Board Thread:Character Discussion/@comment-24846659-20140813193020/@comment-24674051-20141017162218

Also, while I don't remember anything about Emma being adopted at 3, it is very clear, especially from the one scene in 3.21, that Emma spent a LOT of time in various foster homes in the Boston Area (I presume it was the Boston Area, anyway). So it is still possible that Auntie Vanilla was a Foster Mom. Not all Foster Families have multiple children (though all too many actually do, but that is a problem of finding qualified foster families), some are more or less normal, except for the "temporariness" of it.

I do like the thought of Auntie Vanilla being a social worker, though. They actually have more regular contact with the children, and have opportunities to establish somewhat of a relationship with them (though usually with their caseload, the social workers can't spend too much time on any one child). And the relationship is different from a Foster parent.

As for Emma's magic, while she may not be able to exhibit it a lot outside of SB, I would contend that she actually does have magic in the LWM (at least after Rumple brought Magic Back). When they were getting on the plane to travel to New York and Gold had to remove his "Talisman" (Bae's cloak), Emma grabbed his arm. I think she was able to subconsciously use her Magic to counter the forgetting aspect of being across the town line until Gold got his items back. It's just that, she really was not aware of her powers until after her trip to the EF in Season 2 (when she subconciously defeated Cora in front of Lake Nostus). And it was not really until Neverland that she took any real interest in developing control of those powers.

Another thought, and this needs some other evidence, is that while Emma's magic is dormant in the LWM, it can become apparant when she is in the presence of another person/being that is magical. Another reason she was able to help Gold in the Airport, and maybe something happened when she was with the Snow Queen.