A/N: Next chapter guys. This one's a nice fluffy one, which was much needed after all the drama of the last few.

FYI I'm a big Harry Potter fan so this chapter's inclusion was inevitable. Even more so in light of the sad passing of the amazing Alan Rickman. (RIP)

Thanks again reading and your support.

Hope you enjoy!

After a week of being observed, tested and starting her physiotherapy programme, Emma was given the all-clear and allowed to return home. Her memories of the night of the accident still hadn't returned to her. But considering she was drunk enough to get knocked down in the first place, she wasn't entirely sure whether that was alcohol related or traumatic memory loss - possibly a mixture both.

Henry was in school, and Paul was at work, so Regina had come to the hospital to accompany her home. A short journey later and the pair were in the elevator making their way back to Emma's apartment. Emma was propped up by a crutch and Regina carried a small case which contained the blonde's items from the hospital. As the elevator began its ascent, they continued their conversation from the taxi ride.

"I can't believe you don't even have a cell phone. How do you function?" Emma asked an immaculately dressed Regina, who looked like she was about to attend a work conference in her grey blazer and pencil skirt.

"I have managed perfectly well without one up to now. I don't foresee that changing."

"How about a computer? Or a tablet or something?" Emma hadn't realised there were people out there who still didn't use modern technology. Well, except for some elderly people and the Amish. Perhaps some hipsters who only believed in using pen and paper to communicate if that was a thing. Or maybe those steampunk types with the goggles and the leather, or was that just a clothing choice? What was her point again? Oh yes, there were people who didn't use cell phones; but Regina didn't strike her as one of them. In her outfit, you would have presumed she'd have a blackberry attached to her ear at all times.

"A tablet- as in paracetamol? I have found them to be useful I suppose." Regina said to a distracted Emma. "They are certainly more convenient for a headache than making your own herbal remedy."

"Huh? What? No…" Emma decided to gloss over the paracetamol comment. That was a whole other conversation, and her brain had just recovered from a traumatic event. There was only so much randomness she could handle at a time. "You know, like an iPad?" At the brunettes blank expression, Emma gave up on mimicking using one of the devices; she obviously wasn't grasping the concept. "Never mind, I'll show you later."

The elevator doors opening on the third floor brought the line of conversation to an end. The pair walked, or hobbled in Emma's case, down the hall until they arrived at the door marked 311.

Emma dreaded to think what sort of state her apartment would be in when she returned. Henry had a habit of leaving his stuff all over the place, and she couldn't imagine Paul being much of a disciplinarian. Or much of a cleaner for that matter. She braced herself for the pile of empty takeaway boxes, haphazardly discarded laundry and numerous comic books she fully anticipated to see on the other side of the door. However, she was pleasantly surprised to find not an item out of place. The only changes were the strings of fairy lights hanging in the window and a few other Christmas decorations placed around the room. Emma smiled happily as she took in the sight, this was unexpected. The sense of bliss soon morphed into a slack jaw as a realisation dawned upon her.

"What's wrong?" Regina asked upon observing the sudden change in Emma's demeanour.

"Shit, shit, shit… stupid bloody coma." Emma began to rant to herself, attempting but failing to pace around the room. Regina looked on nonplussed as the blonde continued her rambling. "I had totally forgotten about it with everything that's happened. How the hell am I going to get everything in time? Frigging shitty bollocky coma."

"How poetic, Miss Swan. You have quite the command of the English language," Regina said sarcastically. "Now, how about you try and speak a sentence without a profanity in it, which informs me of the problem. Or is that too difficult of a concept for you to grasp?"

Emma gave her an unamused look. She knew that wasn't the most eloquent speaker, but not everyone spoke like Regina, who often sounded like she'd stepped straight out of a period drama. Emma huffed and slumped onto her sofa, holding her head in her hands. "Christmas," was all she had to say.

"What about it?" Regina couldn't escape the tradition of this land. In the past weeks, there had been Christmas music playing incessantly in every store, and a plethora of decorations and other festive paraphernalia everywhere she went. From her understanding, it was supposed to be a religious festival. But unless it involved worshipping the obese, bearded man in a red suit, Regina couldn't fathom what the origin of the occasion was.

"There are less than two weeks until Christmas Day, and I have zero presents for Henry or anyone else. I have no idea how I'm supposed to get them when I can barely walk without my crutch. We don't have a tree and I haven't ordered a turkey for dinner…" Emma let out a sigh and closed her eyes to try and block out the overwhelming situation. "Arghh, it's making my head hurt just thinking about how much I need to do."

"Perhaps I can help," Regina suggested. "If you give me a list of what you require. I will arrange for it to be delivered to you this week." She would be having her weekly visit to her personal shopper the following day. So Regina would be able to acquire whatever Emma needed fairly easily.

"No, I couldn't ask you to do that. I'll manage, but thanks anyway."

"It wouldn't be a problem, Miss Swan. If it's for Henry, I would only be too happy to help."

"Yeah, right, for Henry."

xxxxxxx

When the weekend arrived, Emma and Henry decided to spend it in their pyjamas eating junk food, decorating their Christmas tree and having a movie marathon. Henry's soccer practice had taken a break for the holidays and Emma hadn't yet returned to work. So, they could just relax and spend some much needed time together.

"Okay, Kid. Star Wars or Harry Potter?" Emma asked her son who was making their popcorn ready for their breakfast showing of the first film of the day. "Your choice."

"Ooh, that's a tough one….Star Wars" Emma went to get the DVD's ready before a shout came from behind her. "No, wait, Harry Potter. Definitely Harry Potter," Henry said with a serious expression.

Emma smirked as she stood with her arms folded over her comfortable flannel pyjamas. "Are you sure, Kid? It's important you get this right; there's a lot resting on this decision."

Henry thought about it for a few seconds, mentally weighing up the options, "Harry Potter- final answer."

The blonde nodded her approval "Good choice, Kid. Now you hurry up with the popcorn, and I'll get the film set up."

xxxxxxx

"I'll get it," Henry said as he bounded towards the door. They'd watched the first of the eight film series and were already on their second bowl of popcorn. "Hey, Regina. You wanna come in?" Emma turned from her place on the sofa to see the brunette enter with a white oven dish.

"Hi," Emma said with a smile which was returned by the other woman.

"I've brought you some lasagna," Regina said somewhat awkwardly. "I had plenty to spare, and I thought you may like some."

"We'd love some, thanks. I am not even going to pretend that I was planning on cooking anything today. Unless making popcorn counts."

"It doesn't count, and you haven't even made it, Ma." Henry interrupted the exchange as he hurled himself over the top of the sofa, landing heavily.

"Yeah, well I might have at some point," his Mother replied, nudging him with her foot which gained a laugh from her son.

Looking slightly uncomfortable, as though she was unsure what to do with herself Regina said. "I'll just leave this here for you then." She placed the dish on the kitchen counter and shifted in place, looking towards to door ready to make her exit.

"You are welcome to join us" Emma quickly chimed in before the brunette could say anything about leaving. She grabbed the popcorn by the handful and started ramming it in her mouth again. "Unless you have somewhere else to be."

"I wouldn't want to impose on you and Henry's day together."

"If I thought you were going to impose on us, I wouldn't have asked," Emma stated matter of factly after swallowing what she had in her mouth.

The brunette mulled it over and observed the relaxed mother and son who shared matching welcoming smiles. "Well, I have no other plans for the day. So I suppose I could stay," she said with a shrug.

"Nice to see that you're so enthusiastic about it," Emma said sarcastically with an eye roll. Regina responded with an eyebrow raise.

"Regina, you'll need to get changed first," Henry added before she could take a seat. She looked down at her outfit in confusion.

"Yes, you're right Henry," Emma said with pursed lips and a shake of her head as she eyed the woman from head to toe. "This won't do." Regina couldn't comprehend what was wrong with her clothing. She wore a dark grey silk shirt and black pants with heels. It was more than acceptable attire.

"I'm sorry, but I don't understand why there's a problem with what I'm wearing."

The mother and son on the sofa were doing their best to suppress the giggles that were trying to escape. Pulling herself together, Emma came up with an idea. "Let me get you something more suitable- follow me," She said, getting up and limping to her bedroom.

She rummaged through her wardrobe and drawers until she found what she was looking for. "Here, put these on," Emma said as she threw the clothing at the horrified woman, trying to hold back a grin.

"Miss Swan, this is entirely inappropriate. I am not going to wear these…these…" Emma folded her arms and leant casually against her chest of drawers with a smirk on her face.

"Clothes, I think the word you're looking for is clothes, Regina."

"I am wearing clothes."The brunette stated, gesturing to her perfectly nice outfit. She held the items in her hands at arms length with a look of disgust on her face. "These are rags at best."

"Hey, I love that hoodie. You should feel honoured I'm allowing you the wear it," the blonde said in mock offence. "Look, it's either those or a tank top and boxers. Your pick." Emma shrugged her shoulders. If Regina was going to binge watch movies with the Swan's she would have to dress the part- no exceptions. Begrudgingly, Regina began to unbutton her shirt. Emma, who hadn't realised she was staring, was brought back to reality by the clearing of a throat.

"Miss Swan," the brunette said as she raised an eyebrow. Emma looked dumbstruck for a moment, not quite grasping what the issue was. The other woman tilted her head toward the door the help clarify.

"Oh right, sorry, I'll just…" she pointed with her thumb toward the exit and excused herself to allow the other woman to change into the hoodie and leggings. Seriously Swan, get a fucking grip. The blonde berated herself as she shook her head to get rid of the images from her mind of the other woman in varying degrees of undress.

xxxxxxx

"Have you seen Harry Potter before, Regina?" Henry asked the brunette, who shook her head. She was now sat on the sofa with Henry while Emma lounged across an armchair with a bowl of popcorn resting on her stomach. "Read the books?"

"I'm afraid I haven't heard of him."

"Wow, you must be like the only person in the world who hasn't heard of Harry Potter," Henry said in astonishment.

"I think that's an exaggeration, Henry," Regina replied, although who was she to say? Perhaps she was for all she knew.

"Maybe not the world, but definitely the only person in America- that's a fact," the boy said with certainty.

Emma bit her lip, trying not to laugh. "Yup, I just googled it. According to Wikipedia, every other person in America has heard of Harry Potter. So, it's pretty much official." She said as she pretended to type on her phone."As everyone knows- if Wikipedia says it, then it must be true." The brunette looked between mother and son trying to decipher the seriousness of what they were saying. Henry's expression was one of 'I told you so'. Emma however, grinned and gave her a wink. She took it as a sign that this was all in jest. She could play along with it.

"If that's the case then you will have to inform me of everything there is to know."

"Don't worry, I've read all the books, and seen the films at least twice," Henry said with pride. "I'm pretty much an expert."

Before they were allowed to watch the next film, Henry gave Regina a thorough recount of the first one and some background knowledge of the magical world of Harry Potter. Regina listened, amused at the boy's excitement and animated telling of the story. Once he was finished and made sure that Regina was sufficiently knowable on the story so far, the three began watching the movie.

"They need to use wands to produce magic?" Regina asked as she watched the child wizards cast spells. Henry nodded, eyes still glued to the screen, absentmindedly eating from a bag of candy. "Well, that is highly ineffective. I really don't see the point in them. It would be much more convenient to be able to perform magic without one." She stated with certainty. Being required to use such an object as a vessel for her magic would have been very bothersome and could have quite easily left her vulnerable to attack.

Henry paused the film and looked at her in outrage, "How can you think that? Wands are super cool."

"How could a wizard fight or protect themselves if their wand had been stolen or had broke?" Regina said logically.

"They would buy another one," the boy replied as if it were obvious.

"In the middle of a battle, or while being held captive?"

"They'd steal someone else's. It wouldn't work as well as their own wand, but it would still produce magic." Henry said with a bit less conviction. He was running out of valid arguments.

"Wouldn't the ability to produce a fireball from the palm of the hand be a much more suitable way of defending one's self? And still - super cool - as you put it."

Emma watched on in amusement as the pair debated the logistics of magic. She was pleasantly surprised that the usually serious brunette was getting into such a ridiculous debate with a twelve-year-old in the first place. "She has a point there, Kid. I think I'm with Regina on this one." Emma said with a chuckle.

"Fine, you can have the wand thing," Henry said with a huff as he pouted at his loss of the argument. He couldn't believe his mother hadn't sided with him. "But I won't budge on the epicness of Quidditch." He turned the film back on and ignored the adults amused grins.

They continued to watch in silence for the most part; there was some crunching of potato chips and popcorn, mainly from Emma (Regina had turned down the offer of the snacks- neither food had looked especially appealing). And the occasional comment that was passed; Emma had been particularly impressed by one of Regina's observations.

"Do you realise that the statue outside Dumbledore's office is a Griffin?"

"Really?" Emma said. The brunette nodded in confirmation. "So, it's literally a griffin door. Wow, that's kinda amazing."

"It is a rather clever play on words." Regina agreed.

"Psshh" the blonde had let out the noise with accompanying hand gestures, "Mind blown." At the sight of two unamused faces, Emma realised her mistake; she had just recovered from a severe head injury. "Too soon?" Tact had never really been one of her strong points.

xxxxxxx

After watching Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and all agreeing with Henry on his stance about Quidditch, they had decided it was time to have some dinner.

"Oh my God, Regina. This is amazing." Emma said as she shovelled more food into her mouth. She was already on her second portion of lasagna, despite having insisted that she wasn't hungry due to the amount of junk food she'd eaten.

"Thank you, Miss Swan. I have been learning how to cook over the past few weeks, and this is one of the few dishes I've managed to produce to an acceptable standard," Regina replied. She felt a small sense of accomplishment upon receiving such praise for her cooking. She found she quite enjoyed the activity, but cooking meals for one didn't bring the same pleasure as seeing others enjoy something she'd produced.

"This is more than acceptable." The blonde said, putting her fork down only long enough to speak. "You know if you ever need a taste tester, I'd be happy to volunteer my services."

"Me too," Henry eagerly chipped in.

"I'll make sure to keep that in mind," Regina replied with a laugh.

The three ate their meal and chatted happily about their week, the upcoming holidays and their favourite parts of the films so far.

"Ma, which house do you think you'd be in?" Henry asked already knowing her answer.

"Gryffindor… duh," Emma said with an exaggerated roll of her eyes as she leant back in her chair. "I may as well be wearing red and yellow Quidditch robes and carrying the sword of Gryffindor. I'm basically the female Harry Potter, minus the glasses- I've had laser eye surgery."

"Pfft. If anyone here is Harry, it's obviously me." He replied. With a playful grin, he added, "Just face it Ma. You're a Hufflepuff."

"Excuse me? A Hufflepuff? Have you seen me? I am the embodiment of what it means to be a Gryffindor." The blonde feigned horror at the statement. Then, jokingly she added. "You, Henry Swan, are a Slytherin if ever I've seen one."

Regina looked between the duo in bemusement. "What's wrong with being a Hufflepuff? I thought that Slytherins were the villains."

"They're just a bit - Meh," Emma answered with a shrug. "Nobodies interested in the Hufflepuffs. Well, expect for Cedric Diggory, but that's only 'cause he's a hot vampire."

Wizards, vampires- this was all very confusing for the brunette. "You've lost me."

"He's in Twilight." the other woman clarified. Although, it did little to help Regina's understanding. "You know the one with the shiny vampires and the werewolves and lot's of teen angst?" The brunette gave her a blank stare and a shake of her head. "You've not heard of Twilight either. Sheesh Regina, you need an education in popular culture."

Regina shrugged and placed her cutlery on her now empty plate. "If you say so."

Getting back to the previous topic of conversation, Henry asked. "How about you, Regina? Which house do you think you'd be in?"

"I don't know," Slytherin, definitely Slytherin. "What do you think?"

The boy didn't take long to decide on his answer. "I think you'd be a Ravenclaw."

That was a surprise to her. "Really?"

"Yeah, they're smart and think logically about stuff," Henry said, justifying his choice. "Gryffindors might be brave, but they act before they think."

"Agreed," Emma said as she swallowed her last bite of lasagna and gesticulated with her fork. "Only a Ravenclaw would see the flaws in using wands for magic." Emma chuckled to herself as she thought about the earlier debate and grabbed her next helping of food.

Regina watched the other women as she tucked into her meal again. She furrowed her brow and contemplated how the blonde could eat so much and keep her trim physique. Before she could get too distracted with her wandering thoughts, she turned to Henry. "So, I'm not a Slytherin then?"

Henry was adamant in his disagreement. "No way, only the bad guys are Slytherins." Ah, yes the bad guys. It was exactly as she'd thought; she was a Slytherin. The boy would soon change his mind if he knew the truth.

"Well expect for…"

Henry cut in with an incredulous expression before his mother could finish her sentence. "Ma, spoilers! Regina hasn't seen it yet; you'll ruin the ending."

"Sorry, I didn't think." Emma pretended to zip up her lips and throw away the key.

Once they'd all finished their dinner, Emma stood up, picked up the plates and walked to the kitchen. Regina joined her at the counter with the empty glasses. Emma checked to make sure Henry was out of earshot before speaking in hushed tones as she loaded the dishwasher."My gifts and the tree were delivered yesterday by the way. Thanks again for sorting it out for me. I was having a bit of a panic attack at the thought of trying to get everything done in time for Christmas."

"I already assured you that it wasn't a problem. I just gave the list to April, and she arranged the rest." Regina hadn't needed to do much and was happy to offer her assistance to the other woman. Although, it did little to relieve the guilt she still felt about her involvement in Emma's accident.

"April? Who's April?" Emma queried, an unexpected pang of emotion was bubbling in her gut. "Is she a friend of yours?"

"Of sorts," Regina replied with a wistful smile. She was thinking of how much she loved shopping for clothing in this world. Her weekly trip to the department store was one of the best aspects of this land. She had bought so many new outfits, she'd yet to wear the same one twice. "I suppose one could say that we've gotten to know one another quite well recently."

The blonde eyed the other woman closely. Misinterpreting her words and happy expression, she made the presumption that whoever April was, she more to Regina than a personal shopper. "Oh, I see…good for you," Emma said more harshly than she'd intended. Regina didn't pick up on the other woman's subtle change in demeanour as the blonde busied herself with putting away the leftovers a little too aggressively.

xxxxxxx

They spent the next hour or so decorating the Christmas tree. Henry handled the task with military precision, reprimanding his Mother's lack of colour coordination and shoddy tinsel placement when necessary- therefore, quite often. Once the tree was up and the fairy lights were on, the room looked decidedly more festive. He took plenty of photographs of the three of them while they decorated. It could be guaranteed that Henry would have his camera close to hand; it was always in his backpack or hanging around his neck.

"We should have a Christmas film marathon next weekend," Henry suggested eagerly.

Emma nodded in agreement with the idea, "Sounds good to me, Kid. You in Regina?"

Regina's eyebrows shot up in surprise at the ease of her inclusion in the families plans. She could get too comfortable with the feeling of belonging here, and she knew from experience that good things didn't tend to last. "Perhaps. I will have to see if I have other plans first." She had no other plans, her life currently revolved around little more than the two people in the room with her.

"''Kay, well, the offer still stands. So you know you're welcome to join us if your other plans don't pan out." Emma responded curtly. She had interpreted 'plans' as time with April, Regina's - whatever she was. Regina furrowed her brow; she didn't miss the change in attitude this time. However, she had no idea what she had done to offend the other woman.

"Yes, well, I appreciate the invite." Both women stood facing one another. They stared silently with their arms folded- neither willing to be the first to back down. Henry looked between them both, he couldn't understand the sudden tension between the two woman. And if they were honest, neither could they.

"Um, are we gonna watch the next film now?"

"Huh?"

"Pardon?" Emma and Regina responded simultaneously to the boy, breaking their prolonged eye contact.

"Are we gonna watch the Order of the Pheonix now?"

"Right, yeah we'll watch one more tonight," Emma replied as she went to get the next DVD ready "It'll be getting late by the time it finishes, so we'll have to see the rest of them tomorrow."

Regina retook her place on the sofa while she awaited the start of the next movie. She was actually quite enjoying them- she thought that she may even be tempted read the novels at some point. This time, Henry slumped into the armchair, leaving the seat next to her empty for his mother. Emma fell onto the sofa and grabbed what was left of the potato chips.

"You can't still be hungry, Miss Swan. You've eaten enough to feed a small nation." The brunette looked on in disbelief.

Emma shrugged, she couldn't help it that she had a big appetite. "It's not a choice, Regina. I need to eat. I have a fast metabolism, and I require the nutrients." Regina hummed sceptically, not believing a word of it. She was certain that there was nothing nutritional about those orange chips.

xxxxxxxx

As the film progressed, Regina could feel herself growing more and more weary. Her eyes were getting heavy, and she was going her best to suppress a yawn. That was until Henry began yawning which meant she couldn't hold it back any longer. As she blinked to keep herself awake until the movie finished, she felt a weight on her shoulder. Emma was fast asleep with her legs curled up next to her on the sofa. She looked relaxed and let out quiet, contented breaths. Regina smiled a little at the sight. After a few minutes, the blonde shifted in her sleep and wrapped her arm around the brunette. Regina let out a gasp as her heart began to beat faster in panic.

Was it panic she was feeling? Should she wake the other woman? Should she try to free herself? Her mind reeled with questions as her eyes flitted over to Henry, who was also sound asleep. "Miss Swan?" She whispered, not wanting to startle her awake. The sleeping woman didn't budge. Leaning in closer, and tucking a blonde curl behind her ear, she tried again. "Emma?"

"Hmm" was the sleepy response. She held on tighter and didn't open her eyes.

"Can you let me go? It's late, and I should be leaving."

"Nah…'m comfy…stay here." Emma shifted enough to allow Regina to place her own legs on the sofa. She tried her best to get out of the blonde's hold, but the more she moved the tighter the woman held on. She was deceptively strong, which was almost comforting to Regina- she felt safe. Relenting rather easier than she'd anticipated, she tucked her feet in front of Emma's body. Then grabbed the blanket from the back of the sofa, placing it over them both and almost instantly fell asleep.