Taijitu

"Marry?"

Andromeda Tonks stared at her daughter, obviously lost for words.

"Yes, mother. Marry." Tonks folded her arms. "I would think that you, of all the people in our family, would be the least worried about Remus's blood status."

Andromeda exchanged a look with her husband, who sat beside her. "It's not about pure-blood status, Nymphadora!" Andromeda said shrilly. "Remus is a lovely man, but you can't deny the fact that he's a werewolf!"

There was a ringing silence.

"I know what he is, thanks." Tonks' voice was cold.

Ted Tonks cleared his throat. Andromeda looked over at him quickly, hoping for consensus on her point of view.

"Dora..." Ted said slowly. "Are you sure you and Remus aren't rushing into this?"

Tonks turned her attention to her father and opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off by Andromeda.

"Of course they are, Ted! They haven't thought about any of the consequences of their actions!"

"Meda, please." Ted leaned forward and fixed his daughter with a searching look. "I saw this last time He Who Must Not Be Named returned to power. Young couples marrying hurriedly, frightened that they might never see each other again, turning to each other for comfort."

"Yes," Tonks said loudly. "As I recall, you and mother did just that. So did Molly and Arthur Weasley. And yet, you two seem to be doing ok. Or have you been keeping your marital problems from me for twenty five years?"

"Dora, we've met Remus, we like Remus, on countless occasions he's saved your life, but..."

"But you don't think he's marriage material?" Tonks asked bitterly.

There was a slight pause.

"You know, I thought we were resisting You-Know-Who for this very reason. So that all wizards could call themselves equal. So that all this pure-blood mania would die out." Tonks looked resentful. "If we can't even dispel that notion amongst those of us who resist... I don't know how we're going to convince the other side."

"That's all well and good," said Andromeda loudly, two bright pink spots appearing on her pale cheeks. "But you can't deny that once a month your fiance turns into a savage beast!"

"He is not a beast!"

"He's dangerous!"

"As long as he takes the Wolfsbane potion, he's harmless!"

"Do you know what people will say about you?" Andromeda stood, her face now flushed a patchy red. "Society is disgusted by them! People can't face them, Nymphadora! What kind of life will you and your new husband have, when he can't even manage to find a job!"

Andromeda paused, her breath coming in great gasps.

"What you mean," said Tonks, standing also, "is that you are disgusted by him."

Andromeda colored further.

"I...that is not...not true..."

"Yes it is," said Tonks, sounding furious and disappointed. "You're willing to accept Remus as part of the Order, as part of your lives, as long as he remains at a distance! The fact that he has saved my life means nothing! I would've thought that you'd be happy for me, happy that I've finally found a man who I want to spend the rest of my life with!"

"We are..." Ted whispered, holding out an imploring hand to his daughter, who turned away. "But, please, just think about what you are doing..."

"Think about what?" she snapped back. "Remus has asked me to marry him. I love him. What more is there to think about?"

There was a resounding silence as Tonks glared at her parents. Andromeda avoided her daughter's glare, her eyes full of angry tears, face a bright red and hands trembling. Ted Tonks' eyes moved between his wife and his daughter, and in contrast to his wife, his face was paper white.

Tonks suddenly turned away from the two figures, her own hands trembling as she tried to regain her composure.

"The wedding is tomorrow." Tonks' voice resounded through the deathly quiet kitchen. "It'll be held at the Burrow, and only a few people will be there. It starts at half past one."

With obvious effort she turned back to her parents, who stood side-by-side, as still as marble statues as she continued.

"I want your blessing, and I want you to come tomorrow. I want it more than almost anything. But I'm not going to beg. I am going to marry Remus. I hope you understand."

With one last look at her parents, Tonks turned and left the kitchen. A moment later they heard the front door slam.

The two figures stood for a moment, seemingly in shock. Then Ted turned to Andromeda; his face was set in a grim line.

"She takes after you, you know."

**********

"Who's your best man?"

"I'm not having one."

"Page boy?"

"Nope."

"Bridesmaids?"

"No..."

"Well, who's Tonks having as her chief bridesmaid?"

"I told you." Lupin turned to Hermione and Ginny, laughing. "Tonks and I are having a quiet wedding. Quiet," he repeated as Ginny opened her mouth to ask another question.

Lupin, Hermione, Ginny, Arthur and Molly were sitting at the kitchen table at The Burrow. Hermione and Ginny, both with slightly dreamy looks on their faces, were quizzing Lupin about the wedding the following day. Molly Weasley, following the conversation, turned to her own husband with a dreamy look of her own.

"This reminds me of our own wedding, Arthur."

Arthur smiled.

"Did you and Dad get married in secret too then, mum?" Ginny asked eagerly, turning her attention on her mother.

"Tonks and I aren't getting married in secret," Lupin protested, but Ginny didn't seem to hear.

"Well," Molly reflected, "it was at the height of You-Know-Who's return, so Arthur and I stole away one night and eloped. Of course, our parents didn't approve..."

"Didn't approve?" Arthur snorted. "Your father tried to hunt me down and put the Body-Bind Curse on me."

"Only for the first six months," Molly retorted, smiling.

"Well..." Hermione turned her attention back to Lupin. "Who's coming tomorrow?"

"It'll be very small," Lupin repeated, a small smile on his face. "The Weasley family, Kingsley if he can get away, Mad-Eye, Hagrid and Fleur. And-" a frown appeared on Lupin's face "-Tonks' parents."

"No Harry?" Ginny looked extremely disappointed, disregarding Lupin's last sentence. Lupin studied her for a moment, and her face turned a bright crimson. He felt a sudden pang of sympathy for her. He knew very well that Harry and Ginny had been involved last year.

Ginny might be only sixteen, but Lupin remembered the way she and Harry had looked at each other. It was very reminiscent of Lily and James...

"Remus?" Hermione prompted him. Lupin realised he had drifted out in a train of thought, and shook his head just as Fred and George Weasley came down the stairs.

"Still on the wedding talk?" Fred asked Lupin. He nodded.

George held his arms aloft like a ballerina and pranced across the room. "Girls and weddings!"

"Just because the two of you have the romantic inclinations of a couple of toads doesn't mean everyone else does!" Hermione said indignantly.

Ginny cleared her throat pointedly, ignoring her brothers.

"Sorry, Ginny," Lupin said, turning back to her and hurriedly hiding his smile. "No... no Harry. It's too dangerous to move him as yet, especially with Pius Thicknesse under the Imperius curse. Besides, we'll all see him in less than two days."

Ginny nodded, obviously struggling with something inside herself. Her expression reminiscent of Lupin's the night of the botched Alecto Carrow mission, she stood up jerkily.

"I'll be in my room if anyone needs me," she said stiffly, moving towards her bedroom door.

Lupin watched her enter her room and close the door softly. Then he turned to Hermione.

"How is she?"

Hermione looked startled.

"You know?" Hermione said in surprise. "How can you know?"

"I'm an adult." Lupin smiled into his tea as he took a sip. "I know everything."

Hermione looked a little miffed, but answered his question. "I'm not really sure. She's been very quiet about the whole thing. Neither of them really wants to talk about it," she said in a low voice.

Lupin nodded. "Of course they don't."

Just then there was a loud bang. The front door smashed open and Tonks burst into the house. There was a sudden thump and then a string of inventive curse words as Tonks tripped over the rusty cauldron in the hall.

"I hear from the lovely thumping sound that my bride-to-be has returned!" Lupin said gaily, not bothering to get up from his seat as the swear words continued.

Tonks suddenly appeared in the doorway to the kitchen.

"Tonks, dear, tea or..." Molly Weasley trailed off as she took in Tonks' appearance.

Tonks' hair was a bright, fiery red, the colour of a tomato. The pupils of her eyes were also red, giving her a distinctly evil appearance. Her face was a patchy violet, and her eyes were swimming with tears. Her breath came in great gasps, and she looked so mad that Lupin thought any second smoke was going to come pouring out of her ears.

"What's wrong?" Lupin asked, standing, his eyes wide.

Tonks just glared at everyone, the angry tears spilling down the front of her robes. Then she snarled and pointed her wand at a large bush outside the window. It burst into flames. Everyone in the kitchen jumped. Several gnomes living underneath the now flaming bush squealed and made a run for it, their squat potato-like bodies running full-pelt for the field beyond the house.

"Tonks..." Molly started forwards.

Tonks made a strange strangled noise in the back of her throat and half-ran from the kitchen. They heard another thump as Tonks tripped over Ron's shoes in the hallway, then more creative cursing, even louder than the first time. Then a door slammed shut with such force that it shook the house and made several paintings in the kitchen fall off the wall, including Molly's unique clock, which cracked down the middle.

There was a shocked silence.

"Ah...Reparo." Molly pointed her wand at the clock on the floor. The crack instantly repaired itself, and with another wave of Molly's wand, was back on is rightful place on the wall.

"What the hell was that about?" Fred and George said together, staring at Lupin. His face was a mask of shock.

"I have...no idea..." Lupin said, thoroughly nonplussed. "She never acts like that..."

He stood up. "I'm going to talk to her. Oh," he said, looking back as he made to leave the kitchen, "someone better put out that fire." He pointed to the bush.

"I'm on it!" Hermione stood and Arthur followed. Together they pointed their wands at the fiery bush.

"Aguamenti!"

Jets of water shot out of their wands and began to put out the bush through the open window. Lupin made to leave again, had a sudden thought, and grabbed Molly's cup of undrunk tea from the table.

"Do you mind, Molly?"

She shook her head, still staring at the spot where Tonks had been, obviously shocked.

"Thanks."

Cup of tea in hand, Lupin headed down the hallway towards the room Tonks was staying in while the Order headquarters were situated at The Burrow. Not knowing how he would be received, he knocked lightly on the door.

"Dora?" he called.

There was no answer, but he thought he could hear sniffles.

"Dora?" he called again.

"Come in."

Lupin opened the door warily and stuck his head around the doorjamb. Tonks sat on the bed, her face still a patchy violet, but her eyes back to their normal colour. She glanced at him.

"I'm not going to start throwing things, you know. You don't have to hide behind the door."

"Just checking," he said, stepping into the room and shutting the door behind him.

Tonks glanced at him again.

"Did they put out that bush?"

"They're working on it." Lupin sat down next to her on the bed, his mouth twitching. "Here." He handed her the cup of lukewarm tea and she smiled wanly.

"Thanks."

They were silent for a few moments as Tonks sipped her tea.

"Is it your parents?"

At Lupin's words, Tonks' pupils flashed scarlet again dangerously.

"I'm going to take that as a yes," said Lupin lightly, although he could feel a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Tonks remained silent. Clutching the cup of tea in her hands, she stared out the window as dusk fell over The Burrow. In the failing light, she was silhouetted in a burnished, rosy glow from the setting sun. As Lupin studied her, he felt his chest tighten, a common sensation since he had admitted to himself that he loved her.

She looked over at him. "What?" she asked.

Lupin smiled. "You," he replied.

Tonks was silent for a moment more. Then she sighed. "The conversation with my parents didn't go as planned."

"Really? Could've fooled me."

She rolled her eyes at him.

"They were...unhappy...to say the least." Tonks frowned. Her face, which had been returning to its normal hue, now coloured again as she remembered the conversation.

"It was me, wasn't it?" Lupin asked casually.

Tonks glanced quickly at him. After a moment she seemed to decide something.

"Yes," she answered honestly.

"My...condition?"

"Yes."

Lupin nodded. He didn't like it, but it wasn't as if he hadn't been expecting it.

"Well..." Lupin stood up and moved over to the window. "That's that, then."

"What?" Tonks looked stunned. "What do you mean, 'that's that'?"

Lupin shrugged from the window.

"Ok, look!" Tonks' voice became angry. "Do you wanna marry me or not?"

"I do," said Lupin stiffly. "You know I do. But I am not going to come between you and your family..."

"How long will it take for you to understand!" Tonks leapt off the bed and strode forward, grabbing the front of his robes, forcing him to face her. "You are my family! When I said I wanted to be with you last year, I wasn't kidding, Remus. I was serious." She fixed him with a stare. "How serious were you?"

Lupin stared into her passionate eyes, and the thoughts he had been having ever since he proposed began to pour out of his mouth. "Dora, if you truly understand what I am, you'll understand your parents' attitudes. Their main problem with me is the fact that I'm a werewolf, isn't it? They know what it'll mean for you, Dora. It will mean that you're an outcast amongst the majority of the wizarding world. They told you that, didn't they?"

Tonks' disconcerted face confirmed Lupin's suspicions.

"You're very young," said Lupin, staring down into her beautiful face. "You can't understand what my condition will mean for our family. If we ever had children..."

"What you're saying," Tonks said bitterly, wrenching her shoulder out of his grasp, "is that you don't want to marry me anymore."

"That's not what I'm saying!"

"Then what are you trying to say!" Tonks said angrily. "It's not like we haven't discussed this! It's not like I'm rushing blindly into this; it took me a whole year even to convince you to have a relationship with me. You don't think I've thought about what our marriage will do to my career? You don't think I've thought about children? Of course I have! Why can't you understand!"

Tonks flung herself onto the bed, despair overtaking her. She shook her head, tears leaking from her eyes, and turned her face away.

"I told my parents I wouldn't beg for their blessing, that I'd marry you with or without them. But now I'm going to tell you something, Remus Lupin. I love you. I love you more than I've ever loved anybody. But I'm not going to beg you to marry me."

Tonks could feel Lupin's eyes on her as she continued. "If you have any doubts, you might as well walk out of this room right now. If you don't want to marry me, that's fine. But don't try and use the 'werewolf' excuse. I'm a big girl, and I know what I want. Maybe you should look into yourself and decide what you want." She sniffed as more tears poured from her eyes.

There was silence. Then, in one swift movement, Lupin walked to the door, opened it, and left.

Tonks stared at the door for a moment. Then her face crumpled and she burst into tears.

**********

"The wedding's off."

The activity in the kitchen froze as Lupin emerged from the hallway, looking miserable.

Dinner was in full swing. All the Weasleys, plus Fleur and Hermione, had been eating and chatting merrily. Now they all stared up at Lupin in horror.

"Off?" Ron repeated blankly. "What do you mean?"

"Just what I said." Lupin's voice was jerky. "We've called the wedding off."

"But...why?" Molly Weasley looked shocked.

"For many, many reasons, the least of which I can't even begin to explain now," Lupin said tiredly. It was hard to believe that he had been so happy only an hour ago. Now he felt old and tired.

"Where's Tonks?" Hermione asked. Lupin gestured with his head.

"Bedroom."

The room fell silent again.

"I'm going to get some air," Lupin decided suddenly. He stalked out of the kitchen and they heard the back door slam.

There was a shocked hush. Then Ron glanced at his mother.

"Pass the potatoes, please."

"Ron!" Hermione looked scandalised.

"What?" asked Ron, oblivious.

"Remus and Tonks have just called off their wedding, and you're asking for potatoes?"

"I'm hungry!" said Ron defensively.

"Ronald Weasley," Hermione started, "you have the sensitivity of a one-eyed newt!"

"So I'm not allowed to eat now?"

"I didn't say that!" Hermione replied, looking vexed.

"Knock it off!" Molly snapped. Then she looked at her husband. "Arthur, what are we going to do?"

"What do you mean?" Arthur asked.

"What do you mean, 'what do I mean'? I mean, how are we going to fix this?"

"I don't see how we can, Molly. This is something they have to sort out themselves." Arthur took off his glasses and wiped them on his robes.

"Well...then what do we do?"

Arthur replaced his glasses and glanced over at his youngest son. "Ron, pass the potatoes."

**********

Lupin strode out of the back door and heard it slam behind him. He could hear the Weasleys conversing at the dinner table, but he ignored their voices, continuing to walk until he reached the fence that separated the Weasleys' backyard from the paddock beyond.

He placed his hands on either side of him, resting his weight on the fence.

"Damn!" he suddenly swore, hitting his hands on the rough wood. He bent his head, his breathing ragged and heavy. He couldn't get her wounded face out of his mind.

"What am I supposed to do?" he muttered to himself. "I am supposed to go ahead and marry her? Make her an outcast? Ruin her life?"

"If you have any doubts," she had said to him, "you might as well walk out of this room right now."

Well he did have doubts, and he had walked out.

So what now?

"I wish I'd never met her!" he said suddenly. His voice sounded harsh in the fading afternoon light and he winced.

No, that wasn't true. He loved Tonks.

Didn't he?

Of course you do, his mind answered quickly. His shook his head as if trying to clear it, his thoughts tumbling around in his brain as if cast about in a stormy sea. He was so confused by the whole thing.

"What do I do?" he murmured, staring up at the darkening sky.

What he wanted to do and what he knew he should do were two different things. If it were up to him, he'd marry Tonks in a second. Then again, he thought wryly, if it were up to him, he'd never have become a werewolf in the first place.

What irritated him the most was the fact that she just point-blank refused to acknowledge that there was a problem. Her view of him was so simplistic. He'd lived with his condition for almost forty years; he knew what stigmas came attached to his kind. Most werewolves never even lived among humans, let alone dared to marry them. When the news got out that an Auror had married a werewolf...

"Remus?"

Lupin turned as a timid voice broke into his thoughts. He watched as Tonks approached him, her face swollen from crying.

"Dora," he said stiffly. "You shouldn't be out here...it's getting cold..."

She was silent, apparently lost for words.

"I...just came to see how you are..."

"I'm fine." Even to his own ears, his voice sounded unusually dissonant. "I just... I need to be...alone." He turned away from her again, looking across the paddock.

The yard was very still. He was sure for a moment that she'd retreated, but then he felt her hand on his shoulder. He stiffened.

"Please." Her voice was a whisper. "Please, Remus. Don't draw away from me."

He closed his eyes as he heard the pain in her voice. He was sure she was crying again, and his stomach gave an unpleasant lurch.

"Why can't you understand?" he said hoarsely. "I'm no good for you. It'll always be this way. If even your parents can't accept our marriage, imagine what the rest of the world will say."

He was sure that she was going to argue with him, that she was going to say she didn't care what anyone thought, that they'd face it together. But she said none of those things. Instead, she was silent for a moment. When she spoke, it was very quietly.

"Do you love me?"

"What?" Lupin asked, so surprised that he turned back to face her. Her hand slid off his shoulder and her tear-streaked face stared at him squarely.

"I said, do you love me?" she repeated.

He stared at her for a moment, struggling with himself.

It would be so easy to lie. All he had to do was say no, and Tonks would be free of him and the mess he had gotten her into. So easy...

She had sensed his hesitation. Her eyes welled up again, but she seemed to brace herself and closed her eyes for a moment, seemingly to gather some inner strength to hear him say the words she dreaded hearing.

It was this gesture of defeat that got Lupin. He shook his head.

"I can't," he croaked. Her eyes flew open as he continued. "I can't do it, I can't lie... I do love you. I can't help it. I wish I could..." He stared into her eyes, trying to get her to understand the turmoil of emotions that were running through him.

She stared back at him.

Eventually, she nodded. "I understand," she said slowly.

His mind screamed at him that she didn't understand, that he was making the biggest mistake of his life, that by marrying her he would be destroying her.

For once, though, he refused to listen to his mind. Shutting down the destructive thoughts that had been plaguing him for the past three days, he placed his hands on her shoulders and drew her to him. He breathed in her familiar smell as she wrapped her arms around him and felt her trembling against him. They were silent for awhile, and gradually the knot in Lupin's stomach lessened slightly.

"Marry me?" he asked quietly.

Tonks' looked up into his face; her only reply was to draw his face to her own. In the yard there was silence as the kiss continued...and continued...and continued...

Inside the back door, Molly withdrew the Extendable Ears and handed them back to Fred.

"It's okay," she whispered to the half-dozen worried people gathered around her. "They're okay."

There were sighs of relief and people began to move back towards the table for dinner. Fred and George, however, stared at their mother.

"Whod've imagined it? Our mother, using Extendable Ears," George said, watching as his mother's own ears turned red with embarrassment.

"Hmm, yes...very shocking..." Fred smirked, twirling the flesh-coloured string between his hands.

"That's enough!" said Molly.

"Oh, all right," George relented. "But I'll bet our magic isn't so 'useless' now, hey Fred?"

Fred nodded and they turned back to Molly, who turned a deeper shade of puce.

"I'm still your mother, you know!" she blustered, moving away from them back to the kitchen table.

**********

It was one o'clock.

The Weasleys' yard was as cluttered as ever. A few people mingled near the Weasleys' back arbor, where an arch had been set up. Inside the house, there was a flurry of activity.

Molly Weasley stood over the sink, supervising both the self-peeling potatoes and a large pot of stew on the stove. At the same time, she was mending a hole that had appeared mysteriously in George's dress sleeve.

"Honestly, George," she was saying, "I don't know how you and Fred make so many holes in your clothes!"

"We don't do it on purpose, you know!"

"There!" Mrs. Weasley wasn't listening as she finished her repairs. "Now, go outside and make yourself useful!"

She shoved a tray of drinks into George's hand and he walked away, muttering darkly under his breath.

Molly checked her watch and jumped.

"Arthur! Arthur!"

Arthur Weasley hurried into the kitchen, still fastening the buttons on his jacket.

"What is it?"

"I have to go check on Tonks. Watch these for me!"

"It's only our family, Mad-eye, Hermione and Kingsley." Arthur eyed the preparations. "Is all this food really necessary?"

Molly fixed him with such a glare that he meekly raised his wand. The potatoes began to peel themselves even faster. Looking mollified, his wife hurried off down the hall until she reached Tonks' bedroom. She knocked softly.

"Come in!" said a bright voice from inside.

Molly stepped into the room and smiled.

"You look beautiful."

Tonks looked at Molly from the reflection in the full-length mirror and smiled. "Thanks."

Tonks' hair was honey-blonde for the occasion, and fell in soft curls to just below her shoulders. Instead of a full-length wedding gown, Tonks was wearing a silky white dress that came to mid-calf.

Molly moved closer. "There isn't any Veela blood in your family is there?"

Tonks shook her head.

"It's just that you look..." She searched for the right word. "...radiant."

Tonks smiled again, but a thought suddenly struck her and her smiled faded away as fast as it had come. "There...there isn't any sign of my parents, is there?" she asked in a tone of forced casualness.

Molly shook her head, looking regretful.

For a moment Tonks' face fell. Then she forced a smile back onto her face. "How can I ever thank you for all you and Arthur have done for Remus and I?" she asked, turning away from the mirror and putting a hand on Molly's shoulder.

Molly pulled her into a hug. For a moment, the younger and older women embraced each other. Then Tonks pulled back, her eyes suspiciously wet. "Have you seen Remus?" she asked, her voice vibrating with a note of something Molly couldn't quite recognise.

"No," Molly replied, "but Arthur has been with him on and off all morning."

Tonks nodded, biting her lip anxiously.

Molly didn't seem to notice. She checked her watch. "It's almost time. Are you ready?"

Tonks took a deep breath and nodded.

"Ok." Molly pulled her into another quick hug. "I'll go and get your bouquet."

As Molly left the room, Tonks turned back to the mirror. She smoothed her hair and then her dress nervously, her stomach churning.

Does he still want to go through with this? Do I want to go through with this?

She surprised herself with the unexpected and unwanted thought. Of course she wanted to go through with it. Wasn't this what she'd wanted for the past year? What she'd been fighting for?

"Damn you, Remus," she whispered suddenly to herself. "Damn you and your nobility..."

**********

"Remus?"

Lupin looked around as the door to his room opened and Arthur stepped through.

"Arthur, did you go to Albania to get my flower?" Lupin enquired mildly, nodding his head at the white rose Arthur held in one hand.

"Sorry!" Arthur groaned, doing a pretty fair imitation of his youngest son. "I went into the kitchen to get them out of the pantry, and Molly accosted me!"

At Lupin's raised eyebrows, Arthur hurriedly clarified. "With food. She made me peel a mound of potatoes and sprouts while she went to check on Tonks!"

Lupin smiled.

"You wait," Arthur said with a smile. "Pretty soon, it'll be you being pushed around in the kitchen!"

Arthur handed him the flower. Lupin pinned it to the buttonhole of his dress robes, a small frown line appearing on his forehead.

"Are you all right?" Arthur moved up behind him, pinning his own flower to his robes. Lupin nodded silently, his eyes roving over his own reflection in the mirror. Then he sighed.

"I look so old."

"You look fine."

"I feel old."

Arthur looked closely at Lupin, whose reflection stared back at him, trepidation written all over his face. "Cold feet?" he guessed. Lupin sighed again.

"Not cold feet, no..." Lupin was silent for a minute, still watching himself. Then he looked up again. "Tonks' parents...are they here?"

Arthur shook his head. Lupin nodded in acknowledgement and adjusted the front of his robes compulsively. As Arthur watched him, he seemed to struggle with himself for a moment. Then, quite suddenly and unexpectedly, he turned.

"I am doing the right thing, aren't I?"

Arthur looked surprised. He went to open his mouth, but there was a sudden knock at the door and Ron abruptly appeared in the doorway. Lupin turned away again, looking highly agitated.

"I think it's almost time," said Ron. "Hagrid's telling everyone about Grawp's expanding vocabulary, and Mad-eye is scaring Ginny with his story about what he did to the witch who went 'boo' on April Fools Day."

There was a loud splintering sound, and Ron sighed.

"And Hagrid's just broken his third chair."

Lupin nodded silently, his eyes downcast.

"Ron," Arthur said suddenly, addressing his youngest son, "could you go and give your mother a hand in the kitchen? Help her with the potatoes?"

Ron's eyes moved between Lupin and his father quickly, sensing something was wrong. He nodded and quietly shut the door. Arthur waited until he heard his footsteps retreating down the hallway before he turned back to Lupin. Lupin shook his head but remained silent.

"Remus..." Arthur spoke slowly. "What happened last night?"

Lupin glanced at him quickly in the mirror. "Nothing," he said.

"Remus, come on. You told us all the wedding was off. Now it's back on again. Something must have happened to make you call off the wedding in the first place. Was it Tonks' parents?"

Lupin nodded silently.

"They don't approve?"

"Not really."

"And that made you call off the wedding?"

"That was just the last straw. If the truth be known, I've been having doubts ever since I proposed..."

"Really? This is the first I've heard of any doubts." Arthur surveyed the younger man. "I know you're a private man, Remus, but you really should have said something to someone before now if you felt this way."

"It's more complicated than that. I love Tonks..."

"But you don't want to marry her?"

"No, I do want to marry her." Lupin was starting to sound confused.

"You don't want to marry her, but you do want to marry her?" Arthur repeated.

"I don't think I should marry her!" Lupin sounded agitated. "What sort of person marries someone when they have no way of supporting them? When, by association, my future wife will be an outcast!"

"Are you really that worried about it?" Arthur asked softly.

"Yes!"

"I don't think that that's it at all."

"What?" Lupin snapped, turning to face Arthur squarely. Arthur didn't flinch.

"I think you're afraid to be happy."

"That's...that's ridiculous!" Lupin looked unnerved by the whole situation.

"No, it's not. When has there ever been happiness in your life?"

"Whenever there has it's been taken away!" Lupin said loudly. Then he blinked.

Arthur stared calmly at him. "Do you love her?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Do you want to spend the rest of your life with her?"

"Yes."

"Do you want to take care of her?"

"I do, but how am I supposed to-"

"Just answer the question, Remus," said Arthur. "Do you want to take care of her? Yes or no."

"...Yes."

"Well, what are you waiting for? She's waiting for you."

Lupin sighed. "I know," he said quietly. Then he turned back to the mirror, gave his appearance one last glance, and squared his shoulders.

"Let's go."

"Are you sure?" asked Arthur.

"Yes, " said Lupin firmly. Arthur clapped him on the back.

"Excellent! Then let's get this show on the road!"

Lupin nodded, and together they left the room, a trace of a frown still discernable on Lupin's face.

**********

"It's time."

Tonks looked around as Molly entered her room again, holding a modest bouquet of red and white roses. To Molly's dismay, Tonks looked both sad and worried.

"What's wrong?" Molly asked.

Tonks shrugged. "I...wanted my parents to be here," Tonks said quietly.

"I'm here!"

A loud, booming male voice rang out from behind them. Both women turned to see a cheerful, round-bellied man standing in the doorway.

"Dad!" Tonks looked shocked.

Ted Tonks moved forward into the room, closing the door behind him. "I'm here to walk you down the aisle," he said, smiling.

"Even if I'm getting married to a dangerous beast?" Tonks shot out.

Molly took this as her cue and left quietly, not even noticed by the father and daughter.

"I..." Ted looked trapped. When he next spoke, it looked as if he was choosing his words carefully. "Your mother shouldn't have said that."

"But she did." Tonks folded her arms. Then she looked around. "Speaking of the devil, where is mum?"

"She..." If it were possible, Ted looked even more uncomfortable. Tonks stared at him expectantly, waiting for an answer. "She's...she's not coming, Dora," he finished lamely.

"She's not coming?" Tonks looked confused. "She's not sick, is she?"

"No." Ted shook his head quickly. "She's fine."

"Well, then...why isn't she here? Is she going to be late?"

Ted was silent. Tonks' eyes suddenly widened and comprehension dawned in her eyes.

"She's...she's not coming at all, is she?" she asked, disbelief etched on her face.

Ted shook his head. "Your mother says she has some...issues...to work through," he said, his voice reflecting his irritation with his stubborn wife.

"Issues?" Tonks' voice was quickly changing from shock to anger. "Issues that have to do with me marrying Remus?"

Ted nodded.

"My own mother is going to miss my wedding," Tonks repeated to herself, turning back to the mirror. "Well, Dad," she said, turning back to face him, "how do you feel about all this? Do you have, what was it-" she paused sarcastically "-oh yeah - issues - to work through as well? Are you here to disown me?"

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm here!" Ted said sharply to his daughter. "Your mother may have her own issues to work through, but I don't agree with them! Hell, I still remember the ordeal I went through with your mother's family when I proposed. Her family wanted to cut off my head and stick it up there in Grimmauld Place with the rest of the house elves."

Ted shook his head and stepped closer to his daughter, whose eyes were downcast. "I like Remus, Dora. Your mother does too, she's just confused. I'm sure she'll come around eventually."

Tonks shook her head. "She's going to miss my wedding," she whispered.

"I know." Ted rubbed his daughter's shoulder.

Tonks was silent for a moment. Then she sighed.

"All right." She looked her father squarely in the eye. "Let's go do this."

"All right." He held out his arm as she took it, and they began to walk to the door.

"Oh," said Ted suddenly stopping short, "wait."

Tonks stopped and looked at him.

Ted turned to her and kissed her on the cheek. "You look beautiful," he said with a proud smile.

Tonks was still for a moment as her eyes filled with tears. Then she blinked and sniffed, smiling.

"So are you."

And with that, father and daughter walked out of the room, the door closing softly behind them.

**********

The guests were seated. Lupin stood at the front with Arthur, looking nervous. Seated in the chairs in two rows in front of the arch were the guests. Everyone stood as soft music began to play, and Tonks stepped out of the shadows on the arm of her father.

Lupin looked stunned as Tonks began to walk down the makeshift aisle. She seemed to float towards him, a small smile on her face. As she finally reached him, Lupin's eyes moved from her face to see her father looking at him.

There was a moment's pause, and then Ted Tonks extended his hand. Lupin grasped it in his own, and the two men shook hands.

"Look after her," Ted said.

"I will," said Lupin. He heard the conviction in his own voice and was surprised by the fierce protection he felt for the woman in front of him.

Ted nodded. Lupin then extended his hand to Tonks. She grasped it with her own and stepped up to him, smiling.

"Aren't you going to say anything about my new dress?" Tonks asked him quietly.

Lupin stared down at her, dumbfounded and quite unable to say anything. Tonks, however, understood, and her smile widened further.

Their "minister" stepped into view. He had frizzy grey hair, half a nose, one leg, and a magical, spinning eye.

"Dearly beloved," Mad-Eye Moody began, "since I've been forced into performing this ceremony..."

"You were not!" said Tonks indignantly. Everyone laughed.

"Did you or did you not," Moody addressed Tonks, "tell me you'd never speak to me again if I didn't?"

"Maybe," Tonks said. "But honestly Mad-Eye...what a time..."

"So..." Moody cut over her. "As I said before, as I've been forced into performing this ceremony, I will be doing the short version."
There were more laughs.

"The two people in front of me may seem, to many people, mismatched. But those people are wrong. Dead wrong," Moody growled.

Ted, situated in the front row, looked uncomfortable as Moody continued.

"I don't know about the rest of you, but with You Know Who and his band of merry men causing havoc and chaos all over the place, I think it's nice to have a little bit of normality and love in the world."

Lupin and Tonks smiled.

"Anyway." Moody cleared his throat. "The short version. Basically, anyone who says that these two people can't be in love don't know what the hell they're talking about."

There was a spattering of laughter, and a loud honking noise as Hagrid blew his nose in the back row.

"So," said Moody with an abrupt return to his gruff manner. "Turn to face each other."

Tonks and Lupin turned to each other, smiling, their hands joined.

"Do you Nymphadora Andromeda Tonks take this man to be your lawful husband, to share an everlasting bond of love?"

Tonks stared into Lupin's eyes.

"I do."

"And do you Remus John Lupin take this woman to be your lawful wife, to share an everlasting bond of love?"

Lupin smiled.

"I do."

In the audience there were soft sniffles.

"Then by the power vested in me by the Ministry of Magic, who, by the way, need to realise that some of their most important members are under extremely dangerous and unforgivable curses..."

"Moody!" Molly said sharply from the audience.

"Right you are," Moody said. "By the power vested in me by the Ministry of Magic, I now declare you bonded for life." Moody surveyed the couple. "Well? What are you waiting for?"

Lupin and Tonks stared at each other for a moment. Tonks grinned and raised an eyebrow. Lupin leaned forward and placed a kiss on her lips as there were whoops and cheers from the audience.

"Get a room!" Fred and George chorused.

As the couple broke apart, there was a round of applause.

"Everyone into the garden for tea!" Molly called as people began to stand to congratulate the bride and groom.

Tonks grinned up at their celebrant. "Nice service, Mad-Eye."

"Yeah." Lupin nodded, his eyes glinting with amusement at Moody's obvious embarrassment. "Nice expression."

"Yeah, well." Moody looked uncomfortable. "Don't get used to it."

"Thanks." Lupin gripped Moody's hand.

Moody shrugged. Being able to take only one emotional scene a day, he stumped off under a muttered excuse to get a piece of cake.

Tonks turned her attention back to her new husband. "So," she said softly. "Any more regrets?"

There was the minutest moment of hesitation in Lupin's voice before he answered. "No. You?"

Tonks was silent for a moment. "Well," she said hesitantly, "my mother wasn't here."

"No." Lupin surveyed his new bride. "She refused to come?"

Tonks nodded, looking sad, and Lupin felt his stomach twist. "She'll come around," Tonks added hurriedly, catching his expression.

Lupin just nodded, looking down at her. "You look beautiful," he said quietly as people started to move towards a table groaning with food near the back door.

"Finally, you say it!" Tonks said teasingly, as they kissed again.

"Get a room!" Fred and George chorused again.

"Come on." Lupin grabbed his wife's hand as they broke apart. The afternoon was bright and sunny and Lupin surveyed his friends and family with a sudden contentment. "Let's go find out what new words Grawp has learned and grab a piece of cake."

They stepped out from under the archway in the mid-afternoon glow, heading towards their loved ones, blissfully unaware, if even for a moment, of the trials that awaited them in the coming months.