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"Merlin's beard," she breathes. His eyes take a moment to adjust to the light emanating from her wand, no less blue than she remembers. She'd known there would be another curse-breaker, but— "Jones?"

"Swan?" He replies, a moment later, squinting at her. And then his expression shifts, from confusion to fear to anger, and he lifts his wand, flourishing it threateningly. "Well that's bloody low of you, witch," he hisses, stalking forward. "Stupefy!"

"Protego!" She just barely blocks his spell, but it sends her back a few feet. She glares up at him, digging her heels into the soft dirt of the catacomb. "What the hell!" She shouts, raising her wand. Jones advances on her, eyes wild with fury. He inhales, and she realizes what he's about to do.

"Confringo!"

"Expelliarmus!"

She dodges the fireball that explodes from his wand just as it is thrown from his hand. She lands next to the wand, and scrambles to pick it up. Immediately, Jones sinks to his knees, defiantly meeting her eyes. His expression is contorted with pure hatred, and it cuts straight through her, thinking of the boy who used to tease her in charms class.

"Figures I'd be bested by her," he spits, voice laced with self-loathing. "Well, don't prat around. Do it then, green one. I'm ready for the wand."

Green one? Her eyes widen, pieces coming together. Leroy, the goblin from Gringotts who she'd been in contact with, warning her that the tunnels in the tomb were rumored to cursed, and play tricks on those who entered; clearly Jones had had the same warning.

She slaps him across the cheek, hard. "What the hell is wrong with you? Can't you tell me from some ancient booby trap hex?"

Startled, his eyebrows knot together as he looks up at her. He scrambles to his feet but stays back, staring at her as if he's afraid to touch her. "Swan? Emma? It's truly you?" He falters, a pained look crossing his features as he realizes what he did. He steps forward, his hand hovering over her shoulder, not quite daring to land. "I didn't hurt you, didn't I?"

"No," she exhales, and she knows she should be angrier, but she's honestly just glad the darkness is gone from his face. Seeing the hatred in his eyes, directed at her…it had ripped straight through her, leaving her feeling raw and exposed. Emma purses her lips. "Not for lack of trying though."

He drops his head. "I thought you were the witch in disguise, or an apparition sent to lower my guard. These tunnels are rumored to be—"

"Cursed, I know," she finishes, eying him warily. There's something off that she can't quite put her finger on, like why he so readily jumped to the assumption that she'd have been a trick sent specifically for him. Was it really so strange for her to be working as a curse-breaker?

His lips twitch, despite it all. "Not that I'm wholly opposed to a Hogwarts reunion, but what are you doing here, love?"

"Beginning to ask myself the same thing," she replies, passing him back his wand. She sighs, falling in line with him as he gestures for her to follow him deeper into the cave. "Elsa. After they'd already sent a curse-breaker out here to Slovenia, apparently you, they decided you might need back up. Elsa was the only one available in Europe, but her sister is getting married, and she couldn't come. She recommended me for the job."

"Gringotts must've been pretty impressed with you to start you out on a job this big," Killian muses, pride unmistakably coloring his words. The green stones lining the caverns glitter between them, his eyes bright as he looks as her.

Emma scoffs. "That or they were pretty desperate."

"This job must be more dangerous than I was previously warned," he quips, and he probably shouldn't sound so excited. She rolls her eyes.

"Good to know you haven't changed at all," she says lightly, and feels him stiffen next to her. His fingers curl around her wrist, imploring her to look at him.

"I have changed, Emma," he murmurs quietly, a sense of urgency wavering in his voice. She blinks at him, not sure what he means but afraid to ask, and feels a shiver run up her spine. She'd forgotten how intense Killian Jones could be at the flip of a switch.

Emma pries her wrist from his grasp, moving away from him. She thinks she hears him sigh, but doesn't want to dwell on it. They fall into a short silence, though she can practically hear his mind flying like a runaway golden switch. Then, finally, like he can't help himself, "So, not even going to ask me how I am, Swan? It's been what, eleven years? Love, I'm hurt."

She snorts, but decides to play along. She'd rather talk to him than stalk through a creepy green-hued tunnel in silence. "Okay Jones, how are you?"

"Swimmingly, now that I'm in your lovely company, thanks for asking," he replies, winking at her. "How's your lad?"

At the thought of Henry, Emma smiles, and he sees it, his eyes softening. "He's good. He started Hogwarts this year."

"It's been that long, has it?" He muses to himself. "Tell me he got Hufflepuff."

"You wish," she scoffs, but can't hide the proud grin that tugs at her lips. "Gryffindor."

"Like his mum," Killian replies, looking oddly proud too. "I wanted to be in Gryffindor, you know."

"What, not Slytherin?" She teases, and they both look a little surprised that she was so bold. But Killian looks pleased, and she knows she can't take it back.

"Ha-ha," he says, rolling his eyes. "No, love. I wanted to be in Gryffindor, like my brother." She faintly remembers the elder Jones, mainly because she'd had a bit of a crush on him when she was a third year and he was a prefect. David had also looked up to Liam Jones like he was the second coming of Harry Potter; she was pretty sure David modeled his school schedule after the one Liam had, so he'd have been on the same track.

Emma also knew that something had happened to Liam not long after graduation; he'd gotten a job as an auror, but something had gone wrong on a routine job. David had told her once, much later, but the details were blurry.

She turns her gaze back to Killian, suddenly remembering Killian had also expressed interest in the auror office—until one day, when he hadn't.

He has a faraway look on his face now, but when he notices she's looking at him, he snaps back into reality, quickly shaking the expression like it'd never been there at all. "I'd hoped for Gryffindor, feared Slytherin, and expected Ravenclaw. Certainly never saw bloody Hufflepuff coming. I'll never forget sitting under that damned Sorting Hat; felt like ages."

"I actually remember your sorting taking a long time," she says wistfully, thinking back to first year. (What a world ago.)

"I stand out in your memory, Swan?" His smirk only grows when she rolls her eyes, but doesn't correct him. "It decided that because I wanted Gryffindor out of loyalty to my brother, I should be in Hufflepuff, as that outweighed my bravery, wit, and cunningness."

"Modesty too," Emma quips, though he's right; she remembers him having all three of those core characteristics. Killian Jones could've been in any house, really, and it'd always struck her as odd he'd been put into Hufflepuff.

"Bloody hat said that once I swore myself to something, it was a vow that could not be broken." He glances at her curiously. "Suppose it was right. Of course, I'm quite grateful now. I quickly learned there's no better friend than a Hufflepuff."

She smiles. "That I can agree with."

"Aye, you've gotten quite close with Mary Margaret and Ruby, haven't you?"

Emma nods. "But Ruby was the only one I told about this gig. I can't trust Mary Margaret to keep it to herself, and didn't want to risk David trying to talk me out of it."

"Would've been bloody foolish of him to try; he should know better than to underestimate you when you've put your mind to something." The compliment falls from his lips too easily for Emma's liking, as if he actually believes it.

Flirtatious, but harmless, banter, she can handle—that's always been their relationship—but it'd be another beast entirely if it actually belied something deeper.

She doesn't know what to say to that, so she doesn't say anything at all.

They fall into silence as they pass deeper into the catacomb. It's comfortable with him, but she doesn't like the quiet of the cave; the emeralds gleam at her, almost malevolently, and she can't help but feel like she's being watched. Her thoughts drift to earlier, remembering what he'd called her before he'd realized it was her. "Jones," she murmurs, and he looks at her. "You called me 'green one,' before you realized it was me. Why?"

"Ah, right," he sighs. "Leroy wouldn't have had that intel. What do you know about this place?"

Emma wracks her brain for the rushed debriefing she'd been given. "These are the ruins of a castle owned by a mad witch in the Slovenian mountains, about three hundred years ago. She was killed by her sister when she sealed her in here with the treasure. She was obsessed with gold and emeralds, and hoarded them deep in the mountainside. Muggle grave-robbers and curse-breakers have been looking for the entrance since."

Killian nods approvingly, and stops walking. They've come to a fork in the tunnel; he rubs at an emerald lodged in the wall and murmurs something under his breath. Emma touches one on her right, briefly wonders why they're wasting their time with trying to find galleons when there's a glittering green treasure lining the walls.

He glances at her, as if reading her thoughts. "These ones aren't real. Just stones enchanted to look like emeralds, and another defense mechanism of the witch. If one attempts to remove the stone, they're hit with a nasty hex. Apparently. I don't intend to find out. This way," he says, leading her to the left, and surprisingly, she doesn't fight him, trusting his lead.

"How do you know that? About the stones, I mean?"

"I did some digging around the local towns before coming up here to see what kind of legend I was up against. Gringotts tends to give a skeleton of a story, and muggles usually know more than they realize." He grins at her, tapping his temple with his wand. "Trick of the trade to remember, Swan."

She smirks at him, and he returns it in kind, not skipping a beat. "Legend says she dabbled in magic so dark it literally turned her green, though I suspect it to be more likely a backfired curse. Still, she was certainly formidable. Even the muggles in the local villages know this area to be haunted and avoid it. They call her the green ghost—Zelena; it's Slovenian for green."

Emma rolls his words around in her mind, processing them. "Scary ghost. Got it."

He shoots her a sidelong look. "Ghosts are standard in this line of work, and I'd be quite capable of handling one on my own. Gringotts knows that. If they sent another curse-breaker in after me, they learned something they haven't told us. We should be very wary, love."

She wants to warn him not to call her his love, but there's something in his voice that holds her tongue. His eyes have taken on an icy pallor; he's being quite serious. "They wouldn't send us in here if they thought it was too dangerous," she says finally, more to herself than him. She hopes so, anyway.

He clucks his tongue. "This isn't the Auror office, darling. You underestimate the value goblins put on gold, and the risks they're willing to take to get it. The risks being us."

Emma swallows, wondering, not for the first time, what exactly she's gotten herself into.

They cut down another passageway, and just when Emma's about to ask how deep into the labyrinth he intends to take her, his arm jumps out, bracing against her stomach. "Wait just a tic, love," he whispers, staring at the emerald configuration ahead of them. "These ones are different. Look."

Emma does, realizing that's how he's been determining their path. These emeralds in front of them are all perfect hexagons; they're all perfect, period, and together, make the vague shape of a door. Without thinking, she raises her wand. "Aparecium!"

Sure enough, the emeralds begin to gleam, revealing the outline of a large door, but nothing more. Certainly no doorknob. She feels Killian glance at her, but doesn't give him a moment to speak. "Reducto!" She says, with a strong flourish of her wand. Immediately, the wall caves in, and a golden beam of light floods the passageway.

They gasp in tandem, staring out at the expanse revealed to them: beyond the now-crumbled wall lies a sizable cavern, its landscape molded out of hills of glittering gold and brilliant emeralds, so bright they couldn't be anything but real.

Hesitantly, they step forward into the room, sliding a bit under the shifting galleons. "Bloody hell," Emma breathes, and whether or not it's because she stole his trademark expression or because of the treasure lying beyond them, she'll never know, but Killian actually laughs next to her.

He sounds so deliriously happy that it's contagious, and soon she feels giggles bubbling in her throat. She claps her hands over her mouth, but it's too late. Killian picks her up and spins her around, still laughing. They slip a bit under all the gold, but Killian holds her true and strong.

"You were bloody brilliant, just then, Swan! Amazing!" He says as he drops her back to her feet, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Dimly, she notes he hasn't quite released her, his embrace still warm around her waist.

Suddenly, something catches his eye, and he untangles his arms, much to Emma's (surprising) disappointment. Killian bends over, gingerly reaching for a shining jewelry box. He opens it, grinning, and withdraws a ruby-studded ring for himself, fitting snugly over his thumb.

"I always take a token from my plunders," he explains, noticing her watching him. He then crooks his finger back into the box, pulling up a simple diamond-studded gold hoop on a small chain. It's lovely, and she can't help but appreciate he knew to pick it over the other gaudy baubles in the box. He gestures for her to turn around, and she lets him slip it around her neck, pulling her hair aside.

If he notices that she inhales sharply when his fingers brush her skin, he doesn't comment.

"You sound more like a pirate than a curse-breaker," Emma murmurs, hating how breathless she sounds. She turns to face him slowly, her fingers resting on the necklace.

His pupils are blown wide, his eyes so dark there's barely any blue left in them. He reaches forward, twisting a strand of her blonde hair around his finger. "Yes, well," he replies lowly, huskily, "I have always had a thing for gold."

Emma finds herself moving forward, as if propelled by a magnetized force. Her mind stills, and suddenly wants nothing more than to be close to him. Her lashes brush his cheek as he crooks his neck, lowering his mouth to hers.

Then, just as their lips are about to touch, a loud round of clapping pulls her mind back into reality. They spring apart to find a woman standing at the top of a nearby mound of gold, clapping theatrically. She's dressed in all black, a witches cap settled on a jumble of bright red curls. And, most ominously, her skin practically glows a vibrant emerald green—and very much flesh and blood.

Zelena is no ghost.

"Oh no," she scolds, her voice melodic but no less sinister. "Don't stop on my account. It was just getting good."

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...whoopsie!

to those who may be thinking it would be too soon for them to kiss, remember this is a short story, and things move a bit more quickly round here. and if you think about 2x06, if emma and killian had known each other before they'd gone on their beanstalk adventure and had years of sexual tension to build up, they definitely would've been making out when anton woke up. just saying.

anyway, when i was thinking about where i could send killian and emma on their curse-breaking extravaganza, i just really wanted to use zelena as the antagonist. and it all kinda went crazy from there.

again, i wanted to have some liberties with the HP world, as most AUs are set at Hogwarts. not that there's anything wrong with that, those are always great, but there's also a huge realm of possibilities and i wanted something different.

hopefully this still felt part of the hp AND ouat world! and there were probably some who were confused as to why i put killian in hufflepuff. so hope that was cleared up.

so how is zelena still alive? what's her plan? does it involve regina?

please review! it'll make my day and encourage a faster update.