Regina waited in the shadows by the Quidditch pitch, glancing nervously over her shoulder. She pulled her school robes more tightly around her to shield herself from the cold night air. If she was caught – if her mother found out – it would mean far worse than detention, but that thought didn't keep her from coming back again and again.

A sudden noise caught her attention. She turned, and there he was, grinning at her. He was completely opposite what her mother would have wanted for her: a muggle-born dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, a Hufflepuff no less, with a passion for the sport that Cora only begrudgingly allowed her own daughter to play.

"Daniel."

He pulled her into a kiss, and she kissed him back fiercely. Coming up for breath, he said, "I thought we could go flying together."

"If you can keep up," she teased, glancing to the broom in her hand, a top-of-the-line Nimbus.

"The question is, can you?" he retorted.

"Oh, you've forgotten already who won our last Quidditch game?"

He laughed. "I think I still have a bruise from the bludger Emma Swan hit me with."

Regina smiled and kissed him again.

All of a sudden, a scream cut through the silence. They broke apart, and Regina's eyes darted around the Quidditch pitch, searching for the source of the sound. With a quiet "lumos", she lit the tip of her wand. There, up in the sky, a little girl was clinging to one of the run-down school brooms as it surged through the air, bucking and shaking like a wild horse determined to throw her off. She seemed to see the little light from below and screamed out for help. Without a second thought, Regina stuffed her wand back into the pocket of her robes, mounted her broom, and kicked off the ground. She soared through the air toward the younger girl. Just as she was approaching, the little girl lost her grip went flying through the air. With the skill of a chaser, Regina swerved sharply and caught the child as she fell, pulling her onto the back of her broom. The girl clung to her in fear as Regina slowly descended back to the ground.

"You saved my life!" the little girl said breathlessly when they landed.

Regina smiled and introduced herself.

"I'm Snow," the girl replied. "Snow White."

Later, there was an old wizard her father's age bending down on one knee to offer her a diamond ring. Another, simpler ring, given with the words "run away with me" and the tantalizing promise of a new life in the muggle world. A secret whispered in the dark. A flash of green light as Daniel's lifeless body fell to the floor, and her mother's cold voice telling her that "love is weakness". There was anger and grief bubbling up inside her as she walked down the aisle, dressed in flowing white wedding robes, and the delicious rage of dark magic and the hatred that fueled it. But before all that came one simple spoken thought when she realized who was to blame:

"I should have let her die on that broom."

Regina woke in a cold sweat. For a moment she was still there, a sixteen-year-old girl feeling her first taste of hatred, but soon reality sank in. On shaky legs, she made her way into the bathroom and flipped the light switch, cringing at the blinding light. As her eyes adjusted, her reflection came into focus in the mirror. It wasn't the face of the young girl she had been in her dream; she was harder, colder, fiercer, and haunted in a way that her younger self hadn't been.

The nightmares weren't uncommon, but this one had been sharper and more vivid than the usual faded blur of pain. Had meeting Snow and Emma again after so long triggered her to remember? Or was this just a bad night? Shaking her head, she turned the lights off and went back to bed, hoping for a few hours of peaceful sleep before morning.

Hogwarts was quiet that morning. A month remained before the start of the school year. There was not a single student in the castle, and most of the teachers had gone for the summer as well. Most, but not all. Snow and David sat together in his office, in a heavy silence that he didn't quite understand.

"Are you all right?" he asked, taking her hand gently.

Snow sighed. "I'm fine."

David shook his head. "No, you're not. You haven't been fine for days now. What's wrong?"

She just turned away.

"Is it Regina?" he asked. "Having to see her again … is that what's making you so upset? You know you didn't have to go. I could have, or one of the other teachers …"

"It's not about Regina," she said, cutting him off.

He didn't believe that for one second. When was it not about Regina? His doubt must have showed in his face, because she went on:

"No, I mean it. Everything went fine with her. I think it was good for me to see her again, to have that …"

"Closure?" he suggested when her voice faltered.

She nodded. What she didn't say, but he knew must be true, was that she didn't quite trust anyone else when it came to her stepmother. Not even him. And how could he blame her? They might be happily married, but they had their differences, and Regina was one of those.

"I think she's changed," said Snow.

David doubted that. The terrifying witch he remembered was incapable of change. But he knew from experience that there was no convincing Snow of that, so he didn't try.

"Henry seems like a good kid," Snow continued.

"Of course he is," said David. "He's Emma's. It's in his blood."

Snow blinked slowly, as if only just realizing something. Under her breath, she let out a bitter laugh. But whatever was going on in her head, she didn't share it.

"Snow, what's going on?" David asked. "Please. You can tell me anything."

She stared at him for a long moment, as if trying to decide. Finally, she spoke:

"Rumplestiltskin paid me a visit."

"What!?"

"He made a prophecy," said Snow. "And he made me promise to keep it a secret, but I just can't. You have a right to know. David, it's about our child. He told me that Emma …"

"That Emma what?" David asked.

Snow reached into her pocket and pulled out a time turner on a golden chain. She glanced from the little hourglass to her pregnant stomach with fearful eyes, and he realized the awful truth.

"We're Emma's parents?"

Henry sat across from his mother at the breakfast table, eating slowly and watching her with cautious eyes. Regina looked back at him sadly, wishing there was something she could do to make him see that no matter what she had done in the past, she still loved him more than anything. It would take time for him to see that – probably more time than she would have, before he was taken away into a world that still saw her as the "Evil Queen". But she couldn't think of that, because if she did then she wouldn't be able to control herself, and she couldn't lose control. She couldn't cry in front of Henry.

The meal was awkward and quiet, and Henry vanished into his room as soon as it was over. Regina sighed. As she sat there at the empty table, her phone rang, breaking the silence. A glance at the screen revealed only a number she had never seen before, but she answered anyway.

"Hello, who is this?"

"Regina?"

The familiar voice sent a chill down her spine. Rumple.

"How the hell did you get my number?" she demanded.

"That doesn't matter," he said. "I have a proposal for you, and I think you'll want to hear it."

Regina huffed, thinking how unlikely that sounded. "And why should I trust you?"

"Because I can give you what you want," he replied. "For a price, of course. I need your help with something, and in return … in return, I can help you win."

She let out a laugh. "Well, you're a little late. Haven't you heard? I've already lost."

"That you have, dearie," he said. "But there was a time when you hadn't. And you and I both know that the past isn't off limits. Not with the help of a little magic."

Meanwhile, in her flat in London, Emma lay in bed, still groggy from sleep and not ready to get up yet. The taste of apple cider still lingered in her mouth, but she pushed that thought away. A chance meeting didn't mean a second chance.