A tree stood tall in the corner of the sitting room, embellished with red and golden baubles, a dazzling star shining on top. Luminous lights, which were twisted around the branches, flashed brightly, lighting up the room. Gold tinsel draped from the mantlepiece above the crackling fire, which had two cherry red stockings hanging from either side it. A medium sized statue of Santa Claus stood by the side of the fire which had been charmed to dance merrily to a Christmas Carol. The sweet aroma of mince pies filled the cottage as presents, concealed in colourful wrapping paper, crowded the bottom of the Christmas tree. It was Remus and Tonks's first Christmas together as husband and wife and they intended it to be special.
Remus sat waiting in the living room, whilst two steaming mugs of creamy hot chocolate, waiting to be drunk, were resting on the coffee table. Tonks entered the room a second later, wrapped in her fluffy, pink dressing gown which matched her hair magnificently, and grinned over at her husband. She went and sat down next to him, as he leant in to place a soft kiss on her lips. It wasn't hungry or powerful but rather a gentle and loving kiss, perfect for a Christmas morning.
It had been a week since Remus had spoken about his childhood, and the topic hadn't been spoken about since. They hadn't been given the chance to as they had been occupied with visiting Tonks's parents the day following their chat and they had gone to the Burrow yesterday to wish the Weasley's a Merry Christmas. The days in between that were spent wrapping presents and baking cakes, well Remus baking a cake considering Tonks wasn't exactly the best cook in the world. Today, however, was about them, a time for them to be happy together, a time for them to be alone, and a time to enjoy each other's company.
"Merry Christmas Dora" Remus smiled at his wife.
"Merry Christmas Remus." She shifted her position so she was half lying down, her head resting on Remus's shoulder, with his arm wrapped around her. He kissed the top of her trademark bubblegum pink hair, as his hand settled on her ever expanding belly.
"Merry Christmas to you too little one," Remus spoke cheerfully.
Both Remus and Tonks got a response which neither of them was expecting as their baby kicked for the first time, causing them both to jump.
"Oh my, d-did the baby just-"
"Kick?" Tonks finished astonished.
"Yes!" She laughed, "Wow, that was the strangest yet most amazing feeling I've ever felt."
Remus kept his hand where it was on her bump and rubbed it back and forth, hoping for another kick. They waited a few moments and just as they hoped another kick came, surprising them as much as it did the first time round. Tonks didn't remember ever feeling this happy, except perhaps the day she married Remus. There wasn't another kick after that, but they were thankful for the two kicks that they had got: one for Remus and one for Tonks. They concluded it was their baby's way of wishing them a Merry Christmas, making them both smile from ear to ear.
Tonks and Remus sat in a comfortable silence as they both drank their steaming hot chocolates, their insides warming instantly. Remus offered her a mince pie but she happily declined, so he bit into one himself instead, sighing contently as the marvellous taste touched his tongue. Once he finished, he grinned over at Tonks, "Ready to open the presents?"
"Yes! I thought you'd never ask" Tonks immediately responded causing Remus to laugh merrily.
Remus leant forward under the Christmas tree and scooped up the first present, then passed it to Tonks who read the Christmas tag out loud, "Dear Remus and Tonks, wishing you both a very Merry Christmas that's full of festive cheer and joy. Hope you like the presents we got you, lots of love from the Weasley's xxx P. S I hope the present comes in as handy as it once did for me – Molly."
Puzzled, Tonks looked over to Remus whose expression mirrored hers exactly. Eagerness overtaking her, Tonks tore off the wrapping paper excitedly to find a fairly thick book called Magical Beginnings: A Witch's Pregnancy guide. Tonks laughed as her fingertips skimmed over the cover, "She's right, this will come in handy." She held the book up to Remus are he read the title, as he also broke out into a grin. "Magical Beginnings: A Witch's pregnancy guide," he read aloud, "I'm sure Molly knew that book off by heart by the time she reached her sixth pregnancy with Ginny. What a thoughtful present."
Tonks opened it, careful to not break the spine, as she silently flicked through the pages until she reached a specific chapter and began chuckling. "There's a chapter in here called 'Wizards:How to survive fatherhood'," Tonks announced, "Do you think you're ready for it?" Tonks winked.
"I'm ready for anything Dora," a hint of cockiness in his voice, but grinning all the same.
Tonks rolled her eyes, "You Mauraders, you don't change do you?"
"Not a chance" Remus smirked, closing the book and putting it aside as he noticed the other items in the parcel that Tonks had opened from the Weasley's, which included a small basket of cauldron cakes and two knitted jumpers: one inscribed with 'R' for Remus and one inscribed with 'D' for Dora. Remus and Tonks couldn't help but laugh. Usually, Molly only knitted jumpers for the children, but it seemed this year she was pushing the boat out.
Half an hour later, they had finished opening up all the presents. They had received a skiving snack box from the Weasley Twins, two huge slabs of honeydukes chocolate from Bill and Fleur, a sneakoscope from Kingsley and lastly some rock cakes from Hagrid. Off Tonks, Remus had received some owl bookmarks so he didn't have the keep folding the corners of his book pages, a Gryffindor mug which made him smile, some new slippers, a brand new set of quills and lastly a new cardigan as his others were looking slightly shabby. In return off Remus, Tonks had received a Dream Journal as he knew Tonks dreamed a lot, a Weird Sisters top which was yellow and black, the colours which represented her Hogwarts house, Hufflepuff, as well as the Weird Sisters biography, some chocolate frogs as he knew she had been craving them and finally, though it was not specifically for Tonks, a baby grow that read 'Me and Daddy love Mummy,' which had caused her eyes to well up with tears.
It was almost time for dinner, and Tonks, who was happily reading the book Molly had given her, had left Remus to it in the kitchen as she knew she would just get in the way and probably knock everything over. Sometimes she really wished she wasn't such a klutz because it meant she was actually useless when she was trying to be helpful. She had cast several protective charms around her stomach as a percussion in case she fell over, which luckily she hadn't so far.
Eventually, Remus called her through to the dining room where they sat down opposite each other. Tonks gazed down at her plate which was filled with turkey, stuffing, mash and Yorkshire puddings along with all the trimmings. "Wow! This looks absolutely incredible Remus, thank you."
"It was my pleasure, Dora."
They began to dig into their Christmas dinner which they both found absolutely delightful. Tonks considered this to be one of the best Christmas dinner's she had ever tasted and it was all down to her wonderful husband's cooking. "This is absolutely delicious Remus."
"I'm glad you think so. Just think, this time next year there will be three of us."
"I know, I honestly can't wait," Tonks grinned at Remus.
It was their first Christmas together and Tonks could think of only one word to describe it. Perfect.