Feigning Illness Plan

James leaned over. "What is it? Don't tell me Crouch went to Ravenclaw Tower again?"

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

James raised an eyebrow, then suddenly understood. "At this hour? Oh, when we switched shifts at breakfast today, a first-year Ravenclaw girl came in. She's in the Hospital Wing too, right, Moony? Lucretia is probably here to see her roommate."

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

Sirius immediately got to his feet. "I'll stop her. Fork, do you have a plan?"

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

He deliberately dragged out the last word and gave an exaggerated eyebrow wiggle.

"...alone."

Sirius grabbed a pillow and threw it at James with considerable force. "Shut up. I just don't want her seeing Moony like this. Understand?"

James hugged the pillow and nodded solemnly, though the amusement in his eyes was impossible to hide. "Of course, of course. Purely out of the noble friendship of protecting a friend, right, Moony?"

Lupin gave a faint smile. "Don't take it too far, you two."

Sirius hurried toward the door, glancing back to make sure James had already sprawled across an empty bed and begun preparing for his grand performance. Then he quietly slipped out of the Hospital Wing.

He hurried down the corridor for a few steps, stopped in a patch of shadow, and pulled out the Marauder's Map, locating Lucretia's name on the parchment.

The ink lines showed that she was approaching, getting closer and closer.

Footsteps came from around the corner, light and hesitant.

By the flickering glow of the wall torches, he saw her.

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

A strand of hair hung beside her cheek. She bit her lower lip and cautiously peered around.

She was obviously sneaking out after curfew for the first time.

She reached up to tuck the strand behind her ear, but her nervousness made the movement too hurried, and the hair slipped loose again.

She raised her hand again, then lowered it. The strand swayed lightly beside her cheek.

Sirius could not help chuckling, remembering his and James's clumsy first attempt at sneaking out during their first year.

Back then, they had not had anything like the Marauder's Map. Filch had chased them all over the castle, and they had eventually crashed into a group of talking suits of armor that each deducted twenty points from their House.

When Lucretia approached the shadows, Sirius cleared his throat and stepped closer. "It's not very safe to be in the corridors at this hour, you know."

His voice sounded right beside her ear, warm breath brushing the side of her neck.

Lucretia jumped, instinctively gripping her wand in her right hand as she turned toward the source of the voice.

The face in the shadows looked seventy or eighty percent like Regulus, but his expression was more carefree, with laughter in his eyes.

Her shoulders relaxed, as did the hand holding her wand.

Lucretia let out a breath and looked at him with mild reproach. "You startled me, Mr. Black. I thought you were Filch."

Sirius stepped out of the shadows, and the torchlight finally illuminated his face fully.

He suppressed the smile at the corners of his mouth, trying to appear casual.

Sirius greeted her, though that wicked grin still slipped through. "Sorry. But I should be better-looking than Filch, shouldn't I? It's curfew now. Why aren't you staying obediently in the tower?"

Lucretia pressed her lips together.

Sirius noticed that her pocket was bulging. Was it a potion she had 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 make sure no one was coming before lowering her voice to Sirius. "I have to try. Madam Pomfrey's medicine doesn't work very well for her."

Sirius put on the look of someone who had thought long and hard before reluctantly reaching a decision. "All right. Looks like you're lucky today. I'm going there too. James fell down the stairs and is inside making a fuss about how much pain he's in, trying to trick Madam Pomfrey into giving him some Pain-Relief Potion."

Lucretia blinked questioningly. "But I didn't hear Mr. Potter."

Smiling, Sirius naturally stepped aside and gestured for her to walk ahead. "You will in a moment, and he'll be howling like a ghost. Once Madam Pomfrey's attention is drawn to him, you can visit your friend without any trouble. Come on, before Filch actually catches us."

The two walked side by side toward the Hospital Wing.

Sirius slowed his pace to match hers.

There was a proper distance between them. They would not bump into each other, but they did not need to raise their voices to speak.

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

"Your friend... what happened to her?"

Lucretia spoke slowly. "Sophia has a special... sensitivity. She gets headaches, and when they're bad, she can barely move. Madam Pomfrey's potion can only put her to sleep, but Emma said she looked even worse."

"So you brewed a potion yourself?"

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

"I never said it was a potion."

Sirius pointed at her pocket. "You've been protecting that little bottle the whole time... I sometimes see you in the Potions Area of the library. Didn't I see you there with Evans last time?"

That was not exactly a lie. He had indeed noticed on the map that she often went to that area.

Lucretia was just about to say something when James's exaggerated voice rang out from inside.

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

Madam Pomfrey's skeptical tone practically overflowed. "Mr. Potter. As far as I know, all Gryffindor Quidditch training has been canceled this week. And there are no visible injuries on you at all."

James's voice came through the door, full of theatrical agony. "Internal injuries! Internal damage, Madam! Come over and feel it. I'm absolutely certain my ribs are broken!"

When Madam Pomfrey did not react, he paused, then spoke in an even more dramatic voice.

"Did you hear that? Crack, crack!"

The corners of Lucretia's lips curved upward.

Sirius wanted to laugh at James's over-the-top acting, but he worked hard to keep a straight face.

The two exchanged a glance, both trying not to laugh.

He gave her a ready gesture, then pushed open the door.

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

"Merlin's beard! Right here! It hurts like mad right here!"

Madam Pomfrey had just turned to get her wand and examine James when she saw the two standing at the door.

"More students wandering around after curfew? Give me a reasonable explanation."

Her stern expression reminded them of a professor catching rule-breaking students in class.

Lucretia grew nervous and unconsciously moved a little closer to Sirius.

Sirius shifted half a step to the side, his shoulder naturally shielding her.

His hand rose and hovered in midair for a moment before lowering again.

Lucretia's voice tightened slightly as she quickly and carefully took the little bottle from her pocket. "Madam, my roommate Sophia is here. Her headache is very severe... I brought something... it might help her."

James took the chance to peek over from the hospital bed. Seeing Sirius's protective posture, he gave another exaggerated cry, successfully drawing Madam Pomfrey's attention.