Well, here's the second chapter of the revised Our Hearts are Stolen Goods. Also, I still want to hear opinions on my potentially doing an Elfen Lied crossover, in case you missed the announcement in the previous chapter. I'm considering how best to do it at this point in time.


OUR HEARTS ARE STOLEN GOODS (REVISED)

CHAPTER 2:

THIEVES LIKE US

Harry had had a talent for stealing things, from a young age. It had been partly necessity, given what the Dursleys did to him. Even before he learned he was a wizard, he learned that he had the ability to open up a private little space that he would later call his Bag of Holding. And that was before he learned of another ability he had. Under duress, he could halt time. Later, he could do it at will. True, he could only halt time for limited periods, and the concentration needed limited its use in combat, but it proved rather more useful for his thieving endeavours.

And then, Hogwarts, and for a time, Harry thought that everything would be all right, everything would turn out fine. His fame was irritating, true, but it was kind of exhilarating to know he was a celebrity there…until he realised that he was famous for surviving when his parents did not. His first year had gone from good to bad, especially when he got the detention for helping Hagrid with that damned dragon, and he got more points taken off him than Malfoy. And after McGonagall refused to listen to him and his friends about the Philosopher's Stone…well, Harry decided then and there that he'd had enough.

He claimed that the Stone had been destroyed during the battle with Quirrelmort, when in reality, it was stored in his Bag of Holding. Something that could give eternal life AND gold? Yeah, he wasn't going to let that one go by.

Over the next few years, he began stealing from the Malfoys and other unpleasant Pureblood families. He'd donated some of his ill-gotten gains discreetly to the Weasleys, as well as their neighbours, the Lovegoods. He'd even managed to, albeit with difficulty, break into the lower security vaults of Gringotts, and even that had pissed off the Goblins.

And then, his Fourth Year. When everything went to shit. Harry had pulled out all the stops during the battle in the graveyard, using his ability to halt time to not only dodge spells, but to surround his enemies in clouds of spells during the time freeze that would be impossible to dodge. He had to fight down an odd urge to scream "Muda muda muda MUDA!", for some strange reason(1). The net result was, most of the Death Eaters died. And Voldemort's brand new body was reduced to mince by a small cloud of Reductos.

Unfortunately, he didn't know it, but Barty Crouch Junior, disguised as Moody, had witnessed his ability during his time at Hogwarts, and had apparently let things slip to Ludo Bagman. The reason was simple: Barty wanted to have Harry suffer, as well as be in a position to be ready to be killed by his lord and master.

Bagman, after everything went south after the Tri-Wizard Tournament, had been cornered by the Goblins, and Bagman, desperate to get his debt with the Goblins annulled, reported Harry as the thief they had been looking for. Harry was exposed, and the Goblins promptly dragged him to a dungeon under Gringotts before he could escape, magic-suppressing cuffs on him. And given how many Purebloods Harry had stolen from over the years, not to mention those he killed in the graveyard (never mind that they were Death Eaters!), most of Magical Britain turned on him in an instant. The surviving Death Eaters made sure of that.

They tried torturing him to find out where the money and valuables were. He didn't give them the information. Then, a disaster. Sirius was caught trying to rescue Harry, and was given the Kiss. Bill Weasley was allowed in to see him, but only for a short time, as the Goblins intended to fire him. Apparently Ginny had been murdered in Diagon Alley along with Molly, and Arthur was intending to take the Weasleys to Romania. Hermione was too, heading to Australia.

They had tried to get Dumbledore to release Harry, but Dumbledore just said that it was impossible, and in any case, this was the consequences of Harry's kleptomania, as well as murdering so many misguided Purebloods who could have been redeemed. Bill sent the apologies of his friends, and Harry accepted that, resignedly. He had used the Legilimency he had developed shortly after imprisonment to tell he was telling the truth.

Then, Dumbledore himself came to visit Harry. He stated, bluntly, that Harry would not be freed any time soon, that he was so disappointed in Harry for turning down a dark path. Harry had retorted that the Dursleys had mistreated him, and from there, it devolved into an argument that left Harry shaken. He had caught a glimpse of what lay beneath Dumbledore's mask, none of it good. He knew then and there that Dumbledore actually wanted him to die.

Months had passed, though they seemed like eons, and eventually, the Goblins demanded that Harry be taken to the Veil and cast through it, and the Ministry agreed too readily. He expected to die. After all, the Goblins gloated that it was a form of execution. Apparently some old families chucked their Squibs through the Veil after greasing the palms of the Unspeakables. And yet, he ended up waking up in an alley in this place…not even on Earth anymore.

The shattered moon hanging in the sky was a big clue, after all.

But it was a new beginning, he realised. He may not have known much about this world, but he had the time freeze, his valuables (well, the relieved valuables of the Death Eaters) in his Bag of Holding, and Legilimency. And it was, well, frankly rather freeing. He had no expectations here, save for what he could make himself.

And then, an impish idea occurred to him. To steal loudly, for the thrill, to pull off the impossible. He remembered a few mangas he had spotted in the local library at Little Whinging. Stuff like Lupin III, DNAngel, and the like. He wanted to be loud and audacious.

And he remembered something Hermione told him. In a way, his chosen name was a tribute to her. Her parents had chosen that name because they were fans of Shakespeare, but the name itself came from Greek myth, the daughter of King Menelaus and Helen of Troy, and was derived from the name of the Greek god Hermes.

Of course, he wasn't doing things blind. Thanks to Legilimency, he knew a number of interesting facts about this world, Remnant. To whit…

First point of order: this world was debatably more dangerous than Earth. It was infested with monsters that attacked humans and Faunus, soulless things called the creatures of Grimm. The Grimm were attracted to civilisation and negative emotion.

Second point of order: academies existed across the world to train Hunters, specially trained people who were sent on missions to kill the Grimm, as well as occasionally the worst of criminals. Hunters used weapons that were basically combinations of melee weapons and ranged weapons to kill Grimm. They were also trained in the use of Aura, an extrusion of one's soul, for defence, as well as Semblances, unique abilities to those who awakened their Auras. Vale had its own Academy, Beacon, run by Professor Ozpin. So, basically Hogwarts for monster killers. He hoped Ozpin wasn't a manipulative old bastard, though he thought he heard a sneeze in the distance when he thought that.

Third point of order: the Faunus, and the White Fang. Faunus were basically people with animal-like features, like ears or tails. Far too many humans treated them with contempt. The White Fang, until about five years ago, had been a protest organisation that ran picket lines and rallies. However, when its original leader Ghira Belladonna stepped down, its new leader, Sienna Khan, began using the White Fang to incite violence, going so far as to cause terrorist attacks.

Fourth point of order: Dust. Dust was a substance that had elemental power within it, and was used in weaponry, electronics, vehicle engines, etc. Basically magic crystallised. Very valuable too.

Fifth point of order: magic only existed in fairytales, or more to the point, mages were very rare. The only known mages were the Four Maidens, who were supposedly granted power by an ancient wizard. Neo, as he discovered when he read her mind later, considered it her favourite fairytale from this world, as it was basically about a quartet of girls who bothered an old man until he gave them powers as a bribe to go away(2). So Harry had to be careful whom he revealed his magic to. Or else claim his magic was his Semblance.

Sixth point of order: almost every weapon on Remnant was also a gun. He didn't have one to call his own just yet, though he had stolen a few.

He had gone to Junior's club to relax, though the heavy bass of the music didn't help. He was here more because once, he happened to run into the Malachite twins when they were cornered (or so he thought) by a trio of thugs in the nearby street, one of whom, to his confusion, seemed to have wolf-like ears. He had intervened, using a wandless Expelliarmus to disarm them. He soon realised that, even if they dressed somewhat daringly for their age, Melanie and Militia were far from harmless, as they promptly dealt with the thugs. However, they were touched a little by his chivalry, and had decided to bring him to Junior's club.

So, he was welcome for drinks here whenever he wanted, despite being underage. He usually stuck to the non-alcoholic stuff. Plus, the Malachites were good to talk to, even if conversations were hard to hold with the loud dance music. They even helped him get a good Scroll. They still flirted with him, but out of cheekiness.

Still, the sadness of being away from Magical Britain, or at least his friends, still ate at him. It was part of the reason he stole as Hermes, why he put on a show. It was partly to cheer himself up, to get that vicarious thrill going. In a way, he stole to try and make himself happy. Not that it always worked.

He also sometimes drank to try and unsuccessfully drown the sadness. Tonight looked to be one of those nights, though for now, he was sticking with soft drink. "Why so glum, Harry?" Melanie asked.

"You're supposed to have a fun time in this club," Militia opined.

"Sorry, I'm just…moping. Thinking about the people I lost to the Grimm," Harry said. That was his cover story, that his village had been slaughtered by the Grimm.

"Don't be like that. Anyway, it seems you've garnered some interest," Melanie said, gesturing behind her. "Someone wants to meet you."

"I want to drink alone."

"Try telling that to her. She's like a cat, going where she wants," Militia remarked. "Oh look, here she comes."

Harry didn't really look, even as she sat down, shortly after the Malachites said their farewells and walked away. "And who are you?" he asked after glancing at her briefly, curious, despite himself.

The bartender scoffed. "She doesn't talk, kid. She can't talk. Her name's Neopolitan. Yeah, like the ice cream."

Neopolitan…Harry found himself looking at her with more interest. He knew that name. The Malachites had told him about Roman Torchwick and his enforcer. Neopolitan, better known as Neo. He looked at her more carefully.

She was a short, slender girl, one who carried herself with a mixture of childishness and yet assuredness that made her seem older. She was dressed in a brown corset-like top, a white coat over it, and black trousers, coupled with a parasol. Her features were quite pretty…and familiar looking. Not the brown and pink hair (the pink hair having white streaks in it), or the mismatched eyes, one brown, the other pink…but the shape of the face.

"Huh. Suits you," Harry said, though he noted recognition in her eyes…especially when her gaze lingered in a familiar way on his scar. Then, he panicked. She knew him, she knew him, she knew him!

He used Legilimency on her, meeting her gaze. And he saw her. He saw her past.

He had guessed who her mother was correctly. She had been taken from her mother when she was sent to Azkaban, and placed with her nearest living relatives in the Black family. With a horrendous woman called Walburga. And there, she learned that she was a Squib.

She was treated like scum. She retaliated by stealing. And she was caught, beaten…and then, sent to the Department of Mysteries. Some Unspeakables were bribed to have her thrown through the Veil. And then, like him, she ended up here.

He saw her life. He saw what she did here. Had it been him a few years before, he might have revolted at what she did. But instead, he knew how she felt. That theft for her was a way of getting thrills, hitting back at an apathetic society. True, she was more bloodthirsty than he was…but just about every one she killed were criminals, so far.

They were more alike than he realised.

He could feel her panic. He knew she knew who he was. So he withdrew, seeing her eyes turn white with shock. And after a moment, smiled. "Please to meet you, Neo," he said. "I'm Harry Potter. But…I'm sure you knew that already…"

And she would, wouldn't she? Given that her real name was Hydra Delphini Lestrange

CHAPTER 2 ANNOTATIONS:

So, a bit of a perspective flip.

1. Harry using his spells during the time stop is reminiscent of Dio's knife-based attack while using The World in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. And, of course, "MUDA!" is Dio's infamous attack cry (well, along with "WRRRRYYYY!"), which is Japanese for 'useless' or 'futile'.

2. This was Neo's snarky comment on said tale in RumbleintheDumbles' The Domino Effect, the sequel to the hilarious A Change of Heart. Both stories informed how I characterised Neo in this story, and others.