Standard Disclaimer: I obviously own nothing in regards to Harry Potter or Once Upon a Time. All properties therein are those of their creators. I am just a writer working on my skills with characters and worlds that I love.

Note: Some people have been curious about the character change in Harry. Hadrian was his real self the entire time, but the curse basically reincarnated him and kept his consciousness asleep. Now he's in control and Harry is pretty much a voice in the back of his mind serving as a new conscience.

Part Two - A Date With The Savior

The fireplace in the office of the pawn shop was roaring vibrantly as two men sat down in plush leather chairs before it. "Can I get you anything, son? Coffee? Scotch? The blood of a virgin?"

"No, papa." Hadrian chuckled, "I'm fine. I just got into town today and I thought I should come see you. Maybe inquire as to how the hunt for Baelfire was going?"

The former boy-who-lived didn't think it was possible, but the dark one looked simultaneously happy and pissed off. "I'm thrilled you came to see me son, and I'm sure we have a lot to catch up on, but sadly I've had no luck with Bae. I probably just haven't found the right combination of spells yet."

"Give it time and you will." Hadrian reassured. "You're the cleverest man in the Enchanted Forest after all."

"Thanks, son. Now tell me, what was your life like? What happened to you after the curse spat you out?"

So Harry told his story. From beginning to end, sparing no details, the life of Harry Potter unfolded before the progressively more furious dark one's eyes. When he was done, Hadrian couldn't help noticing the gouges his papa's fingers had torn in the arms of his chair.

"When I find a way to safely leave this town," He growled, "The Dursleys, and Dumbledore are going to die a very, very, painful death. Then I'll resurrect them and kill them all over again."

The younger man smiled at those words. "Thank you, papa. Though you probably won't need to leave the town to confront Dumbles. If my theory is right he's scouring every corner of the world searching for me, now. Once he realizes there's an entire town shielded by magic in Maine, I'm sure he'll come running."

"Stupid, meddling, old men and their prophecies." Rumple growled.

His son raised an eyebrow at that. "Pot calling the kettle black their, papa?"

"Hey, I'm honest when I use people. This Dumbledore person however has the audacity to claim he's sacrificing others for the good of all. That arrogance has only ever led to vast amounts of bloodshed." at another eye-roll from his son he clarified, "Unnecessary amounts of bloodshed. If it doesn't benefit me then what's the point?"

"Fair enough."

"So what's next for you, son?"

"Well, I'm gonna start by freeing Maleficent from the hole my mother put her in, and then I'm taking the savior out for drinks."

"Ambitious."

"I am your son."

"Yes you are." Rumple conjured two steins of beer, gave one to Hadrian, and clinked them together. "Here's to a new start."

One Hour Later

Hadrian looked up at the tall expanse of the clock tower and sighed. What the hell could his mother have been thinking when she imprisoned Maleficent? Was she getting back at her for deflowering her son? Maybe she'd beat her at cards again? Or perhaps the dragon implied she looked better in black. No matter the cause, locking someone in a basement never ended well.

He pushed open the doors, quickly found the elevator, and swung the lever to choose the lowest point available. It took a few minutes, during which Hadrian went over every possible thing he could say to one of the most important people in his life, but then the lift dinged his arrival and he was forced to focus on the present. The expanse before him was dark, rocky, and ominous in the absolute best way possible.

The lord of ash made it exactly five steps before he found himself gripped quit painfully in a massive fist and pulled into the air to face an equally massive snout. It was currently growling and leaking smoke like a brick chimney.

Now most people, when faced with the angry maw of a fire breathing dragon would scream, panic, or even pass out. Hadrian however was not most people. With a burst of will and strength he freed his arms, reached forward, and wrapped them around the great snout before him while simultaneously giving it a kiss.

The dragon's eyes grew wide in shock, before it started shrinking and collapsing on itself, until Hadrian finally found himself on the ground once more with his arms wrapped around a weeping Maleficent.

"Hey, hey there now." He rubbed her back in smooth circles and hummed lightly in her ear. "It's alright. I'm sorry I'm late."

"Better late then never." The woman stifled her sobs as she reached up and gave him a kiss. "What took you so long? Your mother made it clear that magic would keep me from leaving without you."

"Why do you think she did that?"

"Probably to spite me for seducing you. Now out with it!" She slapped his shoulder lightly for emphasis.

"Fine, you see what happened was…" For the third time in as many hours he found himself telling his story, only this time it was to the unexpected heckles and laughter of his lover.

"Wait, wait, wait, let me get this straight. You were a hero?!" she was practically roaring with laughter.

Hadrian sighed. "I know, laugh it up all you want, but can we get out of here first?"

She gave an exaggerated sigh but nevertheless followed him into the elevator and held onto him as they rose into the air via the lift. "What are you going to do now?" She asked.

"Oh, I thought I'd go seduce the Savior, maybe rub it in Snow's face after the fact. I was hoping to take you out tomorrow?"

"Oh, really?" Maleficent purred as she melded her form to his side. "That sounds lovely, dear. Do have fun with the savior, and then come tell me everything about it. Every juicy detail."

The black prince smirked at that and nodded. "Very well, though I can't predict how much progress I'll make with her. Where will you be?"

"Regina's house. I don't have a place yet, and after all of this she at least owes me a room and an expensive bottle of wine."

"You're not going to kill her are you?"

"Oh please. Even after all this, she's still my friend. We've been close for too long for such a simple thing as forced captivity to separate us. As long as she apologizes we'll be fine."

Hadrian thought about that for a moment before his shoulders slumped with sudden realization. "You're going to be extra loud when we have sex to annoy her aren't you?"

"Oh absolutely."

"Fine." He groaned as the elevator dinged. He led his companion out to his motorcycle and smiled at the way Maleficent's leather outfit rubbed against him as she wrapped her arms around his waist. "I'll drop you off then."

"Take your time, dear. I want to feel the wind in my hair for a while yet."

"Your wish is my command."

Eight PM

Emma was sitting patiently at the table in the apartment she shared with Mary-Margaret, or Snow White, depending on who you asked. She was still getting used to the idea of fictional characters being real, and the idea that they gave her up to 'save the world' as they knew it. No matter which way you sliced it, the situation was weird. As was the irate form of her mother, who was almost the same age as her, pacing the floor of the kitchen in front of her.

"You can't do this, Emma. You really can't. I forbid it."

In contrast to the other woman's rage and clear worry, Emma was calmly sipping on a mug of hot cocoa. Hadrian was set to arrive any minute now, and she was just biding her time. "I don't see why you think you have that ability. I'm an adult, and I've made my decision."

"It's the wrong one."

"Well that's your opinion." She took another sip of the cocoa.

Snow seemed about to split a gasket, but she instead roughly pulled another chair out from the table and sat down across from her daughter. "You don't know him like I do."

"Which is why we're going out tonight. So I can get to know him."

"You don't 'get to know' Hadrian. He just kills you."

Emma raised an eyebrow at that, "Funny, but you and pops over there," she tilted her head to view Charming at his position in the corner of the room, "were right in front of him at Regina's house, and you are both still alive."

Snow scowled and shook her head. "He's clearly planning something evil. He always is."

"He said he was raised as your brother. Surely there were good times for you both?" Emma reasoned.

Snow became quiet at those words. Refusing to look at her. Then she said, "When we were kids, he was the kindest boy I'd ever known. I never could have imagined the man he would turn out to be. He played with me and my dolls, braided my hair, and told the most wonderful stories."

"What happened?"

"My father… wasn't happy to find out his new bride had a child from a previous relationship. I loved my dad, but… the way he treated Hadrian was one step above abuse. To escape it, he fell ever deeper into the clutches and machinations of his mother."

Emma cocked her head, "So it's your father's fault he turned evil, not Regina's? Sounds like Gramps was a pretty bad dude."

"I didn't say that!" Snow hurriedly corrected, "He was a good man in a bad situation."

"You just told me he was a child abuser."

Snow floundered for a moment before she muttered, "We all made mistakes back then."

"I'm going to pretend you didn't just try to defend someone that hurt an innocent kid, Snow. All I'm hearing right now is that a scared child went to his mother for help. That does not make him a bad person." Emma pointedly ignored the look of hurt that passed over her mother's face. She'd been hinting since the curse was broken that she wanted Emma to call her 'mom', but it just felt wrong.

"Unless you have proof he's done anything horrible since arriving in this town, then you don't really have a chair to stand on."

Before Snow could reply with yet another comeback there was loud knock at the door. Emma, rushed over, glad to be free of that particular conversation, and yanked it open to reveal the eased form of Hadrian. A fresh bouquet held before him. The man was dressed in a casual yet stylish manner. Gone was the long coat and suit. Instead he'd replaced them with comfortable looking dark jeans, a black button up shirt, opened three buttons down to display more of his muscled, hair covered, chest than was probably proper, and a leather jacket. She supposed that made sense considering the motorcycle she'd seen him riding around on before. His beard appeared freshly trimmed and his hair was tied back on his neck in a low braided ponytail. In short, he looked like just her type. Even the deep scar on his cheek worked for her.

Idly, she couldn't help wondering what she'd gotten herself into with this man.

"Hadrian, please come in." She brushed her musings aside and welcomed him into her home. The last thing she wanted before a date was to be rude.

He in turn smiled and gave her the bouquet with a light bow as he entered. "Ms. Swan, you are simply radiant tonight."

"Oh stop." Emma brushed off the charming man's compliment. She knew she looked good. Her make-up was minimal, but effective. Her hair was straightened out, and she was dressed in a pair of tight black leather pants and a crimson blouse that was perhaps one or two sizes too small, effectively emphasizing her slim waist and breasts. Yup, she knew she was a minimalist, but a damn fine looking one too. "I just threw this on earlier."

"Of course you did." The man's tone made it clear he knew what she was doing, but that he also didn't mind. Then his eyes branched into the rest of the open space and quickly landed on Snow and Charming.

His face lit up and he opened his arms wide, "Sister! How about a hug?"

"Come off it, Hadrian." Snow grumbled, her arms crossed confrontationally in front of her. "Just what sick twisted game are you playing here? What do you intend to do with my daughter?"

Hadrian began counting off on his fingers, "Well I was going to start with dinner at Granny's. I heard they have the best burgers and shakes in town. Then drinks and perhaps some dancing at one of the bars, followed by a nice walk home and some hand stuff in an alley."

"Hey!" Emma playfully slapped the man's shoulder as her 'parents' gaped like fish and quickly grew enraged. "Don't count your chickens before they hatch, bub. I need to get to know you a bit better before you get anywhere near that last one. And stop riling up my parents, even though it does look fun."

"Oh you have no idea, love. You haven't seen Snow go ballistic yet. I promise you it is quite the sight. Her face gets cherry red, and with her pale complexion it looks like she's got a great tomato on her shoulders."

"I'll have to take your word for it, now let's go."

She placed the flowers carefully on the counter and dragged her date toward the door, and with one final cocky wave to the steaming royals, they were outside and making their way down the hall to the front door.

"By the way…" Emma began, "Not that you don't look great, but what happened to the trench coat and suit?"

"I thought a more mundane style might suit our night a little better. Plus the coat is kinda my signature look when I served my mother and I don't want to inspire total fear in everyone we see tonight. My face will be bad enough without it, but it's worth the shot."

"Hm." Emma was brought up short as they exited the building and she finally saw the man's motorcycle with her own eyes. When he first arrived with it she'd been a little too distracted to give it the admiration it deserved, but now… She thought she might be in love…. with the machine. "I want to ask you more about that later, but for now, take me for a ride."

Her date smiled warmly, took his seat, and started the engine up. "Your wish is my command, love."

Forty Minutes Later

Granny's Diner

It was a windswept and wildly grinning couple that made their way into the diner after a rather wild ride through the town. For a brief moment the old Emma had surfaced and she worried about getting pulled over for speeding, but then she remembered she was the sheriff. No one pulls over the sheriff! So they'd sped, laughed, and enjoyed their time until finally deciding they were hungry enough to stop.

As they took their seats at the counter, a clearly shaking Ruby came up to them to take their order. Emma was about to ask if the other woman was alright, but before she could, Hadrian's hand launched forward and clamped over the busty brunette's. Her shivers stopped, a faraway look entered her eyes, and just as soon as Emma saw it it disappeared and the formerly chipper waitress was back with them. A smile on her face and saucy look in her eyes as she visually drank in the sight of the new man in black.

"Sorry about that, Hadrian." She breathed, "The wolf, ya know?"

He nodded. "Yeah, it's no problem, Ruby. What's the burger of the day?"

The two conversed casually about the order options, Hadrian ordered a double bacon cheeseburger with a chocolate shake, and then the brunette turned to her.

"What would you like then, sheriff?" She seemed so casual after what happened that the blonde woman just had to ask about it.

"I'm sorry, Ruby, but what just happened? You looked like you were about to jump out of your skin before, but now you're right as rain?" She remembered that her date had known the other woman's name too, "You two know each other?"

Ruby smirked, "We used to fuck." At Emma's gobsmacked look she elaborated. "We were on separate sides of the war, but we ran into each other quite often while I was scouting around for our forces. One thing led to another. We talked, we fought, we got physical, and it turned out we had pretty good sexual chemistry. Oh there's no need to worry about me cutting in to whatever you have going on here. What we had wasn't exactly a romance."

"Maybe if you'd cut your losses and joined my side…" Hadrian cut in.

Ruby gave him a flat look, "Or if you had joined mine…" she teased back.

Deciding she wasn't exactly fond of the flirting going on right in front of her, Emma asked, "And the shaking?"

"I'm a true werewolf, Emma. I was actually the big bad wolf in my fairy tail. The wolf inside me sees Hadrian and recognizes the bigger predator in the room. It wanted me to roll over and show my throat, rather difficult to do in heels, but Hadrian calmed me down and here we are." She retrieved her notepad from the counter, "Now I have Hadrian's order, but what would you like?"

Emma ordered the biggest burger on the menu and Ruby went off to set it up. Instead of letting an awkward silence grow between her and the strange prince, the savior decided it was time to get some of the answers to questions that had been nagging at her for a while.

"Hey Hadrian, It's alright to ask you questions right?"

He gave her the side-eye, "We are on a date, love. Questioning each other is kind of the point is it not?"

"Yeah, you're right. So what's the deal with the whole 'terrifying Black Prince' thing? You mentioned, and I've seen, how people here seem so scared of you, but why is that? Were you like the Freddy Kruger of fairy tail land?"

He chuckled lightly before answering, "Nothing like that. Although… there were a few people I burned now that I think about it. I guess you could say I was like you. An enforcer of order. You need to understand, Emma, that from the moment my mother married Snow's father she was an unpopular queen. She tried to be kind, to give the people what they desired, but they were too in love with the image of his first wife to ever accept her. Nothing worked, and Snow went out of her way to sow dissent where she could. So she sought instead to secure the throne that she had suffered so much to earn. That required discipline, a firm hand, and yes executions happened. I was my mother's heir, enforcer, executioner, and peacekeeper. I did what was necessary, and yes being the one seen to carry out those acts bred more than a little fear."

"Regina made you kill?"

"No, I volunteered. Growing up my mother had always been my protector, so I wanted to do my part to protect her for once, if only a little bit. It was a rough job but somebody had to do it."

Emma wanted to say something about how being an executioner was horrible, but then she actually took a moment to think about it. Technically Regina had been the legitimate ruler from what she knew, and executing criminals was a pretty common practice for most of the middle ages in her world, so perhaps she shouldn't work too hard to judge.

She raised the shake that appeared in front of her like magic to her date and he did the same, "Well, the past is the past then. Just don't kill anybody around here without running it by me first. I'm the law and the people trust me to keep them safe."

"You have my word, Ms. Swan."

"I think you can call me Emma."

Hadrian's smirk grew wider, "My, my, first name already. I'm making progress."

"You're lucky you're cute." Emma smiled back before taking a long slurp of her delicious shake. "What was it like growing up with Regina for a mother?"

"Better than you'd think. When the king wasn't trying to make my life miserable, she played with me, told stories, taught me to walk like a prince, and trained me in magic. Oh the magic. Do you know how it feels, Emma, to hold fire in your hands and know it will obey your will? It's beautiful."

"I can imagine." The blonde answered. "So Regina is your mom. Who's your dad?"

"Rumpelstiltskin."

"The fuck!" Emma exclaimed, earning more than a few dirty glares from other patrons in attendance with their families.

"Really? I thought you new that already." Hadrian said.

"Why would you think that?"

"Snow didn't tell you?"

Emma seethed as she took another long slurp of her shake. No she had not, and she was going to have some choice words for the shorter woman when she saw her later. "Nope. So what was he like as a parent? The guy gives me the creeps."

"That's a pretty standard feeling for my old man. Honestly, he was a pretty good dad. Kind of absent, but he was a busy guy. Though whenever he came to see me, I was his entire world. He lost a son before me, you know, and it still haunts him to this day. I think he wanted to try and make up somewhat for the loss with me. He taught me everything I know about the sword and law."

"Law?"

"Yes, by Enchanted Forest standards I'm a fully trained lawyer.

"You're joking." Emma demanded.

"Nope. I wouldn't be much of an executioner if I couldn't site the legal reasons for why somebody was losing their head or hanging. Say what they would about my brutality, none of my victims could claim I didn't have a reason for the things I did."

"Hm. And growing up with my mom?"

Hadrian was silent for several moments, just slurping his own shake, before responding. "That's complicated. Emma, I grew up with Snow. I loved her, and still do, as my little sister. Yet she spent the majority of her life trying to usurp and kill my mother. It has led to a strange family dynamic to say the least. I don't hate her, but I don't trust her either."

"I can understand that." Emma nodded. "It must be strange, being in the same town with her and your mom at the same time and neither of them are currently trying to kill each other."

"Just give it time. Those two can't help getting at each other's throats."

"Any chance you'll tell me what started the feud? I asked Mary Margaret but she wouldn't tell me."

"Figures." Hadrian grumbled. "Well it's a bit of a long story. You see, Regina's mother Cora set her and the king up through a series of pre-planned and rather convoluted events. The problem, however, was that Regina already had me, and she was also in love with a groomsman, a peasant. Cora, who had clawed her way up from the peasant class herself, wouldn't have approved in any way of such a match for her daughter, so my mother could only see him in secret. When news of the king's interest in her reached her ears, mother planned to run away with her love, but Snow found them together before they could finalize their plans. Mother confronted Snow and got her to promise that she would not reveal her relationship to anyone, especially Cora. It was a promise she did not keep. The very next day her love's heart was ripped out of his chest right in front of her. Because that little girl could not keep a simple promise, my mother was forced to spend years in misery. Her only reward was a kingdom that hated her and a stepdaughter that ruined her."

"Wow." Emma stared at nothing for a minute as she absorbed everything she'd heard. "That's depressing as hell."

"You asked."

"That I did." She shuddered, "So let's talk about something less depressing. You said you've spent the last fifteen years on earth, but you weren't in the town. So where were you?"

"Interesting story that. You see, the curse was supposed to make everyone caught up in it miserable, so I of course ended up across the sea playing the role of a hero. My name was Harry Potter and-"

He proceeded to tell her an abridged version of his life story, and by the end all Emma could do was stare. "I thought this was the land without magic?"

"Apparently not." Hadrian shrugged. "And those wizards and witches were really into me so there's a chance they might come here looking for me. Though I can't see it happening any time soon. Just keep your eye out for weird people in robes."

"Everyone in this town is weird."

"Yeah but in a good way. These guys are going to look like they have a real hard on for the Victorian Era."

Emma nodded. "Okay, I'll watch out for em. But can I ask, why exactly did you ask me out in the first place? Was it just to annoy your sister?"

Hadrian gave the woman beside him a genuinely warm smile, "No, love. I won't deny that makes me laugh a bit, but I asked you out because from the moment I first saw you I could tell you were warm, kind, strong of body and will, and willing to look at things with an open mind. I find all those things incredibly attractive."

"Hm," Emma slid over on her stool to bump shoulders with the man, "keep talking like that and I just might let you take me out again."

"One can only hope." Hadrian chuckled as their burgers arrived, courtesy of a smirking and winking Ruby. "Now let's eat. I plan to dance circles around you and I'll need the energy."

Rising to the challenge herself, Emma raised the mountain of a burger she'd ordered to her lips, "You're on, Ash Lord."

That challenge set the tone for the rest of their night. They spent their entire evening playfully trying to outdo each other. Weather it was dancing on the bar floor, or seeing who could chug their beers the fastest. By the end they were too tipsy to ride back on the motorcycle, and the new couple ended up stumbling back through town and up the steps to her apartment.

Emma reached for her keys, but then decided to act on a moment of spontaneity. She turned around, grabbed Hadrian by his now mostly unbuttoned shirt, and pulled him into a searing kiss. He reciprocated immediately, and soon the two were making out rather heavily against the wood of her apartment door.

When they finally broke their lip lock for air, the blonde whispered, "I'm gonna be busy with work and Henry for the next couple weeks, "But I would really like to go out with you again."

Hadrian smiled into her lips, "I'd like that too, Emma. I'll call you."

"You'd better." Rather regretfully, the sheriff extricated herself from the former executioner's arms, and finished unlocking her door. "I'll see you, Hadrian." She walked into her apartment and the door closed behind her.

Alone again in the hall, all Hadrian could do was smile. Things were really looking up for him in Storybrooke.