Dance

The rain had just stopped coming down in harsh torrents only minutes before.. The cobblestone street that ran through Hogsmeade was shiny and slippery.. Remus knew he'd most likely slip and fall if he took one step out from under the roof he and Sirius were standing under. It was just best to not move a foot wait for James.

Sirius was busily rummaging through Remus' bag. "Oi, I didn't see these truffles. You should've told me. I was stuck with plain milk chocolate. I can't find any of this stuff. You have fizzing whizbees, too? That old hag at the counter said they ran out..." He pulled out the box of the fizzing whizbees and opened it. Remus frowned briefly as he glanced at Sirius, but turned his attention back towards the wet street.

Shoppers were beginning to walk on it again. The sky was getting darker than it had before; it was slowly getting later in the evening. The sound of low music filled the air suddenly; Remus' eyes fell on a man sitting with a cello down the road. Sirius, too, looked up and spotted the origin of the music.

"Bloody wanker needs to get a real job," he said around a mouthful of candy.. Remus smiled. "You're jealous of his talent," he teased, his eyes still on this man.

"Yeah. Because playing a cello comes in handy in the long run." Sirius took a chocolate frog from Remus' bag.

Remus looked down at Sirius' hand. "I only got two of those. Take something else," he said. He held the bag out of reach as soon as Sirius had taken a truffle. The other boy began eating, and Remus looked back at the man. "I wish I could play a musical instrument," he found himself saying. "It would be nice to be able to do something like that."

Sirius raised an eyebrow and swallowed the chocolate. "Super nice," he agreed. The sarcasm was evident in his voice.

Remus sighed and glanced patiently back at Sirius. "Well, it at least sounds nice, don't you think?" He supposed having any sort of normal conversation with Sirius wasn't achievable.

"Well, sure, if you're into that sort of girly stuff." Sirius was eyeing Remus in a way that at once made him uncomfortable.

"Hm," Remus only answered back. It wasn't anything 'girly', liking the sound of a cello.

"You like it?" the other boy pressed.

Remus shot him a glance. "I do," he said nonchalantly. He was becoming embarrassed very quickly. Bringing up a topic like music with Sirius obviously was not a good idea.

Sirius laughed. "Why?" he asked, grinning like a maniac at Remus, who cleared his throat and kept his eyes glued on the musician.

"It sounds nice," he repeated. There was another laugh from Sirius.

"Nice enough to dance to?"

"Well, I don't dance, so not--"

Sirius grabbed Remus' hand and pulled him out onto the slicked streets, dragging and spinning him around in a sort of a mad waltz. Remus promptly slipped, but the mixed blessing of Sirius pulling him along kept him up.

"What're you doing?" Remus hissed when he regained his composure. He ducked his head as he noticed people were stopped on the streets. Hogwarts students were staring at them both. The last shred of dignity he'd been clutching for five years was suddenly floating away.

Sirius pulled him close, taking each step with grandeur that only he could make look serious. "You don't know how to dance, do you?" he asked teasingly, looking down at the bowed head as he moved along. "You're stepping on my feet."

"Well, let me go and I'll stop!" he whispered, suddenly sounding panicked. He attempted to pull back. Unfortunately, he wasn't sure-footed, and Sirius' hold on his waist may as well have been one of iron. However, his feet slipped again, and he grabbed onto Sirius on impulse.

Sirius just laughed. "You're blushing," he stated. He forced Remus into a twirl, which was followed by a catcall from somewhere on the sidewalk. Sirius' arms were back around him again, tighter than ever.

Remus could feel his face burning. Another step on Sirius' foot. Sirius pulled him a little closer. They were in an embrace now. Sirius knew how to waltz very well. He could feel Sirius' heart beating, and his own thumping in his ears. He held onto Sirius more tightly.

"You could've picked a more dry day to humiliate me," he muttered. Only a laugh was the reply from Sirius. Once more, he tried to pull back.

"Gimme a break, Moony. You like this," Sirius said. Sirius was couldn't have been more wrong about the dancing part. But this...as in Sirius' arms tightly around him, and their bodies touching lightly...he rather liked it.

Sirius was still tugging him around the street, still attempting to dance while his partner worried about slipping. People were still watching; it was easy for Remus to feel their eyes intent on his back. As long as he kept his head down, face pressed just slightly against Sirius' shoulder, it wasn't terrible. After all, it wasn't devastatingly abasing when both he and Sirius were making fools of themselves together.

Another twirl. More scattered laughter, more whistling. The hot blush on Remus' face was darkened. Again, he pressed his forehead against that strong shoulder. He slipped yet again, and gave Sirius the idea to turn the little stumble into a dip. It didn't work out too well, as Remus' arms were tight around Sirius' neck as he held on for dear life.

"Relax, I've got you," Sirius snorted, grinning as he pulled him upright again. Remus couldn't help but smile, despite the knowledge of the humiliation that was going to be following him throughout his remaining years at school.

More normal waltzing. There was more time for Remus to smell Sirius' overpowering cologne, and to press his face against his shoulder. Sirius never slipped, and Remus couldn't grasp why.

Sirius' hand holding and leading his was warm, hot to his own cold fingers. The cologne and blood rush to his head was beginning to make him heady and even clumsier. He wished that for just one fleeting moment his feet would be more coordinated, so that this could be more enjoyable. It was enjoyable making a fool of himself with Sirius. It was enjoyable just because he was with Sirius. It was only them dancing. And now Sirius was moving more slowly, back and forth, gently from side to side. Remus' eyes fell shut.

He felt he must've been in a daze, or on the verge of falling asleep, because it seemed like an hour before suddenly, Sirius stopped moving. His eyes snapped open. There were scarcely any people on the street, save for a few students grinning and glancing at them from where they sat in a cafe down the road. How long had they been dancing? Abruptly, Remus pulled back, and slipped.

Sirius grabbed onto him to save him from the fall, laughing all the while. James was there too, grinning and holding a book on top of Sirius' head. He must've been the one that stopped them.

"I leave you two alone for five minutes and look what happens," James said, shaking his head in feigned disappointment.

Five minutes only. Remus sighed, having the feeling this little incident was going to be very embarrassing in an hour or so.

"We decided we were going to make you jealous. I see we've succeeded," Sirius said with a dashing grin. James retorted with a seductive leer.

"I'm afraid you've failed, Padfoot. Evans said hi to me just now." He smiled in a way that showed his already massive ego had just been doubled in size. Sirius rolled his eyes discreetly and turned to Remus.

"Moony, darling, you're terrible at dancing," he said with a sweet smile. Remus laughed, for lack of better response. "That, and for the last thirty seconds you were dead weight in my arms."

"My ankles must've given out," Remus said, once more lacking a suitable response.

"'Must've'?" Sirius looked incredulously at him. "As in, you're not sure?"

"I got to the point of humiliation where I forgot what was happening," Remus answered, holding back a smile. It sounded ridiculous, but maybe that had been what had happened.

James cleared his throat. "It's almost time to go. I was going to try to catch up with Evans at the Great Hall. Let's go," he said anxiously.

Sirius' hand took Remus'. "He'll fall if he doesn't have contact with another human being," he told James seriously.

Remus gave him a look. "I'll prove you wrong," he said, pulling his hand free. Sirius immediately caught it again. He looked at Remus as he began to walk, slowly, pulling him along so that they walked side by side.

"There's no need. I believe you," he said, smiling slightly. As he turned the other way, James caught him up in a loud conversation.

Remus made a list in his mind of how Sirius could've meant that comment. None of the conceptions he came to seemed likely, save for one. Or perhaps that was just him being too hopeful.

Sirius' grip on his hand tightened.

Remus couldn't help but smile.

I really ought to stop deceiving himself, he thought.