Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-25417848-20150329005551/@comment-26255666-20150427012404

Eskaver wrote: Appreny is the Aprentice, because he needs a shorter name! We saw Ingrid take the hat from Anna, tell Elsa, perform Shattered Sight on Anna, Froze Anna and the kingdom.......Ingrid met Appreny and asked for help, Rumple came and asked for the hat, Appreny gives her passage to our world. That ... couldn't have been for long!

Ah, yes it seems he does like to punish people. Ingrid gave the hat to the Apprentice just before the Dark Curse hit, didn't she? Which means the Sorcerer/Apprentice got his hat back while Rumple was in the jail cell and on his way to our world to find Baelfire. I don't think Rumple could get to the hat if he wanted it once the transfer was made from the Snow Queen to the Apprentice. Also the hat appeared in the Apprentice's house (which still hasn't been explained of why it came over in this last "curse" but not any previous, right?) which means that he must have had it the whole 30 years that Rumple has been in Storybrooke.