A/N: This was written for the HMS Harmony 2023 Milestones Bingo. The prompt is this: Career Changes.

There are three parts + an epilogue. The next parts should come in the following days (Part 2 is already done and Part 3 is half-way written.

Harry slammed the front door of Grimmauld Place shut before locking it. His entire body was trembling with rage. Everything he went through. Everything he sacrificed. For this?!

For context, Voldemort's Second War ended two weeks ago when Harry defeated Lord Voldemort at Hogwarts Castle. When he saw his arch-nemesis fall to the ground of the Great Hall his eyes devoid of life, Harry thought peace was finally at hand. That the magical world, free of the disease that was Voldemort, could finally begin to heal. A world where everyone would be able to live in harmony, where their blood or race wouldn't matter.

But Harry had been wrong. Voldemort's carcass hadn't even cooled down that things were already changing for the worst. Oh sure, everyone called Harry their hero, the defeater of Voldemort. But, behind the scenes, people put in power by Voldemort were already securing their power.

Harry and his best friend Hermione didn't initially notice what was happening at the Ministry of Magic. As far as they were aware, Kingsley Shaklebolt was the Acting Minister for Magic and was working to clean up the Ministry.

They only started feeling something was terribly wrong when they learned the officials behind the Muggle-born Registration Commission (like Dolores Umbridge) were not fired. Worse, the muggle-borns illegally incarcerated during the war and sent to Azkaban for 'stealing magic' were not released either. The Commission was dissolved, but that was about all that was done about it. Innocents still laid in Azkaban while their oppressors continued to go free.

And then, Death Eaters were pardoned in droves. Most of them were declared not-guilty for being 'under the Imperius curse'. Seventeen years later and a new war, and the magical world hadn't learned their lesson.

Today, Harry and Hermione had gone to face the Wizengamot with the goal of demanding the Ministry free the Muggle-borns, and for the Death Eaters to actually face justice. But, they never got to that point.

When they arrived, it was to learn Kingsley was thrown out of his position as Acting Minister for Magic for trying to bring forward the same things as Harry and Hermione. From the public gallery, they watched on in horror as Dolores Umbridge was voted in as Minister of Magic.

Hermione came back home in tears. Harry followed behind them in rage. It got them in trouble with muggles in the street, who did not see kindly to a crying woman being followed by an enraged man. Only Hermione explaining their tears and anger were due to very bad news and not each other allowed Harry to come home in one piece.

And now they were back at Grimmauld Place, feeling the weight of what had transpired. Harry and Hermione shed sweat, tears and blood to free the world from Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Hermione was tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange for them. Harry literally died for them. But, their sacrifice ended-up being worthless.

In essence, Voldemort had won. They only just realized it now.

"I should have taken you up on your offer. To stay in the Forest of Dean and grow old together." Harry commented as he paced around the parlour. Hermione let out a wet laugh.

"Yeah... I wish you had." she commented. The brunette was sitting on one of the love seats. She wiped her wet cheeks. "I can't believe it. After everything we did. The pureblood supremacists are still in power. They won."

"I know." he answered miserably. Harry sat down next to her. Hermione immediately grabbed his hand, seeking comfort. "And to think I was planning to become an Auror after the war. Now there's no way I'm going to work for a Ministry led by Umbridge." He shivered in disgust.

"I wanted to return to Hogwarts and finish my education, but now I don't trust the Ministry not to try to arrest us on some bogus charge."

Harry turned to look at her in concern. "Do you really think they would do that?" he asked. Hermione nodded.

"When she was a teacher, Umbridge made you use a Blood Quill just because you said Voldemort was back. Even if you were lying about it, it was no excuse to use torture on you. Sure, we are popular now, but how long do you think it will take her to put up charges against us? I have no doubt she will try to send us to Azkaban. Just look at what happened to Kingsley. He lost his job just for trying to remove Voldemort's influence from the Ministry."

"Then what do we do?"

Hermione shrugged miserably. "I don't know."

She would invite him to move to Australia with her and find her parents, but she found out the day after Voldemort's defeat that the plane carrying her parents never made it there. Part of the reason it took them so long to realize something wrong was going on with the Ministry was because of these news. Harry spent many days in Hermione's company trying to comfort her. Neither of them were keeping up with the rest of the world.

It wouldn't have been as bad if Harry did not have his own problems to worry about. But, right has he had been comforting Hermione the day of the tragic news, he received a letter from Gringotts announcing that all of the contents of his vaults had been seized by the bank as compensation and to repair the damage. Harry had consulted with Kingsley, and with some people's help, estimated the real price of the damage. Even in a worst case scenario, they estimated the cost to be at most half of what Harry had. Even if a quarter of his vault was added for compensation for the trouble, it should still have left him with a quarter of what he had. But, instead, the goblins seized everything and refused to give back part of it, leaving him destitute.

"We can't do nothing. Because then we would be admitting defeat. And I refuse to let them win. Not after everything we went through."

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Hermione asked tiredly. "We are powerless to fight them. Before, we could count on our friends and the resources they could provide. But now, we're all alone with nothing." she said bitterly.

Hermione still remembered their last discussion with the Weasley family – not that it really qualified as such. It was more of a shouting match. Alarmed by what was going on at the Ministry, Harry and Hermione went to discuss it with them, hoping they could come up with a solution to put things back on the right track.

But, instead, they met with a grief-stricken family who didn't see anything wrong with what was going on. A fight broke out, with Hermione and Harry trying to make them see something wrong was going on, while the Weasleys stuck to the naive idea that everything was fine, and that they had bigger fishes to fry with Fred's funeral.

In the end, Harry had snapped and said Fred would be turning in his grave if he knew his family were turning their backs on the cause he died fighting for. In answer, Ron made it clear he believed Fred's death was Harry's fault, that they could have reached him in time to save him if the black-haired wizard had not slowed them down in the Room of Requirement trying to save Malfoy's life. That nobody opposed that viewpoint told Harry and Hermione enough.

Suffice to say, friendships were forever broken that day.

Hermione continued. "We can't even go buy food. Neither of us have a knut to our names. All our possessions are in this house and everything even remotely expensive was stolen by Mundungus Fletcher. We only have enough food to last another few days."

Harry stood up and started pacing again, looking for a solution. He came up with an idea. "Maybe... maybe there is a way to get money." he said hesitantly.

Hermione looked up. "What do you mean?" she asked.

Harry ran a nervous hand through his hair. "Well, that's the thing. I have an idea, but I don't think you're going to like it."

Hermione's eyes narrowed. "Tell me."

Nervously, Harry explained. "Well, we can't find jobs in the magical world without putting ourselves at risk of being arrested by Umbridge. We can't find jobs in the muggle world either because we don't have any qualifications. So, I thought... maybe we could get money by robbing muggle stores and banks." He finished by wincing.

Harry expected Hermione to explode. But, to his surprise, she never once became angry. "From Auror to robber. That's one hell of a career change." she said. Harry chuckled nervously.

"So, what do you think?" he asked. "Don't leave me hanging there Hermione."

She leaned forward, resting her chin in her hand. "Why muggle stores and bank?" she asked.

"Because it's quick. And, we have magic." he said. "Magic will make everything easier for us. There will be no protection against magic in the muggle world. We will be able to use any spell we want."

There was a moment of silence. "And that money would be to allow us to live comfortably?"

"Well, part of." At Hermione's look, he explained. "I think we could also use the money to hire a crew of people to... well, to rob Gringotts again."

"You- You want us to rob the Goblins again?" she asked, surprised. Harry shrugged.

"Well first, it would allow us to empty the coffers of the Death Eaters. Most of it is blood money. They don't deserve to keep it and use it to bribe Ministry officials and stay free." His eyes then gained a vengeful glint. "Second, it would allow us to get these little shits back for taking all of our money." There was no doubt he was referring to the goblins of Gringotts.

Hermione didn't comment on the fact Harry considered his family fortune 'theirs'. Instead, she pondered in silence. "Alright. I'm in."

"Wait, really?" he asked, shocked.

"Isn't that what you wanted to hear?" she asked cheekily.

"Well, yes! But I didn't expect you would say yes! Or so quickly! I thought you would blow up at me, or give me a lesson on morality. To tell me robbing was wrong. Or that we should focus our efforts on saving the magical world from Umbridge's reign."

"No!" she immediately said, standing up to pace. "Fuck the magical world!" Harry's eyes widened. "What? It's true! We already sacrificed enough for them. We owe them nothing! They already had two chances to fight for their world and they instead squandered it, putting all of their hopes on the shoulders of a teenager and a rag-tag group of vigilantes! If they want freedom so much, then they should just do something about it themselves! Act for once in their lives! If they aren't bothered to even try, then they don't deserve to have a hero who bear the weight of responsibilities on their shoulders.

"As for whether robbing is wrong or not, it is easy. It is very wrong. But, at this point, I just do not care! I spent all my childhood trying to be the model student, the one who always follows the rules, and it did nothing but bring me pain! The only times we were able to make things better for ourselves was when we actively broke rules or laws! At this point, I do not care about the morality of things. I just want a comfortable life going forward, one where I'm not limited by rules and morals and where I'm constantly being put down by those who ignore them!"

Seeing Hermione rant awoke old feelings in Harry's heart. It was incredibly hot to watch.

"So screw everyone else, let's make our own lives?" Harry asked, his grin growing.

"Screw the laws!" she agreed. Harry laughed in delight.

Sarah Brawn was very happy. She had just been hired to work a one of the biggest jewelries in London. The pay was good, and each commission brought a lot of additional income. It ensured Sarah would be able to live very comfortably.

A relief, as it meant she no longer had to depend on her mother for rent, a very narcissistic woman who didn't hesitate one moment to share her unwanted opinions and manipulate people for her own agenda.

Plus, it allowed her to meet some very nice customers. Granted, a lot of them were old, arrogant rich people. But some were very nice couples who usually came because they just became engaged and wanted to buy an engagement ring. Others came to buy beautiful necklaces of the girlfriend's choosing. She always loved meeting such couple. Feeling the love in the air made her dream of eventually finding love for herself.

Standing behind the counter, she observed as clients walked around the store and looked at some of the displayed products. None of them needed her opinion right now, so she was able to stay and occupy her mind by thinking of various things. She did not need to watch out for malicious customers. Not only were there two security guards to do just that, but the store had just installed some state-of-the-art surveillance cameras.

Or so she was told. Again, she had just been hired to work here.

Sarah was snapped out of her thoughts when she saw a young couple enter. They couldn't be older than twenty, if she guessed correctly. The man looked rather handsome, with his messy black hair, bright green eyes and the wired glasses which added to his look rather than subtracted, unlike the scar on his head that made him a tad less attractive. The woman was equally as beautiful, with her long, curly brown hair, curvy figure and radiant smile. The man wore a tight shirt, which was tucked under his jeans. The woman wore a blue summer dress. They gave the impression of a young couple in love who took opportunity of the good weather outside to explore London.

The happy couple walked to the counter. "Hi-" the man greeted. The woman looked around the store with wide eyes. The man looked at her nameplate on her chest. "Sarah?"

"Sarah Brawn, at your service." she said with a smile. "To what do I owe your presences?"

The couple looked at each other. "Rowena and I just got engaged!"

"Congratulations!" Sarah said cheerfully. "Are you looking for an engagement ring?"

"Indeed, we are!" the woman Rowena said. She turned to the man. "What did you say your budget was, Salazar?"

"Oh, to about £20,000." Salazar answered. Sarah had to stop herself from shrieking in shock. She could already count the money she would get from the commission!

"Right, I remember now." the woman exclaimed, playfully slapping herself on the forehead. The man chuckled and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"You look very much in love." Sarah commented with a smile. "May I ask how long you have been together?"

"For about five years, give or take." Rowena answered. Salazar nodded.

"Something happened to Rowena when she was thirteen. She ended up in a coma for a few weeks." he told her. He turned to his fiance. "I was twelve, and Rowena was my best friend. I realized how I important she had become when she went into coma. The weeks before she woke up were hell. It really broke me not to be able to talk to her, to study with her, to hold her in my arms. When she woke up, one of the first things she did was hug me. And I knew then and there that I was in love with her." he finished in a whisper.

"Ha- Salazar." Rowena said emotionally, with tears in her eyes. Salazar smiled and gave her a kiss on the forehead. Sarah discreetly wiped her own tear. This was so romantic!

Salazar then turned back to her. "And after that, I decided to ask her out. Five years later, and we're now engaged. I didn't buy a ring though. It was a decision taken on-the-fly." he said, sheepishly running a hand through his hair.

"I'm sure we can find you the perfect engagement ring!" she said. She walked to another side of the counter (it was square and standing in the middle of the store) and pointed under the window. "Here, we have some of our most beautiful rings."

"How much are they worth?" Salazar asked. Rowena bent down to observe them closer.

"Our least expensive ones go to around £800. The most expensive we have in store go up to £10,000."

Rowean let out a low whistle. "That's a lot. Are there rings really that expensive?"

"Oh, that's nothing. There's some in the back that go up to £50,000." she said with a grin. Salazar blinked and Rowena raised an eyebrow. Their reactions reminded her she wasn't supposed to tell customers that. Well crap. She decided to play it off. "Well, that's what one of my coworkers told me. I don't know if he had me on or not." she said with a nervous laugh. There, they would simply think she had fallen for a joke!

"Yeah, could be. I never heard of a £50,000 ring." Salazar chuckled. He looked back down to his fiance, who was crouching in front of the counter, tapping on the glass. "Sal! Look at this one!" she said with a gasp.

"Please do not tap the glass." Sarah asked. Rowena looked sheepish.

"Right, sorry."

"What is it, love?" Salazar asked. Sarah saw Rowena point at one of the rings through the window. "Wow." the man said. "How much is it?" he asked to Sarah.

"This one?" she asked, pointing to a white-gold ring with a square diamond resting beautifully on top. Salazar nodded. "Let me check for a moment." She looked at the code of the item. With it in mind, she took two steps away and grabbed a small book before returning. Looking quickly through it, she quickly searched for the code of the ring before finding it. "It has a price of £7,500." she answered.

"Got it." he said with a nod. He turned to Rowena, who was staring at the ring with awe. "Is this the one you want, love?" he asked. Rowena nodded in silence. "Alright, I think we found it!"

Sarah beamed. "Will you buy it now, or would you prefer to come take it later?"

"Later." Salazar said. "The ring is beautiful, but spending £7,000 on anything shouldn't be a decision taken lightly. I think my fiance and I will rest on it for a few days before deciding whether we take it or not. Can you reserve it in the meantime?" he asked.

"Of course." Sarah said with a nod. She went to a computer and spent a few minutes doing a few things before she could finally enter the reservation. "To what name do I reserve it?" she asked.

"Salazar Slytherin." the man answered with a charming smile.

"Salazar Slytherin. Got it." Sarah nodded, silently wondering how it was typed. She filled out the form. "There you go! It is reserved!"

"Thank you very much!" Rowena said gleefully, speaking for the first time since she lay her eyes on the ring.

"Yes, thank you." Salazar agreed, giving his fiance a kiss on the cheek. Rowena blushed. "Before we go, I was wondering if we could look up at the necklaces as well." he asked Sarah.

"The necklaces, dear?" Rowena asked, surprised. Salazar shrugged.

"There's money left on the budget. I want to look to see if there is a necklace I can buy as a Christmas gift for my mother." he answered.

"Oh! I'm sure she'd love that!" Rowena answered.

"So, is it possible?" Salazar asked Sarah. She nodded.

"Of course. Follow me!"

Sarah brought the happy couple to other display cases showing various kinds of necklaces. Salazar's price range was much lower than for the engagement ring, as expected, but he seemed interested in the most expensive necklaces available. One display case in the corner of the store stood next to one of the security guards. Rowena commented about it when they returned to the counter.

"I don't know why, but the security guard made me nervous. He was standing so close to us. I was irrationally thinking he could attack us at any moment." she said with a small shiver. Sarah noticed this and decided to mention it to her boss. It wouldn't be good for business if future customers became uncomfortable looking at their products.

"You don't have to worry about them." she said, wanting to reassure the young woman. "They don't attack people. They only watch to ensure nobody try to steal anything. If they do, they just use some device in their pocket to ring the alarm. They don't fight people."

"See? There was nothing to worry about, Rowena!" Salazar said with a grin, slipping an arm around her shoulders.

"Right." the woman smiled sheepishly.

"Well, I think we saw everything we needed. Thank you, Sarah. You have been very helpful."

"You're welcome." she said.

"I think we'll come for the ring and possibly a necklace in a few days. Rowena love it and I'm rather sold on the idea."

"Then we will see each other in a few days."

"Yes. Thank you very much, and good bye!" Salazar said. Sarah watched as he and Rowena left the store. She was already impatient for their return, counting the money she would get from the commission.

Outside, 'Salazar' and 'Rowena' – or Harry and Hermione as were their real names – walked for a few minutes before turning in an alleyway. After making sure nobody were watching, they apparated away to Grimmauld Place.

"Well, I think we can call this scouting trip as a success!" Harry said cheerfully. "The clerk was way more talkative than I expected! I have a feeling she hasn't been working there for long. I don't think she was supposed to tell us about the £50,000 rings in the back store or how the security guards react to robbery attempts." he said with a chuckle. Hermione did not speak. Curious, he turned around to look at her. She looked very pensive. "Hermione?"

Hermione shook her head. "Sorry. I was just thinking about something you said in the store." Harry frowned.

"I said a lot of think back there. You'll have to be more precise." he chuckled.

Again, Hermione stayed silent, concerning Harry. He tried thinking of what he could have said to bring her to such a pensive mood. But, he could not find anything.

"Did you mean it?" she suddenly asked, breaking the silence.

"Err- again, I said a lot of things."

"What you said about how you felt when I was petrified." she softly said. Harry's eyes widened.

"Oh... that." he said. He did not answer immediately. But, at Hermione's increasingly dismayed expression, he decided to admit his feelings. "Yes, I meant it. When McGonagall brought Ron and I to the Hospital Wing, and I saw you petrified and lifeless, I felt my heart shatter right then and there. That's when I realized how important you had become. Because, you were the most important person in my life. That's when I realized that I was in love with you."

"W-What? Say that again?" she stuttered in shock. Her reaction made him nervous, but he repeated his words nevertheless.

"That's when I realized I was in love with you."

"Again!" she said with a lot of enthusiasm.

Harry blinked. "Hermione?" he asked, confused.

"Please, do you have any idea how long I've dreamed of hearing these words!" she cried. "Please, tell them again until I'm convinced I'm not dreaming!"

Hermione dreamed of him being in love with her? Hope grew in his chest. He had been afraid of a rejection, but he now realized he did not have to worry about it at all!

Harry lifted his hands up to her cheeks, slowly rubbing them with his thumbs. "I, Harry Potter, am in love with you, Hermione Granger." he said truthfully.

Hermione teared up. "I must still be dreaming!"

"You aren't, Hermione." he said. "I love you. I am in love with you. Me, Harry Potter, fell in love with you, Hermione Granger." Seeing that Hermione still wasn't entirely convinced, he leaned forward until their noses were touching. He whispered "I'm going to kiss you now if that's what it take to convince you. Is it alright?"

Hermione nodded furiously. Harry did not wait for more prompting, and kissed her. Hermione moaned and enthusiastically kissed him back.

They had planned to hit the jewellery store later that afternoon, but Harry realized they would need to postpone it until they made up for all the lost time.

Harry and Hermione did eventually start working on their robbery plans again, but not after spending hours snogging each other all over the house. They finished in the bedroom, and had to restrain themselves to ensure they did not go all the way.

But, the fact they were now a couple brought them even closer than they thought possible. Better, it helped improve their morale. The months since Harry first suggested they become robbers had not been easy. They essentially spent it cut off from everyone else. All of their remaining possessions were sold to gain enough money to buy some necessary equipment for their future ventures.

In exchange of two rifles, masks, suits and various other equipment, Grimmauld Place became a literal shell of its former self. All rooms were emptied and the things inside sold out to gather enough money to fund their project. All that was left was one bed (which they had been sharing even before they became a couple), a love seat in the parlour, their wardrobes and clothes, and the kitchen table and chairs. Everything else was gone. Even the kitchen appliances were gone. It wasn't like they had money to pay for food anyway – the only reason they weren't starving was because Professor McGonagall gave them a favour, asking a few of the Hogwarts elves to bring them food every meal.

But, it was an investment they believed was worth it. With the money they got from selling everything, they had enough to buy the equipment they needed.

The first thing they bought were grey business suits, which they would wear during their robberies. Was it cliché? Certainly! But Harry wanted them to look the part.

The next thing they bought was masks. What they bought were old style hockey masks, which they pretended they wanted for some Halloween costumes they were making. But, they were not planning to keep them as is. Harry and Hermione transfigured their masks until they resembled the faces of very creepy house elves. They wanted people to fear them. It meant their victims would be more tempted to comply to their demands, ensuring they wouldn't have to use more violence than necessary. The house elves faces would look positively alien to muggles by default – Harry and Hermione purposefully made them even creepier, making the ears longer and adding dark bags under the holes for the eyes. It was perfect.

Since they did not have access to polyjuice potion, they enchanted the masks to help keep their identities secret. When worn, the masks changed the colour of the wearer's eyes and hair. Not only that, but it also modulated their voices when they spoke, ensuring they wouldn't be recognized by people like the clerk Sarah, who actually conversed with them out of costume.

The most difficult thing to buy were the weapons. If they had the option, Harry and Hermione would have forgone them entirely to instead use their wands. But, not only would nobody feel threatened with wands, but using them would break the Statute of Secrecy in a way that would ensure the Ministry of Magic would shove their arses in Azkaban at the first opportunity. They wanted to rob stores and banks, but they couldn't attract the attention of the Ministry doing so.

So, they had to buy weapons. Finding a weapons dealer in Great Britain was very hard to do so, especially for someone like them who knew nothing about the black market. They spent months looking for a seller until they eventually gave up. Harry decided instead to use some of their remaining money to buy a portkey to America. There, he bought two semi-automatic rifles. It was scary how easy it had been for Harry. He did not even need to present paperwork. Just tell his name and that was it.

Harry returned to Britain with the rifles. While they couldn't use magic during the robbery to ensure the Ministry did not come after them, they decided to compensate by enchanting the rifles. After testing them in an empty field to ensure they both knew how to use them, they enchanted them to make the ammunition infinite – ensuring they never had to reload, and thus carry ammunition on them – and to reduce the recoil, ensuring an easier time using them.

Finally, they needed to find a place to store all of their stolen goods, and a way to sell them to get money they could spend. Gringotts would have answered their needs well enough – for the goblins would not have cared where the money would have come from – but they were banned from the bank. Not that it would have mattered if they weren't, because Harry hated Gringotts and refused to work with them in the future. And, they were planning to rob the bank anyway, so it was a moot point anyway.

But, they did find another magical bank. In Switzerland was another bank called Rubystones Bank for Magical Beings ran by another clan of goblins. The Rubystones clan hated the goblins of Gringotts with passion, and did not care one moment for the muggle world. Their services were very similar, and even more affordable, as Rubystones did not try to screw over their own customers like Gringotts did, believing instead that trust and cooperation between both was the best way to make money.

So, Harry and Hermione opened themselves an account at Rubystones. As a sign of good faith, they shared their plans to their new account manager. The goblin's answer?

"Let's do this!"

Their account manager was very excited at the prospect of bringing so much money to their bank. He promised the pair that the bank would handle converting what they stole, be it muggle money or expensive items like jewels, into galleons in exchange of a 30% cut. That was acceptable to Harry and Hermione, and they left Switzerland very happy.

With that done, they were ready to get themselves some money. But first, they had to find a place to rob. They decided to strike on a jewellery store first. It wouldn't make them millionaires, but it would give them enough money to move forward. They found the perfect place in the middle of London and went to scout it.

Surprisingly, they came back as a couple, their feelings finally admitted. Then again, pretending to buy an engagement ring for the girl you were secretly in love with tended to do that.

"So, do you want to back out now? It's not too late to stop and reconsider." Harry muttered to Hermione, holding his mask in his hand.

The young couple was currently standing in a dark alleyway in front of the jewellery store. They were hidden in a dark alcove protected by a muggle-repealing ward, ensuring nobody would find them before they struck. They were both wearing their business suits and a pair of surgical gloves. Slung over their shoulders were large carry bags, which Hermione extended inside to be able to place a lot more stuff than usual. Their rifles were lying on a box next to them.

Their escape ride was also with them. Harry, Hermione learned, had been secretly learning how to ride a motorcycle with Sirius before the man's death. Apparently, it came as easily to him as flying a broomstick. While he never got to ride it, the bike having been stolen by Gringotts, it gave him a skill they would need once it was time to escape. The alley wasn't ideal for this as, while it was warded against muggles, everyone would be able to see them vanish inside it, breaking the Statute. So, instead, Harry stole a racing bike from somewhere on the street. A simple Alohomora could turn it on. The bike, which they would use to escape, was parked on the side of the street, ready for them to drive away on.

"Harry, when have I ever reconsidered doing something I put so much effort in?" she asked, slipping her house elf mask over her head. Harry saw her curly brown hair shift to black. Her eyes, visible in the holes of the mask, were now blue.

"Never, as far as I am aware." he said with a chuckle. He slipped his own mask, silently wondering what colour his features would take. "I just don't want you to regret it in the future, to be haunted by the guilt of what we will have done today." he said, his voice much deeper.

"Don't worry about it." Hermione answered, her voice also now very deep. "I've stopped caring about morality when I learned my parents died. The only one I care about is you. Others can get screwed."

Harry grinned. "I really want to kiss you right now." he said.

Hermione chuckled. "Unfortunately, you will have to wait, Blondie." she said cheekily. Harry ran a hand through his hair. It was now blonde?

"Oh great, now I feel like a Malfoy." he whined.

"Suck it up, then." she laughed. "Anyway, are you ready, Merlin?" she asked, using his code name. They came up with them to hide their identities. They couldn't very well use Salazar and Rowena again since they hadn't been disguised at the time.

"Yeah. Ready when you are, Morgana." he said, grabbing his rifle. Hermione grabbed the other one.

"Then let's get going. Remember our plan." she said.

"We take everyone hostage. You get the devices from the guards. I tie them up and then empty the front store while you empty the back store."

"Exactly. Let's go."

Harry and Hermione ran to the other side of the street, weapons in hands, alerting pedestrians who shrieked in horror. They ignored them, barging inside the jewellery.

"EVERYONE HANDS UP IN THE AIR! NOW!" Harry yelled at the top of his lungs, pointing his rifle at the ten people inside the store (six customers, two clerks, two guards). Everyone inside raised their hands in fear. Everyone except one guard, whose hand reached for his pocket. Harry shot a warning shot over his head, startling him. Nearly everyone shrieked in horror. He could hear panicked shouts outside in the street. "DO NOT REACH INSIDE YOUR POCKET! HANDS UP, NOW!" he yelled. The guard immediately complied.

Hermione reached the guards and took the devices from their pockets, ensuring they couldn't activate the alarm. She put them in her own pocket and made her way to the back store. There, she found a third employee – dressed in a way that implied she was the boss. She had her phone in hand, quickly dialing a number.

"Drop the phone! Now!" she yelled, pointing her weapon at the boss. The woman let out a sob and dropped it.

Hermione grabbed her by the collar and dragged her to the store and threw her inside. Harry, seeing this, said "Everyone at the front of the store! Now!" In case someone decided to be smart, he decided to warn them. "Don't try to play the hero! I know from personal experience that it brings you nothing but pain! Thrust me, it ain't worth it! Especially not for a jewellery store who wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice your lives to the wolves if it meant keeping their precious stones!"

Thankfully, the hostages headed his warning, and all of them moved without trying anything. Harry heard two of them – a young, pregnant woman and a middle-aged woman burst into tears. He felt bad about it, but did not show it.

While Hermione returned inside the back store to search for the enigmatic £50,000 rings, Harry was lining up all of the hostages in front of the entrance, facing the doors. They were all on their knees in tears. Discretely, Harry used his wand to tie their hands and ankles until none of them could move.

With the hostages secured, Harry started breaking the display cases with the stock of his rifle. He grabbed everything in the display cases and threw them in his bag. He did the same for every display case. By the time he reached the counter, only two minutes had passed by since they crossed the street.

After shoving the boss of the store in with the others, Hermione started searching for the jewellery. She eventually managed to find a safe hidden between the desk and the computer, a trash can standing in front of it to hide it from view. With a simple Unlocking Charm, she was able to unlock it. She found a metal box and opened it. She gasped at its content, finding dozens of rings lying all inside. She closed the box and shoved it in her bag before emptying the rest of the safe, getting about a £2,000 worth of bills.

With the back store emptied, Hermione rushed back to the front store. "Merlin, are you done?" she asked her boyfriend.

"Almost. What about you?" he asked, emptying some of the shelves under the counter. Hermione ran to him and helped him empty the last remaining display shelves, shoving everything she could in her bag.

"Done!" she exclaimed. "Let's go!"

They ran out of the store with their bags full of stolen goods, leaving the hostages behind to be freed by the police later on. The pedestrians who hadn't run away were pointing at them in fear and horror. They heard the sirens of police cars come from a block away. They were just on the limit.

"Morgana, grab my bag!" Harry said, removing it and passing it to her. He then slipped on the motorbike and used magic to turn the engine on. Hermione slipped the bag around her and sat down behind Harry, grabbing hold of his waist.

She heard the sound of tires screeching, and turned around to find five police cars racing in their direction. "Time to go!" she yelled to her boyfriend.

"Hang on tight!" he yelled back. He revved up the engine. With a loud grumbling and a surprising jolt, the motorbike drove forward.

Harry raced down the roads, the police cars chasing after them. He did not have one particular destination in mind. All they needed was to lose the police long enough to apparate without being seen. For that, he needed to put some distance between them and find some dark corner of London.

The motorbike rushed down a long straight road and then took an abrupt corner into a smaller street. Behind them, he heard the first two police cars shoot straight past. The next three braked and turned in time, keeping up with them.

Harry then turned another corner into another small street, and continued forward until he reached a bigger road. To his delight, he ended up face to face with a traffic jam. With the help of his motorbike, he drove between the traffic, continuing forward where the police cars couldn't.

Hermione held on as Harry zigzagged between the cars until they were free of the traffic jam. Unfortunately, the traffic jam was caused by a car accident, and constables were present on the scene to help things move along. When they spotted them, they immediately ran to their car and gave them chase. While Harry lost the first five cars, a sixth one had entered the pursuit.

Harry gave full power and the motorcycle shot right in between the cars, quickly gaining distance from the police car. He abruptly braked when he saw another police car enter the road in front of them, nearly causing them to topple over. Instead, Harry turned away on another street, and again gave full power to the engine, rushing forward.

As they drove down this new street, Hermione looked behind her to see that the cars were far away. Enough to give them time to park and apparate away without behind seen. So, she tapped Harry's side. "Time to hide!" she told him, yelling to be heard through the wind. She saw Harry nod in acknowledgement.

Harry turned in the first alleyway he found and parked behind a building. The two immediately jumped off, grabbed each other's hands and apparated away to Grimmauld Place. Seconds later, the two police cars burst inside the alleyway, finding the parked motorcycle with its engine still running. But, to their confusion, no trace of the robbers.

The couple apparated on the front step of Grimmauld Place and immediately entered the building. Harry locked the door behind him.

Harry removed his mask and leaned back on the wall, taking deep breaths. His heart was racing. He briefly closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again. He found Hermione lying on the opposite wall, doing the exact same.

They stared at each other's eyes. "We did it..." Harry whispered.

"We did it!" Hermione exclaimed, jumping in her boyfriend's arms in joy. She immediately shoved her tongue in his mouth, snogging the living brains out of him.

They had done it! They robbed the jewellery store and escaped! They knew they wouldn't be able to reverse their decision in the future. But neither of them cared. Not only did they get enough money to completely remove any financial worries they had, but they found the robbery terribly exciting as well.

"God, you were so fucking fantastic." Hermione whispered in between kisses. "Take us to the bedroom. I need you, right now."

Harry blinked. "Are you sure? We've only been dating for a day."

"And I've waited to get all of you for years. I don't care anymore. I want you to shag me rotten."

Well, Harry didn't exactly need to be encouraged.