ERA

BOOK I

A Godless World

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling is a god to have given us that world.

Chapter 1:

Michael Paine pulled down a part of the blinder and peeked outside. He hoped that his pursuers had lost him, and that they could not trace him to such a shabby hotel. There was no one outside, allowing him to take a breath of relief.

'Who were those men Michael?' his wife Gloria, asked for he hundredth time. She had asked him that question several times, while they were making their escape, but he was too occupied at that time to answer her. But he would have to answer her now. He turned around and faced his pregnant wife, who was sitting on the small bed with frustration etched across her face. 'If you don't answer me now, I am going to leave, and you are never going to see the face of me or our child.'

Michael inhaled deeply. He did not know where to begin explaining; Gloria would certainly think that he had gone mad if he told her about magic, wizards, and an underground organisation controlling most of the UK. It would sound good if he was making a documentary about conspiracy theories or some sci-fi movie, but it would be a foolish explanation when they were running for their lives.

'Michael!' Gloria barked.

Michael wished he did not have to do this, he had always wanted to keep his work away from the family, but it seemed impossible now. Michael sat down on a worn out couch; it was time to tell his wife the truth.

'They want to kill me because of my work,' Michael said in a low voice.

'Did you do something to their bank accounts?' Gloria asked.

'No,' Michael replied. 'It does not have to do with my normal work.'

'What do you mean normal work?' Gloria was taken aback by his revelation.

'I have not been completely truthful with you,' Michael said bitterly. He inwardly cursed himself for doing this to her now, but he could not provide her with a better explanation than the truth.

'What are you saying?' said Gloria, her eyes already brimming with tears.

'I am not an accountant in a bank,' Michaels said, ignoring the shocked expression of his wife. 'I work for a very powerful organisation.'

'Michael!' Gloria cried out.

'Please, let me explain,' Michael pleaded with his wife. Gloria refrained from saying anything, giving him a chance, but she continued to look at him incredulously. 'As I mentioned I work for a powerful organisation which has spies in various places. I was one of the spies.' Gloria's eyes grew wide as saucers. Michael was not surprised by her reaction, in fact he was thankful she had not gone full crazy. 'But something happened that blew my cover. And now I am being chased by the enemy.'

'What did you do Michael?' Gloria asked finally finding her voice.

'Nothing which would grab anyone's attention,' replied Michael. It was true, he had done nothing out of the ordinary which would jeopardize his situation. The only other option was if someone had given information to the enemy.

'Don't lie to me Michael. I'm sure you did something stupid,' Gloria said angrily. 'Otherwise, why would people come after you?'

'I just did what I had done for the past three years. And I didn't even have to do anything important I just had to observe…' Suddenly everything fell into place for Michael, he knew exactly what they were searching for. He quickly grabbed a pen and a paper and began writing a letter.

'What are you doing Michael?' Gloria asked, confused by his sudden actions.

'I was the one being fooled all along,' Michael said to no one in particular. 'I was not spying at him, he was spying at me.'

'Who was spying on you?'

'Harry Potter.'

'Harry who?' Gloria asked bewildered.

'It is better you don't know that monster,' Michael said bitterly while folding the letter.

'Who are you sending the message?' Gloria asked.

'To my superior. His life is in danger,' Michael replied.

'Who is your superior?'

'Travis Bent from….how did you know I was writing a letter?' Michael looked at Gloria suspiciously.

'I just thought you were going to ask someone to help us in this situation,' Gloria replied defensively.

'Right.' Michael was not convinced. In all the drama, Michael had forgotten the most important rule; don't trust anybody. He continued to eye Gloria, there was a possibility she was not his Gloria. If the knowledge of existence of magic had taught him one thing; it was not to trust anything that was in front of him, magic always had some surprise stored there.

'Why are you staring at me like that?' Gloria said looking a little scared.

'Tell me Gloria, what was my first car's name?' Michael asked in a low voice.

'Why are you asking me that?' Gloria looked confusedly at him.

'Answer me Gloria,' Michael let out a low growl.

'This is no time for games Michael!' shouted Gloria. 'We are in the middle of crisis.'

'Answer me!' screamed Michael.

'How am I supposed to remember that?' Gloria countered with equal aggressiveness.

Michael quickly retrieved his gun from his back and pointed it at Gloria or a polyjuiced version of her. 'Answer me or I will shoot.'

'Have you gone insane?' Gloria screamed, the fear evident in her voice.

'Just answer the fucking question,' Michael shouted, hardening his grip on the gun.

'You are scaring me Michael.' Gloria slowly began to retreat towards the wall.

'Your act is up. Tell me who you are,' Michael said, his gun firmly pointed at her. He was convinced, that the woman in front of him was not his wife, but somebody posing as her.

'I am your wife for god sake!' cried fake Gloria with tears streaming down her face.

'You can't fool me,' Michael roared, inching closer to the terrified form of the doppelgänger. 'I know you are under polyjuice. You wizards think you are so smart.'

'Someone help me!' fake Gloria screamed at the top of her lungs. Michael in an attempt to lower her screams, quickly grabbed her by her throat, and started to put considerable amount of pressure. The doppelgänger tried to push away his hands, but he was stronger than her.

'Shut up or I will put a bullet on your head,' Michael hissed dangerously. 'I know you people are helpless without your wand.'

'Michael. Please,' came a stiffed voice from the choking fake Gloria.

'Where is my wife?' Michael continued to tighten his grip. He could see the nerves in fake Gloria's head begin to become prominent, and her face began to turn purple.

'Karina' Gloria managed to say while struggling for air. On hearing the name Michael immediately released his grip on her throat, and Gloria fell down on the floor gasping for air. Gloria had said name of Michael's first car, meaning she was the real Gloria. Michael quickly knelt down in front of Gloria and started rubbing the back of his coughing wife. He wished she had told it before things had escalated.

'I'm sorry Gloria,' Michael apologised. 'I thought you were someone else.'

Michael cursed himself for his actions, but he his actions were not reasonless. But how could his wife understand those reasons.

'I'm sorry,' Michael repeated holding her arm, only for Gloria to push him away.

'Don't touch me,' Gloria said rubbing her throat.

'It was a mistake Gloria,' Michael tried to reason with his estranged wife. 'If only you give me a chance to explain.'

Michael had never wanted for Gloria to be involved in this world. He just wanted a simple and normal life with her. He was even contemplating about leaving the Organisation after their child was born. But everything had come crashing down.

'Fuck you, Michael,' Gloria glared at him, as she tried to stand up. Michael reached out to help, but she immediately pulled away from him. 'You tried to kill me.'

'Just calm down. And I will explain everything to you,' Michael said.

'You just tried to fucking kill me!' Gloria cried staggering back to her feet.

'I said I can explain,' Michael repeated.

'I don't need your explanations! I am leaving!' Gloria cried and tried to move past him. Michael noticed her actions and quickly grabbed her arm.

'Please let me…'

'How?' Gloria stammered with a shocked look suddenly appearing on her face. Michael saw that Gloria's reddened eyes had grown extremely wide, as she looked unblinkingly at something behind him. Michael immediately understood the reason for his wife's shocked expression; they had found him. Michael slowly turned around to face his harbinger. A tall, thin man stood behind him, he was wearing a black suit, and his long silvery blonde hair perfectly fitted his grey ominous looking eyes.

'Franklin,' Michael said, his voice nearly a whisper.

'Hello, Mr Paine,' Franklin said with a bow. 'Thank you for the entertainment you have provided me until now. But it seems I am running out of time.'

'How did you find me?'

'Invisibility, is a great form of disguise Mr Paine,' Franklin replied in a cool voice.

'Who is he Michael? How did he appear out of thin air?' Gloria asked, her voice shaking with fear.

'Magic, Mrs Paine,' Franklin answered with a menacing smile.

'I know why you are here. But I want you to leave my wife,' Michael said shielding Gloria. He knew there was no escaping, otherwise James "The Reaper" Franklin would not have shown up in front of him.

'And why would I extend you that courtesy?'

'I will not try to fight back if you leave my wife alone. We can both leave this room and then you can carry out your job.'

'Do you actually think you stand a chance against me?' Franklin said mockingly.

'I never said I stood a chance. But I can always make it a bit difficult for you,' Michael said bravely.

Franklin seemed to think for a moment then he replied, 'Very well, Mr Paine. I always appreciate valour. Let's go outside and finish this.'

Michael put the gun on the ground and began to walk towards Franklin. He was ready to meet his fate, he knew it would be coming considering his line of work, but at least his wife was going to be safe.

'Stop!' cried Gloria. She was pointing the gun at Franklin. 'I will not let you do anything to my husband.'

'Gloria put down the gun!' Michael ordered. Gloria didn't know what Franklin was; Michael himself was not sure what Franklin was exactly. All he knew was that Franklin was not human, he was something which just looked like a human.

'I will not let you go with him Michael,' Gloria said with determination.

'A weapon does not suit a lady like you Mrs Paine,' Franklin said calmly.

'I swear I'll shoot you if you don't leave now,' Gloria threatened, but her hands were shaking.

'Gloria put-,' Michael could not complete what he was saying as the sound of the gun going off filled the room. Michael looked at the shocked and scared face of his wife, and then turned to Franklin who was hit on the chest with the bullet.

'You made a hole in my suit Mrs Paine,' said Franklin inserting his forefinger inside the hole which the bullet had made. Gloria remained speechless as the man she had shot through the chest stood in front of her, unharmed.

Michael silently applauded his wife's valiant efforts, it could have worked if it had it been anyone else. Now, Franklin was not going to spare her either. He had to save her, if that was the last thing he could do.

'Please, she does not know anything,' Michael begged.

'I agree. But she did try to kill me.' Franklin moved towards Gloria and lightly pushed her with his finger, suddenly her body was violently thrown and she crashed to the wall. The force of the crash caused her to lose her consciousness, and her body fell down on the floor.

'You bastard!' screamed Michael as he lunged at Franklin. But Franklin was too quick for him as he easily side-stepped Michael, and with a gentle push sent Michael flying across the room until he collided with the wall.

Michael's entire body was burning with pain, as he struggled to stand up. Franklin slowly walked towards him and stood over his struggling form. Franklin then lowered his right hand and lightly pressed on Michael's back. A shattering pain coursed through his back, making him scream in agony.

'Thank goodness for silencing wards. Otherwise you could have disturbed everyone here,' Franklin said shaking his head. 'But your wife won't be screaming I think.'

'Please,' Michael begged in a shaky voice. He had lost the feeling in his lower half of the body making it unable for him to stand up.

'I was not considering doing this in front of you, Mr Paine. But I have changed my mind. Consider it a goodbye gift from me,' Franklin said and started to undress himself. Michael knew exactly what Franklin was about to do, but he was helpless; in the end he could not even save his wife. Franklin carefully folded his clothes and stacked them neatly on the side of the bed.

'You see every time I hunt, my clothes usually end up torn and blood-stained. So, these days I do things naked. I hope you don't mind me eating your wife in the nude,' Franklin said looking at Michael, as if he was asking permission.

'Please, don't,' Michael cried, tears falling from his eyes.

Franklin ignored his pleas and moved towards Gloria's unconscious body and knelt beside it. Michael with all his strength tried to crawl towards Gloria, but each effort was taking incredible feats of strength, and the numbness was spreading throughout his body.

'Oh! Your wife is pregnant,' Franklin said excitedly. 'I have never eaten a human foetus before.' He then turned to Michael and smiled. 'Don't worry Mr Paine I will savour each part of your unborn child. And don't regret him not being born. After all it is better to die than to live in this godless world.'

Michael wanted to scream out, but his voice died in his throat. He cursed magic for ever being created, he cursed wizards for using it for their own selfish purpose, but he cursed himself the most. If he had never involved himself with their kind, he would be living a normal life; Gloria would be alive. He wanted to cry, he wanted to shout, he wanted to choke the life out of Franklin; but he could do nothing. Franklin suddenly morphed into a monstrous looking entity. His skin was dark as the night and two horns appeared on his forehead. His body had grown nearly three times his normal size, and his hands and feet supported malicious looking claws. He also had a tail, but it seemed that some portion of it had been cut off. Michael's vision began to darken as the monster Franklin tore into Gloria's body. Indeed, it was a godless world, thought Michael as he fell into the world of darkness.

A/N: I write stories for my own pleasure...and hopefully yours. The only way I can know if you enjoyed my work is through your feedback.

P.S. English is not my first language, so please free to correct my errors.

P.S.S And this is my first story in this site so please no flames.