Engaged
I watched Remus organising dry clothes in the bedroom, he would sometimes walk past the door and smile at me in the bath. It was soothing my back and it was the best thing for me while I was still recovering.
We sat at the bottom of the stairs for far too long just talking about anything and everything that came to mind and it was bliss. It felt like when we first became comfortable with each other, when we were getting to know each other, when I felt that constant nervousness and worry that I was doing things wrong or not expressing myself the way I should have been.
Remus had been so kind and gentle, he slid his hands over mine and felt the shape of the ring over my finger. He told me more about his mother and how much he wished he could have taken me somewhere to propose properly, but I didn’t care so much about that. None of it felt anti-climatic, it felt epic. It felt everlasting.
‘Feel any better?’ Remus asked sitting beside the bath tub, running his hand through his hair and smiling uncontrollably.
‘Yeah.’ I whispered. My whole body felt relaxed apart from the one throbbing spot in my lower back, but there was little that could be done about that for the time being, I just needed to rest.
‘You look tired,’ Remus ran his thumb over my eyebrow to stop water dripping into my eye. ‘Why don’t we get you back into bed and I’ll make some tea? Are you hungry?’
‘A little.’ I bit my lip, smiling was starting to hurt as much as my back.
‘Okay, I’ll bring something up for you.’ He didn’t move just yet. ‘The calendar says that the Monkshood needs watering tonight, do I need to put anything else in with the water? Any fertiliser or anything like that?’
‘No, just water.’
‘Okay, I’ll do that after you’re in bed.’ I couldn’t help my chuckling. ‘What?’
‘Nothing.’ I said, not exactly sure of why I was laughing, but it was something to do with his kindness and how it wasn’t a big deal in the slightest. ‘Thank you.’
‘You’re more than welcome.’ Remus softly kissed my forehead and helped me out of the bath steadily. He wrapped a warm towel around my body, holding me close to him for a moment or two so I could feel the natural warmth he had, but soon I was back in one of his old t-shirts and green cardigan, getting comfortable in our bed.
I noticed he’d changed the sheets as well, I was laying in fresh maroon sheets, looking out of the window that sat opposite the door and saw the snow-capped mountains across the lake. I could smell the fresh air where Remus had opened the window a little, it didn’t feel like the same day as Benji arriving to tell me about Umbridge.
I could hear Remus in the garden watering my plants, he didn’t need to, he never needed to do anything like that, but he did and it warmed my heart to think he actually enjoyed doing these little things for me. I let my eyes close for a moment and just absorbed the sound of my fiancée pottering about the garden while I rested. I felt my cheeks hurting again with the same smile and wondered if this was what my life was supposed to look like. Was I supposed to come out of Hogwarts, find a job, marry Remus and have a life in this house with him? If that was what my life was supposed to be then I was happy with that, I tried not to let my mind wander to the harsh reminder that my life was so much more complicated, instead I focused on trying to imagine Remus in the garden, going about his business, being happy.
When I opened my eyes again, it was dark, I’d slept a little longer than I wanted to, but Remus was sitting in bed next to me, reading a book I didn’t recognise.
‘I thought you might fall asleep.’ He chuckled, realising I was awake without looking at me. ‘You were exhausted, so I thought it best to leave you for a while.’ He marked the page in his book and looked down at me in the dim candlelight.
‘I missed the sunset.’ I wasn’t sure why that felt important.
‘There will be others.’ Remus chuckled. ‘And we can watch them together.’ He settled a little further down the bed so that his face was directly opposite mine. ‘We can watch the sunrise instead if you want, or I can make you some more tea?’ I half smiled, knowing that the one he’d made me before I fell asleep would most definitely be cold, but there was something else I needed from him, something much more urgent.
‘My back hurts.’ I whispered, feeling the pain flaring.
Remus almost leapt off the bed and began gently pulling the sheets away so that I could turn to lie on my front. He disappeared into the bathroom and came back with the pain ointment he’d been using to soothe the muscle surrounding the break.
‘That’s it, just relax.’ Remus said and lay back down on the bed next to me, lifting the bottom of my t-shirt to reveal my back. He had a sad expression for a moment, before taking a breath and carefully massaging the ointment into the pain area. The second he touched my skin I felt so much better, the pain eased, the muscle didn’t feel as tense and I took a deep breath of relief. ‘Is that better?’
‘Yes.’ I breathed and looked up at his concentrated face. Remus didn’t seem to notice straight away, he was much more focused on his task. ‘I’m going to marry you.’ I whispered. His blue eyes snapped to mine and darkened slightly as he smiled widely once again.
‘Yes, you are.’ Remus finished up with the ointment and put it on his bedside table, settling down next to me once again. ‘If it’s all the same to you, I’d like to do it sooner rather than later. I don’t want to waste anymore time, Angelina.’
I understood perfectly. There was no more time to wait to tell someone that you loved them and if this was what I could do to tell Remus that, then that was just fine by me.
‘The second Jocelyne finds out, we’ll be married within the week.’ I said and we began laughing until it hurt.
Remus’s entire being was lifted and ignited. The simple thought that he would marry Angelina Lockwood was a dizzying and euphoric one. He took her to her parents’ home to announce the engagement and her mother didn’t stop crying for nearly an hour, her father laughed and Darren hugged her gently, unable to contain his emotions.
Benji, Jocelyne, David, James and Lily eventually came over with the twins, Sirius and Lyall and it was a fairly timid celebration. Angelina still wasn’t recovered enough to take part in a full celebration and that was just fine, David and Sirius appeared to be the new party animals and told stories about Remus and Angelina in school, some of which Remus was embarrassed by and some that he was fully aware he shouldn’t have known about with Angelina.
The woman in question was enjoying the spectacle and sat close to Remus, holding his hand, letting him run his thumb over her engagement ring. Sirius spent most of the time laughing and dancing with Lily, Jocelyne and Anna, he was careful with Angelina, not spinning her around like he did with the others, instead he was slow and kind to her, something Remus appreciated immensely.
Remus soon felt a mild jealousy and stood up to take over. Sirius gently span her into his arms and it made her giggle sweetly. Everyone else was occupied with their own conversations or dancing with whoever was closest, but Remus didn’t care so much about them at that moment, he was more concerned with the bright eyes of the woman gently swaying in his arms.
He laughed a little and placed a soft kiss to her forehead, smelling that sweet, light scent that he always associated with her. ‘You’re tired.’ He said, quietly, making her chuckle and slide her hand up his chest into his hair. Remus held her other hand against his chest and gently massaged the muscles in her lower back, just trying to make this last as long as he could.
‘I think Jocelyne is already planning.’ Angelina sighed with a smile.
‘I think you might be right.’ Remus chuckled. ‘It might be too soon to ask, but have you thought about what you want.’
‘Like what?’ She frowned and it only made Remus smile a little wider.
‘Like time or place?’ Remus clarified.
‘Oh...’ clearly it wasn’t something she’d thought about at all and that was okay, he didn’t mind in the slightest. ‘Erm, not really. Have you?’
Remus shrugged a little. ‘I’ve thought a little about it, but nothing in any great depth.’
‘Really?’
‘Angelina, I’ve been planning to ask you to marry me for nearly six years now,’ Remus chuckled. ‘Of course I’ve put a little thought into it.’ He could see her starting to panic slightly and quickly made amends. ‘You don’t need to worry, most of what I hope for is fairly timid.’
She giggled and nodded in understanding.
‘Angelina, I know this may seem somewhat overwhelming given everything that has happened recently, but believe me when I say that everyone will be happier to know that there’s a little more love in world.’ Remus assured her and it seemed to be the statement that settled her the most.
They danced for a few minutes longer before it was clear Angelina was starting to really struggle with her back. They sat at the kitchen table while George made up a quick pain relief for her. It was only then that Remus noticed Darren had made a very quiet exit some hours before, he’d been so wrapped up in Angelina that he barely noticed her brother leaving the house. Remus knew it was for the best, he knew it wasn’t Darren’s fault exactly, but he still couldn’t forgive him for what happened to Clara and Darren probably knew that.
Angelina looked up at him with a small frown, before smiling again. Benji and Jocelyne carried their sleeping children towards the garden to apparate home and Angelina was desperate to see them out.
‘They’re so big now.’ She said to Jocelyne, kissing both of her god children.
‘You’re telling me.’ Jocelyne said, much more quietly so as not to disturb them. ‘Congratulations Angie, I’m so happy for you and don’t worry about a thing, your mum and I were talking about plans for the wedding, it’s going to be amazing.’
‘Nothing too fancy though,’ Angelina whined as Remus wandered up behind her, noting that she was leaning on the fence to support herself. ‘We don’t need anything huge or anything that draws too much attention, you can at least give me that.’
‘Low key and cute, don’t worry, we’re already on it.’ Jocelyne winked and leaned up to peck Remus on the cheek. ‘Thank God you finally proposed, I thought it’d be another century before you two finally made it official.’
‘Well, timing is everything.’ Remus said rather cryptically, making Angelina smile knowingly. ‘But Angelina is right, I don’t think either of us will cope very well if the wedding is much like yours, just something quiet and out of the way will be more than enough.’
‘We’re all over it Remus, we know what you guys are like and believe me, my wedding could have been a lot bigger if I’d had my way.’
‘Jocelyne, we need to get going.’ Benji interrupted, shaking his head with a smile. ‘Leave them be, we need to get these two home and into bed.’
‘I’ll see you soon.’ Angelina promised and hugged her friends once again, watching them walk to the end of the garden to apparate.
Remus was once again haunted by the image he’d seen in the Mirror of Erised, Angelina and his son, happy and healthy. It was still something he knew could never happen, he could never put a child at risk in such a way, but he could marry Angelina and be a good husband, it was the least he could do for her.
‘Do you want to stay here tonight?’ Remus suddenly asked, helping her back into the house. ‘I know your father was a little worried about your back, maybe we could let him keep an eye on you for a night. It might at least help him feel a bit more settled.’
‘Yeah, I know he worries too much.’ Angelina chuckled. ‘And I don’t think I could make the walk back to the house right now, I’m far too tired.’
‘Why did you put the apparation site so far away then?’ Remus chuckled, but it seemed it wasn’t a laughing matter.
‘So that we could be safe.’ She frowned and Remus just looked down into the familiar, confused, blue eyes he remembered from her time at school.
‘Angelina, we are safe.’ Remus said. ‘Our house sits in the middle of nowhere and no one except our family and friends know we’re there and anyone who does know thinks there’s a great big werewolf protecting the whole area. How much safer could we be?’
Angelina just maintained her frown. ‘I can’t risk it not being enough. I have to make sure we’re as safe as we can be.’ It was a simple statement and showed her entire intent for the future, Angelina had no intention of letting any harm come to either herself or him, she was going to any length she thought necessary to ensure it.
‘Okay,’ Remus nodded. ‘You’re probably right. We could always be safer.’ If it made her feel better then Remus would simply let her do whatever she needed to do to feel safe. ‘Come on, lets get you into bed.’