Once Upon A Time (Prequel of The Savior Fables)

Chapter Five

Tina speaks too soon, Emma channels her inner mama bear, and she meets a new ally who has one hell of a bomb to drop on her.

Also known as a confrontation and a meet I think people have been looking forward to witnessing!

***

The next few months were a whirlwind of activity for Emma and Harry. Every couple of days Tina would join them for lunch or take Harry out when Emma was working, but dinner was always reserved for Emma and Harry to have together alone to spend time together. Tina marveled at Harry's attachment to Emma, watching the black-haired boy paste himself to the blonde's side whenever she picked him up. Harry was always happy to see Tina, and the Auror couldn't help but preen at that, but the boy's mood always improved when Emma returned from her duties.

Even more surprising to Tina, though it probably shouldn't have been, was Emma's dedication to Harry. The bail bondswoman seemed to have the intuition for when Harry needed his space, which made Tina even more confident in her backing of Emma. Most people, she thought, would see the abuse and neglect Harry suffered and think smothering Harry with time and affection would be the way to go. Tina knew that would be a recipe for disaster, such a sharp 180 for Harry that it might set him back. Emma gave Harry a safe space in his room and made sure he knew that was his space; she never entered his room unless he gave her permission. When Harry had been playing with his stuffed animals (Tina had smiled fondly when Harry added a stag and a wolf to his collection), Emma had quietly admitted she'd been looking up cooking and baking hacks to make sure they weren't always getting takeout. The woman was taking every possible effort, and somehow finding even more, to prove she was the person to take full custody of Harry, and Tina knew she would succeed.

She should've known that some bump in the road would emerge at some point.

***

The Kowalski bakery was a favorite of Harry's, and Emma made a habit of taking her foster son there multiple times a month. His awe of the whimsical shapes never failed to make her smile . . . though she often got the snickerdoodle cookies shaped like what the badge called thunderbirds, and cinnamon always made her smile, too.

"Hey, Mum?" Harry asked suddenly, looking up from his treacle tart.

"Yeah, kid?" Emma asked, taking a dollop of cinnamon-dusted whipped cream off her hot cocoa and licking it off her finger.

"How much longer until you can officially adopt me?"

Emma smiled. "We're just past the halfway point, Harry. We've got just under three months left."

"Good," Harry nodded with a shy smile. "I really want to stay with you."

Emma's smile widened, touched by his words. "I'm glad to hear that, kid. I want you to stay with me, too." Harry beamed in response.

"Harry, my boy?"

Harry froze in his seat, and before she realized what was happening, Emma was out of her seat and blocking the boy from view. She turned on her heel, her green eyes narrowing when she saw the old man with half-moon glasses standing before her. "What did you just call him?" she demanded.

The man's blue eyes twinkled with mirth as he looked at Emma. "Harry has been deeply missed by his aunt and uncle," he answered, his accent matching Harry's; a faint whimper came from behind Emma. "I simply wonder why he was taken from such a loving family." He looked down his nose at Emma. "His parents would want him to be with his family, after all."

A snarl ripped from Emma, causing the workers behind the counter to look over in alarm. "You don't know a single damn thing, old man!" she spat. "Deeply missed? I threw his uncle in prison because the last thing Vernon Dursley would ever feel for Harry is deeply missing him! And a loving family? Those people are never touching my kid again!" She scoffed, shaking her head and taking out her phone, ready to call Tina. "And what do you know about his parents?" she challenged.