Chapter 25: The Dust Begins to Settle
In her palace in Wonderland, the Queen of Hearts was about to address a group of supplicants when she suddenly realized that nobody in her throne room was moving. Wearing the Masks of Strangers, the gathered throng stood as still as statues. Setting her own mask down, Queen Cora rose from her throne, stepped down the dais, and looked around.
"What is the meaning of this?" she said aloud. "Jafar? Is this your doing? This isn't funny . . . ."
"No," said an annoyed female voice that seemed to come from everywhere. "It is not Jafar's doing. And I can assure you that it is most certainly not meant to be funny." From behind Cora, came the chime of a bell, and she rounded to the sound to find herself face-to-face with a stern looking, redheaded witch dressed in a flamboyant green and purple outfit.
Cora swallowed hard. "E-Endora . . . ."
"Oh, you remember me. Good."
"Of course I remember you, Endora. S-so tell me, how are you? And how is, ah, what is your daughter's name again, it has been quite a while . . . oh, yes, Samantha?"
"Samantha is fine, Copycat, dear." Endora rolled her eyes. "Although for better or for worse, she is still married to Derwood.
"And what of your own daughter Regina . . . ?"
"Oh, as temperamental as ever," said Cora, managing a nervous smile. "But she is still not married to Daniel."
"Of course not," said Endora dryly. "Although I cannot say that I approve of my daughter's taste in men, I will say that the two of them did manage to give me two, very wonderful, beautiful grandchildren.
"And tell me, has Regina given you any grandchildren, yet . . . ?
"Oh, THAT"S right; she can't, unless she decides to adopt, that is! You actually drove her to drink, didn't you, Cosplay . . . ?"
Cora felt herself break into a sweat. "E-Endora, surely you did not come all the way to Wonderland to discuss how our respective daughters disappointed us . . . ?"
"You are right, I did not! Nor did I say that Samantha has ever disappointed me in any way!" Endora took another step closer to Cora as the Queen of Hearts took a step back. To Endora's amusement, she was actually "dancing" with Cora; making the Queen of Hearts back away with every small step she took as she spoke to her. "I just came to ask you a few questions, and then to give you some friendly advice . . . ."
Cora's glower was barely noticeable, but it was there, just the same. Go ahead, thought Endora. Just you try to make a grab for my heart, you second-rate sorceress. I triple-headed- dog-dare-you to give me a reason . . . .
But Cora made no aggressive moves. Slightly disappointed, Endora then conjured a globe of the Earth, pointing to the coast of Maine where a red dot was glowing. "First, Conehead, what do you know about THIS?"
"I, uh, what is it, Endora? I don't recognize this world."
"Good. It is my world, and you would do well to stay out of it, if you know what is good for you! But I am not talking about the world as much as what has just arrived in it a month or so ago; a large, physical incursion from these realms. Now, I'll ask again, what, if anything, do you know about it?"
"Endora, I . . . I'm not responsible for that! That would take something along the lines of The Dark Curse to accomplish, and . . . ."
"Ah, of course it would," said Endora. "And to cast The Dark Curse, you would need to use the heart of the one you loved the most. And as the one you love the most is yourself, there is no way that you can cast the curse and still be here. Yes, I'll accept that explanation, Cola. For now . . . .
"So onto the friendly advice, then," said Endora. "For some unfathomable reason, my granddaughter Tabitha has decided on a career in magical law enforcement. I also have a thirteen year old grandson, Adam, who is very worried about the recent events caused by this Incursion from these lands into our own.
"If this is a hostile invasion, my dear, sweet Tabitha will be on the front lines. And if anything happens to her, then I shall be very, very irritated. Do you take my meaning, Cornpone . . . ?"
"But, Endora," said Cora. "I have nothing to do with this incursion from our world into your own world. You, yourself, said as much. How, then, can you hold me responsible for –"
"I can do what I please," said Endora pleasantly. "And if Tabitha, Adam, Samantha, or even Dumdum are harmed in any way by this incursion, than I shall blame you!"
"Endora, I –"
"If they are harmed, I shall blame you! If you know anything about the incursion, anything at all that you are not telling me, now would be the time to do whatever is necessary to see to it that those involved are told to withdraw from my world posthaste before anyone else is hurt."
"E-excuse me, Endora," said Cora, who now realized that Endora had backed her into her throne, and she had nowhere else to back up to. "But, with all due respect, why not simply go into this "incursion" and confront those who are actually responsible . . . ?"
"Oh, believe me, Cordwood, I would love to do that, if I were actually permitted to do so . . . .
"The White Council - the so-called magical "authorities" of my world - has invoked a little used law that requires all wizards and witches to do their part to respond to the threat of the Incursion. Long story short, I got "drafted." And I don't like it.
"It would seem, you see, that the authorities are convinced that whoever is responsible for the Incursion are unaware that they have come to a land with magic of its own, and they want to keep it that way. So I was given strict orders to not enter the Incursion under any circumstances."
"So, then, you were sent here on behalf of your world's Magical Authorities to tell me . . . ?"
"Oh, please!" snapped Endora as she looked daggers at Cora. "Not only do you offend me by taking me for a mere messenger from my world's White Council, but you flatter yourself if you think that they would deign to send any official message to the likes of you!
"No, Contrail, I am here on my own. They may have requested that I stay out of the Incursion from the Enchanted Realms. But they said nothing to me about not making a little trip to the Enchanted Realms itself on a little fact-finding visit. So here I am.
"As to why I started my trip in Wonderland, there is a saying in my world that fits this situation quite nicely; "Round up the Usual Suspects." And your name is always at the top of my list."
"W-what would you have me do, Endora?"
"Keep your nose clean and stay out of my way, for starters, Codfish," replied Endora. "I am in a bad enough mood, now, as it is.
"Just remember what I said about my family. And know that if any harm comes to them, especially to my grandchildren, then I will see to it that you will never die, if you take my meaning . . . ."
"I-I do, Endora," said Cora nodding earnestly.
"Good!" And with a flourish of her arms and the pinging of a chime, Endora was gone.
Cora then realized that everyone in her court was moving again. With as much dignity as she could muster, the Queen of Hearts returned to her throne, and once more held her Mask of the Stranger in front of her face. "Showoff," Cora muttered to herself in barely louder than a whisper.
Endora's booming voice came from all around, making everyone present jump: "I heard that, Condo! Just remember what I said, and do NOT try me . . . EVER!"
FBS Director Vincent DeMarigny waited until Agent Quest-Singh had emerged from the pensieve, and then took his place at the conference room table, before saying, "Alright, now that everyone has seen Endora's report from her recent trip to Wonderland, I am opening the floor for comments."
Director DeMarigny silently canvassed each person in the room. Agent Quest-Singh was joined by his brother, Dr. Johnathan Quest; the only muggle in attendance. Also present were the Addams Siblings, as well as Agents Garwin, Halliwell, and even Agent Susan Spellman, who had just come back on duty after her ordeal at the hands of the Carrows. "Anyone . . . ?"
"Well," began Agent Halliwell, "aside from being glad that I was not the one that Endora was angry with, at least we know that whoever this Regina Mills is, she most likely does not have the ability to cast this Dark Curse again, much less that she has anyone working for her back in the Enchanted Realms capable of doing it for her.
"Imagine having to kill the person you love the most to initiate such a curse. And I thought that making a horcrux was as bad as bad could get."
"I agree," said Hadji. "It is very unlikely that we have to worry about any Warlord Mage from the Enchanted Realms blowing huge chunks off of our world and replacing them with whatever they want; either on Regina's behalf, or for their own agenda."
"So, what now?" said Agent Wednesday Addams. "Do we attempt to enter Storybrooke? Try to contact this Regina Mills, find out what she wants, why she's here?"
"And while we are at it," added her brother Pugsley, "find out what happened to Kurt Flynn?"
"For now," said Director DeMarigny, "the White Council still wants us to keep Storybrooke under observation, and keep any of Our Kind at least three hundred miles away to lessen the chance that they can detect our presence."
"You know," said Agent Spellman. "Just a thought. Do you think we should ask Endora if she might know who Regina Mills could be? She has been to the Enchanted Realms more than anyone else I know of, including Stephen Strange. Maybe this Cora, Queen of Hearts might know something. Endora mentioned that she has a daughter named Regina. I wonder if Cora's daughter Regina and Regina Mills are one in the same?"
Director DeMarigny shook his head. "For now I think that we should play as much as we can close to the vest. Endora might be able to shed more light on Storybrooke if we bring her fully into the loop. But on the other hand, Regina is a fairly common name in the Enchanted Realms. If we bring this up with Endora, we could be giving away too much information that could lead to a panic, or worse, the exposure of our world.
"So, now the big problem is: what do we say for today's press release? Anyone?"
Hadji's brother Johnathan said, "I think that we can safely announce that what came through from the Enchanted Realms has been transfigured – that is the correct term, I hope - to take the form of a typical, Eastern Seaboard town called "Storybrooke." And that there are no signs of any overt, immediate magical threats to this world's wizards and witches in general and the American and Canadian wizarding community in particular."
Hadji added, "But there is still much that we don't know. Why they are here, for starters. Why there is a time-loop spell in effect, among other things. And because of this, we still need to proceed with caution. No matter how careful we are, the moment that we so much as attempt to actively probe the spells surrounding Storybrooke, we run the risk of letting them know that We are here, too.
"Maybe this is the beachhead of a hostile invasion, in which case, the rest of the world will need to know – not just mutants and meta-humans – but all muggles. Or, for all we know, they could be exiles or refugees, though the time-loop part of the curse probably argues against that.
"But regardless, whoever they are, once they know that we are on to them, that revelation can never be "taken back," as it were. If nothing else, they may be able to blackmail us by threatening to expose the existence of Our World to this world's muggles. And I think that we can all agree that that must not happen." Hadji glanced over to Johnathan, and said, "No offense meant, Bro."
"None taken," replied Johnathan. "Given all the anti-witch hysteria in our world's history, I would not want to see my brother in any jeopardy, if it can be avoided." The Quest siblings smiled and fist-bumped each other.
Director DeMarigny nodded. "We will still need to keep Wizards and Witches out of Maine until we know more. This means that, until further notice, Maine - and even some parts of New Hampshire and Vermont - will be effectively a Land Without Magic for the foreseeable future.
"My counterpart in the Canadian Ministry of Magic has told me that Canadian magic users who had to be evacuated on the evening of October 22nd from the boarder with Maine will not be moving back anytime soon, either. Fortunately for them, only about a dozen families total in Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia were affected.
"In addition, we should advise all magic users should avoid traveling over the Incursion area in aircraft, or near it on ships in the Gulf of Maine and the Bay of Fundy."
Hadji sighed. "Forced off and out of our own land." The Techno-mage shook his head. The FBS had to relocate over three hundred people from Collinsport alone.
"Yes," said Director DeMarigny. "Unfortunately, mainly due to Collinsport, we were not so lucky. What's the latest report on how the evacuees are coping?"
"Well," said Wednesday Addams, "no physical casualties were reported. There were a few arrests when some Wizards and Witches tried to cross the No Magic Line. But these were not Death Eaters looking to make contact with "The Arrival," or even an ad hoc wizarding militia trying to "fight back." They were mainly people without immediate muggle family trying to recover what possessions that they could."
Everyone at the conference table nodded sympathetically. The American Wizengamot would have to punish these few dozen individuals, but had promised to take "everything" into account when administering justice.
Pugsley Addams added, "Our family is setting up a group of muggle movers to clean out the houses of wizards and witches who had to evacuate, at no expense to the evacuees. These are muggles who are not necessarily movers by profession, but muggles who already know about our world, and can be trusted to be . . . discrete and careful.
"But it is taking time. We have to train them to be aware of handling objects that might be enchanted, or possibly even cursed. These items could not only be dangerous to those trying to retrieve them, but if the magic is discharged, could also let this Regina Mills know that there is magic here.
"As an example, the Jordan family's father had his potions and broom making lab in a workshop in his basement. His muggle wife was able to bring back a lot of their things when she was in Collinsport recently, but the potions and broom making shop had to be left behind because she had no way to safely transport them."
"Speaking of the Jordans," added Wednesday in a slightly lighter tone, "I am happy to report that they seem to be settling into their new home in the apartment complex on the other side of the Bureau's campus. I have been keeping in touch with young Jennifer, and she says that she and her family are starting to adjust to their "new normal" life.
"Jennifer has reconnected with many of her old friends from Collinsport, and has made lots of new friends, here. Her little brother is doing well at the Bureau's on-site daycare where their mom is working now. And her father is adjusting well to his new task in the Bureau's Broom and Carpet Pool.
"However, Jennifer still feels bad about what happened to Owen Flynn. We offered her a selected memory modification, but she and her family decided against this. They want to remember their part in how we lost Owen."
Hadji nodded. "It can be too easy for us – wizards and witches – sometimes; a magical cure for anything that ails us, physically or emotionally.
"But as the old saying goes, "All magic comes with a price." And Jennifer evidently thinks that the price of not remembering would be higher than the price of dealing with her feelings directly."
Wednesday said, "Jennifer told me that she hopes to meet Owen again one day so both may have closure; something that would not be possible if Jennifer were magically induced to forget."
"Will that even be possible?" said Agent Garwin, speaking for the first time. "If Owen has joined the Home Office, he's as likely to try and kill Jennifer instead of talking with her if they ever meet again. In the past few days that he has been with them, Owen probably hates everything to do with magic, by now."
"Maybe we should have told Owen that we are not able to rescue his father, now," said Agent Spellman. "That it is just too dangerous for everyone involved."
"That would have been too risky," said Director DeMarigny. "If Owen decided to refuse to help us unless we promised to rescue his father immediately, we would have been back to Square One. And more to the point, it was our intention to rescue Owen's dad all along."
"But that," pointed out Agent Wednesday Addams, "is exactly what the Home Office people promised to Owen. And in the end, he accepted their help, instead of ours."
"As we said before," said Hadji. "We really need to review our protocols; especially now that our lives have just gotten a lot more complicated."
The room was silent for several minutes before Director DeMarigny said, "So, if nobody has anything more to add, I guess I had better go face the music in the pressroom . . . ."
In Ottery St. Catchpole, Xenophilius and Pandora Lovegood put their little daughter, Luna, down for bedtime. Xeno still looked bitter over the events of the past few days, wishing that there was some magical way to wipe the smarmy look that Lucius Malfoy had on his face as he watched Xeno and Dori make the Unbreakable Vow to keep the involvement of the Malfoys and the Carrows out of the Wizarding Press.
But as bitter as Xeno looked, Dori looked . . . thoughtful. This Unbreakable Vow was forced on us. That isn't right. We were silenced against our will and our conscience.
But what was the Unbreakable Vow but a legal contract; albeit a magically-binding one? And all legal contracts have gaps and loopholes that may be potentially exploited. Dori smiled as she watched little Luna sleeping soundly. It would take a lot of time to figure out; a lot of research and some experimenting. But Dori was confident that she could eventually find a way . . . .
In her bedroom at the Mayor's Mansion at 108 Mifflin Street, The Evil Queen of the Enchanted Forest, now known as Mayor Regina Mills of Storybrooke, Maine woke up the same way that she had for the past four weeks, in a room that was her own, and yet, was not.
Thanks to the knowledge implanted by The Dark Curse, Regina knew to touch the small switch on the wall to make the lights come on (no different that waving her hand and making the torches light, really.) She went over to the garderobe – no, the bathroom – and turned on the faucet for a mixture of hot and cold running water. Now, that still made her nod slightly in wonder, as did the sudden rush of warm air from the grate at the base of the wall.
She then treated herself to a shower, absentmindedly singing "Shadows of the Night" by a native singer named Pat Benatar as she showered; a song and a singer that she knew about also thanks to The Dark Curse. Though Pat Benatar was not exactly a minstrel singing to the accompaniment of a lute, Regina found the native singer's music to be as invigorating as the shower.
She then dressed, selecting a simple, gray business dress, from her closet. It was strange getting dressed by herself, without ladies-in-waiting to assist her. But this world's clothes were foolsimple to put on.
Regina went downstairs to the kitchen. There was food in the pantry and the refrigerator, and thanks to The Dark Curse, she knew how to prepare it. She knew how to use the stove and the gas range and even the microwave oven. But, as often as not, she decided to go to the local inn called Granny's Diner for her favorite breakfast of apple pancakes and a hot cup of coffee (a drink that, after her second morning here in this world, she wondered what she had done without it.) And not just the coffee; the water in this world could be drunk ice-cold safely without fear of dysentery. As a girl growing up, Regina had drunk light ale and wine to assuage her thirst.
Regina shook her head in wonder. And I thought to send everyone someplace horrible . . . .
It had been one thing if she had been the only one to enjoy the blessings of this world's, what was it called, "technology?" But here in this world, even the poorest peasant could enjoy these blessings! Even that blasted Snow White lived in a place with central heating and running water! Something that even my Royal Palace lacked!
Regina thought of using her carriage, which thanks to The Dark Curse, was now something called a Mercedes Benz 560SL. Also thanks to The Curse, she knew how to drive it. But instead, she decided to walk to Granny's Diner.
Regina checked the clock. She knew the drill. If she left now, she would be bid good morning by that blasted Cricket walking his mangy mutt. She would see that wolf-girl get told-off by her grandmother for her slatternly ways. But most of all, she could tell-off Snow White when they almost collide on the street. That last part, especially, never got old for Regina; to start her day with Snow White begging her for forgiveness.
And after doing those things, and more, Regina sat at HER stool at the diner, where the wolf-girl brought her coffee and the grandmother brought her apple pancakes.
But when it was time to leave, Regina reached into her purse to pay for the meal, and as she reached for her wallet, her fingers brushed the red and green keychain lanyard that the native boy had given to her on her first morning in this strange, New World.
And Regina, The Evil Queen who had put entire villages to sword and torch in her past life, who had ripped-out the hearts of hundreds, if not thousands, quickly left the diner for her office at the Town Hall.
And once safely inside, she closed her office doors and began to sob uncontrollably, wondering if she had achieved her vengeance, or if she had actually made a most terrible mistake . . . .
Almost fourteen years after she and her family had to abruptly leave their home in Collinsport, Maine, Jennifer Martindale decided to take a little side trip from the Shmoo Preserve in Creve Coeur, Missouri, before going to the home of the Stephens and the Cattermole families in rural Bonne Terre, to make her delivery.
Not that she had originally planned it that way. In truth, she had not thought of the old house that she and her family and the Lovegoods had lived in for less than a week in University City, Missouri, too much in all those years. But now that she actually found herself within driving distance . . . .
At first, Jenny tried to put the old Brownstone in U-City out of her mind as soon as she thought of it. But Jenny also knew that if she did not take a quick look while she was in town, that she would probably kick herself later for not taking a drive through the neighborhood (though she did not think of it in terms of, "the old neighborhood,") when she had the chance. If nothing else, it was where she and Corey actually made their relationship "official" those many years ago, back when they had been kids.
Jenny took a quick glance to the coolers in the back seat of her 1953 Studebaker Starlight Coup that she and Corey got from her parents as a wedding present. The milk, eggs, and butter from the Shmoo Preserve was safe from spoiling in the coolers, which had been enchanted to keep their contents colder for longer than even muggle dry ice could do, and she was not expected at the Stephens / Cattermole home for several more hours.
Jenny decided to take a quick look at Stonewall Elementary School, first. She had only been there for a few days back in fifth grade, but as far as she could tell, for the most part, it looked the same as she remembered it. And Jenny had to admit that it wasn't all bad. She liked her teacher, Miss Sherman, and a girl in her class named Tonya. Of course, there were also the three Junior Divas and that bully Chris and his friends that drove her crazy. But, unlike them, she wondered how Tonya was doing, from time to time.
For a brief moment, Jenny considered going inside for a look around. If she could get a visitor's pass, it might be neat to see if Miss Sherman still taught Fifth Grade and if Mr. Burr was still the Principal. As Jenny started to look for a parking space, she felt a bit of a chill as she saw kids in the playground. But what really creeped her out was the sight of a group of kids – all carrying rolled-up towels - being led across the street to the high school for swimming lessons.
Jenny decided to go to the old house used by her family for less than a week after they had left the Displaced Wizards' Center. From the outside, it looked the way she remembered. But this time, she had absolutely no thoughts of getting out of the car, even to check out the back yard where she had gotten jinxed by Kale Sanderson. And if Harry Dresden had not come by when he had, the Sanderson boy would have surely broken Corey's arm.
Jenny smiled at the thought of Harry Dresden. She remembered reading something about him in The Towne Scryer not long ago, and about how he was now taking on bigger and badder threats than the Sanderson punk (who probably was still a punk, now that she thought about it.)
Jenny then drove down to the end of the block, to the group of stores where she and Owen were taken by those two faux-S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Only the Kosher Deli and Bakery and the Laundromat remained. The Hobby Shop was now a GameStop, and model planes, cars and tanks now gave way to gaming hardware and software. The other stores had been repurposed, too. The grocery store where she intended to call the FBS for help was now a specialty store, and the ice cream shop now sold frozen yogurt.
From there, it was on to Stacey Park, where Owen had gone with the Home Office and she and Agent Wednesday Addams had been blasted with squid-ink. That made Jenny smile again. She had been right. By talking frankly with the magical news media and answering all questions that her classmates at Randolph Carter had for her, she prevented the "bad guys" (especially those stuck-up Malfoys,) from using it against her. But her smile quickly dissolved into a neutral expression when she realized that her mom had also been right, and that it could have just as easily gone the other way. But this time, Jenny reminded herself, the good guys won . . . .
Her impromptu tour over, Jenny got onto Highway 270, and from there, to Highway 55 and straight towards Bonne Terre to make her delivery. (And in addition to the milk, eggs and butter in the coolers, there were several boxes of pasta, bread, rice and vegetables that had been donated by various wizarding organizations; most notably the one set up by the Addams Family.) Things were going from bad to worse for a lot of Wizarding families due to what many are now calling "The Second Wizarding War."
YKW was back, and the situation in the UK and Europe had deteriorated pretty quickly ever since the UK's Ministry of Magic fell, and Pius Thickness became Minister. But when MACUSA refused to recognize him as such, and continued to demand to speak with Kingsley Shacklebolt, the MoM then ordered that all American accounts at Gringotts be frozen in response.
And because Adam and Janelle Stephens' livelihood involved importing and exporting magical items from the UK, their business took a severe turn for the worst. Unfortunately for them, they had placed a large order in anticipation of trouble just before the Ministry fell, leaving them without their money or the consignment that they had bought and paid for.
As for the Cattermole family, they had been granted asylum in the US because Mary-Elizabeth, the wife of Reginald and the mother of Maisie, Ellie and Alfred, was muggle born. Even more bizarrely, Mrs. Cattermole was wanted on charges of "theft of magic," and even now some lady named Umbridge was demanding that they be extradited back to the UK.
But there was nothing that Jenny could do about that. For now, both families were hurting. And it was Jenny's job to help them as best as she could. But as Jenny turned from I-55 onto I-64, she reflected that the families needed more than food assistance. The Cattermoles had three children, aged 10 and younger. And while the younger two, (an eight year old girl and a six year old boy,) undoubtedly saw their American Adventure as something new, their ten year old, Maisie (the same name as Jenny's favorite aunt!) was not making the adjustment quite as well. She understood all too well why her family had to abruptly leave behind everything they knew and loved at a moment's notice with barely the clothes on their back.
According to Reginald and Mary Elizabeth Cattermole, Maisie had been sullen and distant ever since their arrival in the States. And despite the best efforts of the Stephens' ten year old son Matt to reach out to her, Maisie remained moody and aloof.
Jenny intended to have a girl-to-girl talk with Maisie Cattermole the moment she got there.
And for better or for worse, Jenny could understand the way that Maisie felt all too well . . . .
The End
Author's Acknowledgements and Afterthoughts
A little over a year and 115,000 + words later, this story is finally completed.
From the start, this story was something of an experiment for me. I started it with only a vague idea of how it would end, and posted it one or two chapters at a time. It was also my first attempt to create Original Characters. And while I am satisfied with the results overall, there are plenty of ideas that I wish I had included, some things that I wish that I had done differently, and plenty of inadvertent spelling errors that escaped both spellcheck and several read-overs.
During the time I was writing, I had to redo several chapters and scenes. But it was the announcement of the upcoming 2016 "Harry Potter" prequel movie, "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," that gave me the most concern.
Up until now, the idea of "America in the Potterverse" was somewhat open to speculation. I knew that I could not just make stuff up as I went along. But lacking information from J. K. Rowling's canon, I based a lot of my ideas of an American Wizarding Community from classic "supernatural" television shows like "The Munsters," "The Addams Family," "Bewitched," and the various iterations of "Sabrina the Teenage Witch."
From these shows, I basically inferred that American wizards and witches lived more openly among muggles to a greater degree than their UK and European counterparts. That they were more likely to marry muggles than wizards and witches elsewhere, and that they were more likely to use "wandless" magic. I also thought that Native American magic would have a special place of importance.
But other than the parts about "Native American" and "wandless magic," I couldn't have been more wrong. According to the recently published "History of Magic in North America" written by J.K.R. herself, the situation was actually pretty much the reverse of what I had speculated, with American Magic Users being more separate from their muggle (er, I mean, "no-maj,") counterparts due to "Rappaport's Laws" than Wizards and Witches elsewhere had been.
At the time I began writing ALWOM, I had been making every effort to keep within the established canon of every fandom that I used. The only 'concession' that I made was to make all "interface points" between franchises "Harry Potter-based;" for example, having the magic users from "Bewitched" saying "muggle" instead of "mortal." But I never saw "no-maj" coming. Also, I had my American Wizards using Galleons instead of Dragots for money.
I'm also willing to bet that JKR's American Wizards and Witches are not "car-crazy," either.
Even though I was able to work-in references to the Magical Congress of the United States of America (MACUSA,) Ilvermorny School, and relegate my own idea of the United States Federal Bureau of Sorcery to a strictly Law Enforcement Agency (thanks to the help of Argonaut57 – more on that later,)
I have no choice now but to reluctantly declare this project (as well as other stories that I have written and stories still in the works,) to be "Alternate Universe Harry Potter Fanfictions."
From the moment that I first saw "Once Upon A Time," a crossover with "Harry Potter" seemed like a good match, and when I saw some fan art online depicting a witches' duel between Bellatrix Lestrange and Regina Mills in her Evil Queen persona, I knew that I had to write something that combined the two storyverses.
I did not want to go the Bellatrix vs. Regina route; that has already been done in fanfiction. (Just check out "The Queen at Hogwarts" by EmmaCD092900, on this site for one fun example.) But one idea intrigued me more than any other: Assuming that "Our World" was home to a large, secret community of magic users as shown in "Harry Potter;" exactly how would they react to the sudden appearance of Storybrooke on the coast of Maine the evening of October 22, 1983?
I immediately imagined that there would be pandemonium, (if not outright panic,) at such a large magical invasion of "Our World." For the Wizarding World in general, and the American and Canadian Wizarding Communities in particular, I imagined that this could be their equivalent of Pearl Harbor, Hurricane Katrina or even 9/11. And I wondered about the effect of this incursion on average, wizarding families who were immediately affected.
Also, one of my favorite OUAT characters is that of Owen Flynn / Greg Mendell. I had read several sites where Greg Mendell and his "Home Office" partner, Tamara (who had not even been given a last name,) were depicted as villains. But I thought that this was a bit harsh, not to mention wrong. I saw them as basically good people, who were only trying to find out what happened to Greg's dad and were also trying to defend "Our World" from what may fairly be called an alien invasion. Indeed, the first character from "Classic TV" that came to mind to compare Greg and Tamara to was that of David Vincent from the Quinn Martin TV show, "The Invaders." David Vincent even gets a shout-out in passing during his "dumpster conversation" with Jenny. (As a sidebar, there actually is a connection between "The Invaders" and "Once Upon A Time." Just Google Barbara Hershey to find out what it is.)
To be honest, even when Greg and Tamara were torturing Regina to find out what happened to Greg's dad, Kurt Flynn, I found it hard to despise them (and just as hard to cheer for David, Mary-Margaret and Emma when they were trying to rescue Regina.)
For one thing, if anyone from "Our World" had used a Stargate or something to invade the Enchanted Forest, and had killed Regina's dad, Prince Henry, if he refused to cooperate and allow them to set up a strip-mining operation, then would not Regina have been out for vengeance? For that matter, would not the inhabitants of the Enchanted Forest do everything that they could to drive out the otherworldly invaders and their "advanced science?"
As Regina likes to point out, Evil isn't born; it's made.
I am actually hoping that Kitsis and Horowitz bring back Greg and Tamara and even Kurt Flynn in Season 5. I would like to see them have a conversation with Regina about what she did to them, and at least admit that she was in the wrong when she invaded our world and killed Kurt Flynn. Maybe the three of them could actually reach an understanding that would allow Greg, Tamara, and even Kurt Flynn to move on. That can only help Regina's own redemption. The only OUAT character that could possibly object would be Hades . . . .
Regarding my Original Characters, primarily the Jordan and Martindale families, my first concern was to avoid the dreaded "Mary Sue" trap. To do this, I decided early on to "detune" their magical abilities relative to the other magic users from the Potterverse that we all know. There is no way that Ren Jordan could take on Lucius Malfoy in a wand duel, even if Malfoy fought fair. Besides, he had no formal magical education. And while Rachel Martindale is a competent and talented healer, she would not last long in a wand duel against Narcissa Malfoy, much less against Bellatrix Lestrange.
But Ren's daughter Jenny will attend the Randolph Carter School for Witches and Wizards, and become quite an outstanding witch. His son Ricky, who will also be attending RC, will even be able to hold his own against Draco Malfoy when he is about 12 – 14 in a future story that I have planned. (One running gag that I have planned is to have Ricky Jordan not believe Draco Malfoy when he claims to actually "know Harry Potter." Ricky thinks Draco is just "name-dropping" to sound important.)
Finally, this story would not have been possible without the help and support of fellow Fanfiction Hobbyists, Argonaut57, the Marquis-Carabas, and newcomer to the hobby, horacethepig. Both Argonaut57 and horacethepig are from the UK and the Marquis-Carabas is from Scotland. I owe them a lot for helping me "Brit-pick" this and other stories of mine. But all mistakes (such as having Dumbledore saying "math" instead of "maths" in Chapter 24,) are my own.
Also, as previously mentioned, Argonaut57 was especially helpful by discussing ways that I could adapt my story to the new revelations from JKR about America in the Potterverse. Indeed, he even rescued one of my projects (my "Once Upon A Time" / "Lost in Space" crossover, "When Henry Met Penny,") outright when I got "Jossed" Big-Time by revelations in the first half of OUAT Season 5. A BIG PART of WHMP Chapter 7 was his gift to me. Let's just say that it's a good thing for me that "The Doctor" makes house-calls . . . .
I want to thank all of them for taking so much time to help me with my projects. And I highly recommend their stories to all of my readers. To find them, just check out my "Favorites" on this site.
Well, that's pretty much it. I want to thank everyone for following along, and I hope that you liked reading this story as much as I liked writing it. If so (or even if you did not like it,) I would like to know why. Please take a moment, or two, to let me know what you thought about this story. Thank you in advance.