Chapter Text
London
England
Situated in a secure facility, Jennifer Blood’s day had been quite busy, at least in a bureaucratic sense.
The twenty five year old had been very busy since the reveal of Hydra still being active, several field and ground operations had taken place under her command since.
If she was being honest, she preferred that aspect of her job to sitting in offices and facilities filling out paperwork and reports. She was a soldier and intelligence operative first and foremost, not a paper pusher.
However given her rank and position, she could no longer simply ignore it or leave the bureaucratic side of things to her superiors, the more she climbed the ladder of leadership and responsibility the more she had to take on more seemingly ‘menial’ tasks.
Brushing a strand of dark hair behind her ears, she let out a sigh as she turned back to her report. However before she could continue typing, she saw an encrypted call flash across the screen of her computer.
Recognizing it instantly, she accepted it, opening the connection and being met with the faces of both James Rhodes, and J’onn J’onzz.
“Jenny.” Rhodey greeted her on the screen.
“Agent Blood.” J’onn spoke up after him.
“Let me guess, Hydra leads?” Jennifer said as she straightened up. “Or is this a social call?”
“Mostly the former, but not how you’d think.” Rhodey began before exhaling. “We’ve come across some serious intel.”
Jennifer was now seated back in her chair, tenting her fingers together as she digested the information she’d just been given, questions having been asked along the way but it was still a revelation she hadn’t been expecting this morning.
“Right, can you send me the copies of the files you have?”
“So you’ll do it?” Rhodey asked, causing her to nod.
“Yeah, I’ll talk to the Director and I should be able to extract the child by this evening.” she said firmly.
What she’d heard was horrible, concerning, and just made her blood boil the more they’d told her. Adding into it that the child could be targeted by Hydra, made it all the more urgent for her.
“We’re having a meeting in half an hour concerning options for Sergeant Barnes, his position is sort of a legal grey area right now, but housing, protecting and recovery are something we’re looking into right now. He’s going to need a lot of therapy and help in freeing himself from Hydra’s conditioning.” Rhodey explained, to which Jennifer nodded.
“Also, you should call Marcia, we think it’d be best for her to examine the boy, not just overall medical check up wise-”
“But you want her to check if the Super Soldier Serum Hydra gave Sergeant Barnes was passed on genetically.” Jennifer finished for him, to which Rhodey and J’onn both nodded while sharing a look.
“We’d also like her to come and assist in examining Sergeant Barnes tomorrow if that’s possible.” J’onn continued. “Again, her expertise and intimate knowledge of Super Soldier anatomy would be much appreciated.”
“Right, I’ll call her after I speak with the Director.” Jennifer said as she stood up.
“I can have the child in our custody later this evening.”
“Ok, I can head over and help with the transfer to the US and to bring over any new intel we might have.” J’onn explained, to which Jennifer nodded.
Things were moving fast, but in this situation, they couldn’t afford to be lax about it.
“I’ll call you back after I speak with the Director.” Jennifer said before signing off, closing her computer down as she turned and headed out of her office in a hurry.
She didn’t have a moment to lose.
The meeting had concluded half an hour ago, and James was now going over some files Colonel Rhodes had provided him. Specifically one on the MI-13 Agent who was going to handle the extraction of his son.
MI-13 was an agency he’d crossed paths with a few times over the decades.
“Caught up yet?”
James looked up to see Rhodes walking into the conference room, two cups of coffee in his hands as he approached the desk, passing one to him.
“Thank you, and yes. I’m almost through the files.” James replied, accepting the cup.
“It’s rather…illuminating, I was aware that MI-13 operated within and outside Europe, their international presence known as well as joint operations with other countries. But…Some of this is still shocking.”
“Yeah, I know. They keep most of the flashier stuff underground for the most part.” Rhodes replied after taking a sip from his own cup. “Most of the public just sees them as another para-military intelligence agency. But those in the know get the full story, their mandate actually covers a whole lot of things regular establishments aren’t equipped to handle.”
“Enhanced individuals, extraterrestrial, mystical and magical threats, you name it. They investigate, police, contain or eliminate if necessary.” Rhodes explained with a shake of his head.
“And on top of all that, the regular military intelligence, national and international security work.”
“...They have a lot on their plate.” James replied slowly, his eyes shifting back to the particular file he was looking at concerning the agent.
“Jenny mentioned you two met once before.” Rhodes remarked while pointing to the file, causing James to nod. And it was true, he remembered…
Well, had flashes of memory, but enough to piece together the fact he remembered the young woman in question.
A few years prior he’d been on a mission in Switzerland, it was supposed to be a simple mission, several targets to be taken out as well as a bomb to eliminate loose ends and cover his tracks.
However he’d not counted on his target’s security being as formidable as she was.
“I didn’t know she had abilities, at least not before she got in the way of the mission. In the end, one of the targets was left alive.” James stated evenly, to which Rhodes nodded.
“Yeah, from the way she tells it, you pulled a fast one in the end before escaping.”
“It was becoming apparent I wouldn’t be able to kill the final target. Retreat was necessary, I knew she’d follow and capture me, so I distracted her, put other people in harm's way and it allowed me to escape while she saved them.”
James' voice as he explained his past actions was tense, but unwavering. Despite his emotions in regards to the events, the deaths, the people he’d placed in harm's way that were innocent, he didn’t want to allow himself to falter or break while explaining it to the other man.
To his credit, Rhodes nodded silently, not adding or reacting to what James had said.
“You know her personally, don’t you.” James said, a statement more than a question, to which Rhodes nodded.
“Yeah, she’s practically family.” Rhodes said before continuing.
“She’s close to Brianna and Tony. See Jennifer is the adopted daughter of Zatanna, Brianna and Tony’s old friend.” Rhodey said before pausing.
“She’s also…Well more than this, but do you know what a Homo-Magi is?”
James narrowed his eyes, trying to think back but the term was unfamiliar to him.
“No?”
“Well, we can get to that later. But it’s what Zatanna was, it’s what her daughter, Abigail is, Jennifer too. Her birth mother was an old school friend of Zatanna’s who she introduced to Jason Blood, the two hit it off and were eventually engaged, but when she became pregnant…things took a turn, Jennifer’s mother didn’t survive in the end. Zatanna adopted and helped raise Jennifer, which was a good thing as Jason wasn’t the most ‘hands on’ parent.” Rhodes said with a scoff, shaking his head in disappointment.
“...Jason Blood?” James spoke up, breaking Rhodes from his train of thought as he stared in confusion.
“You met him too, didn’t you? Back during the war.”
“Yeah…Peggy, she introduced us. But…he can’t still be alive, unless-” James began before his expression shifted as understanding dawned on him. “He’s enhanced too, isn’t he? Or a meta-human, or Mutant, something not baseline.”
“Yeah, let’s just say he’s not ‘baseline’ or normal and leave it at that.” Rhodes confirmed with a nod. “He’s an old friend of the Carter family, Peggy took a shine to the girl. And add on to that Zatanna was together with her granddaughter, Johanna, she treated Jennifer like family. Gave her some mentoring and took her under her wing so to speak, which is why when she was seventeen she graduated high school early and went into the military, training with the UK armed forces as well as MI-13 and intelligence operations training. She currently holds the rank of Captain.”
“Impressive for her age.” James noted as he looked back at the file, flipping through it to see an image of the younger woman in full combat fatigues, the next page showing her a few years later dressed in a more tactical ensemble.
“Yeah, we’re all very proud.” Rhodes replied. “She’s going to get your kid and take them back to a secure facility, there her cousin is going to give the boy a full medical exam, see the extent of…What those people did, and advise what to do going forward, and J’onn as said earlier, is going ahead to organize bringing him back to the US.”
“...Good, that’s good.” James said slowly.
That was the main priority right now, getting Harry to safety and ensuring Hydra couldn’t get their hands on him.
The thought of what they could or would do to the young boy, compounded with everything he’d seemingly gone through already…
James didn’t want to let his mind entertain such things for a second.
“Now, do you want to talk to Tony and get a rundown on your medical and the diagnostics he wants to run on you?” Rhodes asked, thankfully breaking James' train of thought and causing him to nod.
“Yes.”
Anything to distract him from thinking about Hydra, even for a moment.
“Alright, listen up. We’re almost at the address.”
Jennifer sat in the back of the transport truck, letting her second in command address the number of agents present.
Eight agents in total, not counting Jennifer and Agent Cathryn Walker, the latter was speaking to the others. The blonde woman was dressed in similar tactical gear to Jennifer, a light blue top with dark tactical pants, boots, and an array of gear on her belt including a pistol on each hip.
However unlike the other agents, Cathryn like Jennifer wasn’t wearing any upper body protection or armored clothing.
“We’re not expecting any engagement, but better to be safe than sorry. We have intel stating this house is under surveillance and is a place of interest to HYDRA. That means for those stationed outside, be on the lookout for anything suspicious and maintain comms at all times. Do not let your guard down.” she instructed, glancing between the gathered agents.
“If all goes well, this’ll be a simple extraction and arrest, nothing flashy.”
The transport truck came to a halt as they arrived at Privet Drive, Jennifer stepping out and seeing the two SUV’s following along which came to a halt as she turned to inspect the entrance to the street. Walking up to the front of the truck she spoke to the driver.
“Now, wait two minutes before driving up to the house. Keep a lookout for anything or anyone suspicious and maintain contact at all times.” she instructed.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Right, let’s move.” she said to the agents behind her who filed out in lines of two, Cathryn coming to her side as they walked further down the street, the evening air brushed against them as the darkness was lit by the street lamps above them.
Gravel crunched beneath her boots as she walked along, stopping when they came to 4 Privet Drive.
However when Jennifer walked beyond the mailbox and across the lawn, she felt something…off about the house. Narrowing her eyes she paused in her steps as she looked at the house, her eyes traveling across the exterior as she frowned.
“Cap?”
Glancing back she saw Cathryn looking at her inquisitively, and she waved her ahead.
“You go in ahead of me. I need to check something out here first.” She instructed, getting a nod from the other woman who waved the other agents along.
Jennifer walked along the exterior of the home, near the windows that had the curtains drawn and held her hand up towards the glass, hovering over it for a second she narrowed her eyes once again before realization struck.
…This house was warded.
There were magical wards and protection on this house…
And all of a sudden her presence here suddenly got more under her purview then she’d previously believed.
Cathryn Walker proceeded ahead of her CO, walking up to the front door and knocking firmly on the wood. Only waiting a few moments before she delivered a harder knock, this time eliciting a muffled response from inside.
“Yes I’m coming!”
The door was promptly opened and Cathryn came face to face with a large beefy mustachioed man who looked none too pleased at her presence.
“Yes! What is it?” he demanded, as Cathryn gave him a once over before speaking up.
“Vernon Dursley?”
“Yes, that’s me, what do you want?”
Without breaking eye contact, Cathryn motioned for the agents behind her.
“Move in.”
Immediately two agents began entering the house passing Vernon, who was not happy in the slightest though Cathryn didn’t care for his blustering.
““W-What are you doing!? You can’t just-” he began to exclaim before grunting as Cathryn effortlessly turned him around and placing his arm in a hammerlock behind his back, eliciting a pained grunt from the man as she began frog marching him through the hall, his attempts to remove himself from her grip.
“Unhand me! You can’t just-”
“This way, sir.” Cathryn said sternly, almost spitting out the ‘sir’ as she entered into the lounge, as she did the remaining agents followed, with only two remaining outside.
Cathryn released her grip as she spun Vernon around and with a push, sent him down and onto the sofa with another grunt. He looked even more flustered now, his face having grown a shade of red that was reminiscent of a beetroot as he glared at the assembled agents.
Petunia was standing in the entrance to the kitchen, gripping a pair of oven gloves in her hands as she surveyed them.
“You can't just barge into my home, especially at this hour, who are you!? What do you want?.” Vernon demanded, angrily spitting out his words as Petunia also chimed in from her position.
“If you don’t leave immediately I’ll phone the police!” Petunia screeched at them, causing Cathryn to close her eyes momentarily in annoyance before she wordlessly motioned for an agent, who moved to Petunia’s side and even with her struggles, moved the harpy-esque housewife over beside her husband on the sofa.
“No need.” Cathryn replied as she turned back towards the entrance to the lounge, heavy footsteps echoing the arrival of her CO.
-
Jennifer had finished assessing the outside of the home and walking in through the front door, passing the agents as the smell of food preparation she’d picked up from the front hit her more strongly, walking inside she glanced at the surroundings as she made her way through to the lounge.
Immediately upon entering she saw Vernon and Petunia Dursley seated and four agents spread throughout the room, two having entered into the kitchen as Cathryn stood beside the sofa.
The husband and wife both gasped at the sight of her, which was not an unusual reaction to seeing Jennifer, at least one she had dealt with in the past.
The fact she was over seven feet tall did usually draw reactions, added to that the fact she possessed muscles that were very clearly on display even when she wasn’t flexing and looked like she was a professional bodybuilder definitely added to her intimidation factor.
And yes, she had benefited from her physique in the past when dealing with people in her duties.
“Normally, I’d apologise for the intrusion and unannounced visit.” Jennifer spoke up as she crossed the room and turned off the television before turning back to Vernon and Petunia who were now huddling closer on the sofa.
“But I’d be lying if I said I was sorry.” she remarked as she inspected both of them, fighting the urge to grab hold of Vernon physically for what was to come.
She wouldn’t mind tossing the both of them in back of the transport truck.
Literally tossing them mind you.
But for now, she reigned in such thoughts as she continued.
“I’m Captain Jennifer Blood, I’m with MI-13.” she announced, folding her arms as she glanced around the room.
“We’re here in regards to your nephew, Harry.”
As soon as the name left her lips she noted both of them tensed up, sharing glances as Jennifer waited for a response.
Honestly, she considered just kicking the door in upon arrival and being less ‘civil’, these people didn’t deserve even the token civilities she was awarding them right now, not after what they’d done to the child, even being complacent in what their own son had done to Harry would have been enough to get on Jennifer’s bad side, but the ongoing neglect and abuse she’d read about in the Hydra reports had been more than enough to get her blood boiling.
“W-What?” Petunia uttered after a moment's silence.
“We don’t have any-” Vernon began, obviously trying to deny Harry’s presence in the home as Jennifer cut him off.
“Don’t try lying, we know you have a nephew, despite your best attempts to cover up the fact. So drop the act.” Jennifer demanded sternly, her eyes narrowing as she took a step closer, making the two of them sink back further into the sofa in an effort to keep their distance from her, Petunia clutching Vernon’s arm.
Again, Jennifer’s physique and intimidation factor came in handy on occasion.
Did make dating somewhat of a hassle at times though.
Jennifer had looked into both of them before coming here, government documents, schooling, job history, social security, credit history, bank records, travel history, online presence or lack thereof, everything.
She even knew how many parking tickets they’d accumulated over the years.
And nothing at all was listed about them being the legal guardians of their nephew. No documentation or legal channels suggesting they had custody of a child other than their own son, Dudley.
The two wilted under her presence and stern gaze like unwatered plants, before Vernon finally spoke up, clearing his throat as he attempted to maintain a steady tone.
“Fine, well what’s he done to cause all this then?” he demanded to know, looking around the room at the armed individuals.
Jennifer shook her head as she responded. “I don’t think you understand, we’re here for him, we know he’s been abused, neglected and hurt.”
Every word towards the end of the sentence hardened as she spoke.
Petunia however tried to protest. “T-That’s preposterous, we’ve never-”
“Save it.” Jennifer spoke up, cutting her off as she lowered her arms as her hands squeezed tightly into fists, grasping at restraint as she fought the urge to drop the civility and grab the woman.
“We’re already aware of what’s happened to him.” she declared firmly, silencing any further protests as again the two glanced between one another.
“Now, I’m going to ask you one time…where is the boy?” she ground out, her tone almost a growl as she leaned closer to the sofa.
Vernon and Petunia squirmed under the intensity of her gaze, but still didn’t speak up as to the whereabouts of Harry. At this point Jennifer was considering upending the sofa with them on it as she continued, her tone lowering.
“We can do this the easy way where you tell me, or the hard way where we tear the house apart piece by piece until…”
Her words tapered off as she straightened her back, looking around the room as she smelled something beyond the scent coming from the kitchen.
Something she hadn’t noticed upon her arrival, something that made her eyes narrow and her hands once again clenched into fists.
It wasn’t noticeable to the others present but Jennifer could smell it.
And it angered her that she hadn’t paid closer attention when she entered through the front door, too preoccupied with what she’d picked up on outside the house and her mind was distracted to the point she hadn’t paid attention to her senses.
Especially her sense of smell.
Turning she saw the direction it was coming from and took a few steps away from the sofa to confirm.
It was coming from the cupboard under the stairs.
Turning back for just a second she glared at the Dursley’s before turning her attention back towards the cupboard as she began to march over towards it quickly.
She could smell a combination of things that made her blood boil.
Unwashed and soiled clothing combined with the smell of sweat and salt.
The undercurrent of dried urine even!
And the smell of grease and burnt flesh!
The suppressed and muffled sound of a whimper met her ears just as she reached the cupboard and tore the lock off the wall and opened the door, almost ripping it off the hinges as she saw what was inside.
Or more accurately who.
A small child, the one they’d come for no doubt, huddled under a torn hessian sack normally used for dog beds and animal bedding was surrounding him as he was shaking and trying to hide.
“...Oh no…” she uttered quietly before feeling her blood boiling once again, the anger peaking as she shifted on her feet and turned back to Cathryn who was standing beside the sofa still, pointing at the Dursley’s as she did.
“Cathryn, if either of them move even a muscle, I want you to put a bullet in them…” Jennifer demanded fiercely, getting a nod from Cathryn who unbuckled the retention strap on her left holster right beside the Dursley’s.
Turning back to the still hidden boy, she knelt down at the entrance to the cupboard.
“Harry, is that you?” she asked softly, careful to reign in her earlier emotions from coloring her tone right now. The last thing she needed was to frighten the young boy any more than he clearly already was.
Seeing the huddled child make no move other than the very slight shivering and trembling she could see from the bag’s movements, she tried again.
“Harry, can you hear me?”
For a brief moment she feared the worst if the abuse and neglect had also led to any loss of hearing, but this was put to rest when she saw the top part of the bag where his head was beneath move in a nod.
Letting out a soft exhale of relief, she continued.
“My name is Jennifer.” she said softly, channeling her years of spending time with her little sister during her own younger years and babysitting to hopefully project a calming aura in her voice.
Well, at least when she hadn’t been driven up the wall by said little sister.
“Is this…is this your bedroom?” she asked, pausing slightly as she glanced around the interior and to even suggest it was anything close to being a ‘room’ of any sort was an insult. The cupboard was musty and damp, and she could see the effects of mold beginning to form.
And why was there a clock!?
Again she had to remind herself to keep a calm tone and demeanor for Harry’s sake. That meant she couldn’t pick the clock up and hurl it at Vernon or Petunia’s heads.
“...Yes, Miss.” came the quiet and nervous reply.
Jennifer counted him speaking up at all as a small victory and thus proceeded.
“Have you been in here long?”
“...Since yesterday, Miss.”
Jennifer was about to respond when she heard the telltale sound of Harry’s stomach grumbling, which wasn’t a surprise if the Dursley’s hadn’t fed him since locking him inside the cupboard.
“You hungry?” she asked quietly, seeing the blanket covered child freeze up before slowly nodding, the rumbling in his stomach heard once more. Quickly standing, Jennifer walked back through the lounge, not even sparing the Dursley’s a glance, but hearing them gasp slightly as she lumbered past and into the kitchen, her eyes landing on a fruit bowl.
Grabbing a banana, Jennifer made her way back through the lounge and returned to the cupboard door, leaning into the small space she placed the banana down on the bed, retreating back just enough as she spoke up.
“I placed a banana there, if you’d like it.” she said softly, watching the hessian covered lump and hoping he’d take the offered fruit. A moment passed before she saw a small hand reach out, fumbling slightly before finding the banana and retreating back and out of view.
Jennifer took a second to gather her thoughts, exhaling lightly before she spoke up once again. She didn’t want to spend any more time in this house as she already had.
“Harry, I know that you’re blind and I know that you’ve been hurt here. I’m here to take you away from this place-”
“Are you a police?” Harry asked from underneath the hessian bag, shuffling slightly as Jennifer tilted her head before she replied.
“Well no, I’m not a police officer, I’m actually a bit higher than them.” she answered simply, there being no need to go into explicit detail with her position, especially not with a child who she knew wouldn’t benefit or understand a more in depth explanation.
“I-I didn’t do anything wrong, I didn’t, Miss.” Harry said frantically, and Jennifer could see the section where his head was shaking quickly.
“Harry-Harry, it’s ok…I know.” Jennifer replied, raising a hand up in a reassuring manner before realizing the act was pointless.
“I know you haven’t done anything wrong.” she assured softly, seeing his form go still as she continued speaking.
“I can explain everything.” Jennifer promised. “But when we’re away from here.”
“I can get you some nice warm clothes, and some food and we can talk. But I promise you, you’re not in any kind of trouble and no one is going to hurt you, ok?” Jennifer promised, hoping he’d believe her, or believe her enough to come along without needing to manually extract him from the cupboard.
Because that would no doubt cause another bundle of problems both for her, and Harry himself who had been through so much already, she knew being dragged out of this space, however horrible it was, wouldn’t do his well being mentally or emotionally any favors.
A low rumbling from his stomach resounded once again before she saw a slow and obviously uncertain but agreeable nod from beneath the hessian bag, which elicited a low exhale of relief from her.
Jennifer then saw Harry’s hand once again come out from beneath the bag and fumble around for something for a few moments as her eyes narrowed.
“Are you looking for something?” she asked, as she glanced around before seeing his hand come to rest on a pair of dark ski goggles, a pair that was obviously for an adult and not a child.
…Ok that was not something she’d expected, but saw his hand retreat back under the bag and some more shifting movement occur before finally, slowly the bag was lowered from around his body and Jennifer could see him fully.
And the silence that followed was another show of restraint, but also one that internally was caused by a sudden rush of sadness, empathy, and once again anger at the so-called ‘guardian’s’ the child had.
The boy was small, too small for an average child of eight years, Jennifer knew that. She’d seen plenty of children around that age, including her little sister years ago, and Harry looked nowhere near that age height wise.
Obviously an unfortunate byproduct of malnutrition as the child’s arms and legs resembled broom handles rather than the developed limbs of a healthy child. And the pallor and color of his skin was showing clear deficiencies in B12 and Iron.
Hair that had been hastily and shabbily cut with what she would put down to kitchen shears rather than proper scissors or clippers, and leaving only a few rough sprouts of dark hair here and there atop a patchy shorn scalp.
All in all, he looked less like a child that would live in this neighborhood and more like a pastiche urchin character out of an old school novel set in Victorian London.
No! Scratch that, the street urchin’s and orphans in Oliver Twist had better lives and physical constitution’s than this!
But right now Jennifer wasn’t thinking of the timeless works of Charles Dickens or jaunty show tunes.
No, she was thinking about going into the other room and letting out all the anger she was currently feeling on the two horrible excuses of human beings sitting on the sofa. It was only for Harry’s sake she was channeling every single ounce of discipline and restraint she possessed in her body to not do that.
The Director had told her to bring the Dursley’s in, he hadn’t said they needed to be in pristine condition when she did so.
But right now, the sounds of violence and pained cries she would elicit from Vernon and Petunia would do nothing but frighten the child.
…Unless she sent Harry away first.
But no, she had, even in the few minutes, worked up a rapport with the boy, and couldn’t just send him on his way with someone else, she needed to stay by his side for now.
So after swallowing down a growl she knew would also only alarm him, she spoke.
“...Why don’t you grab your things, and we can get going, hm?”
“Ok.” Harry replied softly, Jennifer stepped back from the cupboard entrance but kept her eyes on the child as he began to place several articles of clothing, all of which would have been too big on him even if he had been healthier, placing them into a shopping bag before turning back to her, Jennifer lingered on the too large ski mask which practically covered half of his face entirely before she looked back to the bag and the fact he hadn’t grabbed anything else.
“Is that everything?” she asked, before receiving a nod from the boy.
“Really?”
“Yes, Miss.” he said before glancing slightly around her, she could practically feel the uncertainty and still hints of anxiety rolling off the boy, and decided it was time to leave.
“Ok, well let’s go then.” she said before reaching down and softly taking hold of his hand in her own much larger one and she began walking out towards the front door, taking smaller strides for the young boy to be able to keep up.
She took note of the limp he was clearly trying to hide as he did so, and made an effort to maintain a pace that was easy for him as the evening air greeted them upon leaving the house. Approaching the number of vehicles that were now parked out front of the home, Jennifer stopped as they were beside an SUV.
Pausing to glance back where Cathryn was waiting at the entrance to the house.
“Take them away, transport them to separate holding for the time being.” she said firmly, her second in command nodding with the same intensity.
“Yes, Ma’am.” Cathryn replied, as Jennifer turned and opened the door, reaching down and helping Harry up into the back seat before ensuring his seat belt was fastened and closing the door and making her way to the opposite side of the car, getting in and placing Harry’s shopping bag between them.
Wordlessly the driver turned the ignition as the engine came to life, as they began to pull away Jennifer could hear the shouting and protests of the Dursley’s and glanced out the window to see them, now handcuffed and secured by the agents and directed by Cathryn as they were being placed in the transport truck.
Jennifer was lost in thought for a moment before she saw Harry had retrieved the banana from before and was now glancing in her direction. Realizing what he was doing, Jennifer smiled as she spoke.
“It’s ok, Harry. You can eat it here, I don’t mind.” She reassured him softly, and after only a second more of hesitation, she watched as Harry hastily peeled the banana and began eating, the first bite was fast but savored the ensuing chews.
Before Jennifer could say anymore her phone began to ring in her pocket, her attention shifting as she retrieved it, seeing the contact name she answered immediately.
“Marcia, I’ve just picked him up…are you there yet?...Ok, be ready for when we arrive, and you’ll need to check one of his legs as well, yeah there’s something wrong but you’ll have to give a proper inspection…Ok, see you when we get there.”
Disconnecting the call, she nursed her phone in her lap as she exhaled slowly, turning to Harry who was still eating the banana, his attention focussed on the surroundings, she knew he couldn’t see the interior of the SUV but this was clearly a new experience for him, any new sensory experiences combined with getting away from that horrid household was surely a lot to take in for the boy.
“As I said before, we’ve got some things to talk about Harry. But I promise you, everything is going to be ok.” she assured him, her gaze resting on him as a pleasant silence overtook the interior of the car, their destination still a while away as Jennifer leaned back in her seat.
Being around the boy even now, was awakening feelings she didn’t often experience with people outside of her immediate family, a sense of protectiveness and guardian instincts that while integral in some parts of her duties and job description, were not usually this strong or this rapidly forming.
There was something about the child…
She didn’t know what exactly had endeared her so fast to him, but she swore she would let no harm befall him.
His life was going to change from here on out, and she intended for it to be for the better.
