A DAY'S WORTH
Chapter 11
Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to their respective owners.
-ADW-
Illyana woke up, feeling sluggish. She felt like she hadn't eaten for weeks, her body was weak and she could barely keep her eyes open and her head was pounding. Groaning, she rolled to her side and felt the soft surface she was lying on.
She hadn't slept on a mattress since she was seven but she hadn't realized just how much she had missed the feeling of lying in a bed. With soft sheets and a very comfortable matress underneath her. It felt like heaven. She could sleep here her entire life.
Her stomach growled loudly.
"Well, that's a bummer." A girl's voice said. "I really would have liked to see what was going on in there though."
Illyana scampered to her feet, looking at the girl. She was probably her age and was smiling at her. Light red hair and light green eyes much lighter than Harry Potter's that were staring at her with a warmth she hadn't seen in a very long time.
"Hi, I'm Jenny." The girl waved at her from where she was seated. "So, Harry called me back telling me someone in his home needed help."
"I don't need anyone's home." Illyana told her. "I just want to meet my family."
"And you will." The girl assured her. "Harry takes his promises very seriously. But first, let's get you something to eat, you've been sleeping for three days straight and I doubt you're doing so well in there."
As if in agreement, her stomach growled and she blushed while the other girl giggled.
"Let's get you something appropriate to wear." Illyana looked at the thin dress she was wearing. She remembered nothing from the moment they had found her and wondered how they had changed her.
"Harry is cooking breakfast and you don't want to miss Harry's breakfast." Jenny chattered as she looked in the wardrobe. "The guy can cook, I almost feel sorry for the woman he will marry."
"He is not your father?"
"Nope, but he is as good as one as well as Jack." The girl replied. "Those two with my real father practically raised me so I guess you could call them my parents."
"But as I was saying, you don't want to miss Harry's breakfast." The girl continued. "I think in another world he would have been a house maid or something."
"He is a sorcerer." Illyana pointed out. She couldn't imagine a sorcerer, let alone one as powerful as Harry Potter being another's slave.
"Wizard actually but that's besides the point." Jenny replied without missing a beat. "Maybe he would have been a matron at a boarding school? Yeah, that sounds like him with the way he likes mothering us."
By the time they finished dressing up, Illyana was still not sure what to make of the girl. She had been chattering non-stop and Illyana had barely got in no more than ten words of her own. As they reached the stairs, Jenny was talking about Harry and his girlfriends.
"Well, then finally there is Natasha. I think she is more of a friend with benefits but if Harry were included to marry a girl, it would be her." She breathed. "Then again, none of the two look like marriage material, Natasha even less so but_"
"You know she was playing the piano yesterday when I came in." Harry Potter's voice interrupted her from downstairs and Jenny froze.
"Really?" Another voice snickered and the two girls leaned over the railing to see the other man in the living room. "How are you still alive?"
"I think I'll live." Harry Potter laughed from the kitchen. "When I heard her, I didn't stick around for long and went to check up with Claire just to be sure."
"She told me she was taking lessons from Crystal." Jack Daniels replied.
"Well that explains it. All things considered it wasn't that bad." Harry said. "She is improving really. I think in about thirty years she will be half as good as Jake."
Illyana glanced at the girl next to her and while she was blushing, she didn't seem upset. Infact she was grinning as she bounded down the stairs.
"I told you!" She exclaimed. "I told you I have improved, even Harry knows it. I am going to be a pro!"
"Ok let's back up a bit." Harry called from the kitchen. "I most definitely did not say that."
"You did too." Jenny insisted. "Jack is my witness."
"No I am not."
And then they were arguing, apparently having forgotten about Illyana. When Harry called them to eat, she arrived at the dinning table which seemed to have been prepared more people than were at the house given the amount of food there. They invited her and soon, she was eating proper food in what felt like forever completely ignoring the others.
When she felt she was nearing her fill, she paused to look at the family of three. All were engrossed in their meal and no one was even looking at the others. The food on the table had disappeared, and none of the others seemed to be surprised, it was obviously a normal occurrence. How they were all not fat, she could only guess.
When they were done, Harry cleared the table and came back with a large bowl full of apples. He grabbed one and sat down and the other two followed him.
"So." Harry stated, grabbing her attention. "How are you feeling?"
"I am fine and thank you for the meal." Illyana answered truthfully. "It is the best I have had in years."
"Glad to help." Harry smiled. "So, I did some digging about your brother and the school he is in. I talked to a professor and he said we can go."
"Really?" Illyana perked up. "What about my parents?"
Harry handed her a Russian newspaper. There was a picture of a house on fire and at the bottom were three pictures. Two of which were her parents and the third was her when she was seven years old.
She had known her parents were dead. He had made sure of that. What she didn't understand was the fact that the newspaper was dated two days after her she had been taken, which apparently had been only one week ago.
"This...doesn't make sense." Illyana said, looking at the other three.
"Yes." Harry Potter's voice was hard. "Seven-year-old Illyana Rasputin died in that fire last week with her parents. And yet here you are looking seven years older."
"It has been seven years!" Illyana said quietly trying to convey the truth in her words. "I was in there for seven years!"
"Where?"
"Limbo!" She said. "I've been held there, fighting to find a way to escape from him but he couldn't let me. He had placed an enchantment on the only place that I know of with a portal to bring me back."
She paused to look at him and she could see he was listening even though his place was blank.
"That is where I know about you." She continued. "He is afraid of you and I had been trying to find a way of contacting you but I couldn't get to you. And when I had given up, I felt the enchantment break and I took my chance. And that is when you found me."
"So, you are telling me..." Harry started. "That last week, you were kidnapped by someone from another dimension who burned down your parents and took you with him?"
Illyana nodded.
"This fellow has been keeping you prisoner for seven years in this Limbo which has actually been seven days here on Earth?" Illyanna nodded again. "You don't seem affected by your parents' death."
"I have known and gotten used to it for the last seven years." Illyana shrugged while Harry watched her intently. He turned to Jack and stared at him for a moment before he nodded at turned back to her.
"Tell me about you captor."
"His name is Belasco..."
-ADW-
"Wait he really has horns? Bloody hell!" Jenny exclaimed. A bit too loudly for Harry.
"Yeah, he does." Illyana replied dutifully. "Most of the dmeons have."
"Wow. All the scary wanting to kill people thing aside, I really would like to meet him." Jenny said and Harry wondered if she was listening to herself.
"I doubt you will want if you even had a glimpse of what he looks like."
"I know." The redhead sighed. "So, do you have a demon form of your own? I mean as an apprentice you must have had some magical bond or something which made your magic to mix up with his and some powers should have transferred. Maybe you got a demon form and he got...I don't know, a human form?"
Harry was glad when he saw their destination as he could see that the blonde girl was becoming uncomfortable. Jenny as usual had pulled a Hermione on the girl, milking her of as much details as possible about Belasco's appearance. Surprisingly, the girl didn't exactly seem to mind and from what Harry could see, she was no longer as afraid of the demon king as she had been while describing him initially.
The two girls were silent as Harry drove on the rather long driveway leading towards the ancient looking English mansion. On either side of the driveway were grounds where kids of different ages were standing or seated. Each of them turned to stare at the rather expensive car as it drove through their school untill it parked in front of an equally ancient fountain.
Getting out, Harry looked at the mansion even as he saw the main entrance open and a group of four people walked towards them, on of which was in a wheelchair.
"Wow, that house looks older than most buildings in London." Jenny whistled from his right and Harry just nodded in agreement.
"So, have you been here before?" Harry asked Illyana who was was looking at the approaching figers with a blank expression.
"No." Her voice was soft. "I've wanted to ever since Peter left but I was supposed to come and visit this year."
Harry hummed absently as he studied the approaching figers. There was Professor Xavier who was obviously the one in the wheelchair, behind him was a very beautiful dark skinned woman with white hair. Next to her was another man with brown hair and glasses who seemed to exude a teacher's vibe and on the woman's left was a younger man who was wearing dark shades.
"Mr. Potter?" The bald man asked when they reached and he offered his hand.
"Yes please. It is a pleasure to meet you, Professor." Harry shook his hand.
"The pleasure is all mine." Charles Xavier smiled. "These are my fellow teachers Miss Monroe and Mr. McCoy. The young man is Scott Summers, one of my charges."
"Pleasure to meet you all." Harry turned to Jenny. "This here is Jenny my daughter."
He then turned to Illyana. "And this is the reason I am here."
"Perhaps we can talk inside if it's not too much trouble." Xavier said and indicated the others to lead the way. The others engaged the girls in conversation while Harry and the professor lingered back. "Tell me Mr. Potter, how much do you know about mutants?"
"Not much really." Harry said truthfully. "Illyana as I am sure you recognized her told me about her brother and the school where he went when his abilities manifested "
"And where did you meet with the young miss?"
Harry shrugged. "It doesn't matter. I made her a promise to bring her to her family and given that her brother stays here, I thought I could drop her and go on with my business."
"You don't care about where she has been or what will happen to her?"
"I know where she has been." Harry assured the professor. "I know she was seven years old last week and now she is fourteen. But that is no longer my concern, it is yours and I am sure she will be more than willing to tell you."
"Perhaps you are right."
"I know I am." Harry stopped. "I understand there is alot going on with her and I would rather not get myself and my family involved any more than it has already."
"You are a starnge man, Mr. Potter." Xavier commented. "I hope to see you again. Be rest assured, the girl is in safe hands."
At this point they were standing at the doors and Harry had no plans of entering. Nodding, Harry gestured for Jenny who said her goodbye to Illyana before she went back to the car and he was left with Illyana.
"You have the port-key?" The girl nodded as she massaged the bracelet. "I will be watching for anything unusual and don't hesitate to contact me if you come across anything related to that place, alright?"
She nodded again.
"Well, I should be going I guess." He looked at her. "The vow may no longer be active but if you need anything, don't hesitate to call me."
"I know." The girl surprised him with a hug. She hadn't seemed like someone for physical contact. "Thank you. For everything."
Harry nodded and waved at the bald professor before he turned back to the car and they drove off. They sat in companionable silence for a moment as they sold their way back to Queens.
"So, you have been acting weird around me." Jenny spoke suddenly and Harry raised an eyebrow. "You know it's true, so don't even bother arguing."
"I wasn't planning to." Harry told her with a smile. "Your observation skills are as sharp as always."
"Well, I learnt from the best."
"You damn right you did." Harry grinned for a moment before his grin disappeared. "There is something I gotta tell you though, and I am not looking forward to it."
"What is it, am I in trouble?" Jenny asked worriedly.
"Not this time, no."
"What do you mean this time?"
"Well, you are always in trouble over something or another."
"Yeah, can't argue with that." She giggled. "So what's up, it must be real serious with the way you keep trying to distract me."
"Oh, it most definitely is." Harry told her. "But we shall need somewhere where we won't be distributed. In the meantime, why don't you tell me what the inhumans are up to."
"Well..." She hummed. "Crystal is getting married, Black Bolt and Medusa are having twins in a few weeks. Karnak is gay though I think it is more of explanation really, and then that guy with hooves for feet got arrested and he destroyed the prison, Brahm tried to hit on me and I punched him, he didn't come back. Crystal is also having an affair with some bald headed bloke even with her wedding coming up, she told me..."
Harry tuned her out only nodding and humming when he felt it was necessary. Jenny was more than willing to tell him everything from mere gossip to facts. He found out that the guy Crystal was marrying looked like him and she had confided in Jenny that she would name her first born after him as she still had a huge crush on him.
By the time they reached the J-mansion, he had found out that the inhumans we're expanding. However, due to the lack of Terrigenesis, very few of the newborns showed any sign of having powers. They were slowly infiltrating the local community, trying to get used to normal life as without powers, it was imperative that they become part of the ongoings of the normal world.
She had also told them of about the new school she was building and they expressed a desire to send some of the teenagers to join once it was finished. Harry wasn't sure how she was going to manage that but he reckoned it would be interesting to watch.
When they reached home, Jack wasn't there but they had a quick lunch and Harry teleported them to England. The sun was setting and they found a spot a bench somewhere overlooking the Thames and sat to watch the water that was painted red. Together they watched the sun set with Harry's hand around her shoulders while she rested her head on his shoulder.
Harry sighed and decided to get on with it.
"How much do you know about me, Jenny."
"Well..." The redhead started without rising from her position. "You are one of the best men alive, you are protective, an awoseme father, greatest big brother and the most powerful being on the planet."
"That's...I don't know what to say to that." Harry shook his head even with a smile. "I meant my past or my life before we met."
"Oh." Jenny paused as she considered her answer. "I know you are not from this world, you came from a world where everyone had magic like you and when you died, you were brought here to protect this world from some great enemy."
"And what my life was like before I died?"
"I don't know much." Jenny shrugged and she didn't seem bothered at all. "I know you were married and had kids, which is why you are such an awesome father. How does this have anything to do with what you are so afraid to tell me_ you are not an allien that eats virgins are you?"
Harry gave her an unimpressed look which was useless as she wasn't even looking at him.
"Well, where in my world it was just a small population of the world that were wizards. Like any normal society, not all wizards were...good I guess." Harry started. "There was a dark and very powerful wizard called Tom_"
Jenny giggled and Harry paused. "A wizard was called Tom ?"
"Yeah, well he didn't like the name very much either and he went to great lengths to change it." Harry answered. "Anyway, Tom was feared throughout the entire wizarding world. Infact he was so feared that people were afraid to say his name."
"Tom?" Jenny giggled again and Harry just shook his head.
"No, the made up name. Anyway, there was a group of people who opposed him me being among them and a war broke out." Harry continued. "We fought for a number of years and finally I managed to kill him."
Harry paused to collect his thoughts.
"I was considered a national hero." He continued. "When I graduated, I joined Law enforcement and thanks to my ridiculously high levels of magic and my reputation as a hero, I raised through the ranks and in a few years I had a squad of my own to command."
"Whoa!" Jenny breathed.
"Obviously I wasn't just doing that. I had married and I had kids." Harry sighed. "But that isn't the point. I was a celebrity, my career was successful as was my family life, I was considered the most powerful wizard alive and I am ashamed to admit that it went to my head."
Harry looked at her.
"When a dark wizard emerged, I was the obvious choice to handle the case. Me and my squad." Harry looked down at her. "I was confident of my power and skill so when we got info about the wizard's hide out, I didn't hesitate to attack it."
"I knew I could take on the wizard and come out alive. So I attacked, my entire squad of six behind me." Harry paused. "They were slaughtered, I barely managed to escape but every single person in my squad was killed because of my arrogance. Two years later, the very same dark wizard attacked on a national event and killed my wife along with her entire family."
Jenny turned and hugged him tightly, tears streaming freely from her eyes. When she had calmed down, Harry continued.
"What I'm trying to say is that humans are not perfect." Harry said. "We make mistakes, things that we wish we could turn back time to change but can't. Things that some times are even out of our control. Your father...he was no exception."
"What did he do?" Jenny asked in a small voice and Harry hated himself for what he was going to say next.
"Your mother."
"What do you mean my...oh. Oh." Jenny gasped as realization sank in and she burrowed her head in Harry's chest, almost entirely in his lap.
"He was on drugs. He didn't even know who the girl was and by the time clarity came back to him, it was already too late." Harry continued as the Jenny sobbed in his chest. "He tried looking for her but it was like she never existed. Hating himself, he decided to join the army hopping he would die off on the battlefield."
Harry didn't know what to add on that. His heart twisted every time a sob wracked the girl's body but he had absolutely no idea what to do so he pulled her tighter to himself and he let her cry untill she settled down.
"How...how did you find out about me."
"Blood-relation spell."
"Like the one you used to find Medusa?" Harry nodded and she was quiet.
"When he found out about my magic, he asked me if there was something I could do to see if he had gotten her with child." Harry told her. "And when we found you, he swore to never let any harm happen to you. And while he regretted what happened that night, you were the best thing that ever happened to him."
They fell into a moment of silence. By this point night had fallen and every now and then people passed where they were seated but none spared the young man with the girl in his lap.
"Your children." Jenny spoke up. "Can you tell me about them?"
"I can tell you more than just about my children."
Harry told her about his children, grandchildren, and their own children. He told her about his time at Hogwarts, way more than he had ever told anyone, even Jack and Jake. By the time the exhausted girl dozed off, it was already late so he simply teleported them to the Temple Penthouse.
And thankfully, Claire was there and after he tucked her in. He simply told Claire that she was going through a difficult time and will need a mother. Claire didn't ask any questions, she just nodded and with a hug, Harry teleported back to the J-mansion.
"How did it go." Jack asked and Harry sank into the couch next to him.
"Not too bad, all things considered."
"And Little Jenny, how is she?" The concern was obvious in his voice and Harry smiled sadly at him.
"She is a smart girl."
"That she is." Jack agreed and that was assurance enough. "You wanna grab a drink?"
"That would be a good idea, yes."
Harry summoned a long coat and teleported them to a very familiar alley next to a small club they used to frequent when Jake was still alive. They hadn't come here ever since his death but like most things in London, nothing had changed about it even after all those years.
"You are alive." Jeffrey the bouncer grunted at seeing them. The guy was even more muscular than Jack.
"That we are old friend." Jack agreed jovially as he slapped him on his back. "Glad to see you again after all these years."
"I am not."
"Oh, come on mate." Jack frowned. "You can't tell me you haven't missed this handsome face, what will Karen say when she hears you..."
"Just get in Jack." Harry sighed. "And I doubt Karen will be very glad to see you after what you did last time."
"You started the fight!" Jack argued even though he was already. "I was just saving you pale little ass."
"Karen didn't seem to agree with you." Harry pointed out easily spotting the beautiful brunnette in question at the counter.
"Because you were fucking her!" Jack exclaimed. "There was no way she was going to take my side."
Rolling his eyes, Harry took a seat at the counter even as Jack grumbled to himself. Karen was serving some big guy who was shamelessly looking down her cleavage. He seemed to be hitting on her but going by her expression, he wasn't finding much success. The guy said something and Karen rolled her brown eyes only for them to land on the pair.
Almost in sync Jack and Harry raised their hands and waved at her and she froze. She gestured for another girl who looked like a slightly younger version of her to attend to the guy before she walked over to them.
"Well, look at you." She practically purred. "And here I was hopping you idiots had gotten yourselves killed."
"Yeah, that will not be happening any time soon." Harry replied.
"I heard you two ran off to New York and became rich." Karen said looking at them slyly. "Came to throw some money at us poor peasants?"
Jack pulled a couple of bills from his pocket and throw it over her head. "You mean like this?"
Karen laughed and Harry felt nostalgia hit him like a train. It was like living in a memory, only something was missing. Jake, the person who had first brought them here was not there and Harry had never missed his friend more than he did at this moment. He was pulled out of his musings by his instincts flaring and he barely had the time to cover him, Jack and Karen with a shield before the club exploded.
He looked up over his shoulder and within the fire outside the shield he saw a figure that looked exactly like the shadow figure that had formed when he broke down Belasco's enchantment on the room where they had found Illyana.
Only this one wasn't made out of shadows and it's blood red eyes were staring right at him.
HELLO HARRY POTTER.
-ADW-
AN: Hi, another chapter off. At this point I think I should stop telling you that Avengers is next chapter because honestly I am not longer writing this thing. It has taken a mind of it's own!
Anyway, I would really like to know what you guys think.
Till next chapter, Stay home and Stay safe.