Spoils of war

The two walked to a nearby corridor, where familiar laughter came from ahead.

James and Sirius approached from the opposite direction.

The moment James spotted Lily, his eyes lit up as if the ground were strewn with Galleons.

He completely forgot about Sirius, who he'd just been arm-in-arm with, and quickened his pace, calling out enthusiastically, "Lily! What a lovely afternoon! Isn't it amazing how we always run into each other? I was just thinking—"

Lily cut him off bluntly, pulling Lucretia back a step. "Save it, Potter. We just happened to meet here."

Sirius leaned lazily against the wall, his gaze sweeping over Lucretia's face before landing on the cookies in Lily's hand. He raised an eyebrow.

"Found a new source of sweets, Evans?"

James finally noticed the cookies in Lily's hand, his eyes brightening. "Oh! You like cookies? Next Hogsmeade weekend, I could take you to—"

Lily interrupted him again, but her voice was a touch softer this time. "Lucretia made these. I have to say, they're delicious."

James turned to Lucretia, a sly, mischievous smile spreading across his face as an idea struck him. "Ha, Miss Lucretia, looks like your customer list is growing? Think I could get on your waiting list too?"

Lucretia blushed under James's exaggerated expression. "They're just simple homemade treats. I don't have a customer list."

James feigned surprise. "No? But I seem to recall a certain Slytherin always getting your special desserts..."

Sirius cut James off, his eyes fixed on the cookies in Lily's hand. "Evans, what about sharing?"

Lily was about to refuse when Sirius's wand gave a casual flick, and a cookie flew into his hand.

He took a bite, looking slightly surprised.

This batch tasted different from the ones at the movie—that basket must have been made by the Crouch family's House-elf.

"You added extra cinnamon? Good choice."

Seeing Lily stunned, James couldn't resist quietly snatching a cookie from the box. After one bite, he let out an exaggerated sigh. "Merlin's beard! This is brilliant! We've got to remember this recipe, Padfoot."

Lily wrinkled her nose in disgust and snapped the box shut, hugging it to her chest.

Lucretia noticed Sirius's gaze drift to the largest box in her arms—the lemon tarts she'd prepared for Little Barty.

But he just blinked and took another bite of his cookie.

James chewed as he asked, "So where are you off to with all these treasures, Miss Lucretia?"

"The Quidditch pitch," Lucretia replied. "Barty and Brother Regulus have practice today."

James nodded with a grin, then looked at Sirius. "Ah, right, Slytherin's got the pitch booked today. Padfoot, another Black brother gets exclusive snacks—you'd better step up, or we'll be stuck stealing from Lily like this forever."

Sirius shrugged with feigned nonchalance, pretending to be fascinated by a portrait at the End of the Corridor. "Speaking of which, does the Slytherin team have any new tactics this year? You're going to watch their practice?"

Lucretia didn't know much about Quidditch tactics, so she answered honestly, "I probably wouldn't notice any tactics, so I'll just sit in the stands."

Sirius nodded thoughtfully, taking another bite of his cookie.

Lily glanced at the slanting sunlight outside the window and reminded her, "You'd better hurry, then. Their practice might have already started."

Lucretia quickly adjusted the boxes in her arms. "You're right, I should go. Thanks, Lily, for walking me this extra way."

Lily smiled warmly. "Gryffindor is always welcome. Oh, and next time you bake, could you call me? I'd love to learn some recipes, and my mother really likes these too—I want to send some home."

James seized the opportunity, climbing the ladder. "I'd love to join too! Lily, we could all—"

"Goodbye, Potter. I don't want to be circled like an idiot while I'm baking. And you, Black, I hope you remember your manners next time and don't steal food from people."

Lily cut them off, exchanged a few more words with Lucretia, and then left.

Sirius shrugged at her retreating figure with a laugh, then nodded to Lucretia. "Can't even share within the same house, Evans? Don't be so stingy. Thanks for the cookie, Miss Crouch—it was good."

Lucretia tilted her head. "Share? But you used your wand just now—that was stealing, wasn't it?"

Sirius flashed that trademark Marauder's smirk. "Technically, it's a trophy. But next time, James and I might consider asking the source directly—just wondering if Miss Crouch would be willing to make a bit more."

James coughed dramatically beside him, and Lily turned back to roll her eyes.

As Lucretia was about to head to the pitch, Peter and Lupin walked over together, each holding a roll of parchment.

Lupin sighed. "Ah, finally found you. Weren't we supposed to meet at the library entrance?"

James waved enthusiastically, glancing at Lily and Lucretia. "Moony! We just ran into a little detour on the way."

Peter's eyes immediately locked onto the boxes in Lucretia's arms, a fawning smile spreading across his face, his voice a bit higher than usual. "Miss Crouch, hello! Looks like you've made quite a lot of goodies? Are you bringing them to someone?"

He took a step forward, as if trying to get a closer look at what was inside the boxes.

Lucretia instinctively wanted to step back, but Sirius had already moved in front of her, his body blocking Peter's line of sight.

Sirius's voice was calm. "Wormtail, she's in a hurry."

James cleared his throat, winking at Sirius. "Right, yeah! The Quidditch pitch is pretty far, and Padfoot and I have nothing to do—how about we escort you? We just ate your treats, after all, we should show some gratitude."

Sirius froze for a moment.

He looked at Lucretia, who was biting her lower lip, a hint of unease in her eyes—clearly, Peter's attention had made her uncomfortable.

Lupin shot Peter a meaningful glance. "Peter, we still need to confirm that Hogsmeade route map, remember?"

"But..."

Peter's eyes were still glued to Lucretia's Dessert Box, as if he couldn't bear to look away.

James's voice suddenly turned serious: "Wormtail, didn't we say the stuff we need to look up has to be done by Saturday? Moony marked the best visiting times for every shop for you. If you don't get familiar with our progress soon, we'll have to delay again."

His tone forced Peter to tear his gaze away from the desserts.

Lupin tugged at Peter's sleeve: "Come on, let's go to the library."

Sirius glanced again toward the Quidditch pitch, where the person she wanted to see was.

After a moment's hesitation, he nodded: "Right, James and I will take Miss Crouch over. Anyway, coming back from the Great Hall, we can head straight up the stairs to the library. Moony, meet there later?"

His tone sounded casual, but a knowing smile flickered across James's face.

Lucretia smiled politely: "Thank you, but there's no need..."

James waved a hand, his eyes still fixed on Peter: "Oh, don't mention it. We Gryffindors are famous for being helpful. The Quidditch pitch is a bit far, and it's already past three. If you want to make it to practice, you'd better hurry."

Once Lupin had led the clearly reluctant Peter away, James let out a sigh of relief.

"So, dear Miss Lucretia, are you ready to see the fastest route to the Quidditch pitch Hogwarts has to offer?"

Sirius cleared his throat: "If you'd rather we didn't come with you, we completely understand."

After Peter left, Lucretia's shoulders visibly relaxed, and her grip on the Dessert Box loosened.

James's eager expression reminded her of his goofy antics during summer training, and the corner of her mouth curved up: "No, actually... I'm grateful. I just didn't want to hold up your plans."

James led the way, lowering his voice: "Truth is, you might've just saved us. We were planning to shake off Wormtail anyway to talk about something."

Sirius walked beside her, deliberately slowing his pace to match hers as she carried the Dessert Box.