An Unexpected Twist

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Lief Sigurd

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Weeks had gone by since Julie and the kids had arrived, and still, there was no sign of Tristan. Lief had long since stopped hoping for his brother to return, but he did not tell Julie that. He didn't want to be the one to tear out her heart and stomp it into jelly. Her pregnant belly was swelling larger and larger by the day.

After ushering his wife and kids outside, he called, "Julie, we're going to go out shopping. We'll be back in a little bit." Neither Eliza or Erik had wanted to go with, and both of the twins had wanted to get out- probably for some new toys. Daisy, who was just as pregnant as Julie, needed a few things. Standing at the door, Lief waited for his sister-in-law's response. Chances were she wouldn't want to go with anyway.
 
Julie had waddled her pregnant self down to the living room and was settled on the sofa reading a book. She was more relaxed now than she had been in a long time. The time here with Daisy and Lief was doing her some good. She knew Josh had located Tristan and was working on getting him out of whatever it was that he was involved in. It was taking some time and she was a bit anxious, especially since Josh would not pass on word from her to make it easier on both of them. She figured it was just easier on him to not be passing messages, but he did seem to be truthful when he told her that her husband was alright.

Turning the page of her muggle novel, she had to resist smiling at the adventure of the 'boy-who-lived' especially now that she knew there was actually some truth to the books. Hearing her brother-in-law's voice from the front hall, she placed her book open on her growing belly. "Have fun! We will see you when you get back!" She could hear the kids upstairs playing, so she picked her book back up and began to read.
 
A smirk decorated Valcan's features as his son stepped out of the door and finally disapparated. Waiting had paid off. Lief had not seen him, of course. The Disillusionment Charm was a particular piece of magic that he prided himself in. He was a human chameleon as he leaned against the side of the house. Making sure that his son and family were gone, he climbed the patio stairs and slipped through the side door with considerable care. If he had judged things right, Tristan's wife would be at home with the two children. It was not like they had anywhere else to go.

His footsteps as soft as he could manage, he wandered through the kitchen and into the living room. He stopped in his tracks, inhaling through his noise quietly as he observed the woman on the couch. Her belly was fat with another grandchild of his, another grandchild that would not have a father if the Dolohov woman did not release her hold on his son. As always, he felt his fingers curling and itching to wrap around his son's neck.

"Are you enjoying what you are reading?" he intoned deeply, his accent thick. After waiting a few moments he cast a nonverbal 'Finite' and materialized in the middle of the room, looking down at the muggle woman. By all standards he should have killed her, to remove yet another blight from the family tree, but Valcan didn't have the nerve to do it.
 
Julie jumped as she heard a voice in the room that was not familiar to her. She looked around the room quickly, trying to find the source of the voice. Her heart started to race as she did not see anyone in the room, then she squeeked as the rather large man appeared out of nowhere. She was familiar with people popping out of nowhere, but she was still not used to it. "How many times do I have to tell you people NOT to do that!" she yelled at the man, not really caring that she didn't know who he was. Her hand flew up to her heart as she took a few quick breathes. "I might know that people can pop out of the air, but still! Gah!" She closed the book again, and moved to sit up. With her stomach as large with child as it was, she moved a bit slow.

Finally able to see the man that had literally popped in, she looked him over. He was older and very large. His eyes and face were very familiar to her. "Now who are you and why are you popping in unannounced?" She was a bit rude, but so was this man for just dropping in.
 
Valcan had more or less expected Julie's immediate reaction, but not the second. He had not been expecting a spitfire. Hopefully, her personality would not prevent things from going smoothly as planned. The large man retained a casual composure as he took a few steps to the nearest armchair and seated himself. He peered back at the woman with a hint of amusement in his eyes. If the woman hadn't been pregnant, he might have even pulled out a cigar.

"Witches and wizards are going to do things like that whether or not you would like them to. Most do not even involve themselves with muggles," he mused smoothly. "Be that as it may, Julie, I apologize if I have offended you." Valcan managed to sit up straighter than he already had been, his tone gaining sincerity. "As for why I am here, I'm concerned. This is not the safest place for you to be. Thanks to my dolt of a son, you should be on the other side of the world right now. You're in danger so close to New Zealand."
 
Julie would have stood, but was not willing to expend the effort. She felt like she was as large as a house, but really she was the size she should be at this stage in her pregnancy. Watching the man move across the room to sit down, she started to realize the resemblances between him and her husband. Ah, so this must be Valcan. Interesting timing he has. she thought.

As he spoke, she started to get annoyed with him. Calling her a muggle and all. She might be non-magical, but she was still married to his son and worthy of respect. She was taken aback when he apologized for offending her. As he continued to speak, she was surprised a bit. He wanted to protect her and the children? "So, I am going to assume, since you have chosen not to introduce yourself, you are Valcan Drage. And I am to understand that you are concerned for my safety and, again making an assumption here, the children's safety?" She looked at him and squinted her eyes. "Merlin, why should I trust you? I know all about you from your dolt of a son." Julie was copping a bit of an attitude, and she knew this could be dangerous. Valcan was not the best person to be mouthing off to, but she was willing to take her chances.
 
"You would be correct in those assumptions," Valcan responded firmly. This woman definitely had a tongue on her. His expression was serious as he looked back to her. "Why trust me?" The question hung in the air for a moment before he opened his mouth again. "Because you have hardly anyone to trust. I know how people work. Being a country away from the woman is not good enough. She'd kill you and the children in a heartbeat if given the opportunity." After pausing, he added, "From my understanding the mother of my other grandchild has my son tied to quite the leash. If she wanted to seek you out, this would probably be one of the first places she would look. Lief and Daisy, I am afraid, do not have the means to fight off a woman of her capabilities. Better that you and the children are out of her way than inviting mass slaughter. I can not imagine that having blood of young children on your hands would be so pleasant."
 
Julie stared back at the man that reminded her so much of her husband. She had no way to judge if he was being sincere or was just a very good con artist. "I assume the woman you are referring to is the b1tch who kidnapped my husband. Josh has filled me in on her. I only wish that she was a muggle or that I was a witch if we ever crossed paths. I would kill her without hesitation." Her temper was starting to flare up, and she closed her eyes and took in a few breathes to calm herself and keep herself out of early labor.

"No, I want no harm to come to any of my family. My children are my world. But seriously, why now? Why are you interested in our lives now? You told Tristan that you wanted nothing to do with him ever again and that you would kill him if you ever saw him. You blinded him in one eye. You cut him out of your life. You say I have no one else to trust, but I would think that history would make you a part of the untrustables as well." She began to rub her belly as the little girl inside her belly started to kick a bit. "I mean seriously. You want to kill my husband -- your son -- and you expect me to trust you?"
 
Valcan observed Julie as she went on with her rant. His lip pursed as he decided what he was going to say. The man had come prepared, for this discussion was inevitable. Hopefully he would be successful before Lief got home. While he was on good terms with his youngest son, his presence would serve to complicate matters.

He waited near a minute before responding to his daughter-in-law. Valcan's gaze was locked on Julie's as he spoke. "If you want me to be completely honest, I would not care if Tristan drops down to hell right at this moment. As far as his eye is concerned- he had it coming. I am positive that he left out much detail. That is all I will say on that matter."

His expression softening a bit, he continued, "I do care about my grandchildren, even if I detest their sire. Trust me or not, I will not see any more of my kin dead on his behalf. And I certainly will not have them wanting. Have you considered the possibility that Tristan may not return?" Leaning forward, his eyes bored into Julie's. "Do not think for a second that he will not have issues choosing. He could have a completely different life and family if he chooses. You can attempt to discredit what I have said, but my son is no stranger to taking off and leaving everything that he has worked towards. I suspect you'd know that already, considering the first time it was your cousin. It wasn't the last time either, and I'm sure given the incentive he may allow it to happen again."

Sitting back, he said quietly, "I may have not done everything honorably in my life, but I do have hope for my grandchildren. I want to see the next one arrive safely into the world. Not having to worry whether or not they're on the hit list of some lunatic."
 
"I believe you are forgetting one little bit of incentive he has to come back. He actually married me. Tristan, despite the number of children he has and the women he has been with, has never gotten married before." Julie glared back at Valcan, daring him to contradict her on that point. "I know he could choose to stay with her, but I believe in the end that our love will win out and will break whatever hold she has on him. It is just too bad that the b1tch would never give up the boy to live with us and be raised in a loving family instead of within her twisted world."

Julie rubbed her belly again, looking down as she did so. "These children mean the world to me. I want to do what is best for them. I understand that you are well off and can take care of the three soon to be four of us, because I assume you are willing to take all of our children, even your step-granddaughter." She looked up, daring him to say that because Eliza was not magical or blood that she was not welcome.
 
Valcan did not give in to anger as he normally would have in such a situation. He regarded Julie coolly and took what she had to say with a grain of salt. She was right on her first point. "Unfortunately, I am not so sure a wedding band would hold much weight in his decision. Tristan will do what he is going to, as he always has," he responded bitterly. It was likely that the Dolohov woman had destroyed the ring the moment she had ensnared Tristan. He did not comment on this however. "All that you can really do now is hope that your husband will come to senses. He often doesn't have much of them."

His expression was set as he looked back to her. "I am willing to do just that." It would be much of an adjustment to have two muggles in his household, especially considering the group that he belonged to. "You would all be well cared for. My home is far enough out of the way that the Dolohov woman would have much difficulty reaching it. And be assured, you'd have sufficient defenses on your side." Valcan waited somewhat impatiently for Julie to respond. He was going against convention at the moment, it felt strange and he simply wanted to be back and settled in his own home.
 
"I believe he will come to his senses. And I guess we can come and live with you. I just have a few more questions." She stared at the man, not really finding a reason for her not to trust him. "Who else is at your home with you and when my husband returns to me, are you going to keep him from us because of your hatred of him?" She waited to see what he would say. Julie was not thrilled about going to a home where it would be her and this man she did not really know. And if he was going to stop Tristan from returning to her she would kick his ass out faster than he would be able to whip out his wand.
 
A small smirk curled at Valcan's lips. Early success was not so unbelievable after all. He listened to her inquiries and slipped into casualness once more. "Not many others live at home with me. It's usually just myself, Sarah- who is a friend and Daisy's mother- and the house elves." For being such a large place, the Herrogard was ridiculously empty of life half of the time. "And as far as Tristan goes- no. If he wants to come back, I will not stop him."

Valcan rose from his chair, towering over his daughter-in-law. "I hate to be in such haste, but we should probably be out of here in a hurry. Lief and Daisy would probably not agree with reason at first, and I do not want matters to be more complicated than they already are." He extended a hand to help her up. The man could only hope that she would be quick to gather what she had to.
 
"You live with Daisy's mother? Ok, that is rather odd, but whatever. I guess I just live with weird now," Julie responded. She realized that there was no other real solution to her situation, and that Valcan's offer was probably the best for all involved. She took the extended hand and stood up. "We have a lot of things upstairs. Would you please help us pack magically? Lief needed to shrink the trunks down to bring us here." Her voice sounded a bit defeated, and she bent to try to pick up her novel from the floor where she had set it. While she worked to bend over, she puffed out, "Erik and Eliza are upstairs playing right now." She made a new attempt to bend over, her stomach getting in the way yet again.
 
Valcan did not comment on Julie's statement about his living with Sarah a strange situation. Things were how they were. After helping her up he stepped back a bit. There was more to the woman than met the eye, and it would be interesting to see how events played out. "Most certainly," he replied with a smile, "That way we can be out of here in a matter of minutes." The large man had started to take a few steps out of the room, as he wanted to get out of here quickly. He turned to see that Julie was having some difficulty picking up the novel she had been reading.

With a wave of his hand he summoned the book, and then handed it to her. He laughed as he glanced at the title. "Writers. They always over-exaggerate everything. I should be able to find you some decent reading material back at the Herrogard. Oh- and don't hurt yourself." He knew that his colleagues would probably laugh at him now. Valcan Drage, lending a hand to a muggle. Well, what they didn't know wouldn't cause them to lose any sleep, and he intended things to stay that way. They would think he was going soft in his old age.
 
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