Henry Mills

"I'm done reading about heroes. I want to be one."

- Henry Mills to David Nolan

Henry Daniel Mills, also known as the Truest Believer and the Author, is a character on ABC's Once Upon a Time. He débuts in the first episode of the first season. He is portrayed by starring cast member Jared S. Gilmore, and does not have an Enchanted Forest counterpart.

During First Curse
Henry is born in a prison in Phoenix, Arizona, and given up for adoption by his birth mother, Emma, because she wishes to give him his best chance in life.

After being given up by Emma, he is placed with his first family, but for an unknown reason, it doesn't work out. He is put up for adoption again in Boston, where Regina adopts him, and she names him Henry after her father. Upon bringing him back to Storybrooke with her, Regina finds Henry is very fussy and difficult to calm down. She attempts to tell him a bedtime story, but he suddenly vomits on her shirt. A thorough check by Dr. Whale at the hospital proves Henry is healthy, but he suggests looking into the birth parents' medical records for genetic diseases. While Regina talks with Sidney on the phone about looking up the information, she hands Henry to a hospital volunteer, Mary Margaret, who instinctively begins rocking and soothing him. Stunned that Henry has finally quieted down, she takes him back into her own arms, to which he starts to cry again, leading her to believe there is something wrong with her as a mother. When Regina, at last, manages to help Henry relax, she receives data from Sidney about her child's birth mother, who was abandoned in the woods eighteen years ago, causing her to suspect this is the grown-up savior of the curse. Since Mr. Gold was the one who procured Henry for her, Regina confronts him about orchestrating everything, but he chalks up her erratic behavior to being a full-time mom. Regina return Henry to Boston, where he will be given to the next potential family, but as she says goodbye to him, she cannot deny her love for Henry and decides to keep him. Even so, she is constantly afraid the birth mother will come searching for Henry one day. After receiving advice from the town therapist, Archie, Regina brings Henry in a crib to her vault, telling him a fairytale story of a queen and her prince, while she makes and then drinks a potion to help herself forget about who his birth mother is.

At ten years old, Henry feels unloved by Regina, and is further saddened by the fact his birth mother gave him up. He relates all of this to his teacher, Ms. Blanchard, during lunch time. Henry is also frustrated by the sameness in town, and believes he doesn't belong. To cheer Henry up, she gives him a fairytale storybook, and explains the stories in it are a reminder that his life will get better if he just holds onto hope. He shows interest in the book, and casually flips through it. For a brief moment, Henry sees a mirage of Ms. Blanchard as a princess.

Henry becomes rebellious towards Regina and begins having therapy sessions with Archie. From reading the storybook, he realizes the stories in the book are real as well as that every person in Storybrooke is a fairytale character under the influence of the Dark Curse. Henry also recognizes his mother as the Evil Queen and has knowledge about the savior, also his birth mother, who is prophesied to break the curse in twenty-eight years. Seeing as it's now twenty-eight years, he steals Ms. Blanchard's credit card and uses it on an online website to track down his birth mother, Emma Swan, in Boston. After she opens the apartment door, he introduces himself as the baby she gave up ten years ago. When Emma threatens to call the police, Henry nonchalantly replies that he'll just tell them she kidnapped him. Emma is not convinced and uses her "superpower" to detect his lie. As she begins making the call, Henry pleas for her to come back to Storybrooke with him. On the drive there, he animatedly fills her in on his book and proclaims all the fairytales in it are real. Upon entering Storybrooke, Henry's refusal to give out his home address prompts Emma to step out of the car, to which Archie approaches them on the street. Henry is dishonest when Archie asks him about why he skipped their session, and is advised against being untruthful. Archie gives Emma the address of Henry's mother and leaves. Henry insists that Archie is Jiminy Cricket and everyone is under the Evil Queen's curse. At his house, he steps out of the car, but purposely leaves his storybook behind. Henry is greeted by an anxious and worried Regina, but runs past her while remarking Emma is his "real" mom. Later, from his bedroom window, Henry watches Emma leave the house. The next day, Henry is severely disappointed that time still hasn't moved forward since bringing Emma back to town. He runs away to his castle playground where Emma returns his book. He speaks about his own adoption and his belief she gave him up for the best chance in life, which brings tears to Emma's eyes. However, they butt heads over his fairytale theory. He even begs Emma not to bring him back to Regina because life with her "sucks" and encourages her to stay in town for at least a week to prove the curse is real. This prompts Emma to disclose how she was abandoned twice; once at birth and then again by her first set of foster parents, though he contends she came through a magic tree as an infant. After going home, he stares at the clock tower from his window until it begins moving forward in time. To this, he realizes Emma decided to stay after all.

The next morning, Henry sits on his bed happily as he watches the clock move. His mom walks in with his storybook, and asks where the torn out pages are. He claims not to know, though Regina cares quite a bit as Henry seems to think she is some "evil queen", and it hurts her feelings as his mother. Henry retorts that she is not his mother, and as the clock tower chimes, he rushes off to the diner to order a cinnamon hot chocolate for Emma. From another table booth, he reveals himself and invites her to walk him to school. Upon seeing her try to eat one of Regina's apples, he hastily throws it away and engages her in conversation about the curse by adopting the name "Operation Cobra" to keep the Evil Queen off their trail. He pulls out torn out pages from the storybook, and claims the infant in the drawing is her. During an outdoor school lesson, he called out by his mom, who tells him that Emma was arrested. Though Regina warns that Emma is a con woman, he is unfazed by the news and excuses himself back to class. With Mary Margaret, Henry bails Emma out of jail. After school, he arrives home to overhear Emma in discussion with Regina, and is extremely hurt when she refers to him as "crazy". Henry runs off before she can explain. Later, while still upset, he refuses to talk during a session with Archie until Emma bursts in to clear up the misunderstanding. Emma regains Henry's trust by telling him she told Regina what was necessary to throw her off their trail as they work to break the curse. To prove her point, she takes the storybook pictures and burns them in the fireplace so Regina will never find out. With his faith restored, Henry happily runs to hug Emma.

During a hospital volunteer day with his class, Henry curiously wanders into the room of a comatose patient, John Doe, when Mary Margaret enters. She explains the mystery of the man's identity. From this, he begins to believe John Doe is Prince Charming, and later proclaims to Emma that the man is her father. Through much persistence, he begs Emma to have Mary Margaret read the Snow White fairytale in his book to John Doe. Mary Margaret agrees, and the three plan to meet at the diner for a full report in the morning. Henry waits expectantly with Emma, and is pleased when Mary Margaret blurts out that John Doe grabbed her hand in his sleep. They rush back to the hospital only to discover John Doe disappeared the previous night. Regina drags Henry back home while Sheriff Graham takes care of the investigation, but he sneaks out into the forest as a search party is ongoing. He insists that John Doe is looking for Mary Margaret. While Emma wants to take Henry home, Graham finds John Doe's patient tag. At the shore, Mary Margaret begins resuscitating John Doe using mouth-to-mouth, nearly giving up, when he sputters awake. Back at the hospital, Henry and the others watch from outside the door as John Doe is put into recovery when a blonde woman, Kathryn, rushes in. As it turns out, Kathryn is John Doe's long lost wife, and his real name is David Nolan. Regina calls Henry to leave for home, though he makes an excuse to grab his backpack. To Mary Margaret, he assures that she and David belong together.

Henry obediently follows Regina's rules for staying home and doing his homework, but once she leaves for a council meeting, he bolts out to find Emma at Mary Margaret's apartment. Henry runs into Mr. Gold, who is just leaving the apartment, and expresses confusion to Emma over the identity of his fairytale counterpart. Emma informs Henry that a pregnant woman, Ashley, is missing, and she needs to find her. Henry ignores her orders to go home and follows along to the diner, where she proceeds to interrogate Ruby. When Ruby reveals that Ashley has two stepsisters and a stepmother, Henry quickly catches on and starts to mention "Operation Cobra", but Emma shushes him before he can finish. Next, Emma decides to see Ashley's ex-boyfriend, Sean. She is told by his father, Mitchell Herman, that Ashley has agreed to sell her baby to Mr. Gold. Henry warns her that she cannot make Ashley break a deal with Mr. Gold. When the duo questions Ruby again, she admits she let Ashley have her car to drive out of Boston. Emma sends Henry home, but as she is driving away to find Ashley, he pops up in the back seat. He states that no one will be able to leave Storybrooke because of the Dark Curse, and if anyone tries, bad things will happen. On the side of the road, Ashley is going into labor, to which Emma drives her back to the hospital. While in the waiting room, Henry claims to Emma that no one can leave Storybrooke except her. This fact, he argues, reinforced his idea about the Enchanted Forest and that she really was the savior. After Emma saves Ashley's baby from being taken by Mr. Gold, she drives Henry home. He narrowly escapes getting caught by Regina when she gets home.

The next day, Henry is in another session with Archie. He strongly believes his therapist used to be Jiminy Cricket as Archie humors him. Moments after, the town suffers an earthquake and a large sinkhole appears at the entrance of an abandoned mine. He and Archie go to the site to have a look. Henry notices Regina tuck something into her coat, and believes the sinkhole must have evidence of the curse. He relates this idea to both Archie and Emma, but is cut off when Regina orders him into her car. At the next therapy session, Marco comes to Archie's office in order to see his long-time friend. Henry excitedly reveals that Marco is actually Geppetto, and outlines his plans to search the mine because he is positive that the sinkhole's sudden appearance has something to do with the curse. Archie cuts him off; telling him that if he continues on with his crazy idea, people will think he is insane and lock him up. Henry is crushed by Archie's demand that his nonsense must end, and leaves visibly upset. In tears, he goes straight to Emma, who comforts him and then drops him back home. Nonetheless, Henry is unable to give up on his idea, and ventures into the mines. Inside, he removes a piece of decorative glass that bears a striking similarity to the one Regina pocketed earlier. Suddenly, the ceiling begins collapsing. Henry finds Archie inside the mines as well, and they become lost. From following the sound of Pongo's bark, they come upon an elevator and start cranking it upward to the surface, but it gets stuck halfway up. Henry apologizes for being reckless as Archie is also remorseful for his own harsh words earlier. In truth, he doesn't really think Henry is crazy, and though Regina is extremely protective, it's perfectly fine to have an imagination. In turn, Henry inspires Archie to change into the person he wants to be rather than listening to other people all the time. They discuss Henry's fairytale theory, and his firm belief that there simply has to be more to the world. Suddenly, Emma is lowered down on a harness to bring them up. Archie almost falls with the collapsing elevator, but latches on to Emma's foot with umbrella. All three of them are lifted to safety.

After David is released from the hospital, he and Emma attend his welcome home party. Henry theorizes that David doesn't remember his life as Prince Charming due to the curse, and needs to recall them before his false memories set in. Emma tries to convince him that the reason David got lost a few nights back by the Toll Bridge is due to amnesia. Henry thinks if David is asked about his previous sword fighting skills as Prince Charming, it will jog his memory. When he openly inquiries about this later, David laughs at the thought.

Sheriff Graham stops by Regina's house where Henry answers the door. Graham wants to speak with Henry, and asks Henry if he is in his book. After showing him a picture of wolf, Graham recognizes it as the Wolf he has seen around Storybrooke, and tells Henry that he has been flashes of what he believes to be a past life, and they began after he kissed Emma. Henry is surprised Graham kissed Emma, and listens as he continues to describe the flashes; one being the wolf, the other having a knife and getting ready to hurt Mary Margaret. Henry turns the page, and finds out that Graham is the Huntsman because he was raised by wolves, and once spared Snow White's life. Graham asks what happened to him after he spared Snow White's life, and Henry states the Evil Queen ripped out his heart.

After Graham's death, Henry becomes depressed and warns Emma that they should not mess with the curse. He blames himself for Graham's death and wants to give up on "Operation Cobra". However, his faith is renewed when Emma wins the position as the new town sheriff.

A few days later, Henry is browsing in Mr. Clark's store when two children about his age walk up to him. They introduce themselves as Ava and Nicholas and ask him to hang out. Just as Henry is about to leave, Mr. Clark corners them and accuses them of shoplifting. He calls Regina who, when she arrives, is confident that Henry is framed by the two orphans. Henry arrives at the police station and tells Emma that Ava and Nicholas are really Hansel and Gretel, and asks her about his birth father. Emma tells him that his father was a man training to be a firefighter who liked pumpkin pie and died trying to save a family from a burning apartment building.

Emma succeeds in reuniting Ava and Nicholas with their father, and Henry gets a pumpkin pie to share with Emma. As they leave the diner, he comments she really is changing things in Storybrooke. Suddenly, they hear a rumbling noise, and turn to see a man on a motorcycle riding into town.

In the morning, Henry walks out of his house with his backpack when he sees the stranger from last night with his motorcycle and a large box attached to the back of it. He asks the man what he is doing in Storybrooke, and that no one ever comes here. Regina notices Henry conversing with the stranger, and comes out to investigate, but the man drives away quickly on his motorcycle.

Regina demolishes Henry's castle playhouse for safety reasons, which upsets him greatly. He also discovers that his storybook of fairytales has disappeared. Emma tries to expose Regina for wasting Storybrooke's stolen money on a separate house for herself in the woods, however, the house turns out to be a modern playground for all the children of Storybrooke. Regina then warns Emma to stay away from Henry, or else she will take legal action against her. While Henry is playing on the playground with the other children, he asks if they can talk about "Operation Cobra" sometime. Emma declines and says that his mom might keep her away from him if they tried. As she drives away, Henry watches her leave.

A few days later, during Mr. Gold's imprisonment for physical assault on Moe, Regina arrives at the station with Henry. She bribes Emma to spend some time with him so she can speak to Mr. Gold for thirty minutes. He and Emma go to the parlor to get ice cream.

After that, Regina gives Henry a video game to apologize for her destroying his castle, but Henry still misses his book. A few minutes later, a visibly upset Kathryn comes into Regina's office in order to speak with her, and Henry leaves. Emma later finds his storybook and surprises him by returning it.

Many days later, he helps out in the sheriff's office browsing on the computer through possible jobs for a recently unemployed Ruby. Most of the job listings involve carrying something in a little basket and delivering it, but she does not like the sound of any of them. However, Ruby is very good at directing and answering office telephone calls, which Emma takes note of. Emma hires Ruby as her assistant. When David is reported in a daze in the woods, Emma is ready to go look for him when Henry cuts in. He reveals that Ruby is actually Red Riding Hood, but that she does not know how cool she can be. Emma heeds Henry's advice and takes Ruby with her. Ruby successfully finds David, and later finds a crucial piece of evidence under the Toll Bridge linking Mary Margaret to Kathryn's murder.

Soon after Mary Margaret's arrest, Henry sits a the diner counter trying to think of ways he can help. August comes in and offers him some encouragement. August tells Henry to look inside his book for the answers. He becomes excited at the prospect of someone believing in him and browses through the book.

After coming to the sheriff department, he finds Mary Margaret's cell empty. He sits out in the hallway until Emma and Mr. Gold walk up to him, and he tells them they did a good thing by freeing Mary Margaret from her cell. Emma is confused until she goes into the sheriff's office to see what he is talking about. In a panic, she leaves the station to find Mary Margaret, and eventually finds her in a crazed stranger's house, who believes himself to be the Mad Hatter with a daughter named Grace. The next day, Emma talks with Henry before he has go to class. A classmate, Paige, greets Henry on her way into the school building. Puzzled by the girl's appearance, Emma asks Henry for his book, and he happily offers it up. She flips through the book until she sees a picture page with the Mad Hatter and Grace.

With August's assistance, Emma follows up a lead that Mary Margaret has been set up by Regina. She finds proof of a shovel piece, to which Henry helps set them up to enter into the house garage with a key while Regina is busy in the shower. Inside Regina's garage, August and Emma find a shovel is a perfect match for the piece they found earlier. However, when Emma comes back the next day with a search warrant, the shovel is gone. Despite the setback, they do find a disheveled and alive Kathryn in the diner alley.

One morning, August suffers a severe leg spasm, and phones Henry to "move the plan along faster". On a rainy morning, they have a stakeout across the street from Mr. Gold's pawnshop. Henry does not understand how this is part of "Operation Cobra", but August asks him to do as he says. Henry goes into the store and distracts Mr. Gold by asking to buy a homecoming gift for Mary Margaret, who has since been released from custody following Kathryn's reappearance. Later, at the party, he asks August if he found what he was looking for, and how bad was it when Mr. Gold caught him snooping in the store. August admits he did not find what he wanted, but he believes "it" will find him. Shortly thereafter, Emma escorts Henry out of the party as Regina does not know he is here, and he will have to go home since his mother will be home shortly. Emma opens the door just as David is preparing to come in. To save Mary Margaret the awkwardness of dealing with him, she asks Henry to walk home with David.

Since regaining his book, Henry notices the story of Pinocchio has been added to the pages. One day at school, Emma approaches him and asks to read the book, to which he happily obliges. However, he quickly notices that the new pages are strange and asks Emma for her help over it. She does not take him seriously and leaves.

After another bad encounter with Regina, and August's crazy suggestion that she is Storybrooke's "savior", Emma becomes fed up and wants to leave town with Henry. She offers him a ride in the car, and after does he realize what is happening, Henry forces the steering wheel to swerve, and the car comes to a halt in a brush of trees. He tells her that she must stay and break the curse. Emma reluctantly agrees to go back. Worried about Emma's lack of belief in the curse, Henry seeks out August at his bed and breakfast guest room. As August pulls up his pant leg, Henry is able to see the leg is wooden. August explains that it's no longer possible for him to help with "Operation Cobra" with his rapid transformation into wood and it's up to Henry. So, he rushes over to convince Emma that the curse is real, but she urgently tells him she is leaving town so the feud between her and Regina can stop. He hugs her tightly, unable to say goodbye, and then notices an apple turnover sitting on the table. Alarmed, he frantically asks where she got it from. Emma states it is a treat from Regina, but Henry is adamant that she doesn't eat it. Henry refuses to accept that Emma is leaving his life for good and promises her that he has faith in her, and will somehow prove that the curse exists. Henry grabs the apple pastry and before she can stop him, he takes a bite. At first, he seems fine, but then collapses unconscious.

Emma rushes him to the hospital, but Henry is completely comatose. She shows Dr. Whale the apple turnover he ate, but he is not convinced that is what made Henry collapse. Emma is frustrated Dr. Whale does not believe her, and comes to the sharp conclusion what happened to Henry is like "magic". She dumps out everything in Henry's backpack, and reaches for his storybook. With one touch of the book, a flash of the Enchanted Forest events come to her. Now enraged, she angrily confronts Regina about the apple turnover, and the poison she put it in, which was intended for Emma to consume. Mary Margaret reads to Henry in the hopes that he would wake up as David did, but it does not work. In the middle of her explanation for giving the book to him, his heart flat lines. Despite the doctors' best attempts, Henry passes away. Regina and Emma, who had been working on finding a magical cure, arrive on the scene, and both collapse in tears. Emma kisses Henry's forehead as a last goodbye, but, as a mother's love is unconditional, she unintentionally gives him the kiss of true love and breaks the curse he is under as well as the Dark Curse. Henry wakes up, and everyone in Storybrooke regains memories of their former lives in the Enchanted Forest. However, Regina is horrified that the curse is broken, and in a panic, states her love for Henry, who looks at her questionably. Then, she rushes out of the hospital. From the window, Henry and Emma notice a purple cloud of magic, which was created by Mr. Gold, descending over the town.

After First Curse
After the curse is broken, Henry reunites with Mary Margaret, David, the dwarves, Ruby, and Granny. While Emma and her parents hug, he calls David, "Grandpa", which the latter joyfully acknowledges before embracing him as well. Henry is scared for his adoptive mother when he hears that Dr. Whale is leading a mob to Regina's house and begs Emma and the others to stop it. After doing so, a Wraith released by Mr. Gold begins hunting down Regina, to which a magic hat is used to transport it into a portal, though Emma and Mary Margaret are also sucked in. In the aftermath, Henry walks in with Ruby to see his adoptive mother strangling David. He calls Regina an evil queen upon hearing what happened to Emma and Mary Margaret and refuses to see her again until they come back. Henry leaves with David and begins living in the apartment.

Outside the town hall, Henry waits with Ruby for David. When he arrives, Henry tries to cheer him up, but fails because Leroy runs in and reveals that if anyone leaves Storybrooke, they lose all their memories of the Enchanted Forest forever. He goes home with David and tries to help him with his speech in boosting the town residents' morale and calming the chaos, but then David runs off to seek out Jefferson to find a way to rescue Emma and Mary Margaret. Henry goes with Ruby to the meeting at the town hall, but David never shows up. Instead, Regina terrorizes the townspeople with her new-found magic until Henry grudgingly agrees to return home with her. Locking himself in his room, he attempts to escape out the window, but Regina blocks him with a barrier spell. Frustrated over being imprisoned, Henry accuses her of making him feel crazy because he knew, while the curse was still intact, the truth about the Enchanted Forest and the people in it. Wishing to make amends, she offers to teach him magic as much can be gained from it, but Henry declares he'd rather not become like her. Realizing she is making her son unhappy, Regina allows Henry to leave with David. She only wishes for him to be with her if he wants to and not by force. Regina promises Henry that she will strive to be worthy of his love and promises him that she will redeem herself. After departing with David, they head to the diner where Henry tells Marco of his son's true identity.

Hoping to help retrieve Emma and Mary Margaret, Henry suggests to David that they take on the mission name "Operation Scorpion". Regretfully, David doesn't want him to get involved and would rather he just attend school like an average boy. Henry is walked to the school bus, but he only pretends to get on. Once David is out of sight, he runs off to find the owner of the portal hat, Jefferson, who tells him about Regina's vault that may contain magic. Noticing Jefferson's troubled state, Henry urges him to find his daughter, Paige. Over the phone, Henry invites Regina to lunch at the diner. When she accepts and leaves her office, he breaks in to steal keys to the vault and unlock a box only for poisonous vipers to rear up at him. Luckily, he is quickly rescued by David who was informed by her after Henry stood her up and figured out what he was up to. Henry apologizes for disobeying him since he misses Emma and Mary Margaret very much. David comforts him, and the two leave the vault. Later, while Henry sits in Emma's car, David hands him a wooden sword as they start a sparring match.

Henry hangs out in the mines watching David and the dwarves mining for fairy dust. The plan is to find fairy dust, and use it on Jefferson's hat with possible transportation to and from the Enchanted Forest. Ruby brings lunch in a basket, and Henry takes a muffin.

David brings Henry to the stables, and shows him his new pony. He tells him that he will need to take care of the pony, and has to earn its trust before he can ride it. Henry starts to groom his pony, and David leaves the stables to tend to other matters. He continues to groom him for sometime until a recently resurrected Daniel arrives and scares Henry's pony; making it rear and bolt out of the stables in fear. Henry asks him to stop because he is scaring the horses. Then, he sees the blood on hands and offers to help him, but this triggers a bad memory in Daniel's mind, and he grabs Henry's neck and lifts him off the ground. David arrives and saves Henry; telling him to run.

Henry wakes up screaming from a nightmare in Storybrooke and is comforted by David. He tells David of seeing a room without windows and doors covered in blood red curtains with flames in the room. He also describes a female figure on the other side of the room, and that it is observing him. David calms Henry by lighting a candle to sooth him. Unbeknownst to either, Henry's nightmare closely mirrors that of another person.

Henry is still having nightmares. David catches him trying to stay up by drinking coffee. He reassures Henry that everything will be fine and that he will watch over him, but when he has his nightmare and wakes screaming, it is Regina who comforts him. Henry wonders why she's there instead of David, and she informs him that David got an emergency call and was forced to leave. Henry discovers a burn on his hand, and in a panic realizes that his nightmares are real. Regina calls Mr. Gold over, who kindly gives Henry a necklace that lets him control his actions in the nightmare. The next time he goes to sleep, he is visited by a depressed David, who fears informing Henry he might never see Emma and Mary Margaret again due to Albert Spencer burning the hat out of revenge. Meanwhile, in his nightmare, Henry is delighted to discover that the necklace works, which allows him to put the fires out. He sees a woman and tells her that his name is Henry, and that she should not be afraid.

When an asleep Henry revisits the Netherworld, the same woman, Aurora, is there and tells Henry she is with his mother and grandmother and that they need his help. Before she can tell him how, he wakes up. Frantically, he tells Regina and David the news. Amidst the good news, he tells Regina that they need help from her mother. Henry agrees to contact Aurora again in the netherworld. Regina and David sit by his bed as Mr. Gold tells Henry that the key to stopping Cora is the squid ink found in the Dark Dungeon. While in this nightmare, Henry tries to tell Aurora about the squid ink, but she cannot hear him and is sucked away. He wakes up and they ask him if he delivered the message. He says that he was not able to tell her. Regina notices a burn on his arm and refuses to send him back as the dreams are physically scorching him. Mr. Gold uses magic to heal Henry's arm. David, too, does not want to send Henry back and instead asks to be put under the sleeping curse.

Later, Henry watches as Regina combines the magical ingredients to form a sleeping curse for David. He asks her if she has stopped using magic. Regina admits to using magic on Daniel, and that she is trying to use it to help. Henry is pleased by this. Regina hands the curse to Mr. Gold who dips it into a needle. David asks Mr. Gold how to find Mary Margaret and he does not know. His finger is pricked, and David falls under the sleeping curse. As David lies asleep, Henry becomes increasingly concerned over why he isn't waking up.

Regina goes to Henry and asks him to watch over David for awhile because she is preparing for Cora's arrival with Mr. Gold. Before she leaves, Regina tells her son that she will do anything in her power to keep Emma and Mary Margaret safe. Later, Henry is awoken by the dwarves because all of the diamonds have disappeared, and they suspect Mr. Gold and Regina. With Ruby, Henry heads to the wishing well where Mr. Gold and Regina have placed an enchantment over it to kill anyone passing through the portal as they believe Cora will come through instead of Emma and Mary Margaret. As Henry confronts Regina, she claims to be protecting Henry from her mother who will destroy everything she loves; including him. Henry pleads for her to believe that Emma and Mary Margaret will be the ones to arrive in Storybrooke. Wishing to earn her son's love, Regina lifts the curse. Soon, Emma and Mary Margaret emerge from the well unscathed and reunite with Henry. They head to the pawnshop where Mary Margaret uses true love's kiss to awaken David from the sleeping curse. Henry hugs his mother; thankful and pleased that she truly has changed. Emma asks Henry if he would like lunch and he, along with Emma, Mary Margaret, David, Ruby and the dwarves, goes to the diner to celebrate.

During a welcome home party for Emma and Mary Margaret, Henry hangs out with Regina and has some of her home-cooked lasagna. The next morning, after finishing up breakfast the diner with Emma, they come across a distraught Pongo. Ruby, sensing something is off, goes with Emma to check Archie's office while Henry heads off to the bus stop for school. After school, Henry is saddened to learn that Regina killed Archie.

Henry tears up at Archie's funeral, and Emma tries her best to console him. After the funeral, he stays in his room and calls Archie's office just to hear the answering message. He is slightly cheered up after Emma gives him Pongo, who he takes outside to clean up. Mary Margaret and David announce that they are house hunting for another place to stay, so Henry draws a blueprint of what Mary Margaret's room will become. Emma notices that Henry has converted her room into an armory. He tells her it is so that they will be protected against Regina. Emma assures him that they will not need it. Then, Pongo is seen acting strangely around the front door. Emma opens the door to see an alive and well Archie, who explains he was abducted by Cora. Emma tells Henry that they need to contact Regina since they wrongfully blamed her for murder, though they may pay the price.

Later that night, Emma, David, and Mary Margaret spend the night trying to figure out what to do with a mysterious outsider who crashed into town as Henry is being taken care of by Granny. The following morning, he asks his family about what happened. As they reveal Dr. Whale's identity is Dr. Frankenstein, he realizes the story of Frankenstein doesn't exist in the storybook. He theorizes that if the curse took people from other stories, anyone could be in Storybrooke. Suddenly, Mr. Gold arrives demanding Emma fulfill the long-standing favor she owes him by helping to find his son. He threatens, if Belle is harmed in his absence, then they will all die. At these words, Emma hugs Henry protectively.

In the morning, Emma decides Henry must come with her while she is out of town with Mr. Gold so he'll be safe from Cora. As they drive past Storybrooke's border, Henry witnesses Mr. Gold's spell work, in which he retains his Enchanted Forest memories. Going through the airport metal detector, Mr. Gold is made to take off his shawl, a memento of his son. Overcome with physical weakness after losing the shawl, Mr. Gold takes out his anger on a bathroom paper dispenser, and he only stops when Henry arrives to tell him they are going to board the plane soon. Once they are on the plane to New York, Henry regards their travels excitedly while Emma reassures an unenthusiastic Mr. Gold that they will find his son.

Arriving in Manhattan by taxi cab, the trio enter a building, where the magic globe previously pinpointed as the location of Mr. Gold's son. They look through the resident names listed on the apartment call buttons until Emma pushes one with no name on it. When the person on the other end picks up, she pretends to be a UPS delivery person. After the call is dropped abruptly, they hear scuffling and rush out to see a hooded man jump down the fire escape and flee from the street. As Emma gives chase, Henry and Mr. Gold spend time together. The older man buys him a hot dog, which the latter thanks him for. Later, the pair head back into the apartment complex to wait for Emma. Henry, noticing how fidgety Mr. Gold is, inquiries why he's nervous to see his son again. The boy recalls how happy he himself was to be reunited with Emma, but Mr. Gold hints that he and his son did not part on good terms. Henry reassures him that no matter what happened between them in the past, what counts now is that Mr. Gold wants his son back. When Emma returns to tell Mr. Gold that his son got away, he presses all the call buttons until one of the residents buzzes the front gate open. Going upstairs, Mr. Gold then pick locks his son's apartment door so he can search the room for clues about him. Noticing Emma's fixation on a dream catcher, he angrily confronts her about withholding information, and as his tone becomes threatening, she sends Henry to wait in the bathroom. Moments later, the boy hears shouting and returns to the room, where he sees Mr. Gold's son, Neal. Emma attempts to lead Henry out when Neal, realizing the child is his son, persistently asks for his age. Emma reluctantly admits to the truth as an upset Henry runs to the fire escape. Joining him, Emma apologizes for lying about his father, to which he likens her to Regina, who has lied to him as well. Later, Henry and Neal introduce themselves to each other and share a quiet moment on the balcony. From the window, Mr. Gold ominously recalls the Seer's prophecy about a boy leading him to his son, but who will also be his undoing.

In a short span of time, Henry and Neal develop a close bond and walk together on the streets as Emma and Mr. Gold follow behind closely. The father-son duo enter a store to grab some pizza and exit carrying a few slices. When Emma queries her son on how he likes the food, Henry states it is good, cheesy and doesn't lie; with the last part proving he is still angry at her for lying about his father. For their next outing, Neal suggests going to the museum, so the foursome return to the apartment to fetch Henry's camera. While Henry and Neal are upstairs, Emma defends Mr. Gold from a surprise assault from Hook, who she knocks out cold. Mr. Gold, stabbed and poisoned by Hook, is helped upstairs to the apartment. After Emma and Neal leave the room briefly, Henry offers to help Mr. Gold, who angrily tells him to stay away. Believing Henry is the boy in the seer's prophecy, he openly blames him for the grievous injury. Unsure what to make of the older man's reaction, Henry sits back as Emma and Neal try to treat Mr. Gold's wound.

On the way back to Storybrooke, Henry and Neal steer the Jolly Roger together. When they arrive in town, Mr. Gold states that he needs David, Emma, Neal, and Mary Margaret to come to his shop. Henry asks Emma if this means he will be going with Ruby, to which she replies yes. Before they leave, Henry assures them that they will get Cora.

In the apartment, Henry notices Mary Margaret is bedridden and refusing food. Confused, he asks Emma, and she says Mary Margaret is sick. However, Henry can tell she is lying. Eventually, she admits Mary Margaret is partially responsible for Cora's death. Mr. Gold visits to warn them about Regina's plans to get revenge on Mary Margaret. On David's insistence, Mr. Gold agrees to help them stop her. After investigating the vault, they find Regina intends to cast a "curse of the empty-hearted". The curse, when cast on someone—namely Henry—can make the caster think the person loves her. Furthermore, Mr. Gold explains, in order to enact the curse, Regina needs the heart of the person she hates—Mary Margaret. He suggests they end this feud by killing Regina, which a horrified Henry speaks out against. When no one else objects, he dashes out of the apartment. Emma catches up and hauls him to the diner where Neal tries to convince Henry that Storybrooke is not safe for him, and he needs to move to New York. Instead, Henry thinks it's best to get rid of magic so Regina can't use the curse, and everyone won't be out for her blood. When Neal presses the New York issue, he finally agrees to move out of town. After excusing himself to the bathroom, Henry flees through the woods and steals dynamite from the mines. He prepares to light it to blow up the wishing well, but Regina stops him. Henry pleads for his mother to not cast the curse, especially since it won't make him truly love her. David, Emma and Neal arrive for a showdown with Regina, though Henry ceases their fighting. Henry believes the problem is everyone as magic is corrupting everyone. To placate him, Regina burns the curse parchment. He thanks her and leaves with David, Emma and Neal.

August, after hiding out due to his still wooden state, is discovered by Mary Margaret. Henry and David join Emma, Marco and Mary Margaret on a walk to the sheriff's office where they believe August may be in trouble. As they reach the building, everyone witnesses August stumble out and collapse on the ground. Before he dies, August attempts to give Emma the name of the person who harmed him, but only manages to say "her". Henry realizes August can have a second chance at life if he has proven his actions to be selfless, brave and true. Agreeing with his opinion, Mother Superior tests out her wand on August and successfully reverts him into a seven-year-old Pinocchio. On their return to the apartment, Emma apologizes to Henry for lying to him about Neal and promises to not lie again. They make up with a hug and then go upstairs together.

On a trip to the park, Henry and Neal practice wooden sword fighting. At the end of the day, Neal carries an asleep Henry home, and Emma tucks him into bed.

While tending to birdhouses, Henry is caught off guard by Regina, who shows him a magic bean she intends to use to bring the both of them back to the Enchanted Forest. Upset that the townspeople kept the magic beans a secret from her, Regina informs him about a "fail-safe" that can erase Storybrooke. At first, Henry believes she means to wipe out the town and bring everyone to the Enchanted Forest. However, he is shocked she actually wants to kill everyone so they can be together without interference. Henry threatens to warn the townspeople about her plan, but she cast a spell to impair his memory of the entire conversation. Later, in the apartment, Henry overhears Emma telling Mary Margaret a theory that Tamara is the "her" August was trying to warn them about. With Emma, they have a stakeout in the car outside of the inn to wait for Neal and Tamara to leave the premises. When Henry talks about having wanted to experience new things in the Enchanted Forest, he discovers from Emma that there is a way to go there, despite that she keeps denying it. After Neal and his lover finally leave, Emma begins pick locking Tamara's room. Once the door is open, she instructs Henry to keep watch and if someone comes, he must kick the door. Distracted, Henry doesn't see Neal return until it's too late and hastily begins kicking the door. Neal figures out something is up and bursts into the room. Emma confesses she believes Tamara is the "her" August spoke of. Despite the far-fetchedness of the situation, Neal allows Emma to look under the floorboards. She finds nothing incriminating, and abruptly leaves with Henry. While dining on ice cream, Henry affirms that he believes Emma is right about Tamara.

A day later, Regina has mysteriously disappeared, and Henry, Emma, David and Mary Margaret inspect the mayoral office with the intent of confronting her about the missing magic beans, but she is not there. Henry is horrified at the prospect his adoptive mother might be in real danger, though Emma assures him they will find her. When they discover the beans Regina stole from the fields are also gone, and somebody used an override code to break in to the office, Henry becomes convinced something bad did happen to Regina. Instinctively, Emma knows this must is Tamara's doing, and heads back to the bed and breakfast to look into it.

In the park, Granny watches over Henry playing on a swing while his family is trying to find Regina. At a distance, Mr. Gold schemes to keep the seer's prophecy from coming true by causing the boy's demise. He begins loosening the swing rope little by little with the hopes Henry will fall onto a nearby sharp rock. While this occurs, Henry remains unaware of the danger he is in. Mr. Gold moves to deliver the finishing magic blow to the rope material, but the sound of a car door slamming startles him into stopping. From a parked truck, David, Emma and Mary Margaret make their way on foot to pick up Henry. Surprised to see Mr. Gold, David and Mary Margaret prepare to tell him about Neal while Emma is urged on to speak with Henry. Emma approaches and pulls Henry to a nearby bench to break the terrible news about Neal's death to him.

Heartbroken over his father's passing, Henry returns with the trio to the apartment, where he has a warm reunion with a fully recovered Regina. A sudden quake erupts, and according to Regina, this means the trigger is activated. A verbal battle breaks out between Henry's two mothers, which he douses by telling them the only way to save the town is for them to work together. Henry takes to mean they are all going to die, but is reminded by her that he was born in this world and won't be affected. This gives him an even more dreadful conclusion of being all alone. Emma promises she won't let that happen and orders Regina to make the trigger stop, but there is no way of doing that. Tension fills the air when Emma blames Regina for the current dilemma, to which Henry intervenes. Just then, Hook strolls in; earning himself a punch from David's fist. Despite an undeniable wish for vengeance, Hook has decided to align himself away from Greg and Tamara since realizing revenge is not worthy if he is going to lose his own life in the process. Regina makes it clear there is no terminating the trigger and the best she can do is to slow it down. David suggests the delay will give them more time to steal back the remaining beans from Greg and Tamara, use them to open portals, and traveling to the Enchanted Forest. Emma points out no one knows their current whereabouts, though Hook chimes in he knows. To keep the pirate from betraying them, David goes along with him. A plan assembles for everyone else in the group; Mary Margaret will take Henry to gather up the rest of the townspeople while Emma brings Regina to the mines to stall the trigger's power. Before Henry leaves, Regina makes her last amends by apologizing to him for not being a better person and mother. She reaffirms her love for him, which he reciprocates back.

Having retrieved at least one magic bean, David and Hook return to the diner where some of the townspeople are grouped. Henry questions where his adoptive mother is, and Emma tells him that she is in the mines slowing down the trigger, but will not be able to make it out. This angers Henry; comparing this event to the Wraith attack and how are things different this time around. This gives Mary Margaret an idea—they can send the trigger through a portal just like they did with the Wraith. Emma doesn't believe anyone is willing to go through with such a risky plan, but Archie persuades her it's the right thing to do. He talks about in the past when Mary Margaret was Snow White and David was Prince Charming, who led all of them without fail, and asks who is inclined to allow them to do it again, to which everyone follows suit in agreement. Mary Margaret knows she and David haven't had a lot of time to be parents, but asks for chance to be trusted, though Emma is concerned Henry will be alone and grow up just like herself. Another rumble tremors through town, which pushes Emma to think they'd all be better off making it out now by using the bean, but Mary Margaret's lingering guilt about Cora forces a moral obligation to do otherwise. She pleads to Emma that Cora's death was the easy way out as well as a mistake, and this time around they must take the hard path to building a future not at the cost of Regina's blood. Emma finally agrees, but as David tosses her the bean container, Hook snatches it in mid-air. She makes him give it back, which he pretends to do by handing back the box and makes off with the actual bean.

Down in the mines, Henry and his family meet up with Regina, and he announces it is their turn to be heroes. David, Henry and Mary Margaret stand back as Emma prepares to take out the bean, but discovers Hook tricked them. Regina's frustration in not being able to contain the trigger causes Emma to realize she does not have enough strength on her own, but perhaps together they do. Combining their magic powers, an impact blow in deactivating the trigger causes everyone present to be thrown back onto the ground. After the danger is over, David expresses relief since they listened to Henry about not leaving Regina behind. However, Henry is nowhere to be seen. They find his backpack on the ground with torn straps. Emma deducts he has been kidnapped.

Outside, Greg and Tamara drag Henry towards the harbor. Tamara ensures Henry they will not hurt him, to which he replies they will hurt everyone he loves, and just tried to destroy his hometown. In turn, she counters back it was never their true intention. Greg reveals they wanted to put an end to magic, but found something much more valuable—him. Though Henry's family rush to save to stop them, they are not fast enough. The duo use their last magic bean to open a portal to Neverland; prompting the twosome to force Henry to jump in with them.

Landing on the shores of Neverland's island, Henry attempts to make a hasty escape, but he is swiftly caught by a water soaked Greg. The boy threatens that both his mothers will come to rescue him, but Greg and Tamara reveal it's unlikely since Nevereland is a far more dangerous place than the Enchanted Forest. When Tamara is unable to contact the Home Office in her walkie-talkie, Greg opens the device, discovering the battery compartment is filled with sand. This leads Henry to question them about just how little they know about their employers, and these doubts become a reality after the trio are met by the Lost Boys, who reveal they are the Home Office. Learning the Lost Boys' true purpose is to preserve magic rather than destroy it, Greg then refuses to hand over Henry to them, with Tamara siding with him. The lead Lost Boy, Felix, has the Shadow dispose of Greg, as the other Lost Boys pursue Henry, who flees, while Tamara is shot by an arrow. In the jungle, Henry is pulled to safety by an ex-Lost Boy, and they later leave the area together. During their travels, the older boy tells Henry about stealing pixie dust from Peter Pan, in the hopes of escaping the island, but the dust doesn't work. Henry shares his continued faith that his family will be arriving soon for him, but the latter is doubtful of his claims. With the Lost Boys still trailing them, the pair decide to go to the Echo Caves, the one place where they can't be tracked. As they near the caves, Henry and his companion are forced to change directions when their pursuers are closing in them. Ending up at a cliff, the older boy considers surrendering the pixie dust to the Lost Boys so he and Henry won't be killed by them. Instead, Henry uses his power of belief to make the pixie dust work, allowing him and his friend to escape the cliff by flying away to a safe location. After landing, Henry discovers the boy is actually Pan, and he had set up the situation to test Henry's belief. Pulling out a blade, Pan calls forth the other Lost Boys to surround and close in on a dumbfounded Henry.

Henry awakens under a tree after being unconscious for a period of time, where Pan encourages him to try his hand at target practice. Gathered together with the other Lost Boys, Henry is given a crossbow to shoot a placed apple on Felix’s head. As Pan and the Lost Boy chant for him to shoot, Tentatively, Henry readies his aim, but at the last moment, he looses the shaft onto Pan, who catches the arrow with ease. Instead of being angry, Pan is pleased by Henry, and he takes the boy aside to explain the benefits of Neverland as a place no one ever tells anyone what to do. Henry doesn't think he belongs on the island, but Pan states they have all been waiting for him for a very long time. He exemplifies that Neverland runs on the power of belief, but Henry’s world is no longer full of magic because the people there have stopped believing. Pan calls Henry the savior of magic, and believes it was not a coincidence that a child was born from the greatest of light and dark. Then, he takes out a piece of rolled up paper and hands it to Henry, guaranteeing that once it’s opened, Henry will understand why he believes him to be the hero that magic so desperately needs. After accepting the paper, Henry tosses it to the ground, stating he doesn't believe him. Smirking, Pan conveys Henry’s resemblance to his father. Reflecting on what Pan told him, Henry picks up the paper scroll and unrolls it. In shock, he sees an parchment drawing of himself.

During the night, the Lost Boys rejoice with music and dance, but Henry refuses to participate, believing there is nothing to actually celebrate. Pan tries to encourage him with a pipe song, but Henry is unable to hear the music because the pipe only draws in boys who feel unloved and lost. That same evening, Mr. Gold puts all the boys, including Henry, to sleep, so he and Neal can take Pan by surprise. By stunning Pan with squid ink, they grab Henry, but not before Pan reveals the truth about Mr. Gold and the prophecy that involves Henry. Once they are away from Pan, Neal questions his father about it, learning that Mr. Gold believes in a prophecy that states a young boy, who he believes is Henry, will be his undoing, and wants to kill him to keep it from coming true. Mr. Gold insists this was before he discovered Henry is his grandson, and that he's changed now. Neal, too afraid his father will go back on his word, paralyzes Mr. Gold and leaves with a still sleeping Henry, but he is quickly intercepted by Pan and the Lost Boys. As Henry groggily begins waking up, Neal is dragged away by the Lost Boys to an unknown location, as he desperately shouts his promise to come back for him. Fully reaching consciousness in Pan's camp, Henry recalls hearing his father call for him, but he deducts it was just a dream since, as far as he knows, Neal is already dead. Pan gives condolences for Henry's loss, remarking that it makes sense to dream about the things he lost and hopes for such as his father being alive or his mother coming to rescue him, but eventually, he'll find new things to dream about that will start to come true. Pan reveals Neverland used to be a place where new dreams are born and believes Henry can bring that magic back. After offering himself and the Lost Boys as Henry's new family, Pan plays a pipe song in his honor, and this time, Henry hears the music and joins the crowd of dancing Lost Boys.

At camp, Henry watches some of the Lost Boys have a rope climbing competition, when Devin pokes him with a wooden sword. Unimpressed with the so-called savior of Neverland, Devin attacks him with his weapon, as Henry dodges the hit. As the whole camp stops to watch the altercation, Henry picks up a stick to defend himself against Devin's incoming sword jabs. Pan, who has been observing the fight, beckons Henry to use his power of belief to turn the stick into a sword. After Henry's stick turns into a sword, he and Devin resume their duel. Devin struggles to keep up with Henry, who slashes his weapon to bits. Henry takes things further by slashing Devin's cheek, but upon realizing what he's done, he drops the sword and apologizes. While Devin nurses his wound, Pan picks up the fallen sword and puts it back in Henry's hand, telling him that Lost Boys never have to apologize. Then, he raises Henry's arm into the air as the Lost Boys roar in praise. Henry, relishing in their approval, leaves his sword arm up in confidence. Later, when Devin nudges him again, Henry tries to deter him from starting another fight. Devin, under Regina's influence after having his heart stolen by her, says that Henry's family is in Neverland and they are coming for him. Henry doesn't believe him, so Devin gives him a compact mirror half, which has the faces of Emma, Mary Margaret and Regina peering out. Still not convinced, he believes it to be a trick, until Emma indicates their plan to save him is "Operation Cobra Rescue". With his faith in his family re-instilled, Henry spies Pan approaching, so he hastily says goodbye and hides the compact mirror by throwing it into a bush.

When Pan invites to go with him to see something, Henry refuses, calling him out for knowing where his family is in Neverland. Since Henry won't say how he found this out, Pan raises the question of why his family hasn't come for him if they truly are on the island. Henry suspects Pan is purposely keeping them away, but the latter swears he has not. A doubtful Henry vows to find out what exactly Pan is hiding, and he then leaves camp. Hidden behind a tree, he overhears Pan assigning Felix to deliver supplies to the other side of the island. Curious about what could be there, Henry secretly trails Felix the entire way, not knowing that this situation itself is another one of Pan's schemes. At one point, he nearly gives himself away by stepping on a branch, but hides out of sight just as the Lost Boy turns around. After Felix drops a bag of fruit and leaves it behind before continuing on, Henry grabs the bag and hears someone coughing in the distance. Finding the noise coming from a small cave, he climbs up into a house, where a sickly girl is laying in bed. He learns that her illness has forced Pan to keep everyone away, and that her name is Wendy. She talks about the island's power fading away, and though she's been in Neverland for a long time, it's affecting her more than the other residents. Henry wishes to help heal her illness, but she ushers him out, not wanting him to get sick because of her. She mentions Pan is already doing everything possible, but there is not enough magic to save her. Before leaving, Henry vows to come back for her. In the jungle, he confronts Pan about not telling him about Wendy. Pan acknowledges Wendy is dying because magic on the island is slipping away and specifically didn't tell him so he wouldn't have the burden on his shoulders. Because Henry wants to help, however, Pan brings him to the shoreline, showing him the island of Skull Rock, where there is hope inside that only Henry can partake in to restore Neverland's magic.

Continuing with Wendy's illness charade, Pan covers her up with a blanket, reassuring Henry that by becoming the savior, he'll not only save Wendy, but everyone else as well. By rowboat, the boys head out to Skull Rock, where Pan draws a line on the ground just below the stairs, which he says is a protection spell, although it's actually a barrier to keep people out. At the top level, Pan shows Henry a large hourglass with sand flowing from the top to the bottom, explaining that it displays how much magic Neverland has before all of it runs out. Suddenly, Pan senses Mr. Gold has entered the entrance barrier, and he goes to face him downstairs. Henry, blissfully unaware of what is actually going on, waits for Pan to return. To be the savior Neverland needs, Pan asks Henry to sacrifice his heart and leave behind a legacy as the greatest of all heroes. Henry asks what will happen afterwards, and once again, Pan lies, stating that the price is Henry must stay on the island forever, when in truth, the price is death. After Henry consents to this fate, Pan magically enchants the boy's hand, urging him to pull out his own heart. He takes it out just as Emma, Neal and Regina rush upon the scene. Henry is stunned to see his father is alive and listens as they plead for him not to go through with the sacrifice, insisting that Pan is lying to him. Pan, however, counters by saying his family are the ones who are lying to keep Henry from doing what should be done for the greater good. Henry chooses to stick with the plan and after saying farewell to them, he jams his heart into Pan's chest and collapses.

Aboard the Jolly Roger, Henry is resurrected after Regina steals back his heart from Pan. He apologizes to his family for making them worry, but just wanted to save magic and be a hero. They all welcome Henry back warmly, and then Regina takes him down to a room below deck to tuck him into bed. Before she leaves him to rest, Regina casts a protection spell so no one can ever take out his heart again. Once he is alone, Pan manifests and threatens Henry with a knife. Pan makes another attempt to take his heart, which fails, so he begins ripping out Henry's shadow. Mr. Gold defends his grandson by opening Pandora's Box to absorb Pan into it. Just before this occurs, Pan secretly switches bodies with Henry at the last moment. Stunned, Henry starts to shout just as he, in Pan's body, is sucked into the box.

At the other side of Storybrooke's town line, Henry, stuck in Pan's body, is released out of the box while Emma points a gun at his direction and interrogates him about using the Shadow to kill someone. To prove himself as the real Henry, Emma asks him to tell her the very first time he and she connected together. Henry recalls the incident occurred at his castle playground when he understood why Emma gave him up at birth, which was to let him have the best chance in life. In relief, she and Henry hug in reconciliation. With Belle, David, Emma, Mary Margaret and Mr. Gold, they head to the vault where Regina took "Henry" for protection. Hook, Neal and Tinker Bell are already waiting there, though the vault is locked, so Mr. Gold busts the door open with magic. Inside, Regina is awakened after Pan, in Henry's body, previously knocked her out. She is shocked to learn Pan has been impersonating Henry. Regina is saddened to have fallen for Pan's tricks as she had hoped her son needed her. Henry attests that he still does need her and warmly embraces a tearful Regina. However, more trouble brews, as they discover Pan took the scroll for the Dark Curse.

Mr. Gold shares with everyone of the only viable way to stop Pan's curse is for Regina, as the original caster of the Dark Curse, to undo it by destroying the scroll, though there will be a steep price for this. They plan to switch Henry back to his own body so he will be in possession of the scroll and bring it to Regina. Mr. Gold can perform the spell, but needs a strong outlet in order for it to work. Tinker Bell has knowledge of a powerful Black Fairy wand that Mother Superior kept, so she, David, Hook and Neal go to retrieve it from the convent nuns. David, Hook and Neal arrive back with the wand. Before getting started, Mr. Gold clasps a bracelet on Henry, which will absorb away Pan's magic, after their bodies are switched back. Henry's spirit travels out of Pan into his body, and he rushes out of the clock tower just as his family and their allies find him. Regina passes out after taking the scroll and awakens with knowledge of the price for stopping the curse. They are accosted by Pan as he steals back the scroll and freezes them in place. The showdown ends when Mr. Gold summons the dagger and stabs Pan as well as himself with it; killing both of them. Regina reveals the price for stopping the curse is all former Enchanted Forest inhabitants will be sent back to their old world while Storybrooke will disappear out of existence. Because Henry was not born there, it would not be possible for him to be taken back, too. Urged by Regina, Emma decides to stay behind with him. At the town border, he says goodbye to his grandparents. To Regina, Henry blames himself, as everything would have never occurred had he not sought out Emma. He admits being wrong about believing Regina did not love him while she regrets casting a curse out of vengeance. When Regina calls herself a villain who can't have a happy ending, he corrects her; saying she is simply his mother. Lastly, Henry bids farewell to his father. As Emma drives out of Storybrooke with Henry, their memories are altered by Regina.

Before Second Curse
Directly after driving out of Storybrooke, Henry and Emma obtain false memories of their life together. They recall a fire breaking out in Emma's apartment in Boston, which causes them to start afresh in New York.

During Second Curse
A year later, Henry and Emma are having breakfast in their New York apartment. She goes to answer the door, but does not recognize the man who claims to know her. After Emma shuts the door in the stranger's face, Henry asks about who was at the door, but she apparently doesn't know him.

Over the course of eight months, Emma dates a man named Walsh, who Henry takes a liking to. One night, Emma is proposed to by Walsh, though she is hesitant to say yes. Henry urges Emma to accept, since Walsh has proven himself to be a kind and loving man, and won't leave her like his biological father did. In the morning, Henry sends a text to Walsh asking him to come over for dinner at eight o'clock. Later, Emma realizes that he is right and the past is keeping her from looking forward, which Henry humorously takes to mean she is going to marry Walsh. Henry mentions the pre-scheduled date she and Walsh will be having and has already decided to sleep over at a friend's house so they can have privacy. The following day, he learns Emma did not accept Walsh's marriage proposal. As Henry begins prepping to head off to school, Emma suggests that they take time off and go on a trip. A guest arrives at the apartment, who Henry recognizes as the same man that came to their door as well as the person Emma had arrested for assaulting her. She introduces him to Henry as Killian, a client from work. Shortly after, the three travel via car to the town of Storybrooke.

Henry spends the night at Mary Margaret's loft. In the morning, he orders a cup of hot cocoa at the diner. When the waitress, Ruby, brings him the cocoa, he is surprised that his favorite—cinnamon—is already added in, which she apparently knew from guessing. Shortly after, he is introduced to Mary Margaret and David. He learns she has history with his mother since they were cellmates in Phoenix. Henry probes her about whether or not she knew his biological father when a woman at the counter, upon seeing him, drops a cup. The woman apologizes for startling him, which he accepts. Later, he is left with Mary Margaret after Emma leaves to take care of some business. Mary Margaret suggests bringing him to the library since he enjoys reading, and Henry agrees. At the end of the day, while playing a video game in the apartment, Emma formally introduces him to the woman from the diner, the mayor, Regina Mills, who proposes that she give him a town tour and even go for ice cream sometime. He accepts her offer, and they shake hands.

Henry spends the day with Regina, in which she treats him to ice cream and they take a walk in the Storybrooke Heritage Park. He is adjusting well to Storybrooke, and although used to the city life of New York, the largeness of it often makes him feel alone. Henry relates his concerns about his mother to Regina, suspecting she dragged him to Storybrooke for more than work-related business, and believes Emma is struggling since turning down Walsh's proposal. Though not knowing how things ended between the two, Henry is fond of Walsh, since he spent the holidays with him and Emma. Regina implies that he may have many relatives to spend festivities with someday; referencing herself and the rest of his family that the boy doesn't remember.

During one morning, Henry notices Emma didn't come home last night. She states it is work-related and interests him in going fishing with Leroy and his friends. Henry agrees, but knows she is hiding something. He is suspicious about all the people she knows in town and how they seem to whisper secretively around him. Reluctantly, Emma holds back and asks for his trust until she can tell him the truth. After a day of fishing, Henry meets up with Emma, who sadly reveals her reason for coming to Storybrooke was to save his biological father from bad people, but she was too late and he died as a result.

Henry attends the funeral of his father, Neal, despite knowing nothing about him except that he abandoned his mother years ago. Afterwards, at the diner, Killian takes him out to the docks to learn more about Neal. They go boating and then settle by a campfire where Henry is given a pamphlet to practice making various ship knots. Once the sky is dark enough, Killian shows him a sextant, which he once used to teach Neal to navigate the seas by reading the stars. This puzzles Henry seeing as Killian and his father are supposed to be around the same age. Rather than let Killian teach him to use the sextant, he wants to know something factual about Neal in order to come to terms with his death. Henry learns Hook taught his father how to sail when Neal, as a boy, had just lost his own father. Hook comforts him with the knowledge that Henry and his father aren't so different.

Once again, Emma is busy with other matters and leaves Henry in Hook's hands. They spend time at the diner where Hook teaches him how to cheat at a dice game. In a short time, Hook departs to attend to business, to which David and Mary Margaret entertain Henry by letting him drive a truck. The test run ends badly with Henry decimating a mailbox after crashing the vehicle into it. Even so, he has a good time and returns to the apartment in high spirits to tell Emma about his adventures. Once Regina hears of this, she initially reacts with motherly outrage, but then calmly explains that as mayor, it's her job to keep underage minors from driving. That night, Henry joins David, Emma, Mary Margaret and Regina for a meal at the diner.

One morning at the inn, Henry sees Regina and a man kissing. When Emma takes off again claiming to be following up a lead, he asks if it has to do with his biological father. Reluctantly, she affirms it, but shuts down the conversation when he questions her judgement in refusing to tell the truth. As she heads out, Henry requests her set keys to access the inn room, but uses another key to unlock her car. Hook stops him from leaving town on his own and claims to have a better way. Henry follows Hook to the docks where the man's friend, Smee, is going to take him out of Storybrooke on a boat. Before they can, several flying monkeys attack. Seeking cover in a warehouse, Hook orders Smee to find another boat and escape with Henry. As the boy tries to follow after Smee, he trips on rope just as a flying monkey descends towards him. Fortunately, Emma shoots it and saves him. She asks Henry to believe in magic, and as proof, he takes the fairytale storybook. Once his hands touch the book, he regains a flurry of memories. Remembering Regina as his mother, Henry hugs her, but then Zelena begins suffocating him as a result of Hook's failure to abide by her orders to take away Emma's magic. With Regina knocked out by Zelena, Emma magically scalds the witch; forcing her to let go of Henry. In the aftermath, Henry checks up on Regina, who promises to never leave him again. She plants a kiss on his forehead; triggering the effects of true love's kiss and breaking the new curse. Henry is introduced to Regina's boyfriend, Robin Hood, and later visits Neal's grave with Emma.

After Second Curse
While Mary Margaret is going into labor at the hospital, Emma creates a protective shield around the room. With Hook, she leaves to take care of Zelena while Henry stays under Regina's care. In the hospital waiting room, he looks through newspaper advertisements for apartments in the hopes of finding a new place for Emma in town. Beside him, Archie engages him in conversation. He explains to his former psychiatrist that after the baby arrives, the apartment will be too crowded. So, he intends to spend at least some of his time at Regina's house, though Emma herself will need her own space. Despite Henry's good intentions, Archie questions whether he has actually asked Emma if she wants to stay in town. Puzzled, the boy wonders why that is necessary since Storybrooke is his and Emma's home. Once Emma's magic is stripped, the protective shield around the delivery room fades as the Zelena approaches to steal the newborn for a time spell. Before she arrives, Regina ushers Henry to go with Archie and lock themselves in a closet. In the aftermath, Zelena successfully makes off with the infant, but due to Henry's belief that Regina possesses light magic, she defeats her sister and stops the time spell from being enacted. Rather than condemn her to death, Regina spares Zelena's life. With the baby returned to Mary Margaret, Henry meets his new uncle for the first time. Unseen to them, Mr. Gold later kills Zelena; accidentally triggering magic in her pendant, which activates the time spell.

Finally finding the perfect apartment listing in town for them, Henry shows it to Emma, who avoids the topic and asks him to help her parents pick a name for her new baby brother. During a diner celebration welcoming his grandparents' son, Henry casually rereads the storybook tale of how Prince Charming and Snow White met. As Emma and Hook join the table, David and Mary Margaret bicker over who saved who during their first encounter. The conversation turns awkward when Hook implies Emma wishes to return to New York, especially when Regina questions her further on the subject matter. Henry tries to talk with Emma about the issue, but she responds by leaving the diner. Before Hook chases after her, Henry hands over the storybook and asks him to use it to remind Emma where she comes from. Suddenly, the boy notices something strange outside the window; a beam of light radiating to the sky. A quick investigation proves the time spell has mysteriously activated and that Zelena herself has strangely vanished. Though no one dares to go near the time portal, Emma and Hook end up going to the past where they recreate a past meeting between Prince Charming and Snow White. Traveling back to the present, Emma decides Storybrooke is home; a decision that pleases Henry. After she fills him and her parents in about her recent adventures in the past, David and Mary Margaret announce they are naming their son after a true hero—Neal.

That same night, Henry exits the diner with David, Hook and Mary Margaret only to see a heated confrontation taking place between Robin Hood's apparently deceased wife, Maid Marian, who Emma saved from a past timeline by bringing to the present, and a silent Regina. Not knowing Regina as anyone except the Evil Queen, Marian condemns her as a monster. Regina withdraws from the argument by walking away as does Marian. Concerned about the situation, Henry anxiously wonders if Regina will become evil again. He hopes not since she has come too far to go back to her old ways. The next morning, Henry and Emma follow behind on the street as David and Mary Margaret take their son out in his stroller. Emma talks to Henry about having no luck getting in touch with Regina through the phone. He decides to try calling his adoptive mother instead as Regina might not want to talk to Emma. While he stays behind to dial her number, David keeps him company.

Attempting to reach out to Regina, Henry packs a basket full of chocolate, DVDs, ice cream and red wine to cheer her up, but a raven, carrying a message from his mother, arrives. In the letter, Regina states that she would rather not see Henry as she deals with her emotions. After reading the note, a crestfallen Henry is hurt by her decision and runs away to the diner where Emma explains that it isn't that Regina doesn't want to, but she's in a lot of pain and needs space. As they are talking, the power goes out. Emma is radioed by David, who reports the entire town is caught in a blackout. Before David arrives to pick her up so they can check things out, she asks Henry if he wants to come along; even jokingly suggesting various operation names for this mission. Still depressed over Regina's rejection, Henry declines.

Deciding he wants his false memories back, Henry goes to the pawnshop to find Mr. Gold. Upon arrival there, he discovers someone may have entered as the door lock is broken. When Belle and Mr. Gold return, Henry requests alone time with his grandfather. Shortly after Belle leaves, he asks to reacquire his false memories because Regina is currently not speaking to him. Mr. Gold declines since having both good and bad memories are essential to a person's character. He also emphasizes the fact Henry has the blood of the Dark One as well as the blood of the savior in his veins and shouldn't give up on Regina. As Henry begins departing, Mr. Gold asks him to pay for the broken lock as he assumes the boy had forcibly entered the pawnshop earlier. Instead, Henry notes the lock was already busted when he arrived.

Later, Henry returns to the apartment where the blackout ends shortly after David, Hook, and a new ally, Elsa, are warming up a weakened Emma, who is suffering from exposure to extreme cold. As he goes to make her hot cocoa, Emma draws him into a hug; apologizing for not being helpful earlier in the diner. Nonetheless, Henry is grateful she is okay; stating that he couldn't lose her too after Regina. As David promises to help Elsa find her sister and talks about how their family never gives up hope, Henry realizes he himself shouldn't stop trying with Regina. Outside her house, he shouts through the door, telling her of his intentions of coming back everyday until she opens up. Clearly moved, she unlocks the door and they hug.

Henry, enjoying a cup of hot chocolate at the diner, is visited by Regina, who gifts him comic books. When she prods him about the storybook Author, he realizes there is more to her questions. Regina admits plans of asking the Author for her own happy ending. Pleased with the idea, Henry agrees they must change her story in the book since she is not that person anymore. He suggests they work on it as a secret mission, which leads to Regina naming the assignment "Operation Mongoose". In a panic, Robin Hood arrives to ask her for help curing Marian after she collapsed from an apparent freezing spell. Regina gains his consent to do whatever it takes to save Marian's life. As his mother requests, Henry fetches a box from the vault and brings it to her. To halt the spell effects, Regina takes out Marian's heart, storing it in the box for safekeeping, which will keep her alive until they find a cure.

Emma finally tells Henry about her new relationship with Hook. Driving to the diner, she and Henry step out onto the street. Emma asks him if he is all right with what she told him. He admits to not liking it, but wants her to be happy. Patting Emma on the back, Henry urges her to go into the diner where she intends to ask Hook out on a date. As he pores through spell ingredients in the vault, Regina voices uncertainty about being able to undo the Snow Queen's curse on Marian. Having come to this conclusion himself, Henry talks about Robin Hood's feelings for Regina, and his belief that true love's kiss on Marian didn't work because of it. Despite that he believes his mother should be happy about this, Regina reasons that he's too young to understand. Later, Henry checks up on Regina as she sifts through spell books, but she is having no luck. He informs her about his plan for "Operation Mongoose" by going undercover at the pawnshop in the hopes Mr. Gold has answers about the book's Author. At the pawnshop, Henry asks for a job, and reasons that Mr. Gold is the closest relative he has since Neal is gone. Mr. Gold agrees, and he makes him an Apprentice. To start with, he instructs Henry to sweep the pawnshop floor.

With Emma busy helping Elsa track down Anna and Regina mulling over the Snow Queen's location, Henry spends the day with Hook on a sailing run.

Henry gathers with Belle, David, Hook, Mary Margaret, Mr. Gold and Regina where they watch a camera recording of a young Emma and her prior foster mother, who is none other than the Snow Queen herself. While everyone believes they have exhausted all means of investigating the Snow Queen, Henry mentions her ice cream truck. Since the vehicle location is unknown, David organizes a search party to look for it.

After putting on a suit for his workday at the pawnshop, Henry checks up on Regina as she flips through the storybook. He asks how things are with Robin Hood, and Regina confirms their relationship is over, but she'll be ready when her future happy ending comes around. On sweeping duty, Henry tidies the pawnshop floor twice before prompting Mr. Gold for a a magic-related task. At first, Mr. Gold mysteriously states he has something that can turn a old item into a new one, which excites Henry, but his hopes are dashed upon seeing it's just a bottle of furniture polish. With trouble brewing again, Belle, David, Elsa and Hook implore Mr. Gold to unfreeze the sheriff station entrance so they can rescue Emma from the Snow Queen. They head back to the station, also joined by Mary Margaret, as an explosion tears open the side of the building. With the Snow Queen gone, Emma shakily explains she herself caused the combustion. Fearing her powers are uncontrollable, she warns them to stay back, but David and Hook approach to help. A panicked Emma accidentally collapses a streetlight, though David pushes Hook out of the way and takes the hit instead. In the heat of the moment, Mary Margaret reacts with resentment towards Emma's magic. Only upon seeing Emma's hurt expression, Mary Margaret retracts her anger, but the latter flees via car despite that her loved ones attempt to call her back.

Sneaking out of the apartment, Henry approaches Emma in the woods where he tries to calm her. As he almost touches her glowing hands, Emma unintentionally throws him back with a gust. Henry is wounded with a bloody cut; further causing anxiety for Emma, who emits a blast to force him into leaving. Running to the apartment, he apologies for disappearing, but explains the state Emma is currently in. Mary Margaret then cleans up his injury. Afterwards, Elsa comforts Henry about Emma's magic being tied to her emotions, which is what induced his mother's out-of-control powers. In the upstairs bedroom, Henry refuses to talk to Regina about what happened with Emma. On request, he allows her to look at the laceration, and she magically heals him. Disappointed about not having magic, Henry believes he couldn't help Emma because of this, but Regina stresses his gift is being the heart of the truest believer who brought everyone together. She assures, as Henry chimes in, that Emma is a hero and heroes always win. Later, Elsa disappears with a spell to locate Emma, who is trying to permanently strip herself of magic. Henry goes with David, Mary Margaret and Regina to track Emma's car prints, but cannot find her. After Emma doesn't go through with prior plan due to Elsa's persuasion, they all reunite. Emma, accepting magic as part of herself, creates fireworks. Suddenly, Henry notices Emma's left wrist has a ribbon as Elsa discovers her wrist has an identical one too, but neither know where they came from. The ribbons begin absorbing their magic and gathering in Ingrid's ribbon; allowing her to cast the spell of shattered sight.

Once Ingrid's curse is cast, Henry goes with his family to the town line where the ice wall still stands. They attempt to find a way to scale it and flee town, but the barricade is too powerful. Under Emma's directive, David, Leroy and Mary Margaret go to warn everyone about the curse while Hook heads to the dock to find escape boats. Henry, deciding to stay with Regina, reassures Emma that he will be all right. He and Regina head to the Merry Men camp where she cautions Robin Hood about the curse's effects and how they will be affected by it. Robin Hood then calls for Will to tell everyone to pack up camp. As the Merry Men scurry about, Henry goes to help them while Regina and Robin Hood continue talking. Fearful for her son's safety under the curse, Regina later brings Henry to the mayoral office. She apologizes to him for letting her feelings for Robin Hood sidetrack Operation Mongoose, but he is certain they will find the storybook Author. After a heartfelt farewell, Regina magically seals Henry in the office before the curse hits.

Under the curse's influence, Henry rebukes Hook for being a dirty pirate and states his increasing dislike for him now that he is dating Emma. Hook breaks into the mayor's office to take Henry away, but he walks right into the boy's rigged trap and falls flat on his back. Henry then takes the opportunity to flee the office. Once the curse is lifted, due to Ingrid sacrificing herself, Henry finds both his mothers and reunites with them.

At the town line, Henry witnesses Elsa tear down the ice wall, however, remnants of Ingrid's magic remain and keep those who leave Storybrooke from re-entering. To get the Arendelle natives home, Emma tasks herself with locating a portal. Henry returns to the pawnshop and sees Belle packing a suitcase. Learning she is leaving for a honeymoon in New York with his grandfather, Henry informs her about the town line restraints. Although Belle was unaware of this, she assumes Mr. Gold has found a loop hole around the issue. Noticing his spirits are dampened, she inquiries about what's on his mind. Setting down the storybook on the counter, Henry elaborates about all the bad things that happen to Regina in it. Belle believes it won't always be so since Regina is on a good path now, which cheers Henry up. He thanks her by endearingly calling her "grandma", though Belle humorously quips that using just her name is fine. After Anna, Elsa and Kristoff return to Arendelle through a portal inside a mansion, Henry explores the building. Fiddling with a wall lamp scone, he accidentally opens a secret library room containing many blank storybooks. Amazed at the find, Henry notifies Emma and Regina at the diner and leads them to his discovery. Hearing of Operation Mongoose, Emma decides to join in the search for Regina's happy ending.

Six weeks later, all remains peaceful in Storybrooke as Regina exits the diner with Henry, where he steps onto the bus for school. Mary Margaret resumes her teaching job, and during class, she asks for the word referencing the study of birds, which Henry answers correctly as ornithology. That same day, Belle gains a spell translation from an "Oxford professor", which is needed to release the nuns from the hat. Regina succeeds in performing the spell, freeing the nuns, but unknowingly unleashing the Chernabog from within the hat. While the diner is bustling with activity as the nuns are welcomed back, Henry encourages Regina to show Mother Superior one of the blank books they found in the Sorcerer's mansion. Regina explains to the head nun that she wishes for the storybook Author to rewrite her a happy ending. To this, Mother Superior clarifies the Sorcerer and Author are two different people, and only the Author can help her, but he hasn't been sighted for a long time. As for why the Author disappeared, Mother Superior has no idea, but she has heard rumors that he has left clues in his works. When Emma asks if Henry's book could count as one of the Author's works, the diner shakes as everyone hears a guttural roar from outside. Emma and her allies then take on the Chernabog, which ends when the winged demon is forced across the town line, where it ceases to exist. During the evening, Henry sits at the diner counter, using a magnifying glass to inspect a storybook page for clues, as Emma and Hook watch from a nearby table.

With Regina, Henry goes to the diner for donuts. As they walk in, Cruella De Vil and Ursula tease the former Queen about a time when she ripped out the hearts of people from an entire region. Regina asks Henry to get started on the book first, and after he leaves for the mayoral office, she warns the women from ever speaking about her past in front of her son again. As Henry is studying the book, his mother returns to the office with a box of frosted chocolate donuts. Regina is still upset about what Cruella and Ursula said and wonders if she can have a happy ending after all her past actions. Henry comforts her, and as he bites into a donut, some crumbs spill onto the open book. While Regina cleans the crumbs from the book, she notices the pages for the Pinocchio fairytale are different, to which Henry recalls that August put the story in the book. Although August is now Pinocchio, Regina believes he may have answers about the Author. However, the boy recalls nothing, even when Emma tries to trigger his memories by reminding him of all the things he did as August. Frustrated, Regina insults Pinocchio for not trying harder to remember. Henry tries to intervene, and when things get heated, he and Emma take Pinocchio out of the room. Later, Regina receives August's old bag from Marco, which Henry looks through. On one page, he finds a photo of a door with a sticky note referencing the Author.

Henry continues to examine the photo at the pawnshop, where Belle asks about his research, and he explains the door could possibly lead to the Author. Aside from that, he hasn't found much, but she encourages him to keep at it. Before leaving, she hands him a snack.

After Henry's family rescue August, who has since been restored to his former self, from the villains, they bring him to recuperate at the apartment. There, Henry keeps watch over him and calls over Emma and Regina when he wakes up. Regina, spying on the villains undercover, asks August about the door illustration and where it could be. While Mr. Gold and his allies believe the door is in another physical location, August reveals the door in the illustration itself is the actual entrance to where the Author is trapped.

At the apartment, while Emma and Regina are debating how they should proceed since finding out about the door illustration, Henry alerts them to August's depleting condition. They take him to the nunnery, where Mother Superior oversees his well-being. Afterwards, Henry and his two mothers discuss deceiving the villains. Emma conjures a forgery of the door page, but Regina settles for taking a photo of the real one. As the remaining duo return home, Hook reveals Ursula told him the villains want to darken Emma's heart so she will no longer be a savior by using the Author to do it. Later, Henry is alarmed when Emma and Hook mysteriously fall asleep, which is due to Maleficent's sleeping spell, although he is immune since previously being under a sleeping curse. Believing he is in danger, Henry flees to the mansion with the storybook. Once there, he phones David and Mary Margaret, who convince him to stay there until they arrive. While hiding, Henry notices a light coming through the keyhole of the door illustration that extends towards a table drawer. Pulling it open, he finds a key to the door just as Regina, Cruella and Maleficent arrive asking for the door page. Under pressure from Regina, Henry forfeits it, but he gives her the fake copy instead of the real one. When his grandparents arrive, he tells them about discovering the key. With plans of destroying the door page to keep their dark secret hidden, David and Mary Margaret force him to hand it as well as the key to them. After Henry leaves, Mary Margaret is overcome with guilt for lying to Emma, but now Henry, too.

When the Author ends up loose in town, Henry joins Emma, her parents and Hook as they search the woods, but they do not find him.

Stepping off the school bus, Henry sees Pongo waiting for him on the street, but when he approaches, the dog runs off. He follows Pongo into an alley, where Cruella menaces him to get in her car. Taking him to someplace south of the Toll Bridge, Cruella sends a video message with Henry in it to Emma and Regina, telling them to kill the Author or she will kill their son. Henry is then tied up, while his captor passes time by playing a mobile game, as he uses a piece of glass to free himself. He attempts to run, but Pongo corners him at a cliff before Cruella comes to fetch him. At Emma's appearance, Cruella pulls Henry to the cliff edge, aiming a gun at his chest. Meanwhile, David and Mary Margaret discover from the Author that Cruella is actually powerless and cannot kill anyone. They rush off to alert Emma, but are unable to reach her in time, before she magically blasts Cruella, who falls off the cliff to her death.

In the aftermath, Henry joins his family at the diner as Emma considers going after Mr. Gold to make him pay for setting her up. Maleficent interrupts the conversation, asking for an alliance, if Emma can locate her daughter Lilith. Discovering Lilith is her childhood friend Lily, she makes plans to leave town with Regina to find her. Before going, Emma hugs Henry goodbye before getting advice from Hook. Mary Margaret attempts to talk to Emma, who brushes her off and tells her to take care of Henry.

On Emma and Regina's return to town, Henry goes with his grandparents to welcome them back. After hugging her son, Emma reunites with Hook, but she continues to avoid her parents, before introducing Maleficent to Lily.

Hoping to stop Isaac from rewriting happy endings, Henry, his grandparents and Hook look for the door illustration at the apartment to retrap the Author in the book. However, Isaac changes everyone's stories, causing all of them to disappear into another book.

Because Henry wasn't born in a magical realm, he is left untouched by Isaac's rewrite. After finding himself completely alone in Storybrooke, Henry searches for his family outside of town and sees Isaac's book, Heroes and Villains. After tracking down Isaac, Henry learns from him that everyone is in another storybook, except for Emma, apparently because Isaac didn't write a savior into the new story. Since he broke a taboo and wrote his own happy ending, Isaac cannot use the quill anymore, and he taunts Henry about his inability to be a hero, to which the boy uses the door illustration key on the Heroes and Villains storybook. Both are sucked into the story, where Isaac knocks out Henry and ties him up, before telling him that all will be permanent once the bells chime at sunset, which Henry realizes disrupting the ending would destroy the book. To ensure things are unchanged, he leaves Henry to be killed by an ogre, but the Light One, Rumplestiltskin, saves him. Using Isaac's book, Henry locates Regina and attempts to convince her she can restore everything by giving true love's kiss to Robin Hood, whose wedding to Zelena they must stop before the bells ring. By chance, Regina tells him about Snow White locking away a savior, who Henry suspects is Emma. Henry, after besting Blackbeard, teams up with Hook on the Jolly Roger to rescue Emma from a tower. To Henry's surprise, his mother has retained her memories, but she was locked up and stripped of her magic to ensure Isaac's story stays on course. Shortly after, Hook sacrifices his life to stop Snow White so Henry and Emma can regroup with Regina. The trio head for Robin Hood's wedding, where Emma duels with a meddling Rumplestiltskin, as Regina hurries to the church. When Emma is defeated, Henry stands in her place for Rumplestiltskin to kill him, but Regina takes the blow instead. Soon, the bells chime, signaling the end, though Henry unexpectedly harnesses the quill's power as the next Author. Using Regina's blood, he undoes Isaac's story and reverts everything to normal.
 * -|During Alternate Reality=

Before Third Curse
Although Henry is tempted to use the quill to revive Neal, the Apprentice consoles him, telling him that bringing back his father is beyond his ability, as he died in the real world. Though Henry rationalizes that Hook died and was resurrected, the Apprentice explains that his death happened in Heroes and Villains, a work of fiction, while the Once Upon a Time book contains stories of actual events that occurred in real life and thus cannot be altered. He then encourages Henry to write down the stories of the fallen to honor their memories. Realizing that the power to change reality is too much for anyone to have, Henry snaps the quill in half. During a celebratory diner party, Henry sits with Regina in a booth as they look through stories in the original storybook. With Mr. Gold's near demise, the Apprentice absorbs the darkness in his heart and traps it in the hat, however, it escapes and begins infiltrating Regina. To save her, Emma allows the darkness into her body, causing her to become the new Dark One.

After Emma has fled to another realm, Henry comes upon Regina, Mary Margaret, David, Hook and Robin reeling from what just happened. They learn from the Apprentice that Emma has gone to the Enchanted Forest, and to reach her, someone with both light and dark essence must wield his wand to cross realms. Regina is unable to activate the wand's power, and she is unwilling to let Zelena try, fearing what her sister will do. With no other options, Hook finds Henry in the diner and asks him to use the quill to get rid of Emma's darkness, but the boy admits he broke the quill, believing it was too much power for anyone to have. Hook wants to break Zelena out of her cell so she can harness the wand, and Henry agrees to help. In the psychiatric ward, Henry comes in and purposely spills his drink on Nurse Ratched's uniform. While she is distracted, Hook sneaks into Zelena's cell. However, Zelena outsmarts Hook and disappears, leaving Hook and Henry to tell Regina the truth. Desiring the wand so she can return to Oz and live happily with her unborn child, Zelena holds Robin hostage, until Regina forfeits the wand to her. As Henry and the others look on, Zelena creates a cyclone and is then weakened by the magic drain, giving Regina the chance to reclasp the magic absorbing bracelet on her sister. Seeking shelter in the diner, Henry keeps an eye on Roland as Regina redirects the cyclone to Emma.

The diner is whisked to the Enchanted Forest, in time for Henry and his family to stop Emma from crushing Merida's heart, before King Arthur and his knights arrive, proclaiming the newcomers have been prophesied to reunite them with Merlin. The Storybrooke natives then head for King Arthur's castle in Camelot.

At the castle, King Arthur introduces the group to his Queen, Guinevere, and he announces there will be a ball held in their honor. That night, Henry stands at the sidelines as the festivities are going on. He notices a girl his age, and with David's encouragement, he approaches to give her a drink. She expresses boredom about the ball, which is a regular occurrence in Camelot. To lighten the mood, Henry pulls out a music player device, explaining that he got it from the savior as a gift after he saved his people from an alternate reality. She is amazed at this, asking if he is a knight, but he proudly defines himself as a writer instead. Henry hands her one of the device's earbuds and puts the other pair in his ear, and after she copies this action, he presses a switch on the device to play a song. As the song goes on, she introduces herself as Violet, and he offers her his name as well, before they shake hands.

During one night, David is knighted by Arthur and bestowed the Siege Perilous seat the Round Table, while Henry and the others are present to witness the ceremony.

After becoming friends, Violet brings Henry to visit her family's stables. As Emma's condition worsens from being the Dark One, Henry takes her and Hook to the stables as a place to recuperate. Once they are there, he tells them about Violet, insisting they are just friends and nothing serious is going on. When Violet hears him from the outside, Henry ushers Emma and Hook to hide, just before the girl walks in and asks what he's doing at the stables. Scrambling for an answer, Henry asks if she would be interested in showing him how to ride. She cheerfully agrees, and then leads him outside to her horse Nicodemus.

Later, while Violet is brushing Nicodemus' coat, Henry asks her about how she acquired her horse. She relates that he was a gift from her mother, who passed away shortly after. Having experienced the loss of a parent too, Henry recalls having little time to know his father, and that there is a lot he didn't get to tell him before his death. After a quiet moment, Violet leaves to prepare Nicodemus' saddle. In her absence, Henry tries wielding a sword, making a few clumsy waves, before tumbling to the ground. Violet's father, Sir Morgan, arrives and questions Henry's lack of sword and riding skills. When the boy admits he's a writer, Morgan sizes him up, suggesting that Henry wouldn't be able to protect Violet from ogres with a pen. Furthermore, Morgan believes his daughter deserves to be with someone who is both a knight and hero, and he then tells Henry to leave. Hoping to be good enough for Violet, Henry starts practicing with a sword, when Emma and Regina discover what he is doing. They are against him changing himself into someone he's not, and persuade him to win Violet over with his natural charm instead. With this advice in mind, Henry leaves a note for Violet, asking her to meet him in the diner for a surprise. Unknown to him, Emma steals Violet's heart, telling her to reject Henry, because she needs a tear from his broken heart to free Merlin. That night, Henry treats Violet to a candlelight dinner, but she ends things, stating that she considers him a friend and nothing more. A crushed Henry goes to his mothers for consolation, where Regina takes one of his tears, which activates a potion that Emma combined with her Dark One powers to free Merlin.

In the diner, Henry waits with Granny for everyone else to return from their quests to get the Promethean flame and Excalibur. Only Emma returns, and she finds out from Henry that no one else has come back yet. Believing something is wrong, she calls for Granny to lock up the diner. Granny then throws Henry the keys to lock up the front door, but as the key soars through the air, it magically freezes, as do Henry and Granny, because of Merlin's magic. The sorcerer, now tethered to Excalibur and forced to obey Arthur, warns Emma that she must give the flame to Arthur or her family and friends will die. After the freezing spell wears off, Henry finds Emma outside, attempting to ignite the flame with little success. Emma fears the darkness within her is right, and that she cannot light the flame because she doesn't want to let go of her dark magic. To help her see past it, Henry hands her a newspaper ad, where Hook previously circled an apartment that he wants to move into with Emma. From this, Emma realizes she has a future without darkness, which inspires her to use her dark magic one last time to free her family and friends from Arthur. After saving them and getting the flame lit, Emma begins combining Excalibur with the dagger, while Henry and the others are present. However, when Hook collapses from a cut he previously sustained from Excalibur that no magic can heal, a desperate Emma teleports away with him and later makes Hook a Dark One to save his life.

Despite Emma's efforts to turn Hook away from the darkness, he kills Merlin to enact another curse to return everyone to Storybrooke so he can fulfill his centuries old grudge against Mr. Gold. In the hopes of returning him to the man he used to be, Emma absorbs Hook's memories from the last six weeks into a dreamcatcher, and she does the same with Henry and everyone else, to ensure no one remembers Hook becoming a Dark One, before adding the dreamcatcher to the curse brew, creating a full memory wipe. Soon, the curse spreads and sends them all back to Storybrooke.

After Third Curse
Upon arrival to Storybrooke, everyone in the diner crashes to the floor from the impact of the building dropping onto the ground, and as they get up, the group realize they are still in Camelot attire, and the last thing anyone recalls is entering King Arthur's castle. Emma, in order to keep Hook's secret under wraps, enters and professes that she will punish them for what they did to her.

The next day, at the dock, Henry summons Emma, who swiftly answers his call by magically appearing. Unchanged in her affection for him, she warmly greets him and moves to touch his hand, but he pulls away before she can. Recalling her resentment from last night, Henry apologizes for failing her, but she persuades him that she meant everyone except him. Regina approaches, vehemently telling Emma to get away from her son, while Emma coolly wonders if Regina is afraid Henry will discover the truth about what happened in Camelot. Regina questions her about the memory wipe, and Emma admits she cast the curse, which is unbreakable since there's no savior now. Henry encourages Regina to try, but Emma believes they can't break the curse because she's no longer on their side, and because Regina doesn't have it in her to be a savior. Before Regina and Henry leave together, Emma cautions that there is a problem in town that only a savior can solve. This problem turns out to be a fury which kidnaps Robin Hood as Regina's unpaid price of magic from six weeks ago. After Regina and her allies defeat the fury, the townspeople and new Camelot visitors have a quiet evening in the diner, where Henry spots Violet looking at the juke box. He shows her how it works by putting money in it and choosing a song to play. She somehow senses the song is familiar; with neither of them recalling it's the same song he let her listen to at the Camelot ball. As it happened six weeks ago, Violet introduces herself again, and Henry gives her his name, before they shake hands.

At the sheriff's station, Henry is present while his family, Arthur and Guinevere are trying to figure out how a prisoner they left in a cell has disappeared without a trace. The boy, having no part in the conversation, distractedly texts Violet on his phone. Prompted by Guinevere's notion that the Camelot folk need their spirits lifted, Henry suggests they have a dance, to which David jokes that it must be an excuse for him to ask his girlfriend out. Regina immediately expresses concern about this "girlfriend", and continues to ask him about her later, but Henry insists he and Violet are just friends. Finding Violet in town, Henry learns her horse Nicodemus is missing, and because of this, she is not in the mood to attend the upcoming town party, so he promises to help find him. Henry teams up with Emma in a Operation Cobra mission to track down Nicodemus; giving Regina and her allies time to sneak into Emma's house to search for a missing Mr. Gold. Since Nicodemus's favorite treat is pumpkin, Emma takes Henry to a pumpkin market, Peter Peter's, where they find the horse. With some patience from Henry, Nicodemus calms down, allowing the boy to grab hold of the horse's reins. During the party, Henry surprises a downtrodden Violet with her horse, causing her to brighten up immediately. Violet's father, Sir Morgan, praises his efforts, believing he has potential to be a knight one day. After Morgan leaves to bring Nicodemus to the stables, Violet thanks Henry and kisses him on the cheek. Once the bash is over for the night, Henry returns home, walking in on Regina and Robin viewing Violet's memories in a dreamcatcher they stole from Emma. In it, all three see Emma take Violet's heart, asking the girl to break Henry's heart, so she can obtain a tear from a broken heart to free Merlin. Later, Emma turns up on Regina's doorstep to see Henry, but Regina refuses to allow her in. After Regina slams the door in her face, Emma walks away, stopping to peer up at the second floor, where Henry looks back at her, before he closes the curtains.

After Arthur attempts to sabotage the heroes' attempt to communicate with Merlin, Henry is called in as a backup to enact a spell with the crimson crown, as only someone chosen by the sorcerer can use it. Regina is concerned he may not be up for the task, but Henry asserts that the person who ripped out Violet's heart is not his mother, though he believes Emma is still somewhere in there and he'll do whatever it takes to get her back. Once Henry tosses the crimson crown into the spell brew, a hologram of Merlin appears. Rather than direct communication, it is only a prerecorded message from Merlin, who ominously speaks of things becoming worse, and their only hope of defeating the Dark One is to find Nimue.

When Hook discovers the truth about himself, Emma finally seeks her family and friends' help to stop him from his goal, but she doesn't recall what that is because Hook stole part of her memories. At Regina's house, Henry comes downstairs as Emma is in the midst of trying to convince her allies to take off the cuff that is restricting her from using magic and helping them. None of them trust her enough to remove the cuff, which Henry agrees with, seeing as Emma has already lied to everyone many times and that makes her untrustworthy. Having lost faith in her, he recalls that, while Emma changed into a better person when they first met, she always reverts to dealing with issues herself and shutting people out. Henry feels betrayed because he trusted her and they were once a team, but now, she only cares about regaining her dark magic so she can once again work alone to fix things. Before leaving to go upstairs, Henry coldly remarks that he knows what she's capable of with dark magic. Later, he joins his family at the library to research information about Nimue when Emma comes to him and asks for his help to locate the dreamcatchers Hook took. With the mission dubbed "Operation Cobra Part Two" by Emma, Henry goes to the pawnshop with her, where he uses dreamcatcher-making materials to create a locator spell. While there, he secretly pockets squid ink for deactivating Emma's cuff. They find the dreamcatchers in the clock tower with the locator spell, which are blocked by Hook's protection spell, Henry uses the ink to remove Emma's cuff because she sought his help for the mission instead of doing things alone. Now freed of the cuff, Emma promises to make it up to him, while he cheekily says she can start by saving the day. After obtaining the dreamcatchers, Henry and the others gather in the mayor's office, each holding their dreamcatchers, as Emma restores their lost memories.

Learning Hook has unleashed the previous Dark Ones from the Underworld, Henry goes with Emma to the pawnshop in search of him, while everyone else splits up to cover more ground. Once Emma goes into the shop, Henry is confronted outside by Nimue. Although he calls for Emma's help, she is unable to do anything, as Nimue walks through Henry's body, leaving him shaken but unharmed. After everyone else has had similar experiences with the other Dark Ones, they soon discover their wrists are branded with the mark of Charon, because the Dark Ones can only exist if living souls take their places in the Underworld. With little time until Charon arrives to take them away, Henry joins his grandparents at the diner to spend his last hours surrounded by family. Mary Margaret invites Emma to come too, but instead, Emma sneaks in to leave a farewell note to them, which explains her plans to sacrifice herself to eliminate the Dark Ones for good. Upon finding the note, they prepare to track down Emma, but Nimue takes them to the lake, where Charon is set to appear. In the end, Hook saves everyone by absorbing all the darkness and having Emma kill him. With Mr. Gold's encouragement, Belle plans to leave town to see the world, but when Henry reveals what happened to him and the others earlier, she returns to Mr. Gold, realizing he was selflessly trying to keep her safe from harm. After Emma finds out Mr. Gold used Hook's sacrifice to regain his Dark One powers, she forces him to reopen the portal to the Underworld so Hook can be rescued. As Charon arrives, Henry and everyone present head into the water, prepared to go to the Underworld.

After coming to the Underworld, Henry splits up from the others, with each person searching different areas of the town for Hook. He later stops by the Underworld's inn and enters room eight, Neal's old room in Storybrooke's inn, but he doesn't find his father there. Henry regroups with Emma at the diner, where he gives the room key to her, explaining that he just wanted to let Neal know he's all right. Emma, recalling the dream in which she spoke to Neal, assures him that Neal knows. With magical ale Mr. Gold procured, Emma spills some of it over Hook's grave to make contact with him. When a bloody and beaten Hook materializes in front of Emma, Henry is startled by the gruesome injuries, causing Regina and Robin to shield him from looking any further. The boy keeps his gaze on the ground for remaining time that Emma tries to talk to Hook, who is unresponsive to her questions. Fearing Cora will follow through with hurting Regina's father, Emma pushes Regina to do as Cora says and leave the Underworld with Henry and Robin. Instead, Regina and Henry find Cora as she is preparing to send her husband into a fiery pit. Cora teleports away after making the fire engulf Regina's father, but then, the flames dissipate and a bridge to Mount Olympus forms. Regina's father, realizing his sacrifice for Regina was his unfinished business, says farewell to his daughter. Henry speaks with his grandfather, who thanks him for being there for Regina when he couldn't. Once Regina's father ascends to Mount Olympus, the pair rejoin the others. In addition to rescuing Hook, the group discuss helping the souls in town move on from their unfinished business, which Henry dubs Operation Firebird.

Continuing to look for Hook in the north woods, Henry reminds Emma that they already looked at this area and found nothing, but she insists on trying again until they find something. To get a better picture of the whole town, Regina sends Henry and Robin to the mayor's office to retrieve maps. Discovering the door has a protection spell, Robin pulls aside the hallway sofa and tears off a vent cover, which has a crawl space passageway leading to the office. Henry decides to go in Robin's stead, and when he reaches the office, Cruella is already waiting for him inside. Knowing she is likely destined to go to a worse place rather than a better one, she tells him to bring her back to life with the Author's quill. Henry denies this, recalling the Apprentice said it was impossible, but Cruella confirms that he lied. She reveals one thing Henry doesn't know, that the quill is a magical, living entity, and by breaking it, he sent it to the Underworld because the quill's purpose is left unfulfilled. As such, she wants him to retrieve the quill and give her what she desires. Henry doesn't see what he gets out of it, but Cruella reasons if he brings her back to life, Emma will no longer be a murderer. After returning to Robin, Henry tells him that he didn't find anything in the office.

To find Hook underground, Henry and the heroes plan to enter the cave Megara had escaped from. The plan falls through after Mr. Gold convinces Emma to join him for a better idea, in which he'll use the aura of a deceased person to get both of them into Hades' lair, where Hook is. Sometime later, upon returning to the apartment, Henry and his family find Hook and Emma already waiting for them. The pair report that Hades destroyed their boat, so now everyone has no way of going home. Since Regina's magic is working again, she attempts to do the heart split between Emma and Hook, except a barrier prevents her from taking out Emma's heart. Afterwards, Hook shows everyone the three headstones that Hades engraved with Snow, Regina and Emma's names, to make them stay in the Underworld forever, in place of the three people they already helped move on.

When Cruella takes Henry to look for the quill, she encourages him to try to sense the quill, as he should be able to since he's the Author. Spotting something in the woods, He ends up investigating the area himself and runs into the Apprentice, who tries to talk him out of reviving Cruella. The Apprentice warns him against creating new stories, and that he must only use the quill to record them. Henry denies he wants the quill to help Cruella, and actually needs it for his family, because he is tired of being unable to help them. The Apprentice then reveals the Sorcerer's mansion exists in Underbrooke, and to get in, he'll need to steal a key from the sheriff. Before disappearing, the elderly man expresses hopes that Henry will do the right thing since his unfinished business depends on it. With his family also looking for the storybook, Henry uses the situation to his advantage, telling them the book is in the mansion, as his ticket to getting in and secretly nabbing the quill. Once Snow retrieves the key and everyone goes into the mansion, Henry is chided by both his mothers into standing guard as lookout, while everyone else searches for the book. While no one is looking, he wanders deeper into the mansion, finding the quill and ink pot hidden in the inside of a lamp. After a return to the apartment, Henry disappears upstairs, refusing to talk to anyone, as he contemplates what to do with the quill. Despite not knowing what his grandson is thinking of, David encourages him into remembering that he has family who care about him, and they're always there if he need someone to talk to. Taking David's advice, Henry reveals the quill to his family, admitting that he wanted it to be heroic for the wrong reasons. Now, however, he intends to use the quill for what it was meant for, recording stories, namely Hades' story.

Etymology

 * Henry was named after Regina's father and her former lover.
 * The surname "Mills" is of English origin that was an occupational word used for someone living near or working on a mill. It alludes to the "Rumpelstiltskin" fairytale as Henry's adoptive grandmother Cora was the miller's daughter who could spin straw into gold.

Character Notes

 * Besides August and both of his mothers, Emma and Regina, Henry is the only person capable of leaving Storybrooke, without repercussions, during the curse, due to being born in the Land Without Magic.
 * Enjoys hot chocolate with cinnamon like his birth mother and maternal grandmother.
 * Throughout his life, Henry has watched Peter Pan several times.
 * In "The Dark Swan", Henry mentions that Regina uses his birthday for all of her passwords, including the one for the entrance to the psychiatric ward. In "A Tale of Two Sisters", Regina types 815 as password for the psychiatric ward, meaning that Henry's birthday is August 15.
 * This makes Henry one of four characters to have known birthdays; the others being Regina, Emma and Peter.
 * Henry is ten years old in "Pilot", eleven in "The Cricket Game", and twelve years old in "The Jolly Roger". In "Dreamcatcher", he incorrectly says to Sir Morgan that he is thirteen (the show's timeline would place the episode in early 2014, and Henry was born in 2001, which means that Henry cannot possibly be thirteen years old at this point).

Props Notes

 * Just like his father, maternal grandmother and paternal grandfather, he has a large collection of clocks. A close look at his bedroom reveals he has, in total, eighteen clocks.
 * Henry has a Tron: Legacy lunchbox.
 * Henry has a Geronimo Jackson album, which can be seen when Emma dumps out Henry's backpack. Geronimo Jackson is a fictional band on the TV show Lost.
 * One of the name keychains in the Portland convenience store, which his parents rob, has the name "Henry" on it.

Costume Notes

 * Henry's necklace has the same symbol as Anita's gravestone; a moon with a dot in the middle.
 * When Henry becomes Mr. Gold's assistant, his tie is the same one that Mr. Gold was wearing in the forest in "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter" and at the sheriff's station in "Desperate Souls".