Pieces Falling into Place -S.B

Ch. 15 Finally Hogsmeade

After the incident with Mary, we comforted her and told her that her father hadn't died for nothing.
She was getting better by the day and I hope she'll accept her loss. I noticed Remus especially looking out for her over the course of the next days. Their bond tightened every time they were together.
"You two sure look chum together." I heard James cheekily say to Remus one morning as we sat down at the noisy Gryffindor table. Remus, as always, seemed to shrug the whole situation off.
I was about to ask why he was holding back when Lily caught my attention. She was desperately trying to shake off James and Marlene and Alice because they were, once again, talking about the Ball. James was taking his chances once more to ask her out and my two friends were talking about dresses and dances. I never really though of Alice being excited for an upcoming Ball, but here she was, going on about what she hoped the Great Hall would look like and her excitement. Of course we knew who was responsible for the fuss and we gladly let her know we were not going to let her live this one down.
"So, what's Frank going to wear?" Mary teased as she raised an eyebrow. Alice blushed "He's wearing a dark blue suit..." "I bet you'd love to see him without anyth-" Lily hit James on the stomach before further rudeness could spill out of his mouth. "Shut up, will you?" Sirius barked with laughter and I felt a tinge in my stomach.

"So, when are we all going to Hogsmeade?" James boomed over our chatter and we all looked at him. "We? There is no we, James Potter. I am not going with you! I'd rather throw myself over the edge of-" "Come on. Lilypads. It'll be a roomantic adventure." He slung his arm over her shoulder and looked off into the distance. "You, me, all our friends... Going into the vill-" "NO." Lily huffed and stood up. "I'm heading up to the common room, if anyone wants to join me, you're welcome to." She turned around and began walking off. "Well I'm off too." I stood up and Mary followed my movement. We headed off and I noticed a brilliant brown pair of eyes follow me. My eyes met his as he slightly smiled at me. A real genuine smile. The connection was lost as Mary passed me and eyed me suspiciously. Of course she'd seen it all.

Oh no, this is going to be questioned later.

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Two hours later, I breathed in the windy air of Hogsmead. I was finally back to see the pretty village and was pushed by students passing by and the conversations gathered in the air like leaves falling from branches. It was all a great stressful bustle, but once you were separated from everyone, the silence was astonishing. Many times I've wandered around, separated both from the wizard and the muggle world.
But right now, it was time to enter shop after shop, spending more money than intended. Shopping.
"So what dress are you going to wear?" I asked Lily when everyone had gone. I enjoy spending time with the talented witch; she's like a sister to me.
"I was thinking about wearing a red one, I saw a marvellous one at Germas Dress Shop." "That'd look lovely on you, red really suits you." I laugh pointing at her fiery red hair. She chuckles as she turns the question to me. "I haven't really a clue to be honest." The girl puts a hand on her chin and thinks. "You could go with blue. A deep, royal blue would look great on you." "Alright, we'll see what's on display."
Lily signs and looks down. "Whatever's the matter?" I gently garb her shoulder as I make her look at me.
"Oh, it's just that this whole Ball thing is really annoying and stressful. Why do we need to go?" I laugh. "It's tradition. But I know what you mean. It's not as if everyone enjoys a dance." "Exactly. And James is driving me absolutely bonkers." I throw my head back laughing and we enter the dress shop.
"Right. Why don't we start off by looking at the autumn section. They'll definitely have red there." We drag ourselves to the nearest rack of dresses. "Lord save me..." I heard Lily mutter.

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"How can there not be ONE dress in this whole bloody wizarding world that is actually nice?" Lily moaned and I looked at the time; two hours had passed since our entry and we were done for. "This is my actual idea of hell." I mutter as we look through another rack.
Suddenly, a wavy blue dress pops out at me. "Wait. Lils.... This might be a good one...." "You've said that about twenty times." I hear a moan coming from Lilys direction in the corner. "No, no, this one is beautiful.... Look at it!" I grab the dress from the rack and practically fly over to the changing rooms. Anyone watching us probably thought us mental, but we didn't care in the slightest.
"Oh my, look Lily!" I spun around for her as she stood with her mouth agape.
"That one is actually decent looking." I snorted as we exchanged a glance. "No but honestly, that is a lovely dress." Lily said as I spun again.
I pumped my fists in the air "YES. Finally, I have found my dress!" I giddily changed into my robes and saw Lily looking at a deep red dress. I came up behind her and saw that she was wearing a concerned expression.
"I think it's delightful." "But don't you think...It'll be too dazzling and flashy?" Lily bit her nails as she turned to look at me. "No, I think it's just right for you." I opinionated comfortingly and Lily moved to the changing cabinet we had called our own after two hours of bustling around hopelessly.
I gasped as Lily stepped out. "Oh my, it's even more beautiful on you than I thought." "Thanks." She said as she spun.
We packed our things and paid, finally making our way out. As we stepped outside, the chilly autumn air blew through my hair. Lily let out a deep breath.
"If these dresses aren't worth the money and time we have spent, then I'll no longer be a student of Hogwarts." I heard Lily snort next to me and we made our way to the jewellers. Getting the right footwear and jewellery was a lot simpler.

Inside the Three Broomsticks it was crowded and we barely found a place to sit. Lily ordered two Butterbeers and we spotted Mary and Marlene sitting a few table away from us.
We made our way over and they cheerily greeted us. Apparently they were thoroughly enjoying this all.
"Hello there ladies! Please do sit down." They'd had too much Butterbeer and maybe even a bit of Firewhiskey, I could tell. "Are you alright?" Lily, ever the responsible one of the group, asked. "Just dandy, darling."Marlene bellowed as she leaned dangerously far into Mary. They both cheered and raised a cup. "What did you consume?" Lily asked devastatedly as she tried to steady a smiling Mary. "I'm not sure.....Butterbeer.....we tried some Firewhiskey too.....it was amazing.....you should try some too, Amberle!" I steadied Marlene as she slurred on a few words. "Come on, let's get you back to the castle." I spoke and was met by a drunk Marlene. "Why? It's so much fun here! We can do everything here! We can buy things and....and do other things....like...." "It's alright, we can do everything in the castle as well."I lied and gritted my teeth as I slung her arm over my shoulder, Lily doing the same with Mary. "Did you get everything for the Ball?" Lily asked as I made out the sharp of bags under the table. "Yes...Yes... we bought lots of things....."
With a bit of magic we got the girls back to the castle where we were met by a cross Professor McGonagall. "Take these girls up to the Hospital Wing straight away and Madame Pomfrey will assist them." She uttered strictly and we blushed, embarrassed. This would normally never happen to us. Although Marlene liked the fun of Hogsmeade and society, we always kept it in the boundaries and were clever. Apparently not this time.
A few minutes later we made it to the Hospital Wing were Madame Pomfrey took us in, scowling the whole time. Mary and Marlene had to sip on a not so nice looking Potion and soon fell into a slumber.
"You can come back in a few hours when they wake up. And next time, watch out for your friends!"
Lily and I made our way back and were greeted by Alice in the comfortable armchair by the chess board at the roaring fireplace. A lot of students had already returned and were excitedly exchanging and viewing their shopping. "Hello, how was Hogsmeade?" Alice smiled and cheerily greeted us. "It was eventful to say the least." Lily muttered and slumped down onto the red sofa. I too made my way over to an armchair as Alice looked at us expectantly. "Where were you?" I asked as Lily and I put down our treasures. "I was with Frank. Where were you?" "Long story...." Lily said exhausted and the story was told.
At the end of our story Alice looked at us, surprised and a little shocked. "Well, I don't know what's more surprising; you lot surviving today or the other lot getting drunk at the Three Broomsticks." Lily chuckled. "That's what I thought."
"We'll visit the two rebels in a few hours. Are they going to be alright?" Alice said worried. "In the hands of Madame Pomfrey, I suspect they can't not be alright." I chuckled at Lilys comment.
"Do show me what you got. My things are already in our dorm." Alice said and we passed the wizards up the stairs to our dormitory.
Alice had her bags on her bed and, doing the same, I spread my things out. "Let's see what you got!" Alice's cheeks glowed as she made her way over to our things.

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This was a long chapter full of shopping which has now thankfully ended.
Anyway, hoped you liked this chapter!