Disclaimer: Usually I write out a very specific disclaimer explaining exactly what it is I don't own but I find myself not really interested in doing so this time as it is very tedious. Suffice it to say I own nothing that was created by anyone else and I am not making any money off of this story or any of the other stories I have written.
AN: This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance.
Chapter 17: Life in the Circus
The sound of a door opening and closing pulled Harry from a deep sleep bordering on unconsciousness. Having no idea where he was or who it was that had just entered the room he was being held in, he held himself still and kept his eyes closed as he listened to the soft footsteps crossing the floor. A moment later, an unfamiliar woman's voice filled the room and Harry nearly flinched in panic as he began to fear the worst; his memories of what had happened during the mission fuzzy at best.
"I thought I would find you in here again; how is he doing?"
"Better, now that he's just sleeping instead of remaining unconscious," Trowa's familiar voice replied and Harry relaxed minutely as the presence of the green eyed teen eased his fear just the tiniest bit.
"I never would have guessed you had a little brother," the woman remarked casually. "Is he the reason why you quit so soon after you were hired?"
"I never expected to find a little brother when I first came to Earth," Trowa replied as someone reached out and adjusted the blankets covering Harry (the wizard praying that it was Trowa and not the unknown woman). "And yes, I quit the circus because my little brother needed someone to watch out for him. It seems he is a rather large trouble magnet; in case you didn't already guess. I really appreciate you allowing us to stay with you while he heals."
"Not my fault this time; Heero was being stupid," Harry rasped out to the shock of the two observing him as he finally opened his eyes; unable to let the remark about him being a trouble magnet pass unremarked upon.
"Oh, his eyes are green just like yours," the young woman exclaimed softly and Harry turned his head just enough to take in her brown, wavy hair, violet eyes that shone with kindness and curiosity, and a lithe form dressed in a pink shirt and brown slacks. "I honestly didn't think he was really your little brother because he looks nothing like you but there is no denying the fact that you both have gorgeous green eyes."
"How are you feeling, Harry? And how much pain are you in right now?" Trowa asked, drawing Harry's attention back to the pilot.
"I feel like I got hit by a speeding train before being run over by a herd of rampaging hippo…s" Harry replied as he closed his eyes and assessed his body for a moment; unconsciously censoring his mouth at the last moment. "My left leg hurts, my left arm hurts, my left shoulder hurts, my head hurts, and I feel like one big bruise. However, don't you even think of sticking me with another needle or I'll give you the cursing of a lifetime right after I give Heero a piece of my mind."
"All I have are some over the counter pain killers," Trowa stated with his almost smile as he leaned forward and helped Harry to sit up (the wizard having trouble doing so himself due to the pain and the casts he only just now noticed on his left arm and leg) before pulling out a bottle of aspirin and shaking out a couple of capsules that he handed to Harry. "I know they won't help much but they should take the edge off the pain enough for you to eat a little something and allow you to sleep a little easier."
"Thanks," Harry murmured as he popped both pills in his mouth before accepting the glass of water the woman held out to him. The water felt like heaven on his parched throat and he greedily drank down the entire glass before leaning back against the pillow Trowa had propped him up against with a soft sigh. He then glanced at the woman again, curious to know who she was and how she knew Trowa.
"Harry, this young woman is my friend and former co-worker, Catherine Bloom," Trowa introduced when he noticed Harry openly studying the woman. "Cathy, this is Harry Barton, my little brother. Cathy has been kind enough to allow us to stay with her while you recover from your fall."
"It is a pleasure to finally meet you, young man," Cathy stated with a smile as she reached out to briefly squeeze Harry's hand.
Harry blushed and ducked his head nervously as he bit his lip in uncertainty and slipped his hand free; never really knowing how to behave around pretty girls (especially those of the non-fan-girl type) and feeling slightly uncomfortable with the physical contact that he hadn't been able to avoid.
"You'll have to forgive my brother; he's rather shy when it comes to meeting new people."
"That's alright, we have plenty of time to get to know one another while the two of you are here," Cathy assured Trowa even as she gave Harry's hand a gentle pat. The young woman then turned to face Trowa before continuing on in a slightly hesitant tone, "I really hate to bother you knowing that you're brother finally woke up but would you be willing to perform in tonight's show? The ringmaster wanted me to ask you again because we're still short one clown; having been unable to find a suitable replacement since you quit a few months back."
"I don't know… I'm not certain I'd feel comfortable leaving Harry by himself in his current condition."
"So long as you promise to come back; I'll be fine on my own," Harry bluntly stated as he looked up at Trowa; still more than a little uncomfortable with the concept of someone hovering over him out of concern for his health just because he'd gotten a little banged up. "S'not like I'm going to go anywhere."
After giving Harry a searching look, Trowa reluctantly agreed to take part in the evening's performance and Cathy flashed them both another of her dazzling smiles. She spent a few more minutes discussing the coming performance before taking her leave so that Trowa and Harry could have a few minutes of privacy. Harry watched her go before turning to face Trowa once more.
"How long have we been here, how bad were my injuries, how much longer do you think we'll need to stay, and do you happen to know what happened to my broom and my wand?"
"You've been unconscious for nearly a week and a half, though we've only been here a couple of days as I needed to treat your injuries immediately," Trowa replied as he leaned forward. "You'd taken a pretty nasty hit on the head in addition to breaking your left leg and arm and dislocating your left shoulder. That's not even counting all of the bruises you picked up when you fell or the severe exhaustion you experienced based upon the amount of magic I sensed rushing passed me after the explosion. You also lost a considerable amount of blood. We'll be here for at least another two weeks if not longer; regardless of how quickly your injuries heal because of everything that happened after Heero self-destructed. Your broom is in Heavyarms because I didn't want anyone seeing it once the spell hiding it wore off and I have your wand here."
"I'm sorry you had to go through so much trouble, Trowa. I didn't expect to get caught up in the backlash from my spell and I lost control of my broom because I was exhausted and hit the ground harder than I expected because I had no way to slow myself down. What happened to the others?"
"We split up after what happened, each of us going to ground in different locations. We also agreed to a complete radio silence for one month at which time we'll make our way back to the Estate and determine what we're going to do now that there are only four of us."
"Heero's alive, Trowa," Harry murmured as he accepted his wand back and rolled it back and forth between his hands while checking to see if it had been damaged when he hit the ground before using it to fix his broken glasses after Trowa passed them to him. He then cast a general diagnostic spell over his left leg and left arm to determine the severity of his injuries as he continued, "He was going to reconnect the self-destruct device and kick me out of Wing; I stunned him before he could. I then sent him back to the underground hanger and faked the destruction of the Gundam. He'd have been out for at least eight or ten hours, possibly longer, because I was angry with him at the time and poured more into the spell that I normally would. He's probably more than a little upset with me right about now."
"You staged that entire show? I thought Heero used you as a distraction so he could destroy the Gundam and get you to safety. If I had known he was alive at the time I think I might have hunted him down and punched him for putting you at risk like that."
"I wasn't about to let him allow some old and manipulative brain-dead geezer to bully him into committing suicide," Harry hissed out vehemently as he leaned forward to pin Trowa with eyes that turned cold and hard. "None of you are allowed to die and leave me alone. I refuse to be left alone again."
Trowa looked gob smacked at Harry's declaration and Harry held his eyes for a full minute before he huffed and settled back against the pillow once more as he groused, "You nosy brats inserted yourselves into my life without so much as a by-your-leave. Then you have all taken to introducing me as your little brother whenever we end up around other people and we need a cover. Not to mention that you've all been treating me like I imagine one would treat a little brother when you each spent time teaching me things for the last several months. And now that I've grown attached to you all despite my best efforts to avoid said attachment; you honestly think I'm going to willingly let you rip yourselves from my life if I can prevent it?"
"I had no idea that you felt that way," Trowa replied with a small measure of astonishment.
"Yeah, well I had no idea I felt that way either until faced with Heero's stupidity and you can bet your arse I'm going to make Heero pay for the stunt he tried to pull. I've half a mind to transfigure him into a mouse and let Seth terrorize him for a couple of hours."
"Remind me never to piss you off," Trowa replied with the first real smile Harry had ever seen him wear, small though it was.
Harry snorted and dug out the leather cord that Duo had given to him so he could carry his magical trunks around with him without worrying about them getting lost if he lost his clothes for any reason. He then tapped his supply trunk with his wand to return it to full size as he held the necklace out over the side of the bed. The trunk landed with a soft thump when Harry let go of the cord as he asked, "Can you carry me down inside so I can grab something to help me heal faster and deal with the pain?"
Trowa took a moment to lock the door before he lifted Harry out of the bed and carried him down into the now open trunk. Like Heero on his first trip into the trunk, the taller teen was more than a little shocked to discover a well stocked supply room inside of the trunk. Harry calmly directed Trowa towards the potions section and spent a minute sifting through the various vials until he found the ones he needed; grabbing a fairly strong pain relieving potion, a weak sleeping potion, the Bone-Knit Potion (his breaks mending cleanly and thankfully not quite serious enough that he needed to regrow any bones), a Rejuvenating Potion (since he still felt slightly drained magically – his magic having been focused on healing his injuries), and a general healing potion that would help take care of any internal injuries.
He also grabbed a change of clothes for when he could finally get up out of bed on his own and an extra pillow to prop his leg up for the night. Once they exited the trunk, Harry dumped everything on the bed before switching the supply trunk for the trunk holding his perishable supplies. If the supply trunk had been an impressive show of magic, it was nothing when compared to the trunk packed with food.
There were dozens of shelves packed with all kinds of canned and preserved food, a refrigerated section packed with fresh produce magically stored in stasis alongside a huge selection of cold drinks, a freezer section holding an assortment of frozen foods and goods (including ice cream), and there was an old fashioned kitchen complete with a sink, oven, and a stove (all powered by runes). Harry grabbed a bottle of butterbeer for Trowa and two of bottles of water for himself before grabbing a loaf of bread, the margarine, a pack of sliced cheese, and two cans of tomato soup after a short debate with Trowa over supper.
Back up in the trailer they were sharing with Cathy, Trowa tucked Harry back into the bed and placed the leather cord of shrunken trunks back over his head (once the trunk had been returned to the size of a matchbook) before gathering up the food to start supper. As Trowa headed towards the kitchen, Harry drank the general healing potion, the pain relieving potion, and the Rejuvenating Potion; leaving both the Bone-Knit Potion and the sleeping potion for after he'd eaten. He then washed away the foul aftertaste of the potions from his mouth with one of the waters he'd grabbed before sitting back with a soft sigh of relief as the pain relieving potion soon numbed his entire body.
When Trowa returned nearly forty-five minutes later, he was wearing a clown costume that consisted of a blue and white checked shirt, baggy green pants with yellow stars, yellow suspenders, a yellow ruff, and a ceramic mask that covered half of his face. Walking in right behind him, carrying a tray, was Cathy wearing a pink, maroon, and purple knee length dress with a gold sash tied around her waist, pink stockings, maroon heels, green star earrings, and two white feathers in her hair. Harry discreetly tucked his empty potion bottles and his two remaining potions beneath the blanket along with his wand as he pulled the extra pillow up onto his lap when he noted the tray in Cathy's hands.
"I must say, I think you are the best thing to happen to your big brother, Harry," Cathy declared catching both Harry and Trowa off guard as she breezed across the room and settled the tray on Harry's lap before sitting down on the bed beside him. "He was always so cold and distant when I first met him and these past few days it was like he was a completely different person as he hovered by your side day and night. To think I found him in the kitchen a little while ago making supper when before he'd just grab whatever was laying around if he bothered to eat at all. You must be a wizard if you managed to bring him out of his shell in such a short time."
Harry choked on the bite he'd just taken from the half of grilled cheese sandwich that had been on the tray the moment Cathy called him a wizard. The irony of that declaration was not lost on the pint-sized teen and he fought to contain the sudden flurry of hysterical giggles he felt bubbling up inside of him.
"You have no idea," Trowa deadpanned which only caused Harry's giggles to burst forth as he slapped his right hand over his mouth, his green eyes dancing in merriment as Cathy glanced between the two boys in confusion. "The way he attracts trouble is almost magical."
Harry snorted once he got his laughter under control and rolled his eyes as he took a drink of water to wash down the bite he'd finally swallowed. He then snorted a second time as he started on the soup; a grin still playing about his lips.
"We have about twenty-five minutes before we're due in the ring," Cathy announced after smiling and shaking her head at their antics. "Is there something I can get for you to help pass the time while your brother is helping me with my act?"
"I don't want to be a bother," Harry replied automatically between bites. "I'll probably just sleep once the two of you leave since I am not in quite so much pain now."
"Oh, sweetie; I doubt you could be a bother if you tried," Cathy chided with another smile (prompting Trowa to snort in disbelief and amusement this time and Harry stuck his tongue out at the green eyed pilot in response). "How about I bring you a couple of books just in case you can't sleep and find yourself bored? I have a couple of books on magic tricks and another on card tricks that you might find fun."
"Not a word," Harry whispered furiously as soon as she vanished through the door without waiting for Harry to answer her. "If I didn't know better, I'd swear you put her up to it."
"Maxwell is the prankster in our group, not me," Trowa dryly pointed out with another small smile. "But you have to admit it is kind of funny and more than a little ironic, considering…"
Before Harry could reply, Cathy was back with the promised books and Harry gave her a small smile as he thanked her for them. She left again a few minutes later, to finish getting ready, leaving Harry to finish his supper while Trowa quietly asked if the potions were working (they were) and if he needed anything else before he had to go (no). Ten minutes later, Harry was left alone in the trailer as Cathy and Trowa headed to the main tent while Harry snuggled down in the bed, took his remaining potions, and idly flipped through the card trick book before the sleeping potion slowly pulled him under.
Harry spent the next three days in bed (for appearance's sake). He probably would have been bored out of his mind if not for Trowa's and Cathy's constant presence between performances as the young woman mothered both teens. It was a decidedly odd experience for Harry as she was nothing like Aunt Petunia or Mrs. Weasley; both of whom were far more domineering than mothering in their methods. She always kept Harry company whenever Trowa had to step out for a bit, made certain Harry had plenty to keep him busy on the nights when Trowa performed, and took the time to ask him how he was feeling. She even helped him learn and practice the various card tricks from the book she'd let him borrow.
Once he was allowed up out of bed, Harry hobbled around on crutches for two days before he grew annoyed with the pretense of still being on the mend; Trowa did make him keep the casts on for another three days after that though. The pilot had also helped Harry make a holster of sorts for his wand so that Harry could keep it close at hand without worrying about someone seeing it. Harry grumbled but for the most part didn't really care so long as he didn't have to deal with the crutches because they were awkward and left him off balance.
Now that he was up and about, Harry spent his free time wandering through the circus during the daylight hours with wide eyes as he'd never been to a circus before. He was fascinated by the various performers and would often watch them practice their acts. When he wasn't doing that, he would visit the various animals and ended up making a friend of the lavender albino reticulated python that the circus kept.
Harry actually caused quite a panic the first time he was found inside the python's cage by one of the workers the day before he was supposed to have his casts removed. He'd climbed in to help the large female remove a fairly large amount of stuck sheds as her cage had been far too dry with far too little room for her to move about in order to properly remove the old skin. He'd been holding a warm, damp wash cloth against the snake's left eye to loosen the stuck eye cap when the ringmaster had stormed up and began yelling at Harry.
Harry merely snorted and continued working on removing the eye cap; he'd promised Beauty (which is what he named the large snake after befriending her) that he'd help her and he wasn't about to break his word. It was a testament to how many of the workers actually feared the large snake when none of them dared reach into the cage in order to extract Harry despite being ordered to do so by the ringmaster. Eventually, Cathy and Trowa turned up to find out what was going on after they both heard about the commotion and while Cathy gasped fearfully when she saw him inside the cage, Trowa merely sighed.
"Really, Harry, another snake?"
"Beauty needed help," Harry replied as he frowned at his 'big brother' after pulling off a huge section of dead skin from Beauty's face. "They've got her in too small of a cage and they aren't keeping the humidity up high enough. She was suffering… I couldn't just leave her."
"Of course not… I suppose I should at least be thankful it wasn't another cobra."
"What's wrong with Seth? I thought you liked Seth… he and the others keep the house free of rats," Harry retorted before he bit his lip and glanced worriedly at Trowa. "Do you think Seth and the rest of the snakes are alright all by themselves? I didn't expect to be gone this long and I don't think anyone else will think to check on him."
"I'm sure Seth will be just fine; considering you gave him and the others free run of the entire house. How much longer do you think it's going to take you to finish up in there? I think you're making the workers antsy because… Beauty was it? Beauty there is big enough to swallow you whole."
"Unless there's a pool I could soak her in for about a half hour it will probably take me the rest of the day to remove the old skin. She really needs a bigger cage and a large pond of her own to soak in. Reticulated pythons typically live in rainforests and often are found swimming in rivers throughout Southeast Asia. I mean really… whose bright idea was it to pack a near full grown python into what amounts to a sardine can!? They could have at least given her something to climb on so she could stretch out once in a while."
"Aren't you worried that she will hurt you?" Cathy asked into the silence that followed Harry's short rant.
Harry turned to the young woman and blinked before glancing down at Beauty who'd just wrapped herself around his stomach and draped her head on his shoulder as she curiously watched those watching her and Harry. Harry then tilted his head to one side as he absently ran the wet wash cloth along the length of Beauty that was wrapped around his waist; pulling free another section of dead skin. He then glanced back up at Cathy and smiled a half smile as he shook his head.
"I'm not afraid of Beauty, I know she'd never intentionally hurt me."
"Boy, that snake has taken a bite out of nearly every hand or arm that makes it way inside of her cage," one of the workers declared bitterly.
"She doesn't seem to mind me," Harry shot back as he lifted his chin and glared at the man. "And my name is not boy."
"I don't care what your name is, kid," the ringmaster declared as he threw up his arms. "You need to come out of there before you get hurt."
'Want to have some fun, Beauty?' Harry asked as he turned his back to the crowd and addressed the snake.
'What did you have in mind, little hatchling?'
'They think you're going to hurt me and they want me to come out. I thought maybe you could follow me out when I leave.'
'I think I'd like that… it's been too long since I stretched out my coils. Do you think you can find me a pond or a river to soak in? I miss the feeling of water sliding between my scales.'
'I think I can fix up something for you… When I open the cage, I'll make certain you have enough room to get out between my legs so they can't lock you in behind me.'
Beauty nodded and withdrew her coils from Harry as he turned around and pretended to pout as he reluctantly headed towards the door to the cage. Just before he opened the door, Harry glanced right at Trowa (to gauge his current mood) before casting his eyes back at Beauty to make certain she was ready. He then pulled the door wide open, set his feet slightly more than shoulder's width apart, and made to look as if he was going to jump down. Beauty chose that moment to lunge out of the cage between his feet and many of those that had been gathered around watching the unfolding drama screamed and began scrambling backwards.
"Oops, my bad," Harry drawled with feigned innocence as he hid a smirk and just stood there watching Beauty slither all the way out of the cage. "Looks like Beauty thought I was going to take her for the walk I promised her earlier."
Trowa palmed his face as Harry jumped down beside the twenty-five foot python and calmly started pacing beside the enormous snake. A flash of silver flying through the air had Harry dropping his clueless act as he darted forward and plucked the knife from the air before it could harm the snake. He then hissed a warning to Beauty that had her coiling up behind and around him as two more knives flew towards them. This time he was able to identify the culprit and Harry plucked both knives from the air and sent them right back at the man, pinning him in place by the foot. Harry then held the first knife ready as he glared at the man who'd just tried to kill Beauty.
"You alright, Harry?" Trowa asked as he calmly walked up beside the pair.
"Yeah… but I'm pissed as hell. Beauty wasn't going to hurt anyone… she just wanted a little exercise and a little help getting her stuck shed off. He had no business trying to kill her."
'You are agitated, little hatchling.'
'I'm angry they tried to hurt you, Beauty,' Harry murmured in parseltongue as he reached down to hold Beauty's head in his hands so he could look her in the eye (careful not to cut her with the knife he still held). 'I couldn't stand the thought of you getting hurt.'
"A pint-sized, knife wielding, snake charmer?" the ringmaster mused as he looked at Harry with dollar signs in his eyes. "I'll tell you what, Barton, you let me put your brother in the ring and I'll not toss you both out on your ears or have you both arrested for the stunt he just pulled with the python."
"I'll agree so long as you provide Beauty with a proper cage, include Trowa in whatever act you plan to have me perform, and pay us the same amount you pay the other performers," Harry declared after recalling what Trowa had said about them having to wait a while longer before they could go home and after glancing up at Trowa who was looking torn over the ultimatum (the teen's eyes glinting with worry even though the rest of his face remained blank).
"What makes you think I'm willing to bargain with you, kid?"
"Because if you want to exploit me for money, you'll agree to my conditions or I'll call the authorities on you for animal cruelty."
"Why you snot nose little brat…"
"I wouldn't finish that sentence, if I were you," Trowa growled as he dropped a hand on Harry's shoulder (to keep Harry from saying anything) and stepped forward to block Harry from the man's view (placing himself between Harry and the ringmaster). "I don't think my brother was asking for too terribly much and I won't even ask for any back pay for the last few nights that I've performed for you for as a favor for Cathy. I'll even put together an act that will showcase his best talents and draw the crowds."
"Fine… but you'd better make it worth my while."
"If you provide the bigger cage I'll do all the work to make it livable," Harry added as he peered around Trowa to meet the ringmaster's near glare. "I'll even take over feeding her and cleaning out her cage, on my own time, for as long as we are here."
"The others are going to kill me," Trowa muttered as they watched the ringmaster stalk away after agreeing to Harry's added compromises and his original conditions.
"I'm sorry, Trowa, I didn't mean to cause trouble for you," Harry meekly apologized as he stared up at the pilot with worried green eyes as he bit his lip uncertainly. "I just wanted to help Beauty because she was so miserable trapped in that cage and after recalling what you said about how much longer we'd need to wait I thought it best to play along with the man instead of stirring up more trouble."
"I can't believe you two," Cathy hissed as she walked up to them while keeping a careful eye on the python that was still half wrapped around Harry.
"Don't blame Trowa," Harry practically ordered as he scratched Beauty under the chin. "He had nothing to do with me being in the snake cage or with me allowing her to sneak out. I'm going to go find Beauty a place to soak so I can finish helping her shed."
Harry climbed out of Beauty's coils and headed towards the small forest the circus had been camped beside, intending to use his magic to create a pool for the snake once he was out of sight; Beauty slithering along at his feet without needing to be told. The moment they slipped beneath the trees, Harry pulled out his wand and set up a few temporary wards to prevent anyone from the circus stumbling upon them. He then set about digging a decent sized pool before filling it with water and adding a few warming charms so that Beauty wouldn't freeze.
After soaking for about an hour and crawling all over the nearby trees to free herself from the old skin, Beauty practically glowed in the afternoon light filtering through the tree. Harry complimented her repeatedly as he got rid of the pool and dropped the wards so they could return to the circus. Once Beauty was returned to her cage, with promises to see to it that she was moved soon, Harry returned to Cathy's trailer where he found Cathy in the kitchen banging around pots and pans angrily as she made supper and Trowa jotting down ideas for their act.
Harry dropped down beside Trowa and looked over what he'd written so far before he picked up a pen, snagged a blank piece of paper, and began writing out a few suggestions of his own. He even added a comment off to one side about asking Cathy to combine her act with theirs since he knew she usually tossed a few knives about during her performance and he didn't want her to lose her job on his account. When he finished, he set down his pen and dropped what he'd written down in front of Trowa before vanishing into the guest bedroom to change his clothes and wash up before dinner.
Ten minutes later, he returned to the kitchen to find Cathy sitting beside Trowa discussing the tentative act they were putting together. Harry paused and studied her for a moment only to do a double take when he noticed the slight resemblance between Trowa and Cathy in the shape of their faces. Shaking it off as his imagination, Harry returned to watching the young woman (he'd learned she was also seventeen just a couple of days earlier – her birthday falling a couple of months earlier than his) to see if she was still angry. When it didn't look like he was going to get a scolding, Harry slipped into an empty seat at the table and listened to the others putting together the new act.
"Where are you going to get that many venomous snakes on such short notice," Cathy suddenly asked. "And why venomous? Isn't that going to be far too dangerous?"
"It's still summer, so it will be easy to find the snakes," Harry answered when Trowa glanced at him since it was Harry that had asked for the snakes. "I'm not expecting to find that many venomous ones though I'm hoping the majority of them will be since that would draw far more attention to the act and they will not harm me any more than Beauty would have harmed me."
"He's just as bad as you are when it comes to the big cats," Cathy huffed at Trowa in mild exasperation.
"What can I say, animal charmers run in the family," Trowa quipped and Harry looked at him with startled eyes as he hadn't known that Trowa considered himself a charmer of sorts nor had he known Trowa had a thing for the big cats aside from the fact that he occasionally treated them with his limited medical training.
"I should have known… okay venomous snakes aside," Cathy muttered as she made a slight face at the thought of being surrounded by deadly snakes. "How confident are you that Harry can do these knife tricks you have listed? I mean he's what, eight? He might have a way with snakes but can you say the same for his ability to handle blades?"
"I really hate being short… I'm twelve, not eight," Harry huffed as he reluctantly used the closest possible number to his real age that was believable. "And while I can't do anything too fancy, I do know what I'm doing. I can show you if you'd like."
"You saw him pluck three knives out of the air and pin Brudy's foot to the ground earlier this afternoon, Cathy."
"I know… but I wasn't certain I saw what I thought I saw because I've never seen a kid handle blades like that and at the time I was far more worried about the python harming him."
They finished ironing out the details a few minutes later, including potential costumes, and Cathy took the finished step by step description of the new act to the ringmaster for approval while Harry and Trowa ate supper and cleaned up the kitchen. Trowa then escorted Harry back out to the forest where Harry spent the next hour calling to all of the wild snakes in the vicinity (both venomous and non-venomous in order to get the numbers he had wanted for the act).
All it took to garner their cooperation for their first performance (if their act was approved) was the promise of a fresh meal or in a few cases a bit of first aide to rid the snakes of mites, ticks, and other parasites or to heal a troublesome injury. Trowa helped carry the snakes back to the trailer in a handful of pillow cases where they would be spending the next few nights beneath Harry's bed where they would be warm after he solicited promises from them not to bite anyone or fight amongst themselves (most snakes being solitary creatures by nature).
Fifty-two hours later, Harry was standing in the shadows nervously waiting for the ringmaster to announce their act. He glanced over at the truck where the large crate holding the snakes that had agreed to help him out sat on the truck bed before he glanced sideways to his left where Trowa was standing with his arms crossed watching the current act finish their performance. The fifteen year old was dressed in form fitting black slacks, a dark maroon silk dress shirt with a black tie, and black dress shoes that didn't seem quite as flashy as the clown costume he normally wore and at the same time made him look far more intimidating.
Harry on the other hand, was dressed in baggy black jeans, a black undershirt, a cotton blend dress shirt the same color as Trowa's shirt that he wore unbuttoned with the sleeves rolled up, and a black pair of running shoes. The casual look was meant to give him the appearance of not belonging in the act while the matching colors said he did (a slight trick to fool the audience). Harry had used magic to change both his and Trowa's hair to a pale reddish brown (that almost matched Cathy's hair color, only lighter). Harry's hair had then been spiked wildly while Trowa's was tamed into something a bit more presentable after both of them were given a quick trim by Cathy. The last thing Harry had done was use magic to change the color of his left eye and Trowa's right eye to blue and then convinced Cathy that they were using colored contacts.
A glance to his right revealed a slightly nervous Cathy; the young woman alternating between fiddling with her throwing knives and smoothing down her skirt. Unlike the outfit she was wearing for her prior act, Cathy was wearing a new backless black and maroon dress that was a little more daring than her other stage outfits (the black skirt ending around mid-thigh in the front and with the back falling down to her knees) and wore knee high black boots. She'd also forgone her usual white feathers and wore instead three black and maroon feathers that were longer than her white ones.
All together, the three of them made a striking trio or they would have if not for the fact that Harry was a good two and a half feet shorter than both of the other teens. Still, the ringmaster had been happy enough with their new look and had posters with their picture on them splashed across the outside of the tent and about the nearest town well before sunset.
The sound of applause rang loudly as the acrobats finished their performance and Harry brushed the sweat from his palms and swallowed thickly as one of the clowns started up the truck and drove it out into the ring when he was given his cue. Five more clowns darted out after him with the rest of their props and Harry felt his legs start shaking and wondered if he'd actually be able to go through with this.
"Relax, you're going to do just fine, Harry," Trowa softly assured him as he dropped a hand onto Harry's shoulder and gave a light squeeze when the wizard flinched just the slightest bit at the touch. "Just imagine that you're back with the others practicing your juggling again."
Harry gave the green-eyed pilot a tight smile as the clowns gallivanted around the ring for another minute before getting chased out by the truck driving clown (the crate of waiting snakes having been left off to one side of the ring). Taking a deep breath, Harry closed his eyes for a heartbeat as he waited for the ringmaster and the band to signal his entrance. The moment he heard the drum roll sound (after missing the ringmaster's announcement), he shoved his hands in his pockets and began whistling a jaunty (if a little shaky) tune as loud as he could as he seemingly skipped out into the ring by mistake. He paid no mind to the audience as he stumbled to a stop after pretending to trip over one of the brightly colored balls that the clowns had left scattered about the ring.
The laughter that rang out had Harry glancing up at the audience and he didn't have to fake the deer-in-the-headlights look that crept onto his face as he jumped back and glanced around as if looking for the ringmaster. When no one came out, Harry sheepishly rubbed the back of his head and quickly ducked down to gather up the colored balls and made to leave the ring again, only to pause and glance around again for the ringmaster. He then began trying to juggle the balls, purposefully dropping them which had him scrambling across the ground until he was just ten feet away the box of snakes.
It was at that point that Cathy and Trowa entered the ring only for them to stop and hold what looked like a short argument when they saw Harry still trying to gather up the balls and juggle them. Harry jumped when Trowa let out a piercing whistle and tried to send him out of the ring but Harry shook his head and began trying to juggle the balls again only to drop them once more. Trowa once again ordered Harry out of the ring and when he turned his back to say something to Cathy, Harry beaned him in the back of the head with one of the balls to the audience's delight.
Cathy turned to hide her laughter while Harry whistled innocently as Trowa mock glared, picked up the offending ball, and threw it back at Harry. Harry yelped and ducked to avoid getting hit (dropping the rest of the juggling balls he'd been holding). As planned, the ball struck the latch on the box of snakes which dropped a ramp down with a crash and Cathy (and a good portion of the audience) let out a very real scream as close to two hundred local snakes (more than half of them venomous) began pouring out of the crate. In the mean time, Harry was scrambling to pick up the scattered balls once more; seemingly completely unaware of the snakes rapidly swarming towards him.
Harry was bent over, picking up a pink ball when he froze as he caught sight of the snakes and he barely jerked back upright when he was completely surrounded. By this time, Trowa was tightly holding Cathy as if comforting her (or possibly holding her back) as they both watched the snakes coiling around Harry and climbing up his legs. Trowa then began searching his clothes until he pulled out a trio of knives and spent a moment calming Cathy before he threw the knives with deadly accuracy in order to kill a few of the snakes, looking as if he hoped to clear the way for Harry to get free. Harry stuffed the balls he'd been holding into his pockets and settled his feet firmly as he appeared frozen in place as the knives headed straight for him.
'Get ready friends,' Harry hissed in warning to the snakes under his breath as he flexed his fingers.
Harry then plucked the three blades out of the air and tossed them up out of the way as Trowa sent another trio and the audience screamed again as they believed that Harry wouldn't be able to dodge the falling knives due to his earlier act with the balls. Silence fell over the entire tent as the blades above him rushed down towards him at the same time as the blades Trowa had just thrown headed straight for him. All of the air seemed to get sucked out of the tent in the next second as Harry's hands flashed through the air and expertly caught all six blades and cheekily held them up three in each hand while Trowa appeared to pull his hair out over the snakes that were still posing and coiling around his feet or climbing up and around his body.
Harry then struck a thoughtful pose as he glanced at the blades and to the audience's horror he began juggling them. After nearly a full minute, in which the crowd was digesting what was happening, applause began ringing out along with whistles, cat calls, and laughter as they realized they'd been had. Harry cheekily grinned and nodded at Trowa who began throwing additional knives at Harry one at a time until Harry was juggling fifteen of them.
Cathy covered her face with her hands for several moments, her anxiety very real, before she plastered a fake smile on her face and set up the target for the next part of their act. Once the target was in position, Trowa let Harry know by throwing the last knife and the moment he caught it, Harry began throwing all the knives one after another at the target until a circle of fifteen blades surrounded the first blade in the very center. The crowd went wild as Harry executed a careful bow, covered in snakes as he was, before he began petting the various snakes that were crawling on him.
Whispering a soft command to the snakes, Harry carefully sat down as if he was exhausted and the audience screamed again as the snakes swarmed over him, completely hiding him from view. A minute later, Harry resurfaced lying on his back as the snakes carried him back up into the crate and pulled the ramp up behind them; sealing both Harry and themselves back inside of the crate with Harry's help once the audience could no longer see him. Harry thanked all of the snakes as he climbed up the short ladder leading to the small door on the top of the crate while waiting for his signal to resurface.
Meanwhile, outside of the box, Cathy and Trowa were racing across the ring calling out Harry's name. The moment they began pounding on the crate, Harry popped open the door on top and leaned over the side. Cathy yelled up at him to get out of there and Harry pretended to pout before he ducked back down inside for a moment. When he came back up he had a pair of snakes around his neck and both Trowa and Cathy ordered him to put the snakes back. Harry pouted again and reluctantly returned the snakes back to the crate before he climbed all of the way out and closed the lid.
Trowa slumped back against the crate at that point and Harry pulled one of the colored juggling balls out of his pocket and bounced it off Trowa's head much to the crowd's amusement. Trowa climbed up onto the crate and carefully dragged Harry down to the ground where he was promptly scolded and sent from the ring. Harry tucked his hands in his pockets and shuffled dejectedly out of the ring and the two teens began preparing to start their act when the crowd screamed again as a snake popped out of the back of Harry's shirt and appeared to taunt the two older teens.
Harry cringed as he was told to put the snake down and he pouted as Trowa threw up his arms to argue with Cathy over whose fault tonight's disaster was and Harry took that opportunity to hit Trowa in the back of the head with one final ball before he darted off out of sight with the snake still wrapped around his neck. Harry dropped down and buried his hands in his face the moment he reached the staging area, his entire body shaking as the realization that he'd just performed in front of close to a thousand people forcefully slammed back into his mind. He couldn't even bring himself to watch Cathy 'bully' Trowa into being a target as she 'blamed' him for Harry's stunts while throwing knives at him.
He didn't even hear the audience's cat calls, cheers, and jeers when Trowa lifted his entire body up out of the way as one knife came dangerously close to hitting him in the family jewels accidentally on purpose (apparently Cathy had a bit of a vindictive streak). They finished two minutes later and the crowd went completely wild. It took one of the clowns leaning down and reminding Harry that he needed to go back out to take a bow to break through Harry's post-stage-fright breakdown. Whistles and cat calls rang out as Harry tentatively crept back out into the ring seemingly unnoticed by Trowa and Cathy.
He shyly waved at them and offered a nervous bow before he dug out another ball from his pocket and threw it at Trowa, intending to hit him in the back of the head one last time. Trowa reached out and caught the ball at the last second and stared down at it before he glanced back over his shoulder at Harry who scratched the back of his neck and tried to avoid looking at Trowa. Harry yelped and jumped back as the ball hit nearly hit him in the head in return and Harry tucked his thumbs in his ears, wiggled his fingers, and stuck his tongue out at Trowa.
His laughter and the crowd's rang out as Trowa chased Harry out of the ring while Cathy threw up her hands and followed after. Harry stumbled to a stop once he was out of sight once more and sagged back against the side of the clown car as Trowa caught up with him a minute later. He wrapped his arms around his stomach as he glanced up at the taller teen stopped beside him and blurted out, "I don't know if I could do that again, Trowa; I've never been so nervous before and I feel like I'm going to throw up."
"It gets easier over time," Trowa assured him. "I felt the same way the first time I ever performed in front of a crowd; even though I hid it almost as well as you did out there. You did great, Harry; the crowd loved you."
"It's been a long time since I've felt so nervous and terrified out in the ring," Cathy stated as she walked up beside them. "I was not expecting you to have found quite that many snakes and I couldn't believe just how calm you looked out there surrounded by so many deadly snakes. Personally, I never want to see you do it again. Professionally, however, you stole the show with your acting and talent and it was a pleasure performing with you both out there."
"Less beaning me in the back of the head next time would be appreciated," Trowa dryly added setting both Harry and Cathy to giggling.
"I guess it was kind of fun once I forgot about everyone who was watching. The snakes really seemed to enjoy themselves as well. I still don't know how I'll do it again though."
"I think you'll do just fine," Cathy declared as she smiled and ruffled Harry's hair (the wizard for once not flinching away from her as his thoughts were still far too focused on his performance). "You handled yourself out there far better than I would have expected for your first time performing in front of such a large crowd. I think you take after your brother in that sense."
Two hours later, at the end of the show, Harry returned to the ring one last time that night to take a final bow along with all of the other performers. It might have been his imagination but he thought maybe the crowd cheered a little louder when the three of them walked out together. In some ways it reminded him of the first time he'd played Quidditch in front of the entire school but not exactly the same because at no point did anyone or anything truly try to kill him (even if it appeared just the opposite to the crowd).
The only thing that would have made it better was if the other four pilots and the Maganacs had been there to share the moment.
AN: This chapter was almost pure filler and lots of fun. The important part being the beginning where Harry verbally admits to having grown attached to all of the pilots and forbids them to die and leave him alone. Introducing Cathy was important as well, of course. And while a child performer with Harry's apparent young age would be highly frowned upon during current times in our world; please keep in mind that the GW verse is not exactly our world and I've made the ringmaster a less honest person than he is in the series simply because I needed to set up what happens in the next chapter.
Well, that and I really wanted Harry to have a moment to just be a kid; something he's rarely ever had a chance to do in canon (at least that is how I see the series); and what better place to be a kid than at the circus? ~ Jenn