The Dance
Disclaimer: All of the characters belong to J.K. Rowling; the song 'The Dance' belongs to Garth Brooks, as far as I know.
Author's Note: Despite the fact that the whole fic is named for this one chapter, this isn't a one-shot. I find it terribly annoying to be teased with a single, how-it-began chapter, and then be left wondering what the aftermath was. Look forward (or not, if you wish) to future chapters.
The Halloween ball was ingenius, Lily Evans thought. Dumbledore and a few of the other teachers had placed several charms on the Great Hall to ensure the nature of the ball was not ruined. One charm detected which student wore which costume, to avoid students too young slipping in; one detected if the students had informed anyone else, in any way, of what costume they wore; another was a glue-type charm that prevented students from removing their costumes until the designated hour, which was, predictably, midnight.
Lily also noticed that while some costumes left nothing to the imagination, others actually concealed even the gender of the wearer, so that the scenario she watched unfold was made possible. She had known for some time that her friend, Remus Lupin, was gay. She had also known who he was desperately in love with, had been for a long time, which should have been obvious even to the blind, except that his other friends simply weren't looking. Since the beginning of the year, they'd known he was gay, but they continued to try and hook him up with random guys known around the school to be gay, never understanding why he turned every one of them down.
During the few moments of silence between songs, Lily – who was serving as the party DJ – saw Remus. Being one of the students who had volunteered to supervise the ball, rather than join in, she knew who wore what costume. She also saw the connection of eyes across the Hall as Remus looked up from the table he was sitting at, and saw the student in the vampire costume. Both the vampire and Remus wore costumes that made gender indiscernible, and Lily thought it was a good thing. If gender was obvious, this might never happen. But Remus' dark gold eyes, a trait of lycanthropy (but not impossible for a normal wizard; probably why not everybody knew of his condition), met with the dark grey-blue eyes of the vampire, and before either of them knew it, it was silently agreed upon. They would dance.
The vampire made his way, slowly, through the crowd, ignoring the scantly-clad girls around him for once, and Remus in his Egyptian-pharaoh costume rose from his seat and moved to greet the other. There was no dance request, and no acceptance. They simply moved together as the next song began, and Lily only then realized which song she'd put on, and regretted it immensely. Perhaps the final words of the song would curse Remus later. For now, she had no choice but to watch it unfold.
Looking back, on the memory of
The dance we shared, beneath the stars above
For a moment, all the world was right
How could I have known, that you'd ever say goodbye
As he listened to the lyrics, Remus winced inwardly. He knew who the vampire student was now. Not only did the song, which he considered an omen, tell him as much; he could tell just by touching him, by the electricity that shot through his veins at the smallest contact. And there was no small contact here; the vampire had Remus pulled right up against him. Frankly, Remus wondered why his dance partner had yet to figure out he was not a girl.
And now, I'm glad I didn't know
The way it all would end, the way it all would go
Our lives, are better left to chance
I could have missed the pain
But I'd've had to miss... the dance
Contrary to what Remus thought, the vampire had it all figured out within the first few seconds of music. Who could mistake those beautiful golden eyes for anyone else's? He knew very well who he danced with, and unlike Remus, he'd never heard the song before. He didn't care what the lyrics said, although he should have. He'd find that out later.
Holding you, I held everything
For a moment, wasn't I the king?
But if I'd only known, how the king would fall
Hey who's to say, you know I might have changed it all
Remus sighed, knowing this could not end well. But for now... for now, was it so wrong of him to just enjoy the moment, to wish, to let himself hope for the length of the song?
And now – I'm glad I didn't know
The way it all would end, the way it all would go
Our lives, are better left to chance
I could have missed the pain
But I'd've had to miss... the dance
The vampire held his partner close, and breathed in the scent of his hair, wondering where he should go from here. On the one hand, he could just accept reality as midnight approached, and admit that he'd known his partner's identity all along. On the other, he could pretend he'd been unaware, and go back to denying his own feelings and hurting both of them.
Yes my life, is better left to chance
I could have missed the pain
But I'd've had to miss... the dance...
The song ended at one minute to midnight. Thinking fast, Remus turned from his partner as he was released and fled. He did not run; that would have been too obvious, and might have provoked a chase. He simply turned and walked away, taking longer strides than normal to get away faster.
His plan did not work, however; his partner followed him anyway. The effect that the faster exit had was to make Remus unaware that he was being followed. He passed through the entrance hall and made for the front doors, his footsteps drowning out those of his pursuer. As he reached the front steps of the school, and felt the first cool breath of rain-scented wind on his face, he was suddenly aware of the presence behind him. And as he turned the clock within the Great Hall reached midnight, and his costume dissolved, as did the vampire's.
He and Sirius stared at each other for a terribly long time, long enough for Sirius to notice the shine in Remus' eyes that told of tears. Long enough for Remus to figure that Sirius hadn't known who he was, was now disturbed, and would probably never speak to him again. Remus turned and made to go down the steps; Sirius grabbed his arm. Angry now, Remus pulled free of Sirius' grasp and fled again, running this time. What he did not expect was for Sirius to follow him again, and when the other boy caught up with him, it was not a gentle halt. Sirius caught him by the arm again, pulling him around, and they stumbled together and fell in the shadow of the oak tree they normally sat under during the warmer months to do homework together. As they fell, Sirius deduced where he was in relation to Remus, and when they hit the ground together, it was with a crushing force, concentrated in their lips.
Remus had squeezed his eyes shut as his feet slid over the wet grass, but they flew open when he realized... Sirius was kissing him. Not by accident, as he still believed the dance had been, but really kissing him, hands resting at the base of his neck and the back of his head, stopping him from pulling away. Even so, when Remus struggled a little, Sirius released him. Their eyes met again, gold and blue, and for a moment nothing else in the world existed to either boy than the other.