Purebloods

A Proposal

For the next few days, I was granted some personal time off, as was Tonks. We remained in Hogsmeade for a few days to ensure all students were either picked up or made it on the train back to London safely. Remus and Oliver remained with us.

Scrimgeour and Robards came to the funeral and met with us after paying their respects to detail a full report of what occurred that night. While they didn't come right out and say this, it was clear they were disappointed we hadn't been able to arrest more of the criminals.

The day before Oliver and I were planning to return to London, Tonks and I spent some more time together, away from the boys. We sat at the edge of town on a ledge where a hill dropped steeply into a valley.

"Can I ask your thoughts on something Remus and I discussed?" she asked as we looked out into the landscape.

"Sure."

"Don't prematurely judge, but none of us know what will happen when this war gets worse. I mean, we don't know when or how we'll be attacked or if any of us will be killed. So, we decided we're going to get married."

I turned to my cousin, whose hair had been quickly turning back to its bubblegum pink color since she and Remus had finally gotten together. "That's amazing! When are you planning to do it?"

"Tonight," she replied quietly.

I felt my eyebrows raise slightly. "Really? So soon... won't your mum want to come or plan something?"

"I already spoke to mum. She's happy for me and wants what I want. Same with dad. We'll celebrate eventually."

"I'm happy for you, Tonks. I really am."

"Good, because we need two witnesses with us and we figure you and Oliver has nothing else to do." She smiled at me now.

"We'd be happy to!"

A few hours later, after the sun had set, Tonks, Remus, Oliver and I returned to the Hogs Head from the brief marriage ceremony of my cousin and her longtime love. We sat at the bartop, and Aberforth greeted us with four glasses of celebratory drinks.

We sat there for hours, laughing and drinking in celebration of their unity. It also allowed for Oliver and Tonks to connect more than they ever had the chance to in the past. We were the only patrons in the pub for the entire night, and Aberforth even locked the door behind him and told us to shut off the lights when we went up for bed.

Around four in the morning, Remus and Tonks announced they were retiring to bed. Oliver and I were now alone, and the mixture of the numerous drinks and tiredness were starting to catch up to me.

Oliver finished off his drink and stood up from his stool so he could be closer to me. I looked up at him from my lower spot and admired him as he stood tall over me. His hands cupped my face and he leaned down so his lips met mine.

We broke apart, still so close to each other that our faces were nearly brushing against each other.

"How are you feeling? With everything going on?" he asked me.

I took a deep breath. "Fine, I think. This is what I've signed up for, isn't it? If my training's taught me anything, it's that most of this comes down to emotional intelligence and maturity. It's all an adjustment."

"Well, at least we could celebrate something positive tonight with Lupin and Tonks."

"Yeah... I'm happy for them. It's been a long time coming."

"C'mon. We only have a few hours to get some rest. I've to be back the following morning for practice, and I want to spend some truly alone time with you." He shot a flirty grin at me. I grabbed his hand, and we went off to bed for the few hours we had.