(A/N): Hello! Sorry it's been so long since I last updated! I've recently moved abroad and things got busy/messy real fast. Hopefully things will be going more smoothly from here on out and updates will be more regular but no guarantees! Shout outs to everyone who read, favorited, and/or followed this fic. Shout outs to cheyneb, dixie326, The Dark One Rising, JanusGodOfPossibilities, RoseAmeliaSarahNoblePond, ReadLikeHermione, and Guests for reviewing! You have my eternal adoration!
This chapter covers the last half of episode 2. From here on out, I plan on doing one chapter per episode! This may cause there to be more of a wait between chapters but that just means that most chapters will be longer!
Lyrics from this chapter are also from "Dust Bowl Dance" by Mumford and Sons.
Any familiar dialogue comes directly from OUAT Season 1 Episode 2 and belongs solely to its creators.
Thanks to Hannbells for beta-reading this chapter! Love you!
Well you are my accuser
Now look in my face
Your oppression reeks of
Your greed and disgrace
Emma was lounging on the bed reading what Hermione guessed was Henry's file from his therapist when she entered their room with an armful of boxes. "I see you didn't listen to me," she remarked flatly, annoyed at Emma's recklessness.
Her sister couldn't even bother to feign guilt. "Nope. And not only was I able to speak to him about Henry but he even gave me his file." Emma glanced up and raised an eyebrow in surprise. "What's with the boxes?"
Hermione set the boxes down on a small table. "Past issues of the Mirror," she muttered, already opening the top box and pulling out a stack of newspapers. "This town doesn't have a library and I wanted to look into the towns history." She paused, finally registering what her sister had said. "He gave you Henry's file?"
"Yeah, he said that I should read it because they talk about me a lot and he wanted me to realize how important I am to Henry." Emma looked up in time to see her sister's expression turn into one of anger and horror.
"Emma!" she snapped, forcing herself to keep her voice low. "How could you be so stupid?!"
"What? He gave it to me!"
"And you were brainless enough to take it? You have no right to those files and he knows that! You're being set up for a felony! Again!" Hermione raced over to the bed and started collecting the papers strewn across the covers.
"You're being paranoid," Emma snapped back, reaching over to stop her. "Not everyone is out to get us."
"Not us," Hermione couldn't resist correcting. "Just you. You know the Mayor wants you gone and I'm rather certain she doesn't care in what manner you leave. Actually, this might be preferable since she can explain to Henry that his birth mother is a horrible human being who breaks into doctor's offices and reads confidential files."
A knock at the door made both of them pause. "Who is it?" called Hermione.
"It's Sheriff Humbert."
"Shit," Emma swore.
"I warned you," Hermione muttered, snatching the papers back from Emma's slacken fingers.
"Now is not the time! Can you hide the file or something?" Hermione set the file on the bed and cast a wandless and wordless vanishing spell over it. "Wow, you're getting better at that," Emma told her, impressed, as she went over to the door and pulled it open.
"Hey there. If you're concerned about the 'Do Not Disturb' signs, don't worry- I've left them alone." Hermione sat back onto the window seat, watching the battle of wills between her annoyed sister and the Sheriff.
"Actually, I'm here about Doctor Archibald Hopper. He mentioned you got into a bit of a row with him earlier?" He was frowning at Emma, but Hermione got the feeling that Graham was aware that something was off.
"No," Emma responded flatly, rocking back on her heels and sliding her hands into her front pockets.
"I was shocked too," Graham told her. "Given your shy, delicate sensibilities." Hermione snorted at that, reluctantly amused, despite being able to sense Emma's anger growing. "He says you demanded to see Henry's files," he continued. "And when he refused, you came back and stole them."
"Well, he must be mistaken," Hermione spoke up then. "There's nothing in here but some older issues of the Storybrooke Daily Mirror."
Graham's eyebrows rose as he glanced between the siblings. "So you say. May I check your room? Or must I get a search warrant?"
Emma sighed but stepped back and swung the door open. "Knock yourself out." She walked over and sat next to Hermione, leaning back against the window and glaring at Graham as he started searching the room.
Hermione studied Graham closely as he began a methodical search through their drawers and bags. There was nothing noticeably wrong about the Sheriff, yet she still couldn't get help feeling as though there was something strange about him. It wasn't until he glanced over at Emma that it came to her: hollow. She could feel a muted pulse of what felt somewhat like magic yet not but that was overpowered by a wave of emptiness radiating out of him that was so deep it made Hermione cringe.
Her sister's arm gently bumping against her own pulled her back and she shelved her thoughts on the Sheriff for the time being.
A few minutes later and the Sheriff was done searching their room. "Happy now?" Emma asked, the venom in her tone making Graham shift uncomfortably.
"Actually, I will need to search your car as well."
"The car is parked on the main street," Hermione commented quietly, before Emma's temper could snap. "If you search it now, everyone out and about will see and think that something is going on."
"Be that as it may, I will need to search it as well." His gaze drifted over to Emma. "I'm just doing my job," he told her beseechingly.
Emma studied him for a moment before giving a sigh of frustration. "Whatever. Is there any way we can do this that won't involve us putting on a show for everyone in town and another article in the paper?"
Graham seemed to relax slightly. "Why don't we drive over to the station and I'll search it there? I'll follow you to make sure you don't try and toss out any evidence," he added with a small smirk.
"Yes, because the drive down Main Street is the perfect place to throw something out the window and have it never be found again," Emma retorted with a glare as she went to grab a shirt from the drawer.
"Well, you two have fun. Try to avoid finding yourself back in your cell." Hermione grabbed one of the papers Graham had left on a chair and moved to sit down.
"Oh no," Emma said, walking over and grabbing her arm. "You're coming too."
"No, I'm not," Hermione told her, trying to pull away. "You're the one being accused, not me." You're the one who decided to ignore common sense and fall into Regina's trap.
"Actually," Graham cut in. "It'd probably be best if you both came. Wouldn't want anyone to believe that Hermione was trying to cover for you."
Hermione wondered if Graham was aware that Regina was out to get them and was trying his best to make sure she had the least amount of ammunition.
She sincerely hoped that was the case, so that they could count on at least one person in this town being on their side should they ever have to go up against the Mayor.
So one man has and another has not
How can you love what it is you have got
When you took it all from the weak hands of the poor?
Liars and thieves you know not what is in store
Graham was just finishing taking Emma's statement when Henry rushed into the room. "Hey!" he greeted, racing over to Hermione and throwing his arms around him.
"Henry!" Graham stared at him in shock. "Henry, what are you doing here?"
"His mother told him what happened," came voice from the entryway and Hermione looked up to see a young woman with short black hair following Henry into the office.
Hermione looked down at Henry with raised eyebrows. "This is my teacher, Miss Blanchard," he introduced. "Miss Blanchard, this is my Aunt Hermione."
She could help beaming at his introduction as she moved to offer his teacher her hand. "Hello."
"Hi," Miss Blanchard responded, obviously a little nervous as they shook hands. "Please, call me Mary Margaret."
Hermione nodded and then Emma broke in. "What exactly did your mother tell you?" she asked Henry.
"It's cool, I know what you were doing." He moved closer to Emma and lowered his voice. "You were just gathering intel for Operation Cobra."
Emma scowled. "I don't know what your mom told you, but nothing happened; Archie thought I had a file of his but I don't. Just ask the Sheriff over here if you want proof."
Graham sighed. "I was just doing my job."
"So, you're not under arrest?" Henry looked to Hermione, as if he didn't trust Emma to give him an honest answer.
"Of course not," she told him before catching Graham's eye. "And we would greatly appreciate it if you could let both Dr. Hopper and the Mayor know that the good doctor was mistaken."
He nodded, lips turned down and brow crinkled in thought. "Well then," Mary Margaret broke in, shifting back and forth as she played with the strap of her black purse. "If I'm not needed, then I better get going."
"Thanks," Emma told her, and Hermione frowned at the slight discomfort in her sisters' tone. "For bringing him here, I mean."
"Actually," Henry corrected. "She was here to bail you out."
"What?" Emma stared at the teacher in shock. "Why?"
"I, uh, trust you," Mary Margaret told her hesitantly.
Emma seemed briefly thrown before she collected herself and turned to the Sheriff. "Well, if we're all finished here, I have something to do."
Graham quickly nodded. "Yes, I'll find you if I need anything else."
The group made its way out of the station and Emma tossed Hermione the keys to the bug before leaving without another word.
"Where's she going?" Henry asked as they watched Emma march off in the general direction of the Mayor's house.
Hermione bit her lip to hide her grin. "I couldn't say."
"I hope she's alright," Mary Margaret fretted.
"I'm sure she'll be fine," Henry told her, giving his teacher a strange little grin. "But it makes sense that you'd worry about her."
"Oh, really? Why's that?" She smiled down at Henry and Hermione studied her, trying to figure out who she was supposed to be. If Henry had some idea of what character she is, then that implied that Mary Margaret was not some random denizen of the Enchanted Forest but someone significant enough to have a story in the book.
Henry just shrugged and smiled. "No reason."
On the one hand, Hermione found his attempts to be subtle adorable but on the other, he would have to get better at controlling his expressions if he wanted to be of any real assistance to her. And Hermione got the sense that Henry needed to be involved, if only so that he could be reassured of his own sanity. It couldn't be easy, after all, having the woman who raised you since birth try to convince you that you're mentally unbalanced.
Hermione deliberated for a moment before asking Mary Margaret, "Would you like to join us at Granny's? I missed lunch and find myself famished."
She seemed surprised by the invite before nodding her head and beaming. "I would love to! But," Mary Margaret glanced down at Henry. "Isn't your mother expecting you?"
Henry shrugged. "I have some time before I have to meet her at her office for dinner."
"We'll just get something to snack on before dinner, then, so that you don't ruin your appetite." Hermione moved over to the Bug, pulling the seat forward so that Henry could climb in the back while motioning for Mary Margaret to sit in the passenger seat. She had been hesitating outside the car door, almost as if she thought she would be spontaneously uninvited.
It only took a minute to reach the diner and Hermione parked across the street, thankful that her sister had taken the time to help Hermione acclimatize to driving on the other side of the road. Her parents had paid for her to take driving lessons the summer before her sixth year and Emma had helped her get an International Driving Permit once she'd arrived in the states. Once they were seated, Hermione started casually inquiring about the young teacher's life. It didn't take long for her to realize that, for all her shyness, Mary Margaret had a natural confidence that couldn't be subverted. After she had left, claiming that she had a stack of tests that needed to be graded, Henry turned to Hermione with an excited grin. "So, do you know who she is?"
"No," Hermione said, finishing off the last of her chips. "Who is she?"
"She's Snow White!"
Hermione's stomach dropped. Mary Margaret was supposedly Snow White. The storybook character that had consistently failed to protect those she was charged with watching over. Who'd allowed a villain to terrorize an entire land due to her own patheticness. A woman who shoved a newborn into a magical tree so that said infant would heroically return to save them all one day. A baby who grew up feeling abandoned and being abused at every turn until she finally found a family to give her the love and care she deserved.
"What's wrong?" Henry asked, curious at the Hermione's lack of reaction.
She could tell by the look in his eyes that Henry thought of Snow White as a hero that would help Emma save the day. Hermione hesitated for a moment, almost deciding that it would be better to allow Henry to go on believing in the goodness of all the heroes in his storybook. If the curse wasn't real, then there wouldn't be any real harm in it. Then she remembered Harry, remembered his blind faith in the goodness of those he'd been told to trust and how it had shattered him a little bit more every time that faith was broken. She couldn't do that to Henry; it would hurt more to have his faith built up and then cruelly knocked down in the blink of an eye. If the curse was real, something her mind was having trouble fully believing yet her magic was keeping her from being able to dismiss, then it was important that Henry have the ability to judge everyone for their actions and not for how society has cast them.
"After reading your book," she started, choosing her words carefully. "I've found that I don't like Snow White all that much."
Henry stared at her as though she'd told him that sunshine was stupid. "But she's a hero!"
"Is she? A hero stops the villain in a story, but Snow White never stopped the Evil Queen in the Enchanted Forest, did she? Instead, she protected herself and Prince Charming but allowed Regina to walk free."
"That's because killing is wrong!" He stared at her with a stubbornness she had seen in Emma a thousand times.
He was far too young to be taught about the necessity of killing during war. "But she also refused to imprison her, right? She could have kept the Evil Queen locked away as punishment for hurting so many people but instead she allowed her to walk free."
Henry faltered. "Well, they couldn't lock her away because she'd just escape using her magic."
"They managed to lock Rumpelstiltskin away," Hermione gently pointed out.
The crushed expression on his face caused her heart to clench. "So, you think Snow White isn't a hero?"
Hermione Granger, 1/3rd of the Golden Trio, the Golden Girl, War Heroine. "I think that there's no such thing as a true hero, only people trying to do what they think is right in the best way they can. Because the Evil Queen is a villain and Snow White is supposedly her arch nemesis, Snow White is cast into the role of hero, but I can't see her that way because I don't agree with her actions."
Henry's brows furrowed, considering her answer. "So, you don't think Snow White is a hero but that doesn't mean that she's not good?"
"I think," Hermione evaded. "That it all depends on how you view her actions."
"But if Snow White isn't a hero, then who is?"
She thought back over all the stories she'd read, trying to find one with a character she would view as a hero. "The Huntsman," she finally answered. "I found the Huntsman to be true hero. He was willing to give up his life to save someone he didn't know but that didn't deserve to die. Even though the Evil Queen took his heart in the end, he still didn't regret saving Snow White."
That seemed to lift Henry's spirits. "You're right! The Huntsman was really heroic! I haven't been able to figure out who he is yet but maybe we could figure it out together?" His tone was so hesitant, as if he figured she would dismiss him.
"Of course. We'll just have to try and search for clues as to what role Regina is having him play." She stood up, tugging Henry out of the booth as she dropped enough money to cover their bill.
Henry beamed at her and his happiness continued all the way till they reached Emma's car. "What's that?" Henry asked, pointing at the red boot on the front tire.
Hermione sighed. "That would be the Mayor trying to prove her superiority. I was going to drive you home, but it seems that I'll need to take care of this. Are you alright to find your own way back?"
"Yep! I'll just go to the arcade for awhile before I meet the Evil Queen; we always get dinner tonight before she drops me off at Archie's." He said it like it was nothing, but Hermione could still see that it hurt him every time he was reminded that no one believed him.
"Well, make sure to keep a low profile." She pulled him into a hug. "It's better if they don't see us coming until it's too late."
He hugged her back tightly before running off with a smile and a wave.
Hermione turned and headed back towards the inn, running into Granny right when she walked through the door. "Oh!" Granny exclaimed. "I was just about to head up to your room." Hermione took in the older woman's tense and shifting stance. "This is terribly awkward but I'm afraid I'm going to need to ask you to leave. It seems we have a 'no felons' rule. It… it turns out it's a city ordinance."
"I see. I'm assuming the Mayor's office called to remind you?" At her nod, Hermione smiled and continued. "Well, then, it's a good thing then that neither my sister nor myself are felons. Seems there was a mix-up at the Sheriff's station. I will give the Mayor a call right now and let her know if you would like to double-check with the Sheriff?"
Granny hesitantly nodded and gave Hermione the Mayor's number. Regina answered after three rings. "What?"
"Hello, Regina, this is Hermione Granger."
There will come a time I will look in your eye
You will pray to the God that you always denied
Then I'll go out back and I'll get my gun
I'll say, "You haven't met me, I am the only son"
"How the hell did you get this number?"
"That's not important. I'm calling because it seems there's been some false information going around about my sister being some sort of felon. I'm sure Sheriff Humbert has called to correct you on that, has he not?"
Hermione could almost hear the other woman's teeth clenching. "He did. Though, I find it very hard to believe that Dr. Hopper would lie about something like this."
"You'd be surprised what people are willing to do with the right persuasion," she responded, keeping her tone light. "It seems the inn got a call about what happened and were rightfully concerned about keeping to city code, as they should be. I do hope your office isn't responsible for the spreading of such slanderous lies."
"Now, why on earth would I do that?" The false innocence grated on Hermione's nerves and her patience finally snapped.
"It seems to me that you are under the impression that you are somehow the most powerful individual here and it's time I correct that. You may be mayor of this small, inconsequential little town but I am a well-known war hero, revered for my intellect in addition to bringing down a powerful terrorist group. In other words, I matter on an international scale while a pathetic, small-time official such as yourself is truly insignificant in the grand scheme of things. It is abundantly clear to me that you are hiding something and that being noticed is the last thing you want. One word from me and this town will be under the scrutiny of more governmental officials than you could even imagine. If you challenge either my sister or myself, I will have everything you hold dear ripped away from you with no hope of getting it back. Have I made myself clear?"
There was a long pause. "Perfectly," Regina finally spat out.
"Lovely. Have a wonderful day." Hermione hung up the phone and turned to walk back to Granny. "I've just spoken to the Mayor and everything is fine."
Granny nodded, still looking uneasy. "The Sheriff has assured me that it's fine for you two to keep staying here."
Hermione sought to reassure the older woman. "Everything is sorted out now and I guarantee that they Mayor won't bother you about us again. Should she do so, please let me know."
She gave a short, tense nod before stating that she needed to get back to the diner and left. Hermione sighed, unhappy that they were causing problems for other people but unwilling to allow Regina to have her way.
Heading up the stairs, Hermione bumped into her sister as she was preparing to leave again, pulling on a gray overshirt as she went. "Someone put a boot on the car," she greeted.
Emma groaned. "Of course," she grumbled.
"I hope whatever you did at Regina's house was worth it; the woman is now out for blood." Emma raised a brow in question. "She tried to have us evicted from the inn. I managed to stop her and have hopefully made her hesitant to try anything outright against us for the moment but I'm sure it won't last long."
"It was worth it and we just have to last long enough to be sure that Henry is alright and for you to take down whatever spell is around this town."
"I'm powerful but even I have my limits," Hermione warned her. "Whoever cast the ward around the town had to have used Dark Magic to do so and I imagine it would have taken nothing less than a blood sacrifice to erect it and keep it strong for this long. It will take either something just as powerful to bring it down or I'll need to find some sort of loophole."
"If anyone can do it, it's you." Emma's faith in her sister was absolute. "And if you can't safely bring it down, then we'll just have to grab Henry and make a run for it," she joked, but there was a thread of truth in her words that assured Hermione that Emma would do whatever it took to keep Henry safe.
The phone rang and Emma answered without looking at it. "Yeah?" The glower that appeared on her face made Hermione aware as to who the caller was. "You have no idea." There was another long pause. "What time do you want to meet?" She held up a finger towards Hermione. "I'll be there."
"What was that?" Hermione immediately asked after Emma had hung up.
"Regina wants to make peace, apparently." Hermione's nose wrinkled. "Yeah, my thoughts exactly."
"It seems she's still feeling somewhat bold," Hermione scowled.
"Well, hopefully after this talk she won't keep trying to butt heads."
"I'm guessing you already realize that I think this is a terrible idea."
"It has been noted."
Hermione shook her head and stared at her sister with hard eyes. "How many times today must I be right before you accept that I know best in this particular situation?"
"The same number of times I will need to remind you that I've survived on my own for several years and that I am the big sister, not you," Emma returned.
Grabbing her room key, she made her way out the door and out of the Inn. Hermione took a seat on the bed and rummaged around in her bag for a small hand mirror. "Kingsley Shacklebolt."
Moments later, she was looking into the smiling face of Britain's newest Minister of Magic. "Hermione! How are you? Playing nice with the Americans?"
Hermione couldn't help beaming back at him. "I'm well. I was hoping you could help put me in contact with someone in the MACUSA. I'm looking for information on a town called Storybrooke…"
Seal my heart and break my pride
I've nowhere to stand and now nowhere to hide
Align my heart, my body, my mind
To face what I've done and do my time
The door slammed open and Emma stormed in. "We're leaving."
Hermione stared at her in shock. "What?"
Emma moved to the closet and pulled out her bag. "I said we're leaving."
"I heard you the first time," Hermione snapped back as she got off the bed and moved to halt her sister. "What happened with Regina?"
She paused in her jerky movements and Hermione was alarmed to see Emma's hands shaking. "That psychotic bitch set me up to basically say that Henry was crazy right to his face," she spat. "The look he gave me…"
Hermione grabbed Emma's hands. "Stop. You had no idea that he was listening. Henry is not crazy, we know he's not. You just need to convince him that you have faith in him."
"No, I need to leave before I end up hurting him more." She turned back to the gathering her clothes.
"You can't run forever."
A tense silence descended between them.
"Excuse me?" Emma choked out, spinning around to face Hermione. "What the hell would you know? You took off for a year to run around the countryside with two boys who are too stupid to live without you there hovering over their shoulder telling them what to do! Even now, you're running away so you can avoid facing anyone back home! So don't tell me that I can't run forever!"
Hermione's face flushed. "You're absolutely right, I have done my fair share of running. Learn from my mistakes! I ran, and it didn't work! I left England as soon as I could because I'm not ready to face my past. But, I have earned the right to be scared. I get to be not ready. You have had 10 years to put your past to bed; how much longer are you going to need?"
Seal my heart and break my pride
I've nowhere to stand
And now nowhere to hide
Hermione found herself standing on a small beach, watching several small fishing boats bobbing in the distance. Emma's words kept reverberating in her head and she hated how right her sister was. Hermione was running, had been running for longer than she cared to admit.
Now that the war was over and they weren't so dependent on each other to survive, Hermione couldn't ignore the issues between the trio any longer.
Everyone had expected her and Ron to be together, even she had been caught up in the idea, but it quickly became obvious how impossible that was. If she was being perfectly frank, Ron was too immature and too selfish for anything to happen between them. All through their school years, Ron had only cared about his own wants and needs, his own interests, and if hers didn't match his then he would brush them aside as being idiotic and boring. They didn't match, and Hermione refused to pander to his fragile ego until he could see that for himself.
Harry was a different matter entirely. Hermione didn't doubt that Harry had taken Ron's side in all this, though she hadn't actually stayed around long enough to see that for herself. She couldn't bring herself to write to Harry, let alone see and speak to him. Even though she knew it was unfair to him, Hermione couldn't help feeling resentful towards Harry.
Since the incident at the Department of Mysteries, she'd been having to hide a slowly growing pit of anger towards her first friend. She had told him it was a trap, tried to get him to see that there was no way Sirius was being tortured in the Ministry of Magic, but Harry had refused to see reason and others had paid the price for it. Ron had been attacked by brains, Neville and Luna had suffered from broken bones, Hermione had almost been cut in half and burned alive from the inside out, and Sirius was dead. Harry had walked away with no injuries and without having learned his lesson about thinking things through.
And then came the Half-Blood Prince's book. Hermione had always stood for academic integrity, so it had been bad enough to watch Harry cheat over and over again and get away with it, but then Harry had crossed the line when he began using spells from it. He had no idea what they would do but he'd been stupid and reckless enough not to care and Draco Malfoy had nearly died because of him. He'd nearly killed another student and gotten away with it because he was The-Boy-Who-Lived. And then he'd had the gall to yell at her because she refused to defend his actions. Draco turning out to be a Death Eater did not justify nearly killing him in a school bathroom with an unknown spell. Instead of acknowledging that she'd had a point, Harry had continued insisting that Hermione was just jealous that Harry was better at Potion's than she was. Everything was falling apart around them but of course Bookworm Granger was just concerned about being first in her class. Finding out what he truly thought of her had stung and it had taken all she had to refrain from pointing out that without her knowledge, Harry would surely be dead already since he had all the critical thinking skills of flobberworm.
The final straw had been when they had been captured by the Snatchers. Harry had said the name and they had been caught but only Hermione had been tortured because of it. Because Harry once again failed at reigning in his temper, she'd paid the price and it was the point of no return for her. It wasn't fair of her, she knew that, but that was how she felt. He could say he was sorry all he liked but it was just a word now; after all, what was the point of sorry if nothing ever changed?
So Hermione had left, fled from the Golden Boy and his Ginger Sidekick, reuniting with her beloved older sister and making sure she couldn't be found. However, it seemed that trouble had still managed to find her, though this time it was in the form of a little boy and an unusual town.
It had only been a day, but already Hermione loved Henry as fiercely as she loved her parents and Emma. He was family, and there was no way she was going to leave him behind. She also couldn't allow him to go on thinking he was at all mentally unsound. There was magic in this town and Henry had been clever enough to spot it, and he'd been desperate enough to ask for their help without even knowing them. He trusted them, and it was time for Hermione to repay that trust in kind.
Align my heart, my body, my mind
To face what I've done
And do my time
Henry was slouched on the couch in Dr. Hopper's office, staring intently at the handle of an umbrella, when Hermione strode through the door. Archie jumped up at the sight of her. "Miss Granger! I can explain."
She held up a hand. "No need, I just came to speak with Henry for a moment."
"I don't want to talk to you," Henry instantly stated, turning his head to face the opposite wall. "You think I'm crazy, just like Emma."
Hermione sighed. "Dr. Hopper, would you mind stepping out into the hall for a moment?" When it seemed as though he was going to object to leaving them alone, she added, "I would like to speak with Henry without having to worry about Regina getting a word-by-word recap of our conversation.
Archie blushed. "I understand. I can only give you a few minutes though. If the Mayor finds out…"
She nodded. "Thank you." Once the door was shut behind him, Hermione silently cast the Muffliato charm before sitting down next to Henry. "You know," she started. "Calling this world a Land Without Magic is a bit misleading." He turned to look at her then, still slightly distrustful but interested in what she had to say. "After all, it's not as though there's no magic at all in this world; it's just different from that used in the Enchanted Forest."
With a flick of her wrist, a small ball of bluebell flames appeared in the palm of her hand and Henry shot straight up in his seat. There was a small puff as the flames went out and then, with another flick of her wrist, the papers resting on the table in front of them floated a foot up in the air.
Henry gaped at her. "You have magic!"
She leaned towards him. "Like I said," she allowed the papers to fall back to the table. "Not gone, just different."
He leapt off the couch. "You have to tell Emma," he ordered. "Show her that you have magic and then she'll believe and can break the curse."
"Emma already knows."
Henry blinked at her. "She knows?" he echoed.
Hermione nodded. "She's known about magic for almost ten years now."
"Then why doesn't she believe in the curse?"
"Because, Henry," she sighed. "It's quite a leap from believing in magic to believing in other worlds. Especially when believing in another world would also mean believing you're some kind of hero that will help win a war."
"But someone has to stop the Evil Queen!" His innocent righteousness hurt Hermione.
"Yes, but why does it have to be Emma? I know this is hard for you to understand, but you don't know what the cost of fighting in a war is. Emma does know- she's seen it." It felt to Hermione that she was always searching for the right words to use when explaining things to Henry. "I am not the only person who can use magic in this world, there's a whole hidden society actually. There was a dark magic user, a Dark Lord, much like Regina, who was trying to take over and it was said that only my friend Harry would be able to stop him. So, Harry had to fight in a war and as his friend, I did as well. The fighting only just ended about two months ago. Emma knows what happened to Harry, what happened to me, while we were trying to defeat the Dark Lord and she doesn't want that to happen again. Emma doesn't want to fight, Henry, and to be honest, neither do I."
Henry was quiet for a moment before hesitantly asking, "Did you get hurt fighting? Is that why you don't want to fight anymore?" Hermione nodded, and he frowned. "I don't want you to get hurt, either of you. But this time is different! You have magic and she doesn't so you can stop her without her being able to hurt you!"
Hermione hesitated, and tears filled Henry's eyes. "Please don't leave," he begged. "Please. You have to help."
She grabbed his hands. "I'm not leaving you, I promise. I just need you to understand why this is so difficult for both Emma and I."
"Promise you're not leaving?"
Hermione squeezed his hands. "I promise."
Henry took a shuddering breath. "Okay." He moved to hug her and Hermione returned the embrace, dropping a kiss to the top of his head.
"We will find a way to break this curse, Henry," she whispered into the top of his head. "You just need to trust that Emma and I are doing the best we can right now, even if you can't see that yourself."
It was then that Emma burst into the room, Archie right on her heels. "Miss Swan, I really must insist-"
"I don't care!" Emma snapped. "Listen, Henry, I'm sorry about what you heard. I swear I don't think you're crazy."
Henry pulled away from Hermione and met Emma's panicked gaze. "I know."
She stared at him. "You know?"
"Yeah, Hermione explained it to me."
It was then that Emma finally met Hermione's gaze. "I see."
Hermione kept her expression steady. While they both might have had to face some hard truths earlier today, they were still sisters. One fight was not going to be enough to stop them from having each other's back. Emma nodded and gave her a small smile before moving to kneel before Henry.
"There is one simple reason I stayed here, Henry: you. I wanted to get to know you. I'm sorry if you thought I was saying I think you're crazy because I don't. I think the curse is crazy, and it is. But that doesn't mean it isn't true. So, until we know for sure, I am reserving judgement."
He grinned at her. "I can live with that." They both stood and Henry threw his arms around Emma. "I knew you were here to help me."
Emma hesitantly hugged him back. "That's right, kid. I am." She met Hermione's eyes again and the fire there made Hermione grin. "And nothing, not even a curse, is going to stop that."
Well yes sir, yes sir, yes it was me
I know what I've done
'Cause I know what I've seen
"So, we're dealing with a curse and fairytale characters."
They watched as Henry raced up the path to his house and slipped past Regina, who glared at them as she slammed the door shut.
"No," Hermione told her, softly. "We're dealing with a curse that involves trapping people in the town and stripping of them of their true identities and we might be dealing with people that have had stories written about them.
"We can't limit ourselves." She turned to face Emma. "If the curse is real, we can't just assume someone is a hero because their name is Prince Charming or judge a villain because they call themselves Captain Hook."
"Trust no one," Emma summarized, wrapping an arm around Hermione's shoulders. "Just my style." They started to walk back to the inn. "Seems Regina didn't take your warning seriously. Any idea what you're going to do now?"
"Well, it seems a verbal warning wasn't showy enough for her so this time I'm going to prove my abilities in a far more memorable way. My actions will prove to be just as formidable as my words."
I went out back and I got my gun
I said, "You haven't met me,
I am the only son"
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