The week after our engagement seemed to pass with no time at all, and
suddenly it was Christmas Eve, and our house was a flurry of activity.
Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, the rest of the Weasleys, her mum and my mum
had all made an appearance. Music was blaring. Ron and Hermione were
sitting beneath the tree, deep in what seemed like a very serious
conversation. Tonks and her Mum sat in the kitchen making plans, and Harry
and Ginny were apparently upstairs, 'wrapping gifts'. Only Sirius was
missing from the seemingly perfect scene. I sighed. He would have loved to
be there.
I sat amidst it all, sipping my cocoa and thinking. Suddenly, I felt warm weight against my shoulder. "Watcha doing?" she questioned, kissing near my ear. I turned to face her, watching closely her expression. Happy, questioning. "Thinking," I replied, pulling her close.
"About what?" suddenly very solemn.
I sighed, wrapping my arms even more tightly around her. "Sirius."
"Y'know what?" she turned, kissing my nose.
"Mmm?"
"I think that we're all in denial." She paused, as if gathering the words. "I pretend, sometimes, that he's there. Here. Like today." She let her voice trail off. I kissed her, a soft, slow, delicate, passionate kind of kiss that, I believe, are special, unique to people madly in love.
"Shshsh," I whispered, when the kiss was through. "It's Christmas. Sirius wants you to be happy. So be happy!" I kissed the tip of her nose, making her smile.
We lay in bed together that night, and I thought of the first time we ever lay in a bed together. She was sixteen, and I was 25, the summer after her sixth year. She would have been seventeen in three weeks. I was turning 26 in eight days. We had both consciously known it was illegal. For four years our relationship had been illegal. But we loved each other. God, I thought, that was twelve years ago. I turned to kiss her, and as I did, a line from a song popped into my head: "Can I get you anything. to drink? Because time flies when you're having fun. Guess I haven't got that much to say." I smiled and kissed her before turning and trying to sleep.
The next morning, Christmas morning, I awoke to Tonks leaning into my face, grinning. "Wake up," she said, "It's Christmas. I opened my eyes. Still in her pyjamas, she looked like an over-grown five- year-old. "Is it?" I laughed, rolling over and pinning her to the bed.
"Yes, yes it is." She tried to escape, but I held her fast. "I see." I kissed her once, twice, three times and let her go. She giggled and raced downstairs and I followed, wrapping my robe around my middle. We got downstairs, and it was a flurry of movement. Christmas Bells from RENT was blaring out of the stereo, and Ron, Fred, George and Ginny were yelling out random lyrics. Tonks whistled through her fingers and everyone stopped dead.
"OKAY!" she yelled, hands on her hips coach-style. Everyone looked at her. "Okay. Now, Remus will be Santa. Rem, you hand them presents, okay?"
I nodded. "Okay."
"And then, in a CIVILISED manner, you will open them. When we are finished, we'll have breakfast."
Present-opening was a flurry of movement. Wrapping paper flew about and Tonks raced around, trying to contain sanity.
We finished around eleven o'clock, and Tonks started making breakfast, her mother watching and fretting.
I had never been happier in my life.
I sat amidst it all, sipping my cocoa and thinking. Suddenly, I felt warm weight against my shoulder. "Watcha doing?" she questioned, kissing near my ear. I turned to face her, watching closely her expression. Happy, questioning. "Thinking," I replied, pulling her close.
"About what?" suddenly very solemn.
I sighed, wrapping my arms even more tightly around her. "Sirius."
"Y'know what?" she turned, kissing my nose.
"Mmm?"
"I think that we're all in denial." She paused, as if gathering the words. "I pretend, sometimes, that he's there. Here. Like today." She let her voice trail off. I kissed her, a soft, slow, delicate, passionate kind of kiss that, I believe, are special, unique to people madly in love.
"Shshsh," I whispered, when the kiss was through. "It's Christmas. Sirius wants you to be happy. So be happy!" I kissed the tip of her nose, making her smile.
We lay in bed together that night, and I thought of the first time we ever lay in a bed together. She was sixteen, and I was 25, the summer after her sixth year. She would have been seventeen in three weeks. I was turning 26 in eight days. We had both consciously known it was illegal. For four years our relationship had been illegal. But we loved each other. God, I thought, that was twelve years ago. I turned to kiss her, and as I did, a line from a song popped into my head: "Can I get you anything. to drink? Because time flies when you're having fun. Guess I haven't got that much to say." I smiled and kissed her before turning and trying to sleep.
The next morning, Christmas morning, I awoke to Tonks leaning into my face, grinning. "Wake up," she said, "It's Christmas. I opened my eyes. Still in her pyjamas, she looked like an over-grown five- year-old. "Is it?" I laughed, rolling over and pinning her to the bed.
"Yes, yes it is." She tried to escape, but I held her fast. "I see." I kissed her once, twice, three times and let her go. She giggled and raced downstairs and I followed, wrapping my robe around my middle. We got downstairs, and it was a flurry of movement. Christmas Bells from RENT was blaring out of the stereo, and Ron, Fred, George and Ginny were yelling out random lyrics. Tonks whistled through her fingers and everyone stopped dead.
"OKAY!" she yelled, hands on her hips coach-style. Everyone looked at her. "Okay. Now, Remus will be Santa. Rem, you hand them presents, okay?"
I nodded. "Okay."
"And then, in a CIVILISED manner, you will open them. When we are finished, we'll have breakfast."
Present-opening was a flurry of movement. Wrapping paper flew about and Tonks raced around, trying to contain sanity.
We finished around eleven o'clock, and Tonks started making breakfast, her mother watching and fretting.
I had never been happier in my life.