Chapter 3: Second Chance
"Emma, what a lovely name". The imp smirked when Snow White gave him this information and he could save guard his memories with squid ink.
Rumple had opened his eyes as himself for the first time in over seventeen years. It was strange living almost twenty years as someone else, and the memories were conflicting with each other. The Dark One versus Harry Potter, the wizarding world savior.
Obviously, that blue bug had been wrong, there had been magic in this world. He had been using it as Harry Potter and now he knew why his or Harry's—God that was going to get confusing—magic had been wonky because he had been using it completely wrong.
It was too bad Dumbledore was no longer alive; he'd have an interesting little chat with the headmaster about the prophecy.
He was sure that would've gone well, he sort of wanted to giggle over that. But he didn't.
Rumple or Harry frowned, shocked at how his feelings towards his headmaster had changed so fast. It was going to take some used to getting used to all these memories. He felt a pain in his stomach as he thought about his son: Bae. And then there was the new baby.
He or Harry Potter—no Harry was him, he had to keep telling himself that those seventeen years mattered—had been sleeping with Princess Emma.
Princess Emma.
Not abandoned by her parents like she thought, but rather saved. She had been thrust in the supposed world without magic so that she could live a life free of Regina's curse.
It was hard getting used to all of this. He didn't know what he wanted to do, before Snow White's daughter told him her true name he wanted to marry her and not because it was his best chance at staying in the country—though now that he knew who he was, he could easily snap his fingers and magic himself a green card.
Which was why he might've become a little distant, it wasn't that he didn't want Emma—he just wasn't sure of anything anymore.
He was Harry Potter, but a part of him was still very much Rumpelstiltskin.
He didn't know how it happened. Well, he knew that Regina had squeezed his heart into dust. Technically, that should've killed him, but being the Dark One prevented him from dying anyway but from the dagger. That's why Regina wasn't scaly and possession of the Dark One power, but how he got into the body of this world's wizarding savior was beyond him.
Another reason he was distant, trying to figure out that mystery.
It was ironic, him being the wizarding savior of all people. He wanted to giggle about it, but the Harry part of him seemed more frightened than anything else.
Worried that he was going to hurt Emma and the baby, like he hurt Bae and Belle.
Belle.
It was weird thinking of what he had with Belle now, especially with Emma. Emma had been Harry's first. Sure, he had dated other girls—Cho and Ginny—but neither of those had been serious relationships with what he had with Emma, or what he thought he had with Emma. Now, he had to contend with his memories of Belle and couldn't help but compare her to Emma.
It was ridiculous.
They were completely different people, and until now they really had relationships with separate people. Sure, Harry Potter had baggage but it was nothing like the baggage he had as Rumpelstiltskin: Milah, Bae, Cora, and Belle. It was a lot to warp around your head when you've been living seventeen-years as someone else. Especially when your new alter ego had been with a girl for less than six months and had knocked her up and just proposed.
The Rumple part of Harry wanted to slap his younger self silly.
Seventeen-years-old.
True, he was really three hundred and something and was responsible enough to manage having a new child. He had learned his mistakes, but Emma was just a teenage girl.
And that was perhaps what made him the weariest about the situation.
Emma was just a teenage girl, but there was part of him that was just a teenage boy. And there were parts of both of him—Harry and Rumple—that were attracted to her which was why he agreed to marry her.
That and he wanted to protect his new child.
After losing Bae, all he could think of was if he had another chance. He knew the new baby wasn't a replacement to Bae, and he had already started looking at ways to find Bae, but it was another chance to make up for his past. And for Harry, it was his first chance to have a family.
God, he really needed to do something about these duel sets of memories it was even worse than the voices he constantly heard for three hundred years as the Dark One.
He had easily been able to put those voices in the back of his head though after a century or so, the Harry part he had a feeling wasn't going to be as easy to lock away since he was in essence Harry. Or had been. Or still was.
He looked at himself in the mirror for the first time since recovering his memories. He had seen Harry's reflection every day, but now it seemed different to him since he was half expecting to see the reflection he saw in the mirror for centuries: the scaly skin, the longish curly hair, and a body draped in leather.
Instead, he saw a teenage boy looking back at him who seemed completely scared.
He was freaked out, Rumple thought as he took in his new reflection for the first time as well—himself? No, that didn't sound exactly right since there was now a part of him that was Harry. Maybe his whole self?
"Harry," It was Emma. "Are you okay?"
"Just a bit of a headache, dearie." He said, "I think I'm going to take it easy tonight."
Or try to sort out his head best he could.
They had just gotten married. It had caught him off guard. He was still fighting the two sides of him. The Rumple part agreed out of obligation, the Harry part of him wanted to actually marry her and was happy.
Never mind she lied to him, the Rumple part couldn't get over the fact he had been tricked. The Harry part understood.
Most of the time it gave him a big headache, and he tried to alleviate it by thinking of his other issues—mainly Bae.
He had started making the inquiries and potion ingredient requests he needed to find his boy, it would only be a matter of time now. But honestly, he didn't know how he was going to handle it.
Although, he could easily shape shift into a version of himself that resembled his old body, his base form was now seventeen-years-old and Bae was fourteen. There was a part of him that seventeen and was freaking out again.
Could he really be a parent?
Let alone, a parent to two children.
The realization came clearer as his wedding day approached. In typical fashion of his old self he told Emma to buy whatever she liked. Money hadn't been an issue for Harry Potter, and it certainly wasn't an issue for him as the Dark One. He could spin as much straw as he wanted into gold. If he wanted he could buy freaking Gringotts. Not that he planned to, the wizarding world and all its problems were the furthest thing from his mind right now, even though both Hermione and Ron had sent him letters asking when he was returning.
He wrote them back stating he needed more time, that things had gotten complicated. He didn't mention that he had a fiancée, a baby on the way, and oh yeah—he was really an evil dark sorcerer who could give Voldemort a run for his money.
He would kill Voldemort eventually, he told himself. After he figured out all this mess and he did need to be there for Emma.
He saw how scared she looked. The desperation was one of the reasons he agreed to marry her. He couldn't leave her alone or their baby alone for that matter.
But he still wasn't sure about the relationship. A part of him thought he was betraying Belle which was silly, since he and Belle had never had a proper relationship.
They had only shared one kiss, and he hated to say it was nowhere as intense as what Harry and Emma shared. Then again, he had pushed her away because he had been afraid. And lately, it seemed like he had been pushing Emma away too.
Except of course, when it came to buying things like the ring he put on her finger. He had gotten her the most expensive diamond he could find. Like it could make up for his confusion, her eyes had gone a little wide when he put it on her finger.
Like she was surprised he cared enough about her to buy her a ring. He did care about her, a part of him dare he say felt something more. But he was so confused. And then there was Bae. And his lingering feelings for Belle.
God, he needed to find his son.
But that night, Emma had looked tempting that he was able to forget about his son for the moment.
He thought about leaving her that night, but he didn't. Yes, he left their hotel room and went to the magical section of New York to see if he could find some equivalent to a blood globe which he was disappointed to say didn't exist in this world.
He had spent most of the day in the magical section, but came back to the hotel. He really thought about leaving, but he couldn't. The same thing occurred over the pattern of several days. And he could tell he was annoying Emma, then one day she lost it with him and he ended up telling her the truth.
Sort of.
The Harry part of him wanted to tell her everything; he kept thinking that she was trustworthy. She was his wife. But the other part of him, told himself to stop being naïve. Emma had willingly lied to him. Besides, he doubted the Savior would believe him. It was still eleven years before she'd break Regina's stupid little curse. With how obtuse his wife was about some things, he really doubted she'd be able to buy the fact that he was in reality not a seventeen-year-old boy but a three-hundred something sorcerer.
In the end he sort of compromised with himself—odd thing to say—into telling her a partial truth that he had another son. He'd go into details if need be later.
Emma seemed to question him more than he liked, she actually thought Milah was of importance.
Milah!
Inwardly Harry groaned when he heard her act like his ex-wife was a huge deal, and this was after she made a sharp barb about Baelfire's name.
They did talk about it though.
"So, you're looking for him?" She said. "I suppose he'll be living with us."
"I'd like that," He said. "But I don't know if it would be possible."
Unless he told Emma who she was and she could handle dealing with his older self so that Bae wouldn't be freaked out that only three years chronologically separated them. Even then it would still be freaky since Emma was technically underage.
And for that matter, Bae could be older than his Enchanted Forest self now.
Most people would've found waking up young again as some sort of blessing, but for him it made things complex. All he wanted to do was pull out Regina's own black heart, crush it, and throw the ashes into the toilet. He still couldn't believe the sorceress had gotten the better of him.
He was just glad he hid the secret about that blasted dagger.
Otherwise, he really would've died that night.
At least he wasn't cursed like everyone else in the Enchanted Forest, he could live his life—well, as much of it that was his life now—as himself. He could only imagine what Charming and Snow White were up to these days. Knowing Regina, she probably cursed Charming into picking up dog poop or some other mundane job and Snow White was probably a whimpering Regina worshiper or nun.
Emma frowned. "Why don't you think that's possible, Harry."
"Because it's complicated," He stated. "I don't even know where he is."
That was true, but he was getting closer. He had almost all the ingredients he needed to make the potion now. However, one of them was a rare ingredient that he'd have to get back in England. To more specific, he'd have to go to Hogwarts and rob their potion storage rooms.
Needless to say, this was something he wasn't looking forward to.
Emma looked at him, "Oh. I—I don't know what to say."
"I need to go back to England," He heard himself saying. "But I don't want to leave you or the baby."
"You don't have to," She said. "I can come with you. If that's what you want."
Of course that's what Harry wanted. He wanted to swoop Emma up in his arms right there and then and tell her how much he loved her. The more grown up part of him, the Rumple part of him, wasn't as romantic. Instead, he looked at Emma and asked if she was sure before calculating whether or not it would be possible to bring her on with him, without having to reveal more secrets.
She's going to have to know sooner than later, a voice sounding like Harry's said to him.
Yes, but the consequences could be explosive. He knew how his wife was. While the younger part of him wanted to be honest and open, the more dominant part of him disagreed. Three hundred years of life and experiences told him it would be better not to drop the magic bomb or for that matter the nuclear Dark One reincarnated reveal.
You'll regret it, that annoying voice said again, the truth always comes out.
Not always.
And how are you going to explain Bae?
Yes, he wondered that one too, but didn't say anything in response. He needed to move slowly which was why he said. "Are you sure, dearie, there are some things that might be, well, might be unbelievable."
That was good it wasn't a lie.
Emma raised an eyebrow. "What did I say about calling me 'dearie'?"
He inwardly winced. Old habits die hard, but it was an endearment he had relied on for so many years. Though to be blunt about Emma really deserved more. "I'm sorry, love." He said.
That was better. Love was something Harry called her. Emma loved Harry, he reminded himself. Not him. Not Rumpelstiltskin
But wasn't Harry Potter technically him—the headache it still brought even after a few weeks had gone by.
"Are you okay, Harry?" Emma asked. "Do you really want me to come?"
"Of course, I do." He said. "It's my past, Emma. It's dangerous. Riddle still wants to kill me, and I'm worried about you and the baby."
"Oh," She said.
Oh, was right and for that matter only the tip of the iceberg. Still, he needed and wanted to find Bae, but didn't want to abandon Emma.
He would not abandon another child.
"I don't want either of you to get hurt." He said.
"We won't." She said.
"You don't know that."
"I still want to come."
"Let me make arrangements," He said thinking that maybe he could ward Sirius's old house Dark One style and make it appropriate for Emma to stay at.
A part of him was glad he was back home in England, it allowed the Harry part of him to think that the past seventeen years were real. Of course, this put his other self on edge a bit, but he needed that potion ingredient and he wasn't going to disappoint Bae again.
Emma had been enchanted with everything about London. No surprise there, he remembered how she act all googly eyed when they did the tourist thing in New York.
The stress in their relationship had seemed to disappear if only temporary. He could tell that Emma thought he was opening up to her, and had been practically giddy about meeting his friends.
Ron and Hermione were meeting him at the townhome, when they rang, Emma was asleep.
The problem was they weren't alone, Ginny was there too smiling at him. It was obvious that this had been a set up to bring the two of them back together which inwardly made Rumple roll his eyes.
Hermione shook her head when she saw him, as if knowing inviting Ginny had been a bad idea.
"Good to see you mate," Ron said. "You look well."
He did, he guessed. The Harry Potter who had returned to London looked a bit different than the boy that had left. He was wearing clothes that fit him, had a proper haircut, and had ditched the taped up glasses. A part of Rumple was weary with the way his best friend was looking at him, he could smell the jealousy off of Ron and it didn't please him. Hermione, it seemed, was more or less curious about where he'd been.
"I'm doing alright." He said, "The time away was well needed."
"I wish we could've all taken a vacation," Ron said. "It's been a rough summer, Harry."
"Ron," Hermione hissed. "We're glad you're back, Harry. We missed you."
"Yes, we missed you." Ginny said, "Did you have a good time in New York, Harry?"
"It was exciting," He said as he motioned them to come in.
Hermione looked at him, "The wards seem stronger. Obviously, you've been doing some reading."
"Something like that." He said not mentioning that part of the beauty of being the Dark One was that he could create some of the most powerful wards in the world. "Can I get you three anything, tea?"
They took his offer as he noticed Ginny staring at him. Rumple could only hope that Emma had remained asleep during most of this. God knows, if she wasn't pregnant, he would've dosed her with something so that he could break the news to his friends.
He could only imagine how they were going to take the news that he had married and impregnated a stranger in New York. He halfway expected Ron to deck him. Despite being his best friend, he was Ginny's brother. And even though Harry and Ginny had broken up last year, it was obvious that at least one of the Weasleys expected a reunion.
Rumple knew he should've expected as much. It was obvious that Mama Weasley had wanted him to get together with Ginny and vice versa. It wasn't a bad thing; he could see why she thought they'd be good together. But honestly, he and even the Harry part of him knew it would've never worked.
Ginny was a nice girl, but at the end of the day other than quidditch and Ron they really didn't have too much in common. And the snogging really wasn't that great. The Rumple part of him laughed at how pathetic it was, but not near as bad as the snogging with Cho Chang.
How perception could change with three hundred years of added memories. Plus, all of the Dark Ones—feelings.
"So, did you have a good time on vacation?" Ginny asked.
"It was very eventful." Harry said.
Understatement of the year.
"How have you guys been? Did any of you go back to school?"
It seemed wrong to cut to the chase, but he knew he was being ridiculous. He needed to find out if he could get access to Hogwarts, get the potion ingredients he needed and find Bae. It was that simple. Chit chat wouldn't solve anything.
But they were his friends, or Harry's friends. He wasn't so sure if Ron, Hermione, or Ginny would like the Rumple bits of him.
Sometimes he wasn't sure if he liked him. Living seventeen years as another person, made it easy to loathe yourself.
Not that there wasn't enough bits of him to hate already with what he let happened to Bae.
Hermione sighed heavily. "They kicked muggleborns out. I've been doing assignments though thanks to Ron. I'm hoping to get into Beauxbatons next semester."
"You're attending Hogwarts?" He asked Ron.
Ron nodded. "Mum refused for Gin and I drop out, I'm sure she's going to put pressure on you to return when she finds out your back in town."
Harry rolled his eyes.
"Don't under estimate Mum, mate, she can be scary." Ron said.
More like annoying. Rumple knew he could easily pull out Molly Weasley's heart and end her if need be. He probably wouldn't though, because she was Ron and Ginny's mum. But he found her excessively annoying now. Probably because he had three hundred years of memories of dealing with harpies like her who were always trying to make a deal with the Dark One to get their little darling with a prince or princess and then later regretting it when they realized that there would be a price to be paid.
"Why do you want to know about Hogwarts, Harry?" Hermione said picking up on what he was trying to insulate. "Does this involve Voldemort?"
"It involves something important," Harry said not technically lying. "I need to get some potion ingredients. Do you think you guys can help me?"
"Sure," Ginny said. "I mean, it might be difficult but it should be—"
"Harry, I thought I heard voices."
It was Emma she was awake. Harry inwardly groaned as his friends eyes turned on her. She was wearing his old quidditch jersey of all things and just that. It barely covered her legs. Of course, she thought it was a football jersey not a quidditch jersey but Harry didn't bother correcting her. He loved the way it looked on her.
"You did, love, you did." He said, "Guys, I'd like to meet my wife, Emma Potter."
Ron really didn't take the news well. "Married mate, really?"
"Yeah, married." Harry said, it was later that day. Needless to say, lunch had been awkward. Though Hermione, thank God, had seemed to take things in stride. Poor Ginny though, she seemed more than a little shocked.
And while Rumple felt for her a bit, a part of him wanted to point out to Ron and Ginny that Hinny was dead in the water back in June.
He had tact though. At least now. After making fun of Regina's failed relationship with the stable boy, he learned to hold his tongue a bit if only because he didn't want his heart ripped out of his body again.
Ron shook his head. "My sister, mate. Did you even think about her?"
No. He didn't. He hadn't really given much thought to Ginny Weasley since he met Emma to be honest. He honestly forgot of the Ginny issue until she arrived at Sirius's place. He was sure Emma would be curious about her especially since she already knew he had another girlfriend (actually wife) that resulted in a son.
"Ron, don't get started." Harry found himself saying to his best friend. "Things just happened."
"Obviously," Ron said. "I can't believe you married her."
"You don't even know Emma," Harry found himself saying defending his wife.
"And you do, mate?"
"I know her enough," Harry said. "I married her, didn't I?"
"That's the thing mate, you don't know her. Not like you know Ginny. Or even Cho Chang for Merlin's sake."
"Ron, please." Harry said. "Emma and I are married, you need to respect that."
And if he didn't, well, God knows the Rumple part of him already sort of wanted to turn him into a snail.
He would refrain though, he at least told himself that much.
"Where did you meet her again?" Ron asked.
"I told you we shared a cab ride together. Your sister even said it sounded romantic. Honestly, I think she's handling our breakup better than you."
Ginny had been quite nice to Emma, and so had Hermione. Although, he saw Hermione sneaking him looks like she knew the whirlwind romance story he and Emma blurted out that it wasn't the whole story.
She didn't press though, at least not yet. He had to give his bushy headed friend that and when he asked her to watch over Emma for him earlier, she was more than willing to help. She even sort of understood why he didn't breach the magic thing with Emma yet.
Though Ron questioned it. "I mean, you haven't even told her about magic yet. What sort of relationship is that?"
"We just got married, Ron." Harry said, "Magic is a lot to take in. I am going to tell her eventually, can't you just be nice. Emma is usually the sort of girl you're super nice to."
She was also the type of girl that wouldn't give Ron the time of day despite all his advances. He was pretty sure that Emma in particular wasn't impressed with his best friend either, and could just imagine what Emma was going to say about him behind closed doors. Though, she had been cordial enough. More so than Ron, who he really wish he wouldn't have gotten a nightcap with because it was hard to control his temper.
The potion ingredients, he told himself. Do this for Bae.
Ron grimaced, "I'm telling you mate, something is off about her. I only want what's best for you."
Rumple nodded though didn't pay much attention to Ron. He wished he would've later on.