"This is the big secret, Emma." She said with a wry smile. "I know you've been watching me… you've been suspicious about my actions for a long time. You think I've got something to do with those students who've run away from Hogwarts."
"I…"
"Don't deny it, that's beneath you." Regina told her. "Besides, you're right. I am up to something and I am behind all those disappearances." She paused, tilting her head and examining Emma closely. "Do you trust me?"
Emma didn't even need to think about her answer. "Yes."
Regina smiled that beautiful smile again. "Good."
"Are you going to explain, then? What do you mean you're behind all those students disappearing? What's been going on? You need to tell me the truth, Gina!"
"As you said before, it's dangerous to be out in the open. It's even more dangerous to discuss things that would not be looked upon too kindly by the current political regime."
Emma blinked at her. "What?"
Regina laughed. "I will explain… when we get a bit closer."
"Closer to where?" Emma pressed, hurrying to catch up with the brunette. Pushing her luck she reached for Regina's hand, her heart soaring when the older woman didn't push her away, but held hers tightly instead. "Where are we going?"
"Patience, Ms Swan." Regina teased lightly, squeezing their joined digits.
Doing her best to fight her natural impatience, Emma allowed herself to be led over the uneven ground with absolutely no idea where they were going or why. She screwed up her nose at the strange smell in the air; almost like wet dog, but slightly different. When she mentioned it to Regina, the other woman laughed again and informed her that it was the smell of the many sheep that lived on the mountains and had been caught in the rain. Emma simply blinked at her in disgust.
"This is Fferm Graig Ddu… it means Black Rock Farm in Welsh." Regina informed the blonde softly when they finally came to a halt beside a large rock, sticking vertically out of the ground. "It's been here for centuries and completely derelict for decades."
For a moment Emma stared at the crumbling, obviously neglected farmhouse in front of her. There were walls missing, the stones piled in heaps around the area, holes in the roof and broken panes of glass in the windows. Emma had absolutely no idea why they were standing in front of such a wreck of a building and paying so much attention to it. But then, as she continued to stare, the air seemed to shimmer and shift before her eyes and the large stone building began to repair itself; the stones flying back to the gaps in the walls, the glass repairing itself in the windows and slates filling the hole in the roof.
"I cast the Fidelius Charm on the building and I've been bringing those in danger from the new regime here to safety." Regina explained quietly as Emma continued to stare open-mouthed. "Now that I, the Secret Keeper, have told you about the Farm you've become a Secondary Secret Keeper. You'll be able to come here and find the farm, but you won't be able to tell anyone else about it."
"Regina, that's…" Shaking her head lightly, the younger witch didn't seem able to tear her eyes away from the farmhouse, as though she believed it would disappear again if she did. "If anyone finds out what you're doing…"
"That's sort of the point of being the Secret Keeper; no one finds out unless I tell them." The brunette sighed. "I couldn't just sit back and do nothing, Emma. I couldn't watch these children being attacked and endangered and do nothing to help them."
"So all the kids who've disappeared from Hogwarts after being called to your office…?"
"What did you think I was doing, dear?" Regina chuckled. "Eating them?"
"Isn't that a little bit obvious?"
Arching an eyebrow, the older woman sighed. "I get to see the lists of those wanted by the Ministry on the pretence of passing any useful information to my mother and Dolores Umbridge at the Muggle-Born Registration Commission. I arrange a time with them to get them safely out of the castle and bring them here. We use a portkey to transport the children here without detection. An unregistered, unofficial portkey, obviously. It brings them to the big rock out there and, if they think the name of the farm while taking a step forwards the building will reveal itself to them."
"Regina! That's ridiculously dangerous!"
"What else can I do?"
"Now you've told me about this place, made me a Secondary Secret Keeper, I can help you." Emma told her firmly.
Regina shook her head and laughed mirthlessly. "Emma, you have no idea… you're under constant surveillance."
"Because of my blood status?"
"Amongst other things."
"Regina… what aren't you telling me?"
"You're deemed high risk." Regina informed her bluntly. "I've seen your file. It's kept in my mother's office, along with several other high priority files."
"I'm flattered." Emma joked.
"You should be worried." The older woman admonished her, not seeing the funny side of the matter at all. "Em… this is serious. I want you to stay here in the safe house."
Emma frowned at her for a moment, before understanding crossed her features. "You've seen a Ministry list with my name on it, haven't you?"
"Emma, please…"
"Regina, I'm not going to hide. Not from your mother, not from the Death Eaters, not from… him." She replied firmly, folding her arms and shaking her head. Something occurred to her suddenly and she tilted her head to one side, staring critically at the brunette. "You said 'we'."
"What?" Regina furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.
"You said, 'We use a portkey'. Who's 'we'? Who's working with you on this?"
Exhaling sharply, the older woman nodded sharply and indicated towards the farmhouse. "Shall I show you?"
When Emma just nodded, Regina tugged on their still joined hands and led the way down the slate path to the large yard at the front of the house. Knocking on the door, they waited impatiently for someone to move to the other side of the door. Emma stamped her feet to try and stop them getting frostbite while they waited.
After a couple of moments, there was a triple knock from the inside of the building. Emma glanced sideways at Regina, totally confused by the sound, but she quickly realised that the other woman seemed to have been expecting it. In fact, she raised her hand and rapped three times on the wood with her knuckles, mimicking the rhythm of the other knock exactly.
"My name is Regina Mills and I am Secret Keeper of Fferm Graig Ddu."
There was a split second and then they heard the sound of several bolts being scraped across on the inside and several keys turning in locks. Privately Emma wondered what good such security would do if someone managed to break through the magical protections and enchantments on the building, but she said nothing.
As though she had read Emma's mind, Regina smiled gently. "The locks seem to reassure the Muggle-borns more than the charms and protection spells."
"Regina! I wasn't expecting a visit again so–"
"Dromeda." Regina leant forward and pressed a kiss to her sister's cheek as the older woman broke off, her eyes fixed on Emma in confusion. "You remember Emma Swan?"
"Of course… Emma…"
"Hi, Mrs Tonks."
"Andromeda, please." Regina's sister urged, still clearly confused by the arrival of the two witches.
"How are you? How are things here?"
"As well as can be expected." Andromeda assured them lightly, still looking between the two women in bemusement. "I've got a house full of teenagers… you can imagine what it's like; all hormones and drama."
"Good." Regina smiled at her. "Anything new on Potterwatch?"
"No, still no news…" They both knew who, specifically, Andromeda was listening for news of, but neither mentioned Ted's name. After a moment, the older woman cleared her throat and glanced at Emma again. "Gina… can I ask what's going on?"
The brunette nodded, smiling at her. "I wanted to tell Emma the truth about what's going on her and try and convince her to–"
"She wants me to stay here." Emma informed Andromeda bluntly. "She thinks it's safer for me."
"She's not wrong." The elder witch replied, equally bluntly.
"Let's have a look around before you rule it out." Regina suggested gently, not under any illusions that it would be an easy sell.
Curious to see what was going on in the farmhouse, Emma nodded and followed Regina further into the building. Andromeda watched them, taking in the interactions between the two younger women curiously. She knew that they had been close, perhaps closer than Regina had let on, but she hadn't been aware of exactly how things stood between them. Her younger sister had always been private, played her cards close to her chest, and Andromeda couldn't blame her given what had happened to Daniel. She suspected, although she couldn't be sure, Daniel's death was Regina's motivating factor now with her desire to keep Emma hidden away at the safe house.
"Professor Mills, did you remember those books?"
Regina clapped a hand to her forehead as she turned to look at the teenage girl who had attracted her attention from one of the doorways that led off the corridor. "Oh, Amanda. I completely forgot. I promise I'll bring it next time."
"That's OK." The teenager smiled. "I just wanted to make sure I don't fall behind if… well… if we get to go back to Hogwarts."
"I'm glad to hear it." The brunette replied, sending her a wink.
As they continued along the corridor, which Emma was confused to realise seemed to go on for far longer than should have been possible given the size of the building from the outside, the blonde sent Regina an amused look.
"What?"
"Amanda Smith is worried about her exams while she's in hiding?"
"She's a typical Ravenclaw." Regina shrugged. "I don't blame her though… she'll be sitting her N.E.W.T.s next year…"
Neither of them mentioned that there was a strong possibility that wouldn't happen. "Good point. So… what's the deal with this place? From the outside I'd have guessed three bedrooms, bathroom, living room and kitchen?"
"Originally, yes." The brunette agreed, looking impressed. "But that was before the Undetectable Extension Charms… all five of them."
"Clever." Emma nodded. "What other charms have you used on this place?"
"A form of Disillusionment Charm which is linked to the Fidelius Charm, causing the derelict appearance that you first witnessed. There's also an Intruder Charm, which alerts Andromeda to anyone coming within a 5 miles radius of the farmhouse. When the alarm sounds, an image of whoever triggered it is displayed in the large mirror in the Entrance Hall." Regina explained in a business-like tone. "There are a dozen or more other protection spells in force, too."
"But if the Fidelius Charm–"
"Quite." Regina nodded. "The Fidelius Charm is our main source of security. The rest of the enchantments are simply a back up. If the Fidelius Charm fails… hopefully the protection spells will hold them out long enough to evacuate."
"Is Andromeda here on her own?"
"What d'you mean?"
"Is everyone else here underage."
Regina chuckled quietly. "I don't think that really matters at the moment."
"But is she?" Emma pressed worriedly.
"No… well… We've got Maribella Busby, her three children and her son-in-law, who are all overage. But we've also got Maribella's eldest daughter's two children… they're two and four-months-old." Regina sighed, shaking her head. "If anything did happen and they had to fight their way out, two of those adults would be taken out of the equation. Other than those extra three overage wizards, everyone here is under seventeen."
"That's… unfortunate." Emma murmured and Regina knew that she was thinking about how vulnerable the residents of the safe house would be if it came to a fight. "Care to continue the tour?"
Smiling in amusement as the younger woman attempted to feign nonchalance, Regina showed her round the rest of the farmhouse, laughing as Emma blinked in astonishment at the sheer size of the inside of the building. Asking question after question, which Regina was easily able to answer, it seemed as though Emma were reconsidering her immediate refusal to take up residence in the safe house. The older witch was well aware that, should the blonde agree to move in, it would not be out a sudden sense of self-preservation. Instead, Emma would agree to the protection out of a desire to help defend the others living there.
"So… how many kids are here?"
Regina kept her expression neutral. "Thirty-four school age and Kimberly McMannon's two."
"Thirty-four?" Emma laughed incredulously. "You could start your own school!"
"Yes… and she decided to send me eight on the last day of term." Andromeda announced, appearing behind them and wrapping an arm around Regina's wait. She leant in and pressed a kiss to her younger sister's temple, displaying a gentle affection that Emma had rarely seen anyone bestow on Regina before. "Not that I would ever complain when she's putting herself in so much danger to keep all this going."
"But you would welcome an extra pair of, adult, hands?" Regina asked her meaningfully.
"I'd be stupid to say otherwise." Her sister replied.
"Say I did." Emma said with a sigh, knowing that the two older witches would take that as an agreement to stay at the safe house. "How would I know what was going on in the outside world?"
"The same way Andromeda does."
"And that is…?"
The sisters exchanged a look. "I return to my home once a day, for appearances' sake and to check whether there's any news. Now that Nymphadora is living with Remus again there's little else to keep me there." Andromeda pointed out calmly, her eyes betraying her true emotions. "Rather than relying on the methods the Order use, Regina and I have formed a much more reliable system to communicate between ourselves, involving a charmed notebook."
"It's rather clever, if I do say so myself." The brunette chuckled. "As well as that, I try to visit at least once a week and send information with students using the portkey."
Looking between the younger witches, Andromeda smiled knowingly. "What do you say to dinner while you consider your options, Miss Swan?"
As her stomach gave a loud rumble at the mention of food, Emma remembered that she had been heading to dinner when she'd left The Burrow. Chuckling, Andromeda led the way towards the dining room and motioned for Emma to take a seat at one of the long benches that stood on either side of each of the four tables. It was strongly reminiscent of the Hogwarts Great Hall before the atmosphere had changed at the castle. The only thing that was missing were the Hogwarts robes and the different colours of the four houses. Added to that, though, was the fact that the teenager were not restricted to sit at certain tables and Emma could see students from each house interacting freely.
"Professor Swan!" Lauren Pope, a sixth year Gryffindor, who was seated between Ebony Melton and Viola Penderghast, sixth year Hufflepuff and Slytherin students respectively, called out in surprise as the blonde entered the room. "What are you doing here?"
"Just visiting." Emma informed her, smiling around at the students. "I'm glad to see you all looking so well! We were worried."
"Oh, yeah… Professor Mills and Mrs Tonks are taking really good care of us." Finley Smith, a second year Ravenclaw, piped up. He beamed at the blonde. "It's great here… no Potions lessons!"
Everyone laughed at the boy's beaming smiled, before Andromeda started bustling around making sure their guests received full Black Rock Farm hospitality. Emma and Regina found themselves seated at a table with a mixture of different students, being questioned eagerly by the teenagers who wanted to know about what was happening to their friends still at Hogwarts. Torn between wanting to tell them the truth and not wanting to upset them, the teachers limited their answers accordingly.
"Sounds like we're better of here, then." A seventh year Hufflepuff, Alex Stebbins, told them with a shrug. "At least we're safe."
Oscar Thompson, a third year Gryffindor, looked at the adults warily. "We are safe here, aren't we?"
Emma nodded firmly. "Yeah, you are… of course you are. But to make doubly sure… I'm going to come and stay here with you for a while."
"You are?" Andromeda asked, slightly surprised by the determined announcement.
"I am." She agreed. "If you'll have me?"
"The more the merrier." The older woman told her sincerely, squeezing Emma's shoulder as she passed.
Another week passed and the date of the return to Hogwarts was almost upon them. Between the three of them, Emma, Regina and Andromeda had decided that Emma should stay at The Burrow until then and then head to Black Rock Farm instead of going back to the school.
The day before the plan was due to unfold, Regina and Emma met at Regina's house. She had returned to ensure that her Protection Spells were still in place and was relieved to find that no one had attempted to gain access to her property while she had been away. It wasn't so much that no one was able to get in, that Regina was glad of, but the fact that no one would be able to get to Emma while she was there.
Since the brunette's realisation that she was becoming more like her mother by keeping everyone she cared about at arm's length, the two had been steadily growing closer. Emma hadn't allowed Regina to cut contact or back away from her again, forcing the older woman to confront her fears and face up to the reality of their relationship. She pointed out that times were dangerous and they needed to make the most of the time they had. Regina had, surprisingly, totally agreed.
Curling up together on the sofa in Regina's living room, Emma ran the backs of her fingers down the brunette's cheek. The intensity of her gaze was making the older woman slightly nervous but, for once, she didn't shy away from it. Instead she gazed back, just as intensely, smiling softly as Emma leant in to kiss her. Allowing her to deepen the kiss, Regina sighed contentedly and wound her fingers through Emma's hair.
"Are you going to miss me?" Emma whispered when they broke apart.
"No."
"Really?" The blonde chuckled. "I don't think I believe you, Ms Mills."
"Maybe I'll miss you a little bit." Regina conceded, sighing again as Emma trailed kisses across her jaw and down her neck.
"Maybe you should come with me?"
"And leave Henry at Hogwarts?" The brunette pulled back and arched an eyebrow at her lover.
"Obviously not." Emma shook her head. "There's plenty of space for Henry at the farm."
"And all the other children?" Regina shook her head. "No, Em, I can't. I have to stay at Hogwarts."
Sighing deeply, Emma pressed a chaste kiss to her lips and held her close, breathing in her scent. "Just be careful, OK? I only just got you back… I can't lose you for good."
