It was the summer of 1977, the sky dark and warm, but lit by the carnival's fluorescent lighting. Sirius just finished playing one of the carnival's games, pounding a tab with a mallet, presumably measuring his strength. The bell chimed, and the vendor handed Sirius his prize; a small stuffed teddy bear. Sirius scoffed when they walked away, waving the teddy bear in the air.

"I show everyone my superior strength and they reward me with what, a tiny stuffed animal?"

"Oh come on, you can add it to your collection." James stuffed his hands into his pockets and followed Sirius through the carnival. Sirius looked as if he was about to reply with an equally snarky remark, but a girl with curly brown hair walked past them. Sirius gave her a small wink, and she giggled, hurrying to her friends. By then, they arrived by the bumper cars, where Pavi Patil said she'd meet Sirius. She was already on a small yellow car by the time they arrived, laughing while a blue car collided with hers, her silky black hair bouncing while she giggled. What caught James' eye was the lady in the blue miniature car who hit Pavi. She had pale porcelain skin and dark red hair that reminded him of those red Christmas flowers, the ones his mother would always set next to the tree every year. Pavi, seeking revenge, veered her small car to the girl with the red hair, and hit the blue car, but the girl laughed hysterically while her head flew back.

"Hey, Pavi, look what I got you!" Sirius shouted across the bumper cars, setting the teddy bear on the railings. Pavi squealed excitedly when she caught sight of the teddy bear, but momentarily distracted, the girl with the red hair viciously hit her lemon yellow car.

"Sirius, who's the girl with Pavi?"

"Oh, that's Lily Evans. She's here for the summer with her family. She came all the way from Scotland, just arrived this morning." Sirius recited perfectly, looking at both Pavi and Lily. James followed his gaze, also looking at Lily. When she laughed, he couldn't help but laugh too. Now that he thought about it, he did remember Lily, but that was back when they were both shorter than four feet. Lily used to visit London with her family every summer, renting the house next to James. They used to play together when they were kids, and he even remembered her sister, but back then she used to dislike him a bit, but he assured himself that was only because back then they were at the age where all boys thought girls had cooties and girls thought boys were gross.

When Pavi and Lily got off the bumper cars for the next group, Pavi skipped towards Sirius and let him put his arm around her shoulders while they walked. Lily followed behind Param Patil, Pavi's brother, wrapping his own arm around her shoulders. She looked as if she was about to shrug his arm off her shoulder and smile kindly, but instead James stopped to turn around, looking straight at Lily.

"Do you want to dance with me?" James asked. It was a simple question, but Lily looked as if he asked her something in Swedish.

"No," She replied. Her smile faltered and her eyebrows furrowed closer together. Apparently she didn't remember him.

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want to." Lily looked to Pavi as if asking her if the man in front of her was joking, but Pavi only shrugged, Sirius' arm still on her shoulder.

"James?" Param leaned forward as if he intended to tell him a secret. "She's with me."

James found that hard to believe. There was no way a girl as fascinating as Lily would settle for a guy as humorless and boring as Param.

"Hey Lily," Param leaned back and smiled to Lily as if he just now decided she was worthy to join their conversation. "Do you want to ride the ferris wheel?"

Lily smiled graciously, but at James instead of Param. "I'd love to."

James couldn't help but chuckle as she laced her arm around Param's and practically dragged him away from James, Pavi shrugging out of Sirius' grasp and following. He bet Lily only agreed to go on the ferris wheel with Param just in spite of James. Sirius whistled and put a supposedly comforting arm around James.

"Don't take it too hard, mate. Rejection really isn't that bad." Sirius laughed, watching Pavi scurry away with Lily and Param. James shook his head and jogged towards the ferris wheel, but Lily already managed to grab a seat next to Param, and Pavi was the next in line. Sirius shrugged, deserting James and cutting the line with Pavi. James watched the ferris wheel twinkle and spin as Lily and Param's cart slowly arrived at the top. Lily peeked over the edge of the cart to check if he was still there. When she saw him James could have sworn she frowned and sat back in her seat crossing her arms. When the ferris wheel began to spin again, James could feel an idea start to form in his head. It was a terribly stupid idea, one that even Sirius would deem stupid, but for some reason James went through with his instincts. He pushed through the line of people waiting to snag a cart on the ferris wheel, and right when Lily's cart reached the bottom once again, James jumped and landed right between Lily and Param.

Lily screamed for him to get off her, and Param put a protective arm around Lily as if he could do something. Sirius and Pavi both looked up at Lily's cart, being only one cart below them, and he could hear Sirius laughing, but Pavi sent an icy glare to him and Sirius immediately stopped. The cart rattled, so James decided to sit down, directly in between Lily and Param. He even wiggled his way through to put Param as far away from Lily as possible for good measure.

"James, you can't do that, it's two to a seat!" The worker yelled towards them. He immediately recognized the worker as Tommy McKinnon, His friend Marlene's brother working for his summer job. He yelled back a reply promising that he'll pay when he gets back down.

"I'm James Potter." James turned to Lily, giving her his hand expecting her to shake it. She only stared at it as if he grew five extra fingers.

"So?" Lily demanded in disbelief.

"So, it's really nice to meet you." James extended his hand further. "I would really like to take you out."

Lily looked as if she was ready to tear James' face off his neck, but before she could commit murder, Tommy pulled the lever to stop the ferris wheel.

"You can't sit more than two people to a chair, James!" Tommy repeated. James wasn't sure what Tommy intended to do after stopping the cart. By then, they were already at the top of the wheel. The only thing he could have accomplished was forcing James to jump down. But that was when another unbelievably stupid idea formed in his head.

"Okay, I got it." James yelled back, hopping up from the seat and hanging from the pole above them so he could still face Lily. Pavi shouted for James to get back on his cart, and he could hear equally loud gasps from nearby carts, he even heard one ask if he was suicidal.

"Will you go out with me?" James asked, ignoring all the shouts.

"No!"

"No?"

"No!"Lily shouted louder as if he was deaf.

"No?"

"James, she just told you no." Param rolled his eyes as if he could care less if a man was merely dangling off the height of the ferris wheel in front of him. Lily on the other hand, as infuriated as she was, at least cared a little that even anyone was dangling off the height of the ferris wheel. She was too nice not to care, no matter how much she wanted him to go away.

"Why not?" James looked as if he was told his birthday was cancelled.

"I don't know, because I don't know you! Because you're hanging off a ferris wheel, because you're being stupid!"

James nodded before she could continue her list. She was right, he was being stupid, but he refused to give up. "Alright, well you leave me no choice then."

James let go of his left arm, all of his weight focusing on his right. Both Param and Pavi screamed, but Sirius looked as if he was about to die of laughter.

"Please, Lily. Go out with me." James pleaded. Lily's mouth was wide open, her eyes as big as the light bulbs on their cart. When he decided she wasn't going to reply, he glanced back up at his right hand dramatically. "Damn, my hand is slipping, Lily."

"Sit back down, idiot!" Pavi shouted.

"Not until she agrees." James muttered. It was true; it was hard to hold up all his weight for that long.

"Oh come on Lily, go out with him." Sirius yelled.

"Okay fine, I'll go out with you." Lily groaned and put her head in her hands as if she was defeated. Param blinked in horror.

"No, no don't do me any favors, Lily."

"No, I want to!"

"You want to?" Param asked as if he couldn't believe his ears.

"Yes!" Lily screamed fervently.

"I don't believe you." James said. Even he couldn't believe she gave in. But then again, it was hard to refuse a man looking as if he was ready to fall twenty feet.

"I want to go out with you."

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear you over the carnival down there."

"I want to go out with you!"

"Alright, alright. We'll go out." James smirked, returning his left arm on the pole.

"You arrogant toerag, you think you're so smart, don't you?" Lily sneered once she realized he could have held his weight all the while.

"That wasn't funny, James, you idiot!" Pavi shouted.

"No no, it's alright. I'll take care of it." Lily leaned over the cart, looking at Pavi and Sirius below them. When she sat back down, she smiled at James mischievously. She reached for his belt and quickly tried to undo the buckles.

"Lily I think it's too soon for that, at least let me buy you dinner first."

Lily ignored his teasing, and only undid the buckle quicker and pulled down his pants completely, flaunting his astoundingly boring striped boxer briefs to anyone in the carnival below them. If Sirius was laughing before, he was completely in hysterics by then. Even Param and Pavi were laughing haughtily. Lily crossed her arms proudly and smiled at James as if she won the final battle.

"I'll get you back for that." James promised.

"I'm sorry I can't hear you over the carnival down there." Lily feigned ignorance, using his line from only moments before and put her hand to her ear.

James sighed and hopped back onto the cart, and Tommy finally decided to pull the lever again, sending their seat back to the ground. By the time their feet could touch the grass, Lily instantly jumped off and dragged Param behind her running away. Before she was completely out of his sight, she looked over his shoulder and sent him a simple wink, and James decided the entire ordeal was worth it.