Night at the Carnival
Back-to-school
CARNIVAL
Saturday, August 25! 3 – 8 PM!
Admission price REDUCED!
Ring toss, Clown House, bean bag toss, pig race, face painting, fun!
Come out and ENJOY!
It was like they stepped into a whole new world.
One that had children with purple faces, and men ten feet tall with strange, wobbly legs. The young wizards were in awe; had they somehow been transported to a different planet? They had never seen anything like it!
They saw people carrying stuffed animals as large as themselves, and laughing as if it were normal! They saw weird, fluffy clouds on a stick being devoured by children in one bite! They saw girls riding on a large wheel contraption, going round and round, not afraid that it might roll of its base and into the lake.
And the smells! It was so difficult to pinpoint one exact scent, because when they tried, another smell would replace it and the cycle repeated. But they could all agree it was an altogether pleasant scent (not including the petting zoo, obviously).
The soon-to-be third years were bouncing excitedly on their toes as they waited in line for their tickets. They were all dressed in their best Muggle clothing: James was wearing a khaki trousers and a tie-dyed shirt; Peter was dressed in jeans and a white blazer; Sirius was wearing jeans, too, and the baseball cap he had stolen from Peter; and Remus was wearing his standard sweater vest.
Mr and Mrs Potter watched the four boys with a fond smile. They had found the Carnival Party flyer from Mrs Potter's Muggle friend, and after hearing her rave reviews, decided they should take the boys. After all, the house needed a little break after it had been through two weeks of thirteen year old mischief.
"Now, boys," said Mrs Potter after they entered the carnival. "We realize that it might be a little un-cool for us to hang around you, and we understand, we were children once too. So we're giving you the benefit of the doubt and letting you wander around by yourselves."
The boys whooped.
"IF," Mrs Potter smirked when the boys visibly deflated. There was always an If, and most of the time, it was never good. "If you stick close together. This is an unfamiliar place and I don't want anyone getting lost. OK?"
"Yes, Mrs Potter," chorused the young wizards, looking impatient as they took in the colourful scenery.
"Alright, have fun –" Mr Potter's eyes widened as they sprinted away, a cloud of dust left in their wake. He chuckled. "I don't think I was ever this hyper, right, Dorea?"
Mrs Potter gave him a sympathetic smile. "Of course you weren't, dear." Her eyes darted around for an escape. "Oh, look! A photo booth!"
"What should we do first?" asked Peter, as they walked along the littered grass.
James looked around the carnival. Above them, squeals and shouts sounded as a blur of metal whizzed past them. "Let's go on that train with no roof!" he suggested.
Remus smiled, amused. "It's called a roller-coaster, James."
"Yeah, that!" And so the young wizards joined the queue. But as the line dwindled, some people were having second thoughts.
"I don't feel like going on the coller-roaster, anymore, mates," said Sirius worriedly, watching a boy that had been on the ride throw up in a bush.
"Next!" the operator called, and the Marauders were left with no choice but to climb in. Peter and Sirius shared one cart, while Remus and James shared another. The operator pulled the safety bar across from them, and told them to keep their hands and feet inside the cart at all times.
"What kind of sick person would take their foot off this ride while its running?" asked Sirius in disgust. His question was left unanswered, however, as the ride jolted to life.
It was okay the first minute into the ride, as they were just ascending the slope, but once they stopped at the peak, it went all downhill from there – literally.
Sirius was ashamed to say that he shrieked an octave or two higher than he should have, clutching onto Peter with dear life. Meanwhile, James and Remus were shouting with joy as they raised their arms up when the roller-coaster went into a series of bumps, having a general blast.
The ride ended way too soon, in James and Remus' opinion, and they were just about to suggest to go on again, when Sirius shot them a green faced glare.
"Never again," he vowed, scowling vehemently at the metal ride behind them.
"How about we go see the Clown House?" proposed Remus, pointing at large tent with a blinking neon sign.
"What's a clown?" asked Peter nervously.
James slung an arm around the blond boy. "Let's see!"
There wasn't a line for the Clown House, so they just walked in. The décor was every designer's nightmare. The carpet was zebra print, and the tent's walls were cheetah. There was a moldy bean bag seat occupied by a fat man in a greasy white tank top, a green afro and half a clown's costume. His face was made up with makeup. He looked up in surprise.
"Shit! I didn't think I'd have any customers!" He rapidly buttoned up his costume. Then, grabbing three balls from the floor, he began to juggle.
"Wha-hey-hey-hey, kids! I'm Slappy the Clown!" he said in a stupid voice. The clown hopped closer, kicking his large clown shoes in the air. One ball lost control and flew out the tent.
Slappy threw the two remaining balls over his shoulder. "I didn't need those anyway!" He bent down, grinning at them creepily. His face was coated in white powder. Two X's slashed across each eye. His lips were painted in red lipstick and stretched across his cheeks. He looked demonic.
Pointing at Peter, he asked, "What's YOUR name?"
The blond burst into tears.
Slappy opened his arms and stood up. "Gimmie a hug – it'll make you feel better."
Peter cried harder.
The clown walked closer. "C'mon, kid, I can't get fired. Just give me a damn hug!"
Sirius brandished his wand, leveling it under the man's nose. "Leave him alone, filthy vermin, or I'll see to it that your head's on a plaque by tonight!"
"Freaky kids and their freaky jargon," muttered Slappy angrily as he walked back to his bean bag. The Marauders escorted a hysterical Peter out.
After purchasing hot dogs and icy drinks called Slushies, Peter finally managed to calm down.
"He looked so scary," hiccuped the boy, nibbling on the bread. His friends took turns patting his back. Stupid clown!
James stood up to toss away his drink. A flash of ginger hair caught his eye. He looked up eagerly and caught sight of Lily Evans from school. She was accompanied by their foe, Severus Snape. The two friends were in line for a game booth.
Quickly making up his mind and assuring to himself that he was only going to be gone for two minutes, James strolled up to the content duo.
"Alright, Evans?"
The redhead turned around, her smile melting into a frown. "What are you doing here?"
"Mum found a flyer to this place and decided we should check it out."
Snape snorted, eyeing the Gryffindor from head to toe. "And did your mother also decide to stop dressing you, Potter? You're a right sight for sore eyes."
"No," said James swiftly. "I just wanted to see how it felt to look like you for once, Snivellus."
"NEXT!" shouted the vendor. Ignoring James, Snape strutted up confidently, smacking down some money. The vendor handed him five rings. There was a slanted board with various nails jutting out from behind the booth. You were essentially supposed to get the brass ring around the nail to win.
The Slytherin picked up his ring, reeled his arm back and tossed. He missed.
James grinned.
Snape scowled. He grabbed another ring, twisted his wrist, and somehow, despite never doing anything involving physical exertion, managed to get it around a nail.
"WINNER!" exclaimed the vendor. "CHOOSE YOUR PRIZE!"
"The green snake, please." The vendor handed it to him, and Snape pushed it to Evans, smiling shyly.
"Oh, thank you, Sev!" she gushed, squeezing her new snake happily. "It's beautiful!"
Snape grinned.
James scowled. Shuffling through his pockets, he produced three 20 pound notes. His parents had converted their galleons to Muggle money before the trip, and despite knowing a lot about Muggles, they hadn't grasped the Muggle's idea of currency yet.
"I'm pretty sure this is enough," said James, sliding the money toward the vendor. The man's eyes glinted with excitement as he counted the notes.
"He'd like his change back, thank you," admonished Evans, arching an eyebrow to the vendor who blushed.
"Of course, of course," he muttered, handing over the correct amount and the brass rings. "Any time, kid."
Quicker than a snitch, James not only managed to get in one of his rings, he had gotten all of them.
"WINNER!" bellowed the man. "CHOOSE YOUR PRIZES!"
James hummed. "That one, that one and…oh! That one, too, please!" The vendor handed the yellow panda, the blue baboon and the purple lion to James, and with a satisfied smirk, James presented it to Evans.
"Er, thank you, Potter," she said, looking a bit confused as she tried to balance her new stuffed animals. Snape looked ready to kill.
A PA system crackled above their heads. "JAMES POTTER, IF YOU ARE STILL HERE, PLEASE MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE ENTRANCE. YOUR MOTHER IS WORRIED!"
Snape snickered malignantly and Evans surprised them all when she reprimanded him. "Sev, c'mon, that's not cool." The watch on her wrist beeped, and she beamed. "We have half an hour before we have to leave, let's go on the Ferris wheel! See you, Potter!" called Evans, and the redhead ran after her sour friend.
James found his friends straightaway. Sirius, Peter and Remus were standing by the ticket booth at the entrance; the lather was shooting a pointed glare at Peter as he tried to scrub off the mustard stain on his vest.
"This was my favourite sweater, Peter!" exclaimed the werewolf, vigorously wiping away with a napkin.
"Then next time don't get so close to me when I'm eating!"
"Where's mum?" asked James, suddenly remembering the blaring PA message. "I thought they said she was at the entrance?"
"No, we gave that message," explained Remus, finally looking up from his ruined vest. "We were getting fed up with the carnival already, what with Peter still blubbering noisily. Then we ran into that…" he lowered his voice, keeping a wary eye on Peter. "Clown, and Sirius almost lost it."
The Black heir spat at the ground. "That son of a banshee tried to bribe us with his juggling balls to keep shut! The nerve!"
"Hello, boys," Mrs Potter appeared suddenly, dragging an embarrassed Mr Potter in tow. "How was it?"
"Awful."
"I hated it!"
"Brilliant!"
"This will never come off!"
Mrs Potter shot a scowl at her husband. "Well, Mr. I-Know-Everything-Look-At-Me, over here made a complete mockery of us when he exploded the photo booth!"
Mr Potter blushed. "How was I supposed to know the pictures would come out from the slots? It looked like dark magic!"
James' mother rolled her eyes. "Well, one thing's for certain: I am never coming back to the carnival."
"Agreed!"
A/N: Today's this fic's first birthday! FREE MARAUDER COTTON CANDY FOR EVERYONE!
Thanks to: shadowkat678, Harry1675, agryffindorgal, Chuggamuffin, Remus' daughter, MissDemigodWizard, bubblecloudz, Hpdwlotr24, Guest, boodog & The United States of Narnia for reviewing!
Question of the day: What's the best amusement/carnival/fair ride or game? I like the water gun game, but i never win... it's probably rigged like that stupid ring toss! Grr!