(A/N): Just want to give a shout-out to everyone who read, favorited, and/or followed this story! I'm glad to know people out there are reading and enjoying it. Special thanks to Beastly Beast of Beastliness, dixie326, and dragonmia for reviewing- I loved hearing your thoughts!

Lyrics from this chapter are also from "Journey (Ready to Fly)" by Natasha Blume since I'm doing one song per OUAT episode. Check it out if you haven't already yet!

Any familiar dialogue comes directly from OUAT Season 1 Episode 1 and belongs solely to its creators.

Thanks again to Hannbells!

Walking through the dark, alone, no clothes

Striking the light

Burning for the heat, the fire, the sparks, the love

To keep me alive

A steady beeping greeted Hermione as she became consciousness. She frowned, unsure of what the sound was. It didn't sound like Emma's alarm clock…

Her eyes snapped open. Emma. Henry. Storybrooke. The car crash. She pushed herself up as quickly as possible and was instantly hit by a wave of vertigo. Hermione felt hands on her shoulders, gently pushing her back down onto the bed, and she didn't bother resisting. She turned slowly to see who else was in the room with her and saw Sheriff Graham sitting next her.

"Easy now," he told her softly. "You got quite a knock on the head."

"What happened?" she croaked, her throat dry as parchment. "Where's Emma?"

Graham reached over and picked up a glass of water, helping her to sit up slightly and take a few sips, something she was exceedingly grateful for. "Emma's fine. You two seemed to have gotten into a crash last night on your way out of town. You hit your head harder than she did so they wanted to keep you overnight for observation."

Hermione glanced around the room and realized that she was in a hospital and the beeping she had heard was a heart monitor. "Where's Emma?" she repeated.

Graham sighed. "At the police station. Couldn't exactly just let her go free after she crashed; drunk driving is illegal in this town."

Hermione frowned at him. "You didn't even bring her here to get checked out? Was she conscious when you found her? There's no way she would have let me come to the hospital without her." Her frown became more severe at Graham's guilty expression. "You didn't bother to get her looked at? She wasn't even drunk! There was a wolf in the road and the rain made the pavement slippery so when she swerved to miss it we hydroplaned."

Grahams eyebrows shot up. "There haven't been any wolves spotted in this part of Maine for as long as I can remember."

"Really? And how long would that be, exactly?" she asked archly. Graham stared at her in obvious confusion and she sighed. "Never mind. I would like to see my sister now."

He nodded and stood up. "Let's just have the doctor take a quick look at you and give the all clear before we leave." At her nod of agreement, he turned and left the room.

Hermione sat up carefully, pausing for a moment to let the dizziness pass. After she was sure she wouldn't collapse if she stood up, she pulled off the wires they were using to check her heart rate and pushed herself up. She winced at the loud beeping sound the machine made but ignored it in favor of grabbing her clothes and slipping into the bathroom. When she came back out, Graham was waiting for her, along with a blond man in a white coat who finally managed to stop the noise. "Hello," he greeted her. "I'm Doctor Whales."

"Hello."

He pulled out a penlight and stepped towards her. "If you wouldn't mind, I just need you to follow the light with your eyes. I promise this will be quick and easy."

Hermione barely restrained herself from rolling her eyes at him and instead did as she was directed, following first the light with her eyes and then following his finger. He clicked the light off and then returned it to his pocket with a smile. "You are good to go. We ran tests last night when the good sheriff brought you in and there were no issues but we wanted to wait till you were awake to give the all clear. No obvious issues, but if you start having headaches or feeling dizzy you'll need to come back. Any questions?"

"No," she told him, stepping away from him and towards Graham. "Thank you very much."

"No problem," he said, looking between her and the Sheriff with an undo amount of interest. "You take care of yourself. Sheriff." And with a nod he was gone.

Hermione turned back to Graham. "You heard him, I'm perfectly healthy. Can I please see my sister now?"

"Of course. First though," he walked over to the chair by her bed and lifted a bag off the floor. He handed it to her and she looked inside, surprised and relieved to see Henry's book. "You were holding that when we found you. After you," he told her, gesturing to the door.

She walked past him and out into the hallway. "Thank you."

They walked out of the hospital and to his cruiser in silence. After they were both inside and buckled Hermione asked, "Do you always drive your work car everywhere?"

Graham chuckled. "Yes. I'm the only officer this town has so even when I'm not at the station I'm still on duty."

Hermione was surprised. Even though this was quite a small town, surely it was irresponsible to have only one officer to make up the entire police force.

Graham seemed to know what she was thinking. "It's no trouble really," he reassured her. "We rarely have any crime here other than when Leroy, the town drunk, makes some sort of spectacle of himself."

Hermione nodded and then changed the subject. "Was our car okay?"

"Not a scratch on it. I had it towed to the police station after we took care of you and your sister." They reached the station and Hermione was able to see for herself that Emma's precious Bug was in the exact condition it was in before the crash.

"Seems we have quite a few things to thank you for," Hermione told him and she was amused by the way his face flushed slightly in embarrassment.

They got out of the car and Graham led the way into the station. Once they made it to the inner room, a feat that didn't take nearly as long as she would have thought since there was almost no security, Graham walked over to the cell on the left and began to talk to a man he called Leroy while Hermione raced over to Emma. "Are you okay?" she asked, relieved to see no obvious injuries.

Emma nodded and leaned against the bars of her cell. "Care to share why you thought it was necessary to lock me up?" she shot at the Sheriff.

"My apologies," he told her, unlocking her door. "I had thought that the reason you crashed was due to being intoxicated but your sister corrected the matter."

Emma scowled at him. "You thought I was drunk? Did you even bother to check my alcohol level or did you just assume?"

Graham shuffled uncomfortably and Emma decided to take pity on him. "It's fine. I probably would have thought the same thing."

Before he could respond, Regina came running into the station. "Graham! Henry's run away again. We have to-" she paused when she spotted Emma and Hermione and her tone swiftly changed. "What are they doing here? Do either of you know where he is?" Her demanding tone grated at Hermione and her shoulders hunched.

Emma placed a soothing hand on her younger sisters shoulder and answered Regina. "No, we haven't. We've got quite the alibi if you're that suspicious though."

"Yeah, well, he wasn't in his room this morning," Regina told them, quickly reigning in her anger at them still being here.

"Did you try his friends?" Hermione asked, trying to keep a hold on her own temper.

"He doesn't really have any," Regina stated, as if that was completely normal. "He's kind of a loner."

"Every kid has friends," Emma said, and Hermione could tell she was remembering a time when she didn't have any friends or family. She leaned against her, feigning exhaustion, and Emma wrapped an arm around her waist and squeezed, silently telling her that she was fine. "Did you check his computer? If he's close to someone, he'd be emailing them."

"And you would know this how?" Regina asked, rudely.

Hermione straightened up and gave her the most vicious glare she could muster. "Because she has common sense."

Regina glared right back at her and Emma quickly intervened. "Finding people is what I do. Why don't I help you find him?"

While it was obvious that Regina loathed accepting help from Emma, her need to find Henry overcame her desire to reject Emma's offer as cruelly as possible.

"Fine. Let's go." Her obvious annoyance made Hermione feel a little better but she didn't really fancy the thought of spending any more time with the so-called 'Evil Queen'.

She eased away from Emma. "I think I'll just wander around town and see if Henry's hidden away somewhere; better to split up and cover more ground."

Emma smiled slightly, not buying her excuse for a minute. "Call if you need anything."

Hermione nodded and started for the exit. "Are you sure it's wise to allow her to go off on her own?" Regina sneered before Hermione was out the door, her hostility peeking through her mayoral demeanor.

Emma gave her a tight smile. "Hermione's tougher than she looks."

Graham, obviously uneasy with the tense atmosphere, moved to follow Hermione. "Shall we?"

I'm captured for a gift

The thrill is how they live

One way track too hurtin' to forgive

So I lift my head, open my arms

Give a sword to my heart

A simple locator spell was all it took to lead her to Henry. She found him sitting on a large wooden playground made to look vaguely like a castle. "Fancy meeting you here," she called out.

Henry started and turned to look at who had spoken. A wide smile crossed his face when she saw Hermione. "You stayed!"

"Told you not to worry." Hermione climbed up next to him and she stared at the ocean in front of them, appreciating the peaceful view.

"Where's Emma?" he asked after a moment.

"With your mom and the Sheriff, looking for you." She glanced at him sideways and grinned.

Henry scowled. "She's not my mom."

Hermione sighed. "I know."

"How'd you find me?"

"It's a secret," Hermione told him with a small smile. Henry turned away from her to look back at the clock tower they had seen the night before. They sat in silence for a moment, just listening to the crashing waves, before Hermione spoke. "Why did you leave again without saying anything?"

Henry shrugged. "She wouldn't stop bugging me last night about how I found you guys and what I told you. I left before she could start questioning me again." He sighed and looked at the clock forlornly. "I was hoping when I brought Emma back, things would change- that the final battle would begin."

Hermione flinched. "That's not how things work. There has to be a bit more build-up before you reach the end. I would have thought your storybook would have taught you that."

"Were you able to read it yet?" Henry asked her eagerly.

"No. Emma and I were heading back to Boston to pack before coming back and on our way out of town we got into an accident." At Henry's panicked expression she hastened to add, "Neither of us were injured but I wasn't able to read your book yet."

"It's the curse," Henry informed her, a serious expression on his small face. "Nobody can leave Storybrooke."

"No one," Hermione automatically corrected. "And while I can't say for sure whether or not your curse played a role in our accident, I can say that we swerved off the road due to a large white wolf standing in the middle of the road."

Henry frowned, brows furrowed together. "A white wolf…" he repeated. Hermione knew he was trying to remember something; his expression was the same one Emma had when she was trying to work something out in her head. Her heart gave a pang of sadness, wondering what other things Henry shared with his birth mother, her sister.

Hermione jumped lightly off the side of the playground and held out her hand to Henry. "Where are we going?" he asked her, taking her hand with a trusting expression and allowing her to help him down.

"We are going to find somewhere to get breakfast. I haven't eaten since yesterday and I am guessing that you were unable to find the time this morning to eat before you made your escape."

Henry gave her a bright smile. "I know the best place!"

I said, Let me tell you

I'm ready to fly

I survived through rainstorms, sandstorms

I fought the war

Now it's time to go home

They walked back into the main square of the town to a place called "Granny's Diner". "This place has the best hot cocoa!" Henry informed her as he pushed open the door.

"Henry?" A young woman came up to them wearing a short red skirt and a white button up tied to show off her stomach, a small apron tied around her waist. "Why aren't you in school?"

"Hey Ruby! I had the day off today so me and my Aunt Hermione decided to get breakfast." Hermione started at Henry calling her Aunt and felt her heart swell with happiness.

Ruby gave Hermione an appraising look. "Aunt?"

Henry led the way to a booth near the back of the diner. "Yeah, I found my birth mom. This is her sister so she's my aunt."

Ruby dropped the silverware she was holding onto the floor in shock. "Your birth mom?" she sputtered out.

"Yes," spoke Hermione, bending down to scoop up the bundles Ruby had dropped. "It was quite the surprise for us as well." She handed Ruby the bundle and then held out her hand. "I'm Hermione Granger."

"Nice to meet you," Ruby said, trying to bounce back from the shock but her eyes were still wide in surprise. "I'm Ruby."

"Sit down," Henry insisted, pulling Hermione down into the booth next to him. Hermione couldn't help the smile that appeared on her face; Henry already had her wrapped around his little finger and she could only hope that he hadn't noticed yet.

Ruby had left to put away the dirty silverware bundles but was back quickly with new ones and two menu's. She passed them to Hermione and Henry before asking, "Does the Mayor know you're not in school, Henry?"

Hermione answered for him. "Indeed she does. I believe she's actually out with my sister right now actually."

Ruby looked relieved and while Hermione felt bad for tricking her, she also wondered what kind of woman the Mayor was to inspire such fear. "Today's special is at the bottom of the menu. When you've decided what you want to order, just give me a shout." Ruby walked away and Hermione frowned. Ruby's entire attitude and overall character seemed so… mismatched. And the magic surrounding every person they had come across so far since being in Storybrooke was giving her a headache.

"She's Red Riding Hood," Henry stated while glancing over his menu.

Hermione looked at him with raised eyebrows. "Pardon?"

Henry grinned. "Your accent is the best. And I said that she's Red Riding Hood." Hermione's obvious confusion made Henry sigh in frustration. "I told you, everyone here is a character from the book. Archie is Jiminy Cricket, my mom is the Evil Queen, and Ruby is Red Riding Hood."

Hermione forced down the urge to instinctively dismiss Henry's claims. "I remember what you said, I was just surprised. I thought Red Riding Hood was a child?"

"That's one story. The one in my book is different; most of the stories in it are different from the original." Henry seemed to grow more confident the more he spoke about his knowledge from the book. It was just like how Harry would act when he taught the D.A. and a pang of sadness reminded her of just how long it had been since she and Harry had spoken. It was a necessary evil, their separation.

"What're you going to order?" asked Henry, pulling her from her thoughts.

She glanced down at her menu. "I think I will order the breakfast special and see what selection of teas they have. What are you going to get?"

"Chocolate chip pancakes!" Henry said enthusiastically. "I'm only allowed to get them on special occasions and getting to eat breakfast with you is definitely a special occasion."

Hermione couldn't resist hugging him. "I couldn't agree more."

Ruby came over a moment later and set two glasses of water on the table. She quickly took their orders and then made a beeline for a man who had just come in. Before Henry could bring up any more about the curse, Hermione started asking him questions about his life. What grade was he in? Did he enjoy school? What was his favorite subject? What did he like to do in his free time?

At first, Henry seemed almost reluctant to answer her questions, as if he didn't believe she could really be all that interested in his life. At seeing her open curiosity and honest joy at learning more about him, Henry slowly opened up more to her and became more willing to volunteer information.

After they finished eating, Henry almost licking his plate clean to Hermione's bemusement, they left the diner. The eyes and whispers that followed them out made Hermione tense and she had to swallow down the panic that was creeping its way up her throat, repeatedly reminding herself that this wasn't England; no one was coming after her here.

Hermione discreetly cast another locator spell to find Emma and discovered she was almost to Henry's castle. She gently tugged Henry to a stop and knelt down so that they were on eye level. "I believe Emma is heading towards your hiding place. Think you can manage to get there on your own from here?"

"It's a castle," Henry informed her. "And yeah. Do you not want to come?"

Hermione shook her head. "You should get a chance to talk to her, just the two of you. I'm going to go find some things Emma and I will need while we're here."

Henry's face lit up at the reminder that they were going to be staying and he threw his arms around her. "Thank you so much. I promise you won't regret staying!"

Hermione's heart broke at his words. She wrapped her arms tightly around him and dropped a kiss to his forehead. "Even if there is no curse," she whispered. "Being able to spend time with you would make coming here worth it."

Henry's arms tightened around her for a moment before he let go. Hermione also dropped her arms so Henry could step back. He looked up at her grinned. "Yeah, but there is a curse so being able to spend time with me is just a bonus."

"No," Hermione disagreed with a smile. "Getting to break a curse is the bonus to spending time with you."

Henry blushed before muttering a quick goodbye and racing off towards his castle to find Emma. Hermione watched him go with a smile.

Pick me up off of the desert

Feed me water, walk me through the hills

Wait until the sun shines upon us

As we cross the

Haunted hills

After wandering around Storybrooke for a bit, Hermione found a deserted area that she could apparate back to Boston from. She moved quickly through Emma's apartment, collecting clothes and toiletries for both herself and her sister and shoving them into her small beaded bag. Realizing that it would look odd if people saw them with no luggage but clean clothes, Hermione grabbed a large bag from Emma's closet and shoved some random items into it. Once she was finished packing, she went back through the apartment to make sure that there was nothing she was forgetting before putting up extra wards to make sure no one was able to get in while they were gone and disapparating back to Storybrooke.

After making sure that no one had spotted her reappearance, Hermione set off to find her sister and Henry. She found Emma standing in front of the Mayor's house, glaring at the front door. "What's wrong?"

Emma jumped slightly and turned to look at her sister. "Good," she said, noticing the bag Hermione was holding. "You went back and packed. I wasn't sure I had enough in my car to last for the week."

Hermione grinned. "I see Henry convinced you to stay."

Emma's frown seemed to become even more severe. "No, but you said you wanted to stay and I want to get the car checked over before we go so I figured we'd just hang out here." Hermione smirked, seeing through Emma's lie. "Besides," muttered Emma. "There's something off about Regina; I don't trust her."

Hermione nodded, having gotten the same impression as Emma. "I believe there's an inn of some sort back in the town square. Hopefully, they'll have a room for us."

It was early evening by the time they reached the inn after having explored the town a bit more and gotten something to eat. They walked down a narrow path surrounded by trees up to a stone building with the sign "Granny's Bed and Breakfast" hanging near the front door. When they walked in, there was no one at the front desk but they could hear voices shouting from upstairs.

"You're out all night and now you're going out again," complained an elderly lady who Hermione assumed was the Granny of both the diner and the inn.

"I should have moved to Boston," spat the waitress from the diner, Ruby, as she stomped down the stairs. She passed by Hermione and Emma as if she didn't even see them.

"I'm sorry that my heart attack interfered with your plans to sleep your way down the eastern seaboard," snapped Granny.

"Excuse me," interrupted Emma before Ruby could respond. "We'd like a room."

Granny and Ruby stared at them in shock. "Really?" Granny asked, seemingly stunned. She quickly pulled herself together. "Would you like a forest view or a square view? Normally, there's an upgrade fee for the square but, as rent is due, I'll wave it." She grabbed a dusty book and dropped it onto a desk that looked as though it had never been used.

"Square is fine," Emma told her, after glancing at Hermione to make sure she didn't have an opinion.

Granny smiled. "Now, what's the name?"

"Swan," Emma told her. "Emma Swan. And this is my sister, Hermione."

"Emma," came a male voice from behind them. "What a lovely name."

Hermione and Emma turned, Hermione grabbing her sisters arm in order to disapparate immediately if necessary. A man with shaggy brown hair and a long dark coat was standing behind them, having silently entered the inn. Very impressive, considering his limp and cane.

"Thanks," said Emma, keeping her expression neutral. The man glanced at Hermione for a moment before returning his gaze to Emma.

"It's all here," interjected Granny, handing the man a roll of bills.

"Yes, yes, of course it is, dear. Thank you," he took the roll of bills and glanced back one last time at Emma. "You enjoy your stay… Emma."

He left the inn, Hermione's eyes trained on him the whole time. She didn't like the way he was staring at Emma.

"Who's that?" Emma asked, keeping her tone light despite the tension in the room.

"Mr. Gold," said Ruby, who was standing at the door and peeking through the curtains after the man. "He owns this place."

"The inn?" Hermione asked, feeling as if there was something not right about the man.

"No," said Granny, her tone low. "The town." Emma and Hermione stared at her in shock. "So," Granny said with a small shake of her head and then she smiled. "How long with you be with us?"

"A week," answered Emma, still surprised at the news of how powerful Mr. Gold seemed to be. "Just a week."

"Great," said Granny and handed her an old-fashioned key. "Welcome to Storybrooke."

It's time to go home

It's time go home

It's time to go home

Please leave a review on your way out!