Don't touch anything
Once Upon a Time
Henry is working in his grandfather's shop and touches something he shouldn't... Everything has consequences.
Henry knew that he should be careful. He had been warned so many times not to touch anything while in this shop... His grandfather had been very clear and repeated it every day, several times. All he was allowed to do right now was to sweep the floor and to dust and polish the furniture.
Gold had left a few minutes ago, saying that he got an urgent call from Belle at the library and that he'd be back soon, reminding Henry not to touch anything. Henry had fully intended to do as he was asked, really, but when he accidentally opened this cabinet while cleaning the handle, the temptation to look inside was too big and Henry opened the door wider.
It was full of bottles of all sorts inside and one was particularly standing out. It was smaller than his hand, had a silver cap and a shining gold liquid with green herbs inside. This single bottle out-shined all the others and grabbed Henry's attention fully. He couldn't help it, he took it in his hands. The label on it held only 6 symbols in a language that Henry didn't know but had seen before. It was ancient runes from Arendelle or at least something similar to it.
He knew that he shouldn't do anything, that he should put the bottle back in its place, close the cabinet, get back to work and forget this ever happened but temptation was too strong. He was about to open the bottle, thinking of only sniffing it and putting it back in its place when the bottle slipped from his hands and broke at his feet, creating a large cloud of golden and green smoke all around him.
Once the magical cloud finally dissipated, Henry felt good.
Very good.
He didn't feel any different physically and a quick glance in a mirror nearby reassured him, he was still himself. No horns, no change of color, no hair growth... He was still exactly the same.
He knew that he should clean up the mess he had just done but his eyes wandered to the shelf where he had spotted Hook's missing hand earlier. He didn't know why, but messing with it seemed like a funny thing to do at the moment (as well as a good idea) so Henry grabbed the large jar with two hands and put it on top of the counter. There, next to the cash register was the nail polish that had fallen from Belle's purse earlier.
With a wide and mischievous grin that would make Hook proud (had it not been directed to this particular task), Henry took the hand out of the jar and opened the nail polish bottle, slowly getting to work like he had seen Regina and Snow do before. The masculine pirate's hand looked funny with bright pink shiny nails and it was enough to amuse a bored Henry who didn't know that the magic smoke had put him in a secondary state of mind, between high (on drugs) and drunk.
Once Henry was done with his funny, self appointed task, he placed the hand back in the jar, closed it back up and looked around the shop for something else to do. A few hours later, when Gold will come back in his shop, he'll have the biggest laughing pit of his entire life at the pirate's hand sight and, driven by his sudden good mood, he'll even offer Hook to give him his hand back, in present condition of course.
There was a lot of things in his grandfather's shop, lots of boxes to open, lots of closets, drawers and doors... Henry tried them all.
Maybe one of them would turn out to be a portal to Narnia or something equally fun, that would definitely be worth it.
Sadly, every door Henry open was a disappointment and it's naturally that he took the decision of leaving the Pawnbroker's shop, with the intention of checking every closet in town in order to find one that would lead him to Narnia.
On his way out, Henry grabbed his jacket and his grandfather's credit card, which he had found in one of the boxes he had checked earlier, while looking for Narnia. The boy didn't really know why he had taken the credit card but as he left the shop and saw Archie walking Pongo on the other side of the street, Henry smiled and took his phone out.
Pongo was a good dog, he needed a gift and so, from his smartphone, Henry went on an online shopping website and started by buying a unicorn horn, for the simple reason that it would look good on Pongo and make him feel special. Then Henry bought a comb specially made for long haired dogs and had it sent to Belle's address at the Library, as a gift, with a note saying:
"Just in case Grandpa is as hairy as the Beast from the movie."
Henry quickly got bored of his new game and put his phone away, putting the credit card back in his pocket in case he needed it again while he walked the streets.
.
Anton was walking in town, aiming to grab some lunch for the dwarfs. They did it in turn and today was his. He was more than happy to do this. They were his new family now.
As he walked, Anton saw Emma's son Henry who seemed to be walking aimlessly on the street. The boy was hugging random people as he walked by them and Anton heard the young boy say things like "You're great!", or "I love you, man!". What alarmed him the most was that the boy was currently hugging a street lamp and speaking to it.
"Henry? You're alright?" He asked the boy who looked a bit out of it, wondering if he should go find Emma and warn her that her son was telling a street lamp that he loved it.
"Hagrid! You're here too! Who took you out of Hogwarts? Did you bring Buckbeak with you?" Henry asked him.
"What? Henry you know me, I'm Anton..." Anton replied, shaking his head.
Who was Hagrid and why was Henry confusing them both?
"Don't worry, Voldemort will loose, I've read the books, all 7 of them, I know!" Henry added before he kept on walking, ignoring the man who decided to rush to the Sheriff station and warn the Savior that her son was behaving strangely.
.
Henry kept walking until he arrived at the docks. There, he decided that it was his chance to be a hero and to help find Nemo, the little fish.
When Smee arrived, a few minutes later, Henry was putting his head in and out of the sea water.
"Henry? What are you doing here? Why are you wet?" Smee asked him, looking around for any traces of Hook or Emma Swan but not seeing anybody.
"I'm trying to find Nemo." Henry replied, standing up and shaking his head quickly to try and dry it off, much like animals did.
"Oh... I think he's already been found." Smee replied, wondering if this was some sort of joke.
He remembered Finding Nemo from his cursed memories. What was the boy up to? Should he be concerned and talked to the Captain about this?
"Oh... Okay then... Hey Smee, why do you always wear this hat? Is it because Voldemort is hiding under it?" Henry asked Smee, much like his mother would if she had been interrogating him as a serious suspect.
"What? No, nobody's under my hat... Just me... What's wrong with you today? Did you drink or smoke something strange?" Smee asked the little boy who shrugged his shoulders and started walking away.
As quickly as he could, Smee got his cell phone out and, thanking the gods that his Captain had finally gotten a cellphone, he dialed his number to warn him, and the sheriff, of what was happening with Henry.
.
Henry kept on walking. At some point, he walked by a woman watering her plants. He stopped and looked at her for a few seconds before he called out and told her:
"You're wasting time and water on these plants. They're useless. You should feed a pig, he'll grow bacon. Bacon's good."
The young boy didn't wait for her to reply anything, he kept on walking. As he walked, his phone started ringing and he took it out. It was Regina and Henry vaguely remembered that he was supposed to call her and tell her what he had found in Gold's shop.
"Yellow." Henry replied with a chuckle.
"Henry? Are you alright?" She asked him, seriously and concerned.
"I'm fine. Hey mom, you know what you should do to win Robin over? Dress in green! He loves that color and Marianne doesn't even wear any. Trust me, wear green." Henry told her right before he hung up his phone.
Henry kept on walking, not really sure of what he was looking for but when he saw Granny's on the other side of the road, he knew that this was were he was supposed to go. Surely he'd find what he was looking for there, even if he didn't know what it was that he was looking for.
.
Emma was with her father and Killian at the sheriff's station when Anton arrived out of breath.
"What's going on Anton? Take your time, breathe!" Emma said as they all rushed to his side.
"Henry... I saw him in the street... He doesn't seem to be himself... he was telling a street lamp he loved it and when I asked him if he was okay, he called me Hagrid and talked about a place named Hogwarts and a person named Voldemort..." Anton explained.
"Wasn't he supposed to work at his grandfather's shop today?" Killian asked and Emma nodded.
"Let's go and try to find him. Dad, call Regina and Gold, tell them what's going on." Emma said but before she could move, Killian's phone rang.
He answered it, listened for a few seconds and hung up.
"It was Smee, he saw Henry at the docks. Your lad told him he was trying to find Nemo, whoever that is and talked to him about Voldemort as well, asking him if he was hiding under his hat." Killian explained.
"What the hell is going on with him..." Emma shook her head as they all made their way out of the station only to be interrupted by David's phone ringing.
"It was Granny... Henry is in front of her dinner, arguing quite loudly with his reflection." David said after he hung up.
"At least we know where to look for him." Emma nodded, leading their way there.
.
After Henry won the argument he was having with his refection, it's with a triumphant smile that he opened the door to the dinner and tried to come inside. Tried for the simple reason that Leroy was standing in the doorway as well, trying to get out.
"Why so grumpy, Grumpy? Not enough bacon?" Henry asked the dwarf with pouty lips and a mocking tone.
Leroy decided to ignore the young boy's remark and rushed back to his truck while Henry made his way inside.
Henry's goal was the head to the back door, the one that lead to the Bed and Breakfast part of Granny's but on the way, he walked by Ruby who held a plate of french fries. Overtaken by sadness, Henry grabbed the fries and, with tears in his eyes, he turned an accusatory glare at Granny and yelled:
"You killed Mister Potato from Toy Story? Why? Why are you so cruel Granny?"
Everyone looked at Granny who seemed to be looking for a good answer, something other than "Are you okay?" or "What's wrong with you?" but she was at a loss of words. Apparently, words weren't necessary because Henry dropped the fries and walked through the door, in the corridor and to the living room. Granny decided to follow him until his mothers, or anyone else, arrived.
The first thing Henry did was to rush to the fire place, where he grabbed an handful of ash and threw it over his head, yelling "Hogwarts". When it didn't work, Henry sat in the fire place, which was thankfully not burning, and did the same thing. Granny thought it better not to stop him with the state he seemed to be in. If it was something contagious, she didn't want to risk catching it.
When Emma, David, Killian, Gold and Regina arrived, Henry was sitting on the large carpet, asking it to FLY while holding two of its corners in his hands.
"Henry? Are you alright?" Emma asked him but Henry seemed to only see Killian.
The boy smiled widely and said:
"Ahoy Matey! Come aboard my flying vessel Captain!"
"Should I play along?" Killian asked Emma who didn't know what to answer.
"Allow me." Gold suggested and quickly, he blew a sleeping powder in his grandson's face.
David stayed behind to apologize to Granny while they all took Henry back home.
.
"I just don't understand what got him in this state..." Emma shook her head a couple of hours later as they watched Henry sleep.
"I think I do. I went to check the shop and found a broken bottle... among other funny things... Inside this bottle was a very powerful potion... A few drops had on any normal adults the same effects as alcohol did without having to drink any... Henry broke it and breathed it all in. I think our little Henry will have his first hangover when he wakes up... Maybe we should go lightly on the lecture." Gold explained.
"Well, he's still getting one. We all told him not to touch anything." Emma shook her head while Regina nodded and added "I agree. If we let this pass, he'll think he can get away with everything."
"I can promise not to touch anything else in the future if you stop yelling." Henry whispered, putting his hand over his eyes.
"We're not yelling Henry, it just seems like it because of the aftermath of your little adventure." Gold chuckled, amused by this crisis, which was normal enough.
"I feel like I've just woken up from a very big dream... I was looking for the door to Narnia... Then I bought crazy things online... Oops... Grandpa, I think I've got your credit card in my pocket..." Henry started to say.
"I've found it, thank you... I also found that you've made a few changes to the Captain's missing hand... Pink isn't really his color." Gold chuckled while Hook asked what they were talking about.
That's when Gold simply smirked and gave him his hand back, adding it was for good this time, no strings attached. Needless to say the pirate immediately asked Emma how he could remove the nail polish, to which Snow, chuckling, told him what to do.
"I was fixated on Harry Potter for some reasons... I think I saw Hagrid and Quirell..." Henry shook his head.
"No, you saw Anton and Smee. And I have to say that I don't understand how you could confuse Smee with Quirell, they're not really the same..." Emma shook her head.
"And you argued with your reflection in Granny's front door that you were the prettier, not your reflection." David reminded Henry.
"I won't touch anything ever again in the shop... I swear... And I'll never drink or smoke... Not if this is what it feels like after... Though at the time I felt very good." Henry shook his head.
"Well, at least one good thing came from this." Regina replied, wondering if he'd really hold up to his promise never to drink or smoke in the future.
"Stay in bed and rest kid. You'll get your lecture once you're feeling better." Emma told her son before they all left his room, letting him rest while his mothers discussed new rules for their son and agreed on the lecture they would give him later.
I know it's crazy... I hope you'll still like it. This is the next post for my 12 days of Christmas: 12 short stories.
Review please?
Happy Holidays!
Lorelei Candice Black