DISCLAIMER: Anything you recognise belongs to JKR.
When she had imagined possible weddings back in fifth year the picture had always included a large cake, family and friends dancing madly to 60's muggle music, her dad, slightly tipsy making terrible jokes at her new husband's expense while mum tried not to crack a smile.
Charlie Weasley and Larry Hamilton would be up to their usual tricks, Donny would bring his band and she would dance with every man there, her dress swirling to the beat. The dress, at least five different colours cleverly interwoven with rainbow-hued sequins, her hair morphed to match. The man at her side had been a vague figure of imagination in these teenage discussions, smartly dressed and undoubtedly handsome and wonderfully intelligent.
The scene certainly hadn't included a shabby ministry office where the official said the words as quickly as possible, glancing towards the door every ten seconds for the inevitable crashing. Her dress was a simple affair of plain white cloth that she had bought from a muggle store, and Remus's fine robes were on loan from Bill, who shared his lanky build. Their vows were said in thirty seconds, the plain silver rings exchanged and the papers signed at a rapid pace. Kingsley and Mad-Eye stood as witnesses, while her parents and the two Weasley boys kept guard near the door ready to try and delay whoever came through.
She wished her friends could have been here to share the moment, but they hadn't wanted to risk the wrong people finding out too soon. Charlie had promised to let the crowd know as soon as the papers were signed, and her parents were hosting a reception of sorts in their garden for the few of them that were able to come.
The ministry official finished with the traditional words, "Then I declare you bonded for life," and they had time for a quick touch of the lips before there was a crash in the corridor, someone colliding with the door.
Three raps were followed by an imperious demand to open the portal, and Bill pretended to struggle with the lock, calling back that it was jammed and that they wouldn't be a minute. It was time enough for Ted to snap a quick photo of her and Remus, and for Charlie to get another of her and her parents, before a louder crash interrupted.
The tiny figure marched into the room, nose upturned over a triumphant smirk as she honed in on the ministry man. She unceremoniously shoved a fistful of parchment under his nose as she declared to the room, "As a representative of the Minister's office I insist that this ceremony be immediately and permanently halted under the Official Dangerous Creatures Act, Decree seventy-two."
She glanced around, apparently puzzled at the lack of protest, and continued, "Subsection two details the re-categorization of werewolves as dark creatures in all forms of their existence, and subsection four explicitly outlaws the subsequent marriage of humans to dark creatures for the safety of our community. Any attempt to continue with this ceremony will be viewed as a breach of these laws, with penalties including imprisonment of said dark creatures and the immediate termination of Ministry employees found to be breaching this amendment."
Before Tonks had even finished processing this, they were interrupted by a soft cough from behind them. The weedy official stammered a little as every eye in the room fixed on him, but he straightened his robes in an officious manner before gesturing with the paperwork in his hand.
"Madam Vaisey, this…ah…amendment makes no provision for marriages conducted prior to its instatement three minutes ago."
"I fail to see the problem in this case," the witch replied, drawing herself up to her full and less than impressive height so that she could look down her nose at him.
"It's just that, er, the papers were filed four minutes and seventeen seconds ago. They were already legally married."
Tonks jumped as a hand closed on her shoulder and Dad's voice whispered in her ear.
"I think it's time to go sweetheart, before this little b-…well, before someone makes a scene."
"Agreed," came Remus's voice from her other side, taking her hand as they edged towards the open door.
An outraged cry followed them down the hall as they escaped.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY'RE ALREADY MARRIED?"
They apparated as a group as they reached the foyer, appearing just beyond the security charms by the pond. She dried the hem of her dress absently as they stepped inside, the wafting smell of her mother's cooking greeting them at the door.
Remus was already trying to apologise to her parents for ruining the day, blaming himself as per usual for something that wasn't his fault. They ignored these apologies as planned, Mum shooing him forcefully to a seat of honour at the head of the small table where Dad forced a glass of firewhiskey into his hand.
"A toast to the newly-weds. Dora and Remus Lupin."
The small group drank, and the liquor had barely chased its way down her throat before Remus spoke.
"How long is it going to take them to backdate that law do you think?"
She tried to kick him under the table, but her shoes caught in her dress. As far as she was concerned the whole day had been a success, especially compared to her parents' wedding.
Charlie came to her rescue, tapping his empty glass on the table for attention, grinning broadly.
"Ah, but you're legally married, which means even if they backdate the law, there's still a lot of paperwork to do right? And paperwork takes time and inevitably gets lost for a few months. Damnit Remus, you just married the best looking girl in my year. Shut up and enjoy it will you, at least for tonight?"
It was not the wedding of her youthful dreams, she reflected as Dad said grace, then proceeded to butcher the roast. But Remus more than made up for that.