Author's note: Now this here, dear readers, is what we call absolute and unadulterated fluff. Why? Because Elizabeth deserves it and I'm just sick enough that this is all I can do.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Please do not sue me, I can barely pay tuition.
Dedication: For Elizabeth, happy early birthday!
Hogwarts: Assignment #1, Dentistry Task #3, Write about a fresh start
Warnings: NA
The Second Time
Remus fiddled with the cuff of his jacket sleeve when Sirius hit the back of his arm.
"Quit it," Sirius whispered.
"I'm not doing anything."
"Yes, you are," Sirius said. "She'll be out soon, just relax."
Remus nodded but he couldn't help but smile to himself, even if Sirius was standing behind him and for sure couldn't see him. Remus' eyes flitted quickly to where Harry sat in the first row with Teddy slumped against him. He smiled and quickly mouthed 'how is he?' to Harry, who mouthed back 'sleeping.' Teddy looked absolutely handsome in the tiny dress robes Molly had sewn up for him—probably far better than Remus looked in his own robes. Teddy had also decided that today his hair should be a burnt, autumnal orange colour which Remus had never seen him opt for before.
The benches had been installed in rows, candles lining the aisle that split them apart. The crowd was whispering gently, illuminated by the glowing candles that floated above their heads and the sunset light flooding in through the windows. When the music began, Hestia Jones walked down the aisle in her black bridesmaid dress, a bouquet of white flowers in her hands. Then the crowd rushed to stand and Dora turned the corner, holding Andromeda's arm.
Her hair was turned a dark, luxuriously rich mulberry purple for the occasion and her curls fell softly over her shoulders. Remus saw the pop of red on her lips and the kohl under her eyes from across the room, even if it was hidden behind a birdcage veil. He felt like he would be able to see her a mile away, as if she was in a dream. The dress was stark white, the hem tickling her calves and the lace sleeves hugging her arms down to her wrists. His stomach may as well have melted or fallen right out of him when he saw her. He saw her every day, something he was more and more thankful for as it happened, but seeing her looking like a proper bride… He'd been afraid to sound superficial and hadn't mentioned it outright, but he'd been thinking about this moment ever since they had agreed to host a wedding ceremony that their friends and family could actually come to this time. It had been somewhat of a hassle, no matter how much they had tried to keep things straightforward and simple, but this moment alone would be more than worth a thousand more pains.
She smiled at him, as if enjoying the effect she was having on him. She probably was. Remus didn't even bother biting back her smile as she and Andromeda walked down the aisle. When they reached the front of the room, she kissed her mum's cheek and handed off her bouquet to Hestia before taking Remus' hand and facing him.
"Like what you're seeing?" Dora whispered. That finally shook Remus out of his shock.
"You're absolutely stunning," Remus whispered back, squeezing both of her hands. "I'm going to need to see you in that dress a hundred more times."
"Maybe I'll start doing housework in it," Dora teased.
"Friends, family, loved ones," Kingsley spoke up behind them. "We are gathered here today not to celebrate a marriage, since that's already happened, but to celebrate what we all missed last time."
Dora rolled her eyes and Remus chewed his lip, as the crowd behind them giggled at that.
A fair amount of teasing and some honest resentment about their elopement had also been expected today.
"Thank you everyone for coming and joining Remus and Tonks, whose first name I am apparently forbidden to speak even during this wedding reprisal," Kingsley said. "Today we are in a stronger, freer, and safer world than when these two first pledged to spend their lives together; one which is also made ever the more beautiful by the love and the family that they have put in it."
Remus' eyes darted to Teddy who was still sleeping in Harry's arms, and when he looked back to Dora he saw that she'd turned to the baby too. He smiled at her.
"For several years now, I have had the honour of knowing Tonks as an Auror with an outstanding reputation for fairness, perseverance, hard work, and a talent for both breaking things and putting them back together," Kingsley said. "I then had the pleasure to meet Remus in the Order of the Phoenix, where his calm, composed, thoughtful, and selfless nature propped up those around him and changed the world in quiet ways. It was a blessing and a feat of eternal frustration to watch the two of them slowly come together as one against all odds. It is my utmost honour to witness the two of them today show the world the love they have come to share with such joyful candour."
"When Tonks and Remus told us that they had gotten married the summer before last, I have to admit that like many others, my first reaction was I told you so."
There was some chuckling from former Order members in the room.
Dora gave Remus a knowing look, arching an eyebrow. He stuck his tongue out at her too quickly for anyone else to notice.
"Their marriage did not have an easy start," Kingsley said, "as war, prejudice, and fear became growing and defining characteristics of our everyday lives. This makes this occasion all the more—"
At this point Teddy woke up and his cries echoed in the room. Remus turned to see Harry getting up, looking for his nearest exist.
Remus squeezed Dora's hands and went down to join Harry, gently lifting Teddy from his arms and propping up the baby on his hip. As Remus suspected, he was just being needy because his parents were within his line of sight but not paying attention to him.
He wandered back to the front of the room and Dora made a face at Teddy and took his chubby little hand in hers before looking back to Kingsley expectantly.
"Fitting," Kingsley smiled. "I was told to keep this short in case the baby woke up, so I suppose that this is a sign for us to turn to the vows."
Remus passed over Teddy, who was more than happy to find himself in his mum's arms, and turned to Sirius. His best man produced the piece of parchment on which Remus had copied his vows from the scraps of paper on which he'd written the first drafts, toiling over every word.
He took a deep breath and met Dora's eyes. They were the shade of hazel she was favouring lately to best mirror Teddy's, and they watched him with quiet encouragement.
"Dora, when you walked into my life four years ago, you did it like some people walk into their house," Remus said. "You knew where everything was and you made yourself at home, like you'd always been meant to be there and fit right in. Of course, you did. But I was completely and utterly unprepared for it."
Dora chuckled, as a few other people in the crowd did. He kept his eyes on her though, because she was the only one that mattered.
"I had no idea what it was like for someone to love as fiercely as you loved me," Remus said. "And I spent an incredible amount of time being shocked or being skeptical before I realised that I could just love you back—and doing that… doing that changed my life."
He took a deep breath to steady his voice.
"The more I do it, the more things I find to love about you. I love when you come home from work and run around the flat telling me about your day for fifteen minutes before you remember to take your shoes off. I love how you never ask before you steal the last bite of cake, you just take it. I love how much braver and bolder and stronger you make me," Remus said. "I love how unconditionally fair and patient you are. I love how you see answers where other people see problems. I love watching you with Teddy and I love that you are my family. I love how badly you make coffee and I love that I get to love you and all these things for the rest of my life."
He took a break to blink back tears he hadn't expected—tears that got annoyingly hotter as he made eye contact with Remus.
"A few months ago, I had no idea how long that life would be," Remus said. "But if I was going to die in a war, I knew I was going to die with no regrets about what exactly my life looked like. And for that I am thankful to you, for our son, for the way that you see prejudice in the world but don't act on it, and for just about everything else about you. And now that the world's safer, even if it nearly cost us everything, I can't wait to love you longer."
Dora nodded and blinked away tears before kissing Teddy's forehead and passing him over. Remus wiped at his eyes before taking his son back, as Hestia handed Dora her vows—which were scribbled on a napkin in purple ink. Remus loved that too.
"I'm—I'm not a very good writer, or a very good speaker," Dora said.
Teddy made a complaining noise.
"Yes, I know, baby," she said reaching out to take the little boy's hand. "I'm not a very articulate person and I was very bad about writing these, so Hestia sat me down in the cafeteria at work and made me make a list of the reasons I married you. There were a lot and you know those already, so I'm not going to waste anyone's time since there's cake after this. But there are a few newer items on the list that deserve to be mentioned because this is a second wedding."
She looked up from the napkin and smiled with Remus.
"When you hold Teddy, I'm excited to see the person he's going to become with a father like you around," Dora said. "You make excellent coffee in the morning and always bring it to me in my favourite cup, no matter how early I have to get up for work. I see you work three times as hard as everybody else to get what you need even if the world is four times as harsh, and I've never seen you complain or be anything other than grateful for what comes your way. You're so witty that you give me a run for my money and keep me sharp even if we're just lazing in bed. You're still so, so good at inventing names for whatever colour I can conjure, even if you've helped me get dressed in the morning a hundred times by now. You make me smile and laugh about things nobody else can make funny. Sometimes, you make me smile without anybody around when I say 'my husband' and know that you're mine and I'm yours. Especially when I think of how close we've come of that not being the case, or how close we came to losing each other in the war."
Dora took a deep breath and folded the napkin in her hand.
"And I'm excited for whatever else continuing to be married to you will bring," Dora concluded, nodding decisively. "Which I know includes cake, and I really didn't think I would cry, so Kingsley if we could move on…"
"Right, then," Kingsley said, taking over again. "Well, neither of you gave your rings to Hestia ahead of time but if you want to take them off now we'll proceed with the exchange… Alright. Remus, placing the ring on Tonks' finger, repeat after me."
Remus slipped the ring on her hand, which would have been easier but not nearly as exciting had he not still been holding the baby.
"I Remus," Kingsley said.
"I Remus."
"With this ring promise to honour you, be faithful to you, and share my love and life with you in every way, forever and always."
"With this ring promise to honour you, be faithful to you, and share my love and life with you in every way, forever and always," Remus said.
Dora smiled and didn't break eye contact with him as she slipped his ring back on his hand, which had felt distinctly naked without it, and repeated Kingsley's words.
"Alright," Kingsley said. He leaned over and plucked Teddy from Remus' arms to free them up. "And now, with the power vested in me by the Ministry of Magic…"
Remus couldn't help but burst out laughing, which set off Dora. The irony was not lost on a few others in the crowd who laughed as well.
"...am honoured to pronounce you, once again, husband and wife. You may now seal these vows once more with…"
Dora didn't let Kingsley finish before looping her arms around Remus' neck and kissing him. The soft netting of her veil pressed against Remus' face as he held her closer, and he could tell by the shifting weight of her and the cheering in the crowd that at least one of her feet was no longer touching the floor.
"You two never listen," Kingsley said low enough that only the bridal party heard him.
Teddy looked a little bit rattled by the applause everywhere around them, so Dora scooped him back up and kissed his forehead, soothing him as best as she could. With a quick spell, Remus summoned the stuffed yellow hippopotamus from the diaper bag in Harry's care to give Teddy something else to focus on. He kept a hand on the small of her back as they waved to their friends and family.
There was no walking back down the aisle as the food appeared nearly right away and the benches started gently sliding across the floor, tucking themselves away or transforming into cocktail tables. Remus spotted a tiered chocolate cake dotted with golden flowers, appetizers and cheese platters as far as the eye could see… When they had decided to submit themselves to a proper wedding ceremony, they still hadn't wanted a fuss. That had, after all, been the purpose of running off to Scotland and taking care of everything in a tavern the first time around—though there was something undeniably warm about being well surrounded as they were today. They had scheduled the ceremony for sunset and decreed that it was to be immediately followed by food and dancing to keep things simple.
They took a few pictures with their son as music began filling the room before saying goodnight to Teddy. He was going home with Harry to go to bed, though a rotation of guardians were taking care of him throughout the evening so that nobody missed the whole night.
"Thank you again for taking care of him," Remus said, putting a hand on Harry's shoulder. He also knew that Harry was still uncomfortable in large crowds, even months after the war had ended. He added quietly, "If you want to stay with him longer than you're scheduled, don't be shy…"
"Thanks," Harry said. "But I owe Ginny and Luna a few dances, and that cake looked good."
"It does," Dora chimed in.
"I'll make sure there's a piece for you when you come back," Remus said.
"Thanks," Harry said again. "And congratulations, Remus. I'm happy for you."
He smiled. "Thank you. I'm happy too, and you made this possible, Harry..."
"Don't worry about that now," Harry said. "I think Tonks is about to leave you to get food."
"That does sound like her, yes," Remus acknowledged.
"Oye," Dora said, kissing Teddy's head goodbye one last time. "We'll see you tomorrow morning love, and we'll see you later, Harry."
They cut the cake right away since Dora wasn't about to wait a second longer and, to be frank, nor was Remus once he realised that there was chocolate ganache involved. Remus had gotten said ganache smashed in his face at least three times by the time Harry came back, and twice again after that (one of which was thanks to Sirius). He hadn't managed to get cake in Dora's face once by the time their first dance came around.—those damned Auror reflexes of hers…
They'd found out at some point that there would be a piano in the room and Andromeda had surprised them by offering to play for them—she'd picked a Muggle song with a name like When All Is Said And Done from a Muggle Swedish band that Dora's father had loved. Remus couldn't remember their name at the moment, he was too busy swaying to the soft piano with his wife in his arms, but he was quite sure that his mother had loved them too.
He had his hands around her, laced against the small of her back, and hers found their place around his neck. She closed her eyes and hummed the song, her head tucked against his chest under his chin.
"I think we did well," Remus said. "Bothering with a proper wedding ceremony for them—well, nearly proper…"
"As proper as we get," Dora said. "Which is, well, saying something. But I agree. It's like… a fresh start in a new world. A world that's better for us."
Remus laughed and pressed his forehead against hers.
"No matter how improper you are, Nymphadora Tonks, I'd marry you a thousand more times," he said.
"I'll marry you a thousand and one more," Dora said. "Though you getting to use my full name was your wedding gift for each one of those."
Remus laughed against the veil and gently pulled it out of her hair to properly kiss her forehead. Dora plucked the veil back from him and slipped the comb holding it up in his hair. He laughed, but didn't have time to pull it back out before the song ended and The Weird Sisters began playing. Once she heard her favourite song, Dora pulled him into a dance and he knew he'd be on the dance floor with her all night. He didn't mind.
Stacked with: MC4A; Shipping Wars; Hogwarts
Individual Challenge(s): Fore-Touch; Small Fry; Gryffindor MC; Hufflepuff MC; Bow Before the Blacks; Brush; Tiny Terrors; Seeds; Golden Times; Old Shoes; Themes & Things A (Love); Themes & Things B (Joy); Themes & Things C (Soft Toy); Themes & Things D (Chocolate); Themes & Things E (Jewelry); Themes & Things F (Second Chances); True Colours; Rian-Russo Inversion; Short Jog; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon
Word Count: 3048
Shipping Wars
Ship (Team): Remus Lupin/Nymphadora Tonks (Technicolour Moon)
List (Prompt): Winter Micro 2 (Costume Porn)