Regina's heart pounded so hard that she was convinced that it was audible to those around her. Either that or the organ was about to burst out of her chest. She barely managed to stop her mouth dropping at the sight that greeted her. As the blonde shuffled closer to the top table, clutching Filch's arm for support, she finally managed to pull herself together enough to spring into action.
Without a word, she rose from her seat in as dignified a manner as she could and swept down the steps of the platform where the staff table stood. She strode across the flagstones to where the pair were standing, having stopped walking as she approached.
"What happened?" She demanded in a low voice, her eyes fixed on the blue orbs staring back at her blankly, all too aware of the prying eyes and ears around them.
"The Aurors at the gate from Hogsmeade found her rambling about needing to see her love." Filch informed her with a disdainful sniff. "They brought her up to the Castle and handed her over to me. Then she started muttering your name, so I thought I'd better see whether you could deal with her."
"So you decided to parade her into the Great Hall in front of everybody?" Regina snapped. "Could you not have simply come to get me?"
"And leave her on her own out there… not likely."
Regina scowled at him for a moment, before she nodded slowly; her eyes still glued to the pale face in front of her. She raised her hands and placed them firmly on the woman's cheeks, forcing her to meet her gaze. They seemed to have a wordless conversation, before the brunette wrapped an arm around the older woman and began to lead her out of the Great Hall.
"Mom!" Henry appeared on the blonde's other side, looking worried. "Can I come with you?"
She looked at him for a moment, before nodding. Together they guided the woman, who had begun to mutter something under her breath, up the grand staircase and through the corridors towards the teachers' wing and Regina's private chambers. Neither of them spoke until they were safely behind the heavy wooden door and the blonde had been settled in the armchair in front of the fireplace. With a flick of her wand the Professor caused flames to lick at the logs piled in the grate and indicated that Henry should pour a glass of Firewhisky. When he brought it to her, she knelt in front of the older woman and laid her hands on her thighs, offering the drink.
"Aunt Mal?" Regina almost whispered, wrapping the blonde's hand around the tumbler and raising her other hand to tuck an errant strand of hair behind the older woman's ear. "Aunt Mal, can you hear me? It's Regina… you're at Hogwarts. You're safe."
"What's wrong with her, Mom?" Henry asked, hovering behind his mother nervously.
"I'm not sure, dear. Maybe you should…"
The boy shook his head and moved forward to kneel beside her. "I'm not going anywhere."
Shooting him a small, grateful smile, Regina turned her attention back to the woman in her chair. "Aunt Mal… Aunt Maleficent…?"
"I must see my rose before it's too late." The blonde mumbled suddenly, attempting to get out of the seat and knocking the tumbler to the ground.
Regina didn't even blink as she cleared up the mess with a flick of her wand. "Aunt Mal… what do you mean before it's too late."
"Something bad is coming… darkness. When evil approaches a pillar will fall."
Henry looked terrified and his mother sighed. Her aunt was a Seer, but not a particularly dependable one. The reliability of her prophecies was incredibly hit or miss and Regina had long ago learnt not to trust anything she said without evidence to support it. Maleficent made Sybil Tralawney look like she knew exactly what she was doing.
"Evil returns."
The addition to Maleficent's omen caused Regina's blood to run cold in her veins. She knew exactly what the blonde Seer was talking about and she was sure that, this time, her aunt wasn't wrong; although she had no idea what the pillar part meant.
Biting her lip the brunette turned, fully intending to send her son back down to the Great Hall. He frowned at her, folding his arms over his chest and signalling that she wasn't getting rid of him so easily.
Reluctantly, Regina turned back to the other woman. "Aunt Mal… where is she?"
"I need to see her!"
"I can't bring her to you if I don't know where she is!" The younger witch tried to reason. "Please, Aunt Mal… tell me!"
"She is at her brother's. They keep her at her brother's."
Nodding slowly, the brunette crossed to the cabinet in the corner and opened the door. She rooted around inside, before pulling out a small crystal vial. Reaching for a glass, Regina poured a couple of drops of clear liquid into the bottom, before topping it up with Firewhisky and returning to her aunt's side. This time Maleficent took a long drink from the glass, before pausing and then draining it completely.
Slowly her eyes closed and she leant back in the chair. Henry caught the glass before it slipped from her grip and Regina sighed with relief as Maleficent's breathing evened out in her sleep.
"What was she talking about?" Henry demanded with a frown.
"Don't worry about it, dear."
"Mom!"
"Henry…" His mother sighed deeply and crossed to the desk on the opposite side of the room.
She scribbled a couple of notes hastily. The first was to Severus, explaining what was going on and where she was going. The second was to Aurora, explaining the blonde's presence in the Castle. The third, which she hesitantly wrote after a couple of moments' contemplation, was to Emma and said almost the same as the note to her best friend.
"Please deliver these to Professor Snape, Professor Rose and Professor Swan."
"Why?"
Regina sighed. "Henry, sweetheart, please?"
"You're going to go somewhere when I take these into the Great Hall, aren't you?"
"I'll walk down with you."
The boy pouted petulantly at her when he realised that she was not intending to answer his question, but he knew better than to ask her again. Henry knew very well that Regina only kept things from him for his own good. By the time they reached the Entrance Hall once more, Henry was relatively cheerful again and didn't complain as his mother pressed a kiss to the top of his head.
"Should I go and keep an eye on Mad Auntie Mal?" Henry asked as Regina pulled her thick cloak tighter around her and prepared to go out into the cold night air.
She shot him a disapproving frown. "Henry. Your Great-Aunt Maleficent is not mad."
"So why does she act all… mad… then?"
With a sigh, the woman bent slightly so that she was looking directly into her son's eyes. She pushed his hair back and smiled. "She had her heart broken when she was young and that… losing the person you love… it can make you do strange things, Henry. Sometimes you do bad things and sometimes you do things that can, well, make you seem a bit crazy. But Aunt Mal isn't mad. And hopefully I'll be able to fix things and she'll stop being so… strange."
"I think I understand." The boy said hesitantly. As Regina straightened up, he turned and walked towards the heavy wooden doors into the Great Hall. "Be careful, Mom. I love you."
"I love you too, sweetheart."
Regina waited until Henry had disappeared through the doors before turning and making her way towards the even bigger, heavier doors that led out of the Castle and into the vast grounds. She placed a hand on the heavy iron handle and was about to turn it when a voice from the shadows almost made her heart leap from her chest.
"Why is she here?"
The brunette spun on her heels and came face to face with the red-haired Astronomy Professor. "If you have been able to reign in your impatience you would now find yourself being presented a note explaining things by my son."
"I want to know, Regina." Aurora snapped, in no mood to be treated like an idiot by the woman in front of her. "What is she doing here?"
"My aunt is here on a private and personal matter, Professor Rose." Regina said with a sniff. "She will not bother you, do not worry."
Aurora ground her teeth, irritated at not getting a straight-forward answer from the brunette. "Just tell me! Where is she and where are you going?"
"Aunt Maleficent is asleep in my chambers and she will remain there until further notice. As for where I am going… well, you would probably prefer not to know, dear."
"You're going to my parents' house, aren't you?" The younger woman asked slowly, understanding dawning on her slowly. "You're going after Aunt Briar."
Regina rolled her eyes at the melodrama of her words. "Going after is a little drastic, dear, but yes, I am going to see your aunt."
"Why?" Aurora breathed. "Why can't you just leave her?"
"Is she happy?"
"Wh-what?" The red-head faltered, not expecting to be asked such a question.
"Is she happy?" Regina repeated her question. She tilted her head slightly as she examined the younger woman's face. "Is Briar happy?"
"Of course!" Aurora blustered, not meeting the brunette's eyes.
Shaking her head and turning away, Regina began to walk down the steps and along the dark path towards the gates that led to Hogsmeade. From there she could Apparate to outside Rose Manor.
"Regina! Wait!" The sound of footsteps crunching on gravel caused the brunette to slow her pace, but she didn't stop until a hand clasped her bicep and pulled her round. "Aunt Briar may not be the life and soul of the party anymore, but she's better off when she was under an enchantment."
"There was no enchantment!" Regina spat, her eyes narrowing dangerously. "Aunt Mal didn't use a love potion or a charm or a curse. They fell in love, Aurora; it was as simple as that."
"Of course she would say that! She's mad!"
The anger in the dark eyes burned even more ferociously. "She is not mad. Not that you'd know anything about it, dear, but losing the person you love can do terrible things to your soul. Some allow darkness in…" Regina subconsciously touched the inside of her left forearm and allowed her eyes to glaze over for a moment. Then she shook her head. "Others, however, embrace the pain and allow it to consume them whole. Aunt Mal chose the latter path. I assure you, her brain is far from addled. She merely allows others to believe she has lost her grip on sanity so they will leave her alone."
Aurora's narrowed eyes dropped to where Regina's fingers were still curled defensively around her forearm. "You would defend her, though; she's your family. You would believe anything she told you."
"Aunt Mal did not tell me her story." The brunette informed the younger woman quietly, the anger fading from her tone at once. "It was my mother and I... I believe that had she been lying to me she would have placed the blame squarely on your aunt's shoulders. The very fact that my mother told me that Mal and Briar were in love is enough to convince me of the truth." Regina watched as comprehension and denial battled for supremacy in Aurora's eyes. Then she sighed. "If you wish to accompany me, I will tell you the story – the real story – on the way."
There was a pause as Aurora considered whether she was being led into a trap. She didn't trust Regina Mills; she never had. Aurora was one of those who were convinced that Regina was working alongside her mad sister Bellatrix and her mother to aid the Dark Lord's return to power. But, as her natural curiosity got the better of her and she was genuinely intrigued to know what tale the woman would spin, the red-head allowed herself to be swept along in Regina's wake as the older woman began the story.
"Aunt Maleficent and Briar were in the same year here at Hogwarts. Obviously Aunt Mal was in Slytherin, like the vast majority of my family, while your aunt was in Hufflepuff." Regina began softly. "Aunt Mal was a great deal younger than her brothers; my grandmother was only twenty-five when she had my father, the youngest of her three sons and Mal wasn't born until Grandmother was forty-three. By the time she was ten, both of my grandparents were dead and Mal was living under the guardianship of my father.
"Mother and Father got married when Aunt Mal was thirteen and so she lived with them and my sisters. She was only six years older than Bella and my father hoped that Mal would become a part of the family. But Mother never liked Mal… I think perhaps she was jealous of her ability to make prophecies, or perhaps it was because Mal was never what my mother called 'a true Slytherin'. She was rather like your friend Jones in that she preferred the company of those from other houses."
"My aunt…" Aurora breathed in understanding.
Regina shot her a look which clearly was intended to remind her that this was the brunette's story to tell. "Indeed. Aunt Mal and Briar became close friends until, sometime during their sixth year something changed and they began to see each other in a different light. Of course, neither of them could say anything to their families; for one thing they were both women and for another Mal was part of one of the darkest families around and Briar was not.
"While at school they were able to keep their relationship a secret and then, when they left Hogwarts, Mal went to live with her middle brother, Regulus. Uncle Regulus was almost twenty years older than his sister and had next to no interest in what she was doing, so Mal and Briar were able to continue their affair for another two years.
"Then… then somehow my mother found out. When I asked her how, she simply replied that she finds everything out eventually. When Mal and Briar realised that Mother knew, they ran away together. They managed to stay hidden for almost three months, but then Mother tracked them down; it is rather a talent of hers. Needless to say they were both returned to their homes where they could have a close eye kept on them to ensure they were kept apart. They were lucky mother didn't simply murder them where they stood…"
When Regina reached the end of the tale, they were standing at the gates that led out of the Castle grounds and towards Hogsmeade. With a nod at the Auror standing guard, the two women waited for the defences to be lifted and the gates opened, before stepping through and heading towards the village.
"They've been forcibly kept apart for almost forty years." Regina pointed out sadly. "Imagine how that must feel…"
"What's your plan?" Aurora asked after a couple of moment's silent contemplation. When she turned to look at the older woman, her eyes were hard and determined. "You must have a plan of some sort? I doubt you were just intending to turn up on my parents' doorstep and demand to see Aunt Briar."
Regina rolled her eyes. "Of course I had a plan, dear."
"You'd better tell me what it is, then, because I'm coming with you."
"Really?"
"Really." The red-head nodded firmly. "I love my aunt and I want her to be happy. If she truly loves Maleficent then I will do whatever I can to reunite them."
A spark of newfound respect for the younger woman rose up in Regina and she nodded slowly, a small smile twisting at the corners of her lips. "I had been planning to transform myself into you and do exactly what you assumed I would not do. But, seeing as you wish to aide me in this… quest… I shall have to re-evaluate our course of action."
"You can do that?" Aurora asked, impressed.
Regina drew her wand and waved it over herself. At once the red-head found herself staring back at an exact replica of herself. She gasped, covering her mouth and looking at her double carefully. A moment later, the brunette witch was back, smirking triumphantly.
"My mother is incredibly skilled at Human Transfiguration. I perfected the ability when I was at school so as to level the playing field a little. Although, with Mother the playing field is never completely levelled…"
Sensing the woman was about to fall to brooding, Aurora cleared her throat. "Perhaps you could take on the form of Mary Margaret? She often visits my parents' house with me? Or my younger sister, Ella?"
"I think perhaps Professor Nolan would be a better choice. I am more familiar with her appearance and less likely to be detected." Regina considered the options. The idea of taking on the softly-spoken woman's image was far from appealing to her, but she had very little choice in the matter if she was to help her aunt.
With another wave of her wand Regina vanished and was replaced by Mary Margaret. She scowled, the expression oddly foreign on the pixie-like features of the paler woman, as she raised a hand and took in her newly cropped hair and the clothes that Mary Margaret preferred to wear. Seeing the expression of wonder on Aurora's face, Regina smiled broadly, imitating the smile of the woman whose body she was inhabiting perfectly.
"Merlin's beard, that's amazing…" Aurora breathed.
"You'd better not act so surprised when we get to your parents' house, dear." Regina advised in Mary Margaret's voice.
"No. No, of course not." Aurora agreed, pulling herself together quickly. She held out her hand, which Regina unwillingly took, before Apparating to outside her parents' house.
A/N: This chapter might seem a little out of place, but all will become clear, I promise!
Also, I know that Aurora and Briar Rose are the same person, but artistic licence and all that ;)
Thank you for reading/reviewing... I really do appreciate it!
x
