A/N: I'm sorry it took me two months to get an update out for this story. I have been having some issues with writing Dramione lately and I refused to see this story come across as forced. I would rather see these chapters come out the way that I want them to, so it may take longer than expected to get an update out to you. That being said, here is a lovely chapter for you all.

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Love always,
~starr

~ April 2020~

Knocking on a closed door, Draco sighed his head as he waited for the person on the other side to answer. This was the fifth door today that he had knocked on. The day before he had knocked on ten or more doors. All of them resulted in the same response. It was only a matter of time until this door resulted in the same exact thing.

The door creaked open a small amount and a pair of blue eyes peaked out around it. Draco put on his best smile and extended his hand close to the door, but not close enough that it would get caught when it came slamming shut.

"Hello, my name is Draco Malfoy and I'm with the Ministry of Magic's Department of Magical Law Enforcement: Auror Division. Do you have a few moments to talk about-?"

He was cut off by the slamming of yet another door in his face. Cursing under his breath, he turned on his heels and walked away. He looked at his watch and decided to head back to his hotel room for the day. He knew that nothing better was going to come out of visiting the rest of the houses on his list.

Once he got back to his hotel room, he was going to have to floo into Wizarding London to go see the Minister. The Minister wasn't going to be happy when he found out that Draco hadn't been able to get any kind of response from the people.

He wasn't sure what the Minister had been expecting though sending Draco after information in Muggle London of all places. He was still feared in London. It didn't matter how many times he got recognized in the Wizarding world, the wizards and witches that lived in Muggle London wanted nothing to do with him because of the association his family name had with the Dark Lord.

So now, Draco was attempting to rebuild a reputation based solely on his work in the community, and so far, he had been completely unsuccessful. Even the big accomplishments he had made in his time since graduating from Hogwarts seemed insufficient to the Wizarding world. The only thing helping him keep going was the thought that maybe if he was able to bring Smith to justice that it would help to regain people's faith in the Malfoy name.

All of these thoughts were running through his head as walked briskly back to the hotel. The journey from the houses he was visiting back to the hotel was one that he was slowly becoming far too accustomed to and it was becoming very disheartening. All he really wanted to do was be wrapped up with Hermione sitting at their flat watching the telly like the good old days before travel became an integral part of their careers.

He quickly bounded up the stairs and entered the front lobby of the hotel. Approaching the front desk, he donned a fake smile and leaned up against the counter.

"Good afternoon, Simon," Draco said as cheerfully as possible. It was nice being greeted by a friendly face for the first time all day. He sighed in relief as Simon came over to talk to him.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Malfoy. How are you today?" Simon asked picking up the pile of papers on the desk and bounced them against the desk to line them up with one another.

"I've had better days, Simon. How are you doing?" Draco replied crossing his arms over one another.

"I'm doing well, Mr. Malfoy. Can I help you with something?" Simon said with a smile.

Draco chuckled to himself quietly. That certainly was a loaded question. There was a lot that would help him. One of those things would be getting to spend some time with Hermione. This was week three since she had left for her assignment and he for his. His eyes met Simon's and he plastered a fake smile on his face. "I was just stopping by to see if anything had arrived for me while I was out," he replied sweetly.

Simon quickly turned around to check the mailbox for Draco's room and found it empty. He turned on his heels back to face him. "Nothing today, Mr. Malfoy. Anything else I can help you with?" he asked.

Draco shook his head. "Thank you, Simon, but I don't think I need anything else tonight. I will see you tomorrow."

"Have a good evening, Mr. Malfoy," Simon answered with a smile on his face. Draco returned the smile and made his way towards the elevator. Once he was able to hide himself away in his room, things would be better. He'd finally be able to relax.

. . . . . . . .

Draco was awoken from his nap by the roar of the the fireplace in his hotel room signalling him that someone from the Ministry was calling to talk to him. He sighed throwing his head back against the pillow as he pushed himself up off the bed. Once he was on his feet he padded over to the mirror to check his appearance to make sure he didn't look as though he had been asleep for the last hour.

Brushing his hand down the length of his shirt one last time, Draco approached the roaring fireplace. He took a deep breath as he watched a familiar face appear.

"Potter," Draco said coldly. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Hello, Malfoy," Harry replied cooly. "How are you today?"

Draco sighed. There was a large part of him that wished the Boy Who Lived didn't look at everything with a positive attitude or try to spin things in such a way that no matter what happened, everything worked out for the best. The cheery disposition was rather off putting when he knew full and well that the Minister wanted an explanation as to why they hadn't been updated on the status of the case.

"Are the pleasantries really necessary?" he said with a huff as he carded his hand through his hair. He laughed to himself as Harry took a deep breath and held it a few seconds before exhaling.

"The Minister wants a meeting," Harry replied, hanging his head slightly.

"How soon?" Draco responded. It would take him at least five minutes to gather his files, so that he could give the Minister some kind of information. The papers and files were currently scattered all over the table near the window of his room. A few of them must of have floated to the floor at some point because as he glanced over that way he saw a picture of the man he was in search of staring back at him.

"The sooner, the better," Harry said quickly as his eyes flitted back and forth from Draco to something in front of him. Draco assumed it to be someone standing in Harry's office making sure that he was able to reach him before too much more time had passed.

Draco nodded, "I will be there in an hour."

"See you then," Harry said. The green flame dissipated quickly and Draco was left alone yet again. He could feel his anger bubbling up just below the surface. However, now was not the time for anger. He had a limited amount of time to gather his things and be on his way. It was not a wise thing to keep the Minister of Magic waiting.

. . . . . . . .

Harry was waiting for him as he appeared in the floo at the Ministry with a nervous look on his face. Draco sighed as he stepped out of the fireplace and into the main hall of the building. The busy hum going on around him relaxed him slightly. It was nice to be back in the middle of all the hubbub rather than secluded in a hotel room in Muggle London.

"Do you want to stop by your office before we go see -," Harry began, but was quickly cut off when Draco shook his head.

"No, I'll swing by before I head back. I'd rather get thrown into the fire now," Draco said quickly turning on his heel towards the direction of the Minister's office. Harry was keeping in step with him as the pair travelled down the hallway.

Harry had been mumbling about something under his breath, but Draco had no idea what he was saying. He wasn't exactly trying to pay attention. His mind was more focused on other things. There was a small piece of him that hoped that Hermione had been called in and they would at least get to exchange hellos. He hadn't spoken to her since the morning that she left.

It wasn't that she wasn't answering him when he reached out to her. It was that the Minister had given them both strict orders not to be in traceable communication with one another. It was a stupid rule, in his opinion.

. . . . . . . .

~ February 2020 ~

"What do you mean we can't communicate with each other while we are away?" Hermione demanded as she stormed into Kingsley's office with Draco in tow after receiving a memo with the regulations that have been put into place for their assignments.

"Hello to you too, Ms. Granger. Mr. Malfoy," Kingsley replied pausing his pacing at the interruption. "I see you've received the information about your assignments and the regulations that go along with it."

"Yes we received it and we aren't exactly happy about it either. We knew that our jobs would involve travelling, but we thought we'd be able to communicate daily," Hermione said crossing her arms over her chest as she waited for a response from the Minister.

Kingsley sighed. The regulations had been put into place to ensure the safety of everyone at the Ministry. The Death Eaters that Draco would be tracking were dangerous people and none of the Ministries of Magic around the world wanted to take every precaution possible to ensure the safety of the Wizarding World. Hermione's assignments involved her being at the different Ministries. Communication by floo and cell phones were too easy to trace.

"I know this is not ideal," Kingsley began only to be quickly cut off by a frustrated growl from Hermione as she uncrossed her arms.

"Not ideal? Talk about understatement of the year," Hermione huffed as her arms flew into the air very animatedly. Draco placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her, but when her head snapped back to look at him, he quickly removed it. If looks could kill, Draco would be dead where he stood.

"Ms. Granger, I do apologize for the inconvenience," Kingsley began again only to be met with the same look that Draco had received only moments before. He sighed and paused for a moment before speaking again. "Due to the nature of Mr. Malfoy's current assignment and future endeavors, myself and the other Ministers of Magic world wide thought it best that contact with him be limited for the time of his assignments. We understand that it is an unfortunate circumstances for those closely related to him, but it is best alternative for all involved. These men are dangerous people."

"I'm well aware of that. I did the office part of his job for over ten years until I got moved to your team," she replied rolling her eyes. "Why wasn't this restriction put into place then? We were looking for the same type of people then, what's the difference now?"

"Ms. Granger if it were something that I could discuss with you, then I would. However, my hands are tied in the matter," Kingsley said defeatedly, "I'm sorry."

Hermione sighed, "I know. It's just very frustrating." She rose from her seat and walked over towards the door where she paused momentarily and turned back to face Kingsley. "I'm sorry I yelled at you. I know this can't be easy for anyone here."

"I know, Ms. Granger. I wish there was more that I could do," Kingsley told her with a smile.

Hermione returned the smile and left Kingsley's office headed towards her own. Draco and Kingsley assumed that she was going in search of some kind of a loop hole. That was one of the things that Hermione Granger was very good at. That and making grown men fear for their lives with a single glance.

. . . . . . . .

An origami swan floated into Draco's study later that evening from down the hall. He laughed when it landed perfectly on top of the stack of papers he had been reading through. Hermione's handiwork was unmistakable. This swan was similar to one he remembered making during his time at Hogwarts.

Carefully he pulled the the paper open to reveal his wife's beautiful handwriting. A large smile grew on his face as he read the words she had sprawled across the page.

I found a loophole, my love. It just may take a little while longer to get back and forth than we had originally planned.

Love,

Hermione

"I'm not even surprised she found one," Draco muttered under his breath. He pushed away from his desk and went in search of Hermione. She was probably beaming with a joy that would make Kingsley wish she wasn't so smart all the time.

. . . . . . . .

~ April 2020 ~

Kingsley paced back and forth behind his desk yet again. Draco watched him nervously twiddling his thumbs as he waited for his boss to say something. Draco had been met with complete silence when he entered the office, which was odd, but he could understand Kingsley being frustrated with the lack of information that Draco had been able to report back. However the silent treatment was still very confusing.

Suddenly, Kingsley stopped pacing and scrubbed his hands over his face before turning to Draco. He attempted to smile, but it fell short as he pulled his chair away from the desk and sat down. He sighed before finally addressing Draco after what felt like a lifetime.

"Hello, Draco," Kingsley said calmly. It was becoming increasingly obvious to Draco that this conversation was not going to go in a way that would work out well for the Head Auror.

"Hello, Minister," Draco replied in turn. He lowered his eyes to the files lying on Kingsley's desk in front of him. "Here is everything that I have collected on Smith so far."

Draco pushed the files across Kingsley's desk towards him. He wasn't proud of the work that he had accomplished, but it was at least something that proved he had actually been doing work while he was in Muggle London. Kingsley picked up the file on the top of the pile and flipped through it briefly, but said nothing as he set it back down and repeated the process with the rest of the pile.

Draco just watched him. Until Kingsley said something to him, there was no point in trying to plead his case. Ideally, what would happen would be that Kingsley would yell at him for not getting anything useful, and Draco would be then sent back to his hotel room and told to work harder.

"I don't see any new leads here," Kingsley finally said after flipping through the last folder Draco had provided him with. He folded his arms over his chest as he leaned back in the chair and waited for Draco's response.

"That is because no one has been very cooperative in talking to me," he replied slowly. "My guess is that it has something to do with my past and the fact that the Malfoy name was very closely tied to the Dark Lord for some time."

"I guess we will have to come up with a way to get people to trust you. I'll be in touch," Kingsley said coldly, dismissing Draco from the room without even another glance in the young man's direction.

. . . . . . . .

Back at his hotel room in Muggle London, Draco was staring intently into his tumbler of firewhiskey as he waited for a response of some kind from the Minister. He was distracted by the simplicity of how Kingsley had just sent him away without even a second look.

It felt as though Kingsley thought Draco wasn't even trying. He almost wanted to tell the Minister to use legilimency on him just to see what he had been subject to when he went from door to door. All of the homes he had visited were supposed to be allies to the Ministry, so they should have been willing to talk to him. However, they still slammed the door in his face. He really couldn't blame them.

A quiet rapping at the window pulled Draco out of his thoughts. He turned his head to look outside and saw a small grey owl sitting on the window sill. It looked to have a small note tied to its leg. Draco slowly raised from his chair and walked over to let the creature inside.

He untied the note from his leg and conjured up some food for him. As he handed him the food, the owl nuzzled it's beak up against Draco's hand. He smiled as he watched the owl eat before walking back over to his chair to open the note.

A large smile appeared on his face when he recognized the penmanship of the writer. "Hermione," he whispered happily as he finished unrolling the parchment. However, just as he got it where he could read it, a red envelope came flying in his window and landed on his lap.

"Damn it," he mumbled as he set the note from his wife aside and picked up the howler from the Ministry.

"Mr. Malfoy this howler is to inform you that you have been assigned a partner for the remainder of your assignment. Mr. Weasley will be arriving at your hotel tomorrow morning."