Once upon a time there sat a castle on a hill resting at the foot of one of the tallest mountains in the Enchanted Forest. The main castle was a single structure with fourteen floors surrounded by spikes as sharp as a razors edge. Three staircases lead from the castle to three separate gardens separated from the forest beyond by stone pillars and walkways. At the top of the castle was a bedroom crafted of dark stones that seemed to absorb all light and mirrors that hung from nearly every wall.
A great balcony looked out over the realm and two doors of black steel led out into the castle's corridors. Two chairs made of white leather hide with great black spots sat around a table of polished wood and faced a fireplace which burned even without a source of fuel. A great canopy bed as large as most cottages that spotted the landscape was pushed against the wall furthest from the balcony and a single wooden door lead to a walk in closet filled with dresses designed by the queen herself, kept clean and pressed for whenever she chose to wear them.
A young man sat in one of the chairs beside the fire with his feet housed in boots of black dragon scale that reached to just beneath his knees were casually resting on the polished table. A pair of woolen breeches dyed dark enough to match the scales upon his boots were tightened around his legs by multiple straps for a better fit. A white linen tunic with puffy sleeves was restrained by a doublet vest of oiled snake skin. A sad smile tugged his thin lips behind the stubble of his beard as his green eyes glistened with a sense of hope that all things would end well. His hair was as black as a starless night beneath a canopy of trees and the subtle remnants of a scar the shape of a lightning bolt was just a tanned reminder of the years gone by.
"You don't think she would actually do it do you," the young man asked while idly shuffling a deck of cards between his hands. A ring with a polished silver band sat on his right forefinger, instead of a gem it held a cracked stone with the faded symbol of a line bisecting a circle enclosed inside a triangle. "A curse like that is a powerful thing, especially one that could send us to that world. It took everything I had just to get away from it and now she's threatening to send us all back, Henry. I know Regina is pissed but she doesn't know that world like I do and she keeps ignoring all of my warnings."
An old man stood nearby pouring the dark red wine from the bottle in his hands into a narrow glass. His white hair was sparse upon his head, easily the fullest part was the horseshoe shape that wrapped from just beneath the crown of his head to behind his ears. Mutton chops trailed down his drooping cheeks as the lines around his mouth were pulled down by age and gravity. A black coat covered his arms and hung down the sides of his chest beyond the knees of his breeches, while a grey and black doublet was nearly concealed by the white linen wrapped around his neck and left hanging down his chest.
"Oh, my daughter may not like to admit it but she does take after her mother in many ways," the man said sadly with a shake of his head. "I have repeatedly attempted to turn her from away from this life of vengeance but so long as her Daniel has a place in her heart than Snow White has no place in this world it would seem."
The young man winced at the mention of the Queen's mother. He had met the woman all of one time but that had been enough for him to see the lack of emotion in her eyes. She had probably been the his second least favorite person to have met since his arrival, her placement only lessened beneath her own teacher due to having brought Regina into the world. He felt his own heart twinge at the thought of dark haired woman whose subjects had long ago dubbed the Evil Queen, she had taught him her ways in magic sense his arrival to the Enchanted Forest and he knew, as foolish as it was, that he had fallen for the woman who could be so kind when she allowed her heart to free itself from the memory of her lost love.
"Head's up," the dark haired wizard stated from his seat as a pulse of magic filled the room. A sword flew from a cloud of sulfurous smoke just flying above his head from the balcony to impale into the wall on the far side of the room as Henry moved the glass of wine onto a tray and turned around in time to welcome his daughter home as the smoke coalesced into the hourglass figure that was the Evil Queen. "So, I'm just going to guess they didn't take the threat well," the sitting man mused as he waved his hand and vanished the simmering sword into a mere wisp of white smoke.
"Shut up Harry," The Queen bit out through grinding teeth. Her hair was twisted into a ponytail that sprung up from the top of her head and cascaded down over her left shoulder blade. A black riding coat with pointed shoulders hugged her supple body to be buttoned around her stomach and fell to the top of the heels of her black leather riding boots. She appeared to have been poured into the black leather pants that fit her legs and ass like a second glove while a smoke grey corset was clinched beneath her coat, her firm rounded breasts just sitting in the provided cups. A round pendant hung from her neck on a black ribbon while her eyes lined with kohl as dark as coal and her lips as red as blood were all set into an enraged pout.
"Would you like a drink," the father turned valet asked as he approached holding the silver platter with the wine resting securely on top.
"Do I look like I need a drink" the Queen asked as she spun on her heel to glare at the older man.
"I was just trying to help," the man said sadly as his shoulders lurched downward.
"Thank you, Daddy," she whispered taking the glass from the tray as she spun around to face a nearby mirror with a silver edge shaped like the sun and trying to ignore the younger man sitting casually in her bedroom as the face of the Genie appeared before her.
"Now that was a very large threat," the dark skinned face beyond the glass spoke. "Threatening to take away everyone's happiness is no simple task. How do you think you'll go about doing that?"
"A dark curse, Genie. I know you are stuck in a mirror but do try to keep up," Harry said while rolling his eyes. "Henry and I were only discussing it a second ago if you had bothered not to spy on our Queen and pay attention to whats going on in this room... wait never mind just remembered where we were. I still say this is a stupid idea, whoever created that curse didn't do their research on that world and oh Merlin I sound like Hermione."
"I know you don't want to go back Harry but it is a world where Happy Ever Afters don't exist. It will work perfectly and the only person who will be happy will be me. The spell will cloak us so no one can find us and I'll get to live out my days knowing that all of my enemies are miserable," Regina said with a sick grin on her face. "Now, all I need to do is get back my curse."
Henry shook his head sadly letting his neck wobble just a bit. "How will you go about retrieving it? You traded away that curse and I don't think she'd be to happy to give it back to you. Please, your Highness, I'm begging you do not make her unhappy, she is your only friend in this world."
"What am I, chop liver," Harry asked with a raised eyebrow. "If you are going to go see her than I want to come too. I haven't seen her in months and I rather enjoy her company now that she's calmed down. Though, she could do with getting out some, she's gone all frumpy as of late."
"I dare you to say that to her," the Queen said with a smile to her protege before turning to look at her father. "By the way, Daddy, when have I ever cared about anyone's happiness but my own? Prepare the carriage. We're going to the Forbidden Fortress."
"Are we knocking? I feel that this would be a moment for knocking," Harry commented as he looked up at the castle's stained white towers as snow and whipped whipped and pulled at their clothing. His green eyes turned toward the dark haired beauty beside him as he tilted his head slightly to the side and gave her a lopsided smile. "You have no idea how many men in my world would probably kill their best friends to even be in the same room as the Evil Queen and the great Maleficent. If I don't forget everything when you do this, remind me to show you the internet some time, Regina," he said with a smirk.
"Enough of your perversions," the queen snapped with a sneer that Harry found rather reminiscent of his old Potions Master. He could only thank Merlin that at least Regina's full painted lips made it attractive. Her gloved hand reached up and gripped the large brass ring hanging from the jaws of the etched stone dragon epitaph on the front of the large door and began to knock against the massive structure. "We are here for business not your sick pleasure, Harry."
The Man-Who-Conquered huffed and crossed his arms as they waited. "Nothing so sick about it, My Queen. My people are naturally long lived, not as long as Maleficent but none of us have a dragon as an animagus form, and I've just passed my twenty fourth birthday. I'm entering my sexual peak for the next thirty years, longer if your curse works, and I'm allowed to fantasize about whatever I want. If that just so happens to be-"
"If you even think about finishing that sentence I will rip out your tongue and feed it a troll," Regina cut him off. She had to fight a smile when he saw her smirking at her and instead simply rolled her eyes at his childish attitude. "What is an animagus form anyway? I've been studying magic for years and I'm sad to say I've never come across the term."
"You've heard of an inner animal haven't you? The animagus process is a long drawn out magical practice of bringing that animal forth and transforming your body into it. The animal is different for everyone, my father was a Stag, my godfather was a black dog often mistaken for a Grimm and their betrayer was a rat. I'm fairly certain Maleficent's ability to turn into a dragon is something similar. Its a skill well beyond mere human transfiguration though," he explained.
"Correct you are," said witch's voice called out from the shadows before the door even opened to reveal the woman. Her blond hair was a mess behind her horned circlet that kept it from sweeping down into her face. A purple dress hugged her body but like all the witches in the land seemed to like her neckline plunged to near her waist. The sleeves were baggy around her arms and in her hands she gripped her black staff with its ebony dragon sitting on top, its wings folded to protect the glass sphere that was said to hold her most powerful curses. "My transformation is far more than simple transfiguration but if it is what you call an animagus, I have no idea, I would need to see the spellbooks describing the transformation to give a better answer. Please, come in out of the cold, your men can wait in the entrance hall while we retire to the sitting room."
The pair quickly followed the blonde into a large cavernous room with a fire burning in the single fireplace against the wall. The room was decorated with the weapons of the brave knights who had come to slay the dragon witch. High back chairs made of burned wood and blackened leather sat on either side of a small round table made from the wood of a tree that had once burned under Maleficent's own power and seated atop its surface was a shining tea set made of porcelain. A unicorn foal rested in the corner of the room, its fur and mane a dark smoky grey and its horn as black as a raven's feather, with its head resting on its forelegs as it watched the guests enter the room.
"Its probably for the best you haven't attempted the transformation as of yet, Harry," the blonde continued their conversation. "With your tainted blood and the role you've been assigned by fate there is no telling what you would become. Names have power, even those assigned to us by legends and superstitions. I would wait to speak to him and finding out how his powers will affect your own."
"Right, Harry's powerful, we get it," Regina said with a careless wave of her hand as she took a seat. "How have you been? Its feels like its been ages since we've managed to just sit and talk."
"I'm doing fine," the blonde stated as she lifted the teapot from its place on the table. It began to emit a shrill whistle in her hand before she began to pour tea for herself and her guests. "If it was me though, I'd be simply tortured seeing that flake of Snow so happy. Weren't you about the same age when you were to be married? Before she ruined it all, of course."
Harry couldn't help but sit back and smile as he sipped his tea and let its warmth fill his mouth before his swallowed it. His green eyes watched as the unicorn pulled itself from its place along the wall and began to make its way toward the two women. He had never had a friendly rival so just accepted that the snarky comments the two women would often hurl at one another was just part of the fun.
"Why yes, I do believe it was the same age you were when that Sleeping Beauty got the best of you, my dear Maleficent," Regina said with a smirk as she raised the teacup to her lips and sipped.
"I soldiered on, as you will too, hopefully," Maleficent began.
"Enough games," the queen barked out seemingly having reached the end of her patience for the day. "You know why I'm here. I need my curse back."
"It's not yours anymore," the blonde said with a smirk. "A deals a deal, I traded you my sleeping curse."
"Which failed," the brunette cut in. "Undone by a simple kiss. Now, return what's mine."
"The Dark Curse? Really? Even you must know that even with all its unholy power it can not return your lover back from the dead," Maleficent tried to reason with the woman. "Have you considered a pet? They can be quite comforting," she said while rubbing the nose of her unicorn with the back of her hand.
The wizard in the room gulped down the last of his tea as he watched the queen's anger rise and her chest heaved with fury. This wasn't going to end well, he could feel it in his bones and suddenly wished he had remained in the castle where there wasn't the possibility of him possibly having to choose sides in a conflict between the two powerful witches.
"The only comfort for me is Snow White's suffering," Regina practically hissed.
"Well its her wedding night, so I doubt she's suffering to bad," Maleficent tried to joke.
"I need that curse," the dark witch said leaning over the arm of her chair to get close to the blonde. "I know you keep it hidden in the orb above your staff."
"Hidden for the good of all, old friend," the blonde witch said calmly while her green eyes reflected the fire burning in the grate. "Whoever made that curse makes the two of us look positively... moral. Where did you get it anyway?"
"Where I got it is none of your concern," the queen spat as she stood from her seat and stepped closer to the fire. A harsh wind began to blow through the chamber as Harry scooted his chair back and Maleficent leaned forward. "Hand it over."
"Must we do this," the purple dressed witch asked with sheer boredom in her voice.
"Alas we must," Regina said and began to channel the fire from the grate into her right hand as she summoned a fireball.
Maleficent spun out of her chair and leaped toward the far corner of the room with her staff in hand raising a protective shield around her self just as the fireball came flying toward her. Instead of going for another fire spell though Regina raised her hand, calling forth the weapons on the wall and pointed all the bladed tips toward her fellow witch just before the unicorn neighed. Seeing the pet, the Evil Queen turned her weapons toward the defenseless equine and let them fly.
"NO," Maleficent yelled before she flew in front of the horned pet and raised another shield to take the blow. This time though, Regina was already moving and the chandelier fell from the ceiling coming apart before its metal rings bound the dragon witch in their grip, her staff sent clattering to the ground before she was thrust up against the wall and left sticking to its surface.
"Love is weakness," Regina spoke as she lifted the staff from the floor. "I thought you would have known that."
"Oh yes, weakness, its why true love's kiss breaks every one of you people's curses," Harry snapped from his seat and stood up. Both witches seemed to just remember that he was in the room before he held out his hand and ripped the staff from the Evil Queen and let it fly across the room into his grip. "Are we done with the staff measuring contest because, honestly, that was a boring duel," he admitted before turning the staff toward the blonde and releasing her from the iron grips around her body.
"Thank you Harry," Maleficent said with a smile at the younger man before the sound of tinkling glass filled the room. Her eyes widened in horror as he reached down into the remnants of her staff's spear and lifted a small scroll. The glass quickly reformed on top of her magical focus before he tossed it back to her with ease. "What are you doing?"
"He is serving his queen," the dark witch said as she walked over to take the scroll from the younger wizard's hand only to find that he didn't release his grip. Her brown eyes widened as they met his furious green glare.
"Never mock love in my presence again, Regina," he growled. "It is thanks to love that I am standing here and why my friends are still alive. No spell, no force on this planet is stronger than love. It makes heroes and villains out of all of us," he whispered before letting the spell go so she could have it. "After all, it is love that made you what you are today."
The black witch pulled back as if she had been smacked before turning and marching out of the room leaving her protege and her rival behind.
"She won't forget those words," the blonde said as she stepped closer to the wizard, her staff tapping the stones as she walked. "It is a lesson that the Dark One nor her mother ever gave her."
Harry watched through the open door as the black knights and Henry followed the queen from the castle before the massive doors closed behind them. "Its a lesson I had to learn the hardest way imaginable," he answered sadly. "My mother sacrificed herself to save me from a Dark Lord and I did the same for my friends. Love can be a blessing for some but a curse for others."
The witch couldn't help but shudder at the mention of a Dark Lord. Rumpelstiltskin was bad enough, he as alone and preferred it that way as the Dark One. Every generation a wizard or witch would rise up though and take the mantle of the Dark Lord or Lady and use their magic to turn others of their kind to their way of thinking amassing an army of magical beings to do their bidding. "Still, you gave her the curse," Maleficent stated as she moved to stand beside him. "I suppose that is part of the curse you were talking about?"
"Its a Dark Curse but not Unforgivable," the wizard reminded her.
"Or even Deplorable," she added.
Both magical beings turned to look at each other at the mention of the world killing spell. The word was lost to time and hidden away on the remote realm of Charn where it would hopefully remain until the world's inevitable destruction brought on by the warring sisters.
"You should forget about her for now, Harry," Maleficent spoke as she leaned into his side so that her breasts were wrapped around his bicep. Their heights were not so dissimilar that she really had to lean to whisper in his ear. "She cannot get over her beloved Daniel Colter and your attention merely fuels her rage as her memories whisper to her the treachery of her desires. She cannot be yours, Harry Potter, but others are willing to give you the chance to prove yourself."
The young man's head turned to look at the woman and was met by a kiss as hot as the flames the dragon in woman's form could produce. His eyes widened as she stepped into him forcing his body to turn as he was pushed back against the stone wall. Slowly his eyes fluttered closed as he felt her tongue run the length of this bottom lip asking entrance to his mouth. His hands grasped her hips and pulled her to him as he allowed her to take what she wanted from him and began to greedily return her attention with is own.
The Queen's carriage would return to her castle long before the young wizard.
"Perhaps it is for the best," the elderly Henry said as he moved to stand next to his daughter who was staring into the ash of her failed curse. The hags, goblins and giants that had surrounded the pit had long since left. His eyes flickered to one of the stones surrounding the ruined garden where the wizard sat idly flicking pebbles off his perch into the writhing roots and branches of the dead trees that surrounded them before turning back to the Queen. "You are playing with forces darker than we can conceive."
"It was an impressive smoke cloud though," Harry chimed in with a smirk. "I tell you, I almost forget how showy the magic is in this realm."
"Be quiet," the witch snapped at the wizard with her brown eyes blazing before turning to her father. "Now you are trying to protect me?"
"It's what I do, what we do," he quickly corrected himself motioning to the wizard sitting nearby. "It is what I've always done."
"I know," she said with a hint of regret in her voice though she kept her chin and refused to back down. "You are the only ones who do."
"Helping you is my life-"
"Then help me understand why this curse isn't working," she snapped as the memory of her failure returned.
"If you want to know why the curse isn't working than you must return to the one who gave it to you," he explained causing his daughter to turn away in thought. "Revenge is a dark and lonely road. Once you start down it there is no coming back, you must understand that."
"What is there for me to head back too," she asked before turning and walking away, leaving the two men alone in her wake.
"Its a line she isn't willing to cross," Harry spoke up once he was certain she was out of earshot and turned to face the man who was watching his daughter walk away. "The Curse called for the heart of the thing she loved the most, she only chose her horse because the real price... the real price of the curse is something so evil it hasn't even crossed her mind."
"My heart," her father said with a nod of his head. "I know, despite all the evil she has committed such an act has never entered her mind. In some ways, I am glad to see that her innocence to the true cruelty this world can produce."
"She will though," Harry said as he hopped off the rock and moved to look into the ash filled basin where the curse had failed. "Sending her to Rumpelstiltskin will start her down the path to an act she cannot take back. This curse will rend her soul and she will truly become the Evil Queen the people fear so much."
The old man sighed and nodded his head though the wizard couldn't see it. "My daughter doesn't feel she can find her happiness here. She's been enraged for the last week since your time spent with Maleficent and wishes to see her vengeance fulfilled. If my death will bring her the happiness and the fulfillment she so desires than what sort of parent would I be to deny her that?"
"It will take time before the Curse can be enacted, Henry," Harry said with a look at the older man. "Breaking in to see Rumpelstiltskin will take time, the enchantments of the fairies and the squid ink are powerful barriers that will take time to bypass. They aren't fool proof but it will be a while and Regina will need to take time to plan it out and recover from her failure here tonight. We still have time to convince her to turn away from this path."
"You know something, don't you," the older man asked looking at the younger with hope.
"I've known people like Regina, she has done horrible things but she isn't a complete monster, not yet," Harry admitted and waved his hand vanishing the contents at the bottom of the stone basin. "She is dark and hell bent on revenge but she isn't completely lost yet. She will need to regather the ingredients to the spell none of which will come easily, especially the hair from those with the darkest hearts. She was embarrassed today and they will remember this failure and hold out for more than just a promise of happiness this time. Do I believe she'll cast this curse? Yes, but the price will be more than she can handle for a long time."
"She's as hard headed as her mother," Henry agreed with the wizard's thoughts.
"Cora was much like Voldemort," Harry admitted as he thought of the woman in the sarcophagus in the castle's catacombs. "They both believed there was no good or evil, only power and those too weak to seek it. Luckily, or unluckily rather, Regina has you as well, a loving father who will give her everything she desires to see her smile. Love is a blessing and a curse, Henry. She is blessed to be loved so much by a father willing to sacrifice everything for her but the rest of the realm will be cursed by that very same love."
"Then this act falls not on Regina but on me," the witch's father said with a steel glint in his eye that was rare for the man. "I'll take responsibility for my daughter's actions and she will remain untouched by the wickedness of her acts."
Harry sighed and shook his head sadly at the words the old man was speaking.
"She's strong," he finally said, "she'll weather this storm and come out something else on the other side. Whatever is on the other side, Henry, I'll do my best to help her."
"Thank you."