The Truth About Remus
Chapter Fifteen
It is December 25, the morning of Christmas, one of the best times of the year, and Remus and I have blindly wondered (well, I was blind, at least) into a beautiful, snowy clearing in the woods behind our houses at this random moment in time. My best friend had just asked me a question that will change both of our lives.
"I don't know how else to ask this," he said quietly, his voice wavering slightly, "but – will you marry me?"
My jaw dropped as I looked into Remus' grey eyes. We must have been standing there for an eternity as I took all of this in. Remus wanted me to become – Anistasia Marie Lupin…Mrs. Remus J. Lupin…he wanted me to be all his and him to become all mine.
"I – I ---"
I knew that I wanted to say. I knew what my heart wanted to say and I knew that my tongue was ready to say it. Remus raised his eyebrows at me. I had been silent for a long time before I spoke.
"If I said 'yes', would that mean – forever?"
Remus nodded.
"If I said 'yes', would that mean that I truly, madly and deeply loved you with all of my heart?"
"I would hope so," he replied, "because I am asking you this because I truly, madly and deeply love you with all of my heart."
"If I said 'yes', would that mean that I would have to take your last name?"
"If you want it."
"Then…yes."
"Yes you will take my last name?"
I smiled, "Remus, I will take all of you. I want to marry you."
"…Yes?"
Remus' eyes grew extremely large and he stood. Fumbling, he managed to take off my gloves, take the ring out of the box and place it on my left ring finger.
"Erm…Remus…that's the finger that the wedding band goes on."
"Right," he exclaimed and quickly switched hands.
He stood up straight and took my face in his hands. A happy tear ran down his cheek and a cloud of warm air passed between his parted lips.
"I love you, Anistasia," he said quietly, "and I would tell it to the whole world if they didn't already know."
"I love you, too Remus, and I will tell it to the whole world," I backed away from him, threw my head back, and screamed, "I LOVE REMUS LUPIN!"
I spun in the clearing, repeating my words until I was hoarse and all the birds had flown from the trees. Remus caught me before I collapsed.
"I love Remus Lupin," I whispered to him with a smile on my face.
I took a deep breath as Remus pulled my face quickly to his. My lips tingled with the feeling of his warm, wet lips moving in unison with mine, our tongues finding each other and pleasuring it to the point of no return. As I ran my hand through his hair, I felt uplifted and renewed by his touch. My lips continued to lock hungrily with his until they were hungry no more. We pulled away reluctantly and I looked up at him from my place on the snowy earth.
"What now," he asked.
After a moment, I replied, "We must inform the 'rents."
He grinned and took my hand. We ran together, hand in hand, back to my house. As much as I had denied it in the past, I could deny it no more. I loved Remus. I had been in love with him since before I could remember, but I have been too afraid to admit it. I was scared of what it might mean if I did – even though I have finally admitted it, I am still scared out of my mind.
We barreled into the house, out of breath and ran into the kitchen where our parents were sitting and talking. The two of us were stumbling all over each other, trying to catch our breath. Our parents looked at us, alarmed.
"Anistasia? Remus? What is the matter? What is going on," mum asked.
"I – we – have something to – tell – you," Remus said, still gasping for air.
"What is it, son," godfather asked.
Remus and I looked at each other, smiled, and then said, "We are getting married!"
With those four words, chaos broke out n the room.
"To each other?"
"When did this happen?"
"Let me see the ring."
"Have you both thought this through?"
"Is Anistasia pregnant?"
"When is the ceremony?"
"QUIET!"
Then, there was silence. Remus and I were still holding hands, and all of our parents' attention was focused on us.
"I think we all have questions for them," my dad began, "but we can ask them one at a time. Christina, would you like to start?"
She nodded, "Remus…darling…did you and Ani talk this through? This is a huge decision and we all have your best interests in mind when it comes to things like this."
"Mum, Ani and I know what we want. We have known each other all of our lives and we absolutely feel the same way about each other," Remus told her.
"You don't have to rush things," my mum spoke up, "Unless…I mean, Ani, are you…you know…"
I smiled, "No, mum, I am not pregnant. I am still a virgin, if you have to know."
"For the record, so am I," Remus added.
"When did this engagement happen," godfather asked.
"A few minutes ago," I told him, "You are the first ones to know about this."
"Well, its not like we weren't expecting this at some time or another," dad said, "We have been talking about it for years…we just didn't expect it so soon!"
"When is the ceremony," mum asked.
Remus looked at me, "We haven't exactly discussed a date, godmother. I mean…we just became engaged."
"Oh, Remus, you will have to start calling me mum," Katrina said, "Come, sit down, both of you. Lets discuss this."
Two hours and three hot chocolates later, Remus and I had a date set (December 2), a place of marriage (Hogwarts) and most of the guest list. Ed and Joseph went to write a letter to Headmaster Dumbledore, mum and Christina cleaned up the kitchen and Remus and I went back up to the music room. I picked up my guitar and sat.
"So, how about I play for you?"
He laughed, "You told me you would."
I nodded and strummed a few random chords, just to warm up, and then played.
"So many songs in my mind. Maybe less cause I've drunk so much wine. There's light in your eyes but out the window it's gone dark outside," I sang, "Falling, fall to the floor. Falling, you know we can. Haven't had a dream in such a long time now. It's raining here and all the leaves are on the ground but I'm safe and warm outside its cold and grey. That's my guitar and I will play for you all day. It'll be alright if you stay tonight."
I played the last stanzas of the song, humming the lyrics and then immediately switched to another song.
"Could you whisper in my ear the things you want to feel? I'll give you anything to feel it comin'. Do you wake up on your own and wonder where you are? You live with all your faults," I sang, "I want to wake up where you are. I wont say anything at all. So why don't you slide? Yeah, we're gonna let it slide."
Don't you love the life you killed?
The priest is on the phone.
Your father hit the wall
Your ma disowned you
Don't suppose I'll ever know
What it means to be a man
Something I can't change
I'll live around it
I wanna wake up where you are
I wont say anything at all
So why don't you slide?
"And I'll do anything you ever dreamed could be complete. Little pieces of the nothing that fall," Remus and I sang together and he joined in with my bass, "Put your arms around me, What you feel is what you are and what you are is beautiful. Do you wanna get married or run away?"
The song ended too soon and Remus stood up and kissed me, "I would love to stay, but I want to talk with my dad a bit. I love you."
"I love you too, Remus. Bye."
I followed him downstairs and I went to the common room. My mum was sitting there on the couch and I joined her. I lay my head in her lap, looking at the blazing fireplace and let my mum run her fingers through my hair.
"I heard you and Remus playing upstairs," she told me, "You two sounded really great."
"Thanks, mum."
"So…who are going to be your bride's maids?"
I smiled as I thought, "Well, Lily Evans and Crystal Star…and Christina…but I would like you to be the bride's maid of honor."
I sat up and looked for the expression on mum's face. It was that of shock. Then, she embraced me.
"Oh, Anistasia," she exclaimed, "I would be so deeply honored to be so!"
"Thank you, mum," I replied, "You have been such a huge influence on me…Remus and me both. You have always been there for me and I love you more than any daughter could love their mother. You have supported me through everything. I owe you so much…you are the greatest mother and friend in the world. I love you."
"I love you, too, Ani," mum replied and kissed me on the forehead, "Oh, I almost forgot! An owl came for you while you were out. Stay here while I go get the letter."
Mum left me, staring into the fire. I looked down at the gorgeous diamond ring on my right ring finger. Everything had happened so quickly. I tried to gather all of my emotions, but all that I felt was numb. I looked up as mum walked back in and handed me a roll of parchment. She sat down next to me as I unrolled it.
Dear Thumper,
Happy Christmas! I hope that you are having a nice one! When I got home, my mum asked me how school was doing and I told her all about you and the Marauders and how much fun you guys are and how you befriended me. That made her want to invite you over to stay with us from the 27th until we have to go back to Hogwarts on January 9th. She said that if you bring your trunk, we could just go to the station from the Burrow. I have sent letters to everybody. Please RSVP soon. If you are able to come, my dad and I will floo over to your house on the afternoon of the 27th.
With love,
Your loyal Stryker
Bill WeasleyI showed my mum the note and she read it through.
"May I go, mum," I asked.
"We have so much to plan for the wedding, though," she whined, "I will go talk to your father, but I will allow you to go." She hugged me, took the note up to my dad and I lay back on the couch to play with my ring.