Devotion | Remus Lupin

20. Family

Christmas Day rolled around in a flash. Poppy had awoken rather early. Unable to get back to sleep, she had a brief shower and got dressed. She wore a red dress that fell to her knee. It had a square neckline and puffed short sleeves. She paired it with some heels. After putting some makeup on and styling her hair into soft curls, she felt pleased with her festive appearance.

"Merry Christmas, darling," Remus grumbled as he sat up in bed.

"Merry Christmas, Remus," she said happily, sitting down beside her lover, pressing a delicate kiss to his scarred cheek. The impression of her pouty red lips was now present on his cheek, something that Poppy could not help but giggle at.

Just as she pulled away, Remus placed his hands on her cheeks and pulled her firmly towards him, smashing his lips upon hers. His hands ran through her hair, tugging at it slightly. Poppy's hands founds themselves onto Remus's back, digging her nails in. They both groaned into the kiss. Eventually, they pulled away, each out of breath.

Remus slid out on bed, sinking to the ground. He reached under the bed and pulled out a medium sized maroon box, a large gold bow on top.

"Now, I know we'll be exchanging gifts all together today in front of the tree," Remus began, placing the box in her lap. "But this is something I'd rather you not open in front of everyone."

Poppy raised her eyebrow, an inquisitive smile on her face. Her hands reached the bow, pulling on the silk ribbon to undo it. Once the bow was undone, she lifted the lid of the box, to reveal golden tissue paper. She lifted it up to uncover the gift.

Poppy gasped at the sight, her cheeks turning a bright colour. Remus had bought her gorgeous lingerie. It was a beautiful white, lace bralette, a satin bow tying it up in the back, with matching underwear. She could not wait to try it on and put on a show for her lover.

She pulled Remus into a big hug, thanking him for such a gorgeous gift, whispering suggestive comments in his ears. In response, he pulled her into a loving, passionate kiss once more, her lipstick smudging over both of their lips. She pulled away, giggling at the sight of Remus's lips, and presumably, her own.

Playing hitting him on the arm, she exclaimed with a giggle, "You messed up my makeup!"

After fixing up her makeup and waiting for Remus to dress for the day, the pair headed downstairs, hand-in-hand.

The entered the kitchen to be met with the sight of Harry and Sirius chatting.

"Ah, here they are!" Sirius greeted, standing up from his chair and lifting his arms. "Merry Christmas, Moony, Poppy."

"Merry, Christmas, Pads," Remus responded, giving his best friend a hug.

Poppy gave him a hug too, wishing him a merry christmas as well. She then did the same to Harry.

They were soon joined by Hermione, Ron and the rest of the Weasley's, including Arthur, who had managed to be discharged from St. Mungo's just in time for Christmas. Poppy wished them all a happy Christmas too.

It was by far the best Christmas that Poppy had in a long while. She even stopped by her mothers house for an hour or so in the morning. They spent the hour chatting about the wedding and had a lovely morning tea with some scones. Eventually, her mother had to leave to go to Poppy's aunty's house, so she took this as her cue to return to Grimmauld Place.

Around lunch time, the Weasley's, Harry, Hermione, Remus, Poppy and Sirius all gathered around the tree in the sitting room to exchange presents. Sirius played Santa Claus, reading the gift tags on each presents and handing them to the recipent. Poppy was delighted to see the looks of surprise and gratitude on everyone's faces. One of the things she enjoyed most about Christmas was the gift-giving. She simply adored seeing how people would react to the presents she got them.