A dance belt?
“Okay James, it's your turn.” said Sirius, with a mischievous grin on his face.
“Hold on, I need to mentally prepare.”
James and his group have been doing this since they started highschool. A yearly jar of dares. Everyone has to extract a note given by anyone in the group and do the dare for the following year. Of course this means the dares have to be something lasting, like you're only allowed to eat cake as dessert for the whole year, which is what James wrote down. Every once in a while they're required to show proof, and if anyone breaks out on the dare they have to complete two the following year.
He slowly inserted his hand in the black jar (Lily painted it so they wont look inside). He felt around for the notes that were left, his hand felt a crumply one. James was just about to lift it when he changed his mind for a neatly folded piece of paper. He pulled it out and unwrapped it slowly, to create suspense. Then, he read aloud:
“This dare has been brought to you by Mary! You are to attend an adult ballet class at Royal Ballet and Opera for the whole year!” At first he read it confidently, but near the end his voice turned to a whisper, James was absolutely humiliated.
“Well mate guess you're going to start dancing for us now” Remus wheezed.
“Okay well in my defence I was out of ideas! I saw this ad for adult beginner ballet classes the other day and it just sounded brilliant! I'm sorry James, I swear you're still my favourite!” Mary said, moving from her chair to give him a kiss on the cheek.
Sirius was absolutely thrilled with the dare James has gotten, rolling on the floor with laughter.
“Well Prongs, you can't even find an excuse for this one judging by how you work from home! I can't wait to see you do the splits!” said Marlene, who nearly choked on her coke zero.
“Okay guys stop, you can make fun of me later! Cmon Wormtail it's your turn, I swear you're the only rational one in here!” he yelled
In the end the one with the worst dare (in James's opinion) was Dorcas, who had to get an undercut, though she didn't really mind it. Sirius has to wear gloves for the rest of the year, only being allowed to take them off when eating or sleeping, Lily has to finish 200 books with at least 400 pages by the end of the year ( dare given by Remus, who has to howl at the moon for a full minute every time its full) , Peter ended up getting James's dare to only eat cake and Marlene and Mary both have to learn a new language by the end of the year.
“Can someone pass me my purse?” Mary yelled
“Geez, be quiet the neighbours will kick me out, here, you're welcome” said Lilly
“Here James, this is the class you'll be attending, taught by the principal dancer at the Royal Ballet! You start Wednesday, I already paid in advance to make sure you're really going!” Mary shoved a small paper in his hand with a gorgeous dancer wearing a white tutu on it. The class was for beginners ages 21 and above.
“Paying for it was the least you could do…thanks i guess.”
He paused, then noticed something written on the flyer: Male dancers must wear a dance belt and leggings. Women must have leotards and tights on. Both genders are required ballet flats to dance in, socks also work but are not ideal. Classes will take place twice a week, on Wednesday and Friday, from 6 to 8.
“What the heck is a dance belt? I have to go buy one and some legging and ballet flats? Are those like the shoes they wear?” James was totally confused…
“Hang on i'm looking it up…oh ew EW! Someone take my phone away from me I dont want to see any male closeups!” Marlene yelled, throwing her phone to Sirius.
“Oh my god Prongs you have to buy special underwear with a thong in the back!” Padfoot was absolutely thrilled
The discussion was so unusual even Peter and Remus, who are generally quiet, turned their heads to see what the fuss was about.
“A thong? I have to wear a thong? And leggings? Mary, are you sure you did not sign me up to be a stripper?” The idea itself sounded ridiculous, James was really skeptic
“Oh come on you'll look good! It's to show off those big muscles you have—cmon James just trust me on this one…” Mary leaned in close to whisper
“Alright then, Sirius, Remus, we're going shopping tomorrow!”
That night James tucked himself all nicely into bed and googled all sorts of stuff..from shops to go buy what he needed (he landed on Bloch and Capezio, based on reviews) to basic ballet steps, which he didn't understand. At some point James dozed off to sleep only to be woken by Sirius violently shaking him the next morning:
“Oi padfoot what the heck mate? I didn't give you a spare key to come round and wake me whenever you want.” he reached for his glasses and Remus was quick to hand them to him
“C'mon prongs!! I want to see you buy the thong! See Remus is just as excited”
“Uh, no not really, that would be weird. It would feel like i'm cheating.” he responded awkwardly
After 20 long minutes of getting ready they left the house and found themselves on Endell Street, in front of two ballet shops.
“Okay.. i did some research last night, let's go buy the shoes from Capezio and then i'll try on the belt in Bloch i guess…”
So they looked. James had to admit the shops looked incredible, and the staff was nice enough to help him figure out the flats he wanted.
“Cmon Prongs i'll get you these, your dare is even more humiliating than mine, you deserve it.” Remus said, pulling out a few 10£ bills. “How much will those be” he asked the lady ringing them up.
“Well let me see…Hanami Canvas, that'll be 28£ please.” She said
Remus payed without complaining, but him and Sirius immediately started shouting as soon as they left
“28£ for these fucking slippers is ridiculous! It's just some elastic tied on a bit of material, what's so special about them? I don't think Mary could have picked a more expensive sport!” Sirius complained
“Right babe! We did promise we would pay today, so sush for now”
Their next shop was Bloch, James was really ashamed to be there. It looked even more dainty and prettier then Capezio, and as soon as their group walked in, a nice old lady approached them.
“Hello lads, welcome to Bloch, how may I help you?”
“Er, yes hello. I need a uh- dance belt?” James said, looking at Sirius who was giving him the most amused grin possible.
“Alright, what size?” she asked politely, her face not moving a muscle when James nearly choked at the question.
“I dunno..its my first time buying one” by now Sirius was absolutely choking laughing at James
“Oh no worries, you seem pretty muscular, I think a Large will do.”
Now it was Sirius's turn to pay.
“That'll be 42£ , please.”
“Yup i'll pay for that.” he said
Now, out of the shop, it was time for James to be laughed at all the way home.
“Oh that was so worth it! I can't wait to see you wear it! That tiny string in the back is hilarious! I swear we never give Mary enough credit!” Padfoot was thrilled
“Youre doing a fashion show as soon as we get there Prongs! I'll make popcorn for us to watch” Remus said
“Watch WHAT? I'm not going to crawl around half naked for your entertainment!”
that was a lie.
As soon as they arrived James got pushed into the bathroom where he put on the dance belt, which was the most uncomfortable thing he had ever worn.
Remus did in fact not lie about making popcorn, so as soon as he got out and went in the living room he found padfoot and moony spread out in eachothers arms on the couch , waiting for James.
“Oh my you look magnificent! Why are you so stiff, did you shove a stick up your arse or something?” Sirius said, while Remus was whistling and cheering
“Oh turn around, I want to see the back!” Remus yelled.
James did as asked and listened to his friends cackle at the sight of his almost bare butt. At least for class he is allowed to put some leggings on…