Versus the League of Canines

"What do you mean, the whole story?" Harry growled. "You sold them to Voldemort. That's all I need to know."

"You've got to listen to me," Black said urgently. "There's something you need to know. And that Slytherin girl you've got with you; my instincts tell me she's dangerous…"

"Is that why you tortured her?" spat Harry. "Oleandra's my friend, and you'll regret not killing her when you had the chance. Between you and her, I trust her much more than you, you filthy traitor. There's nothing more to be said."

At that moment, the orange cat that had been fighting alongside Black jumped onto his chest and sat there, as if it were shielding him. It hissed at Oleandra, raising its hackles.

"Crookshanks…" said Hermione sadly. "Why would you help that man…"

"That's a very smart cat you've got there, girl," murmured Black. "But you don't need to share my fate, Crookshanks. Get off…"

Harry clutched his wand tightly. He was conflicted; at the same time, he desperately wanted to kill the man who had caused his parents to die, the man who had essentially forced him to live with the Dursleys. And if Hermione's damned cat wanted to die alongside him, then that was its prerogative. This was his one and only chance, and yet… Harry was no killer. Moments passed, and Harry stayed there, frozen.

"It's your choice whether or not to do it," Oleandra said quietly. "But keep this in mind: for most people, death's quite permanent. And once you've killed someone, you can never take it back."

Harry was taken by surprise; he looked into Oleandra's clear eyes. And then…

Footsteps. Coming from downstairs? Who could it possibly be?

"WE'RE UP HERE!" Hermione screamed suddenly. "WE'RE UP HERE— SIRIUS BLACK— QUICK!"

If Harry wanted to commit a murder, it was now or never. The footsteps were coming closer; someone was running up the stairs! And suddenly, the door burst open, and Professor Lupin appeared in the doorway!

"Expelliarmus!" Lupin shouted.

For the second time that evening, Harry's wand flew out of his grasp, and so did the two wands that Hermione was holding on to.

"Hands in the air where I can see them, Oleandra," said Professor Lupin. "I know you can use magic without a wand by performing hand signs; I'd better not see your fingers move, or I'm sending a Stunner your way."

Oleandra could understand why Professor Lupin would do such a thing; just as she had just said, there was no taking back murder. Perhaps he simply thought he was stopping them from doing something they might regret. After all, as far as Lupin knew, they both had the motive to kill Black: the murders of Harry's parents, and the mutilation of her hands she had blamed on Black.

What she didn't understand, however, were Professor Lupin's next words:

"Where is he, Sirius?"

Wordlessly, Black slowly pointed in Ron's direction. At this point, all four of the teenagers were completely mystified. What did Professor Lupin mean by that?

"But then…" Lupin muttered, staring at Black, "…why hasn't he shown himself before now? Unless—" Lupin's eyes suddenly widened, "—unless he was the one… unless you switched… without telling me?"

Black nodded. 

"Professor," Harry interrupted loudly, "what's going on—?"

And under the four's shocked eyes, Professor Lupin and Sirius Black embraced each other like long-lost brothers.

"I DON'T BELIEVE IT!" Hermione screamed.

"They're in league with each other!" Oleandra snarled, pointing out the obvious.

"What did I say, Oleandra?" Professor Lupin warned her. "Not one movement."

"She's dangerous, Remus," Black said, picking up Oleandra's wand which had rolled and got stuck between two floorboards. "I can smell it. She just flew through a few walls and shook it off like it was nothing. Just do it before anything happens."

"Then why don't you try it," Oleandra hissed, as she began to curl her fingers into the shape of the Spear.

"Stupefy!" shouted Lupin and Black at the same time. "Elhaz!" Oleandra shouted in response. Twin bolts of scarlet energy streaked towards Oleandra, but to their surprise, the spells fizzled out upon contact with the girl!

Lupin knew about her hand signs, because she used them more often. However, he didn't know about stances, because she had never used them in front of him! It just so happened that by asking Oleandra to raise her arms above her head, Lupin had unknowingly ordered her to assume the stadha, the full-body stance, that represented the Armour of Elhaz. Stances enhanced her magic much more than hand seals, which meant that Oleandra was nearly untouchable in this state!

"My turn," said Oleandra, lowering both of her arms by ninety degrees. "Teiwaz, the Ever-Victorious Spear."

She clapped her hands, then slowly separated them; a golden lance made of pure magic gradually appearing between her hands. Oleandra was serious this time; Teiwaz ignored magical protections, which meant that the Shield Charm was useless here.

"Stupefy!" cried Lupin once more. Oleandra didn't know whether he had correctly guessed that she couldn't maintain Teiwaz's energy spear at the same time she invoked the Armour of Elhaz, or if he had merely been trying to distract her, but attacking had been the right move for him.

Had it been any other combination of two runes, Oleandra might have been able to pull off dual casting, but both of these spells had continuous effects. As long as she kept up her concentration, she could maintain either the golden spear or the armour for a short while after leaving their respective stances, but she couldn't keep up both offence and defence at the same time.

However, Oleandra still had Cloak; as a Lethifold, it was immune to most magic in a Wizard's arsenal. And disguised as clothes, nobody would think to use the Patronus Charm on Oleandra… Nobody that is, except an extremely competent Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. When Oleandra deflected his spell with her cloak and tossed the golden spear in his direction, Lupin's suspicions were confirmed.

"Wait, wait!" Lupin shouted, ducking under the spear. "Cease-fire! We're not your enemies, I swear! Please, just listen to what I have to say. Look, I had plenty of chances to kill you during the year when were alone together, and I never did anything to hurt you. Will you please stand down and listen?"

A strange silence fell over the fighters, only to be broken by Hermione.

"You— you—!" Hermione stammered. "I've been covering up for you all year! I never told anyone. I thought we could trust you!"

"Hermione, listen to me, please!" Lupin pleaded with her. "We can explain everything!"

"I trusted you," Harry shouted angrily. "And all this time, you've been his friend!"

"Damned werewolf," Oleandra growled. "I should have known better than to trust one of your kind!"

"Oleandra, please calm down," said Lupin. "Unless you want to see my Patronus Charm first-hand?"