A/N: Hello, everyone! I'd like to say a quick thanks to everyone who has reviewed and added this story to favourites and alerts. Thanks for prompting this chapter also go to Linzerj and Obsessive-Gal. I merged the two suggestions together in this chapter. And to the anonymous reviewer who asked about Regina, hopefully this answers your question.

Witch Hunt

Emma, Henry, Snow and Charming had barely gotten home from the hospital and settled into the apartment, Emma and Henry collapsing into the couch together and Snow and Charming looking on with smiles from the seats at the kitchen counter, when someone knocked on the front door.

James frowned at Snow, wondering who could be calling on them so late, before crossing to the door and pulling it open to reveal Rumplestiltskin of all people.

"Stiltskin!" James exclaimed angrily.

"Good evening," he said calmly, not rising to the prince's anger. "Perhaps I could come in?" When James didn't reply but continued to glare furiously, he added, "Or not."

"What do you want?" James growled.

"The mob is amassing in front of Madame Mayor's house. I thought you might like to join your people-"

Not allowing him to finish, James pushed past the man and stormed out of the house. Jumping up, Snow ran after him.

"James, wait!"

Henry turned to look worriedly at Emma.

"Come on, kid, I think we better go."

Henry nodded frantically and leapt off the couch, racing to the door with Emma and rushing past a gleeful Mr Gold limping down the steps. Emma was so focused on stopping whatever drama had hit the town now that she almost forgot to shut and lock the front door.

She didn't quite believe her eyes when they arrived at Regina's house. Though the lit torches and pitchforks were missing, it looked just like a medieval witch hunt, the whole town seemingly gathered outside and shouting abuse at the woman locked within.

"Come out here and face us!" Leroy shouted.

A cloud of purple smoke appeared and Regina stepped out of it.

"You wanted to see me?" she asked sarcastically, leering at the townspeople.

"You stole my life!" somebody bellowed, raising a fist into the air.

"You witch!" On and on it went, and the entire time she stood watching, Emma was seeking out Mary Margaret and David. She didn't want them to do anything stupid. She was still the Sheriff and if the mob went too far she'd be forced to make some arrests. Finally, she was forced into action, rushing forwards as someone picked up a stone and lobbed it at a window, easily shattering it.

"Give me my daughter back! Give me Grace!" Jefferson cried, rushing forwards and grabbing for Regina's neck only for her to disappear and reappear some two feet away, laughing at the townspeople's inability to do anything serious to her.

"I must thank you, Rumple. Now that magic's back, I have all my old power."

"Yes, but it's still not enough to overcome me, Dearie!" Mr Gold declared, limping past Emma and Henry without even giving them a cursory glance to come to stand in front of Regina.

"What are you going to do? Is this about Belle, precious Belle?"

From the sneer on her face, it was clear that Regina was enjoying herself.

"Belle?" Emma muttered. "Who's Belle?"

"Rumplestiltskin's true love," Henry answered quietly, staring fearfully at the face-off between his adoptive mother and the man who was quite possibly the worst villain of them all.

Mr Gold grimaced at her, before unleashing magic of his own. "It was you. You took her from me!"

"You old sap," Regina snarled, dodging the black cloud he had sent her way. The stream of magic instead hit one of her precious apple trees, reducing it to ash. Maddened, Regina retaliated with more of her own magic, setting Mr Gold's suit jacket on fire when he couldn't avoid the spell in time with his bad leg.

As quick as he could, Mr Gold shucked off the jacket and threw it on the ground, allowing it to burn.

"Stop this before someone gets hurt!" Emma called from a distance, unwilling to step into the line of fire.

"This doesn't concern you, Miss Swan!" Mr Gold shouted. "She locked away my Belle! And she's going to pay for it."

"Rumplestiltskin!" a young girl shouted, stepping through the crowd. "Stop this!"

"Belle-" he began before being cut off by the girl herself.

"-No, you have to stop. You can't let the monster overtake you…" Crossing to him, she rubbed her hands over his shoulders. "I'm right here. I'm fine, I promise."

"Belle?"

"Yes, my love," she answered, before pressing her lips to his.

"There's something nobody wanted to see," Emma muttered, averting her eyes and using the moment to make sure that Henry was still with her. She did her best to give him a reassuring smile.

"So that's Belle, huh?"

Henry nodded.

"Well, she's brave."

Henry nodded again. "You have to read the story to know the full extent of her courage."

"Later, I swear-" she told him before pausing as David rushed through the crowd with Mary Margaret hanging onto his arm and trying desperately to pull him back.

"You!" he exclaimed, reaching to his hip for the sword that wasn't there. Emma felt ever so slightly guilty upon remembering she had left it in the library basement. "You!" he repeated, apparently so enraged that he could barely speak.

"Yes, Charming?"

"You ripped our family apart! You separated us for twenty eight years! My daughter! She grew up without a family and it's all your fault!"

"Oh, boo hoo! I lost my true love and it's all her fault!" Regina responded, pointing at Mary Margaret.

"What? What did Mary Margaret do?"

"I've told you I'm sorry, Regina. I was just a child. I thought I was helping you. I didn't know, I swear. I never would have told your mother about Daniel had I known what she would do."

David clasped his wife's hand, the two of them finally standing together against Regina.

"You ruined our lives – everyone's lives – and we won't stand for it," David finally said.

"Stop arguing!" Henry shouted, running forwards as Regina readied her hands for a spell.

Before Emma could move, Regina had sent the spell she'd been aiming at Snow onto Henry, lifting him into the air.

A strangled cry came from Henry's throat.

"Put him down!" Emma and Mary Margaret shouted at the same town, the rest of the townsfolk echoing their indignant cries.

"I may have lost Daniel but I won't lose Henry too."

"He's not yours to lose," David asserted, starting forwards to help his grandson.

"Put me down! Put me down!" Henry yelled, his eyes closed in fear.

Regina released Henry, but the instant his feet touched the ground; he ran to Emma and practically jumped into her awaiting arms.

"Henry?" Regina asked, looking heart-broken at his rejection. Feeling the citizens of Storybrooke staring at her, Regina turned and disappeared in another cloud of purple smoke.

"I think you should all return to your homes," David advised after crossing to his daughter and grandson and enveloping them in an awkward group hug that Mary Margaret quickly joined.

"What do we do now? Where's the Enchanted Forest gone?" Mr Clark said thickly.

"We'll figure it out, Sneezy," Mary Margaret promised. "For now, perhaps it's best to resume our Storybrooke lives."

Reluctantly, one by one the townspeople left until it was just Emma, Henry, David and Mary Margaret stood outside the big white house. Looking worriedly over her shoulder at the house, Mary Margaret was the last to begin walking back to her small apartment, following after the others, sure that their confrontation with her stepmother wasn't over.

Reunion (Chapter 2) – Same day as the breaking of the curse

Witch Hunt (Chapter 12) – Same Day as the breaking of the curse

Parents together (Chapter 6) – 1 day later

Wooden Man (Chapter 8) – 2 days later

The Big Bad Wolf (Chapter 4) – 2 days later

Jiminy Cricket chapter (Chapter 13) – 4 days later

Up Goes the Beanstalk (Chapter 7) – 1 week later

Hiking trip (Chapter 9) – 1 and ½ weeks later

Huntsman (Chapter 3) – 2 weeks later

Storming (Chapter 1) – 1 month later

Dance with Somebody (Chapter 11) – 1 month later

Dreaming (Chapter 5) – 5 weeks later

A Fairy Mystery (Chapter 10) – 5 weeks later

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'd love to hear any thoughts you may have so please leave a review!

Thanks for reading!

Much love, SabreDae

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