After the Battle of Hogwarts, Hope Potter, move to Storybrooke where she met characters from stories and such, she make new friends or maybe even fall in love.
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The ship swayed with each wave, the wooden hull creaking as it cut through the dark waters toward Storybrooke. Below deck, Emma hovered near Mr. Gold, his face pale and his breathing shallow. The cold light from a swinging lantern cast shadows across his face, deepening the lines of pain etched into his expression.
"You don't look comfortable," Emma observed, trying to mask her own concern.
Gold's eyes flickered to her, a wry smile barely lifting the corner of his mouth. "The poison racing towards my heart will have that effect."
She folded her arms, glancing away before gathering the nerve to ask, "Tell me about this, uh, knife of yours. Cora and Regina... If they have it, they can make you do anything?"
"Indeed."
Emma's face tightened. "Like... kill us all?"
"Precisely," he said with an unsettling calm. There was a faint bitterness to his tone, but it was softened by weariness. He looked at her with a glimmer of understanding. "You're hoping I bleed to death now, aren't you?"
Emma's jaw tightened, and she shook her head. "You're Henry's grandfather. We're family now. I'm going to save you."
Gold chuckled, a dry, hollow sound that quickly turned into a painful cough. "Oh, I feel so reassured."
David, Mary Margaret, and Ruby rushed to meet Emma's group disembarking from Hook's ship. Neal and Ruby carefully helped a weakened Mr. Gold onto the dock, while Hope followed close behind.
"Are you okay?" Mary Margaret asked, approaching Emma who still looked shaken.
Emma glanced up, managing a small smile. "Yeah. Yeah, we're alright."
"Uh, I drove a ship," he announced.
David raised an eyebrow, chuckling. "Did you now?"
"Yeah, my dad showed me how," Henry replied, glancing at Neal with a smile.
"That's...me,"
Once Mr. Gold was settled in the back of the truck, he murmured a faint "Thank you, thank you"
David turned to him "Is Cora trying to control you with the dagger?"
Before Gold could answer, Hope interjected "Oh, you'd know if she were. All of you would be dead within seconds. She can make us do anything. Like her personal servants."
Mary Margaret's eyes narrowed, "Then we'll just have to take the fight to her before she gets that chance."
David nodded in agreement. "We will."
"This time," Mary Margaret added, her voice hard with resolve, "we finish it."
David looked at her, a flicker of worry in his eyes. "Mary Margaret..."
"David, She needs to be stopped. She needs to be killed. This is our family, and we are going to protect it."
"Of course we will, but what you're talking about goes beyond that."
"Does it? She's the reason you never met my mother. She's the reason for so much pain."
David gently held her shoulders, meeting her gaze "I know what happened to Queen Eva. And I have no problem with Cora dying for it. But not by your hand, and not out of vengeance."
"Why not?" she whispered, a pained expression on her face.
"Because you wouldn't be able to live with yourself," he said softly. "You have the purest heart of anyone I've ever known. That's who you are, and that's who you're going to stay."
Mary Margaret looked down, visibly torn as David's words settled over her.
Emma watched the exchange nearby before glancing back at Mr. Gold. "You okay?"
Gold gave a weak but reassuring nod. "Ah, I'm beginning to feel a bit stronger. Take me back to my shop. There's magic there that can protect us."
Henry, who had been listening intently, perked up. "Let me guess. I get to go with Ruby, Luna and Mary."
Emma nodded, ruffling his hair. "You got it, kid."
Luna Lovegood put a hand on Henry's shoulder, giving Emma a small smile. "We'll keep him out of the crossfire."
Mary Margaret managed a smile at Ruby "Thank you."
Henry looked around at the adults, "Don't look so worried. You'll stop Cora. You won't let her get away."
