It's a warm day, but not too warm, and with just the right amount of breeziness in the air that makes him wonder whether Molly Weasley had charmed the weather herself to create the perfect day for this event. He wouldn't put it past her - she had occupied herself with nothing else for the past week since the news had been sprung upon them all.
Of course, shotgun weddings were to be expected during times like these, and Kingsley chuckles to himself as he recalls the way Bill and Fleur's engagement of the past year had been deemed as rushed. Who would have thought that Remus Lupin of all people would be the man to reignite a relationship, get down on one knee, and tie the knot all within the span of two weeks?
Certainly not anyone in the Order, but then again, a relationship consists of two individuals, and this recent series of events falls into much more sense considering that the bride is none other than Nymphadora Tonks.
Almost as though she had sensed his thoughts, Tonks plops down into the seat next to him, letting out a sigh of relief, but yet giddy all the same. Her new husband appears beside her, kissing her knuckles. They must have been dancing, because he looks slightly out of breath, too.
"I'll grab you something to drink," Remus says, chuckling.
"Thanks, love", Tonks breathes, and blows him a kiss as he leaves with an almost wistful look in his eyes.
Turning to Kingsley at last, she makes a show of fanning herself. "I cannot believe women actually wear heels on a day to day basis."
She reaches down towards the hem of her skirt and tugs at the straps of her shoes, shaking them off.
"Surprised you managed this long in them, honestly", Kingsley teases.
"Har har. I'm actually more surprised I haven't spilled anything on my dress."
"Not yet", they both say at the same time, and share a laugh.
Her eyes are bright, and of the past couple of weeks, she's got that radiant smile again that he hasn't seen in nearly a year. She's particularly glowing today though, and although her face is flushed pink at the moment, she beams of happiness.
"Congratulations," Kingsley tells her, "You're officially married."
"Thanks, Kings."
"I'm really happy for you. And I've got to say, I've known Remus for almost two decades now, and I've never seen him as happy as when he's with you."
It's the truth. Ever since Kingsley met Remus in the Order's first iteration, he's been the proper, stereotypical English gentleman who never let his emotions show. He'd been optimistic, but that was mainly for the sake of the audience, and Kingsley had seen from all those late nights of dangerous, hopeless missions paired with him just how harshly life as a werewolf could hurt a good man's morale. From then he'd come to realize that much of Remus's pleasant nature was merely a facade, practiced and trained to hide the grim realities that came with a lifetime of being ostracized and despised by society.
Kingsley remembers, even though the pair of them had been trying to keep their budding relationship under wraps, that he could sense from the start when something had changed in Remus Lupin's life. No doubt he had laughed more easily, humoured Black and his antics with less worry, and even engaged in the occasional prank with the Weasley twins every now and then. He had become a seemingly different person, a younger, more joyful and hopeful person.
And all of this because of Tonks, the bubbly, lively girl who wears her heart on her sleeve. The girl who, despite her line of work, always searches for a silver lining of something good on even the worst days, and who never fails to lighten the mood of any room she walks in.
To be honest, Kingsley would have never paired the two of them together. They seemed so different, and as if they were from different worlds. Kingsley recalls the day when Tonks joined the Auror rank almost three years ago as a young hopeful under the watch of Mad-Eye Moody, eager to protect the wizarding world and fight for justice. Her colourful nature and youthful personality could not have contrasted more to Remus' jaded and tired soul. Or so it would seem, but yet, here they were.
"Thanks, Kings," Tonks says again, and grins. "I honestly never thought this day would actually come. This is like a dream."
"Well, it's real," Kingsley reassures her. "You both made it real. You did it."
"Yeah." She pauses for a moment as she considers this. "I love him so much."
Kingsley nods and takes her hand. "I know."
"He's like my world. He's changed my world for the better, and I really never thought that we would be able to make it to this point." Her voice catches, understandably a tad emotional on this particular day.
Kingsley nods again, but she doesn't elaborate. She doesn't need to though, because he knows what she means. Knows what the two of them have been through and how hard it was for her and Remus.
He's heard from Mad-Eye how thin Tonks had become at certain points in the past year and how sallow and miserable Remus was during the time where he'd forced them apart.
He's seen the way Remus is treated along the streets or in shops, the way people would spit at him and shout vulgarities out of blind hatred. He also knows that Tonks thus far has been relatively untouched unless she's seen and recognized with Remus, but can only imagine how bad it'll become for her when the news inevitably breaks that she's actually married to him.
"I know," he says again, rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb.
"It's just been really hard. With, you know… everything… but we got over it - we made it, and now -," she touches the corners of her eyes lightly but then she's beaming again. "I don't think I've ever been happier."
Kingsley presses a kiss to her forehead and brushes away a strand of hair as Remus returns with a goblet of red wine, which Tonks accepts graciously and rises to her feet. Kingsley shakes Remus' hand and utters his congratulations for the couple once again.
"Thank you for being here," Remus tells him, and Tonks nods her agreement.
"Oh I almost forgot my shoes!" she reaches down and grabs her heels by their straps, holding them up towards Remus. "I took them off because I don't think I can walk in them for another minute."
Remus laughs, a real and hearty laugh as his eyes fill with nothing but love for the girl in front of him. "That's fine, love. You'll still be beautiful, even as my barefoot Cinderella."
She laughs, and then drops her shoes to the ground again, murmuring something about remembering to come back and pick them up later.
Remus wraps his arm around her waist and leads the two of them away, where they are almost immediately greeted and engulfed within a crowd of their guests.
Kingsley smiles to himself, and vaguely wonders how Tonks will fare with her unfortunately colored drink within such a busy crowd. It'll be an adventure to maneuver for sure, as will this next chapter of life that she and Remus will be joined together for.
They'll be alright.