Run

Chapter One

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Harry Potter; it all belongs to the wonderful Ms. J.K. Rowling.

Call me crazy, but I was inspired by George Strait's song "Run" for this story. It's about a year after the war and Hermione decides to take a job at a muggle working and dude ranch in Montana, which is owned by close friends of her parents, Joe and Nancy Landers. Hermione finally thinks she's found her place in the world until tragedy strikes. This leads her back to the wizarding world and into the arms of a certain Slytherin.

Baby run, cut a path across the blue skies
Straight in a straight line
You can't get here fast enough-"Run" by George Strait

"You know that you can get in touch with us at any time, even if it's just to hear a familiar voice" Ron said as he placed her suitcase near the airline's counter.

Hermione smiled at her good friend and hugged him. "Thank you, I'll keep that in mind. I know you and Harry think I'm bonkers, but I feel like this is something I have to do."

"We don't think you're bonkers Hermione, we're being selfish. We wish you were staying here, but I understand you have your reasons," Harry said and hugged her tightly, as Ron nodded in agreement.

The two young men, Hermione's best friends since their first year at Hogwarts, had accompanied her to Heathrow Airport in London. They were there to see her off to a new job and life in Big Sky, Montana. The three friends had been through so much together in the past year. Hermione and Ron had assisted Harry with his search to find the horcruxes which eventually led to the demise of the evil wizard Voldemort and put an end to the wizarding war.

After the war ended, Hermione had felt as if she was living in a world that threatened to swallow her whole. She, along with Harry and Ron, were proclaimed "The Golden Trio" by the wizarding world. When the war first ended, the press hounded them constantly. According to the press, the wizarding world wanted to know their every move. Hermione hated it and eventually went back to the muggle world, where she was only known as ordinary Hermione Granger. Every time the three friends tried to go out, even if it was to run a simple errand, they were being photographed. Thankfully, the attention began to taper off after a few months. Harry and Ron had made the front page of The Daily Prophet a few weeks ago because they had been accepted into the prestigious Auror program, but other than that the press left them alone.

The two young men waved to Hermione as she walked through the airline gate with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Granger. She, along with her parents smiled and waved back. They watched until they couldn't see them anymore and slowly walked out of the airport.

"Do you think she's doing the right thing?" Ron asked.

"I honestly don't know. My only wish is that Hermione can find peace and happiness. This past year has been rough on her," Harry replied.

"I know. Sometimes I think it's my fault. Maybe I should've worked harder to make a go of it with her," Ron said regretfully.

"Don't say that Ron. I truly don't believe it's about your failed relationship. You and Hermione tried, but I think you both realized you were better off as friends. Hermione is going to come back to our world one day; being a witch has been such a huge part of her life for a number of years. She just needs a break," Harry answered.

"I think you're right Harry, but I'll miss her. One day we'll get our 'Mione back. Hey, are you hungry?" Ron asked, his stomach growling.

Harry grinned and shook his head. "I was wondering when you'd mention food. Come on, I know where there's a great muggle diner."

Mr. and Mrs. Granger watched their only child board the plane that would take her to the United States. They were sad to see her go, but glad that Hermione seemed happier than she'd been in months. When Mrs. Granger's longtime friend, Nancy Landers called her one day and asked if Hermione would be interested in working as a guide at their dude ranch, Jane Granger wasn't sure what Hermione's response would be. After finishing her conversation with Nancy, Jane told her daughter about what Nancy had offered. She was pleasantly surprised when Hermione perked up and wanted to know more about the position. The Grangers had visited Nancy and her husband, Joe's ranch, Daisy Springs, many times since Hermione was a little girl. Hermione had always loved it there; she rode her first horse when she was 3 years old and was hooked. When she and her family vacationed there, Hermione had even participated in the barrel racing events at the amateur rodeos held at the ranch. Whenever she was home from Hogwarts, she kept up with her riding at a local stable and even gave riding lessons. Daisy was also a working ranch with horses and cattle, so she had also participated in cattle drives. She couldn't believe it when her mother approached her about Nancy's offer. She had been pondering what she was going to do with her life. Hermione had been offered many positions within the Ministry of Magic, but there wasn't anything that appealed to her. She was thinking about taking a few classes at one of the local muggle universities in London, when this job offer popped up.

After a few phone calls to Nancy and email correspondences, Hermione was all set to begin her new career at Daisy Springs. She couldn't wait to breathe in the clean mountain air and take in the gorgeous mountainous landscape again. Hermione was going to be working as a tour guide for the tourists who would be vacationing at Daisy Springs. Nancy and Joe knew Hermione would be perfect for the job. There wasn't a horse Hermione couldn't handle and she knew the trails of Daisy Springs like the back of her hand.

It was the middle of May; the tourist season was set to begin in the last week of that month and would end in early September. Joe and Nancy always had a huge Labor Day celebration, an American holiday. When the tourist season ended, the ranch continued to operate, since Joe and Nancy also bred the cattle and horses to be sold. Joe and Nancy had run the ranch for over 20 years and were always on the lookout for hardworking good people for employees; Hermione fit the bill perfectly. They couldn't wait for the young woman they had watched grow up to arrive. Since they had no children, she was like one of their own.

Hermione took a deep breath as she disembarked from the plane at the airport in Bozeman, Montana. Bozeman was about an hour away from Big Sky, but it was the closest airport. She looked around for Joe or Nancy, but didn't see either one. Hermione walked a little further and then stopped. There was a middle-aged gentleman dressed in faded jeans and tucked-in denim Wrangler work shirt. He was of medium height with a stocky build and had curly salt and pepper hair with a receding hairline. Looking at him, it was easy to tell that he was a true rancher by his worn boots and the weathered neutral colored suede cowboy hat he was holding in his hand. When he saw Hermione his face lit up with a wide grin.

"Well hey there little filly from across the pond! Don't just stand there, we got work waiting for us," the man said in a booming voice. The other passengers in the airport terminal gave him strange looks as they walked by.

"Pat! It's been ages since I've seen you, how have you been?" Hermione asked as she hugged him. Pat Morton was the overseer of Daisy Springs and had worked for the Landers since they began their business. Along with Joe and Nancy, he had taught Hermione everything there was to know about the ranch. He had given Hermione her first riding lessons and got her started with the barrel racing. Before coming to the ranch, Pat had been a rising star within the pro rodeo circuit. He had been an expert bull rider until a tragic run-in with a 1500 pound bull named Big Mike almost caused him to lose his life. The bones in his right leg had been shattered after the bull had tossed him in the air as if he was a rag doll and he collided into the stands. Pat considered himself fortunate to still have use of his leg, although he did walk with a pronounced limp. This didn't stop him; he was still one of the most productive employees at the ranch. He was someone Hermione looked up to and admired.

They gathered Hermione's luggage and walked out of the terminal to where Pat's truck was parked. Hermione smiled when she saw the red heavy-duty Ford crew cab. It was nice to ride in the spacious truck; brooms just didn't do it for her anymore. The hour long drive went by quickly as she and Pat chatted. He brought her up to date on everything that had been going on at the ranch. He was also thrilled that Hermione wanted to continue barrel racing. Although he could no longer participate in rodeos, he still loved being a part of it.

They arrived at Daisy Springs and Hermione was glad to see that it was gorgeous as ever. Pat drove up to the main house and parked the truck. As soon as he and Hermione dismounted from the truck, they were greeted by Joe and Nancy. The couple hugged Hermione tightly and helped carry the few pieces of luggage she had. Joe and Pat went off to see about their duties on the ranch, leaving the women alone.

"Did you have a good trip? We're thrilled that you're here," Nancy said as they walked over to the cabin where Hermione would be residing.

"It went very well, thanks. It's so good to be back. Gosh, I missed breathing in this clean air. There's truly no other place on earth like this," Hermione said happily, breathing deeply.

Nancy smiled and patted her on the back. She felt the same way as Hermione; she couldn't imagine being anywhere else but Daisy Springs. She had left a prestigious job in advertising when she was swept off of her feet by Joe Landers. Nancy left the bright lights of Billings, Montana and never looked back. She came from a wealthy background; Nancy had attended school in London, which is where she'd met Hermione's mother. When the young women graduated, Nancy went back to Montana, but they kept in touch through the years. Jean Granger was not at all shocked when Nancy left behind her privileged life to marry Joe and run the ranch. Her friend had always had a rebellious streak and money never meant anything to her. Love came first.

Hermione and Nancy made it to the cabin. Nancy made sure Hermione had everything she needed and then left so she could settle in and start unpacking. Hermione put away all of her belongings and decided to take a shower. She was a bit jetlagged from the long flight, so it was going to be early night. She was also going to start working the next morning, so she wanted to make sure she was well-rested. Although Daisy Springs had a rustic feel and look to it, the ranch was equipped with all the modern conveniences, so Hermione was able to hook up her laptop computer. Before she went to bed, she typed a quick email to Harry to let him know that she'd made it safely and all was well. She knew that Harry would pass along the message to Ron. Harry loved muggle technology, but Ron was still a bit wary of it.

The next morning, Hermione changed into jeans, a light blue short-sleeved cotton blouse which was embroidered with the Daisy Springs brand, a Daisy flower. She paired her outfit with a pair of well-worn Frye cowboy boots; she'd had them since she was sixteen years old. Pulling her hair into a neat bun on top of her head, she pushed a brown suede cowboy hat over it. Taking one last look in the mirror, Hermione smiled at her reflection. She was ready to tackle this new chapter of her life.

Hermione had been working at the ranch for about two weeks and everything was going well. She had led two tours with Pat; Pat was so happy with her skills that he recommended to Joe and Nancy that Hermione should be able to lead her own tours. Even though she was young, Pat knew Hermione could handle the responsibility and could be trusted.

It was her third week of work and Hermione was finally leading her own tour. Her group consisted of 10 people, a middle-aged couple with two teenagers, another middle-aged couple, two young men in their early 20s, and a couple who appeared to be in their 30's. Hermione made sure that everything was in place so they could begin the tour. She started to lead the group down the trail when she noticed the 30-something couple seemed to be lagging behind. One of the stipulations that Joe and Nancy made before someone could go on this tour was that the individual had to have prior horseback riding experience. This did not seem to be the case with this couple because they were struggling to control their horses. Hermione halted the tour so she could find out the problem. As she got closer to the couple, there seemed to be something familiar about them. It finally dawned on Hermione; the "couple" was really two reporters from The Daily Prophet. How the hell had they found her? This was not good.

Hermione pursed her lips and glared at the reporters. No one at the ranch knew that she was a witch and she wanted to keep it that way. She contacted Pat and told him the couple was having trouble with riding. Pat was there in a few minutes and took over the tour, while Hermione brought the reporters and the horses back to the stables. When they reached the stables and she had made sure no one else was there, Hermione lit into them.

"How in Merlin's name did you know where to find me?" Hermione asked in an incredulous manner.

"Ms. Granger, please calm down. We aren't here to harass you," said the female reporter, whose name was Loren Tibbets. She had only been with The Daily Prophet for about 4 years and was trying to make a name for herself. An exclusive on Hermione Granger would definitely boost her up in the hierarchy of The Daily Prophet.

"Well, why are you here? Did I win the Wizard Sweepstakes?" Hermione asked sarcastically. "Look, you need to leave. No one here knows about my magical background. I'm living as a muggle and I'm just plain Hermione Granger."

"Ms. Granger we won't take much of your time. We just did a piece on Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. The public was thrilled to find out that part of The Golden Trio was joining the Auror division. We received a very positive response to the story, but there were also many requests as to what you were doing with your life, so here we are," said the male reporter in what he hoped was a charming tone. He was named Angus Ledgerband and had been with The Daily Prophet for the last 10 years. He was a very seasoned reporter and knew that a story on Hermione Granger would be a real feather in his cap.

Hermione looked at the two reporters and gave an exasperated sigh. "Fine, you have 15 minutes and then I need to get back to work. I'm agreeing to this on the condition that I'm never bothered again by The Daily Prophet. As soon as you leave I'll be putting up wards around the ranch. I'm serious; I want to be left alone."

The two reporters giddily agreed to her terms; they were beyond thrilled that Hermione Granger was actually going to grant them an interview. She had been so reclusive in the past year and they had only been able to get a few pictures of her, never an interview. This scoop was really going to boost sales of The Daily Prophet. As the interview proceeded, Hermione was surprised to find out how professional and well-prepared Angus and Loren were. She was a little put off by the way they'd snuck up on her, but at least they had a list of questions to ask and the interview took less than the 15 minutes she'd allotted them. Hermione actually apologized to them when they were about to leave.

"Look I'm sorry about my brusque manner earlier, it's just that you caught me off-guard," Hermione said.

"No worries Ms. Granger, we apologize to for barging in on you like this. I'm just glad that we didn't have to go through with the tour. Merlin, I've seen pictures of horses, but never got this close to one, much less have to ride the beast!" Angus replied.

They laughed at this and promised to send a copy of The Daily Prophet as soon as the story came out. Hermione waved goodbye to them as they left in an airport shuttle van. There was no way to disapparate in this area. She was glad that no one at the ranch seemed to notice Angus and Loren while they were there. Slowly but surely traces of her former life were going away.

As promised, about two weeks later Hermione received a copy of The Daily Prophet. It was delivered by a bald eagle. She winced when she saw that she'd made the front page. Along with the story, there was a picture of her riding one of the ranch's Palominos, a horse named Treasure. Treasure was one of her favorite horses and she also rode the filly for barrel racing. Hermione was a bit embarrassed at what she was wearing when the picture was snapped. Apparently the reporters had been staying at the ranch for a few days before she met them on her tour and she never noticed that pictures were being taken. It had been a warm day and she was wearing a red camisole and well-worn Levis, along with her cowboy hat and boots. She was embarrassed at being dressed so casually, wondering in the back of her mind if members of the wizarding world were going to think she was tacky. If only she knew how fetching and beautiful she looked in that picture. Most of the male wizarding population was very taken with the photo and many young wizards had it hanging on their walls. That issue of The Daily Prophet had been one of the bestselling copies ever.

Draco Malfoy was so sick of hearing about The Golden Trio. Like he gave a happy fuck that Potty and Weaselbee were going to become Aurors. Whoop-tee-freak-in-do, Draco had thought when he had read the story about them. Deep down he knew that the wizarding world owed everything to Harry's bravery, but it was difficult to accept. As far as Draco was concerned, Harry owed his life to Draco's mother, Narcissa, but no one wanted to hear that story. He knew that he and his family were extremely fortunate to have fared as well as they did since the war ended. They had to pay stiff penalties and contributed great amounts of funding to rebuild Hogwarts. Draco was working his tail off to keep the family business, Malfoy Industries afloat. After being pardoned for their roles in the last wizarding war, his parents kept a low profile. Everything fell on Draco's shoulders. Sometimes he thought about how nice it would be if life was easy as it seemed for The Golden Trio.

While he was having breakfast one Sunday morning, the owl dropped off the Sunday edition of The Daily Prophet. Draco almost spit out his pumpkin juice when he saw the cover. His eyes rolled and he gave a humorless laugh. Merlin, would it ever stop? It was bad enough having to look at Potty and Weaselbee's mugs a few weeks ago, now he had to have his breakfast ruined by seeing Hermione Granger on the front page. Draco threw the paper aside and went back to his breakfast, but it wasn't long before his curiosity got the best of him. No one needed to know that he was somewhat interested in knowing what Granger was doing these days. He had been certain that the "insufferable know-it-all" as the late Professor Snape had referred to her, would've gone on to some lofty position at the Ministry. Whenever he had business at the Ministry, he always made it a point to look at their personnel directory. He wanted to find her name and go to her department to file a complaint or do something to rile her up. Ever since Granger punched him in their 3rd year at Hogwarts, he had always wanted to get even with her, but she always seemed to slip away.

Draco looked at the photo of Granger on that monstrous thing muggles called a horse. As he looked at the photo of Granger riding the animal and took in the rise and fall of her small breasts in the camisole she was wearing, he felt a stirring in his pants. Draco looked away from the paper and shifted uncomfortably in his chair. There was no way an image of Granger was giving him a hard-on. He got up from the table and went to his bedroom. It had been some time since he'd had sex. It wasn't from lack of female attention; although the Malfoy name was tarnished, women still were very attracted to Draco. He liked the interest the women showed in him and in the first few months after the war, he definitely took advantage of bedding any one of them who were willing. But in the last few months or so, no one had really caught his fancy. This was why he was so shocked when he felt an erection looking at the picture of Granger. Merlin, he needed to get out more.

Just thought it would be cool to set a story in the muggle ranching and rodeo world. This one was stuck in my head and it'll be fun to see where I can take it.