Behind them were the wedding guests: All the Weasleys minus Charlie and Percy, who looked like a garden of tomatoes as they all sat together; Kingsley, whose shiny bald head reflected the sunlight off it; Mad-Eye, who came to the ceremony dressed as though he were about to impersonate someone of the poor (as usual); Mr. and Mrs. Tonks, who were less enthusiastic about the wedding but still happy for their daughter; and a few other members of the Order. Remus had wished that James, Lily, and Sirius had still been alive to see him get married, and he also wished Harry would have been able to make it, but it was too soon to move him from the Muggles.
"Dearly beloved," began the elderly wizard suddenly, making Remus jump, "we are gathered here today to join this man and this woman together in holy matrimony."
It had been decided that the wedding was going to be a brief, contemporary ceremony, so as soon as Remus and Tonks slipped their wedding rings on the other's finger, the wizard cut to the chase.
Turning to Remus, he said, "Remus John Lupin, do you take this woman, whose right hand you now hold, to be your wedded wife, and do you promise before God and these witnesses that you will be to her a true and devoted husband, true to her in sickness and in health, in joy and in sorrow, in prosperity and in adversity, and that forsaking all others you will keep yourself to her, and her only. Until God shall separate you by death?"
"I do," said Remus quietly, holding a relaxed smile upon his features.
Now in Tonks's direction, the wizard said, "Nymphadora Tonks, do you take this man, whose right hand you now hold, to be your wedded husband, and do you promise before God and these witnesses that you will be to him a true and devoted wife, true to him in sickness and in health, in joy and in sorrow, in prosperity and in adversity, and that forsaking all others you will keep yourself to him, and him only. Until God shall separate you by death?"
"Yes. I do," said Tonks a bit quickly, and Remus was so happy he almost wanted to laugh out loud.
"Very well, then," said the wizard, "I now pronounce you husband and wife!" Turning to Remus again, he added those five words that almost caused him to faint upon hearing them: "You may kiss the bride!"
And then it happened: He picked Tonks up, sweeping her off her feet, and kissed her fully on the lips, putting so much feeling and romance into the kiss that Tonks laughed happily when he pulled away from her. He suddenly wished it was just the two of them there together and nobody else; stuck in the most passionate kiss he'd shared yet with her was where he wanted to be.
They walked proudly back down the aisle, arm-in-arm, and the guests followed them, row by row, back to the Burrow. Remus hadn't expected the reception to be much, because he hadn't asked for anything at all except for a dinner, but he was wrong as he opened the door for Tonks, and he followed her in.
A large banner that read CONGRATULATIONS was the first thing he saw and he immediately groaned when he felt something pouring over his head - confetti. He was feeling the opposite of Tonks, who was excitedly saying, "Isn't this wonderful?"
"Do you like it, Remus?" asked Molly from behind him somewhere, and he turned around to find her wearing a gigantic smile.
"Molly, I love it, but it's far too much, I didn't want you to go to this much trouble-"
"Nonsense!" Molly interrupted. "I had to make the reception at least a little special!"
"It's great, Mrs. Weasley," said Tonks, and Molly hugged her tightly.
"Oh, dear, I'm so happy for you two. I always told you he'd come around!" she told her, wagging a finger at Remus, who rolled his eyes but grinned anyway. He felt like a little kid again.
"Remus, m'boy!" came Arthur's voice, again from behind him, and he wheeled around to be pulled into a warm embrace. "Congratulations!"
"Thanks, Arthur," said Remus, wanting to go back to Tonks, but she'd been swallowed by Molly, Ginny, Fluer, and all the other women who'd attended the wedding. He, meanwhile, was surrounded by the men, receiving salutations of 'congrats!' left, right, and center.
"Congratulations, son," said Ted Tonks, pushing his way in front of Remus to grasp his hand. "You've proven that you and Dora are very in love and you seem to be a good husband to her."
"I love her so much, sir," was all Remus could think of to say, and it came out in a sort of desperate air to prove himself worthy to him, but he guessed that he had already. He wanted to say so much more, but Ted had left to go see his daughter, and the next person to swallow him in a hug was Kingsley.
After awhile, the wedding cake that neither Remus nor Tonks had asked for was cut and served piece by piece to everyone. Arthur proposed a toast right before it was cut, and as everyone raised their full glasses of firewhisky in the air, he said in a loud voice, "A toast to Remus and Nymphadora Lupin, to their boundless life together, to the good times they'll share together, and to their love for each other." He raised his glass a little higher, and everyone drank.
Remus, with his arm collectively around Tonks's shoulders, was one of the last to drink, but he'd downed his glass in one as usual. He was grinning, and after the toast, when everyone went to their cake, Tonks looked up at him and asked, "What's the huge smile for?" She too was grinning.
"Tonks," he said in a gentle voice, leading her to sit down in one of the corners of the room with his hand in hers. As they sat down on a small loveseat, he rubbed his thumb on the top of her hand and continued, "Listen, what say you and I-"
"Tonks! Oh, there you are, dear!"
Mrs. Tonks's loud voice was easily able to cut through others', and Remus looked up, irritated, to see her running towards them carrying something that looked like a knit scarf. She said to her daughter, "Dear, I decided to bring this to you for your wedding - remember?" She handed the piece of knit cloth to Tonks. "It's your old blanket!"
Clearly embarrassed by her mother interrupting her with her newlywed husband, Tonks uttered an irascible "thanks" and shooed her off. Once she was out of site, Tonks pulled out her wand and tapped the blanket twice; it disappeared in thin air before their eyes.
"Sorry," she mumbled. "I don't know what she was thinking, bringing me something I might have drooled on when I was three or something…"
Remus laughed slightly. "It's nothing," he lied; he was still ill-tempered about how he was interrupted so rudely by his new mother-in-law, whom he was much less enthusiastic to have. He cleared his throat and took her hand again in his and said, "Now - Dora - I was wondering if you wanted to -"
"Remus!"
Remus sighed angrily and looked up to see Mad-Eye walking towards them with a bottle of champagne. "Care for any?" he asked in his worn voice.
"No, thanks," said Remus, trying hard not to sound mad, but it was getting close to impossible.
He decided to lead Tonks into the separate hallway leading away from the main room, where he was finally alone with her, allowed to speak with her in private. He cleared his throat again and finally asked the question that had been burning inside him all night. "Dora," he began, "since we won't be able to have a full honeymoon with the worry of being attacked, er…I was wondering if, er, you'd like to…" He trailed off, feeing embarrassed, but was surprised with she picked up for him.
"- have sex?" she said as if discussing the weather with him.
He stared at her. "How'd you know I was going to ask that?"
She laughed. "Remus, it's easy to tell when a man wants to," she said.
"Such as…?"
"Why should I tell you?" she said with another laugh. "You'd try to stay away from it all and we'd never get to-"
"Alright, I get it, just don't actually say it; what if one of the twins are eavesdropping around the corner, waiting to tell everyone we're about to do it?"
She sighed. "My room or yours?"
Again he stared at her. "Er…mine. Percy's, I mean. The bed's nice and big…"
"Oh." She squeezed his hand tightly, and he couldn't help but flash a smile.
"Okay, then, let's go," he said, leading her up several flights of stairs to the room he was staying in for the weeks he was living at the Burrow, and quietly closed the door behind him…
It was late morning. The eleven o'clock rays of sunshine shone on Remus's face through the parted curtains, waking him up naturally. As he opened his eyes, he felt like everything was normal at first, but as he noticed his arm was around Tonks's naked bosom, he began to panic.
Gently he took his arm way from her, being careful not to wake her up, and he sat up in bed, finding that he too was not wearing any clothes; the only thing on him was the blankets he and Tonks were sharing. Digging into his tired mind, he tried to remember what he'd done last night - and then it hit him.
Groaning upon the realization that he, Remus Lupin, a werewolf, had made love to a normal human being, he began to worry: what if he'd impregnated her? What if he'd even caused her to become part werewolf? Slipping on his boxers and a white t-shirt as he got out of bed, he began to pace the room.
He felt as if he'd forgotten he was a werewolf. He was a monster, meant to bite and infect innocent humans on the full moon of every month. He was a werewolf that had married a regular, everyday witch, and his feelings of regret immediately poured into his mind.
How could I have let myself be so damn stupid? he thought angrily. If I'd gotten her pregnant…Werewolves don't breed…Oh, what have I done?
He leaned against the dresser and held his face in his hands, mentally cursing and slapping himself. He'd made a horrible mistake, one that he knew he would regret for the rest of his life. He'd taken precautions against himself about this for so long and eventually he let it get to him through his naivety and his uncontrollable love for her.
He let out a sigh. The whole thing was a horrible mistake. He should have just called off the wedding at the alter. He shouldn't have even proposed in the first place…
Tonks stirred under the sheets and woke up, sitting up in bed, unashamed of her own nakedness as he was his. He felt embarrassed to look at her like this, to have to call her a wife with such a grave mistake in his mind.
"Good morning," she greeted. "You were…wonderful last night."
Remus was unable to accept the compliment. He was looking down, and with a fake smile, he mumbled, "So were you."
He could hear her getting dressed, and he decided to do so as well. He felt so ashamed to watch her get dressed the way she did, unafraid to expose to him her most private body parts.
"So, when did you wake up?" Tonks asked as she slipped a shirt on.
"Just now," he said quietly, watching her now. He could hardly stand to look, and he turned his head away in shame. The realization that he'd made a grave mistake, one that would stick with him the rest of his life, continuously crashed down on him.
Let me know. I'm sure I had mistakes in this one. (It's 2:06 am on August 1st - Happy August, everybody.)