Spoils of War

The two walked into a nearby corridor, where familiar laughter drifted from ahead.

James and Sirius were coming from the opposite direction.

The moment James spotted Lily, his eyes lit up as though he had found the floor covered in Galleons.

He completely forgot Sirius, whom he had been walking arm in arm with just moments ago, and hurried over with an enthusiastic shout. "Lily! What a lovely afternoon! Aren't we perfectly in sync? I was just thinking..."

Lily cut him off bluntly and pulled Lucretia a step back. "Save it, Potter. We just happened to run into each other here."

Sirius lounged against the wall, his gaze sweeping over Lucretia's face before settling on the cookies in Lily's hand. He raised a brow.

"Looks like you found yourself a new source of snacks, Evans?"

Only then did James notice the cookies in Lily's hand, and his eyes brightened. "Oh! You like cookies? Next Hogsmeade weekend, I can take you to..."

Lily interrupted him again, though her voice was softer than before. "Lucretia made these. I have to say, they're absolutely delicious."

James looked at Lucretia, as if something had occurred to him, and flashed a sly grin. "Ha, Miss Lucretia, looks like your customer list is growing? Does that mean I can get on your waiting list too?"

Lucretia blushed a little at James's exaggerated expression. "They're just simple homemade snacks. I don't have any customer list."

James pretended to be shocked. "You don't? But I recall a certain Slytherin always getting to eat your special desserts..."

Sirius cut James off, his eyes falling on Lily's cookies. "Evans, where's your spirit of sharing?"

Lily was just about to refuse when Sirius flicked his wand casually, and a cookie flew into his hand.

He took a bite, looking somewhat surprised.

This tasted different from the last time they watched a movie. It seemed that basket had been made by the Crouch family's House-elf.

"You added cinnamon? Good choice."

Seeing Lily momentarily distracted, James refused to be outdone and quietly took a cookie from the box as well. The instant he bit down, he let out an exaggerated sigh. "Merlin's beard! This is brilliant! We have to remember this recipe, Padfoot."

Lily snapped the box shut with a look of disgust and hugged it to her chest.

Lucretia noticed Sirius's gaze drifting toward the largest box in her arms, the one containing the lemon tarts she had prepared for Little Barty.

But he only blinked, then took another bite of his cookie.

As he chewed, James asked, "Where are you taking all these treasures, Miss Lucretia?"

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

James nodded with a cheeky grin, then looked at Sirius. "Ah, right, Slytherin did reserve the pitch today. Padfoot, you're both from the Black family, but even your brother gets exclusive snacks. You'd better work harder, or from now on we'll only be able to steal snacks from Lily like this."

Sirius shrugged as if he did not care and pretended to be fascinated by the portraits at the end of the corridor. "Come to think of it, does the Slytherin team have any new tactics this year? Are you going to watch their practice?"

Lucretia truly did not know much about Quidditch tactics, so she could only answer honestly, "I probably won't be able to make out any tactics, so I'm just going to sit in the stands."

Sirius nodded thoughtfully and took another bite of his cookie.

Lily glanced at the sunlight slanting lower outside the window and reminded her, "Then you'd better hurry. Their practice may have already started."

Lucretia hurriedly adjusted the boxes in her arms. "You're right, I should go. Thank you, Lily, for going out of your way to walk with me for so long."

Lily smiled warmly. "Gryffindor will always welcome you. Oh, right, next time you bake, could you invite me? I really want to learn some recipes, and my mum loves these too. I'd like to send some home to her."

James immediately seized the opportunity and jumped right in. "I'd be happy to join too! Lily, then we can..."

"Goodbye, Potter. I don't want people buzzing around me like idiots while I'm baking. And you too, Black. I hope you remember basic manners next time. Don't snatch food out of other people's hands."

Lily cut them off, then chatted with Lucretia for a few more moments before leaving.

If you can't find the book by its title, try searching for the author. It may have simply been renamed!

Sirius shrugged and smiled at her retreating back, then nodded to Lucretia. "Even sharing with someone from the same House is too much, Evans? Don't be so stingy. Thanks for the cookies, Miss Crouch. They really are good."

Lucretia tilted her head. "Sharing? But didn't you use your wand just now? That was stealing, wasn't it?"

Sirius flashed the Marauders' signature wicked grin. "Technically, those were spoils of war. But next time, James and I are considering asking the source directly. I just wonder whether Miss Crouch would be willing to make a little more."

James gave an exaggerated cough beside him, and Lily turned back to roll her eyes at them again.

Just as Lucretia was about to turn toward the Quidditch Pitch, Peter and Lupin approached together, each holding a roll of parchment.

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

James waved enthusiastically and glanced at Lily and Lucretia.

"Moony! We just ran into a little accident on the way."

Peter's gaze immediately locked onto the boxes in Lucretia's arms. He put on a fawning smile, his voice a little higher than usual. "Hello, Miss Crouch! Looks like you made quite a lot of delicious food? Who are you taking it to?"

He stepped closer, seeming to want a better look at what was inside the boxes.

Lucretia instinctively wanted to step back, but Sirius had already moved in front of her without a word, his body neatly blocking Peter's view.

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

James cleared his throat and winked at Sirius. "That's right! Oh, the Quidditch pitch is quite far, and Padfoot and I happen to be free. How about we escort you there? We just ate your snacks, after all. We should show our gratitude."

Sirius froze for a moment.

He looked at Lucretia. She was biting her lower lip, unease in her eyes. Peter's attention had clearly made her uncomfortable.

Lupin gave Peter a meaningful look at the right moment. "Peter, we still need to confirm that Hogsmeade route map, remember?"

"But..."

Peter's eyes remained stuck to Lucretia's dessert boxes, as if he could not bear to look away.

James's voice suddenly turned serious. "Wormtail, didn't we say what we needed to investigate had to be finished before Saturday? Moony marked out the best time to visit every shop for you. If you don't familiarize yourself with it, our progress will be delayed again."

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

Lupin tugged Peter by the sleeve. "Come on. Let's go to the library."

Sirius looked once more in the direction of the Quidditch Pitch, where the person she wanted to see was waiting.

After a moment's hesitation, he nodded. "That's right. James and I will take Miss Crouch over. We can head straight up the stairs to the library after coming back from the Great Hall. Moony, see you there in a bit?"

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

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

James waved a hand, his gaze 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 catch the practice, you'd better hurry."

Once Lupin had dragged the clearly reluctant Peter away, James let out a breath.

"So, dear Miss Lucretia, are you ready to see the quickest route from Hogwarts to the Quidditch pitch?"

Sirius cleared his throat. "If you don't want us to come with you, we completely understand."

After Peter left, Lucretia's shoulders visibly relaxed, and her grip on the dessert boxes loosened somewhat.

James's eager gaze reminded her of his ridiculous antics during summer training, and the corners of her lips curved upward despite herself. "No, actually... I'm grateful. I was just worried about delaying your plans."

James led the way ahead, lowering his voice. "Actually, you may have just saved us. We were planning to shake Wormtail off anyway so we could discuss something."

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