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2020-02-06
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2021-06-05
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Let the Sunlight In

Chapter 18: Chapter Sixteen: The Lost Art of Stealth & Sneakiness

Summary:

And we're back with an actual chapter! *GASP*

Now, be warned, its not as long as my normal chapters because I'm still tripping hard on pain pills and and in massive pain and could not, for the life of me, focus on writing. But you all deserve SOMETHING for being so loving and understanding and patient. I seriously love you all. Seriously. So much love.

*Insert disclaimer about not being the transphobic millionaire who wrote HP here*

P.S. - I'm leaving the links to my favorite (complete) fics down below, since I don't know what to expect from the next coming weeks. You should seriously check them out if you're looking for something to read. They're TRULY wonderful.

P.P.S. - This is obviously NOT beta'd. Blame the doctors that cut open my foot last week for any insane mistakes. Obviously there'd be nothing wrong with it if not for them. 😉

P.P.P.S. - Can we just pretend that Daniel Radcliffe wrote HP now?

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Chapter Sixteen

The Lost Art of Stealth & Sneakiness

 

Hermione Granger knew the moment they stepped through the doors of the castle that everything was about to fall apart. Which, if she was being completely honest, was to be expected given their long track record of things going to plan. Spirits were high and Ron’s plan was good as each of the groups darted off to complete their tasks, but she’d spent the last year studying wards and ancient magic with McGonagall, and occasionally Professor Snape, and knew from the second their heist began that it was doomed to fail. The one thing they’d been counting on, the basis of their entire scheme, was that McGonagall would simply just look the other way over their incursion into the castle. That she’d accept the antics of her favorite war heroes and think that they were just sneaking into to reminisce. But from the moment she tapped into the wards of the old castle she recognized what a mistake they’d made. 

Severus Snape was the headmaster in residence. 

Though he was tucked into his chambers with none other than Lucius Malfoy himself, she knew that it wouldn’t be long before he registered their presence in the castle. She cursed under her breath and moved swiftly towards Draco, who was all but swaggering through the halls of the dark castle, a throwback to their days at Hogwarts and their secret rendezvous in darkened corridors and empty classrooms,  “Tap into the wards.” She hissed at him, dragging him back into the shadows of the stone wall.

His skin went ghostly pale at her insistence, a small glimmer of the scared child he one was making itself apparent in that split second of hesitation, “Why?” He asked, ignoring her request and turning to face her instead, fear shining in his eyes. He’d lost so much within the walls of this school, had been forced to do so much in service upon these grounds, she could see the wheels of his own mind turning with worst-case scenarios. 

“Your father is here.” She explained quickly, not wanting to unsettle him any more as they continued their trek to the main courtyard. 

He faltered in his steps, picking up on her implication immediately, “Then that means…”

“Snape is here.” She confirmed, “We need to keep an eye on his movements and alert the others.”

He scrunched his eyebrow in concentration, diving into the wards alongside her as they maneuvered through the hall. He’d studied the magic along with her, learning at her side throughout the course of what could be called their eighth year, and knew the wards just as well as she did, a skill that would hopefully give them an edge tonight. But all they could do was share a knowing look and hurry on to their destination. 

*** 

Ginny Weasley had never been the type to back down from a challenge. As the youngest Weasley and the only daughter, she’d had to work hard to prove herself, to prove her worth, and as she stared up at the vials of rubies and emeralds she knew that this was one of those moments that she’d have to step up to the plate once more. While Sirius and the twins were genius at pranks and mayhem and had a certain spark for creativity, manipulation was where the youngest Weasley shined. She’d always had a way of twisting things to fall in her favor, no matter the scenario. And so while George and Fred fiddled with their boxes of experimental products and Sirius fired spell after spell at the glass vials hanging high above them, Ginny stood back studying the pieces. 

She knew, instinctively, that they weren’t the first to try to hack the House Points System and that it probably had a million layers of protective enchantments surrounding it, but that there was probably just a key they were missing, a password of sorts that would grant them access to the ancient contraption.

She just had to find it.

***

Harry Potter didn’t know whether to kiss his husband… or kill him. Even though the man was a Slytherin through and through, he had no earthly idea how to sneak. On the way to the Headmaster’s office Theo had knocked over several suits of armor, crashed headfirst into a wall, and tripped over the edge of a rug, pulling the group of them down along with him. If he didn’t love the man with all his might, he would have sent him off to wait in a car somewhere like Aunt Petunia had used to do with him. 

“For the love of Merlin, Nott.” Ron groaned aloud as the man bumped into him yet again,  “How are you a Slytherin?” 

“He might not be.” Luna reminded them with her typical airiness, prompting snickers from Pansy as they finally reached the steps up to the Headmaster’s Office. 

“Trust me,” Harry snorted as he led the group up the staircase to the door, “He’s definitely a Slytherin.” 

“Why thank you, Potter.”

“Not a compliment, Nott.”

Theo rolled his eyes and smirked back at him, “Says the man who’s about to be sorted into Slytherin.”

Pansy huffed, “Will you two quit acting like you’re not ridiculously in love with each other and just open the damn door.” 

“I thought you appreciated my penchant for dramatics?” Theo pouted as Harry mumbled the password and the door swung open, revealing the cozy office of MInerva McGonagall. While it still held a great many similarities to it’s time of Dumbledore’s tenure, the room seemed a little just less whimsical and a little more homely. Warm light drifted from the lanterns on the walls, washing the room in a golden glow that highlighted the many books and artefacts scattered around the room. But all of that paled in comparison to the sight of the sorting hat sitting primly atop the desk, just waiting for a night out.

Harry sighed, “It can’t be that easy.” 

***

Lucius knew the exact moment the heist had begun, as Severus gave a slight quirk of his lips when the wards of the old castle shifted to alert him. To anyone else, they would have missed the subtle movement, but Lucius had spent a lifetime learning the ticks of his closest friend. They could read each other better than any other person could… though Evangeline might just prove to be the exception. 

“Is there a reason your betrothed is currently breaking into the Headmaster’s Office with that horde of Gryffindors she favours?” The surly old potions professor asked him, sounding positively bored despite the glint of excitement shining in his eyes over catching the group in the act. Even though he obviously adored Evangeline, the rest could not be said for her friends. 

Lucius feigned surprise, refusing to give up his knowledge of the situation by quirking a haughty eyebrow at the man, “Oh?”

Severus rolled his eyes and downed his drink, “Always the drama queen.”

He ignored the snark and continued his feigned innocence, “Are you quite certain it’s them?”

“Unless you know some other Evangeline Rosier who surrounds herself with dunderheads like Potter and Longbottom.”

“I’m fairly sure your two favourite students are among that group of friends.”

“I’m sure they are.” He groaned, standing swiftly from his chair and stalking towards the door with a look of terrifying delight on his face, “Why Minerva ever thought to teach them how to manipulate the wards, I’ll never know.”

Lucius stood to follow him, smirking to himself about the likelihood of his fiance’s capture.

***

Hermione couldn’t help but laugh at her husband’s glee as they turned the Gryffindor common room and dorms into a mess of Slytherin green. It was the final stop on their pranking tour of the castle. He, Harry, and Theo were working together in dousing everything in green and silver and transfiguring everything they could find to look like snakes. While they’d originally planned on just pulling off the one prank in the main hall, filling it with a couple thousand full cups of water (and more sticking charms than should, honestly, be legal) they’d decided to suspend the charm on the hall until the first day of term so that it could truly be enjoyed by the masses, and had turned instead to wreaking havoc the common rooms.  

Harry and Theo had joined them in the midst of their journey to the Slytherin dorms, sending Pansy and Ron on back to Grimmauld with their prize and Luna up to assist Seamus, Dean, and Lee with their own assault on Ravenclaw tower. And though Hermione was keeping an eye on things in the wards, she couldn’t help but to keep being distracted by the shenanigans in front of her.  

But despite her distraction, she did not miss the movement coming from the dungeons. Professor Snape was leaving his own quarters with the swift stride of a wizard out to destroy, she could almost picture his robes billowing out behind him like they always did (despite the heaviness of the material and the distinct lack of a breeze in the dungeons). She cursed as she caught sight of his destination, moving quickly in pursuit of Evie’s group on the fourth floor with Lucius hot on his tail. 

***

Evie was going to kill Blaise. The man had taken the warning to be quiet and invisible to mean the complete opposite, using every opportunity he could to make noise as they all moved through the corridors on patrol. Whether it was charming the suits of armor to stomp their feet to the tune of “We Will Rock You” or spelling every portrait’s inhabitants to don a mustache (to their immense & vocal displeasure), it was like it was impossible for him to not be causing trouble. And though it was downright hilarious watching him transfigure random bits and pieces of furniture that they passed into sex swings and giant dicks, she was truly counting down the seconds until he got them caught.

It didn’t help that Bill kept smoking a steady stream of clove cigarettes that smelled like the God of Death himself, leaving a trail of figurative breadcrumbs to their current location, no matter their place in the castle. Or that Neville simply rolled his eyes at his boyfriends antics and spent the majority of their trek through the halls trying to calm the screeching portraits to no avail. Not even mentioning the fact that Charlie and Daphne had long-since disappeared into a hidden corridor somewhere and hadn’t been seen or heard from since. 

It wasn’t until Hermione’s frantic patronus (why they didn’t just use the communication coins they used in every other part of their lives, she didn’t know) arrived in front of them that she realized how perfectly Blaise’s shenanigans suited their needs as the distraction. Severus Snape was in residence and was currently heading their way. She sighed, better them than any of the other groups. They were, after all, the ones that were supposed to be getting caught if it came down to it.

“Great,” Neville grumbled as her patronus faded away and left the hall encased in darkness once more, “I’ve always wanted to be skewered by my childhood nightmares...” 

“This is going to be a blast!” Blaise decided, looking positively giddy at the thought of facing off with his best friend’s godfather and former head of house, practically bouncing with excitement, a stark contrast to the reluctant stubbornness shining in the rest of their eyes. 

Evie just smiled and finally joined in with his wreaking of havoc, refusing to let him be the only one marching off to face certain death with a smile on his face.

Notes:

The third and final installment of the Hogwarts Heist is coming (hopefully) next week and I cannot wait to hear all of your thoughts on it. Leave some love and let me know what you think. Also I'm trying to figure out which fic I'm going to write next after this one, because I'm bored to tears and totally out of it and figure that this is a productive use of my time. Should I write a Fenrir x Hermione, a Sirius x Hermione, or a Severus x Hermione? Or do y'all want more Evie instead? Let me know in the comments down below!

***

The Commoner's Guide To Bedding A Royal (by OlivieBlake) : TBH, everything written by OlivieBlake is INCREDIBLE and worth reading but this one was my introduction to her work. It's a modern royalty AU with DRAMIONE as the main pairing (Draco is the Prince of Wales and Hermione is the American commoner who ends up at school with him). It's got an incredible (mostly Slytherin) cast and her writing of their interactions and dynamics is literally the BEST thing I've ever read, it will make you laugh and cry and jump for joy and it is truly one of my most favorite books out there. Literally, If I could print and bind it as a book I would. It's that wonderful. https://archiveofourown.org/works/15156935/chapters/35149952

The Debt of Time (by ShayaLonnie) : This, THIS, fic is incredible and LONG and gah! Just perfect. It's a Sirius/Hermione time travel fic that is literally the best one out there and I am not kidding when I say read this NOW! It's just perfect and wonderful and I cannot say too much without giving it away but this is the most well done time travel AND marauders fic I've ever read and you should seriously just read it. https://archiveofourown.org/works/10672917/chapters/23626929

Manacled (by SinLinYu) : This one still haunts me and it is NOT for the faint of heart. It's a heartbreakingly beautiful story that will leave you gasping for air and weeping for your favorite characters. It is dark, probably the darkest story I've ever read, and there were moments where I had to put it down and take a minute to just reorient myself with reality because it just tears at your soul in a way that I've never felt before. It is *loosely* based on Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale and as such is VERY trigger heavy and very dark, and as a rape survivor myself it was at times hard to read but it was worth it. I don't think I've ever read something that has stuck with me the way this one has. I still get chills just thinking about it. https://archiveofourown.org/works/14454174/chapters/33390198

Aurelian (by BittyBlueEyes) : THIS ONE IS PRECIOUS. A semi-time travel fic with Dramione as the central relationship. This was one of the first Draco/Hermione fics that I read and the one that truly ignited my love for them, it's got everything a good story should have and is truly one of those books you just can't put down. I can't say too much more without spoiling it, but it truly is fantastic. https://archiveofourown.org/works/3171864/chapters/6888428

Theres a million more where that came from, but please check them out if you're itching for a good story. They're all finished and wonderful and I truly cannot sing their praises enough. I hope you all are staying safe out there and I promise we'll be reunited with another chapter soon.

Always,

Alison ❤️