Synopsis: Post-Howarts, started pre-OotP. After finishing school, Hermione Granger decides to take a year off before deciding what to do with her life. While working as a waitress in Telluride Colorado, she comes face to face with Draco Malfoy.

Disclaimer: Harry and the gang are the property of JK Rowling. The plot of the story is based on the song, 'Telluride' by Tim McGraw. Several of the minor characters belong to me, and that is all. Although…I wish I owned Draco.

AN: Greetings readers, and welcome to the interworkings of my mind. As you can see, I've taken up this story again after a two year break. I know some of you feared I had abandoned the story, but never fear, I have returned! 'Telluride' was my first ever Harry Potter fic, and I'm pleased to be working on it again. After receiving a review from a fan on another site a few months ago, I realized how shamefully long it had been since I updated this story.

However, as I read it over, I realized at once how immature the writing was and made up my mind to revamp the story. It is slow going, as there are so many things wrong with it, but I'm doing well. Also, there has been an addition of two Potter books (OotP and HBP) since I began the story, so certain things needed to be changed. I will be ignoring HBP almost entirely, since things take place in the book that will conflict with my story (those of you who have read HBP may know what I mean), but there will be information in here based on Book 5, so those of you who haven't read it, look out for spoilers. The rating of the story may also change as the chapters come out, so consider yourselves warned! On a happier note, the story in itself is mostly written, and the entire last chapter is done! I promise to work as quickly as possible to repost the other chapters and to post the new ones.

I must warn you however that I will have some distractions. I am leaving shortly for a semester abroad. In addition to having the normal college work load, the entirety of the classes will be in German, which is NOT my first language. Therefore, homework and studying will take longer then if I were to be taking regular classes. I can only hope that you will be patient with me and continue to read the story. As I've already said, I will do my best to post new chapters frequently.

aa

Preface: Telluride

When I was nineteen I threw my stuff in the car

I headed up to the Rockies, got a job at this bar

Selling beer to the locals, just barely getting by

On the tips from the rich kids, there on daddy's dime

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Hermione sighed deeply as she steered the red SUV around another corner. Colorado was a lot bigger then she has expected. The road stretched on for miles, bending over the numerous hills and mountains. "How much longer?" she muttered. "Honestly, the man at the gas station said it was only about sixty miles."

It had seemed like a good idea at the time, taking a year off after Hogwarts to see what she wanted to do with her life. Her parents had been very supportive of her decision.

"Get out and see the world," her mother had said. "Visit places you haven't been before. Why not go to America? We have family out there. I'm sure Uncle John would be glad to have you! They live out in Colorado you know. It s a wonderful place.

Hermione snorted. "A wonderful place out in the middle of nowhere. So much for seeing so many places I've never seen before." It wouldn't have been so bad, but so many things had gone wrong after she had decided to go.

Her Uncle John had called to say that he was going away on business and wouldn't be home when Hermione arrived. He assured the Grangers however that Hermione was welcome to use his home while she was visiting. A week later, he called to tell his siter and brother in-law that there had been a fire and the house was so severely damaged that it would be some time before it was inhabitable. He had taken the liberty of finding Hermione a place to stay when she arrived in Colorado, and even gotten her a job with the owner of the Inn at which she would be staying,

It was kind of him, Hermione had decided. And having a job would keep her from being lonely so far from home and her friends. Harry and Ron had at first agreed to accompany her on her visit to Colorado. But then Harry was offered the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Ron was signed as goal keeper of the Chudley Cannons. Ron still might have agreed to come along, except Ragmar Dorkins, the Cannons' manager, insisted that Ron attend the two month training camp to brush up on his keeping skills.

That was how Hermione Jane Granger came to be driving all by herself in the middle of Coloado, on her way to the town of Telluride. Hermione frowned. She had turned off Interstate 25 a few miles past Pueblo, and driven for four hours until she reached Montrose, where she stopped to get gas. The cashier who took her money asked assured her she wasn't far from Telluride, but now she was beginning to have her doubts. It definitely seemed like she had been driving for longer then forty miles. Would the road never end?

She glanced down to check the car's mileage. Sure enough, it read sixty-three miles. She saw a flash of green out of the corner of her eye, and slammed on the breaks. The car skidded sideways. "Damn, damn, damn…" she said. Disgusted that she had almost missed her turnoff, she shifted the car into reverse and backed up enough so that she was able to make the turn.

She was beginning to regret coming at all. "I should have taken the Ministy's offer." She grumbled. "I should never have listened to Mum when she insisted what a great opportunity this was…I never should have thought of it in the first place…" her voice trailed off as she got her first look at her new home. It was absolutely beautiful. Even in early September there was a tin layer of snow coating the ground and the rooftops.

Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all.

TBC

AN: And there you have it, the first revamped chapter  Reviewing is good for the soul.