Who: Natasha Romanoff and Cho Chang What: Ballet time! When: Backdated to June, afternoon Where: Ancient Runes Classroom (turned ballet room) Rating: Low Status: Complete
She wasn’t sure why, but Natasha was in the mood for Swan Lake. There was something about that music and the dancing that resonated in her. She decided to practice one of the oldest and most beautiful dances in the play - the dying swan. Sure, she might not have the elegance to dance it as Anna Pavlova once did, but she could do her best in her own way.
Dressed in her white swan costume, complete with feathers in her hair, Natasha started to dance. Her feet, always on pointe, moved swift and graceful. Her arms flapped as if they were wings. She swayed to and fro, back and forth, like she was trying to stay alive. She was dancing with death, and death was always a cruel partner.
When she finally ended, she was on her knees, her arms over her, just like the swan. She’d be hidden away, alone in her final moments, as she always thought she would be.
Cho had been prone to wandering the halls of Hogwarts since she had been released from the infirmary, realizing she had missed a good chunk of her final year here. It was a bittersweet thought; when she had first arrived it had been a bit overwhelming especially with the absence of her friends. Now, having settled and developed some new friendships and rediscovering old ones, she found herself loathe to leave this familiar place. She was sure many just as her, Hogwarts being their second home, maybe even more so than their own.
Her hands traced along the walls, thinking back to the memories of her time here, both from her own timeline and now. She would be leaving a lot behind, but she was excited for that next chapter of her life. She was ready to be on her own.
She paused when she heard music, drifting down the corridors. Was that-? She couldn’t help but smile, listening intently as she tried to follow where it was coming from. She knew the song, had even played a version of it on the piano. She loved Swan Lake and had always been in awe of ballet dancers. They were so graceful and beautiful, Cho could watch them for hours.
Her ears lead her to the Ancient Runes classroom and she stopped outside the door, peeking in to see Natasha dancing. She was completely captivated, watching the young professor go through the routine. She was absolutely stunning and Cho couldn’t but clap eagerly when she was done.
“That was beautiful!” she gushed, smiling and stepping into the room. “I hope you don’t mind, I heard the song through the hallways and had to see what was happening!”
Looking up, Natasha found herself looking up at Cho. She thought someone was around, but she didn’t think she it was a student of hers. She didn’t know she was being admired liked that. Standing up, she gave a polite bow, then walked over to the Ravenclaw.
“Thank you,” she said, giving her a small smile. “Cho Chang, correct? I don’t mind at all. I was just practicing an old routine. I didn’t think the music was so loud. I’ll turn it down.” She was turning, about to turn down the music on her phone, when she stopped and looked back at Cho. “Do you like ballet? You’re free to watch more, if you’d like.”
“Just Cho,” she said with a smile, following her into the room, glancing around at how she had set it up. “But you’re welcome! Really, that was amazing! How long have you been dancing?” She moved to plop herself on top of a desk, kicking her feet out, her hands gripping the desk on either side of her. She had an eager look on her face, wanting to know more. She had admired Professor Romanoff, but had never thought to really get to know her. She was sorry she hadn’t reached out to her before the school year had ended.
Walking to her phone, she turned down the music, then went to stretch on the balance beam. With one leg up, she leaned her upper body down towards her extended leg, waiting until she heard a crack. She needed that. “Most of my life, really. My parents had me study since I was young. I was even part of the Bolshoi,” she said. She had hoped Cho knew what that was. In case she didn’t, she explained, “It’s a Ballet company. Very famous. They showcase performances around the world.” She didn’t want to sound like she was bragging, but it was impressive.
Cho raised her eyebrows, impressed with what she had been able to accomplish. “Wow, that’s amazing!” She nodded her head, having lucky enough to go to a performance with her family. The cultured upbringing of being raised in a pureblood family. “When did you use to perform with them? I may have seen you!” She thought back, realizing she had been quite young and wouldn’t rightly remember the young woman in front of her now. Still, it would have been a neat idea if she had seen her without realizing!
“It would have been about ten to twelve years ago,” she answered. She switched her legs so the other one was being stretched. Could Cho have seen her as well? First Harry and Clint, then Elsa, and now Cho? Who else had seen her? Maybe Remy was right, maybe she should start selling tickets to her dancing.
Cho pondered, thinking about it. “Well, ten to twelve years ago I would have been...Merlin, how old am I suppose to be now?” She counted on her fingers, squinting up at the ceiling. “I’m suppose to be 36 so I would have been 26…” She shook her head, realizing she hadn’t even hit that age yet herself. “So no, I guess not,” she said, a sheepish look on her face. “Still, that would have been a little crazy huh?” She grinned, jumping off the desk to come stand next to her.
“How do you get so flexible?” she asked, trying to bend down and touch her toes; nothing as impressive as Natasha, but she was interested in trying to get to that point. She could only think of benefits to being flexible and Natasha definitely seemed like the one that could teach her.
“36? You’d be the same age as Clint,” she found herself saying. “That’s right, you are time displaced. Well, perhaps it’s for the best. It was also during and after the second Wizarding War.” And she’d hate for Cho to find out about her past.
Seeing Cho try to stretch made Natasha chuckle softly. “Would you like some tips or help?” she asked her. “It took me quite a while to be flexible. A lot of stretching is involved. How about we start with toe touching?”
“Really?” Cho couldn’t help but think about how crazy that was. She and Clint were born fairly close to each other, yet she considered him to be much older than herself now. And if he worked for the Ministry, maybe he would know her future self there...She made a mental note to ask him at a later time.
“Yes please!” she said, standing up with a big grin on her face. “Whatever you think is best to start at, I’m ready to try!”
“Yes, really. I know, he looks a lot older. He just has that ‘bulldog’ sort of look, that’s all,” Natasha joked again. She smirked at that one, quite proud of herself. She had to stop though. She needed to save it for when she next saw him.
“Toe touches and lunges would be best to start with. For toe touches, bend down at your waist and try to touch your toes. Let me see you do it,” she instructed.
Cho laughed, totally seeing what Natasha was saying. “I hope you know that’s what I’m gonna call him now,” she said, grinning. “Bulldog. We’ll see if he catches on.”
She nodded, stretching her arms above her head, bending down at the waist and keeping her legs straight. The tips of her fingers brushed against the toe of her shoe. “Is that good?” she asked, turning a bit to look at her, semi upside down.
“Are you going to tell him I came up with that name for him?” She had to laugh. “Oh, he’s going to get me for that one. It’s true though. I’m glad you see it.”
Watching her stretch, Natasha nodded. “Not bad. Do you feel the muscles in your back being stretched? The back of your legs? Your arms? Now stay like that for a few more seconds, then stand up straight, then repeat.”
“Nah, I don’t wanna get you in trouble,” she said with a wink. “Or more, I can tell him someone did. Would he still suspect you?” Cho turned her head back down, focusing on what Natasha was asking her. She moved down a little more until she did feel the stretching of her muscles.
“I do now,” she confirmed. “At least a little.” She held it as she was instructed, rolling back up and repeating it. “How many times should I do this?”
“He’d suspect no matter what,” Natasha replied, smirking at her. “It’s Clint though. He might try to get me, but he couldn’t if he tried. Might be fun to see what he has in store.” She chuckled, as she held her elbow with one hand and tucked her fingers under her chin with the other.
“You’re doing good. Repeat it three more times for a total of five. Then we’ll move onto lunges.”
Cho couldn’t help but laugh, liking Natasha already. She was so sure of herself, strong and didn’t seem to mind joking around in a fun way. “Maybe I’ll let it slip then,” she said, positioning herself to do another set. “You’ll have to tell me how it goes and how you get ‘im.” She grinned, bending back down to do her set.
After she was done, she could definitely feel a soreness in her legs, a slight annoyance but she nodded her head, grinning at Natasha.
“Lunges?”
“I’ll tell you. We could use a good laugh,” she jokingly said, smirking as she watched her stretch. Though Cho was grinning, it seemed like she was in pain. That made her smirk grow. Oh if only Cho knew what Natasha had in store for her.
Stretching her arms in front of her, Natasha stepped forward with her left foot. She stretched her right leg back and went down until her knee and shin were at 90 degrees. After keeping that pose for a few seconds, she repeated with the other leg. “This is how you do a lunge. Repeat this five times on each leg. These two exercises are good starts to becoming more flexible.”
“We’ll make it a girls night, yeah? Wine, chocolate, and good stories.” She liked the sound of that. It had been awhile since she had had a girls night out and gossiped with friends who were actually...well, girls. She truly loved her guy friends, appreciated their support and strength they gave her, but sometimes she needed to be around other women.
Cho watched as Natasha demonstrated and soon moved to do the same next to her. She had done some stretches like this for Quidditch, but not as often. Really for the game, you just needed to get loose, not be completely flexible. She was one her third time and she just fell to the floor, looking up at Natasha.
“This isn’t going to be easy is it?” What had she gotten herself into?