Hermione was sitting at her desk in the Ministry on February 7th, 2013, finishing up some paperwork before she walked out of the door for the last time.
She had turned in her notice two weeks earlier, realizing she had become an unhappy bureaucrat instead of a crusader. Happiness seemed unattainable from where she sat, and so she decided to leave. She smiled, remembering her conversation with her two best friends.
"Yes, Ron, I'm really leaving. I haven't gotten anything much accomplished, and I sit at my desk and hate what I'm doing. Even camping was better than being a bureaucrat," she said.
"You aren't going to camp, are you?" he responded, his face a comical mask of horror.
Harry snorted.
"No, but I am going to see where my heart leads me," she blinked, unsure where the statement came from, "Do you understand?"
Harry snorted again.
Ron nodded. "Yeah, Hermione, I do. We do our best with that, even with that brilliant mind of yours. I wouldn't be with Lav if I hadn't, and you and I would be probably talking about divorce now. Instead, Mum adores you and my wife, and we can stay friends."
Harry coughed.
Ron furrowed his nose, then grinned and slapped Harry on the shoulder. "Oy, mate, did Gin hit you with a Silencing charm again?"
After she stopped giggling at the look on Harry's face, she hugged Ron and Harry both, leaving the pub with a much lighter heart.
Hermione spent a few days perusing the wizardnet for places to travel, when she discovered that there would be a magical sand castle building contest in Corpus Christi, Texas. Before she could overthink it, she had prepared an entry. It was only after she had sent it in that she realized that due to the magical nature of the sand involved, she was going to have to book a Muggle vehicle and buy a shovel to use once she got to the Portkey point.
She walked out of the magical side of the Houston International Portkey site located at the George Bush Houston Intercontinental Airport. She followed the signs to the Hertz car rental booth. She had picked up a couple of apples on the way from a fruit and yogurt bar she passed. She was waiting for the young man she had talked to to return with the keys for the nice big Chevy Silverado pickup she booked.
"Here you go, darlin'," the young man said, handing her the keys. "Walk out that door," he said pointing to the left. "It will be the nice red truck in space thirty-four."
"Oh, same as my age! I'm going to take that as a good sign," Hermione responded. She rooted into her bag to get one of the apples. She pulled it out and crunched on it as she began to walk out the door. She hadn't been paying much attention to the other patrons of the rental area, but suddenly a familiar voice rang out.
"Vhat do you mean, you lost my resewation?!"
She turned around to see Viktor Krum berating a very apologetic clerk.
"I need a truck! Not a small economy wehicle!"
Hermione decided this couldn't be a coincidence. She took a breath and doing what she had told Ron and Harry she would, she went with her heart. "Viktor!"
The angry man turned around and grinned. He took three large steps over to her and picked her up and swung her in a circle.
"Nin! I am so wery glad to see you!"
"You wouldn't happen to be heading to Corpus Christi, would you?" she asked.
"Yes!" He looked at her incredulously. "You, too?"
"Yes, actually. I love sandcastles," she said.
"I remember you saying that, vonce," he responded with a wistful look on his face.
"Why don't you join me? A four hour drive will be better with company, in any case."
"That is the wery best thing I haff heard all day." He turned back to the clerk. "Newermind. I vill join my friend. Can you tell me vhere to find a showel?"
"A shower? Probably at a hotel room," the confused clerk responded.
"No, he means a shovel," Hermione interjected before Viktor could lose his temper again.
"Oh! Sorry! I'd try Wal-Mart. It is just two exits over toward Corpus Christi. Just get off the highway and turn left into the parking lot," the clerk told the couple. "If you are hungry, Pappadeux's on the way out of the airport is one of my favorites."
By this time Hermione had handed Viktor one of the apples from her bag, and he was munching away contentedly as they headed out to the truck.
They took the clerk's advice and stopped at Pappadeux's. They enjoyed the atmosphere and the food enough that Hermione picked up a menu and map of other locations and types of restaurants in the chain. "We should try all these restaurants. It would be a lot of fun. And there is at least one of each on the way to Corpus Christi."
Viktor laughed. "You are alvays so passionate about things. If you vish, ve vill use this map to eat."
Food settled, they got back into the big red truck and headed off down the highway. Two exits after they left the airport, they got off again and turned left into the parking lot of a Wal-Mart.
After they walked in, Viktor looked around, agog at the sheer size of the store. "They haff ewerything here!"
"Supposedly at good prices. Let's find the shovels," Hermione said, striding off determinedly.
She found the shovels and went back to find Viktor. She found him at the edge of the women's clothing section.
He was looking at something red.
"I found the shovels," she said.
"Good, good. Bring a couple and I vill go pay. Vhy don't you get us some drinks at that machine on the way out?"
Hermione nodded her agreement and handed him two nice pointy shovels.
Viktor grabbed a few red lacy things and threw them in the basket he was holding and after checking to see that Hermione had gone ahead, tried to get through the line quickly. Luckily for him, no line in any Wal-Mart anywhere ever moved quickly. He met up with Hermione at the door. She had just been handed her two large soft drinks.
Hermione was thrilled by the ease she and Viktor fell into conversation on their long drive. They arrived in Corpus Christi in good spirits.
"Vhere are you staying, Nin?"
"I booked a flat, well, condo in American, right on the waterfront for a week," she said.
"I'm avraid that all my reserwations vere lost," he said.
Hermione looked at him for a long while. "Why don't you stay with me?"
Viktor looked up sharply, then simply nodded.
They found the condo and got the keys. It was beautiful, with a view of the ocean from the dining area and balcony. The bedroom had one double bed.
Viktor noticed that Hermione didn't even blink at the bed. It made him feel more confident about his purchase at Wal-Mart. He quickly put the bag in one of the drawers in the furniture near the bed.
"Come on, Viktor! Let's go to the sand castle contest!"
Hermione and Viktor got to the sand castle building site and signed up as a pair. Their rules told them what magic they could use, and they did so, creating a working version of the Durmstrang Ship.
A couple of spaces over, some moron was drunk and proclaiming his prowess to the bimbos surrounding him with adoring looks. He had built a traditional castle with a moat and bragged that he had a wonderful surprise to add to it.
Hermione had gone to move the truck, because a family of nine in the space next to them had to get the fifteen passenger van into their space.
Just as she was passing the moron's castle, he took another swig from his Bud Light and yelled Expecto Patronum! The moat monster that swirled from his wand circled the castle, then went looking for better places to guard. It startled Hermione who accidentally put the truck into reverse, flattening the moron's castle.
She moved the truck back into its space quickly and went over to apologize. The moron started to berate her, when Viktor came over, holding a shovel. As the drunk man took a step forward, Viktor swung the shovel up toward the truck's gun rack, which the couple had re-purposed as a shovel rack. He 'accidentally' got the moron in the back of the head.
The bimbos rushed forward to comfort him, when all of them heard muttering coming from the beach.
"Why the hell did I agree to this anyway? Bunch of pansies making stupid things out of sand and water." A large man with an axe strapped to his back and tentacles was walking up the beach hand in hand with a dreamy looking blonde in a teeny weeny bikini.
"I like sand sculptures, Larry my love."
"Oh, right. That's why."
They walked right over the moron on the sand, the blonde 'accidentally' grinding his face into the remains of his castle.
"This one is a loser," declared Larry the judge.
"I agree," said the blonde. "Where did he find that hairstyle? A Flock of Seagulls?"
"Where?" Larry said, looking for crazed birds.
Hermione and Viktor ended up winning second place.
They returned to the condo, cuddling up on the couch.
"So, you don't mind sharing the bed vith me, then?"
"If I'd minded, I would have told you. I haven't been this happy in years, Viktor."
He turned to her and kissed her. "I'm glad. Me, too."
After a long period of sitting quietly watching the moon on the waves, Hermione turned to Viktor. "So, what are the red lace yoga pants for?"
Author's Note: This story was written for the Teachers' Lounge 2014 Valentines Promptfest. Here is the prompt: apples, drunk Patronusing, an unexpected reaction to something, and cuddling. I may have also incorporated a prompt that involved a pick up truck, a shovel, America and red lace yoga pants.
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