Remus stood beneath the limbs of a gnarled, ancient oak tree, the ring of flowers circling him glowing gold in the evening sun. He was wearing a suit of Sirius's he'd taken from 12 Grimmauld Place, tailored to fit him better around the shoulders, and a gleaming silver watch James had bought him for his twentieth birthday. He wanted to have his two best friends with him today, the day he was to be married.

The ceremony was being held outside of a wizarding tavern in Inverness, its guests comprised of the pub's half-drunk guests. Remus would have loved for the members of the Order and Harry to be there instead, not to mention what remained of his and Tonks's families, but between the war effort and the stigma behind Tonks marrying a known werewolf, he and his soon-to-be wife had agreed to keep the ceremony as small and clandestine as possible. The tavern's lawn was about all they had been able to afford on short notice, and they'd booked a room in the inn next door to spend the night. It would not be much of an event, but neither he nor Tonks was too concerned.

Fifty feet ahead of him, the tavern door creaked open, and Tonks stepped out with a brilliant smile illuminating her face. Her hair was long and colored a deep blue-purple, curling down the bodice of her wedding dress like rich rivulets of ink. The dress flowed gracefully down her legs, skimming the muddy grass underfoot; Remus knew she was using an Agility Charm to keep herself from tripping as she made her way down the makeshift lilac-lined aisle towards him. The tavern guests wolf-whistled as she passed them, calling out all sorts of crude things, but all of Tonks's focus was on Remus, who felt his body going numb as she approached. She was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen; he couldn't believe he was about to marry her. He still wasn't entirely sure he should be marrying her.

Tonks stepped into the ring of flowers and took Remus's outstretched hands in hers. The owner of the tavern, who was officiating, stepped behind them and cleared his throat. "We are gathered here today to join this man and this woman, er…Raymond Lupin and Nimphydonna Tonks, in holy matrimony."

Remus and Tonks both grinned, neither of them minding that their hastily-chosen officiant didn't know their names. Remus ran his thumb along Tonks's knuckles, savoring the moment and doing his best to bite back the doubt and guilt festering in his gut. He was so happy, she was so happy…that was all that mattered.

"Raymond," the tavern owner said, "do you take this witch, Nimphydonna, to be your wife?"

"With all my heart," Remus said softly. Slipping a burnished-gold ring onto Tonks's finger, he prayed for it to be the truth.

"And Nimphydonna, do you take this man to be your husband?"

Tonks squeezed his hands. "I do," she murmured. "For the rest of my life." And she gave Remus his ring, her fingers shaking as she teased it on.

"Well, then, I pronounce you husband and wife," declared their officiant. "Raymond, you may kiss your bride."

The tavern guests began to cheer and jeer and shout, and Remus tilted his new wife gently back to kiss her, Tonks throwing her arms around his neck as the two of them disappeared into each other and left the rest of the world behind.

Tonks and Remus lay tangled together amongst the threadbare sheets of their creaky inn wedding bed, surrounded by floating candles smelling of jasmine and lemongrass. Tonks looked exquisite under their soft glow, her skin smooth and golden; she was leaning over Remus and tracing the scars along his chest with her finger. It was her first time seeing every inch of him—they had never slept together before.

"I love these," she murmured. "Your scars. They're one of my favorite things about you."

Remus raised his eyebrows, surprised. "They're one of my least favorite things about me," he said. "Always reminding me of what I turn into once a month."

Tonks tilted her head. "Other werewolves don't have all of these, though," she said. "Most of them are scars you gave yourself because you'd rather tear yourself to shreds than hurt another person on the full moon. That's why they're one of my favorite things—they show off to everyone how selfless you are."

Remus felt his throat tighten. He didn't feel selfless by any stretch, but the fact that Tonks saw beauty in something as ugly and terrible as his cursed scars meant more to him than he could say. "I love you," he told her instead, cradling her cheek in his palm.

Tonks took his hand and pressed her lips to it. "Took you long enough to admit it," she murmured against his skin.

"I know," he whispered, his throat tightening even more. "I'm sorry."

Tonks shook her head and bent down to press her forehead to his. "It doesn't matter anymore," she said. "We have the rest of our lives to tell each other whatever we need to."

"We do," Remus agreed, a buoyant smile playing across his lips as he reached behind her to undo the glimmering clasps of her dress.