Sirius hopped, feet slicing through the air as he allowed his body to complete the sequence of movements that had been drilled into him for the past two months. The individual movements had been practiced to perfection over the last decade, and with it only the exact timing and flow needed to be as natural.
It really was boring.
Day in and day out, there were people who came to watch him perform: treating him like a spectacle in the zoo while his make-up and clothing and glitter remained virtually unchanged from one show to the next. The symphonies were similar, differing in styles, the routines all built on the same movements; and Sirius thought he might have enjoyed it once – had the Black family not been famous for it.
The expectation of continuing the family legacy fell on him, as the oldest son of the main line, instead of either of his cousins – Bellatrix or Narcissa – who actually seemed to enjoy it.
You're a dancer, too?
Sirius's fingers trailed over his inner wrist. The words were the only thing that had him continue dancing. Because somewhere, somehow, there was the promise that dancing would lead to him meeting his soulmate. That he would be suffering now for all the happiness in the world later.
Sirius trained harder than anyone else, because as the best, there would be several people who would want to perform with him. He would meet all kind of dancers, and all kinds of people would meet him, and one day, he would hear the words that echoed through his thoughts on his worst days.
So, when he finally heard the words that had his wrist tingling, the tone was nothing like the awe his mind had provided.
"You're a dancer, too? How many of you are there?"
The soft, shocked, "What?" that left Sirius was completely out of his control.
The amber-eyed security guard froze, hand shooting towards his wrist, before locking eyes with Sirius. The man approached him, and Sirius slowly shuffled back at the man's frozen expression. The man wouldn't hurt him, but that didn't mean his expression was reassuring in the slightest.
"Of all the words you could have chosen, you choose 'what'? Do you have any idea how frequently that word is used? How often I hear that in a single day?" The guard had him essentially cornered, and Sirius wasn't able to swallow around the knot in his throat to form any kind of verbal response.
"Oi! Remus, that's Sirius Black. The Black family will have your head if they find him with even a bruise!" A woman called out, causing Remus to take several steps away from Sirius.
Sirius glanced at the guard's eyes again and was surprised to see them cool into a more hazel-brown colour. It was somewhat disappointing to see such a mellow expression on the guard, Remus's, face after the fierce one previously.
"Uh," Sirius reached out to grab Remus' arm, "I'm sure that lady can handle whatever it is you're supposed to be doing for a little while. I have a couple other bags I need to bring in, and I don't suppose you'd mind helping?"
Remus smirked and nodded, exchanging a few quiet words with the woman who quickly offered them a thumb's up, and Sirius thought he could feel his stomach lurch in excitement. He didn't really have any other bags, but they could spend the time 'searching' and talking until he had to perform for the last time.
Written for Hogwarts: World Cup - [Iran] Dancer!AU