Withholding medical treatment is a crime - and so is this

It wasn't hard to get into the Hospital Wing in the middle of the day. What was difficult was getting the potions out. Liesl, as the mastermind of this plan, had decided their best bet was to cause a distraction.

Nobody would notice the bottles missing until later and by that time, everyone would have forgotten about the two kind girls who'd helped a first year get to the hospital wing and even offered to help treat her. Even if they did remember, they certainly wouldn't suspect them.

It had been an easy task palming a nosebleed nougat into the Hufflepuff's lunch. Liesl had originally considered using a puking pastille, until she decided she would much rather deal with blood than vomit.

Now, she held a tissue up to the girl's face and supported her as they entered the wing.

"Hello?" she called out. "We need some help, please!"

Wally was not nervous- nervous had a negative connotation of fear, and Wally was not afraid. The very worst that could happen was expulsion, which would mean she could force her parents to let her go back home to Australia. She doubted it would come to that, but any imaginable punishment did not make Wally the least bit nervous.

No, Wally was anxious. She wanted to get what she needed and she wanted things to go right. She was not afraid they would not, she just found the best outcome highly desirous. If she could get what she needed, she and Keith could make some adjustments to Spice. The issue was getting in, not getting caught, and not making this girl suspicious.

Liesl was Wally's age and Waly had overheard the girl's plan. It struck Wally how profitable the plan could be so Wally had agreed, so long as Liesl added a few things to the list to steal, at Wally's prompting. Then it had been a matter of paying off the first year and carrying her in.

"Yes, help, please!" She glanced at Liesl. "Who's doing the distracting?"

"Swallow."

Liesl took the opportunity to force three more treats down their victim's throat before pausing to look at Wally like she was crazy. For a Ravenclaw, she sure was stupid.

She put a hand on the Hufflepuff's head but squealed and snatched it away as the kid began to break out in boils.

"Did you think we brought Beth along just so she could skip transfiguration?" she replied.

Since none of the Hospital Wing staff seemed to be coming, Liesl pulled a chair across the room and got to work looking for pepperup potions in the tallest cabinets.

Wally rolled her eyes and hissed back at the girl, "Yeah, but surely the nurse has something to cure a few minor ailments." Wally looked critically at the young girl between them, who was promised compensation, so was at the two older girls mercy. Wally reached into her bag and pulled out her iguana and dropped it down the girl's shirt.

Beth shrieked and began flailing, plopping around and twirling and carrying on like a madwoman. The head nurse ran out and tried to calm her, leaving her office door wide open. Inside, the woman had a store of the more sensitive medicines. Wally motioned towards the open door to Liesl and ran off towards it, crouching so her feet were muffled. Liesl could join her and help or could keep watch. Wally didn't really care. She just needed to get in there and get out.

Oh. Sweet. Merlin. Why had Wilhelmina decided to drop that stupid creature down their little friend's shirt? Liesl quickly came to the conclusion that whatever potions the other girl was snatching, they weren't having a good impact on her mental capacities. Did she think the matron wouldn't notice an iguana running around? She would much rather rely on the time it took to cure each false symptom they'd caused with the Weasley products, thank you very much.

Fortunately Liesl had enough time to slide the potions she was here for into the inside pocket of her cloak before pulling down another concoction at random and hopping off the stool. If Wally thought Liesl was helping her get away undetected after that botch-up, she was sadly mistaken.

"Oh thank goodness!" she gasped, making her way back across the room, bottle in hand.

With any luck the nurse would assume Liesl was trying to help and wouldn't make a big fuss about her rifling through the potions cupboard without leave.

Wally recieved no help from Liesl, for which she didn't mind. The nurse was hurrying towards Beth and Wally slipped into the office. She saw a locked cabinet and ran for it, recited "Alohomora" and the doors of it sprang open. Her fingers danced thoughtfully over the vials and flasks and jars. She had on her backpack and she unzipped it, putting it in front of her. She grabbed what she needed and then put empty jars in the place of them to delay the nurse's notice of them. She closed the cabinet and locked it.

She turned and ran out of the office, heartbeat in her ears. She glanced at Liesl then at Beth. "Oh!" she said. "That's my iguana! Bad Darwin! How'd you get there?" She rushed forward and pried Darwin off of Beth, smiling apologetically at the nurse.

Liesl glared at the Ravenclaw. How indeed.

"Will this help?" she finally looked at the label of the bottle she'd pulled carelessly down from the shelves.

Blood thickening potion. Probably not.

"Sorry, I'd love to stay and help more, but I'm late for -" what was she late for? "Muggle studies."

Because muggle studies was Liesl Dolohov's favourite class, don'tchaknow.

She petted Beth on the back.

"Get well soon."

And then she was outta there.

Liesl rushed out and left Wally standing there awkwardly with Beth and the hospital nurse, Darwin struggling feebly in her hands.

"Uh..." Wally stared. "I'd better... feed Darwin. The iguana. And get to class."

She looked at Beth, then at Darwin, then at the nurse, then at Beth. "Darwin didn't mean to scare you. Sorry, I guess."

Wally cleared her throat and reached up, scratching her neck and tugging on her braid. Her backpack felt heavy and huge. "Okay bye."

And she turned and ran out, calling, "See you in Potions, Beth!"