So I've had some unexpected spare time
Here's the next post, hope you all enjoy. Thanks for reading and hope you all have a spectacular Christmas!

The next few days went by in a hazy blur. It was an incredibly busy time for Ellouise and Anton, as they were preparing for their reconnaissance mission in Russia. They were seldom seen down in the kitchen or in the drawing room with the others, with the exception of dinner time and Order meetings. They had three days to prepare themselves, and so they didn’t spend much time apart. Anton’s behaviour had settled down considerably, he was less arrogant and was more reserved about his feelings, so he was much better company than Ellouise had originally hoped for. Most of their preparation involved laying ground work at the site of the reconnaissance mission. Professor Snape had apparated Ellouise and Anton to the site the first time as neither had any idea what it looked like. Snape had been right about the location, it was crawling with wildlife; there were various birds and insects, there were squirrels and foxes, and now there were even wolves. The site was in fact a large clearing in a dense forest which was located at the west end of an abandoned farm, it spanned many acres. The fences were decrepit and broken in many places. Barbed wire twirled around fragmented remains of paddock fences, troughs once used for feeding livestock lay rusted and covered in dirt. It was hard to imagine that anyone had ever lived here at all, but a small house which stood erect on the north side of the property hinted at what once was and what could have been. Its windows were opaque and covered with grime and the paint on the front door was peeling. Ellouise knew it would not be inhabited again. It was here in the forest where Ellouise and Anton spent a great deal of time, they skulked around the area, surveyed the land, scoped out hiding places etc. By the third day they both knew the area well.

In the cover of the thick trees Anton returned to human form.
“I’m going to head back now, I promised Carlisle that I’d help him make a potion”, he said.
In wolf form Ellouise bowed her head and watched him apparate back to Grimmauld Place. After a moment she peered up at the canopy of the forest, even through the dense trees she could feel a light breeze, then she caught an unfamiliar scent. Sniffing the air more intensely now, she began to move in its direction, the hairs on the scruff of her neck sticking up as she did so. She glided across the forest floor smoothly and silently and came to stop behind a small shrub near the entrance of the large clearing they had been surveying. Standing in the clearing was a man, he wore long black robes with silver fastening and he carried with him a walking stick. Though the man’s face was concealed by a mask, all death eaters wore masks to conceal their identity, Ellouise recognised him by his shoulder length blonde hair. This man was Lucius Malfoy. The Malfoy’s were an old wizarding family and were renown for their pure blood, fondness of the dark arts, and their allegiance to Lord Voldemort. Ellouise stood stock still as Lucius Malfoy circled the clearing. Suddenly there was a small pop and taller wizard also wearing a death eaters mask joined him in the clearing.
“Lucius”, he said as he bowed his head in the wizards direction.
“Igor”, replied Lucius courteously bowing in Igor’s direction.
A short period of silence followed this exchange until Lucius broke the silence.
“Everything appears to be in order, the ground in undisturbed”, said Lucius.
“Very well”, replied Igor as he took a turn around the clearing. “And the surrounds?” he asked.
“No sign of human life”, replied Lucius, “I must return to the dark lord now. Wait until Balthazar gets here. Tell him to alert the Russian authorities that we will be here at the arranged time and that the area has been searched.”
“Of course”, replied Igor.
Then with a small pop Lucius Malfoy disapparated. Ellouise kept her eyes on the man named Igor, he seemed to be somewhat uncomfortable, shifting from one foot to the other before taking another turn around the clearing. After what seemed like half an hour Igor stopped and turned and looked toward the spot where Ellouise stood, her body tensed but she didn’t move. There was a light rustling sound now only metres from where Ellouise stood. A short shadowy figure walked into sight. Accompanying his shadow was a short man, wearing a death eaters mask and faded grey robes. Ellouise recognised this man immediately, he was one of the death eaters that took her parents away. She drew a deep breath and resisted the urge to hunt him down and rip his throat out.
“Balthazar, so good to see you”, boomed Igor as he walked forward closing the distance quickly with his long strides.
“Igor”, replied Balthazar, “And where is Lucius?” he asked as he gazed around the clearing.
“He left not long ago, he left a message.” Igor paused as if waiting for permission to continue. Balthazar nodded. “He said that the area has been searched, and that the meeting will go on at the arranged time tomorrow. He would like you to confirm this with the Russian authorities”, said Igor. Balthazar didn’t respond immediately, but then bowed and disapparated. Igor sighed and he too diapparated. Ellouise was now alone and couldn’t wait to return to the others. She returned to her human form careful not to leave a footprint where she stood and disapparated to Grimmauld Place.