He Who Walks Between Worlds

The Great Heist

Beginning Notes

All characters are owned by J. K. Rowling and Rick Riordan.

Nico

Nico went to Gringotts first. If Voldemort had given his diary to a family of his followers to guard, he might have done so with others And if those followers were more sensible or less petty, they might do something reasonable like lock it up in the most secure wizarding bank in Great Britain.

Diagon Alley was deserted this late at night. The colour had faded as the lights were extinguished. What had been a place of clamour, noise, merry voices and light when last he was there was now a cold, desolate street lined with dark shops veiled in shadows. Some few shops were yet open, and the pale light of their lanterns cast long shadows from the banners that waved limply in the cold breeze that whistled along the narrow side streets. the sounds of merriment floated on the wind from a distance. Apart from that and the moaning of the wind, the only sounds were the flapping of the flags and banners and the creaking of the old wooden buildings.

As Nico stumbled out of a darkened doorway, he took a deep breath of the cool night air and opened his mouth in a smile. This black-and-white, shadow version of Diagon Alley suited him just fine. He strode down the street, his sneakered feet making no sound, his messy black hair tousled by the wind. he caught a glimpse of himself in a pane of glass. In the dark, he looked unnaturally pale, almost luminescent. With his dark hair and dark clothes and the imperfect reflection of the glass, he looked like a ghost returned to the mortal realm.

He had entertained some doubts as to whether Gringotts would be open, when almost all other establishments were closed. He need not have worried. The bank was dark, but the doors were unlocked and inside he saw movement and eyes that gleamed with reflected light in the darkness.

It was of no consequence. He could just shadow-travel in and then cloak himself in shadows and thus avoid them. He stepped into the shadows and, with a quick rush of air bringing the whispers of the dead to him, he was inside a Gringotts vault. A dreadful caterwauling filled the air. He grasped for the shadows to conceal him, but naught could quiet the alarm. Goblins poured in. Nico froze. He was invisible unless light shone directly upon him, and the goblins had brought no lights. All he must do was make no sound and keep from any point where the goblins might stumble upon him.

"They must still be in here," one of the goblins said. "Ragnuk, you block the door. Everyone else, line up."

The goblins stood side by side near the door, facing inwards They formed a barrier from wall to wall. Slowly, they began to advance. It was a good plan. It would have captured any wizard in the vault, provided they had enchantments to prevent apparation. But Nico was not a mere wizard. he simply shadow-travelled into the next room over, then the next. If the alarms were going off in every room, they wouldn't be able to pinpoint him.

That was his plan, at least. But in the third room he travelled to, he landed in a pile of bronze knuts. They began to multiply, sticking to his clothing. He shadow-travelled away, but when he reappeared, he still had his wight in coins stuck to his clothing. He leaned against the wall and took a gulp of unicorn draught. He wouldn't be able to shadow travel many more times with all this extra weight. He estimated that he had strength for one more jump before he would require rest. He would save his strength for his escape.

He stood on his own two feet, wincing at the jangling of the coins that issued whenever he moved. That, he supposed, was the point. It was redundant in this case, for the goblins could not hope to hear it from a distance over the clamour of the alarms, and he had not the power to spare for a shadow-cloak. He would have to move as he was. 

He slowly and carefully navigated his way to the door of the vault, avoiding all objects that might trigger any other defenses. He reached a hand out to open the door and set his pale fingers upon it. He heard a crack and a whispered murmur of "I've got you now," and all went black.

Hermione

The summons from Professor McGonigal came the day after Halloween. After her last class, Hermione hurried to Professor McGonigal's office and tapped on the door. No sooner had her hand touched the smooth wooden surface than Professor McGonigal's sharp voice called out, "Come in!"

Hermione slipped inside. The door, gliding silently on well-oiled hinges, she shut silently behind her. Magic or house-elves? she idly wondered. But Professor McGonigal's words quickly drove all thoughts of SPEW from her mind.

"I've spoken with the Order," Professor McGonigal said. "We have agreed. You may join, provisionally, as a research assistant."

Hermione had enough self-control not to betray her dignity by jumping up and down or laughing hysterically like she had when she had gotten a score of 142 out of 100 on her charms course. she could not stop the broad grim that crept across her face.

Professor McGonigal noticed, and, with a more restrained smile, continued, "You will not be involved in combat, or go on any missions. You will be allowed in meetings according to our discretion. Your role in this will be limited strictly to research."

"Okay, great!" Hermione said. "What will I be researching?"

Professor McGonigal handed her a stack of papers. "You will be continuing the research that Nico di Angelo was pursuing ere he left to work in the field. You are to try and trace the locations of the objects on the first page over the last thirty years. The other pages have some relevant information. Professor Dumbledore wishes you to acquaint yourself with it, and then he shall go over it with more thoroughly, once he returns from the Ministry of Magic. You will almost certainly need to go in the restricted section. I have arranged with Madam Pierce for you to be given unlimited access to it. I will be ill-pleased if I hear of you abusing this privilege."

Hermione nodded. "Wait, Nico's gone?" She hadn't seen him at breakfast or lunch, but she hadn't realised he had left Hogwarts.

"Yes." Professor McGonigal pursed her lips. "Dumbledore decided that his talents could best be used elsewhere. He shall be gone for an indeterminate amount of time. The official story is that he is ill and has gone to stay with family while he recovers. In the case that he returns to Hogwarts, I would appreciate if you would help him catch up on schoolwork."

"Where did he go?" Hermione asked.

Professor McGonigal raised an eyebrow. "I am afraid I cannot tell you that. Nor can I tell you what his mission is."

"Okay," Hermione said, "and yes, I'll help him."

"Thank you," Professor McGonigal said.

Hermione understood the dismissal and left.

End Notes

Hope you enjoyed it! I've got a good bit of material that I ended up cutting from this chapter, so I hope to have another chapter out soonish.

Since Hermione is so good at convincing people, she shall be doing the advertising today:

Hermione: Voting and commenting is a quick and easy way to show your appreciation for the author and this work! If typing a comment is too much work, you can just click the star button. It's super easy!