The Sickbed Ploy

James leaned over, "What's wrong? Did Crouch go to Ravenclaw Tower again?"

Sirius pointed at the map, "Miss Lucretia. She just left Ravenclaw Tower and is heading this way."

James raised an eyebrow, then had a sudden realization, "At this hour? Oh, today when you and I were on breakfast duty, a first-year girl from Ravenclaw came in, and she's in the Hospital Wing now. Right, Moony? She might be visiting her roommate."

Lupin looked worriedly at his scarred arm, "But she can't see me like this, or she'll think she caused it."

Sirius immediately stood up, "I'll go stop her. Wormtail, do you have a plan here?"

James winked at Sirius, lowering his voice with a mischievous smile, "Of course! I can pretend to be seriously injured and distract Madam Pomfrey. That way, you'll have time to be alone together with Miss Lucretia..."

He deliberately drew out the last part, making an exaggerated eyebrow wiggle.

"Alone together."

Sirius grabbed a pillow and threw it at James, not lightly, "Shut up. I just don't want her to see Moony like this. Understand?"

James hugged the pillow, pretending to nod seriously, but the laughter in his eyes was undeniable, "Of course, of course. Purely out of noble friendship to protect a friend, right, Moony?"

Lupin gave a weak smile, "Don't overdo it, you two."

Sirius quickly walked towards the door, glancing back to confirm James had already lain down on an empty bed and was preparing his spectacular performance, then slipped out of the Hospital Wing soundlessly.

He walked a few steps down the corridor and stopped in a shadow, pulling out the Marauder's Map and finding Lucretia's name on the parchment.

Ink lines showed she was approaching, getting closer and closer.

Footsteps came from around the corner, light and hesitant.

In the flickering light of the torches on the wall, he saw her.

Lucretia walked close to the wall, stopping every few steps to look around.

A strand of hair fell onto her cheek. She bit her lower lip, peeking cautiously.

Clearly her first night out.

She reached up to tuck the strand behind her ear, but nervousness made her movement a bit rushed, and the hair slipped down again.

She raised her hand again, then lowered it, the strand of hair swaying by her cheek.

Sirius couldn't help but chuckle, remembering his and James's clumsy attempts during their first night out in first year.

Back then, they didn't have the Marauder's Map, and Filch chased them all over the castle. In the end, they ran into a pile of talking armor, and each lost twenty points for their house.

As Lucretia approached the shadow, Sirius cleared his throat and moved closer to her, "It's not very safe in the corridor at this hour, you know."

The voice sounded right by her ear, warm breath brushing against her neck side.

Lucretia jumped, instinctively tightening her grip on her wand with her right hand, and turned towards the source of the sound.

The face in the shadows bore a seven or eight-tenths resemblance to Regulus, but with a more casual expression, a smile in his eyes.

Her shoulders relaxed, and the hand holding the wand loosened.

Lucretia breathed a sigh of relief, looking at him with a hint of reproach: "You scared me, Mr. Black. I thought it was Filch."

Sirius stepped out of the shadows, the torchlight finally illuminating his face completely.

He suppressed the smirk, trying to appear casual.

Sirius greeted her, the mischievous smile still escaping: "Sorry. But I should be better looking than Filch, right? It's curfew now, why aren't you staying in the tower obediently?"

Lucretia pursed her lips.

Sirius noticed her bulging pocket, likely containing potions brewed with Snape and Crouch?

"I need to go to the Hospital Wing. My roommate is there, she has a terrible headache."

Sirius raised an eyebrow: "At this hour? Madam Pomfrey won't let any students in."

Lucretia peeked down the corridor again to see if anyone was coming, then lowered her voice to Sirius: "I have to try. Madam Pomfrey's potions don't work very well for her."

Sirius put on an act of deep thought before making a difficult decision: "Alright. Looks like you're lucky today, I'm going there too. James fell down the stairs and is now inside pretending to be in pain, trying to trick Madam Pomfrey into giving him some Pain-Relief Potion."

Lucretia blinked, a question in her eyes: "But I didn't hear Mr. Potter's voice."

Sirius, with a smile, naturally gestured for her to go ahead: "You will soon, and it will be wailing. Madam Pomfrey will be distracted by him in a moment, and you can visit your friend smoothly. Come on, don't let Filch really catch us."

The two walked side-by-side towards the Hospital Wing.

Sirius slowed his pace, matching her rhythm.

There was a suitable distance between them, so they wouldn't bump into each other, but they didn't need to raise their voices to talk.

The corridor was quiet, footsteps echoing softly on the stone ground.

"Your friend... what's wrong with her?"

Lucretia said slowly: "Sophia has a special kind of... sensitivity. She gets headaches, and when they're severe, she can barely move. Madam Pomfrey's potions only make her sleep, but Emma said she looked worse."

"So you brewed a potion yourself?"

Lucretia nodded, tilting her head to look at him, a question in her eyes.

"I didn't say it was a potion."

Sirius pointed to her pocket: "You've been protecting that little bottle... I occasionally see you in the Potions Area at the Library, wasn't that where I saw you with Evans last time?"

This wasn't a lie; he had indeed noticed her frequenting that area on the map.

Just as Lucretia was about to say something, James's exaggerated voice came from inside.

"Ah! Madam Pomfrey! It hurts so much here! I'm sure at least two of my ribs are broken! I fell off my broom during training!"

Madam Pomfrey's suspicious tone was practically overflowing: "Mr. Potter. As far as I know, all of Gryffindor's Quidditch training was canceled this week. And you don't have any visible injuries."

James's voice came through the door, filled with exaggerated pain: "It's internal injuries! Internal damage, Madam! Come feel, I'm really sure my ribs are broken!"

Seeing Madam Pomfrey didn't react, he paused, then continued in an even more dramatic voice.

"Did you hear that? Crackle, crackle!"

The corner of Lucretia's mouth curved upwards.

Sirius, amused by James's over-the-top acting, tried to keep a straight face.

The two exchanged a glance, both struggling to suppress their laughter.

He made a prepared gesture, then pushed the door open.

James immediately raised his voice, clearly noticing the movement at the door.

"Merlin's beard! It's here! It hurts so much here!"

Just as Madam Pomfrey was about to turn to grab her wand to check on James, she saw the two standing at the door.

"More students wandering around after curfew? I demand a reasonable explanation."

Her stern expression was reminiscent of how the Professor looked when catching students breaking rules in class.

Lucretia tensed up, unconsciously leaning closer to Sirius.

Sirius shifted half a step to the side, his shoulder naturally blocking in front of her.

He raised his hand, paused in mid-air for a moment, then lowered it again.

Lucretia's voice was a little tight as she carefully took out the small bottle from her pocket: "Madam, my roommate Sophia is in here, she has a terrible headache... I brought some things... maybe they can help her."

James seized the opportunity to glance from the infirmary bed. Seeing Sirius's protective stance, he let out another exaggerated groan, successfully drawing Madam Pomfrey's attention.

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