Reconnaissance

Curtis staggered slightly as he apparated to the agreed area to meet Wake. He silently chided himself....apparation was dangerous when you didn't concentrate properly, and his own head was spinning with too many worries and too much information. He holstered his wand after making dead sure that no one was around to see his entry, then leaned against a brick wall, trying to look nonchalant as he waited for Wake.

James Wake approached Curtis, decked in muggle clothing. A brown hoodie, some greek letters stretched across the chest, hid his face until he approached Curtis, his eyes scanning about as he cleared his mind and drink in the sensory information. It was a good while till they reached the... event site, but he liked the exercise. His jeans seemed well-worn, the color around his knees faded from use. His boots appeared to be casual, brown supple leather that reverberated against the ground with each purposeful step. James Wake, for all intents and purposes, posed as a college student that wondered down the wrong street.

"Mr. Trepanier. Shall we begin?" he said as he walked past the man and began to walk towards Malfoy manor.

"We shall," Curtis replied, falling into step next to Wake.

Curtis had considered some dire warnings, like keeping an eye out for suspicious people, but he figured such verbalization would merely irritate the boy. The precautions which must be taken were obvious without the need to be spoken aloud.

"Let's take one pass by the manor, and see if there is a place where we can loiter without being noticed...." Curtis murmured quietly, "I think surveillance is our best choice right now, unless you think we'd be better benefited looking around for Rose."

James did not reply. He did not need to. They first needed to establish the enemy's patterns and methods. It was a simple task, truly. Simply identify and track the threats before circling in. He slipped behind a pair of chattering ninnies, locals from the looks of things. James was only partially surprised by the conversation matter- inexcusably ignorant chatter concerning the plight of famous witches and wizards. James' watched the backs of the two carefully as he gestured to Curtis to cross the street and proceed from there. They would split to maximize their fields of view, observation and attention

James paused before the gates of Malfoy manor... he took in the sight of it, the aura that surrounded it. He worked to understand the magnitude of the threat before him... but all he could really work out was that there individuals inside. Well, at least they had someone that knew how to disguise a household. James next targeted the alleyway past the manor, eyes still drinking in his first pass of the street. Several more would probably help him determine where the eaters apparated, where they tossed their refuse... the daily life of the Death Eaters was there, all around them. All they had to do was see it.

Claude was scrounging the streets, under the guise of a stray dog. Claude had begun working on his animangus form in his seventh year. That was about the time his father's pack began aggressively attempting to recruit him. He needed a disguise, and it helped to be disguised as a dog among the wolves.

He liked using the form to sniff out information. He had taken to coming to Malfoy Manor to wait and watch. He usually went into the alleys and scrounged through the trash for two reasons - it looked casual, and he liked the smell when he was in his dog form.

He perked as another smell crossed his path. He looked up as a small horde of people walked past the alley. He waited and then skittered down the alley, poking his head around the corner. His tail beat against the brick wall as he watched the, proceed.

"Seems pretty quiet," Curtis murmured, "You would never be able to tell that there was a battle here mere hours ago....they must clean up fast."

Movement in the corner of his eye caught Curtis's attention. It was a dog....a stray by the looks of it, and it was nosing around right along the fence around the Manor.

"See that?" he whispered to James, indicating the dog, "There is a hole in their defenses right there. Notice how no one has come out to investigate the dog? Their defensive spells must only target human forms. We could possibly get in for a closer look using an animagus form....though I myself never learned to become an animagus. You?"

James raised his hand as Curtis raised his voice. Dogs had sensitive ears- most wards did too. He gave a quick glance to Curtis, a furtive gesture to silence him. He then approached the dog, extending his hand to creature- his real one, of course. He always felt a certain affection to dogs, a bit more than most animals. Animals, despite their spite, venom and violent strategy of survival, they were honest. They could be trusted to react in certain ways. This dumpster-diving dog did not appear to be acting within variables presented by this situation. For one thing, the dog did not appear to be eating anything. If it had, there would be scrap, signs of spittle. The dog's mouth was unusually lacking in drool.

Wake looked back up to Curtis, having bent to meet the dog head on. He had never trained to be an animagus- his... injury prevented him from performing such a level of self transfiguration. He gestured the man to take a look at the trash. James was not certain what Curtis would look for, but he knew better than to make it appear that they were together. Two grown men, walking like this in an abandoned alley? People would surely talk. Besides, a second pair of eyes to confirm the situation would only benefit the pair in the long run.

Claude knew it wasn't good to smell the man's hand, but (in his form) an actual dog-like instinct rose in him. And the dog was a very happy on at that. He could not keep his body from wagging enthusiastically and dipping forward to smell and then lick the hand. He skittered away, sniffing about. He was interested in the men - one of them had said there was a battle?! He was definitely interested.

Curtis decided to play along with James for now, and obediently began to search the garbage. He was doubtful that he would find anything, and hoped that no one thought it strange to see a strange man digging in garbage. Perhaps they would believe him to be homeless.

After a few fruitless minutes, Curtis withdrew from the garbage, wiping his hands on his pants. Stuffing his fingers in his pockets, Curtis began to stroll down towards the dead end of the alley, looking around casually.

Towards the back end of the alley, he found holes that had been blasted into the brick, and he felt the distinct trace of magic. This must be where the battle had taken place.

Curtis glanced back towards James, wanting to let him know what he had found, but at the same time he was so close to the manor, that attracting attention in anyway was unwise.

James watched Curtis, though he was attuning the rest of his senses to the area around surrounding him. His hand hung in the air, still outstretched for the dog's curiosity, but his fingers were rubbing against one another. One of the advantages of having a fake arm was the fact that it had no real scent- it made it particularly useful when investigating sites like these. While he would never dare to say that his nose had a similar sensitivity to that of a dog, James had a certain nose for... peculiar fumes. A quick sniff of his fingers, thankfully, revealed that the dog had not really consumed much of anything. Unfortunately, this was of no use to James Wake. He wiped his fake palm against his cloak, stepping forward to join his partner, though he did give a quick glance at the dog, mind churning... 

What type of garbage sniffing mutt would refuse to actually consume the rubbish pressed against its nostrils? There were clear signs of meat, corn, bread and carrots within the muck that the bolder Mr. Trepanier rummaged through. Surely, it would have had its way with some of the material. 
Had the dog had just been a dog, it would have been warded away from this area, or at least detected the otherworldly nature of the neighboring household. James reached into his breast pocket, and extracted his wand, aiming it at the dog swiftly.

"Petrificus Totalus"

Claude was duly disappointed when he went to sniff the man's hand, for his canine nose could not pick up on anything. It unnerved him and he backed a step away, looking warily up at the man as he twitched his nose unhappily. He stepped away, nervously wagging his tail as he approached another small garbage bag. He sniffed it.

A flurry of motion frightened him. He turned and saw, with the alertness of a dog, that the man was moving to attack him. He yelped and skittered off, the spell hitting right behind him. He scooted in his rump and scrambled off, looking at the man with frustration. He scrambled over an overturned trash can and peered at the man with indignation.