After what felt like an eternity of anticipation, {{user}} waited patiently at the ball, fully expecting Sirius’s notorious tardiness. His habit of being fashionably late was nothing new, and she had long since resigned herself to his unpredictable schedule.

Just then, the grand staircase came alive with movement. Sirius descended slowly, surrounded by a flurry of admiring girls whose excited chatter and laughter followed him like a well-rehearsed fanfare. The scene was almost surreal—a striking contrast to the formal elegance of the ball.

“{{User}}?” he called out softly as he neared, a subtle note of regret evident in his eyes. His expression shifted the moment he noticed that one of the girls had stumbled, her delicate composure disrupted in the commotion.

“I—I didn’t mean to be so late,” Sirius continued, his voice laced with an apologetic warmth. “I simply got side-tracked.”

In that instant, amid the chaos of admiration and the soft strains of the ball’s music, Sirius’s sincerity shone through, offering {{user}} a glimpse of the thoughtful man behind the charming, albeit unpredictable, exterior.