Blood of the Moon {Remus Lupin}

Chapter 105

OK Remmy, pop off... :)

Auriga knocked gently on the study door in the attic, hoping Lee wasn't talking to anyone for Potterwatch. He didn't broadcast all the time, but that didn't stop him from spending every waking moment in there, waiting for news. News which everybody else was desperate for. She opened it up to see him sat in the desk chair, feet upon the windowsill as he looked out into the woods that surrounded them. He jumped at her appearance.

"Anything?" asked Auriga, biting her lip and crossing her arms nervously.

Lee shook his head. "There's no way I can get anything into Hogwarts, let alone out. I'm sorry."

"No, no," said Auriga with a wave of her hand. "Don't be silly. We'll find another way to get her." They talked, of course, about the Ginny Weasley rescue mission. Or as Fred and George had taken to calling it, Operation We're-All-Gonna-Die. They laughed about it, but Auriga couldn't help but feel like there was a hint of truth to it. It certainly felt like a suicide-mission.

She turned to leave, but Lee stopped her. "My Hogsmeade informant did tell me something interesting though," he said. His eyes darted around, wanting to look everywhere except her. She turned back around, her attention caught, and waited. That was all you really had to do with Gryffindors when you wanted them to tell you something. Just wait. "The barriers around Hogwarts? They said Death Eaters fly over all the time, unaffected."

Auriga really felt like banging her head against the wall. "Shit," she muttered, before turning back to Lee. "Don't tell anyone I said that. And come downstairs. To the War Room."

"You're going in then?" asked Lee as they descended the stairs, looking for everyone else.

"I'm going in," said Auriga grimly.

*****

"You bloody well are not!" said Remus five minutes later, looking outraged at the very thought.

"It's the only way we'll ever get a message to Ginny," said Auriga calmly, although inside she felt just about as ill as Remus looked. "Unless you know anyone else with the Dark Mark that we can send?"

"There's Draco," pointed out George.

"Yeah," said Fred. "But then we have to get the message to him."

"That's just more complicated," said Tonks. "It opens the plan up for more flaws."

"You can't be happy with going alone!" Remus begged.

"Not really, Remus, no," Auriga said, honest but firm. "But Ginny is a child, who is in danger at this very minute. And I am a fully grown adult who has been to hell and back, a fair few times. I can handle it, I'm sure."

"You're being naive," said Remus, scowling at the wall in front of him.

"Naive?" asked Auriga, raising her eyebrows. "What part of this is naive?"

"I just don't think you've thought it through," said Remus. "She'll be even worse off if you're caught, not to mention what'll happen to you."

"They'll probably kill me after I refuse to tell them about you lot," Auriga said. She tried to sound like she didn't care, but her gut was twisting at the mere thought of going in there. She secretly knew she was the worst person for the job. She did not know her way around like the others did. "But quite frankly, I'm not so scared of death. I really don't care." This was the truth. It was the part before death that she was scared of.

"WELL SOME OF US DO!" roared Remus, slamming his fists on the table, red in the face and breathing heavily. Everybody jumped back a foot and Sirius put a firm hand on his arm, urging him to back down. Remus looked between Sirius and Auriga, before retreating into a chair, away from the table.

"When you're done with your domestic," said Fred, earning himself a scuff from his mother.

"How are you actually going to get in?" said George. "To the castle?"

"If you go in the day you could find Sprout at the greenhouses," suggested Tonks. "She'll take you a letter, at least to McGonagall."

"Ginny does Herbology," said Molly quickly. "She could pass it on herself."

"You can't go in the day though," said Lee. "You'll be seen."

"Early morning," muttered Remus from his chair. Everyone looked at him. "You can go in the early morning while it's still dark. Pass on the message at the earliest available opportunity and get out."

"When can she leave though?" asked Arthur with a frown.

"If I'm seen on the way out they'll start investigating," said Auriga. "I'll have to wait until nightfall. In the forest or something."

"You can't go in the forest with the state it's
in," said George, and Fred nodded in agreement. They frowned at the pair.

"The centaurs were rampaging last time we were there," explained Fred. "Almost killed Umbitch." He received another scuff. Remus smirked from his chair of shame.

"Not to mention that acromantula died last year," said George. "So they'll be going crazy too."

"And if I recall correctly," added Remus. "There's a pack of permanent werewolves in there that Dumbledore warned me about. One sniff of you and they'll be at your throat. They'll see you as a threat."

"So not the forest then," said Tonks.

"Whomping Willow?" suggested Sirius, looking mainly at Remus.

"Blocked," said Lee. "Snape must have known about it."

There was silence. Auriga could practically hear the engines of their minds, churning for an idea.

"Quidditch stands!" said Tonks eventually. "No one uses them during lessons and it gives you a good vantage point."

"Brilliant Tonks," said Auriga. "How do I get from the greenhouses to the stands unnoticed?"

"Disillusionment charm?" suggested Sirius. "You'll be practically invisible from a distance, it'll just look like the wind on the grass."

"OK," said Auriga. "So that's that sorted. Now how are we actually going to get her from the station?"