Circus freak

Tugging on his braid to ensure it was secure, Harry dutifully held his arms out as Liam, the oldest of the Rakkar children at 17, gripped his shoulder, the place growing almost uncomfortably hot as the older boy cast a fire protection on him. “Good luck guys!” Kyle stage whispered, as both Rakkar children disappeared back behind the doors leading to the back of the Big Top. “Ready Harry?” Leo asked, already on his motorcycle, one leg propped against the floor in preparation to go off. He took a deep breath and nodded, grabbing the bird mask beside him and resting it gently onto his face. He gripped Leo’s shoulders, and clambered onto the back, balancing partially against his brother’s shoulder blades. 

“OUR FINAL ACT OF TONIGHT'S SHOW BEFORE OUR MIDNIGHT SPECIAL, WE FINISH OFF WITH A BANG! PLEASE WELCOME, IN THE GLOBE OF DEATH, LEONARD BOLJAV AND HIS LITTLE BROTHER, HARRY BOLJAV!” The audience exploded in cheers again as what looked like a flaming ball of metal wires was brought out, dangling from the ceiling. The brothers were already within, Harry again perched on the back like a large bird.

“It’s on fire!” Ginny gasped, eyes wide in shock and amazement. “Oh dear,” Mrs Weasley muttered, hand going up to her mouth. The family watched in varying states of worry and novelty as the Globe came to a rest in the middle of the ring, still suspended in mid air. There was silence for a few minutes, and then Leonard, the boy on the motorcycle, kickstarted it into action, the engine shooting out even more flames as Harry jumped off, bare feet seemingly unaffected by the flames. As Leonard started to drive slow, lazy circles around the younger boy, Ginny grabbed Ron’s arm, who, in turn, grabbed Mr Weasely’s arm, gripping onto each other as they watched the older Boljav brother speed up, turning dizzying circles around Harry. The younger boy showed no trace of fear, raising his arms to show that, attached to the shiny black sleeves of his jacket, was a sheet of sheer black membrane with feathers stuck to it, making him look even more like a bird then he had before. A few caught on fire, but nobody in the audience seemed to notice as Leonard started to loop figure eights around his little brother, leaning forward as he concentrated.

Harry watched the crowd as his brother drove around him, picking out a group of redheads, stark against blonde and brown curls. The Weasley family, most likely, the winners of the tickets Jansen had sent out. Interesting. Holding out his arms, Harry grabbed onto Leo’s shoulders, enjoying the gasps of surprise as he jumped onto the back of his motorcycle again while it was still moving, snuffing out the flames by pressing the feathers against his brother’s jacket. Adjusting the mask, he raised an arm and waved to the crowd, his other hand gripping Leo’s shoulder as tightly as possible to avoid falling off.