The second part of their duel went much the same as the first. They both fought with a renewed sense of energy and Freddie didn't fall for any more of Ada's tricks. Even when the girl pretended to get hit by a Body Bind Curse, Freddie knew better than to approach her and was able to actually hit her with an Impediment Jinx that slowed her movements for several minutes. She'd tried to disarm her then but her impediment didn't stop Ada from holding a Shield Charm firmly in place as she slowly got to her feet.
When Ada tried to use the couch as a shield again, Freddie blasted it to bits. Springs and bits of stuffing exploded everywhere. Ada reiterated with an impressive "Oppugno" that weaponized the springs and sent them hurtling through the air at Freddie. Fortunately Ada had shouted the spell aloud and she had the extra split second to react, hitting the springs with a Reductor Curse that reduced them to ash.
"If that had been nonverbal, you might have actually caught me by surprise," Freddie taunted. "Do I need to lock your tongue again, Adalene?"
Ada's eyes grew wide as Freddie fired a Tongue-Tying Curse at her. It looked as if the curse would hit its mark when suddenly two men appeared in the middle of the room between them. The curse caught them by surprise, hitting one of them directly, and the other drew his wand. He aimed it at Freddie with a wild look in his eye. She barely had time to register who he was before having to throw up a Shield Charm to block the Stunner he shot at her. Ada was raising her wand to disarm him from behind when the first man grabbed the second, shaking his head and trying to speak through the curse that kept his tongue locked in place...and that's when Freddie realized she recognized him too.
"What are you on about, Remus? Finite."
"DON'T hurt her, Sirius," Lupin said hastily, pushing Black's wand arm down. "That's the girl who brews my potion!"
"Huh?" Sirius Black said, looking her over curiously. She stared back at him icily, not lowering her wand. She hadn't imagined herself coming face to face with Sirius Black, someone Snape hated more than words could express.
"That's Miss Gray, she works at St Mungo's. She works for Dumbledore," Lupin explained quickly.
"She's one of us?" Black asked, surprised.
"I am," Freddie said coolly, though she still didn't lower her wand.
"We both are," added Ada, causing both men to jump slightly and turn to look at her.
"Bloody hell, Remus," Black said. "A couple of teenage girls got the drop on us."
"We must be getting old," Lupin said with a faint smile and Black let out a bark of laughter.
"I am not a teenager," Freddie said firmly. "I'm 22."
This caused Black to grin broadly and Freddie tightened her grip on her wand.
"Miss Gray, would you please put your wand away?" Lupin asked, his tone mild as he gave her a polite smile.
"Him first," she said coolly, not moving a muscle.
"Sirius, put your wand away."
Black shrugged and pocketed his wand, still grinning at her. Freddie reluctantly lowered her wand, but didn't put it away. She knew Snape wouldn't want her alone and wandless with either of these two men. He didn't trust them and neither did she. Taking her cue from Freddie, Ada lowered her wand as well and walked around to Freddie's side.
"22, eh?" Black said. "Man, what I wouldn't give to be 22 again."
"You went to prison at 22," Lupin pointed out.
"Yeah, but before that...no, actually, that part was pretty awful too," Black said thoughtfully, then shrugged. "What are the two of you doing here anyway? No one is supposed to know about this place."
"We're dueling," Ada explained boldly. "A practice duel. So we'll be ready to fight the Death Eaters."
This brought the smug smile back to Black's face as he turned his attention to Ada.
"Death Eaters, eh? And who are you? You're definitely a student, just not Hogwarts."
"My name is Ada Leroux," she responded, unphased by Black's smirk. "I am from Beauxbatons. I'm 17 years old."
"17 years old and she's all ready to fight the Death Eaters, Remus," Black said, turning to his friend. Freddie was about to retort when Lupin interrupted.
"And just what do you think we were doing at that age?" he asked, quirking his eyebrow at Black. "Quit antagonizing them, Sirius. I think what they're doing is brave."
Black seemed cowed by his friend's words and Lupin gave Freddie a friendly smile, which she returned without thinking. She quickly cleared her face.
"What are you doing here?" she asked curiously. "No one but us has been here in ages."
"That's not true," Black said. "We were here just last year. Snivellus too."
Freddie recognized the cruel nickname from Snape's childhood memories and it took every ounce of her control to not respond.
"We're meeting Dumbledore here in half an hour," Lupin explained. "He wanted to meet with us both."
"Oh. I guess we should clear out then," Freddie said. She wasn't sure how Dumbledore would react to Ada being out of bounds. Plus she didn't want to spend one more second with Black and Lupin that she had to.
"Wait," Ada said, grabbing Freddie's arm to stop her from leaving. She looked up at Lupin, seeming almost shy as she did. "You're him, aren't you? The werewolf?"
Lupin's pale face grew a shade paler but he nodded quickly.
"Remus Lupin," he introduced himself quietly.
"Ohh...it's nice to meet you," Ada said softly and extended her hand. Lupin shook it dubiously. "I just want you to know... I think werewolves have been horribly mistreated. Even with the creation of the Wolfsbane Potion, the fact that so many are forced to live in hiding is just barbaric! C'est absolument ridicule-"
"Ada," Freddie said, cutting off her friend's rant. "We need to go."
Ada's cheeks colored slightly and she nodded but Lupin smiled at her warmly and nodded in thanks. Ziggy came trotting down the stairs then to see what all the noise was about. He regarded Black and Lupin with cool green eyes, the hair on his neck standing up ever so slightly, then he walked over to put himself between Freddie and Sirius Black.
"Come on," she muttered, scooping him up. "Let's get out of here."
"Au revoir Monsieur Lupin," Ada said as she followed Freddie back through the door into the tunnel.
"Monsieur Lupin," she heard Black say teasingly. "Looks like you've got an admirer Remus."
"Oh shut up," Lupin said irritably to his friend as the door closed behind the girls.
