Ministry of Magic, Germany

Julian found it perversely amusing that it had been Kate's attempt to get him to give up on Violet that had prompted him to finally take the action he should have sought out long ago. Somehow, he didn't think she'd find the irony to be so humorous. As he strode towards a tiny courtroom on the lower level of the German Ministry, wearing his best robes and accompanied by his brother, who was representing him, he wondered what Violet would think of all of this.

Who knew what she thought about him -- what if she liked her new stepfather better, and wanted nothing to do with him? He had to ignore the fact that this might all be a terrible mistake -- he had to at least prove Kate wrong and try, just so it would be known once and for all that it had never been the case that he was too busy for his daughter. He owed at least that much to her _ the truth.

The whole process was dealt with very quickly -- Bastian had submitted the paperwork and they'd gone over it and deliberated. Now all that was left to do was to show up and find out what exactly they'd stamped on those papers. Julian wasn't quite sure what he'd do if they were returned labelled "request denied," but Bastian had assured him he had a solid case. At the very least, he should be able to look forward to temporary custody of Violet as the real case moved forward.

In no time at all, Julian's name was called and they walked into the tiny wood-panelled room, little more than an office, where a witch and a wizard sat behind a desk heaped with paperwork. Julian stayed silent, riddled with nerves and anxiety despite Bastian's previous assurances. He probably wouldn't feel better until he had Violet safely back where she belonged.

The witch handed Bastian an enelope, "In the case of Julian Kiaser, he is granted temporary costody of his Daughter Violet Kiaser unitl the full costody hearing is finalized. Next." the lawful witch said turning her attention to her next case.

Bastian bowed for a moment and turned to Julian handing him the appoved papers, and green "Request Appoved" stamped right on them.

"I believe you will have the pleasure of showing these to Kate when you get Vi Juli" he said with a small smile. He only hoped Vi would give her ol Dad a change.

Julian could only stare down at the papers in his hands for a moment, open-mouthed in wonder. He'd never dreamed it could be so easy...of course, the real case wouldn't be, but for now, being able to see Violet -- all the time, not just a visit -- was the best thing in the entire world. The expression on his face as he was shuffled along out of the room was one of dazed happiness.

"Y-yeah, I reckon," he murmured, still looking down at the papers rather than where he was going. Green had long been his favourite color, even before they became the colour of his daughter's eyes, and now, the color of the approval stamp. He stared so long that upon looking away, the words "Request Approved" danced before his eyes in negative across the white hallway walls.

"They even put down the direction for us...so we could go get her right now!" he said excitedly, spotting the Berlin address. Of course she would he thought to himself, recognising the fashionable location -- a muggle district, of course. That had always been an argument between them -- she preferred to seek refuge from the disagreements about blood status in the Muggle world, while he preferred the magical. Apparently this made him dangerous in her eyes, but clearly the courts didn't agree, and that was all that mattered at the moment.

This had perhaps been the happiest he had seen his brother in along time, Bastian couldn't and wouldn't deny him the chance to see his little girl again.

"Aye Juli lets go" he wasn't sure yet is he was looking forward to seeing Kate reaction to this or not. He could not help but feel alittle spitfully toward Kate, since she had brough such heartache to his brother and made it nearly impoosble for him to even see Violet. Perhaps he was biased, but he didn't believe his brother deserved such treatment.

He looked at the Adress, "I know where that is, only a mile or two from my place.." he muttered. Of course he lived in the magical part, hidden form the muggle world by wards and other spells. But still, it turned out he had lived far from his niece at all and he never knew it.

"I have a ministry car we can drive to to get there form my place?" he suggested, aince it was a muggle area it was better to get there by muggle means, appareting or port key it was teasily spoted with the crouded muggle world.

Julian nodded eagerly; he would have agreed to just about anything if it meant that he'd get to see Violet. "That would probably be best...it'll be a surprise no matter how we do this, so it's probably a good idea to be as inconspicuous as possible."

Having no idea how Violet would react after not seeing or hearing from him for months on end was the only thing keeping him from rushing right in. If he could only know that she'd be happy...but that was the insidious part about what Kate had done. She'd slowly pushed the pair apart, until he could no longer be sure whether she was really pulling the strings or if Violet was just growing up and not interested in seeing her father anymore.

Knowing that he was about to find out the answer was nothing short of terrifying. Julian thought this was all Kate's doing -- it bore all the usual hallmarks of her calculated planning -- but what if he was wrong? He fluctuated between purest joy and complete panic. Either way, he was in no condition to Apparate.

"You're going to have to take us by Apparition, or by that portkey of yours, because I'm in no condition," he murmured to Bastian as they came up to the Ministry's entrance.

Bastain nodded, he could understand, he'd be a bundle of nervse to if it were he. he hoped thing worked for his brother though. He worked so hard at a job he really did deserve something out of it.

"Alright Juli, hope you don't mind longside Apparition, me Portkey travel bill is getting up there" he said with a chuckle, he didn't really mind using his portkey but since there was no reason for him not to travel by apparition, it'd save him the charge. Since he knew where he was going and not nearly as panicked as his brother, why not?

"I am sure things will work out Juli" he said as he took his brothers arm once they got to the apparition point. Things had come to far for them not.

With a pop the arrived at Bastians street, where Bastain summoned the Car, normally he used it for driving in the muggle world, it this was no problem really.

Julian didn't protest to Side-Along Apparition, even though ordinarily it made him feel oddly child-like. His mind was too preoccupied with other things -- so much so that when the car came, he nearly got into the driver's side by accident. Although he did have an (expired) Muggle driving license, now was certainly not the time to see whether or not his skills had gotten rusty.

Hastily, he shut the door and scrambled to the passenger side, fastening the seatbelt with shaky hands. His heart was pounding furiously, going hundred miles a minute, and he was certain that Bastian could hear. Attempts at small talk were not executed too well.

"Oh yeah, I bet with the thing with the Harpers you had to do um...quite a bit of travelling and stuff." Lame, even by his standards at the moment, but it'd have to do. He knew that Bastian would understand. By some coincidence each of them had exactly one daughter before divorcing their wives, and Julian could bet Bastian would have been nervous too if it had been Annika and Holly they were about to surprise.

That wasn't a happy comparison at all, though, with Annika now long dead. Julian was sure that she must be on Bastian's mind right now; the cousins had always resembled each other faintly with their dark, pin-straight hair and their grandmother's sweet smile. Violet was now the age that Annika had been when she was born, and Julian remembered with what anxiety he'd watched Kate carefully place his daughter into his cousin's arms. Annika had treated Violet as though she was some kind of a pet, always begging to hold her and, when she got a bit older, play with her despite the seven year age gap. Having no other cousins to play with, it wasn't really that surprising after all.

As they passed by streets and houses and cars and people, Julian stared out the window, not really seeing the sights as they whizzed by them. All of his mind was focused on his memories, and what had become of their little family.

"Aye Juli" he said not minding his brother awkward statment, it was true.. he wasn't sure what else to say on it. and not being one for awkward small talk he remained quiet for most of the drive.

Bastian kept casting side glances at his brother every so often, he could do more then imagine Julians State of mind. he'd been that when he went to get Annika from her mother after his got full costody of her. He had been a nervous wreck, yet Annika had been with him the entire time anyway. With the time Vi and Juli had apart, it might be even more difficult. If Annika had still been alive, she wouldn't have stood for it, Vi was her only cousin and she had wanted to be like sisters with her...

Bastian sighed and shook his head, thought of what if.. never reacted to him well. It would alway make him wish he were dreaming and he would wake up to find his little Annie still alive.

He looked along the houses, the naighbore hood was really nice, fairly big houses all palace like looking. The perfect muggle naighborhood really.

Bas looked at the address again, "It should be just up here" he said slowing down to catch the address's.

Julian nodded and attempted to swallow past the lump in his throat. He knew the house before he even spotted the stupid little sign next to the mailbox with the house number and "The Beckers" engraved upon it. The front garden was filled with orchids and gardenias -- Violet and Kate's favourites, respectively.

With a deep breath, he opened the door and stepped out of the car. It felt like his heart had slammed against a brick wall and stopped beating entirely, and his face had gone from flushed to bloodless. Julian hoped beyond all hope that Kate wouldn't make a scene. Generally that type of thing was reserved for behind doors, but he wasn't sure how well she'd handle him taking Violet away. Bastian being there did help, though -- she usually was on her best behaviour in front of him, especially since the divorce.

He looked towards the car, waiting for Bastian to get out. "How do you think we should do this? Should I tell her, or should you?"

Bastain got out of the car, taking out the files on the case they had against Kate, he was there for too reasons, to be there for his brother and as a offical capacity, he was Julians rep in this case, Kate could fight Julian, but she couldn't fight him and they both knew it.

"I can preasent our case to her Juli, may go smoother that way. You can talk with Vi" he said hoping there would be less chaos that way.. yet somehow was still worried what they wanted to do was take a 7 year old girl away from her mother.. this could either go well or really bad.

"There is nothing Kate can do, this depends on Violet now" he said trying to not imagine what it would do to his brother if Violet refused to go with him.

__

Up in the top rooms of the house Little Violet Kiaser started wided eyed out the window, she had heard a car drive in to the driveway and was shocked to see her Dad and Uncle get out of the car.

She held onto her little puppy she found a week earlier and raced to the stairs where she could see and hear what would happen, though not willing to talk to them just then.

Julian nodded and stared at the gravel walk as Bastian explained what they were going to do. Having him take care of Kate was probably a good idea, and one that left him with Violet, although the possibility of her not wanting to go with him lingered uncomfortably in the short silence.

"Yeah, that sounds good to me. Kate would probably hit me otherwise," Julian joked awkwardly. A flash of movement at an upstairs window caught his eye, but whoever or whatever it was, was gone before he could catch a glimpse.

"Someone's spotted us," he said nervously, turning to Bastian. Sure enough, the front door opened before they reached it, and there stood Kate, wearing a loose summer dress, and hugely pregnant. Julian skidded to a halt and stared openly, wearing a much more surprised expression than his ex-wife, who was just staring daggers at them.

"What do you think you're doing here? I haven't told you that you could come for a visit, we're not expecting you -- and how did you get the address anyway?" she asked fiercly, and in such rapid succession that Julian scarcely had time to react. He turned to Bastian again, face flushed and eyes wide, looking absolutely clueless as to how he should respond.

Bastian inwardly cursed, though his face remained passive as part his profession.. Hovever He wasn't a man who liked to upset a woman with child, he bent over backwards for them most of the time. When Holly was pregnant with Annika he did anything and everything she wanted, even when her crashed With his brother and Kate after Holly left him he offered to assite Kate with many things when she was expecting Violet before he moved out. But what had to be done had to be done, he just hoped they could talk about this calmly with out heartache.. and hopefully civilly like adults.

He gave a simple glance to Julians shocked face before turning back to Kate, not phased by her glare or currant condition.

"The courts gave us this address Kate" he said calmly handing his copy of the court order papers over to her.

"We have a few things to discuss" he added, hinting it would be better they didn't talk about them in the doorway. Plus they still had the imfamus new husband of hers to meet talk to as well he assumed, if the man was home.

__

Violet cramed to hear what was being said from her spot on there stairs, obviously her Mum wasn't happy to see them. She was curious why her Uncle was there, she hadn't seen him a long while. And of course she was curious even more what her Dad wanted.

Her Puppy whined for a moment, she shushed it before moving in closer.

Kate stared at the papers in her hand, sure she couldn't be reading them properly. She paled, and then looked up at Bastian with panic in her eyes.

"No," she said simply, backing away and making to shut the door.

"Honey, who is that? Who's there?" Karl called, making his way down the hall and stopping short of the front door. He looked at his wife, still mutely clutching the papers, and the two brothers standing outside the door. "And you are?..." he asked in a polite but confused tone. He turned back and spotted Violet hiding on the stairs, shushing her new puppy and looking intensely curious, and got an inkling of who their visitors might be.

"It's Kaiser. Julian Kaiser." He didn't trust himself with much more than that. Karl turned to Kate and gently tugged the papers out of her hand; his eyes widened at their contents, and then he looked with concern at his wife in her condition, placing a gentle hand on her stomach.

"I'm sorry, but now is really not a good time. In her condition...you can't do this," he said, shaking his head.

"If she's really in a fragile state then perhaps it's best if I take care of Violet for awhile, so she can rest and not have to look after an active child." It was a good point; Julian hoped by highlighting the temporary nature of the situation, he might make the transition a little easier. He didn't like the idea of upsetting a pregnant women much more than Bastian did, no matter the situation. Whether or not she lived with him full time, Violet still needed a mother, and he'd feel terrible if something happened because of her distress over the situation.

Somehow Bastian wasn't sure Julians comment would be taken in that light, besides Violet was 7, not exactly a baby anymore would need constant attention. He could already see the panic in Kate's eyes, Karl had a valid point as well, no matter what they had come for could they really be total prats about it? Obviously they needed a different way of going about this then he orginally planned.

"Alright, before anyone starts panicking, we arn't here to uproute her and run" he said shaking his head, perhaps with Julians eagerness to see his daughter again it might have felt that way.

"I am Bastian Kiaser, Julian's brother and in this case legal rep" he held his hand out to Karl. He seemed like a reasonable man, perhaps it would go better to get a repour with him as well. "I assure you we don't mean to cause Kate distress...." he paused to turn his gaze to Kate.

"We didn't know, congratuations lass" he said tilting his head slightly to Kate. He hoped to Merlin Julian trusted him.. They needed to go about this in a gentler way then he originally thought.

He turned back to Karl, "All I ask at the moment Mr. Becker is that you both hear out what I have to say and let Julian talk with Violet. He has not been able to see her in months. You have my word nothing will happen beyond that unless all parties agree" Bastian explained smoothly it was his hope they found this reasonable.

__

Violet gasped, from the words she heard or more or less understood. They had come for her? but why? what had changed?

She suddenly felt torn about what she wanted to do.. part of her wanted to run back to her room, and the other wanted to run back down the stairs and see her Dad...

Kate simply nodded at Bastian's words of congratulations, closing her eyes as though the pair of them would disappear when she could no longer see them. It wouldn't stop the neighbours from seeing the commotion, however, so she reluctantly reopened them, and pushed the door open further.

"Come in," she said, backing up into the large foyer. It was spacious and bright, and clearly bore the signs of Kate's taste for flowers and finery. Julian stepped in and finally spotted Violet sitting on the stairs; the expression on his face upon seeing his daughter again made even Kate get a guilty twinge in the pit of her stomach. She couldn't help but think that this could have probably all been avoided had she allowed him to see Violet more often. Assuming that he'd just give up without a fight had been a stupid, naive move on her part, not that she'd ever admit it to him.

"C-can I say hi to her?" he asked softly so only Kate could hear, and she nodded, feeling slightly more put at ease at the question. If he was asking her permission to speak to Violet, she seriously doubted they'd just take her and run, as Bastian had put it. Perhaps they could still work this all out somehow.

"Violet, your father and your uncle have come to see you," she called up the stairs, trying to make it seem as though this was the most normal thing possible. "Come down and say hello." Karl quietly closed the front door behind Bastian and Julian, and walked over to the entrance to another room just off of the large foyer.

"Why don't you come sit in the parlour? I'll go get us all something to drink. What would you like? Tea? Water? Coffee?" Julian wasn't paying attention to Karl's questions; he'd walked to the foot of the stairs, and was looking up at his daughter with a nervous smile, wondering what she must thunk of him.

"Hello, Violet," he said simply, and to his surprise, his eyes began to water slightly. Embarrassing. Kate looked away, her guilty conscience clearly etched across her face now. For all the problems they'd had in their marriage, she always knew she'd been lucky that Julian was such a good father to Violet.

Bastain followed them into the foyer, it was a nice house was his final vertict not that he was surprised.

He also looked up the stairs to see Violet, he silently wished his brother luck as he followed Karl to his parlour. So far so good, Kate seemed more at ease and Karl... he was taking better the he would have in this type of situation had the roles been reverse. His new wifes ex-husband coming over unanounced with costody papers while she was about ready to have a child.

"Just water is fine Mr. Becker, I dare not think my brother can handle coffee at the moment" he anwered glancing at his brother who seemed to be trying talk with Violet. Besides it would be a shame to waste a cup of coffee, Julian likely wouldn't drink any anyway.

Violet swallowed when her Dad and uncle came in, she didn't think they'd come in. Why was he here? It didn't make any sense to her.. if he was to busy for her why bother? Why come over and pretend that he cared?

When he said Hi to her she swallowed again wondering if she should go to him or leave.. she was certainly mad enough to leave, but.. She looked at her Dad again her big green eyes shining, she had missed him, terribly, and she was ever so confused.

Her puppy licked her face then taking her out of her musings she put her little dog down and almost flew down the stairs it seemed.

She hugged him and tears were roling down her face, though her eyes looked up at him angrily.

"W-why are you here?" she asked in as iciy a voice she could make concidering she was crying.. Why now? Just when she accepted he didn't want to see her anymore.. that he had more important things to do.. that he showed up to see her..

As confused as he was by the angry tone and the hug, Julian felt like he deserved it. Of course she was mad, she had every right to be. He hadn't fought hard enough for her until now, amd she had every reason to feel neglected.

"Violet, I'm so sorry," he told her simply, crying now too. Although she was too old for it, he reached down and picked her up into a hug, holding onto her securely as the tears rolled down his cheeks. "I'm here to see you, like I should have a long time ago...it's complicated, my love, but you need to know that I never stopped thinking about you. Everything I've done, I've done for you, and I know I've made mistakes but I want to fix them. I love you, sweetheart, and I promise I'll never go that long without seeing you again, unless....unless you don't want to see me." Just the idea nearly broke his heart in two, but if she really felt that way, he'd be true to his word. He'd clearly disappointed his daughter quite enough as it was.

Karl quietly closed the parlour door on them, feeling perhaps a bit of privacy was in order. Kate pulled out her wand and began summoning a tray with a pitcher of water and cups, in a very distracted sort of way, while Karl watched with wide, interested eyes.

"So. You wanted to talk," he began, pouring out a cup of water and handing it to Bastian, before pouring one for his wife and himself. "I have to say, this is all quite a surprise to me. I was under the impression that erm...your brother -- Julian -- was...busy with other things," he started, clearly at a loss at how to best put it delicately.

"This seems sudden," Kate agreed, sipping from her cup as she seated herself carefully. "I take it that Julian does not want to cede custody to Karl." To his credit, Karl didn't look at all offended.

It would have been more surprising to him if Julian had given up without a fight, honestly. Kate had been the one convinced it would be very simply done, but Karl had difficulty imagining any man taking Violet and Kate that much for granted. Clearly it was too late for Julian to repair the damage done with Kate, but surely that would make him all the more eager to fix the broken relationship with his daughter? Apparently he'd been right in his line of thinking, although he was certainly not going to tell Kate "I told you so".

Violet wasn't sure what to say she simply cried in her Dads shoulder like she used to when she was even littler. She'd been told he'd been to busy for her, and with his lack of seeing him.. she started to believe it was so.

But looking at her Dad, he was crying to, she'd never ever seen him cry before. It was very odd seeing him cry. Perhaps he really meant it..

And of course she wanted to see him.. only reason she was in his arms right then and not locking herself in her room.

"... Of course I want to see you Daddy" she blurted out as if he'd said a silly question.

"I thought you didn't want to see me.. Everytime I asked you were always busy working and other more important stuff" she said wipping her nose with her sleeve.

__

Bastain rasied an eye brow at the exchange, Kate using magic and Karl staring in amasment, he absently wondered if this happened often.

"Julian... he had to get his priorites in order I suppose, though I can tell you he has missed Violet terribly. Never a day I have seen him he didn't mention her." he said. He honestly thought it was Kate marring and the possiblity of his rights as a father being taken away that got Julian to take this course of action.

Bastain blinked at Kate "Lass would you ever hand over your rights as a mother to any of your children to a woman you didn't know?" he asked simply to try an prove a point and how futile the request was to begin with.

Julian sighed at her answer; it was every nightmare of his come to life, that she honestly believed he'd forgotten about her somehow. As if working at the job he hated so much could ever be more important to him than her!

"Violet, no. Never. There is nothing more important to be than you, not even my job. Especially not my job." Julian realised he was getting dangerously close to telling Violet that her mother had been lying to her, and while it was true, he was smart enough to know that was something a seven year old probably wouldn't be ableto handle. He wasn't looking to get back into Violet's good graces by destroying her relationship with her mom.

"There's been some....miscommunication, going on. It's no wonder, with you guys living so far away now. But I was thinking, since it's summer, and you're not in school, that maybe we could spend some time together. Go on vacation, catch up." He didn't mention how long the stay might be, mostly because he wasn't sure himself. Temporary custody could mean a week, or a year. Hopefully that was an issue they could settle rationally when they came to it.

----

Kate pursed her lips, annoyed but clearly understanding Bastian's point. "Of course not. But it's different, as a mother..." she trailed off, realising what she'd just said, and to whom. Wincing, she started to try and backtrack, but Karl got there first, although completely oblivious to just how insensitive Kate's remark had been, not knowing of Bastian's situation.

"But that's not fair and you know it, honey," he said gently, objecting to such a picture. "How can you expect me to look after Violet and care for her as though she's my own, if you don't think her own father would do the same? I think any parent would care, regardless of their gender." Kate looked exasperated at this, naturally.

"I thought you were supposed to be on my side?" she asked archly.

"I am, it's just...." he sighed, trying to figure out how to explain his feelings. "I'm going to be a father too, soon. And I'm very happy for that...and I just don't think we're going to get anywhere by trying to argue that a father doesn't have the same depth of feeling as a mother. That's not the point right now anyway, and it's not going to help. We need to approach this rationally, trying as much as possible not to let prejudices get in the way. What is best for Violet?"

Violet bit her lip as her Dad tried to assure her his job hadn't been the reason he hadn't come to see her...

"Then why didn't you come to see me?" She asked well aware she was being difficult on her poor Dad, but she was curious none the less and still felt somewhat hurt. Really though.. she'd forgivin him the moment she saw him get out of the car...

Her eyes widened at his offer of her staying with him for a bit, Could she really? What would her Mum say? yet with the new Baby coming, wouldn't that be better anyway? She'd rather be with her Dad then with a sitter.

"Will I be able to bring my puppy?" she asked looking down at her little dog who was sniffing her Dads shoes..
__

Bastian sighed at Kates remark, Nonesense in his opinion, and he was about to tell Kate so when Karl gently told her first,
He was actually starting to like Karl, concidering the few minutes he has known him. Yes he was quite reasonable indeed.

He then thought it a good time to bring in the court papers again, he slid them on to the table. "Allow me to explain these more clearly, We are not looking take Violet away from you Kate. He agrees Violet still needs you as her Mum. This is merely a garantee Julian can have time with her to if she wants it as well.." he said taking the polite road and not mentioning that it had been Kate that vanished with Violet and not let Julian know. Had Julian gottan a different lawyer and wanted to really cause upheavel for Kate he could have charged her with kiddnapping. In fact there were alot of things he could say right then that were true... but he reframed for the sake of peice in the house.

"This is a tempory court order, that will be held until either a full costody hearing or soemthing along the lines of joint costody is sorted out" He explained further, he had another point to make, concerning the syphoning attacks in muggle and wizarding homes, but he'd get to that later.

"Nothing to worry much over... it sound much scarier then it is" he said trying to keep the ease in the room.

It was going to be very difficult to answer Violet's question without lying, but Julian did his best to give her as much of the truth as he possibly could.

"You know that your mother has to let me know when I can see you," he started gently, setting her back on her feet and pushing back a piece of hair that had fallen into her eyes. Julian crouched down a bit so he was still at eye level with Violet.

"Well, she's been a bit concerned with some things that have been going on back in England recently. Didn't feel it was safe. And with her getting married to Karl, she wanted to have you around more so that you two could get to know each other. He seems like a nice guy." Somehow, he managed to say this with a smile, strained though it was.

"It's not all settled yet, but I was thinking of either moving back here so I can see you more, or moving someplace else in England that's a bit safer. I suppose the big city can be a bit risky for a child, I understand that," he said, although not pointing out the hypocrisy of her mother's prejudice against London when she'd gone and moved to Berlin, of all places. Not at all a place with a history of conflict.

"Really, though, I'd kind of like that to be up to you, a bit. I was hoping that, maybe with time...well, don't worry about that yet. Regardless of where I move, I promise you can keep your puppy," he told her with a more sincere smile, looking down at the sniffly little thing. It pretty cute, and he had no real objection to it except that he didn't have a yard for it in London, but as he'd said, moving was definitely an option. They'd figure it out when they got to it.

-----

"Then he is fighting for custody," Kate replied. It was a statement, not a question, and Karl looked away from Kate, feeling uncomfortable and very out of place. He never thought he'd be engaging in a custody battle with wizards, that's for sure.

"I'll be really honest with you, Bastian. I don't think that's a fight he's going to win." She looked very confident in her assessment, and continued in that same haughty attitude, pretty well fed up with the undeniable truth of the fact that Julian had gotten his way in spite of her best efforts. It was something that she was determined would not happen again. After how carefully she'd managed to rearrange her life, there was no way she was going to let Julian come in and upset the balance.

"But. Being that's it's summer, and being that I'm due in a few weeks, anyway...perhaps we can make an arrangement for Violet. Just until she has to go back to school in September." Kate offered it as though she were in a position to bargain, which she was fully aware was not the case. Still, she knew that in her present condition, she was more likely to get her way, and she was not above using that as leverage. Anything to make sure she had her picture perfect home with her rich, adoring and two beautiful daughters.

Violet nodded supposing she could understand what her Dad was telling her, though she didn't now why her Mum would think living with her Dad would be dangerous..

"Okay... I.. I have missed you. I think I would like that" she said sending a smile of her own at him. She wipped a few of her remaining tears off her face and hugged her Dad again.

Karl was nice yes, but he wasn't her Dad..

"Never seen you cry before Daddy" she stated before she kissed his cheek, she hopped it didn't happen again.

___

Bastain was starting to get annoyed with Kate, "Or Joint Custody" he said a less then jovial tone.

His eye brows rasied at her decloration, did she realize she was talking to him.. Julians Lawyer as well as brother, in fact if he didn't know any better her tone sounded chalanging. And since she was playing that game he assumed her fragile state wasn't -that- fragile.

" Allow me to be perfectly honest with you then Kate, don't be under the allusion that I am not prepared to meet you at court if that is what you and Julian come to. The only reason it has come to this is so Julian can be a father to Violet with you hiding her from him. Had you allowed him visitation it would have been enough. This.." he paused picking up the court order.

"Shouldn't have been nessesary" he said seriously. really Kate was off her rocker if she thought this had not been thought through. He may have used harsh words.. but his tone remaind calm.

He nodded to her statment though he mentally rolled his eyes, "That is a start" he said shortly.

"This would be easier for everyone if you worked with us Kate" he adviced. "I am a reasonable man, as far as I can see so his you ex-husband" he said.

Julian sighed in relief at Violet's reply. He really didn't know what he would have done had she said no. Given his reaction to her mother's wedding, it probably would not have been a good scene.

"Okay, sweetheart," he told her, kissing her forehead. "And don't you worry -- you never will again, not if I can help it. Adults can get scared too, sometimes," he said, wiping his tears on his sleeve before scooping her up again, not forgetting to grab the tiny dog whose name he did not yet know.

"Come on, let's go tell your mum, and see if we can't get a few nice things packed. You'll have your old room again, and I know some people who are going to want to get to know you," he told her, carrying her into the next room.

Kate took one look at the way Julian was holding Violet, and rolled her eyes.
"Don't carry her like that, she's not a baby," she scolded, but Julian pay no attention to her, instead giving Violet an affectionate squeeze.

"She's my baby," he retorted, not taking his eyes off of Violet, "but don't worry, I know she's a big girl." He set her upon her feet and took a seat next to Bastian, motioning for Violet to come sit on his lap. Now that he had her in his sight, he didn't want to let go of her for even a second, something that Karl noted with foreboding. He wondered with increasing incredulity how Kate had ever deluded herself enough to think that Julian would let Violet go without a whisper. It must have been the pregnancy hormones, he reasoned.

"Do you really think it's appropriate for her to be in the room right now?" Kate asked with a fake sweetness that Julian knew did not bode well. He was quickly tiring of trying to care about her ideas of propriety -- not when those ideas so clearly excluded him.

"Yes. We are all very capable of behaving ourselves, here, and Violet and I have spoken and are very much agreed that we would like to spend more time together." There was a slight but awkward silence during which the only thing that happened was that Violet's puppy walked about the room, sniffing everyone's feet and ending with Bastian, the only one he hadn't smelled yet. Julian smiled faintly, knowing well of his brother's allergies.

It was Karl that broke the silence, figuring that he needed to step in and do something to help Kate save face a little bit. "Well, Violet is on summer break right now. If you aren't busy, I don't think it would be entirely unreasonable for you to take her on vacation, perhaps do something for her birthday?" he suggested, trying very hard to phrase it in a way agreeable to everyone. Even Kate saw what he was trying to do and sighed, aware that this was not at all unreasonable despite how distasteful it was to her wishes.

"That's fine with me," she replied stiffly, and Julian breathed a huge sigh of relief. "Just don't forget, she's not like you, she's a picky eater, and she needs her vegetables --"

"I remember, she doesn't like tomatoes or mushrooms, but she loves to eat carrots right out of the refrigerator, and broccoli, as long as it's got any kind of cheese on it. Peppers and onions only on pizza or pasta, and no soda or sugar before bed because then she gets funny dreams and doesn't sleep right," Julian recited as if by memory. Even Kate had to crack the smallest of smiles at that.

"Right." She looked visibly relieved. At least she didn't have to worry about how well Violet was being taken care of. "And your wards?..."

"Only the best, most cutting-edge the Ministry has to offer. Every time there's an upgrade I make sure to grab it before they sell out. She'll be extremely well safe."

Violet gladly took the invitation to her dads lap, since the tention in the air was almost tangable, even to her. She looked to her mother in confusion, wondering why she seemed to displeased. Was her going with her Dad making her unhappy?

She looked between both her parents as they discussed what was going to happen she was soon distracted by her Unlce wairy glance to her Puppy.

"He doesn't bite Unlce" She chirped with a smile.

Bastain sighed as his nose was already starting to ich, he conjured a Handkerchif and placed it over his nose.

"I know Vi.. Dogs make me sneeze, a lot" he said with a chuckle to the little girl. He had missed her as well. And marked this so by ruffling her brown hair.

Violet laughed "Oopes, I forgot.. Sorry Uncle Bas" she said trying to motion her puppy away from him.

"Quite alright Darlin.. it won't kill me" he said, though after he said that he sneezed.. ".. Yet" he added as an afterthough.

Then at the mention of wards Bastian thought he should ask Kate the same.

Sniffing he continued on, "Kate, that reminds me. Do you have any protective wards around this house at all?" he asked.

"This is on a slightly different matter, but important nonetheless" he said warningly. After the attack on Calixta's family he was concerned for Kate's. If she thought the muggle world was safe from attack she was very wrong.

Kate scowled at the question. The answer should have been obvious upon their arrival.

"Of course not, how could we have any of Karl's family or our friends over with wards? They're Muggles. The Sneakoscope alarms we've got more than do the job. We don't need wards here, it's safe," she scoffed, as though Julian and Bas lived in the middle of a war zone. Julian nearly tripped over himself at her reply, sputtering for a moment before he could form a coherent sentence.

"WHAT? Are you out of your mind?" he yelped, his voice going up an octave rather unattractively. Kate winced and then rolled her eyes at his reaction, but otherwise let him get on with his apparent need to lecture her on something.

"Kate, I'm serious, this isn't the time to argue with me on this. We discussed this, that last attack wasn't in England, and the family had very close connections to purebloods. The father was a half-blood, with a pureblood witch for a mother and a Muggleborn wizard for a dad." Julian covered Violet's ears and switched to French so she wouldn't understand the next part.

"They killed his wife and siphoned the two kids, one of whom died. Two years old, and because his mum was a Muggle." Kate looked confused but also concerned at the mention of killing Muggles. She looked at her husband nervously with a look that suggested to Julian that she hadn't really explained to him properly the risks of marrying a witch. Karl simply looked confused at all this talk about blood statuses; his French wasn't very good.

"Siphoned?" she questioned.

"Drained of their magic," Julian clarified. Kate looked stunned.

"Because their mom was a Muggle?" Julian just nodded, unable to meet her eyes. Kate turned and looked at Karl with very wide, scared eyes, and then looked down at her belly. There was a long awkward silence; neither knew what to say.

"I don't understand what you're talking about anymore," Karl finally said, seeking further clarification. "What are 'wards'?" Julian wasn't sure how to answer, but did his best.

"There isn't a non-magical equivalent for them, really. You know about the sneakoscope, obviously -- that's a more effective alarm, basically, but wards are more specific. They can keep your house from being unfindable, or completely invisible to non-magical people -- things like that. Which is why you haven't got any -- it would make life very difficult for you. You wouldn't be able to find it on a GPS, and in effect your house would cease to exist, meaning you'd have to find some alternative way to get things like electricity and water. It can be done, of course, but at no small cost. But I'm afraid things are getting worse, and you're going to have to deal with the inconvenience. The risks are too great." Julian shook his head, rather disbelieving that they didn't have any wards at all. It was either the result of heretofore unknown levels of naïveté, or hypocrisy.