Hello all! This will almost certainly be a short and boring chapter, but the good stuff is coming up! Thank you to everyone who reviewed, you rock!

Ch. 4: Shopping

So shutup
And never stop
Let's shop
Until we drop

-Barenaked Ladies

Shopping

The days began to fly by as Lily and James began preparing for the dance. Although they had only told their small groups of friends, the news of the ball had already gone around the school. People were constantly stopping them in the hallways and asking them annoying questions, like if it was ok for them to wear a pink halter dress.

James and Lily had gotten along on a strictly business relationship. Their arguing had been at a minimum, and they were finally getting used to living with each other (Lily had even become accustomed to James' singing). They rarely agreed on anything, but usually they came to a median.

One day in late November, they were sitting in the Common Room, trying to finish up on their long list of supplies. The table that sat between them was covered in papers, books, and pamphlets.

"So we decided on Underwood Witches for music, right?" Lily asked, double-checking over their list for entertainment.

"No, Death by Bread," James said, looking up from his pamphlet on Pam's Pastry Shop.

"That's trash music, James; nobody wants to listen to that," Lily said.

"Well nobody wants to listen to a bunch of witches whining about how bad their love lives are," James argued.

"I know lots of people who like Underwood Witches!" Lily said offensively.

"Yes, but do you know any guys that like them?" James questioned.

"Umm…"

"Exactly."

"Ok, so both of the bands we want are out of the question. What do you propose we do?"

James thought for a moment. An idea popped into his head and he said "We can go to the Hogs Head and see if they know anyone."

"What!" Lily asked, dumbfounded.

"They always have live music down there, they're bound to know someone who might want to perform. Plus it'll be cheaper. We can check it out when we go to get the rest of the supplies."

Lily looked wary, but agreed.

"It'll work out great, you'll see," James said.

A few days later Lily and James walked through the windswept town. Winter had settled down and was making itself comfortable, pouring snow from the sky above. The two walked into the dimly lit tavern and headed towards the bar. It was still early in the day, so only a few wizards and a hag were in the room.

Sitting down on two stools at the bar, a rather grim looking man walked up to them. "What can I get you?" he asked in a raspy voice.

"Actually, we have a few questions for you," James said.

"We'll take two butter beers, too. Please," Lily added at the look on the man's face. It seemed like he wasn't going to do much talking until he got at least a little money from them.

The bartender set two dusty bottles in front of them and leaned against the bar, obviously waiting to hear their questions.

"You see, we're organizing a Yule Ball up at the school," James began, taking a swig of his butter beer.

Lily looked at her filthy butter beer distastefully, then wiped the mouth of her bottle before gulping down a large mouthful.

James nearly laughed at Lily's cleanliness, and continued. "We came across a bit of a problem, because we couldn't decide on a band to play. Then we remembered that you usually have live music on the weekends, so you must know a few bands that might be willing to play at our dance."

The bartender looked at James suspiciously for a few moments, and then cleared his throat. "I suppose the best band for you to use would probably be the Wand Washers. They're pretty new, but they put on a great performance."

"That sounds great! Is there any way we can hear a sample of their music?" Lily asked.

The man took his wand out of his back pocket, waved it slightly, and muttered 'Wand Washers.' A melodious tune drifted from the wand. A set of drums joined the strumming guitar, and was soon accompanied by the singer. The song was sort of pop-rock, and the musicians in it were excellent.

"That's exactly what we were looking for!" James exclaimed.

"I'll go ask them if they'd like to perform for you," the bartender said.

He returned a few minutes later with their reply.

"They'll do it for free!" Lily asked incredulously at the man's answer.

"They're old Hogwarts students and they said they'd love the opportunity to return," the barman said.

"Well isn't that a bit of luck!" James said.

Lily and James left the tavern ten minutes later feeling much better about themselves. They headed to Pam's Pastry Shop to see if she could make some snacks for the dance. (Dumbledore insisted that the house elves have that night off.) When they entered the shop, Pam immediately began offering them samples of her homemade cakes and pastries. Each bite was more delicious than the last, and Lily and James left the shop full to the brim, another job checked off of their list.

Next came shopping for decorations, supplies, and other assorted things. When they were finally done, it was 7:00 and they were both completely exhausted.

"Well, I think that was the most successful shopping trip of my entire life," Lily said.

"I must agree with you on that one, Lilers." James agreed.

"You know, this ball just might work out pretty well."

I'm sorry that this chapter was so boring and short, but I did warn you! Mostly this chappie was just meant to waste time… I must apologize for the extremely long wait, and unfortunately it's probably going to be a while until I get to update again. My summer vacation was extremely busy, and now with school and volley ball and marching band, plus the school newspaper, I barely have enough time to eat, let alone write! But when I do update, I promise it will be a fabulous chapter!