Disclaimer - I don't own Harry Potter at all.

This is an alternate version of Harry Potter and is not canon and I don't get paid for my writing. I am just writing this so then I can enjoy writing various versions of Harry Potter - male and female - become thieves because I believe a stronger Harry Potter is better than the wuss he was in the books.

When you let me know what you think, please take into account this story takes place in the 2000s, not the 90s. It's my decision, not yours so please DO NOT waste your time writing angry reviews about it.

This is the start of a new series of short stories, so please be nice.

Charlotte Potter: The Cat Burglar.

Towers, Animagi, Burglaries.

There was a crowd of tourists clustering around the Tower of London, and when she saw the number of people nearby Charlotte Potter knew this was definitely going to be a heist to remember. Slipping away from the crowd, and retreating to a nearby toilet - it was hardly the best place for a meeting, but she didn't care - and when she was inside she slipped out of her wrist holster - illegal - and removed a long black stick from her wrist.

After a few moments of waving the stick around, she maintained hold of the stick.

"Dobby, Winky," she said.

Instantly two small creatures appeared in front of her with a pop. "Hello Chazzy Potter, ma'am," they both said with wide smiles.

Charlotte grinned at them, their perky demeanours had never ceased to make her smile. "Are you two ready?" she asked.

"Yes, ma'am," they both said.

"Alright, good stuff," Charlotte said. "Remember, when I say now quietly, get to it."

"Yes, ma'am," the two House-elves said.

Charlotte smiled at them again. Despite sometimes thinking of herself as nothing more than a hard-hearted bitch, she genuinely had a soft spot for animals and indeed for House-elves, especially since she felt a kinship with them considering her history.

"Winky," she began hesitantly, instantly banishing that thought to the back of her mind since thinking of the past was not going to help her now. "Are you sure that you're okay doing this, I mean its a far cry from what you were expecting from me when I took you in after-?" she trailed off awkwardly.

But the female House elf smiled at her shyly. "Mistress gives Winky an order," the elf replied simply. "I cannot refuse. Besides," she added with a wide smile that was wide enough to literally split her face open, "Dobby tells Winky stories, and I feel being bad might be good."

The smile and the House elf's words brightened Charlottes' heart and made her smile back fondly. "Okay, if you're sure," she said, chuckling with amusement.

After dismissing them, Charlotte had to bite her lip to stop the guilt she was feeling from overwhelming her. Although the two House Elves had been bonded to her - Dobby had been with her ever since she had freed him from the Malfoys a year and a bit ago, but Winky was still new and Charlotte was worried that what she was asking might be overwhelming to the poor female elf who had been kicked out of her family by Barty Crouch Senior only a week ago - Charlotte didn't really like asking the House elves to really help her with her heists unless she felt it was absolutely necessary.

Charlotte was a thief, mostly a burglar but there had been moments during her career where she had also been a robber, and sometimes she had picked up a few confidence tricks although she wasn't an expert, although she had picked up enough to know how to run a Ponzi scheme. She even had a few running in the Magical World, who for all their knowledge and history, had never encountered anything like it before. She was hoping to keep the Ponzi's going long enough before someone realised something was going on.

She was also a witch. She appreciated her situation only too well.

Charlotte had run away from her relatives, the Dursleys after she had killed them all when they had pushed her too far. The Dursleys had been an abusive bunch, but looking back now, she knew without a doubt the family had known about her magical heritage. In typical bigoted fashion, the Dursleys, instead of doing the right thing and simply treating her like one of them, had instead abused her. They had tormented her both physically and mentally.

However, before she had fled Number Four, she had become a thief already out of necessity. When she had been at school, sometimes she had been starved by the Dursleys for things that were out of her control, but now she knew it was her accidental magic which was the cause of all the strange things that had happened around her. She had occasionally stolen food whenever she could, quickly learning the arts of theft while making sure she didn't draw attention to herself, but most of all ensuring she didn't commit them too often.

It was even harder whenever the Dursleys sold her as free labour to the rest of the street. She could see the irony even then; for all the muggles' talk about slavery - Hermione Granger was the worst, especially whenever the subject of House-elves came up now after she had seen how Crouch and the other wizards had treated Winky that night after the Quidditch World Cup had been played, and now Charlotte had had to endure hours of listening to Hermione preach about slavery, but while the brunette girl's heart was in the right place, Charlotte just wished the girl would ask some fucking questions instead of jumping to assumptions - they didn't see anything wrong with enslaving a little girl who was so physically skinny, and see nothing wrong with it.

The neighbours had always believed those lies about her, the lies the Dursleys loved to spread about her around the town and at school.

One day, she would make them pay.

But anyhow, back then, she had been more than happy to steal a few coins off of them, a few trinkets, but nothing smaller than a marble. She had also learnt to hide everything she had stolen as well, knowing full well the Dursleys would murder her if they found out what she had done.

It had taken Charlotte a long time to get over the worst of the abuse she had suffered, and while aspects of her health were still shaky, she felt she had come through the worst of it in one piece, though she wished her Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, would just leave her alone and get himself a life instead of poking his nose into her business.

The House-elves were two magical creatures, and she had bonded with them. Dobby had been the first, and she had bonded with him after learning more about House-elves and after she had seen the benefits of having a house-elf in her life. She and Dobby had a deal; she would deal with some things, especially since she had her own home once she had discovered her family fortune which included a few properties around the country, and he would deal with the rest. Winky had come later.

Charlotte knew she'd need to keep the House-elves a secret, especially if her plans for the upcoming Fifth-year would come to pass. Trouble was she had her fourth year to get through first. But also because her friends would likely betray them to Dumbledore.

XXX

Charlotte walked out of the toilets after taking down the spells she had placed on them to prevent any of the non-magical people - the muggles - from getting inside and disturbing her, and she rejoined the crowd of tourists who had come to London today to see the exhibits inside the Tower. As she joined the crowds, she noticed a number of people holding up international editions which detailed the recent theft of the Mona Lisa, and she hid a smirk at the sight before she regained her composure.

Running a hand through her long, messy-curly black hair, Charlotte followed the crowd through the small castle towards the Crown Jewel exhibit.

She ignored their chattering, although in a few minutes they wouldn't be chattering.

No, they would be running away, screaming in panic.

After passing security - letting them see the muggle items she had on her person - she walked through the exhibit where she saw the lustrous jewels, the crown and the deep rich robes of royalty. She also caught sight of the sceptre, and the hollow gold orb, gleaming with lustre.

She caught sight of the St. Edward's crown, and her eyes widened. Charlotte had done her research on the crown; she knew it was made out of pure gold, and it had been encrusted with 444 precious stones; amethysts, topazes, sapphires, and rubies among them. All of them were here.

Charlotte stared at the crown encrusted with jewels before she gripped her wand, silently casting a notice-me-not spell around herself.

"Okay, Dobby, Winky," she said, "Now!"

XXX

Throughout the lower floors of the Tower were piles of wood, bits of old paper, covered with petrol, while smaller piles were scattered around the upper floors, along with a few crates of chemical explosives, mostly EDNA, or rather the explosive chemical Ethylenedinitramine. Dobby and Winky had spent the whole morning scattering them around the Tower, completely bypassing muggle security while at the same time placing the necessary spells and enchantments around the areas the piles were kept in to stop any of the muggles from actually finding them.

The piles of flammable materials were nowhere near anything precious; Charlotte might not actually care about a lot of things, but she didn't see any good coming out of damaging historical relics. She had made sure the two House-elves understood that part of her order very well.

The moment the two House-elves heard their mistress' command they started the fires, which instantly blazed out of control. At the same time, Dobby clicked his fingers, and the security feed in the Crown Jewel exhibit room and the rest of the Tower were shut off. In contrast, Winky had been ordered to make sure no-one was seriously hurt by the fires.

XXX

Charlotte smirked to herself when everyone was ushered out of the Crown jewel exhibit room - and she took one last look at the exhibits, and she followed the crowd, trying to appear frightened and uncertain by the events taking place around her, but as she left she caught sight of Dobby's face, knowing she was the only one who could see the elf, who wasn't stupid enough to be seen by the muggles.

Her smirk grew when she saw the House-elf raise his fingers, though she knew he wouldn't click them until everyone was out of danger.

Charlotte turned away and walked out, knowing that if the muggles ever restored the footage then they would see her walking away, and although she was keeping her face schooled the right way so they wouldn't suspect her, she knew if they saw her smirking the police would pull out all the stops to find her.

When she was outside, Charlotte managed to walk away from the Tower and returned to the Tube station; she loved the London Underground since it was so convenient, with a network of tunnels crisscrossing underneath the city until there was nearly a station on every corner, it was a wonder that few burglars and thieves used it to make their escape (well, that she knew of), but there was something about the network that really made it special to her.

She had used the London Underground when she had left the Dursleys after murdering them in a fit of rage that was magically enhanced. At the time she had been reeling from what she had done, still looking over .her shoulder and expecting the police or anyone else from discovering where she was and coming after her, though of course no-one ever had since she had changed her identity more than once before she had gone to Hogwarts.

Not even her foster carers knew anything about her past, and she had made sure to keep it that way. But the Dursleys' murder still haunted her since she had never considered the thought of committing murder before, and it had taken Charlotte a long time to recover from what she had done to the Dursleys, though fortunately the time she had spent in London, and then later Brighton when she had decided it was time for her to see the coast. The Tube was also perfect to use when she had been a pickpocket; she had needed to do was avoid the CCTV cameras, which was easily managed since she was so small and frail it had to be a miracle just to notice a follicle of her hair, never mind see her reach into their pockets.

Charlotte used the District Line to take her directly to South Kensington, where she changed over to the Piccadilly Line, and travelled to Covent Garden. Once she was out of the station, she walked a fair distance away before she found a quiet corner which she reinforced with a few choice charms while she checked her watch.

She had another five minutes to go.

She took down the spells and she gently said, "Winky."

The House elf appeared, but before Winky could speak Charlotte tapped her watch. "You'd better take me back to Devon, Winky," she said, trying not to show how she felt.

Thankfully Winky clicked her fingers. House elf travel was one of Charlottes' favourite methods of travel, especially the magical variety. She had been on the Knight Bus only the once, and it had made her feel like she had been placed blindfolded in a plane which then performed some risky aerial acrobatics before she was then shoved into a barrel and chucked off of Niagra Falls.

In contrast, being transported by elfin magic was as smooth as walking through a door.

Charlotte checked her watch again and sighed with relief. Two minutes to go. "Okay, Winky," she said when she looked around, and saw to her relief the Burrow was really close by, but her two elves both knew when her younger self was due to leave, and they knew better than to transport her so close to the younger Charlotte. "I'll see you tonight, be ready. Oh, is Dobby finished with the Crown Jewels?" she added.

"Yes, ma'am," Winky nodded.

"Okay, good," Charlotte smiled. "I'll see you later."

Winky smiled and clicked her fingers as she went back to Charlotte's home, leaving the girl to herself. She turned around and sighed, and she walked closer to the house. It never ceased to amaze her with just how ramshackle the house was, and she wondered just how much the structure could take before it collapsed around the Weasley's heads and landed in pieces at their feet. She hoped she was there to see it.

She had no real idea of what to make of the Weasleys at the best of times; she knew that Dumbledore had persuaded them to look after her from time to time after she had read the minds of Ron and Mr Weasley without either of them really knowing about it; Mr Weasley, despite her liking him although she felt he could do with a dose of reality, had no mental defences which made it worryingly easy she knew so much about Dumbledore's plans. Ron either didn't know about the mind arts, or he did but he didn't think anyone would look into his brain, though they wouldn't see much since his brain was so simple.

When she had started attending Hogwarts, it had been shortly after she had mastered the basics of the mind arts after buying a decent book, and when she had met Ron Weasley for the first time, she had read his mind and she had seen the entire master plan Dumbledore had in mind for her, but she had befriended Ron, and then later Hermione, because she knew that although they were Dumbledore's little spies, it was better to keep them close rather than at arms length. Dumbledore would take action if she showed signs of knowing what was going on.

Thinking of Hermione…

Charlotte knew the bushy haired girl genuinely thought what she was doing wasn't a breach in trust, which only served to emphasise just how limited she was with others, when she spied on her (Charlotte), but she felt she was doing it to make sure nothing happened to the famous Girl who Lived, but there was no doubt in Charlotte's mind Hermione was the only one who felt that way. Ron only spied on her for the cash, and because Dumbledore had promised him she would be his.

As if.

This was the first time she had ever been at the Weasleys, she had always left before Ron or Hermione could find out where she lived during the summers, but she had promised to stay for the duration of the Quidditch cup although she'd made sure one of the House elves was around as a bodyguard to make sure no-one placed any spells on her, and more than once the House elf had reported to her that they had tried to place spells on her while spiking her food and drink with potions.

Charlotte had made it clear to them all she was only staying on while the cup went on and then she would be gone in a few days; if she left automatically then she would make them suspicious, and she couldn't afford that, not when she was so close to her goal.

She had been here for a week, putting on the guise of being the hopeless orphan girl who was so naive it wasn't funny, but always on her guard. Mrs Weasley, in particular, seemed determined to fill some role in Charlottes' life which meant nothing to the girl. She had survived for years on the streets, and now she had this arrogant, overbearing woman with delusions of grandeur

Charlotte pushed those thoughts out of her mind and she walked around, and she smiled when she saw her younger self, Dobby, and Winky kneeling on the ground in a circle with a golden chain thrown over their shoulders while her younger self was holding a small round object in her hands, and was spinning a central dial before the trio vanished.

Charlotte smirked and walked out into the open, as far as the rest of the world and the Weasley family was convinced Charlotte Potter was in Devon while the heist of the century took place. It might not have been the most subtle of burglaries, but truthfully she had realised that the best way of getting to the crown jewels was to use the day time and use distractions.

She was looking forward to tonight.

Charlotte walked to the Burrow, putting on the tried and practiced face she had been portraying for the last few years.

The Mona Lisa mention will be highlighted in part 3