They were soaked to the bone before they even reached the bottom of the stairway off the plane. The rain fell like thick, wet, bullets and the wind howled in their ears. Hermione summoned all the patience she could to force her curls into a bun on top of her head, a normally mindless motion turned practically impossible. It would take her forever to dry her hair again, and she decided at that moment she hated Seattle.

Draco rushed up from behind her with an umbrella gripped tightly in both hands so it wouldn't fly away. She flashed a grim smile that held as much gratitude as she could muster, but frankly, the weather was killing any good feelings she'd had before. With his hand barely touching the middle of her back, her ushered them both to run towards the nearby doorway, where they'd been told to go to be picked up and driven to the American Ministry of Magic. Hermione was starting to feel a bit hesitant toward the whole thing, and with Kingsley not there to comfort her like he had for the last few years. And her new and sudden compassion toward Draco Malfoy of all people just made it all worse.

They barrelled through the doorway and found themselves in a warm and almost empty room. A tall man stood in the corner, intensely blue eyes staring them down. He stood as if he owned the world, his hands in his pockets, looking down his nose and through his rounded spectacles at them, watching their every move.

Hermione quickly muttered a spell to dry off their clothes and approached the man, arm extended and grinning politely. "Hello, you must be-"

"I am." The man interrupted. His voice was gruff and hollow. "And I know who you are, Mrs. Granger."

Hermione glared up at the man, who she'd apparently correctly assumed to be the American minister's assistant, Roman McCoy, internally appalled that he would be so rude. "It's Miss Granger, but most call me Hermione."

"It's not like that matters." The man looked emotionless over her shoulder at Draco, who was mirroring his power stance almost exactly, except for slightly amused smirk that played at the corners of his mouth. "You can both follow me." McCoy turned abruptly and exited through the doorway opposite of the room where Hermione and Draco had entered. She looked over her shoulder at her partner, eyebrows high on her forehead.

He frowned at the door as it swung back and forth. "McCoy's a big bag of daisies, isn't he?" Draco growled. Smiling smugly, she nodded and led them through the doorway to a parking garage. McCoy stood beside the open back door of a large black sedan, motioning for them to enter it as they got closer. "You're gonna have incredible frown lines if you keep looking at us like that, Mate." Draco smirked, ducking into the car.

Hermione watched McCoy close his eyes for moment, as if ushering personal zen. When he reopened his eyes, they rolled upward. "Get in already."

Roman ended up climbing in after Hermione, sitting close enough to make her skin crawl. She scooted over on the bench seat, feeling a little more safe and comfortable with the small amount of distance between herself and the American, even if she was practically cuddling Draco.

The car began to move, and Roman began to speak. "First things first," his voice rumbled in the small space of the car, sounding extremely bored. "You can't let what ever this is," he motioned toward them without looking. "Interfere with the assignment."

Draco snorted. "Not a thing to worry about, McCoy."

"We're just business partners." Hermione finished.

McCoy glared at the seat in front of him. "Likely story."

Hermione groaned loudly, feeling Draco chuckle to himself beside her. "Can we discuss the rules at the ministry? We've had a long flight, and your voice is the last thing I want to listen to right now."

Draco had to force his jaw to do anything but drop to the floor. He knew Granger could speak her mind just fine, but damn!

"Sass get's you no where, Sweetheart." McCoy grumbled.

Grabbing his tie, Hermione forced McCoy to look at her. "Do NOT call me Sweetheart ever again, do you understand me?" She whispered through bared teeth. McCoy's eyes were wide as he struggled for a comeback. Draco peered around Hermione to grab the man's attention.

"Best not get her mad, mate. She's a feisty one. Known to break noses." He tapped on his own nose with a wink, holding back a fit of laughter at the blush that appeared on his company's faces, one from pleasant embarrassment, the other out of fear.

A/N: PROGRESSIONNNNNNN. R&R! :)