Chapter One: Hasty Farewell
Bijou walked down the main cobbled road in a nearby wizarding community. Kora ran, laughing, a few steps ahead of her, her dress bouncing around her ankles. Her daughter's laugh sounded so very much like Oliver's. How this happened, she was unsure. She loved it all the same, however.
Bijou made to greet the ladies standing at a vegetable stall. Bijou smiled at the women, she turned away. Out of the corner of her eye she saw one whisper to the other. She took it as shock about having a small child at her young age. It wasn't completely uncommon, with the second war on the horizon and all.
Unfortunately, the whispering kept up. She turned to another woman, who was too busy whispering into a man's ear. "Madame?" she asked.
The woman looked up at her, her eyes trying to reflect innocence, "Yes?"
"What, might I ask, are you whispering about?" Bijou asked.
"Don't you know?" The woman's face turned to shock, then to a smile.
"Apparently not. What is going on?" Bijou questioned further.
"There are rumors of you being a blood traitor. And your little one as well. What did you do?" The woman seemed as though Bijou knew something she didn't
"I have no idea what you are talking about, Madame. What on earth could I have possibly done to become a blood traitor?" Bijou wondered out loud.
"How should I know? I was just wondering." The woman's eyes showed disappointment on not getting the gossip she craved.
"Kora, we must leave. Come here," Bijou ordered. Kora looked at her mother, question playing across her face. She didn't bother asking the one thing she knew would annoy her mother, and walked up to her sullenly. Kora grabbed her mother's hand, no longer pouting about leaving early.
Bijou picked up Kora, holding her tightly to her chest. With a quick pop they both were gone.
Bijou set Kora down on the ground when they arrived outside. They walked in together, Bijou was hoping that Oliver had gotten home from 'practice'.
Kora ran inside the house, quickly finding her father, lounging on their couch, and jumped on him. Bijou shut the door, smiling at Kora and Oliver's conversation.
"I jumped off a wall today, Daddy! It was fun! It was huge too! Like huger than me!! I swears it!" Kora squealed with joy. (A/N: I know 'huger' is not a word, but I heard a little kid say it the other day, and it was funny.)
"I'll bet it was a down right monster! You didn't get hurt, right? I wouldn't want to take on a wall to avenge my daughter's blood," Oliver laughed. Kora began laughing as well and Bijou assumed Oliver had begun tickling her.
Bijou charmed the groceries along with the dishes, to begin cooking dinner. She walked into the living room, folding her arms across her chest. Oliver looked up at her and his smile instantly vanished.
"Mummy and I need to talk. Go play in your room, alright?" Oliver asked, getting off his knees.
"Sure, Daddy," Kora smiled and walked up to Bijou. "Don't kill him yet, he's only human!"
"I won't kill your father, just bruise him a little," Bijou smiled at Kora. She smiled at the routine conversation and skipped off to her room.
"What's wrong?" Oliver asked, his face showing concern for her. He couldn't read minds, but he could read faces, especially hers.
Bijou, no longer able to hold herself together, broke down crying. "They found me!"
Oliver jumped up and practically ran over to her. He put his arms around her and held her close to him. "Who baby, who?"
"My family. I don't know how, but they know about Kora and me," Bijou sobbed.
Oliver did his best to sooth his wife. He didn't know what to do. He wanted his family to stay with him and he wanted to protect them against everything. He knew what he had to do though. He just needed some time.
"Bijou, listen to me, ok?" Oliver began. Bijou looked up at him. "Please, please, just stay for a little while longer. We'll get this all figured out, and ... I'll put up extra protection charms! I'll do anything to keep you safe, you know that. Right?"
Bijou nodded, "Ok," she sniffed, "we'll get things situated before Kora and I leave."
Oliver smiled, pulling Bijou back to him. He kissed the crown of her head. "Everything will be fine."
Bijou started crying again. He walked Bijou to the couch and sat down with her. He pulled her onto his lap and began stroking her back gently. He could tell his shirt was almost soaked.
Bijou had finally fallen asleep. Oliver untangled his fingers from hers and carefully got off the bed. He walked into Kora's room. She looked peaceful, blissfully unaware of what was happening in the world. He leaned down over the railing of the crib, and gently planted an air light kiss on her forehead.
He had to keep reminding himself that everything was going to be fine. But in the pit of his stomach, he had the horrible feeling of uncertainty. This shook his being to the core, even more so than knowing his wife's psycho family were after her . . . again.
Bijou woke with sunlight burning onto her face. She nestled closer to Oliver, feeling the warmth of his bare skin on her own. She took in a deep breath, smiling at the intoxicating aroma of her wonderful husband.
Not wanting to wake him up, she strained her neck so she could see the clock. It read 8:23 am. She sat up, regrettably leaving the warmth of her bed, and went to get Kora up. She knew the young child would be screaming for food and attention any minute. It was only a matter of time.
Oliver felt the cool air rush against his side. He could hear soft foot steps padding quickly along the wooden flooring. He looked over the side of the bed, barely having any time before seeing a golden-brown haired head bobbing at the bottom of the bed.
"Daddy! Daddy!" Kora shouted as she crawled onto the bed and jumped onto her father's chest. He let out a groan as the sudden weight hit him.
Oliver could barely hear the heavier footsteps closing in on them.
He randomly looked at the door, only to see Bijou standing in it, smiling at him. She laughed and walked over to the bed, crawling up to them, and straddling him. Oliver tried to smile, he couldn't help but think about how attractive it was that Bijou was straddling him in barely any clothing.
Damn! He thought, I shouldn't have thought that.
Bijou looked up at him in surprise. He blushed as he realized she could tell what he'd been thinking about.
"Daddy, will you play dollies with me?" Kora asked, flashing him a begging smile.
"I'll meet you there, love. Go set them up, will you?" Oliver asked, wanting some alone time with Bijou so he could explain himself.
Kora smiled, hugged her dad, gave him a wet kiss, and hopped off the bed. He waited until he heard the slamming of Kora's door before he deemed it safe.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to!" Oliver apologized.
Bijou just laughed at him. "At least I know I'm still attractive. Just put it away before Kora finds out. I don't want to explain to my three-year-old why her daddy's pants are pointing."
Oliver blushed again, he pushed her off him. "I'm going to take a shower, tell Kora I'll be a few minutes."
Bijou kissed his lips tenderly. "Have fun, don't use up all the cold water, ok?"
"Ha ha. You have jokes now, eh?" Oliver glared at her.
Bijou left the room, leaving Oliver to shower.
He emerged fully dressed not long after. He walked up behind Bijou and kissed her neck lovingly. His arms wrapped lovingly around her stomach. They could hear Kora's laughter in the living room as she played with her dolls.
"We should have another," Oliver whispered in Bijou's ear.
"I know you don't want another. Kora is your little angel. She'll get mixed messages if mommy is suddenly having another baby," Bijou smiled coyly.
"You know you want to," Oliver put his head on her shoulder, kissing her neck sensually.
Bijou turned around, a smile on her face, "If you want another baby, I'm sure we can help you somehow get pregnant. I'm not having another. Kora is my angel and she's a handful as it is, thank you very much. If you want to take care of her and have another baby, be my guest. I'm not going for it however."
Oliver frowned, "Fine, I can't afford another anyway."
Bijou pushed her way past him and began setting the dishes on the table. She put a small spell on the pan and the spatula and it began serving the food.
"Kora, breakfast," Bijou called as she opened the fridge door to get out the juice, enchanting that to pour itself as well.
Kora came running in and sat in her chair, a large smile appearing on her face when she saw the food. Bijou and Oliver sat down at their small table and began eating with Kora. In silence, they ate. Kora smiling as she ate, Bijou thinking about the impending doom, Oliver worrying about his family.
Bijou and Kora walked Oliver out to the sidewalk where the Night Bus was waiting for him. Bijou kissed Oliver gently and Kora refused to let her dad go, as always.
"I'll be back in a couple days, my love," Oliver said kneeling in front of Kora, who had started crying. "There is no need to cry baby, I'll bring you home a toy?"
Oliver was going to a tournament in Germany and would be gone for a week. As always Kora cried her eyes out, and Oliver promised to bring her something special.
Kora nodded and hugged onto the stuffed tiger Oliver had brought back for her from America. Oliver brushed her golden-brown hair away from her face and kissed her forehead as he stood up.
He embraced Bijou tightly, "I'll be back soon. If you need to leave for any reason, here is the address," he handed her a piece of parchment, "and you can always go to my parents house. I wrote them and they said that'd be perfectly fine."
"Thank you. Have a safe – " Bijou started but was interrupted by the sound of a plate breaking.
Oliver pulled out his wand, "Stay here with Kora."
Bravely, he went inside to check it out. Bijou picked up Kora, pulled out her wand, and began putting safety charms around them.
Inside, Oliver walked trough the house, his wand at the ready, spells forming in his mind. He went into the kitchen first, and saw the broken plate laying on the floor. He carefully stepped around it and searched the rest of the house. He saw a shadow cross the floor under the door at the end of the hall and he took action. He opened the door and began shooting hexes at a man as he jumped from the window.
He watched the man apparate away and knew that Bijou and Kora were no longer safe in Britain. He walked out of the house and up to Bijou. "Pack your things, you're going to come with me. You two are not safe here."
Bijou nodded and walked inside the house with Kora by her side. They gathered some items and most of their clothes, Bijou used an enlargement charm to help their suitcases to hold more. Kora was waiting for Bijou when she entered the kitchen.
"Mommy, what happening?" Kora asked, her eyes portraying terror.
"We're going with Daddy to Germany, alright? Did you get your favorite things?" Bijou asked, trying to keep the gravity of the situation from her daughter.
Luckily, Kora's eyes lit up and she raced up to her father. She laughed and was smiling as she hugged his leg. Oliver bent down and picked up Kora, holding her closely. "Are you ready?"
"Yes," Bijou said as they began walking out of the house. Tears came down her face; she hoped she would one day see it again. Mostly, she hoped that their family would come out of the war without harm done.