House arrest

Disclaimer; all characters belong to JK Rowling. I merely twisted the plot a little.

This story begins in the summer after fourth year.

Voldemort has returned.

Harry and the gang no nothing about Wormtail.

Though they did have Remus Lupin as their teacher in POA, Sirius didn't break out then and everyone still assumes he is guilty.

Sirius broke out of Azkaban after hearing about Voldemort's return.

Hermione didn't go home for Christmas.

Chapter 1

Goodbyes and changes

Hermione got off the train expecting to meet her loving parents waiting beyond the barrier to meet her with open arms and happy faces. After recent events in the wizarding world she was looking forward to spending time with her family in the muggle world. What she did not expect was to be met by just her father. She thought for a moment that perhaps her mother was waiting in the car or had been caught at work, but then she got a good look at him. waving goodbye to Ron, who was red-faced as his mother swooped him up into a hug, and Harry who looked as though he had the weight of the world on his soon to be fifteen year old shoulders (which he kind of did) she headed over to the spot where her father waited for her.

Mr Granger was a shadow of the man she had last seen before boarding the Hogwarts express last September. He was thin, as though he had been starving himself for weeks, his clothes were rumpled and a few days stubble had built up on his usually clean-shaven face. "Dad? Are you alright? Where's mum?" she immediately asked, terribly worried. His bloodshot eyes met hers for a moment before he answered. She feared the very worst. "We can talk in the car." Was his response before he took her bags, attempting a cheery smile that looked more like a pained grimace, and heading out to the parking lot.

Hermione followed him, attempting to ask more questions as they made their way out into the sunlit sea of cars but he either didn't hear her or was determined not to answer until they were in the safety of his four by four. "The reason I'm here alone sweetheart" he began after they had climbed up into the jeep. "Well I don't know quite how to say this. I had hoped that your mother would…well I suppose she's rather busy with the move and whatnot." His voice cracked as he said this but she thought at least busy was an upgrade from the thoughts she had been having about her mother's absence.

"What's going on dad?" She asked. He took a deep breath and put the key into the ignition. "We are…that is to say your mother and I…she's left me. We're getting a divorce Hermione."

Silence reigned for a moment. Hermione didn't know what to say. This could not be happening. There must have been some mistake. Hermione's parents had always seemed so happy together. "Is this a joke?" she half shouted once her voice returned to her. "This must be I can't…why would you say something like that?" he gripped the steering wheel tightly. "Its happening Hermione. She gave me the papers after Christmas. I know we should have told you but…"

"No! I don't understand. I thought you were happy. I thought" he chuckled darkly. "I thought so too." He said bitterly, cutting off her protests. "But evidently I was misguided. She. She has found someone else. They've been seeing each other for months, having an affair. I was so blind." he hit the dash with his open palm and Hermione jumped. She had never seen her father like this. Instantly he apologised

"I'm so sorry darling, there's no excuse for my behaviour. This isn't fair on you, I had hoped that we could have told you together but she wanted him to come" he looked incredulous. "Can you believe it? Anyway I decided it was better you heard it from me now than the two of us bringing you home to him. Or worse, the two of them collecting you here." Hermione was in agreement on that front. Utterly in shock, she agreed to go to dinner with her father so as to discuss it further before he dropped her home. He was staying in a friend's house, he told her and they made no further conversation on the topic until they reached the restaurant.

Hermione didn't feel the least bit hungry, and neither did he by look of things. He pushed his food around his plate and tried, seemingly for her sake, to remain cheerful. "Let me get this straight" she said after a rather lengthy and awkward silence. "I'm going to have to live at home with them while you look for a place? Shouldn't she be leaving?" he put down his fork and leaned his elbows on the table. "You and your mother are going to be moving to the country with…him" he spoke the last word like it were a vile curse, she supposed that it was.

"And are you going to be living at home? Cant I stay with you dad? Please." It was at this point that his face crumpled and he looked as though he were about to succumb to tears. He fought them back though before he continued. "Hunny. I wish more than anything that you could stay with me but it's not that simple. You see…I'm moving away. I can't stay here. I just, I can't. I've been offered a job in your uncle's practice."

It took her a moment to realise the implications of what he was saying. Then it hit her like a two ton cauldron; "but Uncle Harold lives…no. that's not fair dad. You can't leave me here alone. It was her turn to fight back the tears. Hermione's Uncle Harold had emigrated to Australia in his twenties and had since built up a dental practice in Melbourne. How could they do this to her? She wished then that she had never gotten off the Hogwarts express. "Darling I'm so sorry. This has absolutely nothing to do with you, remember that. It's completely between your mother and I and we both still love you just the same" the words washed over her and she barely heard them over the overwhelming feeling of grief that swept through to her very soul. Her family had been torn apart without her ever realising it. "Would it have killed either of you to write to me about this? To give me some time to get used to the idea at least? I'm not eleven years old anymore dad I'm fourteen" she fought to keep her voice low and even but as quickly as the grief had taken her, it had been completely been overthrown by anger and bitterness. "Couldn't you have at least tried to sort things out between you?"

"I wanted to darling I swear it but your mother, well, she's adamant that this Liam…that there in love and there isn't anything I can do" she crossed her arms and sat back in her chair "you could stay in the country. You could be here with me. I can't believe you're just going to leave me here with them." a part of her knew that she was being unfair, that it was her father that had been betrayed but the thought of him just giving up like this. Just dropping her like she meant nothing and moving to another continent…it was too much for her to handle. All thoughts of the dark lord's return left her mind and it was momentarily filled with the feeling that both her parents were betraying her equally. Hatred for the man who had come between them unfurled in her stomach like a basilisk.

They were both silent for the journey home. She caught her father looking at her out of the corner of her eye a few times but was determined not to be the one to break the silence.

After he removed her trunk from the boot and slammed it shut though she hugged him, burying her face in his jumper, tears filling her eyes, he smelled of where he worked, to most people the smell of a dentist's office can be unpleasant, even causing anxiety to some. To Hermione it was soothing. It reminded her of when she was little and would run to her father as soon as he came home, he would lift her up and hug her even sometimes giving her a sugar free treat. "Please don't go daddy, I don't want to live with them. At least let me come with you." he kissed the top of her head. "Hunny you know that's just not possible, not yet anyway. It would disrupt your education. And besides, your mother needs you at home. When she looked up at him, it seemed as though he may start crying again. He blinked back his tears and patted her shoulder before walking her up to the front door. He left her there after a swift goodbye and promised to contact her soon.

She used her key to get into the house

In the hallway there was a stack of cardboard sheets. On closer inspection Hermione saw that they were moving boxes. She sighed. This house had been her home her whole life. After Hogwarts, it was her favourite place to be. She wondered through the house in search of her mother and found a note on the kitchen table instead. It read:

Hi darling!

Sorry I couldn't be here to welcome you home but Liam and I decided to go grab a bite to eat.

There's some microwave meals in the freezer.

Love, mum

She threw the note in the bin before putting out some food for Crookshanks and dragging her trunk up to her room and locking the door.

The room hadn't changed since she saw it last. Like the scent of her father's jumper, her pale blue walls and cream coloured furniture soothed her. She opened her school trunk, preparing to unpack it like she did every other year and then she slammed it closed, remembering that she would soon be leaving this room, this house behind. The stack of folded boxes just inside the door was a further reminder. Angrily she unfolded one and began to dump her things into it. She started with her many books.

Box after box Hermione worked off her frustration, anger and adrenaline fuelling her on. She left out only her favourite pyjamas and a couple of outfits. Exhausted she grabbed her pyjamas and her bag of toiletries out of her school trunk and crossed the hall to the bathroom, hardly having the energy left to lock the door before she turned on the shower and let the hot water fall over her, washing away her tears as she finally let her body be wracked by sobs.

She knelt on the floor of the shower and wrapped her arms around herself, taking stock of everything; her parents were getting divorced, they had been separated for the last few months. Her mother had been having an affair. She was being forced to move out to the country and play happy families with her mother and the man who had torn her family apart. Her mother hadn't even bothered to be at home when she got back home.

This was all over shadowed by Voldemort return of course. And by the escape of one of his most loyal death eaters; Sirius Black, the ministry of magic was in denial of the dark lord's return, and blamed the mysterious deaths and disappearances on Black. The order of the phoenix believed that black escaped in order to help his master return to power. Black had escaped right after it was released by the daily prophet that the death of Cedric Diggory in the last task of the triwizard tournament had been accidental and had nothing to do with harry potter and Albus Dumbledore's "mad ravings" about Voldemort being reborn.

Yup life was pretty shitty. She reached up and turned off the shower. After drying herself she changed into her pyjamas and went back to her room. The house was silent. Empty, apart from herself and Crookshanks. Hermione dug into her trunk until she found some parchment, a quill and some ink. After a few tries she managed to write twin letters to her two best friends. She was sure that they would be able to cheer her in some way. Ron's reply would surely be filled with questions like; what's divorce? Before turning to exclamations of indignation and plenty of expletives. Harry, who had a better understanding of the muggle world, would probably be more helpful. Either way she felt better for getting it all out on paper.

She threw all the cast offs into the waste paper bin and sat on her bed looking out the window into the growing darkness outside. Her faithful cat jumped up onto her knee and nuzzled her face with his own. She rubbed his back and her purred in appreciation.

The sound of the front door being opened woke her. She sat up on the bed where she had drifted off and listened to the sounds of her mother and soon to be step father walking around downstairs. She got up and closed the curtains before getting back into bed and going to sleep.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts and feedback

Aoife.