A DAY'S WORTH
Chapter 15
Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to their respective owners.
-ADW-
"I am sorry for your loss, Mrs. Weatherby." Harry felt Jenny's hand grip his tightly and he squeezed back in assurance.
The woman seemed to shake herself back to normal and gave Harry a smile. "It's quite alright."
"Actually, we like to think of it as a blessing in disguise." Michael pipped in as he put his around his wife. "Despite how unpleasant the events were, we wouldn't be here if it had not happened."
"And I wouldn't have had you." Jennifer said smiling at Jenny who startled.
"You recognize me?"
"Of course I do." She replied. "You look a lot like my mother when she was your age, atleast according to the photos I've seen."
"Oh." Jenny smiled uncertainly. "Dad always said that I looked like you."
"You said you think of what happened as a blessing in disguise, what did you mean?" Harry asked, trying to difuse the awkwardness that had engulfed the room.
"Yeah." Michael leaped at the chance. "Jennifer's life was nearly ruined because of that but like the amazing woman that she is, she got right back up and decided she would be the voice of those unable to find Justice for themselves."
"It wasn't as easy as he puts it though." Jennifer pipped in looking at Jenny. "When I gave birth to you, you were the loveliest thing to ever happen to me and I promised you that I would give you the best life any girl in this world could ever have."
"But life had other plans." Michael continued. "Her parents were killed by some white extremists because they didn't support them and she had no where else to go let alone where to keep her child."
"I tried my parents' friends but after they would realize that they had nothing to gain from me I would be kicked out." Jennifer added. "One such friend however got me a scholarship and I had a chance to finish school and go to college."
The woman paused, still looking at Jenny.
"I knew I had to take the chance if I were to ever fulfill the promise I made you." She said. "I gave you to a relative of mine to keep you safe while I finished high school."
"Unfortunately, Aunt Jane also shared my parents' views about racism and quite vocal about it. Sho too followed their fate just months after I had graduated." The woman was so caught up in the story and only had eyes for her daughter. "By this point you were nearly four years old and they took you to an orphanage. I thought of getting you out of there but I even had no place to stay so I told myself that you would be there for a few months while I got my issues in order."
"Jennifer had been given a place at Cambridge at law school and the few months soon became a year as she tried to prepare for your coming." Michael sighed. "When she felt ready, she came back to the orphanage only to be told that you had been adopted by someone called Harry Potter."
"I tried looking for you but there was no record of Harry Potter anywhere, not to mention no record of the adoption." She paused for a moment. "I wasn't sure I would ever see you again or whether you were even still alive and now, here you are."
Harry then filled them in on a very edited version of how he had come to be the official guardian of Jenny, the fact that he stayed in the US and had escorted Jake in looking for his daughter before going back. He knew they were sceptical about his story but that was as much as he was willing to give them.
"Why are you here then, Mr. Potter?" Michael finally asked. "I am glad on my wife's behalf that she gets to see her daughter again but I can't help but wonder why now?"
"When we came to the orphanage, we were told that Jenny's guardian was dead and that's how she had ended up there." Harry answered calmly. "It was only recently that I found out what had happened that night that I decided to try to find you, or your grave for that matter only to find you're very much alive."
"I imagine it wasn't very easy to find us." He prompted but Harry refused to take the bait.
"Oh, on the contrary it was quite easy given your reputation in the legal circles." Harry answered. "One just needs to ask the right questions especially when they know where to ask."
"What do you mean by his reputation?" Jenny asked.
"Well, you see the gentleman here is one of the most prominent lawyers in England." Harry told her. "He is also one of the leading advocates for the rights of Blacks, he and his wife have sought and successfully brought Justice to Black families more times than anyone in this era."
"And we are very proud of it." Jennifer said. "People who believe themselves to be superior over others just because of their skin color disgust me. And I know I'm a lawyer and should uphold the law but there are times where I feel a public lynching wouldn't be such a bad idea."
"I couldn't agree more." Jenny pipped in. "I may not be the smartest kid but I've only ever heard of xx and xy chromosomes. Nothing like white or black."
"Thank you!" Michael exclaimed. "They go all around thinking themselves mighty, forgetting that basically there are only two types of people, the males and the females."
Soon, the two were caught up in a discussion, sharing every single thing that proved just how wrong those who thought were better than others were.
"She is quite a passionate one." Jennifer said as she handed Harry a cup of tea.
"Yeah, she gets like that when discussing a sensitive topic." Harry said. "And if there is anything that Jenny hates more than bullying, then it's racism."
"Really, that's good to know." The woman smiled. "What about you?"
"Well, I spent the better part of my teenage years in society filled with biggots." Harry sipped on his tea. "They too believed that a certain group of individuals were weaker and useless. That those, which surprisingly were the majority, didn't deserve anything and that it was their duty to them in 'their place'."
"Really?"
"Yeah." Harry nodded. "Infact it was expected. The biggots got away with anything, they tortured people, their kids went around bullying others and nothing was ever done about it."
"That's awful."
"I know. And what was funny was that all their beliefs would be proved wrong every bloody time." Harry continued. "Those that were considered dumb were among the smartest, those they considered weak were among the strongest."
"It really seems to be the norm." Jennifer chuckled.
"It is." Harry nodded grimly. "I am proud to say that by the time I left that society, everyone knew that all lives matter. Something I made sure your daughter understood the very moment I met her."
"Speaking of my daughter, I am glad you brought her and I am hoping that I get to see her again." Jennifer said. "What I don't understand is why you brought her to me. I mean, she could have grown knowing her mother either died or hated her too much that she dumped her at an orphanage."
"I know you can provide for her well enough so it isn't for money." She continued.
"So you know who I am?"
"I never stopped looking for her." She answered his unasked question. "And when I heard about Harry Potter, co-founder of J-Corp, I did some digging and found out about your ward, a certain Jenny Summers."
"Then why didn't you, do something?"
"I figured she was quite comfortable, and from the glimpses I saw of her, she was happily living the life I had promised her." She shrugged. "I wasn't about to interrupt that."
"In other words, you are fine with her not being in your life so long as she is happy " Harry concluded and she nodded.
"I wouldn't mind getting to know her though." she said. "And I hope to get to know the man who raised her as well."
"I am sure we can make arrangements." Harry answered.
A couple of minutes later, the two excused themselves and bade the couple farewell. They promised to visit again sometime before Christmas and hopefully stay a bit longer than they had this time.
"That went better than I had expected." Jenny commented when they left the house.
"Apparently they knew about you and that I was your legal guardian." Harry said. "They just weren't expecting us to just show up out of the blue."
"They are a nice lot."
"I take it she lived up to your expectations?" Harry teased and Jenny's cheeks that were already pink with cold lit up.
"I honestly have no idea what I had been expecting." She shrugged. "But I am glad we came."
"So am I."
-ADW-
February 14th 2012
J-CORP Tower.
New Orleans.
Harry stood in the office of the CEO watching the city of New Orleans below him. Like Sumner Towers in Queens, the headquarters of J-CORP, this building was also the tallest in the whole city. It was strategically placed just at the outskirts and it stood over looking the whole city like some kind of guardian.
Out of the sixty floors, the top floor was Harry's suite while the two floors that followed had the executive offices. The rest of the floors even Harry wasn't completely sure what exactly happened there, though he knew some had experimental labs and storage houses.
There was a light snow breeze this morning and from his vintage point, he could see a few places in the city covered in white. Even then, the city was alive, people bustling to get to work even as the city still clung on the ghost of winter.
Things had been quite busy for Harry ever since Jack left and he barely got any time to himself. Between building the school in Queens, managing the company and all the while trying to keep SHIELD off his back had Harry craving for some 'me' time.
Jenny was quite occupied as well. Between working with the inhumans to ensure their kids were ready to join normal society by the time the school opened and working with her newly discovered mother to establish an anti-racism movement in London, well it looked like this year was going to be pretty busy for the family.
"Only you Harry can make brooding look sexy without even trying." A woman's voice brought him back to the office and Harry turned to look at his secretary.
Jennifer Walters was one of the few that were not part of the family but knew about Harry's magic. She had been in some kind of relationship with Jack before he died but when he came back he had absolutely no idea that he had ever met her. Jack had mentioned her to Harry a few times, though never going into details.
He had heard about her in the memories Harry showed him and when he left, he went looking for her. He found her at a hospital in the middle of a fight with a group of mobsters commanded by one of her father's enemies. Unfortunately for them, they had no idea that Jennifer had recently just got a blood transfusion from her cousin, Bruce Banner.
Jack had arrived to find the parking lot of the hospital demolished and covered with bodies. Standing in the middle of it all was a female version of the Hulk on a destruction rampage.
He had immediately called Harry who had teleported the giant woman to a desert where he had had to use his magic to subdue her and revert her back to her human form. Harry's curiosity, combined with Jennifer's talents had resulted into her spending the holidays with the family and now here she was.
"You are up early, Walters." Harry commented without even turning around.
"Well, I had to make sure your magical ass wasn't brooding on such a lovely day." Jennifer replied as she handed him a cup of coffee. "However it would do for me to be late when I just got my job no more than two months."
"Well, that would be too bad." Harry drawled but she ignored him.
Jennifer Walters was a very beautiful woman with dark eyes and shoulder-length brown air. She stood at 5' 10 and had no trouble expressing her opinion, be it physically or peacefully. She once told Harry that as a lawyer, she had to learn patience with idiots and that was the reason she tolerated Jack for anything to develop between them.
"Romanoff called me to remind you about the ball." She said. "And that she will escort you personally."
"I can't wait."
"Is that sarcasm I hear?" Jennifer cocked an eyebrow. "Jenny told me you two were... fumbling the whole of last year, what has changed?"
"Nothing." Harry said. "I just don't fell like going to some stupid ball."
"Harry, you need to be seen." She sighed. "People are craving for your smile, they want a piece of you, they want to see that handsome face and touch you_"
"What the bloody hell are you on about?"
"Just getting you in the mood for Valentine's day." She laughed. "Anyway, I found out who and why someone has been stealing from us."
She handed him a tab showing a picture of a man.
"Peter Scarborough." Harry read. "This fellow doesn't look like someone who can get past our security."
"He is one of the few people who benefitted from the oil rig explosion at Roxxon in 2009." Jennifer explained. "He has built a network in New Orleans full of spies and through this he gets senstive information that he uses for blackmail."
"He has scientists, soldiers, lawyers and the press either in his pocket or blackmail." Jennifer continued. "Through these, he is able to ruin the lives of those who stand against him or even outright murder them and get away with it."
Jennifer then showed him some of the people who have been affected by the man's untill she reached at the end.
"And this was his very first victim." She explained. "His name is Nathan Bowen, he was in charge of constructing the rig that exploded and Scarborough laid all the blame on him tarnishing his name and ruining his family."
"I can smell a however coming."
"Not exactly. I've been doing some digging for the last three weeks and found that a lot of things didn't add up." Jennifer said. "I wasn't the first to come to that conclusion either, but check this out, every single lawyer who tried to bring up the case either ended up dead or their legal career was ruined."
"And no one has done anything about this?"
"Most people are afraid while some just don't seem to care." Jenny sighed before she looked at him. "I am going to do something though. But first, I need them to reopen the Bowen case and that is where you come in."
"Wait!" Harry interrupted. "Where have I had that name before?"
"Nathan Bowen was a scientist working for Roxxon Corporation, the husband of Melissa Bowen and the father of Tandy Bowen, who died in an accident during the explosion of the Roxxon Gulf Platform." Jennifer read. "He was specifically in charge of building the rig and when this GS went South, Scarborough dumped all the blame on his dead ass."
"The girl, how old is she?"
"She will be making twelve this year." She answered. "What's wrong, do you know who she is?"
"The night of the explosion, was she riding in the back of the car with her father and the car fell in the water?"
"I wasn't aware of that but it's very likely, Nathan Bowen died in the accident and there were reports that suspected another person had been in the car but no body was found." She explained. "It was believed that nobody could have survived that. How did you know about any of this?"
"She... bumped into me when I first came here in New Orleans and stole my wallet." Harry smiled. "I could have stopped her of course but I saw some memories of hers, accidentally mind you, and I realized she and her mother could use the money."
"So you know where she stays?"
"I do." Harry answered as he started towards the door. "And we are going there right now."
"That's what I am talking about." Jennifer cheered and followed him out.
-ADW-
One hour later, Harry parked in front of Melissa Bowen's house in the French quarter. The cottage was clearly old though it looked much better than those next to it. There was no driveway so he just barely had enough space to park without blocking the road completely.
"Oh, I almost forgot." Jennifer said as she prepared to get out. "Melissa is one of your employees."
"I wasn't aware."
"Harry, you employ more than a quarter of the people in this city." She rolled her eyes. "From scientists, to doctors, to security guards, cleaner, cooks, drivers, hell I wouldn't be surprised if every adult in this neighborhood has a J-Corp ID."
Harry got out of the car. The few people who passed by only spared him a glance before continuing with their business. Putting his hands in the pockets of his coat, Harry followed Jennifer towards the door and waited patiently when she knocked.
The door opened to reveal the familiar face of Tandy Bowen. She had aged quite a bit in the last two years but altogether looked no different. She ran her eyes over Jennifer's suit clad form before turning to Harry and she froze.
"Hi." Jennifer greeted. "I'm Jennifer Walters and this is_"
"I know who he is." The girl interrupted, still looking at Harry. "If you're here for your wallet, I sold it."
"Is that so?" Harry grinned. "And my IDs?"
"Everything."
"Well, that's unfortunate." Harry sighed. "You mind if we come in, it is quite cold out here."
"What do you want?"
"To come in."
"Why?"
"To get away from the cold."
"That's stupid."
"It's not."
The girl looked at Harry like he was an idiot before she turned back to Jennifer. "Why are you here?"
"Well, you see Tandy, I am a lawyer and a very good one at that." She showed her her ID. "So, I was hoping that me and Harry here could work with you and your mom to clear you father's name."
"Really?"
"Yes, really." Jennifer assured the girl and she stepped aside to let them in.
Jennifer had briefed Harry on the way about how much Nathan Bowen's death had affected the family and therefore he wasn't surprised at the condition of the house they entered.
They found the girl's mother, a blonde haired woman probably in her late thirties was seated on a couch watching TV. She looked up when they entered and her eyes widened when they landed on Harry.
"Mr. Potter!" She called out, scrambling to her feet. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you."
"The pleasure is all mine ma'am." Harry smiled as he shook her hand.
"I thank you for the opportunity you gave me to work at you company." She continued. "I will always remain grateful to you."
"Well ma'am..." Jennifer pipped in. "My name is Jennifer Walters and I am Mr. Potter's lawyer. We were hoping that you could help us on a matter that we hope that if we succeed, will be able to clear your husband's name."
"I...I don't know, it hasn't worked out so well before." The woman said hesitantly as she glanced at her daughter. "Not to mention there isn't much I can tell you, Nathan never talked much about his work while at home."
"That is quite alright, Mrs. Bowen." Jennifer assured her. "I just need to ask you a few questions, just answer them to the best of your abilities and I can begin from there, you think you can do that?"
"I guess."
"Great!" Jennifer exclaimed as she took a seat. "I believe Harry had some business with your daughter..."
"I did?" Harry blinked and receiveda pointed look from his lawyer. "Oh, right you remember that day of the wallet?"
Harry asked as he approached her. The girl looked at him in confusion. "I mean the state I was in when you took it, I believe you can do it as well."
"Really?"
"Yep." Harry told her as he led her towards the kitchen. "Come on, let me show you."
-ADW-
By the time the two women popped their heads into the kitchen, they all stood gaping at what they saw. On the table was a large tray of food that made their mouths water just by looking at it. Tandy was covered in food ingredients while Harry looked like he had barely touched anything.
"Oh my God, is that Jambalaya?" Jennifer asked and bounded over to the table for a bite. "Oh, this is amazing."
"I know." Harry grinned. "You have got yourself a chef on your hands, Mrs. Bowen"
"Harry helped." Tandy blushed while at the same time smiling at Harry.
"I barely touched anything." He shrugged. "It was all you, me I was just 'hoovering over you' or have you forgotten already.
"How did you even get the ingredients?" The girl's mother asked.
"With Harry, it's always better not to ask, Melissa." Jennifer advised. "I suggest you just sit and enjoy the meal your daughter made for you."
The blonde woman smiled back at the lawyer and joined her daughter at the table. Harry and Jennifer excused themselves and bid the Bowens goodbye with promises of seeing them again soon.
Meanwhile, Melissa watched her twelve-year-old daughter dig into the food with both hands. It was clear she had been restraining herself for the sake of their rich guests and had been on the blink of snapping.
Even with the evidence right before her, she was still having a hard time believing that Harry Potter, one of the richest men in New Orleans had been in her house, let alone cook food with her daughter. It all just felt surreal.
The same man had offered his personal lawyer to help clear her husband's name. While personally, she didn't care that much what the world though of her late husband, she wasn't stupid to think that it wouldn't affect her daughter. It had seemed like there was nothing that could be done about it after all that time.
She had become a mess, her life had withered before her eyes and she had been withering right along with it, accumulating debts and finishing up any favors she had. She had been too caught up in her own misery that she had even started ignoring her daughter, something that thankfully didn't last long.
She had gotten the job at J-Corp and while what she did wasn't exactly her dream job, it provided enough to get them back to their feet. Most of their debts had been cleared and they were on their way of recovery. Only the ghost of her husband was hovering over them.
And it would seem that it was about to disappear as well.
"Aren't you going to eat, mom?"
Tandy's voice jerked her away from her thoughts and she blinked at her daughter. Tandy only called her 'mom' when she was in an exceptionally good mood. A clinking sound drew her eyes to her daughter's left arm.
"Where did you get that?" It was a silver bracelet with the name 'Tandy' clearly engraved on the side.
"Harry gave it to me." She shrugged, unconcerned.
"It's Mr. Potter and why would he give you a bracelet?"
"He said I could call him Harry." She argued. "He also said I would know its use when the time came."
Melissa wasn't sure what to think of that, and right now, she was content to leave it at that even though he knew there was something her daughter wasn't telling her.
-ADW-
"So, what's with little Tandy?" Jennifer asked when they got back to the car. "Haven't you got enough kids to spoil already?"
"Far from it, actually." Harry smiled. "Anyway, there is quite a large amount of power festering in that little body of hers. If not handled well, it could be very dangerous to her and others, I am hoping that I will be that person to help her."
"Don't you have enough on your plate already?"
"Maybe." Harry answered. "I am riding with a she-hulk, Jenny is negotiating with inhumans, my apprentice is living with mutants, Jack is running away from me and here I am planning on becoming a politician to clear the name of an abusive husband."
Harry paused to look at Jennifer.
"Nothing short of an allien invasion can make my life any more complicated, Walters." He turned his eyes back to the road. "And I don't think that will be happening any time soon."
-ADW-
AN: So every single character who appeared in this chapter is important to the story. Be it Jenny's mother or the Bowens or even Jennifer Walters.
Jennifer Weatherby is Jenny's mother.
Jennifer Walters is the She-hulk.
For those who don't know her, she is Bruce Banner's cousin who got a blood transfusion him and became She-hulk. She is also a lawyer and not a big fan of those who think their lives are more important than others.
See you next chapter.
#All_lives_matter.