Emma starts her new job, Regina threatens Archie, Queenie sows some seeds, and Henry is determined to prove his theory is correct. Such a shame that plan doesn't go the way he hoped it would . . .

***

Archie Hopper had known Henry for a long time, and he knew when he was upset, the boy could talk for hours about his curse. Such as now, for instance.

"You weren't always a cricket," he said, messing with a toy truck that Archie had in his office.

Archie watched as Henry ran the truck over the couch cushions. "I wasn't al . . . oh right, because um . . . because you think I'm Jiminy Cricket." He cleared his throat and leaned forward, giving Henry his undivided attention. "Why, why do you . . . why do you think that, Henry?"

Henry shrugged. "It's just because of who you are."

"And who am I?" Archie asked, glancing at his notes.

Henry grinned at him. "You're a conscience. You help people see right from wrong."

Archie frowned. "So all of the crickets in Storybrooke, they were once people too?"

Henry shook his head in denial. "There aren't any crickets here. Listen." He got up and went to the window, where the silence is deafening. A few minutes passed of the pair listening to the silence of Storybrooke, and then an eagle cawed, and Henry realized that the eagle, which had never been seen before in Storybrooke, was carrying something cream colored in its beak. He shook it off and turned back to Archie.

Archie sighed, checking his watch. "Maybe it isn't late enough."

Henry scowled at the man. "There's never been crickets here. You've just never noticed."

Archie raised an eyebrow. "Do you think that's proof that there's a curse?"

Henry nodded. "Yeah, but I know it's not enough. I'm looking for more."

Archie nodded thoughtfully, then he placed his coffee mug down and faced his client. "Henry, look," he started. "I asked you this once before and you said you'd think about it. Why do you think it is so important that this is real?"

Henry looked out of the window again. "It . . . it just is."

Archie sighed, and stood, clapping Henry on the shoulder gently. "Alright, well . . . keep thinking about that answer Henry, 'cause I think there's something buried there."

***

Emma stared at Graham unimpressed when he handed her her new uniform. "A tie?" she asked in disbelief, holding up the uniform in front of herself. "You know you don't have to dress a woman as a man to give her authority, right?"

"So you think you can get people to do what you want in that red coat?" he asked, looking pointedly at her signature red leather jacket.

Emma scowled. "I'm getting you to do what I want right now," she pointed out as she threw the shirt down onto the table and crossed her arms.

Graham shook his head in amusement. "Well, at least wear the badge," he said, holding it out for her. When she eyed it as if it would bite her, Graham snorted. "Go on, take it," he urged. "If you really want to be a part of this community, you have to make it official."

Emma pursed her lips, then nodded and clipped the badge to her belt. The moment it clicked into place, a loud tremor shook the office, and Emma clutched one of the desks to support herself, watching the force knock things off desks and walls. "Whoa!" she gulped, hearing multiple sounds in response to the tremor. "What the hell was that?!"

***

A crowd was gathered around what appeared to be a mine collapse when Emma and Graham pulled up in the police cruiser. Regina was stepping out of her car as they stepped out of theirs, and the pair of officers followed Regina to the collapse.

Regina held her hands out, peering at the sinkhole before turning back around to the crowd. "Everyone step back, please!"

Ruby's voice came from the front with Harry, Queenie and Newt next to her, Harry holding Newt's hand. "Is that a crater?"

Marco shook his head, frowning as he gestured to the destruction in front of them. "No. There were tunnels, uh, old mines, something collapsed."

Regina walked toward the group as people began pushing their way to it. "Be careful, step back!" Regina looked toward Graham and Emma, and she frowned before turning her face stone cold again. "Sheriff, set up a police perimeter. Marco, why don't you help with the fire department? Ms. Swan, this is now official town business. You're free to go."

Emma crossed her arms, jutting out the badge pinned to her belt. "Well, actually I work for the town now."

Regina shot a dark, angry look towards Graham, who grinned and shrugged unapologetically. "She's my new deputy."

"They say the mayor's always last to know," Regina muttered.

Graham smirked. "It's in my budget."

"Indeed." Regina's drawl was all sarcasm, and she leveled Emma with a glare. "Deputy, why don't you make yourself useful and help with crowd control?" Emma looked to Graham for confirmation, and the sheriff nodded to reinforce the order. Emma nodded in return and made her way through the throng of people as Reginna addressed the crowd just as Archie and her son arrived. "People of Storybrooke, don't be alarmed!" she announced. "We've always known this area was honeycombed with old mining tunnels, but fear not. I'm going to undertake a project to make this area safe, to rehabilitate it into city use. We will bulldoze it, collapse it, pave it."

Henry frowned. "Pave it?" he repeated as he pushed to the front of the crowd. "What if there's something down there?"

"Henry, what are you doing here?" Regina hissed, bending down to narrow her eyes at him.

"What's down there?" Henry demanded.

"Nothing," Regina shook her head. "Now, step back." She rose to her full height. "In fact, everyone please, please step back!"

The residents of Storybrooke shuffled away from the collapse, but Regina paused to bend and pluck something off the ground. Henry frowned, the glint catching his eye. "What was that?" he asked.

"Henry, enough," Regina snapped. "Listen, this is a safety issue. Now, wait in the car." As Henry was sent away, the mayor turned to the officers. "Deputy Swan, Sheriff, cordon off the area."

Newt crouched down, frowning as he surveyed the collapse. "You think the mines could be empty?" Queenie asked quietly.

"It's possible," Newt shrugged. "But without going inside to check, we'll never know."

Queenie giggled. "Well, you always find your way into forbidden areas."

Newt smirked at his nephew. "I'm not the only one."

Harry blushed. "It's not my fault Dumbledore is so obsessed with me!"

Newt made a face of annoyance, then a quiet whistle caught their attention. The trio turned to see Henry poke his head around the back of the police cruiser and wave to them. "Over here!" Newt checked Regina's location, then he urged his family behind the cruiser. When they arrived, they found Archie already there, and Emma abandoned her task of cordoning the area to join them. "This requires all of Operation Cobra," Henry announced. "All of you."

Archie blinked in surprise. "I didn't realize I was in Operation Cobra."

Henry shook his head fondly. "Of course you are, you know everything. We can't let her do this. What if there's something down there?"

Emma shook her head as she made eye contact with Newt. "They're just some old tunnels, Henry."

"That just happen to collapse right after you get here?" Henry countered. "You're changing things. You're weakening the Curse!"

Emma sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "That's not what's happening."

"Yes, it is!" he whined insistently. "Did you do anything different today? 'Cause something made this happen."

Emma licked her lips, looking down as she ran her fingers over the badge she now wore. She could feel Queenie's eyes on her, and she refused to make eye contact. She almost thanked Regina when the woman stormed up and grabbed Henry's shoulder. "Henry, I told you to wait in the car," she scowled as she looked at Regina. "Deputy, do your job."

Emma nodded and stepped back, patting Harry's shoulder. "I'll see you later, kid."

"OK, Mum," Harry beamed up at her as she kissed the top of his head.

Regina watched with narrowed eyes, then she turned as Archie attempted to leave. "Dr. Hopper, a word please?" He stopped and waited for Henry to return to Regina's car before the man faced the mayor with a pleasant smile on his face. "Okay, we're done with this."

Archie frowned in confusion. "Excuse me?"

Regina glared. "My son. We need a new treatment plan. Everything I do he thinks is part of some horrible plot. I can't cover up a safety hazard without him thinking I'm hiding something. How am I hiding something terrible in an old mine? How is any of this logical to him?"

Archie shrugged, rubbing his hands over his jacket. "He's got an amazing imagination, Mayor Mills."

"Yes," Regina narrowed her eyes to slits. "That you let run rampant!"

"Well, I think it would be wrong to rip away the world he's constructed," Archie attempted to explain. "I'd rather use it to try and get – "

Regina held up her hand and stopped Archie in his tracks. "Sometimes I think you've forgotten," she whispered, her tone biting angrily. "You work for me. You're an employee, and I can fire you." Archie swallowed hard, waiting for her to finish. "This is my town. You will lose your office, lose your house. I can cut you down to size until you're a tiny, shrunken little creature. And this - " She snatched his umbrella from his hand and held it up in his face. " - will be the only roof over your damn head."

Archie set his jaw, looking at her in resignation. "What would you have me do?"

Regina smirked. "You take that delusion out of my son's head . . . and you crush it."

She shoved the umbrella back into Archie's chest and returned to her car, leaving a stunned Archie standing by the police cruiser.

***

Archie stared blankly into space in front of him, and all that snapped him out of his thoughts was the door opening. "Hey, Archie," Marco smiled.

"Marco!" Archie leapt to his feet, eyes wide. "What are you doing here?" Marco mimed eating a sandwich, and Archie groaned. "Oh, lunch," he realized. "I'm sorry, I forgot. I've got another patient. Another time?"

"Sure, of course," Marco nodded with a smile, then Harry bustled in behind him. "Hey," Marco chuckled, ruffling Henry's hair. "Have a good session, Henry."

Henry nodded and plopped down on one of the couches, and Archie rounded the pair of couches to sit in front of Henry. "Hey," he greeted.

"Are you recruiting Geppetto for Operation Cobra?" Henry asked curiously.

Archie blinked. "You think Marco is Geppetto?"

"Sure," Henry nodded matter-of-factly. "He's Jiminy Cricket's best friend, and Marco's yours."

Archie swallowed hard as he sat. "Henry . . . Henry, look. We . . . we really need to talk about this, OK?"

"I know you're not convinced," Henry told him, reaching down to open up his backpack. "But I know where I can get proof."

Once it was unzipped, Henry showed his backpack's contents to Archie. "What is this?" Archie frowned. "A flashlight? And candy bars?" Henry nodded, and Archie balked. "Oh, wait, Henry," he rapidly shook his head. "Henry, you do not want to go down there!"

"Emma's here, and stuff's happening," Henry told him. "I have to look at it."

"Henry, Henry, stop," Archie grabbed Henry by his shoulders and sat him back on the couch. "Stop. There is no proof. Look, all of this, all of this, is a delusion. Do you know what a delusion is?"

Henry stared at him. "I . . . I think so," he answered slowly.

"It's something that's not real," Archie told him. "And . . . and not healthy. And I thought you'd outgrow this, but Henry, you know . . . now it's turned into a psychosis? Do you know what a psychosis is?" He didn't give Henry a chance to answer. "That's . . . that's when you can no longer tell what's real. And if that continues, then . . . then they have to lock you away." Henry's face drained of color, and Archie swallowed. "Henry, look . . . this has to stop for your own good. You gotta wake up. This nonsense must end."

Henry stared at Archie without blinking, then he seized his backpack and ran out the door as quickly as he had arrived. Archie blew out his remaining breath in a rush and buried his face in his hands, feeling his eyes start to sting.

***

Queenie had lived for many decades, to the point she was older than a century. She knew great feats in magic had been accomplished in her lifetime, and she knew new feats could be reached with the right amount of dedication.

Henry's idea of the curse was one of the more outlandish ideas she had heard, but David's jumbled memories coinciding with the storybook and Mr. Gold's slippery thoughts put aside any doubts of Queenie's. Some magic she didn't know was at play here, and while Henry and Newt worked at Emma, she could focus her attention elsewhere, to a place she knew magic was bleeding through cracks in the curse.

So she walked through Storybrooke General Hospital with purpose, a bag of her bakery's best delicacies in one perfectly-manicured hand. She found her target right away, sitting at one of the tables with Mary Margaret in front of him. The woman was examining a notepad with her head tilted in a way that resembled Emma, Harry, and even Henry, and Queenie bit her lip to contain a giggle. "I don't know," Mary Margaret said slowly. "M?"

David nodded and chuckled, taking the notepad to write on it. "Two of them." Mary Margaret squeaked suddenly and buried her face in her hands, causing David to laugh louder. "Get it yet?"

"Yes, and I'm completely mortified!" Mary Margaret nodded, her cheeks flushed red. "I almost hanged on my own name!"

Queenie peered curiously over Mary Margaret's shoulder, grinning when she realized they had, indeed, been playing Hangman . . . and Mary Margaret's name was the sentence provided. "Don't worry," David grinned. "I would never have let you hang. I would've added toes and a hat . . . maybe a horse."

"Having fun?" Queenie asked.

"Yes, we are," David nodded, looking curiously at her. Queenie smiled pleasantly, letting herself appear harmless as David assessed why she was there. "Mary Margaret's been playing a few games with me."

"Excellent," Queenie nodded approvingly as she opened the bag she carried. "These games are great exercises for the mind. They keep it working and thinking, and that is always good when working to recover memories."

David's eyes sharpened, and Queenie kept herself from reacting. That expression was all Emma. "You know from experience?" he asked, a touch of hope in his voice as he straightened.

"As a matter of fact," Queenie smirked, "I do." Now she had David's full attention, and she hummed to herself as she dug into her bag. "But that's not the reason I came here." Well, it was, but Mary Margaret didn't need to know that. "I come bearing the best my bakery has to offer," she announced as she deposited a sugar cookie in front of each person.

"Oh, these look delicious!" Mary Margaret gushed as she picked up her cookie, eyeing the pristine frosting and sprinkles with envy in her eyes. "And they smell wonderful!"

"I'm thinking, now that Emma is working here as the sheriff, I could get to work on setting up shop here, too," Queenie explained as she pulled up a chair, watching David examine his cookie. "Newt's work is more . . . ahem . . . specialized, but as long as I have a working kitchen, I can work anywhere."

"What is this?" David asked abruptly, holding up his cookie to show her. "I don't think I've ever seen an animal like this before."

"Oh, that's my bakery's specialty," Queenie giggled. "We create our treats in shapes of creatures from myths or fantasies. This is one of Harry's all-time favorites. It's called a niffler."

"A niffler," David repeated thoughtfully as he considered the shape.

"Mmmhmm," Queenie nodded.

"Well," Mary Marget swallowed her bite before speaking again. "I may have to ask if I can take a batch in for my class at school. Maybe I can bribe them to do well on their assignments."

Queenie giggled. "It worked for Harry." Mary Margaret laughed, and Queenie turned to David, watching with satisfaction as he started to eat his cookie, too. "So," she folded her hands in her lap, sitting perfectly poised and catching David's attention. "Speaking of memories, David . . . do you remember playing Hangman a lot before?"

David chewed slowly as he thought. "I don't know," he admitted.

"It'll come back," Mary Margaret said confidently. "They're sending you home in a week. They have to think you're progressing, don't they?"

David tilted his head side to side. "Physically."

"Well, you're making new memories just fine."

David smiled. "Maybe I'll like these better."

Mary Margaret beamed. "Play again?" she asked.

David nodded and reached for the pad of paper, then heels clicked behind them. "Can I guess, too?" Kathryn asked, a smile on her face and a box in her hands.

"Mrs. Nolan!" Mary Margaret leapt to her feet, stuttering through her words. "Oh, it's noon already! I didn't realize - I should go."

She hurried for the door, and Kathryn watched leave. "Good day, Ms. Blanchard." Mary Margaret gave a strained smile as she signed out of the log, and Queenie watched Kathryn take Mary Margaret's former seat. "Honey, I brought more pictures," she said as Queenie, too, stood to leave. "Maybe they'll jog something."

"Good idea," Queenie nodded as she smoothed out her skirt. "Memories are fickle creatures. Even the smallest thing can jog them back into place."

"Really?" David looked up at her, an unreadable look on his face.

Unreadable to anyone who wasn't a Legilimens. Queenie patted his hand with a comforting smile. "Oh, yes," she nodded. "I should know. Baking isn't my only specialty."

David's eyes flashed, but Kathryn regained his attention by rummaging through the photographs in her box. Queenie smirked to herself as she left the cookies with David and departed. Once she was past the door, however, she watched as David searched for a new cookie to eat. When he paused in his search, his eyes flew her way, and Queenie winked and held a finger to her lips before turning on her heel and heading towards the end of the hall.

And David's thoughts as he plotted how to call the number she left on a card swirled in the air as she pressed the button to summon the elevator.

***

"I am the worst person in the world!" Mary Margaret groaned as she dropped onto the spare bed in Emma's room.

"Really?" Emma raised an eyebrow dubiously, Queenie's shoulders shaking as thoughts of Vernon Dursley and Albus Dumbledore flashed through Emma's mind. "In the whole world?"

"If Kathryn was horrible, it would be easier, but she's so . . . " Mary Margaret grimaced. "Nice," she finished.

"And what exactly would be easier?" Emma asked as she sipped her cinnamon-dusted cocoa.

Mary Margaret bit her lip. "Nothing," she mumbled.

"Nothing's a good start," Emma nodded approvingly. "You're smart. You know not to get involved with a married guy. It's not worth the heartache. Trust me."

Rapid knocking sounded on the door, and Queenie frowned when devastated thoughts jumbled together. "I'll get it," she said, pushing off the wall and moving over. She opened the door to reveal a sniffling Henry, the boy trying to put on a brave face when he saw the woman at the door. "Henry?" Queenie's eyes widened.

Emma quickly stood and moved to see. "Kid?" she asked, and Henry flew past Queenie and into Emma's legs, unable to keep from sobbing. Emma stumbled and quickly placed her cocoa on a nearby surface before hugging Henry to her. "Kid, what happened?"

***

The rapid banging on the door of Archie's office didn't make the man budge from where he sat with Pongo on one of the couches, glass of bourbon in his hand. "Archie!" Emma bellowed. "Archie!" Archie didn't move, and Emma finally stormed into the office, green eyes blazing. If Archie squinted, he could have sworn he saw white sparks flying off her hair. "What did you do?" she snarled. "You told me not to take the fantasy away! You told me it would devastate him!"

"When a course of therapy stops working, you adjust it," Archie shrugged.

"Is it her?" Emma asked suspiciously. "Did she threaten you?" Archie's silence was enough of an answer. "What could be strong enough to drown out your own conscience?"

"I do not need to defend my professional decisions to you, OK?" Archie snapped, standing as he finished his drink.

Emma glowered, but her phone ringing stopped her from continuing her attack. She growled when she saw the Caller ID, but she answered anyway. "Hello, Madam Mayor," she greeted. "Nice work."

"You with him?" Regina asked.

"Yes, I'm with Dr. Hopper," Emma glared at the shrink. "And guess what? You left your fingerprints all over him when you - "

"Not him," Regina interrupted. "Henry. Is he with you?"

Emma froze and licked her lips. "I dropped Henry off at your office an hour ago."

"Well, he's not here!"

Emma gulped. "I don't know where he is."

Archie's face fell. "Oh," he whispered, and heart sinking, Emma hung up her phone. "I do."

***

Harry sat outside of Granny's diner, gnawing on the remnants of his waffle cone before brushing off his hands. He checked the time on the now-working clocktower, then he stood from the bench, ready to help Newt in his suitcase.

"Harry!" Henry flew up the sidewalk, a determined look in his eyes. "Come on! Let's go!"

"What?" Harry blinked in shock then yelped when Henry grabbed his hand and started to drag him down the sidewalk. "Henry!" he protested. "I have to - "

"This is important, Harry!" Henry interrupted. "Really, really important!"

"I have to tell Uncle Newt I'm going!" Harry shook his head.

"Then he'll try and stop us!" Henry shook his head. "We have to go, and we have to go now."

"Where are we going?" Harry dug his feet into the concrete, managing to stop Henry from pulling him further. "Henry, what's going on?"

"Archie's trying to tell me the curse isn't real," Henry answered, his lip trembling. "But I know it is! And we can find proof!"

"Where?" Harry looked around. Henry merely opened his backpack and showed its contents to Harry, and the black-haired boy balked. "Henry . . . are you mental? We can't go into the mines!"

"We can," Henry nodded. "And I'm going, with or without you."

"Henry!" Now Harry took off after Henry as the boy marched away. "Henry, it can't be safe down there! A collapse already happened once, it could happen again!"

Henry shrugged. "Then I'll be quick."

"Henry!"

"You called me mental!" Henry finally spun around and shouted at him, making Harry stop in his tracks, his eyes widening. "Do you really think that? Just like everyone else in this town?"

"Henry," Harry swallowed.

"Emma doesn't believe me," Henry sniffed, tears in his eyes. "My mom gets worse every day, and the one person who listened to everything I said now thinks I'm delusional. I'm not crazy, Harry, I promise! But if I can't find any proof, I'm going to get locked up!"

Harry's eyes narrowed at the last words. "Who said that?"

Henry's head fell. "Archie," he admitted.

"Bloody hell," Harry rubbed his forehead. "Henry . . . "

"I'm going to check the mines," Henry said with finality and lifted his chin. "You can come with me or not. But I'm going to prove I'm not crazy, Harry."

The half-brothers stared long and hard at each other, then Harry sighed. "Well, a Gryffindor never leaves anyone behind," he stepped forward. "And since it'll be dangerous . . . better there's the two of us to watch each other's backs."

Henry's entire expression brightened, and he grinned in delight. "Thank you!" he grabbed Harry's hand. "Come on, let's go!"

Harry stumbled after his brother, and they ran for the cordoned-off mines. I hope this is worth it, Henry, Harry thought as they carefully climbed down to the entrance.

***

As Emma drove her bug towards the mines, Archie in the passenger seat, her phone rang once again, and with a sigh, she checked the Caller ID and answered. "Newt, now isn't a good time," she began.

"Harry's missing," Newt interrupted, a panicked tone in his voice.

Emma slammed on the brakes, and Archie yelped as he lurched forward, almost hitting the windshield. "What did you just say?" Emma sputtered, face whiter than snow.

"Harry's not here," Newt answered, speaking hurriedly; Emma could hear the clatter as Newt bustled around to get out of his case. "He was eating an ice cream cone outside of Granny's, and I stepped inside to get ready for . . . work." In his case was unspoken, and Emma closed her eyes. "I was gone for five minutes, Emma, I swear. When I came back out, he was gone."

Emma's hand clenched around the steering wheel. "Get Queenie, and get to the mines," she ordered through gritted teeth. "He's with Henry."

"We'll be right there."

Emma hung up without further ado. "Harry?" Archie guessed.

Emma could only nod as she swerved to the side of the road and parked next to the cordon. "Yes."

"Oh, no," Archie sighed as he exited the car, letting Pongo out of the back seat. "This is all my fault."

Emma bit back what she wanted to say and ducked under the tape. "Harry!" she shouted. "Henry!"

"Henry!" Archie joined her in shouting, his trusty umbrella clutched in his hand. Pongo barked and skidded down to the entrance of the mine, nosing and pawing at something among the wood. "Whatcha got there, Pongo?" Archie asked, joining his dog.

Emma sighed as she looked around. "I don't think they're here."

"I think Henry is, at least," Archie stood up from where he bent, and he waved an Apollo chocolate bar at her. "Candy bar. He had these with him."

***

Gravel crunched under Harry's feet as he followed Henry along the cart tracks in the mine, their flashlight beams bouncing off of stone each way they turned. "This is worse than the forest," he couldn't keep from muttering.

"Storybrooke's forest?" Henry frowned. "Why?"

"No, not this one," Harry shook his head as they continued. "The Forbidden Forest, at school."

Henry stared at him. "Your forest is called the Forbidden Forest?"

"Yeah," Harry nodded. "I spent a detention out in the forest at night during the school year."

"They have detention in the Forbidden Forest?!" Henry squeaked, eyes wide. "Why?"

"We had a teacher with us!" Harry assured him, then he paused. "Well . . . the groundskeeper, not a teacher. But he knows the Forest better than anyone." He paused again. "Well, maybe the headmaster."

Henry frowned. "Forbidden Forest," he repeated in a mutter as he walked along the cart track, searching everywhere with his flashlight.

Harry followed his brother, fingers anxiously tapping the side of his leg, hyper-aware of where his wand was tucked into the boots he wore when working with Newt in his case. "How far in here are we going?" he asked.

"As far as it takes to find proof," Henry answered determinedly.

"We may not be able to find our way out!" Harry argued.

"We will," Henry shook his head stubbornly. "We'll just follow the track."

"And what happens when we find multiple tracks?"

Henry's beam bounced off something that sparkled in the light, and the younger boy blinked. "What's that?"

"It looks like . . . " Harry squinted. "Some kind of glass?" Henry hopped over the cart track and walked over to the stones, reaching up for the item. "It could be sharp!" Harry warned.

"I know!" Henry nodded, carefully taking the piece of glass. "Got it!" Harry walked over to join Henry, and Henry directed his flashlight beam onto the piece. "It's huge," Henry blinked.

"I wonder what it's from?" Harry frowned, carefully tracing the shape of the glass. "It doesn't look like anything from a window. It looks too big to be from a drinking glass."

"We've got to keep going," Henry decided as he stood.

A rumble under their feet made them stop, and Harry gulped. "What was that?"

***

The ground shaking caused Emma to lose her footing, and she fell onto her back when she couldn't balance on her feet. "Henry!" Archie called from down by the mine.

"Archie!" Emma skidded down the crater towards the mine entrance, stumbling over her feet.

"Henry!" Archie climbed into the entrance of the mine. "Harry! It's not safe!"

The ground shook one more time, and Emma fell onto her stomach with the force. "Emma!" two voices shouted above her.

Emma dazedly got to her knees, then two bills shoved into her hands. She blinked and saw Ted and Teenie blinking beady eyes up at her, and she choked back a sob as she cradled the pair of nifflers in her arms. "Emma!" Queenie ran up to her first, fretting about the deputy and searching for any injuries. "Merlin, what happened?"

"Oh, Merlin," Newt gulped, looking towards the mine.

Emma turned to look as well, and her heart dropped into her stomach when she saw the boulders and wood blocking the entrance. "Archie!" she shouted. "Harry! Henry!"

***

"Come on!" Harry grabbed Henry's arm and dragged him away from the wall.

Henry ran as fast as his legs could take him, then he tripped over the cart track and sprawled on the ground. He heard the sound of stones hitting the ground with great force, and he scrambled to crawl along the ground, his heart thudding in his ears. He heard Harry yelp as the boulders came closer, and Henry flung his arms over his head, desperately hoping it would be enough -

"Protego!"

Henry squinted against the sudden flash of white light around him, and he heard what sounded like boulders thudding off of a surface and crashing to the ground around him. He kept still, waiting for the shower of rocks to end. When it finally did, he cautiously raised his head and looked around him.

Harry stood in front of him, a slim, carved stick in his hand and aimed above them. Flickers of white light winked around them, and Harry, face pale in the flashlight, crouched down, a trembling hand grabbing Henry's shoulder. "Are you OK?" he demanded.

"Yeah," Henry stammered, rising to his feet on shaky legs. "Yeah, I'm . . . " He looked around at the shower of rocks around them. "What happened?" he asked. "I thought I heard something, but I was so sure we would be . . . " His gaze focused on the stick that Harry kept clutched in his hand, and he slowly looked up at his brother. "Harry?"

"Uh," Harry swallowed, looking nervously at him. "That . . . that was me. I made sure we weren't hit."

"You . . . made sure," Henry repeated. "How?"

"With magic," Harry answered, holding up his wand.

Henry balked. "With magic?!"

"Yeah," Harry nodded. "With magic. Mum wasn't sure when I could tell you, but if it means I can keep you safe down here, I'm telling you. I've had it since I was born. I'm a wizard, Henry."

***

*smiles nervously* Who knew going into the mines would be such a good brotherly bonding experience, huh?

So, the cat's out of the bag with Henry, and Queenie, hun, what are you up to with David? At this point in the episode, the only one not up to no good is Newt . . . how the hell is that a thing?

The second part of the episode comes next time!

~ Miss Moffat

***

Hey, guys! So sorry I haven't spoken to you all in a bit! Been super busy! And I'm so excited to get to the next chapter! Reveal!! And Queenie, darling, be careful XD

As always, stay safe, stay reading, and stay cool!

-Miss Singer <3 <3