Disclaimer:
I solemnly swear that the literature and works of the Harry Potter Verse belong to JK Rowling, Bloomberg and Warner Bros. The only thing I own are the one-shot ideas that popped into my head and whatever OCs I would create for them. This is a work of pure fiction made solely for fun, constructive reviews will be welcomed, flames will be ignored. Any references to characters in real-life or fiction are purely coincidental. If I could make money out of my ideas, it would be nice...
Mischief Managed Damn It!
Title: Harold Sandiego (Working Title)
Posted Date: August 6 2023
Inspiration: Carmen Sandiego, Uncharted
Tags: Thief Harry, Tech Savvy Harry, WBWL, Manipulative Dumbledore, Alive Potters
It was a quiet night in the Basilica Cistern of Istanbul, and the guards were walking about performing their checks after the closing hours of the museum. It was usual business for them, but this week there was a carnival going on a few blocks away, and that was usually prime time for thieves to come out of the woodwork to rob someone or locations. That did happen during the first two days of the event, and there were still three more days to go. The guards would hang on until then before they could earn their off-days from this duty.
One guard went to check on the main exhibit involving the Relics of Muhammad and nodded at the triple locked gate reinforced with a clear bulletproof plexiglass covering, a card reader on the side and a physical steel bolt for good measure. That room had multiple security cameras covering all blind spots, there were sensors putting out invisible lasers to cover the area, and the floor was a giant pressure sensor that would go off if there was anything on it for more than a second. The display cases was perhaps overdone with the security with the relics being displayed on weight sensitive sensors disguised beneath the podium, in a pressurised sealed display plexi-glass that was bulletproof, all of which was wired to set off the alarm if the glass was shattered or the relic removed in any manner without the right equipment, and the settings was done in the manager's office every night to ensure no one tried to copy the information to fake the system.
No one was going to enter that room to steal the artefacts without making a lot of racket.
With that in mind, the guard moved away from the gate and around the corner, not seeing the figure standing right next to the pillar that the guard walked past. The figure waited for a minute to let the guard continue on and for anyone else that might pass by, then made their way to the gate to inspect the security. They lifted their head to look at the chandelier inside the room, then in a blink of an eye, appeared inside the room and on top of the chandelier, with only one of the crystals moving slightly from the movement. Briefly they tensed up their body to let the crystal come to a stop and to make sure the cameras did not detect them, then they did something to stick a rope on the rooftop and tied it to themselves, before looking to their watch to check something while looking at the nearest camera.
The seconds passed as the camera rotated only for the blinking light to go off. A quick check at the others revealed the same results, making the figure nod their head. Then slowly, they got off the chandelier and lowered themselves over one of the cases, stopping roughly half an arm's length above it. As though it was scripted, moonlight came through one of the windows and shone on both the figure and the case. The figure revealed themselves to be someone dressed in black clothes from top to bottom with some type of harness around the body and a pair of tinted goggles looking down on the case.
The person examined the item hidden by the glass case that was hindering them, an antiquated oil lamp meant for ceremonial purposes, something that was rather lacklustre compared to the other relics in the room. But the person ignored the priceless relics around them and went to pull out a card with wires attached to a device to insert into the card slot, waiting as the device did its work while constantly checking the cameras and the door. In a few seconds, the device gave the green light and the would-be thief slowly reached to take back the card and secured the items firmly in place. Next they pulled out an item that looked like a miniature of the lamp while reaching out towards the real article with the other hand. Somehow, the real relic started to shrink to roughly the same size as the one in their hand, before they did something to make the relic disappear briefly before being replaced with the other item. The thief waved their hand to make that one get resized to a bigger form, secured the relic in a pouch, brought out the device to slot the card back in to do something to the case, and then pulled themselves back up to the chandelier. They paused to check everything on themselves and checked the cameras were back up before popping back out to the corridor outside of the room…
And almost hitting the guard coming around the corner.
"What the!" The guard's eyes went wide and he opened his mouth to call out while grabbing his sidearm, but the thief slammed a hand into his sternum to force him back, the guard too winded to note odd glow around when it made contact. The guard shouted loudly only to note with growing panic that he was somehow silenced so that his voice could not be heard. The thief used that distraction to point a palm to somehow summon the gun away before driving another fist into the sternum, this time with a red glow that made the guard's eyes roll back before slumping over their arm. The thief moved the guard to a chair and replaced his sidearm before grabbing his head to do something. A sound drew their attention to someone walking down the corridor and approaching their way. With a snap of the fingers, the guard started snoring lightly, giving the thief the chance to move back and disappear just as another guard appeared around the corner.
"Maderson, damn it!" The second guard came forward, annoyed at his companion sleeping on the job. He reached out to slap the cheek of the snoring guard, causing him to snap his eyes open and looked about with confused eyes. "Dude, you were sleeping."
"Ah damn it, I don't know what came over me." Maderson reached to rub his eyes. "I was just taking a brief breather before moving on, but I just felt so sleepy." The other guard hummed as he turned to check the gates and locks, then peered through the glass to look at the relics on display. None appeared to be disturbed which was fine, but something felt off to him.
Unseen by Maderson, the other guard's eyes went blank before refocusing on the glass and then he shook his head.
Maybe he was just paranoid. There was nothing going on.
"Come on, let's get coffee. Our shift will end in a couple of hours' time." The guard helped Maderson up and they moved away from the corridor. Their departure was seen through the window and from the rooftop of the east pillars where the thief had taken position to watch them. The thief turned their head to the building next to the museum and somehow appeared on that rooftop in the blink of an eye. Once there, the thief reached to their mask and pulled it off to reveal the face beneath.
"Phew! That was close." The young man shook his head lightly to get the mess that was his hair into some sort of order and double checked on his prize which was the real relic that he reversed what he did to get it into its real size and examined it closely. "The oil lamp of Muhammad during his last few years in Mecca. Such an overlooked item compared to the rest, yet..." He lifted the cover to take a quick whiff before snapping his fingers to produce a small flame to look inside it, the lamp giving off a light blue glow from the reflection inside of it. The young man gave a visible smirk at the confirmation from the tests with his eyes glowing from the reflection before snuffing out the flame, replacing the cover and then resizing it to place inside the pouch. "The real prize will be in my hand soon enough." The man stretched his arms before sighing in relief while looking at the moon.
"Right, better get going before something delays me." He barely said those words when the alarms went off from the museum and lights came on, throwing the museum in sharp relief and drawing attention to it. "Oops, time to go." The young man chuckled at the timing before he ran for the edge and jumped off to dive before disappearing with a pop right as the roof door burst open and a few people rushed out to search it.
"Are you sure he was here?" A man in a trench coat was twisting his head about the place.
"Yes, Inspector! He was right here a few seconds ago." One of the officers held up a tablet. The man cursed as he grabbed his hat and threw it to the ground.
"Blast it! We almost had him! Curse you Sandiego!"
~ooOOoo~
In the highlands of Scotland stood a castle near a big lake, its grandeur evident even in the late evening with the lights from the torches peeking out of windows to show the scale of the castle, giving off an ethereal feeling that was magical to say the least. Even more so if one could go into the castle, where they would find torches and suits of armour from years gone by. At the top of one of the towers overlooking the lake, there was an office that was filled with different books, silver instruments of unknown nature, and a curious looking bird that had crimson red feathers with gold tips and a dark beak. Next to it with a hand to stroke it was an old man dressed in dark purple robes with stars actually flashing dully on him, his long beard braided and reaching his chest, his white hair in a bit of a mess, and eyes that were looking out the window in hopes of drawing comfort from the scenery, but failing to do so. With a sigh, he turned around and made his way to his table, crashing into the seat with a lot less finesse than he normally would do.
"Blast it all." Albus Dumbledore sighed heavily as he tiredly rubbed his face with his hands, his mind busy with thoughts of all that had gone on for the past few years, and a revelation that had been delivered at the worst possible timing.
Magical Britain had been wrecked by two wars brought about by two Dark Lords wanting to spread their message to the populace that "Magical Might makes Right", and the muggles should bow down to their supremacy or be exterminated. The former took on the international stage that almost saw the Statute of Secrecy destroyed if not for Dumbledore's defeat of the man, while the latter had brought about mayhem with his followers, the Death Eaters. For almost twenty years, the man waged war with the British populace split down the middle with people attacking one another regardless of being friends or family. It seemed that the British Ministry was going to fall when he suddenly stopped on the night of Halloween 1981 at Godric's Hollow where his allies, the Potters, were hiding to protect their child.
After the events of Godric's Hollow, there was a relative peace for the Wizarding Britain, although many would complain about how many Death Eaters would return to society with the excuse of them being under the Imperius Curse, along with the possible greasing of palms with gold. But there were people able to monitor their movements and to hold them back if needed, and there was of course the rallying point for the Light against the Dark.
Damian Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived.
Albus saw the turning of tides and ensured that the boy would grow up listening to his words and training him in the manner he wanted the boy to be so as to maintain control over Britain. Albus made sure the boy would go to Gryffindor to be the beacon of light. He also made sure to test him over the years with various challenges to test his mettle and to see if he had what it took to be the successor he seeked. And there were a good number of challenges.
An obstacle course with the (fake) Philosopher's Stone at the end to lure Voldemort into the castle and confirm his presence.
A series of petrifications done over the course of the year with the monster and the shade of Voldemort from his youth.
A breakout from Azkaban committed by Bellatrix Lestrange and Peter Pettigrew that saw at least 30 of those soul-sucking monsters called the Dementors sent to Hogwarts for his "protection", resulting in
The Triwizard tournament that saw Damien's name drawn and forced into the three tasks to perform, ultimately seeing him sent to the graveyard of Little Haggleton where he was made to bring back Voldemort from his wraith state.
And finally the year when Cornelius Fudge was doing his best to run a smear campaign on Damien and Albus for their repeated attempts to warn the populace of the dark lord's return.
The old wizard had to play the long game, making sure that he had his people ready while the dark lord was preparing his troops in secret thanks to Cornelius doing everything to discredit Damien and Albus, even sending over his toady, Delores Umbridge, or Umbitch as many privately called her, to act as High Inquisitor. Damien with the help of Miss Granger and Mister Weasley set up a defence group named after yours truly to piss off the Ministry while ensuring they could learn and practise the spells needed for their exams and what was to come. It came to a head when the woman dragged them to her office in an attempt to interrogate them of some weapon he supposedly hidden around Hogwarts before she got tricked to go to the Forbidden Forest and got dragged away by the Centaurs.
Ah, the memories of her screaming at them as they carried her away was music to his ears after all the absolute she gave him.
Shortly after that, Voldemort made his attempt to grab the prophecy from the Department of Mysteries by getting one of the children of the Death Eaters to pass a portkey to Damien without his knowledge, getting him and a few others who were with him to be dragged into combat later. They were able to last long enough for the Order to come and save them, only for Voldemort to appear himself. Albus appeared shortly with a bit of theatrics to boost morale, and then engaged the dark lord in combat long enough for the Ministry personnel to appear with Cornelius at the forefront. Despite the loss of his secrecy, Voldemort actually let out a laugh as he waved his arm at the minister before he asked Albus a question that drew pause to the fight.
"Where is the other boy? The one I attacked on that night?"
No one knew what he meant, but Albus had a sinking feeling when Voldemort looked him in the eye and asked why no one knew of the other boy who was in the cradle. The dark wizard then turned his attention to the Potters who had arrived to back up their son, and asked directly.
"Where is your other son? The one that truly defeated me."
Everyone else was flummoxed, but the sharper eyed individuals would note the adult Potters paling slightly and Albus's widening of eyes. Albus attempted to break the mood by claiming there was no one else, only for the dark wizard to laugh while pacing a hand on his face to control himself. It took a few seconds for him to speak normally with a smile that would normally be found on the faces of James Potter or Sirius Black. And what he said before vanishing into smoke with the Death Eaters following would wreck the vast majority of his plans.
Damian Potter was never the chosen one.
It was the elder brother who had been in the cradle with Damien that night Voldemort paid them a visit.
It was the elder brother who vanquished Voldemort on that night.
It was the elder brother who had been forgotten by all in the wake of the attack, and thought of as a Squib to be cast away eventually.
It was the elder brother, Harry James Potter, who had been missing since he was eight with no one bothering to look for him.
It had been 9 years since the revival of Voldemort's army and the revelation, and their country had been under civil unrest ever since. The ICW had heard of the resurrection from the French and Bulgarians, and had placed Magical Britain on lockdown with the neighbouring countries or nations placing travel restrictions for all British wizards and witches, making it hard for any to enter without heavy monitoring and interrogations. Many of the muggleborns had taken flight when news of people disappearing hit the muggle newspapers with the Ministry not giving any proper answers through the Daily Prophet, mostly due to the Minister attempting to downplay the notion that Voldemort was merely an actor hired by Dumbledore to try and destabilise the Ministry in an attempt to gain power.
Foolish man. How on earth did the former Ravenclaw lose his intelligence, he had no idea.
On the home front, there were fractures in the Order that were beginning to split into different groups. There was the group that was made up of his most loyal supporters such as the Potters and the Weasleys who insisted that Voldemort was wrong about Damian not being the Boy-Who-Lived, and that the dark wizard was attempting to break them apart with his lies. On the other side of the argument were the dissenters, those who refused to work with him or Damian as they did not believe that he would save them. These comprised the younger Aurors and the majority of Damian's generation who had experienced the type of attitude the boy had displayed over the years in Hogwarts. Albus admittedly winced in frustration as he thought about the arrogance displayed by the boy during the years that had multiple students against him in events such as the Chamber of Secrets in his second year or the Triwizard Tournament in his fourth. It was that arrogance and the attitude towards other houses that saw him getting the nasty remarks and eyes during the fifth year, and even after that, people were not going to listen to him, especially after he was inducted into the Order that saw him forgetting the DA club he and his friends had created to deal with Umbridge.
It certainly did not help matters when James went with Damian to Gringotts in his final year of Hogwarts to begin the process of handing over the reins of lordship in the event of his death, only to find that the Potter Family Magic rejected their claims to allow Damian to be the future lord. When they complained about this, the goblin attending to them informed them that their claims could be properly assessed if they had the Potter Grimoire to prove their worth. That brought forth an unfortunate truth that James had apparently been hiding from him and the public for a few years now.
The Potter Grimoire had rejected James previously a few times even before Fleamont's passing, and had disappeared shortly after Harry, and the resulting tests by the goblins confirmed that the Potter Family Magic, along with the true Lord Ring that was in the vault instead of being on James's finger, had favoured the elder brother instead. That also meant that the lost boy was not a Squib as originally thought of, something that a good many families were pointing out with a fair amount of relish. That was also a big setback for Albus to try and rally people to his banner since it was becoming evident that Harry had a possible axe to grind towards them if they were to seek him out, and that bit of news had reached Voldemort who evidently laughed at the irony of it all. The dark wizard even left a message on one of their raids at a village in the form of a Howler "thanking" Albus for his actions to meddle into matters not of his own.
The situation was growing dire, and Albus had spared a few of the Order members to go and find the whereabouts of the boy. That search was joined by Aurors, mercenaries and Death Eaters, each sent out by the different parties in the Ministry or Voldemort to find the boy and draw him into their fight. Harry was the valuable piece on the chessboard played by three sides, and Albus intended to be the one who would have him. The only issue was that it had been 3 years since then, and there was no sign of the young boy, with only the life-stone confirming his status. He had to be in the wizarding world because he was a wizard, he can't be waltzing about in the muggle world.
Where on earth was Harry James Potter?
Author's Notes
I was on a Nostalgia mood surfing Youtube for 90s tunes, and Carmen Sandiego popped up on my recommended list. I used to watch this as a kid, and listening to it got me inspired to write out this idea. The only thing I can't do is write out a song suitable for a thief Harry, can you? XD