Prompt: On their wedding night, Remus gifts Tonks with one of the few items he inherited from his parents: a traditional Welsh love spoon.
Set at the beginning of Deathly Hallows.
Many, many thanks to LeesieLou for telling me about this charming Welsh tradition. This work is dedicated to her!
…..
Remus held a wooden spoon in his hand. It was one of the few items he'd inherited and kept from his parents' marriage. Now, on his wedding night, he would present it to Tonks as the only gift he could afford to give her.
Nymphadora Tonks - now Nymphadora Lupin, his wife, insisted she didn't need a fancy wedding. When he'd proposed to her two nights after Dumbledore's funeral, he could scarcely believe his ears when she'd replied with an enthusiastic "yes."
Only a week later, they married quietly in the north of Scotland, with witnesses taken from the local wizarding tavern. There was no fanfare; Remus wanted it this way and Tonks insisted she didn't mind, so long as she could marry him.
He knew he was being selfish, from the time he proposed to her to the moment he was declared "bonded for life" to Nymphadora. He married her in his shabby, darned robes; he could afford no better. He married her nine days before July's full moon, ensuring he would feel healthy and strong enough to make love to her on their wedding night. He felt ashamed he had to plan around the moon to give her the love she deserved.
Nevertheless, when the shower of stars fell over their heads upon the declaration of their union, Dora's smile was as soft and bright as ever. Her pink curls framed her beautiful face and her eyes were dark and twinkling - all this over the joy of marrying Remus John Lupin.
Now Remus waited for her in the single, drafty bedroom of his semi-derelict cottage in Yorkshire. Tonks offered to pay for a room at a local inn for their wedding night, but Remus declined, as he believed they needed to save every knut possible for their uncertain future. He winced upon sitting on the creaky, lumpy bed he and his wife would share for the first time that night. He couldn't even afford to give her a proper, romantic wedding night.
His ancient, creaky double bed would have to be enough for the woman of his dreams.
The squeaky bathroom door opened at last and Remus gaped at his scantily clad wife - his wife! He almost felt the urge to look away - her body wasn't his to see - but there she was, in undergarments so tight and so revealing that he wondered when his mouth had become filled with cotton.
"What's that?" asked Tonks, looking at the wooden spoon in Remus's hand. "You're not about to tell me you've got something strange planned for tonight, are you?" She arched a brow at him and took the spoon in her small hands, running her fingers over it.
"It's…it's a love spoon," Remus said hoarsely, trying desperately to keep his eyes on her face, rather than losing himself in the impossibly soft curves of her body. He was grateful when the gentle summer breeze brought in the earthy, herbal scent of early-flowering bell heather. The almost musky scent brought his senses away from Tonks's bare flesh.
"It's a Welsh tradition. It belonged to my parents."
"It is? How do we…?" Tonks looked uncomfortably at the spoon and handed it back to him gingerly. "What is it used for?" She darted her eyes from the spoon, to the bed, and then back at Remus.
"Nothing!" he said, now shaking in laughter at the misunderstanding. "It's a decorative piece."
Tonks sighed in relief and laughed with him. "That makes a lot more sense. What does it mean?"
"It's a symbol of love. In the seventeenth and eighteenth century, sailors would carve intricate patterns and symbols into the handles of spoons as a token of love. They would give them to the woman they intended to marry, as a token of betrothal."
"Wow," breathed Tonks, taking the spoon back from him and holding it up close to her face to admire it. "I'm a bit confused though - wasn't your dad an expert on boggarts?"
"Yes," replied Remus. "They stopped being used by sailors as tokens of betrothal. They're now gifts for engagements, weddings, or anniversaries. My parents got this love spoon from my maternal grandparents when they were married, the year before I was born. It's one of the few things I have from them…it's my gift to you, on our wedding day."
"Oh, Remus…this is so sweet!" Tonks ran her fingers on the carved handle and pointed to the wedding bells on top. "This is for marriage?"
He nodded and then pointed to the two hearts sitting side by side just underneath the bells. "This means love, of course, but in the past my mum said two hearts meant the love was reciprocated."
Tonks smiled at him and kissed his forehead, pressing her chest against his face in such a way that sent blood rushing away from his head. He cleared his throat lightly and returned to the spoon.
"These twists here–" he pointed to the twists under the hearts and the second set of twists just above the carved daffodil "-and here mean two becoming one…togetherness."
"I love the dragon - it's the symbol for Wales, isn't it?"
"It also means protection…we protect each other." Remus held back a grimace; if anyone needed protection in their marriage it was Tonks, who had now saddled herself with a dangerous monster. He could hardly protect her against himself.
"What's the frown for, love?" said Tonks. She cupped her hand against his cheek and held his face up to see her. "It's our wedding night. There shouldn't be any frowning."
"Nothing…I wish I wasn't so dangerous." Remus immediately regretted his words when her hand fell away and balled into a fist at her side.
She stopped smiling and a furious expression came over her face. "I told you I didn't care."
"I know," Remus whispered, not daring to look her in the eye, much less looking at any part of her perfect body, no part of which he deserved to touch with his cursed hands. "I wish…thank you for being with me anyway. You're a dream come true, even if I don't deserve you."
Tonks's expression softened. She put her hand on his face again and he nearly flinched from the unexpected touch.
"I decide who deserves me, not you," she said fiercely. "I decided a long time ago you deserved me, so stop being so cruel to my favorite person."
Remus's eyes flew open at being called her favorite person. He felt he must have looked very stupid, as the grin on Tonks's face was wider than he had ever seen it. Her whole face lit up with the smile; he wondered how he'd managed so many months without seeing her face, hearing her laugh, or merely indulging in her very presence.
"Now you are my favorite person and my husband and I demand you tell me more about this love spoon." She kissed the tip of his nose and ran the pads of her thumbs under his eyes gently. "Please."
"Okay," breathed Remus. He was beginning to believe he was dreaming, but decided to give into the dream by pointing to the last carved symbol on the spoon's handle. "The daffodil…it means growth. We grow together. Our love grows."
"It does, doesn't it?" Tonks sighed happily, tracing the symbols on the spoon's handle once again. Watching her move her fingers along the wooden handle of the love spoon didd nothing to tamp his ever-increasing desire for her hands to be running over his body. Her voice startled him out of his lecherous thoughts when she murmured, "Wedding bells…reciprocated hearts…togetherness…protection…and growth. Did I get it all?"
Remus nodded and stretched out his hand to collect the spoon. Tonks held it back against her shoulder with a mischievous grin.
"It's mine now, isn't it? Your wedding gift to me?"
"Of course it is," said Remus. "Everything I have is yours."
"So far you've given me everything you have and I haven't given you anything!" Tonks set the love spoon down on the nightstand and put her hands on her hips. She was still wearing only the scant undergarments and Remus thought his heart might explode from desire for her.
"Let's see…you gave me your mother's ring, your parents' love spoon, and now I get to live in a cozy cottage on the moors with you. What else could I want?"
Remus was ready to protest when she put her finger on his lips and shook her head. "Rhetorical question, my dear husband. You are all I want…but I haven't given you a thing."
"You've given me everything, Nymphadora," Remus said seriously. "You are my everything."
"And you say I don't deserve you!" Tonks threw her hands up in the air. Her head shook slightly, releasing more of her delicate, sweet scent into the room and further intoxicating Remus.
He wanted nothing more than to bury his nose in the crook of her neck and breathe her in. Of the many things he'd missed about her in the werewolf camps, her scent was among the memories he held onto most dearly. He recalled sniffing the air after gentle rainstorms, only to be heartbroken when the scent was merely the earth's renewal of its soil and not a vivid Metamorphmagus stumbling into his arms.
Tonks stepped closer to him, saying, "You daft man. I get a husband who loves me and you get a klutz."
Remus shook his head disbelievingly and stretched his hands out again but this time, it was to hold Tonks's bare waist and bring her closer to him. His hands hovered above her skin, and he asked, "May I?"
She nodded and he let his hands rest on her waist. Underneath his calloused hands he could feel the warmth of her curves. He ran his fingers to the small of her back, bringing her body closer to his.
"Nymphadora, I get you," he murmured. "You are the most beautiful woman I've ever seen, no matter how you change the way you look. You are kind, brilliant, brave, and clever. You want me when I don't want myself. How can you possibly say you haven't given me a thing?"
Her cheeks grew as adorably pink as her hair. Remus would never be able to tell her enough how much he loved her for who she was and for giving him a chance to be with her.
"You are my wife now. I never thought I'd have so much as a girlfriend, and here you are. My wife."
"Finally." Tonks brought her hands back up to Remus's face and held his gaze for several moments. "I don't want to waste any more time. We both deserve to be happy and we have each other at last."
Remus knew he was being selfish, but he didn't want to let her go. He knew he would be her undoing, but in the moment, he was ready to love her with all he had, body and soul.
"At last," Remus repeated, in barely more than a whisper. "My wife, Nymphadora."
Tonks brought her face closer to his, and they shared in another sweet kiss before lying down with each other for the first time as husband and wife.
…..
For further information, I modeled the love spoon after the one from the listing below.
listing/792296632/wedding-bells-dragon-in-circle-and
