GODLESS

Chapter 1

Hey, I said you're godless and
It seems like you're a soulless friend
As thoughtless as you were back then
I swear that you are godless

Hermione found that it was deceptively simple to perform the False Memory Charm on her parents; the decision that she needed to do it, however, was made over several agonizing days, during which she scanned the increasingly worrisome Daily Prophet headlines. After she did, she Disillusioned herself and stood in the corner of the living room that no longer contained her life and watched in horrified fascination as she vanished from the pictures on the mantel, and then listened as her mum placed a call to the estate agents and then the travel agents. The moving and their departure to Australia were scheduled to happen over the next week, and she hoped, as the couple who were now called Wendell and Monica Wilkins bustled around her, that she'd given them enough time to escape.

She'd received an owl, a couple of days previous, from Ron, explaining that she needed to come to the Burrow as soon as she could, that it had not only replaced Grimmauld Place as Order Headquarters, but wedding planning was in full swing and his mother needed all hands on deck. She'd done an Undetectable Extension Charm on an evening bag that she and her mother had purchased at a local boutique, and had begun packing essentials into it so she could make a quick getaway if necessary. It was quite likely that she, Ron and Harry would have to go on the run in order to hunt down the Horcruxes; they'd need to leave right after the wedding, she was sure.

Several months ago, she'd come of age, although she wasn't exactly sure of the date—her activity with the Time-Turner during third year had added around eight months to her lifespan, from what she could figure. Thus, she'd been performing magic without worrying about the Trace. It wouldn't do to have Ministry officials showing up to reprimand her.

Waving her wand, she put up a Notice-Me-Not and wards around her bedroom, so she could continue sorting through the items that she planned to bring along. She'd already gone through the rather depressing task of Vanishing any irrelevant items that identified the space as being hers. The remaining items included a few personal mementos, a large stack of books, various potion-making supplies, enough changes of clothes for several months (and seasons), dress robes for the wedding, and personal care items. She didn't have a tent, but she was hoping Mr Weasley would lend her one of the ones they'd used at the Quidditch World Cup. There was no point in bringing food, because it might spoil; they'd have to forage along the way for that, as food couldn't be created from nothing, as per the exception to Gamp's Law. Of course, they'd need money, so she headed over to the Building Society and cashed out her account; as she was Muggleborn, she had not yet set up a Gringotts account.

The next morning, she awoke neither refreshed nor relaxed, and she nodded off repeatedly during the day. The estate agent had done a walk-through late on Sunday; Hermione went on a stroll around the neighborhood while they were taking pictures and signing papers with her parents. She'd managed to change the names on their various licenses and accounts and so forth; a few well-aimed Confundus Charms had done the rest. She'd been the one to put the call into their dental practice partner; the cover story for that was they were going on sabbatical due to overwork.

On Monday morning, she woke up to the noise of the movers arriving bright and early to put her parents' furniture and household goods into storage; she remained inside her room out of the way, alternately pacing and re-reading Hogwarts, A History whilst thinking to herself that this too, shall pass. It was cold comfort.

The moving van departed and several minutes later, a taxicab showed up; she'd overheard her parents saying they were going to spend a night in a romantic hotel to kick off their relocation adventure. She peered through the blinds in her soon-to-be-former room and saw the driver loading her parents' suitcases into the boot and then watched the black cab as it drove down the street and turned a corner and vanished. Tears rolled down her face and she began sobbing for the first time since she'd begun the process of forcibly relocating her parents. How she was going to explain this to them, she didn't know; thoughts on that would have to wait until the Horcrux hunt had ended and the upcoming conflict had resulted in victory.

How long she'd stood there contemplating these things, she didn't know, but the light outside was suggestive of late afternoon. She raised the blinds to allow more light in, then opened the beaded bag and Summoned objects bit by bit into the capacious depths.

And then there was a noise, a quiet pop that could have been anything else, birds or animals or the house settling—but Hermione knew it wasn't. She froze, clutching her wand and the completely packed bag in her hands. A louder noise happened, one that sounded like the front door being forced open. She heard the church bells down the street begin to chime as footsteps echoed on the floor below her. And then an odd, cold swooping sensation passed over Hermione, quite similar to the feeling of the Disillusionment Charm, which she immediately performed on herself, after which she Vanished the random items remaining on the floor in her room, apart from her jacket, and secured her bag to her wrist with a Sticking Charm. She'd put up an Anti-Apparition ward several days previous, which was why the owner of the footsteps—which were getting louder by the second—had not been able to simply appear inside the house.

She recalled one of her mum's old records, "Friend or Foe," as the footsteps passed by her room—because, of course, the Notice-Me-Not still held—and continued on down the hall. If this mystery witch or wizard were a friend, she thought, they'd have likely announced themselves. Should she take down the ward? What if there were more possible foes en route? There seemed no good way to find out what was actually going on without revealing herself; the intruder clearly knew someone was home because of the charm they'd performed. She heard the sounds of the doors to her parents' bedroom and en-suite, their office, her bathroom, and the linen closet being opened, and then the footsteps retreated down the hall toward the stairway and headed back downstairs.

Slowly, hoping that no floorboards would creak, she moved toward her bedroom door and opened it. As she was wearing trainers, her steps would not echo on the bare wood floors as much as the intruders', but she put a silencing charm on her feet as added insurance. As her heart pounded, she formulated a quick plan-find out who the intruder was (hopefully without being spotted), then Disapparate to the Burrow. The Order had made no overtures to her concerning her safety or that of her parents, which she found more than a little distressing. Ron's occasional letters were the only wizarding correspondence that she'd received since she returned from school, in fact.

She glanced up and down the hall. Apart from all the doors being opened, nothing looked different. She paused; footsteps were still audible downstairs, so she moved slowly down the hall toward the stairwell. The stairs had always been a bit creaky, so she slowly crept from stair to stair until she reached the first landing. As she continued to the second landing, which offered a view of the vestibule, she heard the various doors in the dining room and kitchen area being opened.

The footsteps got even louder and she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. A wizard, his wand extended in front of him, came into view. She quickly stifled a gasp, but he'd heard her; his head turned. He was of medium height with blond hair pulled back in a braided queue, wearing a long black wool traveling cloak that superficially resembled a Muggle overcoat. She had seen his picture in the Daily Prophet; he was a senior Ministry official, possibly in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. She could not recall his name. They found me even without the Trace, she thought.

"I know you're there," he said, in a low, rather gravelly voice with a Scots accent.

Her feet felt rooted to the spot. If she moved, she'd definitely give away her position. He was likely bluffing.

"Ye've done very solid spellwork—I couldn't Apparate in—but I heard ye breathe a minute ago and I've already done the Revelio, so ye may as well show yourself," he continued. "Don't know where those Muggles went but I suspect they're not coming back."

She shifted just enough to make the stair creak, but it was enough for him.

"So ye're up there," he said, chuckling, as he turned slowly around and looked directly at the stairs. "Come out, girlie, I want to make a deal with ye."
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AUTHOR'S NOTES

Title and lyrics at the beginning of each chapter are from "Godless" by the Dandy Warhols.

This was supposed to be a one-shot, and it isn't. It will be relatively short, though.

If you don't like redeemed DEs or Hermione/DE pairings, this is your cue to exit. Thanks!