Sirius, James, Alice, Mary, Remus, and Severus sat in the Muggle Studies class, listening to Professor Orlaith Sutherland talk about Muggle shops.
"Here in the Wizarding World, we tend to use house-elves to get our groceries or we owl order them," the professor lectured. "But in the Muggle World, the Muggles go to a supermarket and they find what they want, and then they buy the groceries. It's like when you go to Diagon Alley to get robes or potion ingredients. However, in the Muggle World, because they don't have magic, they push a shopping cart that holds the items they're buying. I see the confused looks on your faces. Don't worry, we're taking a field trip."
"What's a field trip?" Alice asked.
"A field trip is where we leave the school to go somewhere special," Professor Sutherland explained. "Muggles do it a lot. For some reason, we never do that here at Hogwarts. But today, we are going to. The headmaster has granted us permission to go to a Muggle supermarket. We will be buying items we would need to bake a cake, the Muggle way. We will be baking a cake next week."
The class went wild. Even some of the pure-bloods who hated everything to do with Muggles couldn't help but get excited about baking a cake.
"Yeah! Let's go!" James yelled.
"Quiet down please!" Professor Sutherland said loudly. Once the room quieted, she said, "I am going to have you all work with one other person, and you will be buying groceries that will be used for the cake. The cake will be for both of you. Now, to start with, Miss Fortescue and Miss McDonald, you will be together. Mr. Lupin and Mr. Snape, you will be together. Mr. Black and Mr. Potter, you will be together." She went on to call out the rest of the students' names. Severus might have been raised in the Muggle World, but he had grown up doing things the magical way, which was why he was in the Muggle Studies class.
Professor Sutherland started handing out portkeys to everyone. "Remember, you cannot use magic AT ALL while in the Muggle World," Professor Sutherland reminded them.
Sirius and James touched the portkey and left the school. They landed at a large shop. Other students appeared nearby. They were thankfully in an alleyway where Muggles couldn't see them appearing out of nowhere.
Sirius and James entered the supermarket and looked around. "I think we have to get a cart," Sirius said, walking over to the carts and grabbing one. It took a moment, because all the other carts wanted to come with them. Finally, they were able to disconnect the cart from the others.
"So, what do we do with it?" James asked.
"I think we push it," Sirius told his friend. James nodded and gave it a big shove. The cart started racing across the aisle, running into one of the shelves.
"Er, that didn't go well," James commented, grabbing the back of the cart. "Maybe we need to hold onto it?"
"I think so," Sirius said. He then looked at the list. "We need flour."
"Well, there are some nice smelling flowers," James pointed out, pointing at the flowers sitting out.
"No, it's spelled differently," Sirius told him. "It's spelled F-L-O-U-R."
"Where do we find it?" James asked.
"Let's ask someone," Sirius said, then found a shopper in the aisle with the candies. "Ma'am, where can we find the flour?" he asked.
"And not the kind you smell, the one you use for cake," James added.
The woman gave them an odd look before saying, "Have you never been here before?"
"No, we are not from around here," Sirius informed her. The woman pointed them to the correct aisle.
They finally found the flour. "How much should we get?" James asked.
"Let's get three of them, just in case," Sirius decided. He grabbed three bags of flour. "Now we need granulated sugar, whatever that is," he continued.
"Are we going to have to ask for help again?" James asked.
"Probably," Sirius said. They found someone who pointed them towards the granulated sugar. James grabbed four of them.
"You never know how many we'll need," James said with a grin. "What's next?"
"Unsweetened cocoa powder," Sirius replied.
"Alright! Chocolate!" James exclaimed. "Hey! There's chocolate pudding mix! That's powder!"
"Great idea!" Sirius exclaimed, then stared at the box. "But it doesn't say unsweetened."
"What are you looking for, dears?" a woman asked them.
"Unsweetened cocoa powder," James replied.
The woman laughed. "You're in the wrong aisle, dears. Go that way." She pointed to the right. "Go down two aisles."
"Oh, thanks," James said gratefully. After getting the cocoa powder, they found the baking powder and baking soda they would need.
"Next, we need salt," Sirius read from the list. They found the salt after a while, and Sirius grabbed six bottles of it, since they were so small. Next, they found the eggs. James grabbed two cartons of them, and threw them into the cart. They heard a cracking sound from one of the cartons.
James shrugged. "I'm sure they're fine," he said confidently. They then got some milk. They then found vegetable oil.
They then had to find vanilla extract. They had to ask for help again. After Sirius picked up three of them, he glanced at the list. "Er, alright, it says that it takes water, but our professor wrote a note on it saying that it will be provided."
"So, are we done?" James asked.
"No, it says, For the Chocolate Frosting. I think we need chocolate frosting. But right under that, it says we need unsalted butter, and… what?! Do we need to buy cocoa powder, vanilla, and milk all over again? And it says we need powdered sugar."
"Well, let's go get more of the stuff we already got,'" James suggested. "Now, we'll find the new stuff."
The two boys found the same items again, then found the butter and powdered sugar. Finally, they were ready to checkout.
Their cart was full to the brim when they got to the checkout. Professor Sutherland gave them fifty pounds, saying it would be enough to buy their groceries. When they put everything on the counter, the cashier looked at them in surprise.
"This is a lot," she commented.
"Well, we're baking a cake next week," Sirius explained.
The cashier looked at them in confusion. "You need this much stuff for just one cake? You do realize this will cost you eighty-six pounds, do you not?" Sirius and James looked at each other in horror. They didn't have enough money.
"We needed all these items," James explained. "Sirius, show her the list." Sirius held up the list. The cashier widened her eyes before bursting out laughing.
"Oh, my dears, you got more than you needed," she informed them.
"Sirius! James!" Severus' voice called out. He and Remus were now behind them. Their cart was not nearly as full. "What in the name of…" Severus started.
"Er, we got everything," James said nervously. Professor Sutherland came up to them at that moment. One look at the cart, and she couldn't help but chuckle.
"You only needed one of each item, boys," she told them. "You have enough groceries here to make three or four cakes."
"Oh! Really?" Sirius asked. "We didn't know!"
"I'll put everything else back, while you pay," the professor said, taking the extra items. Sure enough, their total cost was only thirty-six pounds. Sirius was relieved that at least he knew how to sort Muggle coins, because James wouldn't have known.
When everyone got back to Hogwarts, the house-elves took the groceries and promised to keep them safe for them for next week.
Dinky was the one to take Sirius and James' groceries, and the elf gasped. "Young masters got broken eggs!" Dinky scolded.
"Er, how?" James asked.
"Young masters "were not careful with them!" Dinky said, wiggling a finger.
"Well, you guys have some, right?" Sirius asked.
"Yes, young master Sirius, but yous better be good next time!" Dinky stated firmly.
"I get it, I get it, Muggle shopping is not for me," Sirius replied. "At least Zippy does all the shopping at home."
"Dinky is knowing Zippy, and Dinky will tell Zippy that young master Sirius should go shopping next time, so young master Sirius gets more practice!" Dinky said.
"No! Please don't!" Sirius exclaimed. "I DO NOT want to go back to a supermarket!"
"Fine, Young Master," Dinky said, "But yous better be good from now on!"
"I will, I will," Sirius hurriedly said. They left the kitchens, learning a lot from their adventure that day.