Rewriting the Stars

Dreaming With Your Eyes Wide Open

Percival had called the entire circus backstage just a mere hour later, waiting patiently for them to shuffle in; they all took notice of the new man immediately, curious and whispering to each other. Newt could only smile weakly, eyes involuntarily scanning the crowd – and then he saw her, standing beside her sister and looking at Percival expectantly; he felt his heart skip a beat in his chest at the sight.

"Alright," Graves began, looking around at all of them with a gleam in his eyes. "You've had a great rehearsal, everyone, and you should be very proud. You finished just in time too, because our new apprentice has arrived; everyone, this is Newton Scamander."

"Just Newt is fine," He added quickly, trying not to go red.

As the acts all eyed him up, the older man continued talking. "Mr Scamander knows a great deal about animals, including some of the wilder ones; I was rather impressed by his knowledge when I talked with him last night, and I think he'll add something excellent to our show. You're all to be nice to him," He added jokingly, and some of them smirked. "Make sure he feels at home with us and all that – he's part of our family now."

The dark-skinned woman in the turban who he had seen singing during the shows stepped forwards, smiling somewhat warily with a glance towards the ring-master. "Of course. Welcome to the circus, Mr Scamander – if you're anything like Percy claims you are, then we're more than happy to have you."

"Oh. Erm..." Nervously, Newt extended his hand. "Right, thank you."

The woman seemed surprised at this, hesitating before placing her hand in his; a few of the other circus acts murmured as they shook hands, looking around at each other curiously. "You're something, Mr Scamander," The woman decided, the corners of her mouth turning up into a smile. "I think you'll fit right in."

Percival clapped his hands together and looked at everyone meaningfully. "Alright, we'll have time for the pleasantries later – right now, I want to polish a few things. Sera, you want to go over your new number?"

"Sure," She said, smiling at him; Newt noticed that the ring-master's cheeks went only slightly pink, giving her a smile of his own.

"Great. Everyone, you've got ten minutes to get some food and all that – and that doesn't mean heading to O' Malley's for a quick drink," He added, casting a knowing glance at a tattooed man. "We're all a part of the number, so everyone needs to be sober."

Newt couldn't help but feel slightly dazed as the circus dispersed, each of the acts retreating to their own areas to freshen up. It didn't escape his notice that a few were still casting glances at him, intrigued and clearly wanting to ask him questions, and he couldn't help but feel slightly relieved that they were too occupied to do so for now.

"Don't worry, you'll be sitting on the side-lines for this rehearsal," Percival assured him suddenly, starting to make his way to his office; the younger man hurried to follow. "We don't have any animals just yet, and even if we did there'd be no way of getting them trained enough for tonight's show, but it shouldn't be too long. For now, you'll just be watching the show, making suggestions and all that."

"Ah. Right."

"You'll come to enjoy the circus life," Graves said, bemused as he held his office door open. "You'll see. They all might look intimidating at first glance, but we're a big family – everyone here will accept you with open arms, so long as you do the same. Now, as for this afternoon's rehearsals, you'll be in the stands and giving feedback to everyone; don't be afraid to be tough on them."

Newt swallowed. "Tough?"

"We can't have them getting lazy," The older man chuckled, going over to his desk and picking up what looked like a cane. "When they get lazy, they stop trying – and we can't have that! Even if it's something small, tell them anyway: it'll push them to do better."