Missteps

February 1998
Aurora

Aurora crept quietly out of the nursery, happy that she had finally gotten Ryan to go down for his nap. While he was starting to go to sleep a bit easier, sometimes she still struggled with it as Remus had often taken on the task. She pushed the thought from her mind though, not wanting to dwell too long on the fact that he was still gone, and she still had no idea if or when he would come back. She did not need to be thinking about him right now, or the fact that he was so good with the baby.

She quickly made her way to the library, hoping to check on the aurors' progress as well as see if Shacklebolt had any news. Usually it was always the same – everything was fine, there was nothing for her to worry about (a clear lie, she couldn't help but think). And she knew as well as anyone just how quickly things could change.

The aurors were a bit more excited than she had seen them when she walked in. She stopped for a moment, looking around and wondering what had happened. Her eyes fell on Shacklebolt and she walked straight up to him.

"What's happening?" she asked firmly. He paused in talking to Thacker and turned to her, his expression clearly saying he hadn't planning on telling her whatever it was. At least not at this moment.

"Selwyn's at Malfoy Manor," he replied. Aurora's eyes widened. "But it's heavily warded and guarded. There's no way we could even think of getting in."

"I could get through the wards," she said automatically. Shacklebolt frowned at her, though the others quieted, eager to hear what she had to say. "You know that I could, if given time to study them."

"It's time that I'm not sure we have. Not to mention, you would have to go there," he replied. "If he were to discover you there, it would be ample opportunity for him to grab you and we would be heavily outnumbered."

"You all are constantly running off on dangerous missions," Aurora said calmly. "Don't you think it's time you used the assets that I have? I did it all the time in the first Order-"

"But it's different now," Shacklebolt said. Aurora sighed and shook her head. She was getting tired of everyone using her children as an excuse to keep her locked up in the manor.

"Look, I don't have to be part of the group that goes in – if that's what you ultimately do. But at least take me there and let me have a look at them. At the very least I can tell you how to break them down and then you can do the work while I come back here, if you want. Though it would be better if I did it myself," she said, planning her hands on her hips. "You know that I'm good at it. You've seen what I can do."

Shacklebolt just stared at her, mentally weighing his options. He did know that she was better than most of the aurors at getting through protective wards. Had heard the things she did in the first war. But at the same time, he knew how dangerous it would be to take her there. Especially if Evan Selwyn was in the manor and someone caught on to what they were doing. All it would take was one small misstep and they would all be in the clutches of Death Eaters. And he was certain that Selwyn wouldn't allow Aurora to get out alive. Even if they could eventually rescue her, there was no telling what shape she would be in.

Not to mention, Remus would never forgive him if she got caught under his watch.

"I think we should let her have a shot," Tonks said. Shacklebolt scowled at the young auror as Aurora smiled and looked as though she wanted to kiss her. "Like she said, we don't have to do an infiltration. Just… take her there, see what she can find out, then come back and plan."

Sighing, he glanced around the room, already seeing that he was outnumbered. They were all quickly taking Aurora's side. Finally, he shook his head and met Aurora's eyes.

"Fine. We'll go tomorrow night. But do not attempt to break them down. You are to just study them and then we come here and plan everything. And you will not be on the infiltration mission if we do one," he said firmly. Aurora's grin turned slightly smug as she walked over to the map.

"I agree to the terms. Now… what's the plan for getting there…"

Aurora stood silently in the trees, staring ahead intently. While it was barely visible, she could see the small disruption in the landscape that signified where the protective barrier started. She had to admit that it was tougher than most she had faced in the past. Even at this distance, she was fighting the urge to turn around and walk away.

Shacklebolt and Tonks stood at her sides, the three of them under disillusionment charms as well as dressed in black, should they come across any guards or patrols.

"Can you get a good enough read from here?" Shacklebolt whispered. Aurora frowned as she waved her wand in an intricate pattern, muttering a few spells under her breath. She then stopped and shook her head.

"I need to get closer," she whispered back.

"Too much closer and you won't be under the cover of the treeline," he replied. "If you can even get any closer."

"I can," Aurora said. She then took a few steps forward, stopping a moment as she felt the spell get a bit stronger. She waved her wand again, the feeling immediately passing as she ventured forward a few more steps.

"I thought I told you no infiltration," Shacklebolt hissed as he and Tonks moved up to her sides again, both of them scanning the woods around them for any indication that an alarm had been sounded when she broke down the spell.

"Relax, I didn't take it down completely. Just a bit in this spot. And needed it if I'm going to figure out the charms and spells used in the barrier. I needed to get closer," she said, still studying the empty space in front of them. She didn't waste any time getting to work, knowing that time was of the essence. She didn't think anyone in the manor would detect what she had done, but this whole plan would only work if they got in and out without anyone knowing.

The only sound was that of her whispering as she worked through the layers of spells and wards, slowly determining how many and which ones had been used and the order they had been used in. Tonks and Shacklebolt remained attentively scanning the area around them, their ears and eyes trained on any sort of approach.

Aurora started to smile to herself. She nearly had it all figured out. Just another minute or two, another incantation or so, and then she would have it and they could leave. She felt her spirit soar at finally being able to do something more than brew potions and concoctions. At being useful.

"What was that?" Tonks whispered suddenly. Aurora stopped a moment as Shacklebolt whipped his head over in the direction of where Tonks was looking. Aurora turned back to to the barrier, quickly trying to finish so they could get out of there.

"Shit. Someone's coming. We're leaving," Shacklebolt said, grabbing Aurora and pulling her back.

"But I need to undo my reversal, or they'll know we were here," she said, still waving her wand at the protective barrier.

"We wait any longer and they will catch us," he hissed back at her. With one final wave of her wand, Aurora finally turned, following Shacklebolt as bolts of light shot through the trees. She ducked and took off at a sprint while Tonks shot a few spells in the direction of the others were coming from.

They just needed to get a bit farther and then they could safely apparate.

"You there! Stop!" someone shouted.

Aurora ventured a look over her shoulder, seeing two men in dark cloaks running through the trees after them, though they were looking around as though they weren't sure just where they were. She breathed a silent prayer for disillusionment charms. Shacklebolt growled in frustration as he threw up a shield to block two hexes that had been about to hit them. Even without being able to see them, the spells had come too close. And they had now just given away their position.

"Almost there," Tonks said, grabbing Aurora's arm. Without thinking, she reached out and grabbed Shacklebolt's arm, knowing it would be easier if they all went together.

"THERE! THEY'RE OVER THERE!"

Just as Aurora looked over her shoulder again, she felt the pull of side-along apparition and they were gone.

Once they had arrived back within the safety of the manor, the three walked into the library where the others were waiting. The earlier rush and satisfaction she had felt at doing something had quickly faded as Aurora cursed under her breath while sitting in a chair.

"Did you not figure them out?" Thacker asked, looking at the three.

"I did, but won't do any good," Aurora said, grimacing. "They discovered us. And they'll likely change all the wards because of that." She looked up at Shacklebolt and Tonks. "I'm sorry…"

"You did good work," Shacklebolt said, surprising her. She was sure that he would scold her for undoing one of the protective charms. It had likely set off some sort of alarm and that's how they got caught. "For all we know, they may do regular patrols around the woods and that's how they discovered us."

"But they wouldn't know what we were doing, would they?" Tonks asked. "We could still use the information and attempt an infiltration." Aurora shook her head.

"Even if they didn't figure out why we were there, just the fact that we were there and got away is enough. They'll either do new protective charms or reinforce what they already had," she said. "It would be foolish to go back. At least anytime soon." She looked around the group, noting the look of surprise on Shacklebolt's face.

"What can you tell us about the wards that were there?" he asked. "Even if we don't go back, it could be helpful. Perhaps others have used something similar and honestly, we could use any and all information we can get our hands on."

Aurora took a deep breath and then started a long, detailed explanation of every spell, charm and ward that she had detected. There were many. Much more than she expected for a manor. Even if they had gotten away undetected, she was a bit dubious on how an infiltration would have gone. It would take hours at least to get through just half of the layers. Potentially days or even up to a week to get through all of them.

When she finished, she looked around the room at the aurors.

"Why would they have so many?" one asked. It was the question burning on everyone's mind. Aurora sighed as she sat back in her chair. There was only one reason for there to be that many charms somewhere.

"It's obvious… Voldemort is there," she said hollowly. There was more silence as the aurors looked at each other. Aurora looked over at the map. "Even I think it would be reckless to try and go back. The element of surprise would only work for so long and I'm not sure even I could get through all of them fast enough. It would take days. Then there's the matter of getting back out. No… we can't try to grab Evan while he's at Malfoy Manor. We'll need to wait until he moves again."

Shacklebolt studied her a moment, surprised that Aurora was even saying that it would be foolish to go back. He thought that he would have to stop her from attempting to break down the spells even though she swore she would only try to figure out what they had up. But it seemed just that little taste of getting out and doing something was enough to knock some sense back into her head.

"So, what do we do?" Tonks asked. She looked at Shacklebolt.

"For now… we keep watch. Wait for Selwyn to move. There's not enough of us to launch any sort of attack on the manor with Voldemort there right now. Though we can start talking logistics of it and maybe recruit more help to attempt something later on," he said rationally. While part of him knew that it would be better to end the war right now - go after Voldemort when they knew where he was - he also didn't want to launch a suicide mission unless he was absolutely sure it would work.

Aurora pushed up out of her chair and started for the door, intending to go to the kitchen to get some tea now that her part was done.

"Aurora," Shacklebolt said. She stopped and turned to face him. "We have more to discuss in regard to tracking Selwyn. If you intend to go out with us again, I suggest you sit back down." Aurora's eyes widened and she swore she saw a hint of a smile on his normally serious face. She then nodded and moved back to the chair.

"Very well…"

"You're sure they were Order members?" Lucius Malfoy said, keeping his voice low as he glanced nervously towards the door to his study. Voldemort was there and the last thing he wanted was for the Dark Lord to hear that the Order had been on the boundaries of the manor and had escaped.

"Three of them. They dropped the disillusionment charms just before they apparated. Couldn't see who it was, but we're sure it's the Order. There's no one else who would be stalking around that area," one man said, though he looked a bit scared of what Malfoy would do about them getting away. Just as Malfoy was terrified of the Dark Lord, they all knew he was desperate to fight his way back into the Dark Lord's good graces and would kill whoever necessary to get there.

"Have you told anyone else of this?" Malfoy asked. The two men shook their heads vigorously.

"We came straight to you after they got away," the other said. "But one of them… they had taken down a small part of the barrier. It was the only way they could get so close."

"Did you inspect it?" Malfoy asked.

"Nothing else was done to it," the first man said quickly.

"Very well. Not a word of this to anyone else. Double the patrols and get someone out to reinforce the barrier should they come back," he hissed.

"Oh, I doubt they'll come back," Evan said lazily from the armchair he was seated in. Malfoy looked over, his eyes widening. He hadn't realized that he was there. Evan snapped the book he was reading shut and gracefully stood, walking over to him. "They were here to inspect the protective wards, I gather. But since they were found, I doubt they will attempt to come back and break through them." Malfoy frowned.

"Would they be able to determine the wards?" he asked. "Is there someone in the Order that well versed in curse-breaking?"

"I've heard that the oldest Weasley is involved - and he's a skilled cursebreaker. There's also one more in their ranks who would be able to determine them… and likely how to break them. Or at least determine that it would be futile to try and break them and launch an attack," Evan said lightly. Malfoy fought from rolling his eyes or strangling him. Selwyn was rather infuriating at times with his arrogance.

"Care to share?" he asked, attempting to keep his voice even.

"My former wife," Evan said. "In fact, I'm sure it was her that came." He looked at the two men. "Should consider yourselves lucky you even came across them. Normally she's rather thorough. If you hadn't been passing on patrol at that time, you would have never known she was even here."

"And what do you suggest we do?" Malfoy asked.

"Double the patrols and such. But mark my words, she won't attempt to come back if she's been found out. Won't risk it. May be Gryffindor, but even she knows a lost cause when she sees it," Evan said, already walking off. He heard Malfoy huff and then whisper more orders to the men as he continued off to the parlour.

He couldn't help but smile to himself. If she had been here, that meant one thing - she was looking for him. And oh, this would be so much more enjoyable now that she had finally come out to play. Already ideas were starting to pop into his head on how to truly turn this into a cat-and-mouse game.

"Soon, Aurora… soon," he murmured to himself.