Lucretia turned back to glance at Lupin.
An Invisibility Rabbit?
It did sound rather strange coming from Mr. Lupin, but he had always been as reliable as Brother Regulus. Maybe it really was some Magical Creature she had never seen before.
She turned back toward the clearing, thoughtful. "No wonder Luna reacted so strongly to thin air just now. She could always sense things we couldn't see."
Lupin secretly breathed a sigh of relief beside her, glad she had not pursued that absurd explanation.
Hearing about the cat, James thought of how that puffed-up white cat had nearly pounced on them just now and laughed even harder, his whole face turning red from holding it in.
He exaggeratedly mimed a cat pouncing, waggled his eyebrows at Sirius, and silently mouthed, "That cat hates the dog smell on you! Look at its fur standing up—it wants to tear you to pieces!"
Sirius's expression shifted between irritation and horror as his hand pressed down more firmly.
Yet muffled snorts of suppressed laughter still leaked from James's covered mouth.
Lupin coughed dryly and covered his face with one hand, pretending to ponder some profound question.
In reality, he was desperately trying not to imagine what those two unruly friends were doing in midair.
The messy footprints in the grass had already explained everything.
Lupin glanced toward the Invisibility Cloak. "Yes, a cat's senses... are very sharp. Especially when it comes to certain... smells."
He deliberately emphasized those last few words, clearly implying something.
What he did not know was that beneath the Invisibility Cloak, James was silently mouthing the words with exaggerated movements.
"Pad-foot-fears-kit-tens!"
Sirius narrowed his eyes into a dangerous slit, covering James's mouth with one hand while opportunely driving his knee into James's shin.
James doubled over as though he had stepped on a Mandrake, laughing until tears came out.
Sirius had no choice but to use more force to hold him down, and the two of them twisted awkwardly into a tangle beneath the Invisibility Cloak.
After confirming that no one was paying attention to them, Lucretia sat back down on the stone bench and returned to the conversation. "In any case, regarding the potion, I need to find somewhere to brew the final part. The library is too public, and the Common Room is even less suitable."
Lupin returned to his earlier composure and listened from the side.
Seeing the two resume their conversation, Sirius dragged James, who was still trembling all over, two steps farther away.
Lucretia hesitated, then leaned closer to Lupin. "I need a quiet place where I can... bless the potion."
Lupin asked curiously, "Bless it?"
Lucretia explained, "It's an... Ancient Practice. Some potions, especially those using precious ingredients like Unicorn tears, require a particular... Sense of Ritual. It's difficult to explain, but it's very important to the result."
Lupin seemed to understand. "Like how potion-making isn't merely mixing ingredients—it also requires the exact stirring direction and number of turns."
Lucretia nodded. "Yes, exactly. Only this is more... private."
Under the Invisibility Cloak, Sirius instinctively squeezed Lupin's shoulder hard enough that Lupin nearly cried out, his expression twisting involuntarily.
James hurriedly covered his mouth and once again bent double from suppressing his laughter.
Lupin gave a slight shake of his head, reproaching Sirius's impatience with his eyes.
After briefly calming himself, he smiled and said, "I can help you find an unused classroom. It's the least I can do. There are a few abandoned old classrooms on the fifth floor of the East Tower; hardly anyone goes there. By the way, when would be convenient for you?"
"Really? That would be wonderful. I want to brew it on Tuesday night. The moon phase then is perfect for the first step, and I can prepare the ingredients tonight, so there's plenty of time."
Lucretia's eyes lit up, but then she hesitated again.
"I don't want to trouble you, it's just..."
"It's just that Crouch and Regulus have an Ancient Runes study group that day, right? Otherwise, you could have asked them to help you find somewhere."
Lucretia looked rather surprised. "Yes. Barty said they had a translation project to work on that day, and they might be back very late. How did you know?"
Lupin shrugged. "I'm a prefect. I know a little about the activities in each House."
Beneath the Invisibility Cloak, Sirius's lips curved up involuntarily when he heard that both Crouch and Regulus would be absent.
James elbowed him, blinking and silently mouthing, "Looks like someone finally gets a chance to be alone while the Knight Guard is away? Want me to keep watch for you?"
Sirius glared at him, but he could not hide the smile at the corner of his mouth.
Excitedly, he squeezed Lupin's shoulder again.
The aching numbness that had just faded returned at once.
Lupin gave a light cough. "Then shall we meet at the Great Hall entrance at seven on Tuesday night?"
Lucretia said seriously, "All right, thank you. This is truly important to the potion's success."
She suddenly remembered something and opened her bag again, taking out a plain little jar.
"Oh, and one more thing... this is Scar Removal Ointment. I thought you might need it."
Lupin accepted the jar in surprise. "This is...?"
"When I first arrived at the Crouch family home, the House-elf Winky helped me make it. I had some... old injuries then. I still have some left, and I thought it might be useful to you. The scars won't disappear immediately, but they'll fade a lot. You need to use it every day, and it will take some time to work."
Lupin carefully accepted the jar, his expression sincere. "Thank you. This thoughtfulness... I'll treasure it."
Seeing him accept it, Lucretia relaxed inwardly. "Mother brought a great deal of Herbal Materials. If you run out, I can make more."
Lupin looked at her with a gentle smile in his eyes. "Lucretia... may I call you that? After everything we've been through, perhaps we don't need to be so formal."
Lucretia nodded with a smile. "Of course, Remus."
She said his name so naturally, as though they had long been friends.
Lupin smiled sincerely as well. The warmth of being accepted and trusted gave his eyes a special gleam.
Beneath the Invisibility Cloak, Sirius's expression changed.
James snickered beside him, his gaze moving back and forth between the two.
"I should be going. Emma is still waiting for me."
Lucretia looked into the distance. Emma was walking over with Luna in her arms.
She said goodbye softly and walked toward Emma. "See you Tuesday, Remus."
Lupin watched her leave. "See you Tuesday, Lucretia."
Once he was sure Lucretia had gone far enough away, James yanked off the Invisibility Cloak and began clapping extravagantly.
"Moony, teach me! You got to call her by her first name in three sentences? That's practically a new Marauders record!"
Lupin shook his head helplessly. "Don't talk nonsense. It just happened naturally."
James turned to Sirius and waggled his eyebrows. "Naturally? Why does that sound so familiar? Padfoot, wasn't that exactly what you said when you and Miss Lucretia exchanged names? 'We were just having a normal conversation, and then naturally decided to call each other by our names in private'?"
He made an exaggerated note-taking gesture.
"Let the record show that Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, Hogwarts's two famously single men, used the exact same flirting tactic on the same girl! Brilliant! This should go straight into the Marauders' Guide to Romance!"
Sirius folded his arms and gave a cold laugh. "Have you forgotten that Evans has still called you Potter for six years, you idiot? I suggest you worry about your own affairs first. And she's a person, not some tactic."
James clutched his chest as though his heart had been stabbed and staggered back dramatically.
"Ow, you've changed, Padfoot! You were the one who helped Eric from our team analyze and improve his Complete Guide to Hogwarts Girls. You could even turn the Ravenclaw Tower password question into a chance to flirt."
He pretended to wipe away nonexistent tears.
"How come when it's dear Miss Lucretia, suddenly she's a person? Our young Master Black has finally come to his senses. I'm so moved!"
Sirius's cheeks began to redden, and he grabbed James by the collar. "Shut up, James Potter! Say one more word and I'll throw you into the Black Lake to feed the fish right now."
Lupin coughed softly from the side, though the corners of his mouth could not help lifting. "Um, can we get back to the main point? Tuesday's plan, the fifth floor of the East Tower?"
Before you continue