Comets and Cupids

The first rehearsal went terribly, partially because half the group wanted to tear each other’s hair out, but mainly because Sirius Black refused to cooperate. Remus hadn’t expected that the practice would go well, of course, but he had thought that Sirius would be more mature than to stand stationary in the corner out of spite.

Barty was there, and although Remus had seen an empty dormitory that same morning, a part of him hadn’t expected Barty to make an appearance. However, it was Evan that wasn’t present. Remus had no idea where the boy was, but he didn’t blame him for hiding from the rehearsal. Due to lack of partner, Barty now stood next to Sirius in the corner.

The only chaotic pair that had not fallen out was, surprisingly, James and Regulus. They were working on the choreography that Frank Longbottom had given the group at the start of the class.

Regulus’ willingness to practise shouldn’t have surprised Remus as much as it did. He already knew of the boy’s extreme motivation and the fact that his brother was huffing in the corner most likely fuelled him. Remus had to respect him for his dedication.

It wasn’t like he was talking to James. Lord, Regulus Black would never. But the pair worked together in silence-well, in an eventual silence. James had unsuccessfully tried to strike up a conversation at the beginning. He had given up when he had only received death glares in return, and now they only spoke when Regulus commented sharply on what James was doing wrong.

The girls, on the other hand, worked brilliantly together. The pairs were all learning the duet and already, Remus could see that they danced magnificently together.

Hestia and Amelia were the furthest along with their dance. After years of a close-knit friendship they could practically read each other’s minds and worked phenomenally together.

Mary and Emmeline appeared to be having the time of their lives. They were laughing and joking, while somehow simultaneously practicing on the barre and beginning to tackle the duet dance.

Lily and Dorcas made a perfect pair. Remus knew that Dorcas would be satisfied with the duet, and Lily the same. They were analysing the choreography before they decided to start learning it. The girls were very different-Lily was emotional and creative while Dorcas was sharp and fierce-however when working together they used this to their advantage. He hated to admit it, but he was jealous. He doubted he would ever experience that kind of trust and closeness with a dance partner. He envied the pair.

James was talking to Sirius, trying to convince him to work with Remus. Remus hadn’t asked James to, but he still grateful. As little as he cared for ballet, he didn’t fancy being kicked out of Hogwarts because he couldn’t learn a duet. He didn’t have the entire ballet industry’s affection to fall back on like Sirius did.

“Sirius, please.” James pleaded, glancing nervously over his shoulder. Regulus had given him a five minute break and time was running out.

“No.” Sirius responded, straightening up.

“You’re going to have to learn it at some point.”

“No.”

“Don’t be so stubborn, Sirius. It won’t get you anywhere.” James seemed to begin panicking when he saw Regulus staring daggers at him from the barre.

“No.”

“God, Sirius, you’re impossible sometimes.” James shook his head in frustration.

“No.”

“Please?”

“No.”

He threw up his arms and turned away. “Sorry, Remus. I tried.” James whispered before rushing off to join Regulus at the barre.

He was weighing up the option of staying in the class when he decided against it. He walked up to the Frank Longbottom and asked to be excused.

Frank looked over Remus’ shoulder at Sirius. He sighed. “I suppose there’s no point in staying.” Even the choreographer knew better than to try and bargain with Sirius, it seemed.

He wandered the corridors, treking through hallways and up and down staircases before he found the large oak double doors that led to the courtyard. He spent his entire walk silently complaining about the duets and mentally arguing with Sirius Black. He was, in fact, aware of how unhinged it was to be having arguments with people inside his head. However, he did not give a shit.

It bugged him, Sirius’ unwillingness to cooperate. He was aware that he didn’t like Remus, and the feeling was mutual, but did Sirius really hate him so much that he was going to risk his spot in the World’s because of him? He was being ridiculous.

When he pushed open one of the doors he was surprised, to say the least, to find Evan Rosier on a park bench in the courtyard accompanied by a boy Remus immediately recognised as the one from the party that had been flirting with Evan. The boy’s sapphire blue eyes stood out against his dark hair in the daylight.

They were talking and laughing, throwing an occasional light-hearted slap at the others arm. In short, Remus saw they were flirting.

He waddled his way over to the bench, standing awkwardly for a moment before Evan noticed him.

“Remus!” He exclaimed, jumping up. The boy he was with stood too, looking at Remus with wide eyes.

“What are you doing here?!” Evan seemed delighted, which surprised Remus. He was aware that Evan had a naturally upbeat liveliness about him-except for morning times when he had to be dragged out of bed. But giving the current circumstances and the fact that Remus hadn’t seen Evan since he stormed out of the stage, he hadn’t been expecting such a warm welcome.

“I could ask you the same thing…” He trailed off carefully. He looked between the two boys. “Is this a…?”

“-We’re just hanging out.” Evan nodded, saving Remus from having to directly inquire about the his dating life.

“Remus, this is Devon.” Evan gestured to the boy. “And Devon, this is Remus. Devon works in the lighting department. You know, lights and sounds and stuff. Backstage.”

“Nice to meet you.” Devon smiled at him. Oh god Remus thought. This is not going to end well.

“Likewise.” He attempted to grin in return.

“We just thought we’d sit out in the sun for a while. Lovely day, today.” Evan said in a light tone. Remus nodded in agreement while he looked up at the grey sky.

“Ok…ok, ok, ok…So, Evan could I talk to you for a moment.” He gestured wildly with his hands while he stuttered through his question before gesturing to the other side of the courtyard.

“Sure.” Evan smiled and walked over behind Remus, out of earshot to Devon, who was now staring at his shoelaces.

“Devon’s great, isn’t he?” Evan smiled. He swayed slightly as he stood, and he acted brainless-well, more brainless than usual. But normally, Evan’s idiocies were intentional, part of his act to be the joker. However, at this moment he seemed unaware of how ludicrous it was to appear unaffected after the previous few days events.

“Evan…Evan are you alright?” Remus asked carefully. Evan looked at him, bewildered.

“Of course I am! Why wouldn’t I be?” He laughed.

“Evan…”

“What, Remus?” He asked in the same airy tone.

“The duets…”

“Please, Remus. I might’ve had a minor slip when we were first paired, but it doesn’t affect me now.” He rolled his eyes. “If it bothered me, would I be out with Devon right now?”

Remus cursed under his breath. Why did it have to be him having this conversation? “Look…Evan. I want you to consider the possibility that maybe you’re using Devon as a method of showing you don’t care about Barty?” His voice got higher and higher as he spoke, trying desperately not to offend Evan.

“Maybe me going out with Devon just shows that naturally.” Evan said stiffly.

“Evan, you’re in denial.” Remus pleaded.

“Look, Remus. I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt because you’re my friend and I know you have my best interests at heart.” His voice was serious now, stern but not angry. “I appreciate your concern but I can handle my own love life.” He finished seriously before beginning to move back towards the bench.

“Evan-Evan wait-!” Remus called after him.

He turned to face Remus. “You’re right. I’m sorry. It’s none of my business.”

Evan flashed him a grin. “Don’t worry about it.”

And they were okay again. But Remus still had a sick feeling in his stomach for Evan and for what his friend would have to go through in the coming weeks. He tried to clear his head as he made his way back to the dormitories.

. . .

He ended up training later in the evening with Regulus. Remus had suggested that he himself should train alone, after all Regulus had already completed several hours of practice for the duets. But Regulus insisted.

“I swear-he never shuts up.” Regulus was complaining about James, a new hobby he’d recently picked up. “Like-how many death stares can you give a person before they get the hint?!”

Remus was getting slightly concerned. Regulus had been talking about James for nearly half an hour and Remus had never heard him rave like this before.

They were in Studio B, Regulus was practising at the barre while Remus was working on his spinning technique.

“I mean-how can someone truly, honestly and seriously bring up fish mongers as a conversation starter?!”

Remus paused mid-pirouette and stared at Regulus. “Fish mongers…?!” He asked, extremely confused.

“Fish mongers.” Regulus confirmed with a single nod.

Remus laughed to himself. Trust James Potter to come up with something like that. Regulus clearly didn’t see it, but James had been so desperate to ease the tension that he’d gone to outrageous levels to strike up a conversation. Remus shook his head and grinned. Typical James.

Regulus looked at him through squinted eyes. “What are you smiling about?” He asked sharply.

“Nothing.” He waved his hand in dismissal. “What did he have to say about fish mongers?” Remus grinned wryly.

“I don’t know. I didn’t listen.” Regulus said defensively. He wasn’t sure why, but Remus was sure he saw something in Reg’s eyes that suggested that maybe he had heard what James said about the topic.

They went back to the dormitories a few hours later. Remus was exhausted, to say the least. Regulus was a ruthless dance partner and he had insisted that they continue practicing. God help James Potter, he thought.

It was late when he finally climbed into his bed. His dormitory was empty-he was glad, because if he had seen Barty Crouch Jr at that moment he wouldn’t have been responsible for his actions.

He lay on his back because his bones ached terribly and he stared at the ceiling. He was thinking. Just thinking. About the duets, about Evan, about how if neither of them learnt the dance they were likely to get kicked out of Hogwarts. Even if he didn’t like ballet, he liked this school, and he liked his friends. If he got expelled it would ruin him. So he cleared his mind and just thought about his friends. As individuals, aside from their drama. He was closer to the people here than he’d ever been to anyone before. He’d never had a real friend before, and now he had several. He wasn’t exactly conscious, but somehow he knew that falling asleep that night was incredibly peaceful.

Until he was woken by a hammering on his door.

. . .

He woke immediately with a start. He wasn’t entirely awake, his eyes were half closed and he wasn’t sure exactly why he had leaped out of bed. By the time he’d stumbled over to the door he was aware of the pounding coming from the other side.

He knew it was early-he didn’t check the clock, he couldn’t see through his eyes at that moment-and he would’ve been agitated if he wasn’t so confused. He swung the door open without bothering to turn on the light.

The light flooded in from the hall, but that wasn’t what made Remus go wide-eyed. It was the sight of Sirius Black standing outside his dormitory with his fist frozen in the air from where he’d been preparing to hammer at the door again.

“Sirius?!” Remus’ voice was hoarse and he might’ve cursed himself for it if his brain had been functioning correctly.

“We’re going to practice.” Sirius said in a monotone voice.

“We’re what?!” He spluttered loudly, and he realised that he probably sounded a little insane.

Sirius looked at him oddly, which Remus thought was kind of harsh, considering he wasn’t the one who’d woken up his arch nemesis in the middle of the night to practice ballet. It was then that Remus noticed that Sirius was kitted out in training gear and had his academy duffel bag over his shoulder.

“The duets.” Sirius said, as if that clarified everything.

“Sirius it’s-“ He checked the clock on the wall quickly. “Two in the fucking morning!”

“So?”

“So most sane people don’t train in the middle of the night.” He ran his hands through his hair because if he didn’t, he probably would’ve slapped Sirius Black.

“Are you coming or not?” Sirius asked. He seemed bored, which enraged Remus.

He considered going and getting back into bed. He liked that option. But. The duets. If he refused to practice now Sirius might never cooperate again. He glanced back at his bed and sighed.

“Fine.” He turned back into his dormitory. “I just need to get ready. Give me five minutes.” He searched through his wardrobe before he realised that he’d left Sirius standing at the door. “Come in.” He called. “Wait in here for a second.” As little as he wanted to have Sirius in his dorm, it would be rude to leave him standing. He didn’t really care about offending Sirius but by now he was aware of what the affects of annoying Sirius Black can be.

He went into the bathroom and began frantically changing out of his pijamas. They were bright orange and checked, so he cursed himself for wearing them. Even if an event like this was the last thing he ever could’ve ever predicted. Sirius probably thought he was an idiot. Not that Remus cared.

He washed his face quickly and attempted, in vain, to tame his hair. His rushed out of the bathroom while putting on his shoes and nearly tripped. When he straightened up he was appalled to see Sirius sitting up on his bed.

He probably would’ve done something stupid-like question Sirius about what the fuck he was doing. But Sirius stood up and headed towards the door.

“Let’s go.” He said. Remus picked up his duffel bag and followed him.

They crept quietly down the hallways. Everyone knew that you weren’t allowed out after ten o’clock. Obviously, Sirius was above the curfew. Although Remus was hardly one to talk, he was there too.

“Sirius,” Remus began in a whisper. When he have no response, Remus continued. “What are we doing training at two in the morning?”

Sirius made no eye contact but replied. “The studio will be empty. It’s the best time to train.”

“The studio is empty at six, too.” He said, frustrated.

“Why would anyone want to train at six in the evening?” Sirius asked, seriously. Remus almost laughed out loud.

“Oh yeah, because two in the morning is so much more logical.” He had meant to say it sarcastically but the sentence came out more teasing than he had intended. His face burned until he looked at Sirius. He was pursing his lips but Remus thought that maybe, just maybe, he might’ve been suppressing a smile. Remus didn’t like Sirius much, but there was something sort of validating about knowing he’d made Sirius Black grin.

They got to Studio A and Remus immediately felt awkward. It dawned on him for the first time that he was completely alone with Sirius. He shook his head and tried to ignore it.

Sirius began warming up on the barre and Remus followed suit.

“Do you know the dance?” Sirius asked.

“Basically.” Remus replied. Regulus had taught him most of it but it was still new to him. It had only been a few hours, after all. “Do you know it?” Remus inquired.

“Yes.”

“Okay.”

“Okay.”

Remus coughed awkwardly. They went silent.

After a while of heavy silences they finally decided to start with the duet.

“Alright…so. You know the start?” Sirius looked a little awkward and all Remus could think was serves him right. He felt kind of guilty though, he felt the same tension.

“Yeah. So will we just-start-?” Remus asked. He was standing opposite Sirius in the centre of the dance floor and the room was starting to feel much smaller than he’d remembered.

“Yeah, okay.” He looked around for a second then straightened up. He might’ve been delirious, but Remus thought he felt a bit of the tension in the room fade. “So it starts off kind of slow…” Sirius began explaining it while lazily doing the movements as an example, even though Remus already knew the dance. He didn’t stop him, though. Finally they decided to try it together.

The entrée of the duet was slow, the two dancers circling each other swiftly and elegantly in graceful spins. They were only roughly attempting the steps-it was their first time practicing together and it was two in the morning, after all.

The adagio was slightly faster-it was the part of the dance where the dancers made physical contact for the first time. It was merely a brush of the hand from Sirius as he turned, leading to Remus laying a hand on his shoulder. He would never admit it out loud, but the move had sent some form of shivering down his back. He just didn’t know why.

The adagio continued and the dance began to quicken. They danced swiftly around each other, turning and twisting with techniques so difficult Remus thought his head was going to split.

They each had a solo, Remus’ was first. He held himself higher and began to try a little harder at the steps. It was difficult, to say the least, but the peak of the dance was the grand jeté. He had done the jump before, but never at this level. Never this difficult. When he tried it he nearly broke his ankle, the way he almost landed on it. Instead he’d just landed flat on his feet, and when he tumbled to the floor he rolled over quickly and stood up. Sirius paid no attention to the mistake.

Sirius’ solo was something else. It wasn’t all that different from Remus’, but Remus thought that perhaps he just had a way of dancing that made it seem so magnificent. It was soft at the start-Remus felt odd watching it, Sirius changed so much from his usual cold exterior. He looked elegant and gentle and-soft. Remus appalled himself with that last thought, and he vowed to never think it again.

The dance moved into a tour en l’air and Remus watched in awe of Sirius’ technique. Even though it was the first time they’d attempted it as a pair, Sirius somehow mastered his solo.

Remus forgot how to breathe when the solo came to the last move. It was a series of saut de chats and Sirius moved across the floor with the presence of a god. Remus gripped the barre because if he didn’t he probably would’ve collapsed to the ground.

Remus knew the last part of the dance, but he didn’t want to perform it. The grand pas de deux was slower than the rest of the duet, and it was very…duet-y. They would have to dance close to each other, there was a lot of physical contact and the idea of it made Remus’ stomach sick.

Sirius looked at him expectantly. He was finished his solo and he was still positioned in the middle of the dance floor. Remus stuck close to the barre.

“Well?” Sirius asked. “We haven’t finished it yet.”

“Yeah. I know.” Remus tried to rack his brain for any good reason not to do the finishing part of the duet.

“Do you not know it?” Sirius asked. His tone was a little less harsh so Remus decided that this a would be a fair enough excuse to go with.

“No, I don’t know it. I was…I didn’t get time to learn it earlier.” He nodded as he spoke. He’d never been much of an actor but he probably could’ve lied about anything at that moment. Like hell was he gonna dance that part with Sirius.

“Alright, I’ll teach you it.” Sirius said in a monotone voice.

The blood rushed from Remus’ face. “Look-look there’s really no need-“ He shifted his feet and gripped the barre will all of his strength. “-I-I’m kind of tired-“

“Do you want to learn this dance or not?” Sirius asked impatiently.

Okay, so he was exhausted. It was nearly three in the morning and the last thing he wanted to do was to start a grand pas de deux with Sirius Black. So he broke.

“Yes!” He half shouted. “I do! I did! At rehearsals! About fifteen fucking hours ago!” He threw his hands up in agitation. It took him all of three seconds to realise how insane he sounded. He deflated and sank back into himself a little.

Sirius just narrowed his eyes. “If you don’t like the way I train, find a different partner.”

Remus crossed his arms. The embarrassment he’d felt a second ago was short lived. “Believe me, if I could, I would.” He shot back, trying to make the feeble sentence sound as menacing as possible.

Sirius seemed to buy it because he looked enraged. “What the hell do you mean?” He demanded.

“Well, Mr Royal Europe ballet,” He started, bringing up the ballet ministry because it was probably one of the things that bugged him the most about Sirius’ dancing status. “You might be the best dancer at Hogwarts but you’re a shit partner.”

“If I’m a good dancer, then I’m a good partner. There’s no difference.” Sirius said sharply, as if it were that simple.

“That’s your problem isn’t it?! You think there’s no emotion behind dancing. No connection. This might come as a shock, but not everyone loves you, Sirius. And you don’t make such a good partner to me if I hate you.” He realised as soon as he said it that he’d gone to far. Never in his life had he told anyone he hated them. Not even his father.

Sirius’ eyes widened in shock and his eyebrows knitted together. It was a look of-no, not pain. It couldn’t be pain. Remus refused to accept that it was pain. The expression was merely confusion.

Within a second, Sirius’ face was blank again. “Well, I’ll take that into account the next time you want to practice this duet. Watch who you’re talking to Remus. You’re the one that needs Hogwarts, not me.” He turned to get his bag and made his way to the door.

“Wait-Sirius, wait!” He called after him. “I’m sorry.” He said in the most sincere tone he could muster. He wasn’t lying, he regretted what he had said. But he knew it seemed fake, like he was only apologising because of Sirius’ threat about the duets.

He groaned in frustration as soon as the door swung shut.

“Fuck this.” He sighed.

If he had thought he’d been tired a few hours earlier, it was nothing in comparison to what he felt then. He felt like he’d been dragged through a bush then ran over by a truck. He was exhausted when he finally collapsed into bed.

He didn’t sleep at all that night.