AN: Hi guys! This is my first fic, so please don't judge too harshly! This is a Muggle Crime Ring AU, it was a little bit inspired by Kiss Kiss Bang Stab by Amanda Conner/Jimmy Palmiotti and illustrated by Chad Hardin/John Timms (its a Harley Quinn comic book), and there is no magic.
I did my research on the town where Lily grew up in (in the canon) and it is said to be located in The Midlands section of England. I can't find anything about where James grew up, so I'm putting him in a really rich town in the South East section of England (there's a list online that says the top 10 richest towns/cities in England are in this section). Hope you enjoy Stolen Hearts!
Lily Evans thought herself much like the others at her age: young, reckless, and prone to drinking a little bit too much at the bar. She does know that she is different from most of her peers, in a few ways, such as having a different music taste (she would rather listen to Basement or any Alternative Rock group than say, pop or rap music), she prefers tequila shots to "girlie drinks" like 'Sex on the Beach' or a 'Cosmo', and that she is involved in a very successful crime ring with her friends. Yes, you read that right. Crime ring. In the town of Cokeworth, where Lily has lived for all of her twenty-two-year life, the general populace calls them the "Terror Ring". Cokeworth has no idea who is in the Ring, some have their suspicions, none of them of course being anywhere near accurate, but they are smart enough to realize that the Ring has no more than 10 members (they are correct; the Ring only has five members at the moment), and that they do most of their business outside of town. Cokeworth isn't a rich town, but it isn't poor either. Cokeworth is filled with lots of middle class families, most of whom have two working parents and school age children who dream of getting the heck out of the sleepy town.
During the late afternoon on one bleary September evening, Lily sat down in her usual spot at the head of the old, heavy oak table in the Dark Room, clutching her usual, steaming mug of her favorite Earl Grey tea. The Dark Room was in the back room of the flat that they all shared, and for Cokeworth, their flat was pretty big. It was built around the same time that Cokeworth was, and has had many renovations since, and due to the stinginess of some of the old inhabitants, the Dark Room was not built to code or legally, meaning that it isn't on the blueprint for the house. The Dark Room is in a secret passage behind an old bookcase that Emmeline stumbled upon when she was trying to find a place to put all of her old records. The room is illuminated not by any electrical light fixture, but by some old battery-operated camping lanterns and a bunch of candles that Dorcas swore "would create a really cool, dark and evil kinda vibe." The Dark Room is where the Terror Ring usually meets to discuss plans for a raid or who their next target was going to be.
"Oi, Spitfire, where're you?" shouted Marlene.
"'M in the Dark Room!" responded Lily. A few moments later, light poured in through the door opening from the flat's living room, and in walked the other four members of the Terror Ring: Marlene "Queenie" McKinnon, Dorcas "Venom" Meadowes, Emmeline "Princess" Vance, and Alice "Viper" Fortescue.
"Alright, Spitfire, what's the plan?" questioned Marlene.
"If you wanna know, you're gonna call us in some dinner from that new Italian place on 14th and Main," responded Lily.
"But I did it last time," whined Marlene, "Make Dorcas do it!"
"Oh, yeah? I've done it the past five times 'cause you bloody blighters decided you were 'too bloody lazyto pick up the landline and phone in Chinese'," chimed Dorcas.
Marlene groaned. "Fine. But next time, Em's doin' it." Marlene trudged out of the room, mumbling about her unhappiness to be the one to phone the restaurant.
Lily could hear Marlene yanking open drawers, looking for the folder they had dedicated to all of the takeout menus they had. She laughed to herself, because even after a year and a half of living in their flat, Marlene still couldn't ever remember which drawer Lily had put the folder in. After about two minutes of the slamming of drawers, Marlene groaning in frustration, Lily and the others could hear Marlene's triumphant "Aha!" and the sound of her reading off the number for the Italian restaurant.
After a couple of minutes, Marlene returned to the Dark Room, closed the door behind her, and sat at her usual spot at the table.
"The guy said that it should be delivered in a half hour to forty-five minutes," said Marlene, "Now, Spitfire, what's that plan of yours?"
Lily set down her mug and reached behind her, grabbing three rolls of paper. She set them on the table and unrolled them. They revealed elaborate diagrams of buildings, streets, and detailed profiles of rich people in the rich towns within a reasonable drive of Cokeworth. She leaned forward, and looked up towards her comrades.
"Alright, here's what we've got: There's a charity party for the Humane Society at the Buckingham Gate Suites in London next Friday evening, and there's going to be an auction, a really fancy dinner, dancing, and of course, alcohol. The press has already said that the heir to the Potter fortune is going to be there. Most likely, he's bringin' his richie-rich friends with him, so it's a good bet that we can at least nab one of 'em. Get 'em a lil' bit drunk, convince them to come with us, hold 'em hostage, and write a ransom note. If we can get the Potter guy, even better. Make 'em think that he can take us home with'm and that he can make us the next mark on his bedpost. Worst case scenario: we get caught. Best case: everyone will be too drunk to notice anything, we can swipe some wallets ('cause they gotta pay all-cash, up front for whatever they're bidding for), and we get a load of cash offa this." Lily waited for their reactions. After a few beats of silence, Alice seemed to fully comprehend what Lily had said.
"Ok, but how are we getting in there without being recognized?" Alice prattled on. "Some of them will probably either recognize us from boarding school, or they'll wonder why there's five girls with their faces painted like skulls at a fancy auction! How on God's green Earth are we gonna pull this off?"
"Vipes, calm down", replied Lily. "We have to split up. There's no way around it. Three of us will be waiting in the van for the signal, and the other two will start out in the party and snag some wallets. We get the one we're takin' hostage, throw 'em in the van, and then lock 'im in after gaggin' 'im, the two that were in the party change into our raid clothes, and then we go and announce the ransom, and get the heck outta there."
This seemed to pacify Alice, and the other three nodded at their leader. "Now," started Lily, "Are you all in, or are we scrappin' this one for an easy, but boring, raid on the gas stations?" Lily looked at the rest of the women in the Dark Room. "All in for Operation 'Charity Case' say 'Aye!'"
"AYE!"
"Alright, Operation 'Charity Case' is in order. Meeting over."
AN: Hey, thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed chapter one, and there should be a second chapter up soon!
I'm not sure how often I'll be able to update, but it should be at least once a month, if not more.
Please favorite/follow if you liked this, and leave a review! Let me know what you thought, and if you've got any suggestions for improvement!
You can also leave anything you want included in the story as well!
Until next time,
~Through-Hardships-to-the-Stars