Hermione panted, clutching her side as she made it to the top of the hill. She rounded the corner and groaned, looking at the steep incline that continued for another hundred feet. This hike was easily accessed from the overlook she was camped at. It was relatively barren of trees and offered incredible views of the mountain that the park was named for. But the elevation gain was getting to her.

She'd woken early and gone to the visitors center to get a spot on a bus but the morning ones were already booked. So she thought she'd do a short hike, have lunch and then take an afternoon bus. Crookshanks appeared on a boulder next to her. He settled onto his front paws and watched, waiting for her to gather her common sense again and go back.

She shook her head at him in defiance. "No, I'm going to finish this hike. It's not that long. I can do it." She pushed herself to keep going up the hill, her legs and lungs protesting every step.

At the top she gasped as she rounded the corner and watched the trail continue up relentlessly. A pair of hikers were making their way down the narrow path. She decided to sit on the rock here and wait for them to pass while she gathered her strength to keep going. She drank from her water bottle. Crookshanks hid himself in the brush next to her.

As the hikers approached she smiled and waved. "How much further is it up there?" She gestured up the trail.

The woman laughed "oh you've got about a quarter mile till the halfway point. Then three more miles after that. We came in yesterday so we could be there to see the sunrise on Denali! So worth it!" The companion nodded his agreement and the couple continued on down the trail.

Confused and disheartened, Hermione pulled out her map. This was supposed to be a one mile hike, easy and short. She must have followed the wrong trail. She looked at the map and the trail she thought she took. Then she looked up and around to make sure she was alone before casting a location spell. The longer trail that stemmed from the same starting point lit up, indicating that she had indeed followed the incorrect trailhead. She'd already hiked twice as far as she'd wanted to. She checked her watch. She had been hiking for 2 hours now, uphill. It would probably take at least half that to get back down. No way was she going to finish this hike.

She turned to crookshanks. "Come on, then. I'm done." She opened her arms for the cat to jump in and then she apparated directly into her van.

She set the orange half-kneazle down on the bed and sat down on the floor, wiping her sweaty forehead with the back of her hand. "At least we saw some cool stuff and got our exercise." She huffed. "We've got just enough time to shower, eat lunch and then get back to the visitors center for the bus." Crookshanks ignored her and closed his eyes, ready for his nap.

Living in this van was so incredibly convenient. She actually loved it. And having magic to clean and take care of the less glamorous bits of van life made it all just so fucking pleasant.

She stood and turned the shower on, casting a charm to make it the perfect temperature before she stripped out of her sweaty clothes and stepped inside. She washed quickly. Her thoughts wandered to Malfoy, the only negative about the van was that the two of them couldn't fit inside the shower together. Maybe she could use some expansion charms in here, like that tent of Mr. Weasley's. She'd have to send away for some books though, she wasn't familiar with the theory behind expanding full living spaces like that.

She rinsed the shampoo from her hair and redirected her thoughts, because that was a bit obnoxious on her part. Yes she would see Malfoy in two weeks, but it would only be for five days again before he went back out. And by that time her month in Alaska would be up and she should be moving on. What could she possibly do? Sit around and wait for him all summer? She cringed at the thought.

He'd signed a contract with the boat captain, as did almost all the fishermen that came up for the summer. Because if they left in the middle, the boat could potentially be left without a crew and the captain without anything to sell. It made sense for them to want to prevent that from happening. This was their livelihood, many of them made their year's worth of money in only a few months up here. So he was locked in until September. It was the end of June now. Maybe she could extend her trip until then...

"Ugh! Stop it, Hermione." She scolded herself. She wasn't doing this. She would not be planning her life around a man again. She wasn't even sure Malfoy would want to spend his winter with her. Maybe he had other plans and goals. She didn't know everything about him. She'd only spent five days with the man. Five extraordinarily satisfying days, full of adventure and wonder and mind-blowing orgasms.

"Aaahhhh!" She screamed in frustration. She needed to stop dwelling on him. She shut off the shower and dried herself with her wand, braided her hair back in two Dutch braids and dressed in her favorite bandeau and flowy jumpsuit combo. She cleaned the van up with a flick of her wand and told Crookshanks they were going. Then she drove to the visitors center.

She cast the charm to keep crookshanks cool in the van again and brought her water bottle and small bag. The bottle was bigger than the bag so she couldn't pretend to hide it in there while stuck in a bus with muggles. She'd have to just carry it. She clicked the button to lock the van and walked to the small group that was forming by the bus pickup spot.

Nobody else seemed to be alone. She felt a little self conscious for a moment as she watched families and groups gathered about, sharing snacks, taking pictures, laughing and conversing. She walked to the back of the sort-of line and stood behind a pair of elderly women. They were both white-haired and wrinkled, but looked steady on their feet. They turned and glanced at her, giving her kind smiles. She returned the smile and nodded.

"Hello, I'm Barb. This is my sister, Winnie." Barb held out a hand and Hermione took it, shaking once. She turned to Winnie and shook hers too.

"I'm Hermione, nice to meet you." She said politely.

"We're from Arkansas. This is our first time out to Alaska. The plane ride was incredibly long, but the sights have been worth it." Winnie laughed. The bus pulled up and emptied of its previous group.

"It's my first time out here too. I'm from England." Hermione shared. She was grateful to these kind ladies for being so open and friendly.

"Oh my! Your plane ride must have been even worse!" Winnie laughed again.

"Oh but she's young. She probably didn't need to get up every hour to stretch her legs and use the bathroom!" Barb nudged her sister and they giggled together.

Hermione chuckled, "oh it was plenty long. I don't fancy having to do it again any time soon."

The queue moved forward as their group started to board the bus. A doorless yellow jeep swerved into the parking lot. Four fit guys in their twenties scrambled around a bit to gather things and rush to join the queue behind her. Winnie and Barb gave Hermione wild grins and raised their brows.

The boys were very good looking. She would concede that much. But they gave off an air of wild immaturity. And they all looked too similar. Not like family, exactly. But their sameness made them easily forgettable. Hermione kept a polite smile on her face but didn't greet them or introduce herself. She handed her ticket to the ranger by the bus door and stepped inside behind Winnie and Barb.

She followed the old ladies to some empty seats toward the back. There were four seats left behind them, exactly the right amount, minus Hermione's empty seat. She supposed there weren't usually odd numbers left. She sat across the row from the old ladies and looked at her pamphlet of the park, ready to see the rest of the sights today. Maybe she would leave tomorrow and visit the other parks. Maybe she could convince Malfoy to go whale watching with her, if he'd go back out on the water on his days off.

The group of guys noisily entered the bus. It's like they can't go anywhere without making sure everyone knew they were there. They couldn't pull into the parking lot normally, they couldn't enter a queue calmly, they couldn't board a bus quietly. Hermione rolled her eyes in annoyance and flipped her pamphlet over. She was sitting by the window to see the sights and had set her water bottle on the seat next to her. Her bag was strapped around her torso still.

The boys made their way to the remaining empty seats directly behind Hermione, Winnie and Barb. They made a slight commotion as they neared her which she ignored, staring at her pamphlet. One of them cleared their throat, "excuse me miss, is this seat taken?" He asked. She attempted not to roll her eyes and exhaled.

"I think you can see that it is." She said sweetly, gesturing to her water bottle. The other guys laughed at the rejection.

He dropped to the seat behind the water bottle and leaned forward around it. "I'm Kyle." He held his hand out. She didn't take it. She knew with these types of guys that if you give an inch, they'll take a mile.

"Nice to meet you, Kyle." She flipped her pamphlet back over and pretended to read it again.

"You're British? Your accent is fuckin hot." Winnie gasped at his profanity and he shot a "sorry, ladies." Over to them.

Barb shook her head in disappointment. "I had higher hopes. Sorry dear." She said to Hermione conspiratorially, even though she knew the boys could still hear.

"I didn't. No worries." Hermione winked at her and they shared a laugh.

One of the guys behind Barb leaned forward "ok, hey now, you can't judge all of us by this doofus. We just like to let him crash and burn first. He never disappoints." All the guys laugh and Kyle acts offended. The bus driver gets on the intercom and starts explaining their tour as he pulls out of the parking lot.

"What's your name?" Kyle wraps his arms around the top of her water bottle's seat and rests his chin on it.

Hermione groans inwardly. She's going to have to spend four hours with this idiot. "Anna." She says. Barb gives her a wink and a thumbs up from across the aisle.

"Anna, nice. So what brings you out here? Traveling with your grandmas or something?" He nods over to Barb and Winnie.

Barb rolls her eyes. "Oh good gracious." She shakes her head.

"Yes, I am." She says simply. She looks out the window.

The guy next to Kyle smacks him on the back of the head. "They don't all have British accents you moron."

"Mmm, that's true. So you're on your own?" Kyle persists.

"I'm here on this tour on my own, yes."

"So you're boyfriend working or somethin?" The tour guide begins speaking about whatever spot he's pointing out. She's able to ignore Kyle for a few minutes.

"Well?" Kyle adds once the guide stops.

"I'm sorry, I don't feel the need to explain anything personal about myself to you." She says matter of factly. The other guys chuckle again.

"Damn, you're cold. I'm into it." Kyle says, unfazed.

Hermione rolls her eyes and looks out the window but she can't help but grin. She doesn't want to be angry or rude. She doesn't want to judge these guys. She hopes they are just good, silly and immature kids. She'll give them all the benefit of the doubt, for now.

"What part of England are you from?" The one behind Barb asks.

"London." She says automatically. Because it literally does not matter if she lies to them.

"That's awesome. I did my study abroad there. Went to all the theaters and museums and shit. It was a great time."

"That's nice." She says. And just to mess with Kyle, since she wouldn't indulge any of his questions, she asks his friend, "what university do you attend?"

Kyle chimes in "we all went to UCLA. Just graduated, we're on our celebratory trip." He smirks, very proud of his school and his diploma.

"Hm. What did you get your degree in?" Barb chimes in.

"Accounting." He smirks like it's awesome.

"You don't seem to have the temperament of an accountant." Hermione observes.

"oh I have the temperament of being a CFO though. I'll get there in no time." He flexes his tan arms over the seat and swipes his dark hair back.

"What about the rest of you?" Winnie asks.

"Pre-med. I'm going to U of U to start med school in the fall." The one next to Kyle says.

The one who went to London says "I studied directing and producing. I've got a job with NBC I start in a few weeks, but I hope to be able to move into films soon."

"Poly sci." Says the last one simply.

"that's a wide range of subjects. How do you all know each other?" Hermione can't help but ask.

"We were in the same fraternity together. Delta sig!" Kyle pumped a fist into the air and the other guys copied him.

Hermione grins and nods in understanding. "Wow. I didn't know I'd run into real American frat boys in the wild." Barb and Winnie chuckle.

"What about you?" The poly sci major asks. "What school did you go to? Oxford? Cambridge? Does England have any other schools than that?"

Hermione rolls her eyes "Of course they do. I didn't go to university though."

"Not the academic type?" Kyle asks haughtily.

Hermione laughs out loud but doesn't answer him. She turns forward and listens to the tour guide for a bit.

"My idiot friend didn't mean to offend you." The pre-med guy says from behind her. "What do you do for work?"

"I'm not offended at all. His ignorance is amusing." Poly sci snorts and punches Kyle in the shoulder. "I currently work in law enforcement." Hermione continues.

"oooh damn. A hot British cop." Kyle says stupidly. She doesn't attempt to correct him.

The bus finally makes its first stop and the guide explains the site they are at. Everyone files off the bus and spreads out in their groups. She goes the opposite direction of the frat boys.

"Anna dear, would you be so kind as to take our picture." Barb winks. They walk over to a clear spot and Hermione snaps a picture of the two sisters from Arkansas.

"By the way, I think giving them a fake name was a good call." Winnie whispers as she takes the camera back from Hermione.

Hermione chuckles "I think they're harmless, but I don't want them to know a bunch of personal information about myself." She shrugs.

"Do you really work in law enforcement?" Barb asks.

"I do, but I'm more of an analyst. I'm never in the field." She shrugs.

"So you're quite academic then." Barb nods in appreciation. "Good girl." She winks.

Hermione isn't sure why she wants these ladies to know her. But she feels comfortable talking to them. "I'm actually recently divorced and taking a sabbatical from work, a solo trip across the American national parks."

"Oh! My. Well good for you, honey. How many have you been to so far?" Winnie asks.

"This is my second one actually. I flew into Seattle and bought a little camper and drove up here. My only plan is to follow the good weather."

"Well, I had a pretty lousy first husband." Says Barb. "I was seventeen when we got married and thank god there were no children so I was able to completely cut him out of my life. My second husband was fantastic. We had three kids and a beautiful life together."

Hermione smiled "I'm glad to hear it. Yeah I was nineteen. We went through a lot of heavy stuff together and that's pretty much all our relationship was based off of. Now that the heavy stuff is behind us, we realized we didn't have enough to keep going. Well, I did anyway. He didn't put up much of a fuss when I asked for the divorce though. We didn't have children either."

Winnie squeezes her arm "I think it's fantastic that you came out here all on your own! I wish I'd been brave enough to do something like that in my youth."

"Yes, I'm so glad you get this awesome adventure. Women need more time to themselves. I do hope you have a way to protect yourself though. You may encounter some unfriendly types who might notice you traveling alone." Barb warns.

"Oh I do." Hermione smiles. She knows they are probably talking about guns or pepper spray. But if anyone did try and hurt her, she'd hex their balls off before they even knew what was happening. Luckily for them, her wards would keep them far away before it became an issue.

"Good girl." Barb says. The tour guide calls out that it's time to move on and they all go back to their seats.

"So what all have you done up here? Are you staying in anchorage?" Kyle resumes his attempts at wooing Hermione.

"I actually did do a really fun thing. A friend of mine took me in a helicopter to some glacier pools outside of Anchorage and we paddle boarded. It was incredible." Hermione ignores his question about where she's staying.

"Oh shit, that sounds awesome." Kyle says.

Pre-med chimes in "I've heard of that, sounds dope. We should do it." He says to his friends.

"Yeah, I'd be down." Says poly-sci. "What company did you go with?" He asks her.

"I'm not sure actually. The helicopter pilot's name was Danny. The helicopter was red and white. I couldn't tell you more than that. My friend did all the arrangements." Hermione shrugs.

"Would you be able to call your friend and ask? When we get back to the visitors center I mean. Back to cell service." Pre-med asks.

"Actually, no. He's out on a fishing boat."

"So you do have a boyfriend at work." Kyle grins.

She ignores him. "I'm sure you can find any number of companies in a simple tour guide magazine. Or a hotel concierge." She rolls her eyes.

The boys get to talking and planning how they can make the helicopter glacier trip a reality. They make more stops, she takes pictures for the ladies at each one. The tour passes relatively quickly.

They reach the visitor's center parking lot and she exits the bus, giving a quick hug and good bye to Winnie and Barb. She walks over to her van, pulling out her keys.

"So are you headed back to Anchorage now?" Kyle jogs to catch up to her.

"Nope." She says. Stopping in the middle of the lot.

"Oh, well. I know you're like, obviously not interested in me. But we do all think you're pretty cool. If you want to come chill with us, that'd be fun." He shrugs.

"Thanks, Kyle." She gives him a kind smile.

"And like, if you have any recs of good places in Anchorage, let me know. Cuz we just got into town and we've got a couple of weeks to fill."

She decided to pass along the name of Joe's pub cuz these guys would definitely spend plenty of money there. And she tells him about the sushi place. Because that's the only thing she knows about the city. Then she waves goodbye to him and the other guys at the jeep and Kyle jogs away.

She finally climbs in the van and lets crookshanks out to do his business. She casts a charm to make sure Kyle doesn't try and come back and talk to her anymore. She makes dinner right there in the parking lot and studies the map to find a spot to park for the night. She's sure there's more hiking places and other sights to see in this park, but she's already seen plenty. She doesn't want to drive all the way back to the city tonight though. She finds a nice spot on the map just outside the boundaries of the national park and makes that her destination for the night. Crookshanks is right there ready to go as soon as she is.