Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A/N: for the Country challenge (HPFFC).

Alondra Milagro was the last person George needed to have to deal with. Thankfully, her name was all he knew – and he could butcher that like nothing else. If only one of his friends was good at Spanish! Of course, none of them were, which got him absolutely nowhere.

It had all started when someone had suggested he open a foreign branch of the joke shop. Naturally, he had been crazy enough to take them seriously. Having to leave all the sane employees in England to run the shop had been mistake number two – his companion for the Madrid trip was none other than Luna Lovegood, who didn't seem able to find a better job. However, Luna was able to turn what was supposed to be a real estate-finding trip into a nightmare.

"I know you like her," Luna said. She had caught George waiting for a glimpse of the sylph-like girl who worked at a shop next door to the one he was considering purchasing. "She doesn't seem too bad for a goddess."

Usually, Luna's sarcastic sense of humor was the thing that kept George from firing her. This time it was the thing that drove him over the edge. "Luna," he asked, "do you know any Spanish?"

"A bit," she replied. "What do you want to say?"

"'You look beautiful' would be a start," George replied, his eyes glazing over as he saw the girl approaching.

"Unless I'm seriously confused," Luna said, "that would be, 'usted parece un gato ahogado'."

Without double-checking Luna's translation, George walked up to Alondra. "Usted parece un gato ahogado," he said in his imitation of a Spanish accent, which didn't help the situation.

"¿Qué?" Alondra said in shock. She beckoned to one of her friends. "Rosa, este idiota dice que parezco un gato ahogado"

Rosa flew into a fury. "Do you have any idea what you just said?" she bellowed as she grabbed George by the shirt collar.

"You look beautiful?" George gasped. He knew Luna must have been confused – if he had really said that, he wouldn't have Alondra's crazy friend trying to strangle him.

"No, moron," Rosa snapped. "You told my friend that she looks like a drowned cat!"