Hello lovlies, sorry for the hiatus but the person who requested this story wasn't reading it and neither was anyone else. Soooo, I decided to put it on hiatus until I could decide whether or not to kill it. As it turns out, I decided not to. Now, I have watched season 3, and holy shite. No matter, this is still to be considered season 3 divergent, as I don't feel like rewriting the whole damn story. Anyway, here is ch.3 and I hope you enjoy. Ta
Chapter 3—Stolen
Hogwarts—one month later, Halloween
Harry woke with a start. Underneath the castle, where the Slytherin house lay, there were no window, but Harry knew it was dawn. He'd always had to get up before the Dursleys in order to get his morning chores done, and so his body naturally woke up at dawn, having learned it healthier to do so. Harry rubbed his eyes and got out of his warm bed as quiet as a mouse. He dressed in his school uniform and walked out of his room with bare feet. Henry, Draco and Blaise didn't even stir at his actions.
Harry paused long enough to slip his shoes over his naked feet before continuing into the common room. The fire was blazing already and he waved to the mermaid who was swimming by the enchanted wall that showed the murky depths of the Black Lake. The hideous creature smiled, showing razor sharp teeth, and waved back. Harry walked over to the waters.
"Good morning, what are you doing swimming about so early?" he asked the creature.
"The grindelows have been trying to steal our little ones from us again. I am on patrol for them," she replied. Harry nodded.
"Then I shan't keep you. I wish you good fortune in hunting them," he said and at her nodded turned and left the common room. Harry walked the maze that was the dungeons, having no particular destination. The Bloody Baron floated to his side.
"Something troubling you, little serpent?" asked the ghost. Harry sighed and shook his head.
"Not really, Baron, only… Is it normal for a first year to find school boring?"
"Hmmm. That depends upon why you consider it so."
"Well, I find everything so easy. The theory is a little hard, but not as much as it is for everyone else. It can sometimes take me a few tries to learn a spell, but once I do it's so simple I don't even need to say the incantation. Potions and Transfiguration are by far the hardest subjects for me, but I'm still in the top five students for both courses. I don't know why but, magic, it's just so easy for me, so much I hardly need to think about it."
"Well, it does sound as if school is boring, if you are so gifted," The Baron mused and rubbed his beard. "I do believe I may have a solution for you, however. Come, little serpent."
Harry cocked his head and followed the ghost down an unfamiliar corridor he hadn't noticed before. They took their time, allowing Harry to learn the way, and finally came to a tapestry of a gigantic serpent coiled around a tree baring strange fruit. The Baron turned to the living child next to him.
"The password is Sentient. Go on in," said the Baron as the tapestry gusted to reveal an open entryway. Harry walked through and came into a soft-lit parlour that was nicely decorated and contained a few doors around the room. At the far end was a portrait of a youngish man in a dark green tunic with silver hair and sharp grey eyes. He gave a small smile at the sight of Harry.
"Ah, and who may you be, young serpent?" asked the portrait. Harry recognised him immediately as the founder of his house.
"I'm Harry Potter, sir. The Baron brought me here, he said it was a solution to my boredom," Harry said as he bowed. The portrait lifted a sculpted eyebrow.
"Why are you bored, young Harry?" Salazar asked.
"The course work is too easy for me, the curriculum is too slow. I know a few of my friends feel the same but it is more pronounced for me."
"Then you are welcome here, and here is where your boredom shall be slain. I have books on all sorts of subjects, from theory to creatures to more forbidden subject matters that others are too irresponsible and cowardly to explore. You are welcome to come and study them all, and I shall be of whatever assistance you need in your journey."
"I—thank you, lord Slytherin. I'm very grateful," Harry said with wide eyes. No one had ever offered him so much before. He was free to learn as much as he wanted about whatever he wanted, and it sounded like Slytherin would answer whatever questions he had about it all. The founder smiled and his new pupil.
"Call me Salazar, young Harry. Shall we begin?"
"Yes! I mean, if that is acceptable to you," Harry said. His new mentor chuckled, as did the Baron from his corner. The old ghost did so enjoy Sal's students.
"No need to be shy with your enthusiasm. I remember being much the same when I first began learning. Let us begin with wandless spells. We shall start with the ones you know and work up to new ones."
Harry nodded and set his wand on a table before walking closer to the portrait, where there was a wide space open. He was more excited than he'd ever been before. He felt something stir deep inside him as he listened to Salazar's instructions, and the young warlock believed that this was something he was meant to do.
Hook's ship—Captain's cabin
Charming leaned over Rumplestiltskin's shoulder to see the now blank globe. The warlock huffed.
"Sit, dearie, you're annoying when you're leering," said the Dark One. Charming sat next to his… What the hell is he to me now? He's not an enemy, but he's not really family either, Charming thought and then felt guilty. Henry was Rumplestiltskin's grandson too, and although the man had done terrible things, Charming had worked and dealt with the sorcerer enough to know that Belle was right. He may be a beast but he wasn't a monster, and he may be dark but dark doesn't mean evil.
"So, uh, what should we call you? Rumple?" Charming asked. If they were family then they needed to start acting like one. The scaled warlock blinked at charming for a moment before returning to his task, which was pricking his finger and dripping a single drop onto the white sphere before them.
"If you insist on calling me something friendly, I suppose Rum will do… Charming," he said as he worked. Charming blinked for a moment before nodding with a small smile. Rum frowned.
"What is it, did you find Henry?" Charming asked as he looked to the globe that was gaining a map. On the same island, side-by-side, were two red dots.
"I don't understand. Blood is not wrong, so neither is the map, and so it must be right…"
"I sense a 'but' coming," Charming said with his own brow furrowed in confusion.
"It shows that two of my line are right here," Rum said as he pointed to the dots. "Yet that can't be since the only two descendants I have are Henry and Bae…"
"…Is it possible that the second dot is Henry's child? That he's been there so long?" Charming asked. He couldn't think of what else it could be, Bae was dead, so maybe Henry was gone much longer than they suspected. Time did move very differently from realm to realm. The Dark One shook his head.
"Not possible. It was that way with Bae because of the length of the curse. Henry only recently escaped; we might find him a few years older than he was when we last saw him but nothing beyond that. He'd still be an adolescent."
"Than wha—"
A crash and yells were heard from above deck. Rum grabbed Charming's arm and they smoked above. The two rushed to the helm of the ship to find a sight they couldn't believe. Snow was helping Belle while Bae scrambled to his feet and wrapped a wide-eyed Emma in his arms. It was Regina who spoke.
"While I'm so glad you're not dead, I'd like to know why that is so and how you came to get here with her," she said as she waved a hand towards Belle.
"I landed in the Enchanted Forest when I got shot. Mulan and Robin Hood helped me; I found a looking glass in Papa's home that connected to one in his shop. Belle's the one that got us here," Bae explained. He nodded to his father and gave a brief smile, but he never let go of Emma. Belle walked to her beast and embraced him.
"The town is safe, I did just as you said. When Bae showed up we decided to come and help you get Henry. Have you located him yet?" she asked when she broke away. Charming and Rum shared a look with each other.
"Well, he found a way to escape the island but landed in a different world," Charming said to the newcomers. "Rum and I were just relocating him when something strange happened. Two dots appeared on the map, and we can't explain it. Baelfire is here, so the second dot can't be him, and Henry is the only other descendent of Rum's. So we don't know why there are two dots."
Belle gasped and Regina furrowed her brow. Rumple looked down at Belle with a confused look, but his love was too busy looking at Regina.
"You said he died. YOU SAID HE DIED!" she cried out at the queen. Everyone looked confused now.
"What are you talking about? Who died?" Rumple asked, but it was to no avail, Regina was speaking over him.
"That's what that midwife told me, I only said what she did. I never saw him, only a bloodied blanket and she said he died. She must have lied, she must have taken him," Regina said with dawning realisation. Belle collapsed to her knees, crying silent tears.
"What are you talking about?" Snow asked as Rumple knelt to hold Belle. Everyone was silent as they watched in shock as the Dark One comforted his weeping lady.
"My—my baby, Rumple's and I. I didn't know I was with child until right before Regina caught me while I was heading back to the Dark Castle," Belle said as her tears slowed. "Everything went fine, I swear nothing wrong happened, and he was beautiful, so lovely but…. The midwife—she—she—insisted he was dead. She swore it! Then she took him away, I didn't even get to hold him. She took him away," the last two sentences were whispered into the silence.
Snow couldn't believe it; someone had stolen a baby straight from his mother. Bae was anger, furious, at the tale. Emma felt much the same. Charming was awed by how much strength Belle must have had to survive that sort of horror; losing her only child and forced to believe he'd died. Rumple stroked Belle's curls.
"Why didn't you tell me Belle?" he whispered to her, so only she could hear.
"The midwife had just shown up with three men that day. I'd never seen them before but it didn't really matter," Regina said and the others listened to her, giving Rumple and Belle time to themselves.
" I couldn't, Rumple. I couldn't do that to you, I wasn't brave enough to tell you that you'd lost another son. It would have been worse, since you never got to meet him, and I—I just couldn't do that," Belle murmured into Rumple's shoulder.
"Shhh, it's all right. I understand, my poor Belle. I'm so sorry you went through that, but we've found him now. He's with Henry, and we'll get them both back," Rumple promised.
"I remember them, all of them, the ones who stole our baby," She said and the others turned back to the odd couple. "The midwife with grey hair, the two dark haired men by the door and, the old man with the twinkling eyes and the long beard. I remember them perfectly."
Rumple kissed Belle's brow before lifting her up to place her below deck, his lady was exhausted. The deck was quiet after they were gone. No one could say anything; their minds were preoccupied with only one thought; how to get to Henry, and the uncle he was with.
A/N: I'll be uploading new chappies to m other stories so be on the look out if you read any of the others. TA