprise. It worked a time or two as though she seemed incapable of speaking. Harry took her hand in his, his wand pressed into her palm. It warmed as they both touched it. Lex looked down at their hands.
"You can feel that, can't you?" Harry asked.
Lex blinked. "Since the first day I met you. But... but aren't witches supposed to be all ugly and evil?"
Harry laughed. "They are just people with the ability to use magic. Hags, on the other hand, they are ugly and evil."
Lex gave a nervous giggle. "Hags are real?"
"Yes," he said, not wanting to overload her.
Lex looked at his wand for a moment more before looking up. "Can you teach me?"
Harry was impressed at how she was taking this.
He encouraged her to hold his wand. "Now, I want you to think of a light. It can be any type of light, but know how you imagine it, that is how it will come out. So, if you want a torch, it will have a narrow beam. If you want a light bulb, it will shine like one in a lamp."
"Why would I want a torch? Aren't they balls of fire on a stick?" Lex asked.
"Not that type of torch... uhm, electric torches. A flashlight I think Simmons called them," Harry told her. He saw the recognition in her eyes. "Now, you know that feeling when we touched hands, or kissed?"
Her shock took on a little bit of a more playful smile. "I'm not sure if I remember that. You may have to show me again."
Harry grinned back. He pecked her lips, never thinking he would be like this. "Think of the light. Feel the magic. Now, say lumos."
Lex pecked him this time. "Lumos," she said and a bright light, like a lightbulb lit up the now dark deck from the tip of his wand.
"Dear God!" someone said from behind them. Harry twirled to see the wide eyes of Ms Murphy. Sirius had a hand on her arm so she could see through the charms. Her mouth worked a time or two before her eyes rolled back into her head.
"MOM!"
Sirius caught her before she fell to the deck.
Mr Hammond was watching as Lex rushed over, the light still at the tip of the wand. After a moment, he said, "This changes everything."
-oOo-
July 20, 1993
Martha's Vineyard, USA
Lex had had a hard time sleeping last night.
In one day, she had gotten a boyfriend, found she liked his kisses, found out magic was real and that she was a witch.
Laying in her bed as the pre-dawn light filtered into her room, she touched her lips. Having kissed three other boys at parties and not finding it anywhere near as bothersome, or electrifying, as Harry...
The fact he was her boyfriend was even better than the way he kissed. Even so, her body reacted to the ghost feeling of his lips as she thought about him.
Then... she let out a breath, looking at her hands. Then, she was a witch. How was she going to explain... or should she explain this... to Rebecca? She had learned of the old witch hunts and the Inquisition. The way the priest used to talk to them Sundays at church had them all wary of witchcraft, even if it didn't exist...
Well, hadn't existed until now.
Lex had never taken those sermons seriously. She liked fantasy novels and magic.
Yes, her family were Catholics, but her mom had stopped going to church just after the divorce and Lex didn't really miss it, but she couldn't forget what was said.
"Witchcraft is the work of the devil. Given to those that led Adam to evil and ejected us from the Garden of Eden, the blessed place of the Lord and cradle of our existence. In Corinthian 116.2..." Or whatever the reference was.
She had used Harry's wand. Had felt the warmth as something inside her wanted to hold the length of wood. It had felt like a small fire in her as she said the word, 'lumos'. The light looked just like a light bulb.
Her mother had passed out. Waking sometime later as Harry and Sirius explained to her what magic was. That it wasn't anything inherently bad. That they weren't bad people when she accused them of being evil. It had been her grandpa to finally calm her mother down. He didn't look surprised by any of it. No. He looked at her rather curiously.
When the sun was fully up, she put on a pair of jean shorts, a comfortable shirt that dipped low on her shoulders and made her way downstairs. Mr Mason was in the kitchen making breakfast. The smell of eggs, bacon and fruit had her stomach growling. With all the excitement last night they had skipped dinner.
"Good morning, Ms Murphy," Mr Mason said.
"Good morning. Am I the first one up?" she asked.
"Mr Potter and your brother are out on the deck eating breakfast. Your mother went for a ride with your grandfather. Mr Black is still sleeping, I believe," Mr Mason informed her. "I was just finishing these scrambled eggs. Would you like some?"
"Please," she said.
Laughter filtered through the open windows. She moved over to the windows that looked out onto the deck. Tim was laughing as Harry tried to catch some grapes he had thrown into the air. She couldn't stop the small smile that came to her face. Her boyfriend was amazing. He got along with everyone here. Tim may be annoying, but she did love him.
Watching him with Tim, she was finding it hard to believe that those that used magic were evil. Was that just because she now knew she was a witch? Or was it because she didn't really believe it?
"Ms Murphy, would you like this now or should I put it in the oven for when you are ready?" the man behind her asked.
She turned. "I'll take it. Do we have any orange juice?"
A few minutes later she slipped into the seat next to Harry. He gave her an uncertain smile. "Good morning," he said.
"Hey, Lex," Timmy said.
"Hi," she said, leaning over to give Harry a soft kiss.
"OH! EW! You are kissing my sister!"
Lex pulled back, took a grape from Harry's plate and tossed it at Tim. Tim put a hand to block it, laughing as he dodged it. "I think you need to play baseball again," Tim teased. "HEY!"
Lex had just grabbed the rest of the grapes and tossed them at her annoying brother, who was hit by a few.
"I was eating those," Harry said, not sounding that bothered.
"You can have some of mine," she told him.
"If you two are going to make-out, can I go use your computer?" Timmy asked.
"Don't get the keys all messy again. Wash your hands before you use it," she told him, happy to see him go. "Take your plate and glass too!"
Tim had shot out of his seat, skidded to a halt and then grabbed his stuff.
Harry stole a piece of cantaloupe from her plate. She picked up her fork and started to eat while Harry stole a few other pieces of fruit. After a few minutes he asked, "How are you?"
She finished the bacon in her mouth before saying, "I don't know yet," she told him honestly.
He just sat there. His hand moved towards hers a few times, but he pulled back, as though unsure what to do. On the fourth time she reached to close the distance. "I still really like you," she told him.
"I really like you too," he replied. "And about magic?"
She sighed, leaning over to put her head on his muscular shoulder. Like every other time, she could feel this pull to him when she touched him. Thinking about it, she had been excited at first, then there was her mother's reaction. "I don't know. It is wicked, but I've always been told its evil and wrong."
Harry stiffened. "By who?"
"Our priest. The nuns that used to be at my old school. There is a lot of talk in the bible about it," she told him.
Harry was quiet for a moment. "I didn't know," he told her.
She let go of his hand to wrap her arms around his. "It's only the Catholic church and a few others, from what mom says. My religious history teacher in eight grade said the Reformation was about how to interpret the bible and the power that the Pope and Rome had. One of the issues was about how to interpret magic. Mr Metz thought the old Greek words for magic just meant a wise man. Others thought it meant the actual use of magic, and that snakes and woman were the conduits. You know, the whole Garden of Eden thing."
Harry really stiffened now.
"And what do you believe," Harry asked, probably thinking about how her mother had reacted last night. How would she react if Ms Murphy found out he could talk to snakes?
"That I really like you and don't think I care," she told him.
Still feeling hungry, she let go of his arm with and started to pick at the eggs and fruit still on her plate.
"Lex? Did your history teacher ever talk about the Inquisition?" Harry asked.
She thought about that. "Yeah. It was this big thing that swept across Europe, the colonies and elsewhere. The Salem Witch trials and a whole bunch of bad stuff happened. The Catholic church tried to expand its influence all over the globe. I think he said it went from the fifteen hundreds to the early eighteen hundreds. There were wars fought over it, I think. I still have my old history book at home, if you want. Why do you ask?"
Harry let out a long breath. " Hogwarts was all in ruins when we went. As was the town of Hogsmeade. Where I came from, it had stood almost a thousand years and was this huge castle. When Sirius and I went through the ruins, we found a hidden chamber I knew about. One of the old ghosts found us and told us it was the Inquisition that destroyed the castle and killed all the witches and wizards. Most of the ones we found were just kids, like us."
Lex's fork was half-way to her mouth. Harry went on.
"It was the Inquisition and soldiers that killed them, burned Hogsmeade and destroyed Hogwarts. It was the first place I really thought of as home," he said. "It was where I found the only friends I have ever had."
"That fight we were in before I went through the veil, I have no clue if Hermione, Ron, Neville, Luna or Ginny survived. Most of them were hurt bad. They followed me to the Ministry to save Sirius. I'm pretty sure I killed at least one of the Death Eaters. I know I seriously injured others. I'm not a good person, Lex."
The priest couldn't be right. Such an evil person couldn't be as nice as he was. "Did you mean to hurt them?" she asked.
Harry sighed. "I didn't want too, but it was either the Death Eaters or us, and my friends got really hurt anyways."
She could hear how sad he was. Maybe she should have been afraid. Instead, she put her fork down and wrapped her arms around his again. "It was self-defence?"
"Yeah, but we shouldn't have been there to begin with."
She snuggled her head against his shoulder. "I don't think you evil," she told him.
He leaned his head against hers. "I miss them," he said.
She snaked a hand into his. "You have me," she told him, hoping it might be enough to fill the sadness she heard in his voice. He held her hand tight.
"We have found some of them, but none of them are magicals. I'm also three years older than everyone else now," he told her.
He hadn't told her that before. "Who did you find?"
"Hermione. Dean Thomas. Seamus Finnigan. They were in Gryffindor with Ron and me. Susan Bones and Kevin Entwhistle. They were both Hufflepuffs. That is it, so far."
She waited for a moment. "I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault," he assured her.
Sensing his mood, she asked, "Can you teach me more magic?"
"I talked with Sirius about that. If your mother approves, we have extra wands that we were able to salvage that I would like you to try later. Sirius and I can start teaching you while we are here, then I want you to come out to where we are living. It may not be safe for you to be a witch. Lex, do you know if the Inquisition is still around?" Harry asked.
"Not that I know of. I think the church disbanded it in the early eighteen-hundreds. That was a long time ago. You don't think the church is still hunting witches?" she asked, getting rather concerned as she took in what Harry was probably getting at.
He ran his hand through his hair, looking concerned. "I don't know, Lex. Sirius and I haven't been able to find another wizard and the Grey Lady said it was the Inquisition that destroyed Hogwarts and Hogsmeade. I don't know if it's safe for us and Sirius and I think we need to be careful."
She lifted her head and turned to look Harry in his green eyes. There was something about them that was darker than normal. There was something that seemed to radiate power from him. Something in her stirred at it. "I don't know if mom will like all this. She hasn't gone to church in over a year, but she is a big Catholic."
Harry frowned. "I won't come between you and your mother."
Lex leaned over. Harry didn't pull back this time, instead meeting her lips. It calmed her as much as it excited her. "Mom will come around. Grandpa knows all this, doesn't he?"
Harry shook his head. "Sirius and I haven't told him anything about what we found at Hogwarts or what the Grey Lady told us. I don't want you to say anything either."
Lex frowned. "Why? Grandpa is trustworthy," she said.
"I trust him too, but there are others I don't. I don't want anyone else to know, Lex. I know I am asking a lot of you. If you don't want all this, Sirius can obliviate you and your mom," Harry said, looking rather sad.
"What is obliviate?"
"Sirius can make you forget all about this. If he does…," Harry said, pulling away from her, his face shutting off the emotions he always showed her. There was a coldness to his voice she had never heard. In that instance she got a taste of the man that Harry could be. She understood that he really could be capable of what he had said he had done. This wasn't the Harry she liked, but she really liked Harry. "If he does, Lex, we can't be together. I can't risk you accidentally doing magic or for me to do that around you."
It felt like the world was falling out from under her. She really liked Harry. She liked how it felt when she had used his wand last night. "I don't want to forget," she told him very seriously.
After a moment, Harry nodded. "Your grandfather went out with your mom. When she gets back, we can ask her," he told her.
Lex leaned over, pecking her boyfriend again. "Mom will understand."
-oOo-
About the same time...
Doggett's Pond, Martha's Vineyard, USA
John Hammond followed his daughter as she walked down to the water's edge. Behind him was a salt pond. Before him the ocean beat on the sand. This was a place that he had come to with Lynne and his late wife, Margaret, many times when Lynne was a girl. It was times like this he missed her. She had passed five years back from cancer. Margaret's cancer had been what brought Benjamin and him together. They had plans to cure cancer. Become the most famous scientist and company on the planet.
Things didn't totally go as expected, but along the way they learned how to clone. Jurassic Park was his brainchild, partly because of his love for the spectacle, the other because of how much Margaret loved dinosaurs. Most thought it was his enthusiasm about the giant animals that had infected her. Few knew it had been the opposite. She had gone to school for palaeontology before deciding to stay home with Lynne. John was trying to fulfil his wife's last wishes by getting Jurassic Park up and going.
The cloning technology, now that it was starting to mature and Henry and Benjamin were really understanding how to control it better, was leaning towards other manipulations in genetics.
John wasn't sure how he felt about using the technology to change people. Using it to cure something like cancer he could understand. Cloning people or using it to change people's very nature in their DNA was something else. Humans had evolved and where who they were. Though, finding Harry and Sirius, and now apparently his granddaughter, had changed his understanding of people. They were still evolving. Still developing. Where dinosaurs died millions of years ago, he didn't see the issue in that, or to save other extinct species, or even endangered ones. But to intentionally mess with a human's, or other creature's makeup, just didn't seem right. That was why he rejected Henry every time he wanted to make changes. The dinosaurs were to be as natural as they could be.
Lynne was standing in the edge of the waves, just staring out at the ocean.
This brought him to the other side of his wife. John had never been a religious person. He never believed in the Anglican church or its teachings. His wife, a devout Catholic from Northern Ireland, was very opposite of him this way, and had taught Lynne all about the church from a young age. That was why she was struggling with this at the moment.
Walking down the sand dune, his cane sinking into the sand at each step, he slowly made his way down to the water's edge, staying just out of reach of the waves as the tide went out.
"How long have you known?" Lynne asked, not looking towards him.
"We could never figure out how the amber samples were so well preserved. Then, one day in March, Harry and Sirius just fell out of some canvas sheets that were covering some work areas. Harry used his wand to knock out three workers when he thought he was being attacked. While trying to figure out what happened, we found that the same energy signature in the amber could be detected in them. That was when Benjamin realized that magic was the answer to many questions we have," he explained to his daughter.
Lynne didn't make any outward sign that she heard him. "And Lex?"
"Yesterday."
Lynne's hand started to wring before her. "Is she really a witch?"
He heard the concern in her voice. "She used Harry's wand. You saw it. I will have to talk with Benjamin, but I think we should test her. I don't doubt Sirius or Harry though."
Lynne let out a ragged breath. "Mom and the church have always told us that magic is evil. Any witch is to be condemned. Oh, God. The Salem Witch Trials. They were real, weren't they?"
John regarded her. "We don't know, but think they were. Harry and Sirius won't tell us, but I think they found something. Something that really spooked them, when they went to Scotland. Since then, they have clammed up even more. Benjamin wants to know, but the magic that he is studying from them shows huge potential. My offer to work for InGen is still open. I could use a good mathematician. I also wanted to talk to you about Alexis."
Lynne put a hand to her mouth. "Lex is a witch."
He could understand how his daughter felt, but this was something important and he didn't agree with the Catholic church's teachings. It was part of why the Anglican church cut out all those blasphemous sections. They took the view that it was prophets and wisemen and woman who had been persecuted, not witches and wizards. John understood differently now.
"Yes, Lynne. She is a witch, if that is what you want to call her. Sirius had a long conversation with me last night. Now that her magic has awoken, it is very dangerous to leave her in Washington, D.C. He expects that she will start to have accidental magic occurrences until she is trained some. I also don't know about the church. What if the old stories are real? It was church members and the Inquisition that hunted heretics like them. I want to have Lex come out to the island. Harry and Sirius can train her for a while," he said to her.
"She starts tenth grade in September. She is in high honours, and she has her swimming. What about her friends? How many kids her are on the island? Are you saying I should just rip her away from everything?" Lynne asked, finally turning towards him. "What happens if people find out about her? What are you doing in Costa Rica? Did you or Benjamin do some science experiment? Tell me Harry and Sirius are not clones."
John shook his head. "They are not clones. You know my feelings on that Lynne. Benjamin is investigating what Harry and Sirius are, and what they can do. I know it looks like Alexis may have the power to do magic. Lynne, if you come to the island, you can help her. I know Tim will love it there."
"I am not going to ask what you did on the island. I know what mom wanted and what you promised her. It is impossible, dad, and you need to give up these fantasies. What ever is going on with Lex and Harry Potter is something different... the church would call it unholy. I can't let my daughter become a witch," she said.
John moved closer. Her mother's beliefs were deep rooted in her. Lynne's ex-husband had also shaken her faith in herself and even her religion. He had been found sleeping with one of the nuns.
"Lynne, you are talking about Alexis. There is nothing unholy about her. If you don't want her, I won't abandon her," he told his daughter in no uncertain terms.
Tears started to streak her face. "I love Alexis, dad. I never said I don't want her, but if she is a witch..."
"She is a witch, Lynne. She is also my granddaughter and your daughter. Do you think Alexis will descend into sin for something that is naturally born into her? I have been around Harry for the last few months. He is a good kid. Bright. A quick study. A wizard. Muldoon trusts him, and he doesn't trust or like anyone easily. Sirius is a trustworthy man. I know that neither of them are telling us everything, but do you blame them? If the world they came from was anything like ours, I'm sure they are very cautious to show what they can really do, but I trust them. More importantly, I trust Harry with Alexis," he said to Lynne.
She closed her eyes. "The bible says..."
"I don't care about the bible in this. It was written two thousand years ago in a time when I think magic was everywhere and probably by those that feared it. I know we use some of that power in our cloning, and to get the DNA from animals millions of years dead. I will not believe that my granddaughter is evil and irredeemable. Margaret would not give them up. Your mother was the first one to support you when you came home from your third year of college pregnant with Alexis and not knowing who her father was. We stuck with you then. I will stick with Alexis now," he said, jamming his cane into the sand. It stuck firmly in. He let out an aggravated sound when he couldn't pull it out right away.
Lynne splashed through the water to steady him as he started to stumble. His leg had never been right after the car crash nearly fifteen years ago. It was that crash that led to them finding Margaret had cancer. She twisted his cane to get it out of the sand. "I don't want you falling."
"Thank you, Lynne."
They stood there for a few, Lynne turning back out to the ocean. "I was twenty-one when I came home. Twenty-two when Lex was born. Why didn't mom just throw me out? I know how she felt about unmarried sex and to have me come home not knowing who the father was after a drunk night. Why did she take me back in?"
"Margaret loved you. She loved you and would never have just thrown you out," he told her.
Lynne let out a few long breaths. "I don't know if I will ever get used to this, but I love Lex. I love Lex and Tim and you."
He patted her hand that was still on his arm. "I know I don't say it often, but I love you and my grandchildren. Do I need to take Alexis in or is she still your daughter?"
Lynne shook her head. "Lex will always be my daughter. I don't want her to go away though. She's only sixteen and needs to finish high school."
"We can talk about it, but I don't know if that is best," he said.
She sighed. "I will talk with Mr Black and Harry. She has to finish school."
"She can use the tutors I got for Harry. Maybe by Christmas or next year they will be ready to go back to school. My fear is that Sirius says she may have accidental fits of magic. There is a high chance that uncontrolled magic will catch the attention of others, maybe even the government," he told her.
Lynne looked really concerned. "Let me talk to Mr Black. Is it safer to take her away from everything she knows?"
"I don't know, but I am concerned. Sirius has said Harry and him are staying in Costa Rica because it is safe," he told her.
She let out a long breath. "I really need to think about this. Maybe she can go out in a month or so. I want to finish are vacation here."
He nodded, patting her hand again.
-oOo-
July 31, 1996
Martha's Vineyard, USA
Lex was walking down the beach with Harry's hand in hers. The sun was going down and as nice as the day was to celebrate Harry's birthday, they both seemed a little sad. It had been a very hectic two weeks, and she wasn't looking forward to going home tomorrow, but she was supposed to be going out to grandpa's island in Costa Rica in three weeks from now. She had decided to take a 'Year Abroad'. She would be doing studies with Harry's tutors. More importantly, she would be learning magic.
They had decided to start her training next month. Until then, she wouldn't get a wand. She was really looking forward to that, but unsure what it all meant still with her computers. Maybe she could find a way to integrate them?
"What are you thinking?" Harry asked her.
"About the next year," she told him.
"You don't have too, if you don't want," he replied.
She stopped, pulling his hand so that they were chest to chest. "If you think I regret this, don't. I'm going to learn something that my friends will never understand, and I will be with you," she told him.
Harry gave her a small smile. "I was hoping you felt that way."
She smiled back before feeling the heat grow in her to be like this with him. In the last two weeks she had moved a lot further than she had expected, but found she liked Harry's hands roaming some. Well, more than some, but who was really paying attention. She closed the distance to kiss him. It wasn't really an innocent kiss, with his tongue quickly invading her mouth. Lex responded, pulling him closer.
In the growing twilight, she let her lips and tongue tell him how much she was going to miss him. Harry pulled her down, his lips leaving hers and trailing along her jaw line. Lex let out a soft moan. "Aren't you the birthday boy?" she asked as she lay on top of him in the sand, his mouth sucking gently on her neck.
He moved to take her ear into her mouth. Almost two weeks of heavy kissing had taught him a lot. "I'm getting what I want," he said, and a shiver went down her body. "I'm going to miss you."
She moved to take his mouth with hers again. Her hand moved to press on his chest. She really liked how hard he was. Her groan was all he needed to know she liked his hands on her bottom. They wouldn't see each other for three weeks and that felt way too long not to have his lips on hers. When she lifted her head, she rocked back a little on him. Harry groaned. She was wearing a summer dress that let her panties land on something hard in his shorts. She felt a shiver of desire go through her that she hadn't expected. They were both breathing a little hard.
Looking down at his sultry smile and the way his eyes gleamed in the last red glows of the day, she had the urge to give him a birthday present to remember her by. Biting her lip, she leaned down to kiss him. "Can you cast that repelling charm again?"
"Yeah, why?" he said while breathing hard.
"Would the birthday boy like one last present?" she asked against his lips. She felt him grow harder in his pants. It made her suppress a shiver at the warmth she felt. She could feel it in her panties.
"What type of present?" Harry asked, a hitch to his voice as her body moved against his crotch. She hadn't meant to, but she liked the feel.
Harry groaned, before reaching for his wand. She waited for him to say, "Mugglium Repelleo."
She pecked his lips before sitting up, putting all her weight on his crotch. Harry groaned, sending another shiver up her spine. She could do this. He had felt her up a few times, after she had encouraged the first time. Yesterday they had started a rather heavy make-out session in her bikini that had him grinning like crazy and leaving her hornier than she could ever remember. She wasn't a slut, not like her best friend, but she really liked Harry. She also really liked how that small fire in her pulled to him, and how it grew every time they were this close.
His eyes grew wide as she reached behind her back, undid the zipper, and then pushed the dress off her shoulders. She was in a blue bra that matched the dress. "Sweet Merlin," he muttered.
She had a flush go up her neck. "You like?"
"Very much," he said, trying to pull her down. Lex pushed his hands away before reaching behind her back again. She had never been half naked before a boy before, but the heat at feeling Harry's dick through their clothes had her undo her bra. His eyes grew huge as she slid her bra down her arms.
"You are beautiful," he whispered, making her shyness go away.
She leaned down to kiss him. "It is your birthday," she said, letting out a moan as his hands started to explore her naked flesh.
When she laid down for bed, she wasn't sure if she liked Harry's hands or his mouth on her nipples and breast more. Either way, she wanted to do that again. Only next time, there would be less clothes, on both of them.
-oOo-
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Next Chapter: Harry furthers his training and apprenticeship under Muldoon as they venture to Isla Sorna. After that, Harry finally meets Dr Grant, Dr Sattle, Dr Malcolm and Mr Genero...