Five days:
Remus had not been able to sleep. He had lain there for hours, listening to Dora breath steadily and occasionally mutter in her sleep. She was prone to muttering whilst unconscious, he had discovered very quickly. Somehow he didn't really mind, it had never really bothered him and you never knew what she was going to say next.
At about four a.m., according to the bedside clock, the muttering had stopped leaving him to his thoughts. Not wanting to disturb her he had gotten up very carefully and now was sitting in the window carefully going through the instructions Angeline had given him, making sure they had not forgotten anything. The ceremony was now five days away, they had decided for the first week of June, and he wanted to make sure they got everything right.
Thin arms snaked around his shoulders and hair brushed softly against his cheek as she leaned over him. "Are you reading?" she asked groggily, apparently still half asleep. That she had snuck up on him without her usual fan fair was surprising, he thought, although didn't say. He didn't fancy a smack to the side of the head at such an early hour.
"Just going through the notes Angeline sent me. I'm going to give them to Dumbledore today, so he can look through them once more. He's never done anything like this before."
"Well we can all just blunder through it together then. Budge up," she nudged him with her hip and he obligingly moved over to make room for her. "It was nice of him to agree to preside over the ceremony. I'm sure he's got better things to do."
"That's what I said, but he seemed flattered that we had considered him and told me that in no uncertain terms was I to ask anyone else. His friend, the priestess, agreed as well. I meant to tell you earlier but you were passed out when I came in."
Tonks yawned and rested her head against his shoulder drowsily. "I was just so tired. Still am." she yawned again.
" I was thinking, you should ask Moody to come."
She glanced up at him unsurely. "You think he'd come?"
"I think that if you asked, yes he would."
She bit her bottom lip thoughtfully. "I've wanted to but...well I won't know until I try, right?" She stood pulling him up with her. "Now come back to bed with me until I have to get up again. And stop worrying. We're going to do this Remus, and I promise I won't change my mind two minutes before and realize that I've made a daft mistake. I know you've been thinking it, at least in the back of your mind," she said shrewdly as they settled back under the covers.
Remus didn't deny it. A part of him, a small part, kept saying that this was a mistake that it wasn't really happening. He had ignored that voice, but it liked to sneak in when he least expected it. Especially late at night.
"I know Dora."
"Besides I'll probably have to be more worried that you'll skip out on me."
Remus laughed softly, "Now that is highly unlikely. Impossible even."
"Good," she said already drifting back into sleep. "Now turn that brain of yours off and go to sleep."
Four days:
Tonks stood outside of Moody's cubicle and decided that perhaps that moment was not the best to speak to him. She could hear him chewing someone out and knew that if it had been her she wouldn't want anyone to witness her being told off.
Quickly she turned ready to stride away and come back later when someone pushed past her in a huff and a gruff voice followed. "Tonks, get in here."
Sighing, and hoping she wasn't about to get told off herself for eavesdropping, she turned back and entered his cubicle. He was sitting at his desk and eyed her for a moment before handing her a parchment that she saw was a report when she glanced at it. Looking back at him she raised a brow. "What's this?"
"You're to go and talk to this woman, take her statement and see if it's true. She says her neighbour is up to dark activities. Probably just some old biddy who can't mind her business, but we have to investigate."
Tonks stared, the reason why she had wanted to speak to him moving to the back of her mind for the moment. "By my self? Really?"
Moody's dark eyes glared at her "What did I just say girl."
Folding the parchment she shoved it into the pocket of her robes. "Right." She smiled slightly.
"Remember everything I've taught you," he cautioned. "Just because it seems routine doesn't give you an excuse not to…"
She rolled her eyes, causing him to glare even more. "Be vigilant."
He muttered something about cheek and youthful inexperience, which caused her to want to roll her eyes again, but wisely she refrained. She knew just how far she could push him.
"Well, what are you waiting for, the witch to come to you? Get going."
She turned and would have left then, but stopped herself. Peering outside of the cubicle and making sure the one opposite was empty, she turned back to him. He looked at her expectantly.
Taking a breath she said, "I was wondering…well that is to say that…oh sod it! Look, I'm getting married and I was wondering if you wanted to come."
Moody eyed her for an immeasurable moment and she was sure she was about to receive a lecture on how weddings were the perfect venue for attack from dark wizards. Instead, he surprised her by smiling slightly and nodding. "I'll come. When is this shindig?"
Returning his smile, which she didn't find as off-putting as she once had, she said "In four days, In Scotland. Don't worry I've already checked out the sight for any signs of dark workings. Of course you're more than welcome to check for your self, after all someone has to remain vigilant." Laughing as he cursed after her she left the cubicle and happily went to complete her first solo assignment.
An hour later she exited the small suburban home and allowed herself a laugh, very aware that the little old woman who had made the complaint was watching her from behind her curtains next door. It had turned out that the "Dark activity" was simply an accident in which a little girl had caused her brother to have caterpillars shooting out of his nose. Easily fixed and really not all that exiting. Not that she had really expected it to be. At least it would make a good story.
"Well, are you going to make an arrest?"
The woman had appeared out on her front lawn, house slippers and all.
Tonks smiled, "No Mam. I can't arrest a five-year-old girl for accidental magic. You don't have to worry, your neighbours aren't plotting to over throw the ministry."
The woman eyes her beadily. "What about Albertson across the street? Can you do something about him? He comes out every morning to get the paper in nothing but his unmentionables! It's indecent I tell you!"
The incensed look on her face caused Tonks to want to go into a fresh round of laughter, but instead she cleared her throat and bit back her smile trying to remain professional. "Is he a Muggle? Yes? Well, I can't do anything about that, I'm sorry. You'll have to contact regular law enforcement. I only deal in cases of dark arts, not public nudity. Have a nice day Mam."
She strolled off down the street then, leaving the woman gaping after her and shaking her head at the ineptitude of law enforcement these days.
Once she had found a safe place to do so, Tonks apparated into Diagon Alley outside of a shop with a frilly window display that made her cringe. Steady on, she told herself in fortification of what was ahead. Quickly she pushed open the door and entered, immediately being greeted by the pink robed witch behind the counter with a bright, if somewhat fake, smile. Smiling back courteously, she made a beeline for the back of the shop.
"Nymphadora, I thought I was going to have to go looking for you. Your appointment was for noon darling not thirty minutes after."
She sighed, but kept her smile in place. "Wotcher Mum. I got held up at an inquiry, it was pretty funny really…"
"Yes darling, tell me all about it while Lucida puts the final touches on your dress. Your lucky they could fit you in, I don't know why you always leave things to the last minute. You get it from your father I suppose," Andromeda said in an exasperated tone as she pulled her daughter's robes off of her.
"Mum! I'm perfectly capable of undressing myself thank you." Tonks pulled her shirt and denims off and was then pulled by the seamstress, Lucida, to stand on a round sort of platform where she promptly pulled a mass of cream fabric over her head. Cursing herself for not protesting more when Andromeda and Ted offered to pay for the wedding cloths as a wedding gift, Tonks allowed the seamstress to sew her into the wedding dress.
It had been a request from Andromeda to Remus and her that if they were going to get married in such an unusual way that they at least still dressed traditionally. Both had consented not really caring what they wore.
"I don't really have that long," Tonks warned the seamstress who was now making the final alterations. "I have to get back to work soon."
"We're almost finished dear," was the only reply.
Andromeda was studying her, a serene smile gracing her lips. "Oh Nymphadora," she breathed when the seamstress said she was done. "Turn around and look at yourself darling."
Slowly, trying not to step on the dress, she stepped off of the platform and turned towards the long mirror behind her. Then she was staring. Was that very feminine looking woman in the mirror really her? She had to admit, Lucida had done a fantastic job. The cream and red bodice was off the shoulder and the full skirt swelled gently away from her. On the bottom was delicate embroidery as well as on the train of the dress which was also red. She had wanted to keep her hair pink, it was so much a part of her, but on impulse she changed her hair to her natural colour and made it long. She had always thought she resembled her father more than her mother, but with her mother standing beside her just then there was no question whom it was she really looked like.
"What do you think?" Andromeda asked almost hesitantly.
Tonks smiled and put her arms around her mother in silent thanks that she had dragged her to this specific shop. "I love it."
One day:
The daylight was dieing, the sun sinking behind red hued clouds. Remus was alone, a solitary figure on the darkening beach. Not for the first time he found himself being grateful that his parents had decided to make their home here after they got married. His father had wanted to live in London, closer to work, he knew. But Sarah had won out, as she always had, and they had settled here in their small house.
He had been in the kitchen, thinking of making tea that would have been really more fire whisky and less tea, when the silence of the house had gotten to him. Remus had never minded quiet, being friends with James and Sirius he had sometimes come to crave it, but that night it had bothered him. It caused his mind to wander back to places he was not willing to go.
So he had gone down to the water, tracing the warn path to the log bench, and this is where he now sat the sound of the waves gently sweeping onto the beach filling the silence he had wanted to escape from.
Not for the first time he found himself wondering how this night, the night before he got married, would have been if James and Peter hadn't died; if Sirius hadn't betrayed them all. James and Sirius would insist he get drunk, he knew, and James would probably try to give him sage advice on married life as if he had been married for fifty years instead of three. Sirius would say he was entering into a fate worse than death, only half jokingly, and lament how he would now be stuck with Peter as the only other bachelor. Peter of course would be slightly offended but pretend he wasn't.
He had never pictured this day actually coming, part of him was still in vague wonderment that Dora would even want to spend the rest of her life with him, but he had always thought that if somehow it did they would be there with him. He missed them, even Sirius, fiercely and it was occasions like this that made him ache to want to talk to them all.
Because despite what Dora said, he was afraid. Afraid that he was going to ruin her life, afraid that he was being selfish. "I'm afraid that one day she'll hate me for it," he said softly aloud to himself.
He could almost hear Lily telling him to stop being so ridiculous, that anyone was in danger of that happening when they decided to tie their life to someone else. She would say, in her no nonsense manner, that if people didn't have to work for what they wanted, work to make it work than the world would have already self-combusted. It was the way of life, she would say, and he just had to suck it up and move on.
They had often had conversations like that.
He knew it wouldn't be easy, but he was willing to try to be happy, not just for Dora but for himself as well. Just for one day, he told himself, put aside all your fears for the future and live in the moment. What comes will come and you'll get through it as best you can. Together.
Wedding day:
Tonks felt oddly calm. She had thought that she would feel anticipatory jitters, perhaps even be worried that everything was not going to go to plan. Instead she felt only anticipation, as she stood with Remus waiting for the signal for the ceremony to start. Everything looked convincing enough, she thought surveying the circle that had been formed of rocks. The entire wedding Party, which including them consisted of eight people, fit into it with plenty of room to spare. Four candles were placed at four different spots to mark the four directions. Dumbledore had conjured a table and on it were a chalice and the rope used for the hand fasting.
Tonks and Remus were standing to the east of the circle, as they had been told they must and now she looked at him and smiled, squeezing his hand. He was wearing black dress robes and when he smiled back at her his amber eyes had a rare sparkle to them. Not for the first time she sent a thank you to whatever force it was that said she could have him in her life. Likewise Remus was thinking the same thing. When he had first seen Dora,when they had arrived at the clearing where the ceremony was to be held, he had only been able to stare and suspected that he had smiled rather goofily when she had seen him and smiled.
The wedding guests who consisted of Andromeda, Ted, Angeline and Moody had been talking amongst themselves but now a quiet settled over the clearing and Dumbledore, as the one presiding over the ceremony, rang a bell three times.
"Ready?" Remus asked softly. His hand felt clammy in hers. She smiled up at him. "I've been ready for this for years."
They began walking around the circle until they returned to their original spot and then entered the circle and stood in front of Dumbledore.
He smiled, his blue eyes particularly twinkling and then spoke. "We have come together here in celebration of the joining together of Remus and Nymphadora. There are many things to say about marriage. Much wisdom concerning the joining together of two souls has come our way through all paths of belief, and from many cultures. With each union, more knowledge is gained and more wisdom gathered. Though we are unable to give all this knowledge to these two, who stand before us, we can hope to leave with them the knowledge of love and its strengths and the anticipation of the wisdom that comes with time. The law of life is love unto all beings. Without love, life is nothing, without love, death has no redemption. Love is anterior to life, posterior to death, initial of creation and the exponent of Earth. If we learn no more in life, let it be this."
He then asked the priestess, who had been standing to the side, to cast the circle. She walked around the periphery of the circle four times with objects that represented the four elements. At each spot where the candles were she recited a blessing.
"Each of these blessings emphasizes those things which will help you build a happy and successful union. Yet they are only tools. Tools, which you must use together in order to create what you seek in this union." Dumbledore spoke again, explaining what the priestess had just done. He now addressed himself to Remus and Tonks.
"Do you, Remus, take Nymphadora to be your wife, to be her constant friend, her partner in life and her true love? Will you love her without reservation, honor and respect her, protect her from harm and comfort her in times of distress? Will you grow with her in mind and spirit?"
Without hesitation Remus said, "I will."
Dumbledore then asked Tonks the same and she responded in like.
It was now time for the exchanging of rings, which were both simple, and for Remus and Tonks to recite a statement as they did so.
Tonks spoke first. "I, Nymphadora, commit myself to be with Remus in joy and adversity, in wholeness and brokenness, in peace and turmoil, living with him faithfully all our days. May I have the strength and fortitude to keep these vows always. So be it."
She slipped the ring onto Remus's left hand. Taking her hand Remus then recited the same vows, slipping the ring onto her finger in front of her engagement ring.
Dumbledore then held up the chalice and asked them both to drink of it. First they held the cup themselves and drank from it and then held it for each other to drink from. This was supposed to signify the balance of their future relationship.
Turning then, they faced each other. Their eyes locked on the others, they clasped their left and right hands so that their bodies formed a figure eight. Stepping forward with the rope that had previously rested on the table the priestess tied their hands tightly together. It was now time for them to give a reason why they wanted to be bonded to the other.
"Nymphadora, when we first met I knew there was something special about you. Over the years your presence in my life has both enriched and fulfilled it. You force me to face my darkest thoughts and make me want to be better and do better than I thought I could possibly. When I have given up on myself, you are there to pull me back and make me see that my life has purpose. You accept me for who and what I am. I love you and I will love you for the rest of my life and beyond."
Tonks could feel tears welling in her eyes, but she smiled and looked up at Remus as she said, "I feel as if I have loved you from the moment I met you. You are my voice of reason; you are the one who pulls me back when I would otherwise go too far. No matter what mistakes I make, no matter what I do, you are always on my side supporting me. You see the real me, when so many others would only see my exterior. You are the first person I want to see when I wake up and the last I want to see before I go to sleep. I will love you with all my heart and soul for the rest of our lives and if there is a life beyond this one I will love you then as well."
The priestess came forward again and removed their bonds. Now grasping only one hand each, they turned back to Dumbledore for the final time, anticipation filling them both. Soon they would be man and wife.
"Be understanding and patient, each with the other. Be free in the giving of affection and warmth. Be sensuous with one another. Have no fear for the life that lays ahead, embrace each new day together."
Turning toward those assembled Dumbledore asked, "Will you all support this man and woman as they enter into this life long bond?"
"We will," they all intoned. Andromeda was already crying and leaning against Ted for support.
Eyes twinkling Dumbledore declared, "I now pronounce you hand fasted, bonded for life. You may now kiss to seal your pledge."
They met each other half way, arms going around the other as they shared a kiss that was both gentle and passionate. As they broke apart both looked as if they were discovering each other for the first time again.
The priestess was now re-walking the path she had taken, breaking the circle.
"The circle is open but unbroken." She said. "May the peace of the old ones go in our hearts. Blessed be."
Again Dumbledore rang the bell three times and hands clasped tightly, Remus and Nymphadora Lupin exited the circle, walking clock wise around it, taking their first steps as husband and wife.
A/N: the ceremony and every speech made by Dumbledore or Tonks and Lupin, aside from their final reasons given, come from a wonderful website I found, which details many different forms of hand fasting. I will post the link on my profile, if anyone would like to check it out, it's really interesting. It may seem strange that Dumbledore presided over the ceremony but lets just say that as a member of the Wizengamot he can do things like that. I was wondering what jobs you think Remus should have over the years. Please send me some ideas, it would make my week. :) I will of course give you credit if I use your ideas. Until next time.