"Don't be ridiculous, Potter!" A feisty redhead snapped from the backseat of a small car. The object of her spite was driving, and had the look you associate with frazzled husbands. The man next to him looked even worse. Two and a half hours of non-stop Lily Evans and James Potter bickering can do that to you, Sirius thought mournfully.

From the moment Sirius had raced downstairs, the two of them had been arguing. About the car size (that had ended when James, in a fit of exasperation, had enlarged the inside), about the color (when James' Enlarging spell had gone horribly awry and had turned the seats a lurid purple), and now about the directions, Lily and James hadn't stopped arguing for a single minute. Even what station to play had been cause for an argument.

Nothing was safe anymore, Sirius couldn't help but think.

It was enough to drive any sane person insane, and since Sirius was a far-cry for sane (he had long gone driven into crazy world), he was now officially off his rocker. He really wasn't able to think much, and to keep himself from yelling until he was hoarse at the bickering duo, he was thinking one thing, and one thing only.

The wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round, round and round, the wheels on the bus go round and round, all through the town…

He had gotten all the way up to the mummies and daddies saying they love the kid, when the sudden silence in the car made him wary. It was never a good sign when Lily Evans was speechless, and (he turned around to check, and then gulped) turning purple. That had only happened once that Sirius knew of, and he had devoutly wished to never see it again. It hadn't even been directed towards him.

"Uh-oh." James said, very quietly. Sirius knew that things must be bad if James "I Am Never Wrong" Potter was admitting that something could, very possibly, be bad. Very bad, too, if the quietness of his tone was anything to go by.

"Uh-oh?" Lily asked, her tone just as quiet as James', although it reminded Sirius more of the quiet of a graveyard, rather than the quiet of a man about to be executed. That could just have been his overactive imagination, though. "Uh-oh? I don't think that is quite the words you should be using there, Potter." Or perhaps it isn't just his imagination.

That's good, he thinks in the back of his head, at least I'm not going crazy. Crazy is bad. He shook himself. Apparently his brains were addled. It must be contagious, because he is sure that Lily and James are both addled in the noggin as well.

With that, Lily commenced shouting at James, and Sirius decided to look up and see exactly what all the fuss was about. "Holy Shit, James, could you have fucked this up any more?" Came out of his mouth before he even realized what he was saying. It wasn't like it was his fault, really, he reasoned. The sight ahead of them would have pulled it out of the most demure nun.

A sign was in front of a large park, with rides that Padfoot just salivated to go on, and feel the wind in his face, and stick his tongue out on. There was a large tower, too, that Sirius vaguely remembered learning about in his Muggle Studies Class. He had filed it away for future pranks—a tower that took you up slow and then dropped you down fast? Amazing!

There was really only one problem.

The sign had written on it:

Park closed due to water damage.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

Management.

This was what had caused Sirius to curse at his friend. He usually disliked using such vulgar language in front of ladies—something he was nearly positive came from his position as the eldest son of The Most Ancient and Noble House of Black. He may have cut off all ties, but his upbringing was still there.

James leaned forward and banged his head on the dash, muttering to himself. "Why the hell wouldn't they post this…" it went on and on. Sirius shook his head, knowing that James would stop when he was ready, and he decided to drift back off to his songs. He rather liked Ring Around A Rosy.

Just before his was completely lost, he heard Lily hiss to James, "is this what our honeymoon will be like?" He must have been wrong, he knew, but it didn't stop him from jolting up.

The movement catapulted an idea into his head, and Lily's strange comment went forgotten. "We could go to the English National Fair!" He exclaimed. It caught the two's attention, quickly.

Lily's head, which had been turned towards James, snapped around and faced him. Sirius fought the urge to recoil; her green eyes were like green fire, and all of their attention was on him. She blinked, then, and the fire in them subsided. "The fair is here, Sirius?" She asked, disbelieving.

"Yeah," he replied. "I saw it in the Prophet. Apparently there was this big thing where the kid was stuck at the top of the Ferris Wheel, and he used accidental magic to lower himself down. At the bottom it said the fair was here until next Tuesday. I think we should go." Lily and James looked at him, surprised. "What?" He asked, annoyed. "I think it would be fun!"

James chuckled and turned the car on, then started maneuvering it back and around. "We weren't astonished at you thinking that would be fun," he said, his voice trailing off as he focused on the machine.

"We were astonished that you read!" Lily finished for him. "It's a pretty miraculous feat, you have to admit," she grinned at him, and Sirius couldn't help but grin back.

~*~

The fair was practically empty, not surprising to Sirius seeing as it was 2PM on a Thursday. It was to Lily, though.

"Wow," she exclaimed. "It's so clear!" Her eyes were big, and she was rotating her head from side to side so fast that Sirius feared she would get whiplash.

James chuckled. "Yes, Lily," he told her, slightly condescending. "It is a weekday afternoon, after all."

Lily's eyes flashed, and she opened her mouth for a comeback, but quickly subsided. "Are we going to go, or not?" She questioned, then raced down the hill with James. Sirius followed more sedately, rubbing his eyes. For a minute there he could have sworn that he saw her give James' hand a squeeze. But, that is impossible, he reassured himself. Hell would freeze over before the two of them showed any affection to the other person.

When he caught up to them, they were waiting for him at the ticket master's box. He walked past them, and plopped down some sickles. "Three tickets, please," he said proudly.

The person in the booth—Sirius saw that her nametag said "Dian"—looked at the coins, and frowned unpleasantly. "Sorry, sir," she didn't seem sorry at all, Sirius thought angrily, "but we don't take silver. Only cash. Please give me some, or go get some." Her tone was nasally, and it definitely rubbed him the wrong way. Before he said something he could regret, however, Lily pushed herself in front.

"Here you go," she said, putting some paper on the table and smiling sweetly at the lady. "I do apologize for my brother. He is such a joker, isn't he?" She asked, patting Sirius' arm. At least, that is what Sirius assumed she was doing, because all he felt was pain from the pinch.

James walked up and grabbed the tickets that Dian pushed under the slot, and then walked towards the entrance, pulling Sirius, and by extension, Lily with him. "It's the fair," he yelled joyously. "It's the fair!"

Sirius sniggered, pulling himself out of James' exuberant grasp. "It's the fair," he agreed, then set off to have fun.

~*~

It was four hours later, and James was still going strong. Lily and Sirius, though, were tired out. James, who had run ahead to watch a clown, ran back to them. "You guys ready to go, soon?" He asked with a yawn. "I'm about d—the Ferris Wheel!" He yelled, his exhaustion forgotten as he ran to get in line for the large wheel that had little bubbles in fluorescent colors around it.

Lily and Sirius exchanged a glance, then followed him wearily. When they reached him, he was nearly at the front. He ushered Lily through, then went through himself. Sirius didn't move.

James, looking back to see the line, saw Sirius standing there, and a flash of puzzlement showed in his eyes. It soon disappeared, though, to be replaced with understanding. He nodded at Sirius, who nodded back.

Sirius had been afraid of heights for most of his life, ever since his little brother, Regulus, had, in a fit of accidental magic, made Sirius Levitate. This wouldn't have been so bad if it hadn't been in the entry hall, and if Sirius' father, coming home from work, hadn't opened the door to get in, and let Sirius float out. He had grabbed desperately for anything to hold onto, and had found a large pine. It had been twenty minutes until they had managed to get him down, but to Sirius it had felt like hours. He hadn't gone up anywhere high ever since. Even the top of the Astronomy Tower was hard for him.

Lily, who had missed the whole exchange, was currently being harassed by the ride director. "I'm sorry, miss!" He exclaimed, exasperated. "But it's against our policy for you to be in a car on your own. Please join…" he cast his eyes about, looking for an almost empty bubble. "This young man! Do you mind, sir?" He asked—James.

James, a big smile on his face, shook his head, and the attendant, heaving a relieved sigh, ushered Lily into James' bubble. The two looked at each other, then at Sirius, back at each other, and then turned away from each other.

Too late, Sirius realized what was happening. He ran to the gate, but the bubbles had begun moving already. He watched with growing trepidation as it spun, and looked for the bubble that contained the two of them as it came back down, heaving a sigh of relief each time the two of the appeared unscathed.

On the tenth rotation, there was a grinding sound, and the Wheel stopped, with Lily and James at the top.

Oh shit. Oh, bloody fucking hell, ran through Sirius' head as he rushed to the booth with the controls. "How long until you fix this?" He demanded. The attendant and worker inside looked at him, alarmed.

"Sir," on of them said, "Please back away and go stand over there. Your friends will be fine."

He shook his head angrily. "You don't understand!" He said, desperate now. "They're going to kill each other!"

~*~

This is the longest chapter yet. Please, leave me a review to commemorate it! =D Also, check out my profile, I updated it. Make sure you read my bio!
xoxoxo Jayme
PS: great news! I got accepted into this great program! I am so excited! =D