Emma Swan and the Cursed Dagger

Chapter 1

Nancy Blue and Tina Greenwood were proud to say that they were perfectly normal. They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange and mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense.

Mrs. Blue was the director of a large home for orphans called Mundi Harborage, which housed 20 boys and 20 girls. She was a pretty but stern lady, with thin eyebrows that could form the best scowl in the world and small, close-set dark eyes.

Tina was just as pretty but fairer, with wavy blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes. She always had a skip to her step and a smile on her face. She had worked at the orphanage for as long as Mrs. Blue had been in charge. The children adored her.

Nancy and Tina had everything under control, except maybe some of the children. Life was structured and comfortable. But they also had a secret and their greatest fear was that somebody would discover it.

Today was the day Mrs. Blue had been dreading and she was in a state. All day she'd been walking around, double checking the bedrooms and the cupboards to see if everything was tidy and in its place. She yelled extra at Dennis and Alice, made everyone sit up particularly straight during meals and locked herself up in her office after dinner.

Tina was worried. She knew first hand how harsh Blue could be, but it had been a long time since she'd seen her superior this cold and stressed. Once it was dark outside and most children had gone to bed, she asked Janitor John to watch the group that was hanging around the television and went up to Blue's office.

Her knock on the door was answered by a snappy "Come in!"

Nervously, Tina opened the door and slipped inside. She was shocked at how dark the room was. A single lit candle threw eerie shadows across the book covered walls. When Blue turned her chair around to look at her, Tina jumped and slammed the door shut.

"Please, Green, be careful."

Tina walked over to the desk and placed her hands firmly on the smooth surface before looking at the other fairy defiantly.

"Seriously, Blue. What's with the attitude? Even Alice was in tears. And accusing poor little Zach from stealing cookies? He can't even reach the jar!"

Blue merely put up her hand and shook her head. "Green..."

"Don't 'green' me. I know something's up. Whatever it is, it's not the kids fault," Tina said fuming. She hated it when Blue was being unfair. She was mighty good at that for a fairy.

"You are right," the woman gave in, "I am under a lot of stress."

"But why?"

Blue sighed and walked to the window. As she peered outside, she said: "They are being brought today."

Tina gasped. "Today? You haven't mentioned."

"I received a letter yesterday evening, just before I went to bed. That owl scared me half to death. In any case, they could be here any moment."

"They are so fast. I thought it'd take them at least a few more months to deal with everything. Their magic must be very powerful."

Blue gave a characteristic sad little smile. "Very different, at least."

"I'll say..."

"They are pleased with our efforts too. We can proceed according to plan. After today, magic is a forbidden subject. We can not draw attention in any way, Green. I am trusting you to help me with this. We must protect them at all costs."

Tina nodded, a lump forming in her throat. She had only just regained her wings and now she had to hide them. It was like being back at square one. She understood the reason, though, and a steely determination filled her.

"Good." Blue's smile brightened and she glanced outside again. Suddenly she went rigid.

Tina inched closer. "Is it them?"

"I think so. Go to the children, Green."

A man appeared on the corner of the street. He appeared so suddenly and silently you'd have thought he'd just popped out of the ground. Nothing like this man had ever been seen near Mundi Harborage. He was thin and dark-haired and wearing indigo robes. He peered through round glasses with green, searching eyes. A faint scar was only just visible underneath his messy bangs. This man's name was Harry Potter.

Harry didn't seem to realise that he just arrived in a street where everything about him posed a risk. He was busy rummaging in his robes, looking for something, but then heard a door open and looked up. He tried to smile friendly at the lady in a blue suit that came towards him, but only half managed and instead gave a polite nod.

"Mrs. Blue," he said, his tone grim.

By now he had found what he was looking for in his inside pocket. It seemed to be a silver cigarette lighter. He flicked it open, held it up in the air and clicked it. The nearest street lamp went out with a pop. He clicked it again - the next lamp went dark. He kept on clicking the Put-Outer until the street was in darkness.

"That is a very interesting magical item you've got there," Mrs. Blue said. She smiled politely, but couldn't keep the tension out of her eyes.

"You've never seen one?" Harry was surprised. This woman was not only used to magic, but a magical creature herself. "I borrowed it..."

"Where are the children?"

She clearly wasn't going to indulge the small talk. He thought he might like her if she didn't remind him of a certain ex-teacher so much. Even now she practically glared at him with impatience and a very annoying arrogance.

"Your friends are bringing them," he answered her question, "They seemed the right people for the job. Though one of them made quite a fuss about it."

"My friends?"

"Leroy and his lot."

Mrs. Blue dramatically put her hand to her forehead. "They would make a fuss."

"They should be here soon. I told them to use the Knight Bus."

She looked genuinely confused at that.

"Don't worry," Harry chuckled, "It is very fast and... safe enough."

They both stared at the orphanage for a while, unsure what to say or do next. Both felt equally tense, though for different reasons. Blue had been around magic her entire, very long life. She was even born from it. Yet here she was, surrounded by strange new magic, an entire hidden civilization of witches and wizards and a mysterious catastrophe like she'd never witnessed before. As memories of the past few weeks came rushing back in the silence, she shivered. Harry knew Mrs. Blue was hiding something from him and he did not like it. When he'd been called to America to help investigate a odd and disturbing disaster that was beyond a doubt caused by magic, he'd noticed that this woman was calmer than anyone else. Even bossy. A town that had appeared out of nowhere and was filled with babies and children, didn't seem to faze her all that much. Yet him arriving on a broom and wielding a wand did, apparently. It made no sense. As the investigation of the Aurors progressed, she had been asking about three of the found children in particular and grown more concerned, yet she wouldn't say why. There had only been a few adults in town and most of them were nuns. All of them wouldn't say a word because Mrs. Blue didn't let them. It was frustrating.

After a while, he couldn't stand the charged silence between them anymore.

"So," he said slowly, "How do you like England?"

She didn't look at him as she answered. "It is alright, I suppose. Though I have little time for sightseeing, as you know."

He did know. The MACUSA had been most helpful when the idea had been brought up to take all the children of the town to England, where Harry and the Ministry of Magic could keep an eye them. For some unknown reason, every single child was a witch or a wizard, infused with an unknown magic that was detected in their blood. The Ministry voted for enrolling all of them in Hogwarts at the age of 11, so the effects could be monitored and, if necessary, controlled.

Again, Mrs. Blue had asked after the three children that were on their way and requested she was the one looking after them personally. Since he had a lot of kids to find accommodations for, Harry had agreed, though he was wary.

"You should explore someday," he commented.

She wanted to respond, but the sudden sound of screeching tires interrupted her. She jumped back with a short scream, afraid for her toes, as a purple bus flew by her at nose length and shocked to an abrupt halt.

"There they are," Harry said, grinning.

"Where did it come from?" Mrs. Blue stammered breathlessly.

"Probably the next town over. Took them long enough."

She glared at him incredulously.

The door of the bus opened with a hissing sound. The next moment a burly man with a dark beard and an angry frown tumbled out.

"This thing is a nightmare! What, are these people trying to kill us or something? I am never stepping on this infernal excuse for a vehicle again! What did they do to my van?" he ranted with a raspy voice.

Mrs. Blue composed herself and looked down on him. "Did you bring the children?"

He scowled at her demanding tone. "Take it easy, sister. When did I ever let you down?"

When she crossed her arms impatiently, he mumbled something unintelligible and turned back to the bus.

"Come on, guys. Don't tell me you want to stay in there. I won't buy it."

Six men practically fell out of the Knight Bus, tripping over each other. One of them sneezed loudly as he was pushed aside. Only one of them smiled, with a somewhat sheepish look on his face.

"Good to see you all again. Did everything go well, Leroy?" Harry informed.

"You could say that," the black bearded man said grumpily, "I think the kids actually enjoyed that ride. Though I don't know how that is possible."

"I don't see them." Mrs. Blue sounded anxious.

Leroy grunted and went back to the bus once more. Peering inside, he bellowed: "Out already. There's folk waiting for you. Hurry up, we haven't got all night."

"Don't be mean, Leroy."

Leroy looked at Mrs. Blue with a raised eyebrow. "Why should I? They never were really nice to me." He instantly shut up because of the look she gave him.

Harry noticed the exchange and was immediately irked by it. What were they hiding? He couldn't confront them about it, as two frightened looking girls came to stand in the doorframe of the odd looking purple bus. He guessed they were 3 years old and they were very different, almost like day and night. The one dark and shy, the other guarded and very blonde.

"Hello there. My name's Harry. What's yours?"

The blonde girl eyed him suspiciously and stuck out her tiny chin. "Emma."

The other girl refused to open her mouth and just stared at him doe-eyed.

"That is Regina," Emma stated matter-of-factly, "She is shy."

Harry smiled. "Pleased to meet you."

Next to him, Mrs. Blue fussed, looking more anxious than ever. She eyed Leroy and then glanced at the two girls. "Where is the third child?"

"In the bus," Leroy grumbled darkly, "Doesn't want to come out."

When Mrs. Blue looked as if she was about to burst with panic, Harry cleared his throat and stepped forward. As he entered the Knight Bus, he remembered the first time he'd caught a ride in it. He had been scared and lost. He imagined the children must feel the same, taken from their home and to a strange country far away, handed from stranger to stranger who didn't know what to do with them. Therefore he was not at all surprised to see a small boy huddled in the furthest corner. He stared at Harry with huge, frightened eyes and his mousy brown hair was tousled. All colour had drained from his small, thin face.

"It's alright," Harry said soothingly, "You don't have to be frightened."

Just a panicked stare.

"Mrs. Blue is waiting for you. Won't you come out?"

The child shook his head vigorously.

"Don't worry. This was your last trip. You get to stay here. Mrs. Blue will give you a home, together with Emma and Regina. Won't that be nice?"

The boy very slowly emerged from his hiding place and eyed Harry suspiciously.

"No more running?" he croaked.

Running? That was a bit of an odd choice of words, Harry mused, but he decided to drop it. For now. He didn't want to scare the boy all over again.

"No more running," he reassured him, "Me and Mrs. Blue will protect you, I promise. What's your name?"

The child mumbled something unintelligible.

"I didn't quite catch that, but that doesn't matter. Come along, they are waiting for you."

Harry reached out his hand invitingly and the boy grabbed hold of it, squeezing rather strong. Together they emerged from the bus.

"It is dark here," the boy said with a trembling voice.

"Don't be so silly," the blonde girl, Emma, told him sternly.

Harry suppressed a chuckle. "Be nice to your friend."

Emma crossed her arms and moped. "Rumple is not my friend."

"Rumple?"

Mrs. Blue shook her head. "The child's name. The boy is called Rumplestiltskin," she said quickly. Too quickly.

"Like in the fairytales?" Harry had meant it as a joke, but the lady in the blue suit pressed her lips together and pulled the girls towards her.

"It is late. The children need to get some sleep. Big day tomorrow. You may want to turn in as well, Mr. Potter."

Harry looked at the boy who was still clutching his hand and looking back at him. It was a cute boy. Short and willowy, with dark searching eyes, despite the utter terror that played across his childlike features.

"Run along now, Rumple. This is your new home."

The boy's lower lip trembled ominously. "But... they don't like me."

"Nonsense," Harry reassured him, giving him an encouraging smile, "You'll have a lot of new brothers and sisters. It will be fun, you'll see. I will come visit soon."

"That is quite enough, Mr. Potter." The sharpness in Mrs. Blue's voice startled him.

He watched the woman take the children inside, as soon as she managed to dislodge Rumplestiltskin from his hand, and frowned. He needed to keep an eye on them. He had never trusted Mrs. Blue, but that had grown into suspicion. He took out the Out-Putter and returned the lights to their lamps.

"Good luck, kids."

Within the blink of an eye, Harry Potter disappeared. Mundi Harbourage stood tall and proud in the calm night, next to an uneventful street.

Everything was normal...