Author's note: Enjoy!
Disclaimer: The following characters belong to J.K. Rowling, and this story derives from her original works, storylines, and world. Please do not sue me, I can barely pay tuition.
Hogwarts: Assignment #9, Games & Sports Task #4 Write about a group (3 or more people) gathering for something.
Warnings: NA
Nostalgic Dances
Dora returned, holding up the hem of her long black dress—which, from the waist up and down to where her sleeves ended at the wrist, was made entirely of lace. Her hair was a soft lilac, swept up into a chignon which he knew for a fact was the only formal hairstyle she knew how to execute. Andromeda followed her closely, wearing the only evening dress she owned and a pleased smile. His mother-in-law was a quiet and timid woman; being invited to the wedding meant a lot to her.
"Alright," she said, smiling at Teddy. "You look tired, my love. Being a ring bearer was a lot of work, wasn't it?"
"You did a great job," Harry said, running his hand over Teddy's hair. His wedding ring now glinted on his finger as he did. The little boy was slumped against Remus' chest. His little suit was getting rumpled in the process, but Remus didn't care much.
"Are you ready to go home for our sleepover?" Andromeda asked, reaching out for her grandson.
Remus kissed Teddy's head, which was covered in fluffy teal tufts.
"You remember about your sleepover at Grandma's, right Teddy?" he double-checked, to make sure Teddy knew what was going on. "You'll go to bed, maybe have a special breakfast tomorrow, and we'll come meet you and Grandma for lunch?"
"Mmm-hmm," Teddy said sleepily.
Dora laughed at how tired he was—they'd kept him up way, way past his bedtime.
"Goodnight, baby boy," Dora said, leaning down to kiss Teddy's forehead. "Have the sweetest dreams."
"Yes mama," he mumbled obediently. Remus bit back a laugh and kissed Teddy's fluffy hair before handing him over to Andromeda.
"Mum, you've got his bag, right? There's pajamas, a set of clothes for tomorrow, we packed his blanket and some books..." Dora asked.
"Yes dear," she said. "Don't you two worry about us—we'll be fine. Enjoy the festivities."
"Thanks Mum," Dora said.
"Thank you Andromeda, goodnight," Remus said. Andromeda propped Teddy on her hip and made her way out of the Harpies' Nest as her grandson fell asleep against her.
The Harpies' Nest was a country house with bountiful windows, high ceilings, and a wraparound porch that belonged to the Holyhead Harpies. It was built right next to their regular playing stadium—historically because many women had to lie to their families or leave their homes to play Quidditch when the game was originally segregated by gender. As Remus understood it (and remembered from James' obsessive talks), it often hosted incredible parties and was where most interviews with the players were held. During playoff season when their training and playing schedules were particularly grueling, the players reportedly even slept in the Nest.
Tonight, the house was decorated by glowing lanterns and an assortment of greenery. Remus spotted olive branches, baby's breath, vines, and eucalyptus. Every plank of the Nest's pine wood floor had become a dance floor, with most chairs and tables pushed aside and the party spilling over to all the rooms on the main floor. Remus saw people chattering and drinking on the porch outside too, while others sat to rest their feet or enjoyed a second helping of wedding cake. He saw Arthur and Molly as well as other various Weasleys dancing, some very drunken Quidditch players forming a conga line, Luna trying to teach Neville some of her dance moves, McGonagall sitting at the bar and eyeing the scene with a mixture of judgement and amusement…
"Thank you for lending Teddy," Harry said.
"Are you kidding? This was the most exciting thing he's ever done," Dora said. "Although, hey, feel free to count that as our wedding present to you."
Harry laughed and rolled up the sleeves of his dress-shirt, his jacket and vest having been discarded long ago. He loosened the golden tie around his neck too and popped his top button.
"Are you having a good night?" Dora checked in, arching an eyebrow so that he knew not to lie to her.
"The best," Harry smiled. "There are so many more people than I expected—Ginny said that sometimes happened when the Harpies partied, and I guess I forgot how many people actually worked in the Auror department. There's no press, though—Ron and Hermione have been checking in with security for me."
"That's wonderful," Remus said. He'd known how important a private wedding had been to Harry. The ceremony in one of Godric Hollow's parks this morning had been small, and the Harpies' Nest had been chosen as a venue partially because of how well-protected it already was.
"How about you guys?" Harry asked.
"It's a wonderful wedding," Dora promised.
"It is," Remus said. He looked over Harry's happy face one more time. He'd been wondering if he should say something all day, and finally he did. "You look very much like your father did on his wedding day."
Harry looked taken back for a second, and then he smiled. Remus knew that Harry had a few photos of his parents' wedding in his photo album of them.
"You know, I thought so too when I was getting ready," Harry said.
"He'd be proud," Remus said. Of course, James would have been proud of Harry had he been a professional bowtruckle charmer who only wore brown paper bags and shoes made of empty chocolate frog boxes. Besides, Harry had no responsibility to James (or anybody else for that matter). Remus simply felt a dual responsibility to act as James' mouthpiece and remind Harry of just how impressive and well he was doing.
"I hope so," Harry said. "Do you think he'd have liked Ginny? I mean, that doesn't matter, especially not now, but do you?"
"Are you kidding?" Remus asked. "She's a professional Quidditch player with an impressive Bat-Bogey Hex and enough sass to give him a taste of his own medicine. He would have loved her. Molly, though, he would be afraid of."
Harry laughed. He ran a hair through his already disheveled hair.
"I wish they were here," he said. "But I'm more happy that I'm here and that I've got this, with the people that we do have with us. It doesn't always feel better than it feels worst, but today it does."
"I'm happy that you have this day too," Remus said. "If I hadn't finished my champagne, I would toast to your long life and happiness."
"Hear, hear," Dora chimed in.
"I've got the best news!" Ginny said, dashing into their little circle and throwing an arm around Harry's waist. She seemed to notice Dora and Remus only as an afterthought. "Oh, sorry…"
"Not at all," Remus smiled. "Congratulations, Ginny."
"Thank you Remus," she smiled as she quickly let go of her new husband to hug Tonks. She did make a beautiful bride; her white dress was incredibly simple and striking only in the simplicity of its spaghetti straps and the elegance of the way it hit the floor and gathered briefly in a skirt. Her red hair was loose and dangling down her back. At some point, parts of it had been braided and pinned up—but there had been too much dancing and running and activity since they'd left the church. Remus was quite sure that Harry and Ginny had flown to their reception, frankly, which inevitably entailed a race between the two of them.
"What was your news?" Harry asked, turning back to Ginny.
"Bar's stocked up with Firewhisky again," she said. "You owe me a shot."
"Why?" Harry frowned. "I didn't lose that bet with Bill about—"
"I'm your wife now," Ginny said cheerfully. "From now on, assume you always owe me a shot. Let's go!"
She tugged on Harry's arm but he didn't resist too hard before following her back into the crowd and across the dance floor to the bar. Remus watched them go.
"Feeling nostalgic?" Dora asked, running her hands down his back before going back up to rest her arms on his shoulders. His hands went to her waist.
"You're good," he noted.
"I know that look on your face, you old sap," she told him. She was wearing earrings, which was quite unusual for her, and the way they dangled down when she moved and drew his attention to her eyes was astounding.
"I've known that boy his entire life," Remus said. "I saw him when he was only hours old. Merlin, I'm the one who bought Lily her pregnancy test when James was out on an Order mission and she started panicking."
"Don't tell Harry, that's far too much information for someone to have about their own gestational period," Dora said.
"Obviously I won't tell Harry," Remus said. Without realizing it, they'd started swaying to the music around them—a nice, soft romantic song now. Too bad the bride and groom were doing shots. "It's just… strange to be here with him now."
"You're handling it far better than Sirius who, last I saw, was drunk and being held up by his long suffering fiancé and little else," Dora said.
Remus smiled and tightened his hold on her, pulling her closer.
"What?" she asked, arching an eyebrow.
"Nothing," he said with another smile. "I'm just… thinking about our wedding day now."
"Which one?" Dora asked with a smirk. "The time we eloped in a pub or the time we had a proper ceremony like proper adults?"
"Both were my favourite," Remus said.
Dora smiled at him.
"And you missed your friends both times," she said. She brushed a strand of hair out of his face. "You're allowed to be nostalgic and a little bit sad, Remus. Just don't let it eat you."
"I won't," Remus said.
"Good," Dora said. She leaned in. "Because I've been thinking about our wedding days too. More specifically, our wedding nights."
"Have you?" Remus said, grinning.
"I have," Dora said, nodding solemnly. Her fake composure broke and she smiled, which made Remus laugh in turn.
"Can we at least get through this dance?" he asked.
"If you insist," she said. "But don't you remember our second wedding night?"
Remus pondered this briefly.
"Alright," he said. "Lead the way."
Stacked with: Hogwarts; Shipping War; Spring Bingo; Link Maker; Chimera Creator
Word Count: 1689
Spring Bingo
Space (Prompt): 3E (Dance/Music)
Shipping Wars
Ship (Team): Remus Lupin/Nymphadora Tonks (Technicolour Moon)
List (Prompt): Spring Big List (Earring)