Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. At all.

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Prologue:

Hmm.

Hermione ran a finger along the wood of the bookcase.

Dusting. It would mean a lot of dusting.

She walked from her favorite room and to another. She scraped her nails along a roll-top desk, relishing the staccato as they clicked over the ridged surface. As she walked over the rarely tread upon carpet little clouds came up around her.

First- she poked the curtains, wary of any creepies that may be lurking. Satisfied that they weren't about, she opened the heavy drapes. She didn't bother trying to open the window, there was no way that was going to happen. At least, not yet. Instead she just admired the view of the tiny London park across the street.

It occurred to her that she could walk across this window, or any other in the house, naked with the curtains thrown wide and no one would know or care. The idea had merit.

She had been walking through the house for nearly an hour, surveying the damage.

The stairs creaked.

There were eerie fixtures throughout the house.

Absolutely everything was covered in dust. Even the floors of some showers.

The library was vast.

She'd get her own room, probably her own floor, not that she'd ever ask for it.

It'd mean an end to apartment hunting.

She wouldn't have to worry about dying and not being discovered for days until the neighbors complained about the smell.

Plus, she'd love the company.

"Okay." She said, turning away from the window and towards her two friends, who'd been silently shadowing her during her inspection, and grinned. "I'm in."