Operation: Gigachad - Phase 2

Quite crunches sounded out as I walked through the powdered snow on the courtyard, sounding vaguely like Christmas crackers every time my feet contacted the ground.

Winter had hit Hogwarts, and it had hit it hard.

Literally the entirety of the grounds were engulfed in the white stuff. Every tree had been left naked, leaves stripped by the frigid wind, and all the nature sounds that I had gotten used to had all but disappeared. The only signs of life were the occasional students meandering through the grounds, but even they were sparse, with most preferring to remain indoors.

Frankly, it was nothing like the winters I had experienced, both from my past life or from my experiences in this new life, being both colder and harsher than I could ever expect.

Which really made me thankful for magic as, with a simple warming charm on my thin sweater, I leaned against the inner wall of the school grounds boundary with the twins and only felt a light nip.

"So, you want to borrow the map?" Fred, or at least I assume it's him since he had a habit of speaking first, asked me while George just nodded along.

"Only for a bit of time on Christmas," I reassured them, "I want to look at a few books in the forbidden section over Christmas, and the map would really help with that."

Obviously, that was a lie. I had no need to 'break into' the forbidden section of the library when I had the room of requirements. No, I was actually going to use the map to make sure that the coast was clear when I broke into Hagrid's hut and so I could get back to the room without being seen.

Why? Well, to steal the dragon egg of course.

See, while it didn't state exactly when Hagrid had gotten the egg in canon, I remembered that the dragon that hatched from the egg Hagrid got had been a Norwegian ridgeback and that it had hatched in April. But, after some research, I had found that eggs from that species will require being in areas of really high temperatures for four months.

Which meant that Hagrid will have the egg by the last week of December. Which is great for me, since it's the time when most students will have gone home for Christmas and I'd have less possible witnesses. Though, that's not to say that there would be no possible witnesses, just less. Which is why I needed the map from the twins.

"We suppose that's fine," George, or Fred if it was George who spoke before, replies before sharing a look with his twin and reaching into his pocket, "actually, catch."

Instinctively, I catch what was thrown at me before realising what it was, "wait, why are you giving it to me right now? I mean, I appreciate it but I don't really need the map right now-"

"It's fine, keep it. Mum's been bugging us about coming home for the Christmas hols so it's not like we'll need it any time soon," I stare blankly at them before sliding the map into my pockets with a simple nod of appreciation.

"So… your mums really being that insistent that the two of you are returning home?" the two make a face.

"Admittedly, it may have been our fault," I raise an eyebrow at that, "we may have decided to tell her about Ron…"

"Ah, yeah. That'd do it."

---- Time skip – Last week of December ----

I sat there in the discreet corner of the courtyard, chewing on a stale chocolate croissant, as I watched the names and footsteps move across the map.

It had been two weeks now, since I had begun spending most of my free staring at the Marauders map as I waited for the ideal time to steal the dragon egg. Unfortunately, I'd had no real luck as when Hagrid was out of his hut, a thing that was incredibly rare by itself nowadays, there'd be too many peoples in the halls for my comfort.

But it seems that today that was going to change, as before my very eyes I saw the inky footsteps, with Hagrid's name over them, moving towards the edge of the edge of the map. Then they disappeared off the map, meaning that Hagrid was in the forbidden forest.

Quickly, I shuffled through the layers of the map, showing the various floors of the castle, and quickly checked the halls of the castle.

All clear, or at least all clear to the room of requirement.

Immediately I scarfed down the rest of the croissant, picked up the pillow filled sack next to me, and began full speed towards the hut, nearly tripping a few times due to the icy ground. The only time I stopped was when I had to reapply the warming charm on myself, and even then I made it to the hut in record time.

This wasn't the first time I saw the hut, having subtly visited it before to case it for the robbery, but still I couldn't help but marvel as to how the hell the giant form of Hagrid fit into such a small structure or why he didn't just make ask dumbledore to cast a spatial expansion charm on it.

"Alohamora," I mean, standing here inside the hut, I did think it looked pretty comfortable, but that was because I was only a quarter the height of Hagrid, "well, whatever. Not like it's my business on what he finds comfortable. Now where's that egg…"

It didn't take me long to find the egg, it wasn't in the fire as I suspected but instead under a bunch of blankets on a chair, but once I did I quickly, but carefully, put it into the sack before immediately exiting the hut. Yet before I left, I turned around and cast the air freshening charm into the hut.

I didn't need Hagrid to use that dog of his like bloodhound after all, even if that was incredibly unlikely that he would be able to.

But after I did that I immediately made my way back to the castle, going as fast as I could without jostling the egg too much. Once I was near enough to the castle I pulled out the map to make sure that the path to the room of requirement was clear, which it wasn't. Thankfully though, it only took me making a couple of small detours before I made it to the seventh floor and from there the room of requirement.

It was only when I was in the safety of the room of requirements, that currently had only an armchair, that I finally took the time to actually breathe and let the tension drain from my body as I took a seat. Which is how I spent the next few minutes, collapsed boneless into the armchair with the sack on the floor next to me.

Eventually though, once I my heart finally stopped pounding in my ears, I decided to actually look at my prize before I put it away and so I pulled out the egg from the sack and examined it.

It was nearly three times the height of my fist and half as wide, with a dark metallic surface, a smooth texture similar to glass and a surprising lack of wright for it's size. It had no imperfections, was perfectly proportioned and seemed to almost shine in the light…

… frankly I'd think it was a piece of art with how perfect it looked, if it wasn't for the heat I felt from it as I held it in my hand.

Though considering how valuable it is, both to me personally and to the world at large, it may as well be art.