Words: 1198

Description: Remus's prized possession gets damaged in a prank and he's heartbroken (takes place in Second Year).

Story:

It was the Marauder's second year at Hogwarts. Remus Lupin was finally starting to feel truly accepted into their little band of mischief makers. A few weeks prior, the other three boys approached him to tell him that they knew his secret.

At first, he'd been mortified. He thought for sure they would hate him and tell everyone he was a werewolf so that he'd be kicked out of school and go back to living with his dad, hidden away from the world.

But Sirius, James, and Peter had talked him down from his hysteria and made sure that he knew they were still best friends and that they didn't care about what he was.

He had never felt so much love swell up in his heart before that moment when they all gathered him up in a hug. He was astonished that they would even dare to touch him and he was truly moved by how much they cared.

Of course, with the werewolf revelation, it was revealed that he hadn't been going home to visit his sick mother the whole time.

James had looked really relieved then. "So she's not sick? That's great, mate."

Remus shook his head. "No, she's not sick, she's dead."

That statement was followed by a thick silence. Remus had said it with such a certain lack of emotion that revealed that he'd worked hard to put the emotions behind him.

"Oh," was all Sirius could bring himself to say. It was obvious to him that Remus loved his mother very much, he could tell that much every time Remus told them he'd be leaving to visit her. Sirius guessed that the raw pain in his eyes was over the fact that he had to lie about his mother.

"How long?" Peter asked, to which James elbowed him.

Remus couldn't meet their eyes when he said, "Three years."

They all felt quite bad for making Remus sad, so the four of them snuck to the kitchens under the invisibility cloak to get some treats and hot chocolate.

Once Remus got comfortable with the fact that they knew about him, he got more lax on sleeping with his curtains closed. It wasn't as essential as it once was and the other three noticed more than Remus himself did.

One thing they did notice was that Remus slept with a baby blanket.

Peter was keen to tease him about it behind his back because he wasn't brave enough to say it to Remus's face. He thought that this sort of behavior would win approval from James and Sirius, but discovered quite the opposite.

Both boys had grown extremely protective of Remus and were quick to scold Peter for making fun of the blankie.

Peter was shocked and looked close to tears afterwards. He knew that if it were him that had the baby blanket, they would have no problem teasing him.

They boys soon forgot about the blanket and didn't think anything of it. Until one day shortly after Christmas holiday.

The boys had been trying out some of the new prank items they got when one of the fizzing whizbees backfired.

It sparked and landed on Remus's bed, burning a hole straight through the middle of his blankie.

The other three held their breaths and watched as Remus's eyes widened in horror. He was up in a second, muttering, "No, no, no."

He grabbed at it and could only watched as it disintegrated into ashes in his hands.

The other three didn't dare say a word as Remus's big amber eyes welled with tears. Remus covered his mouth with his hands and choked on a sob.

"Remus--" Sirius tried, but Remus only curled farther in on himself and pulled the curtains closed around his bed, leaving sooty finger marks on the fabric.

Peter was covering his eyes and shaking while James and Sirius exchanged terrified looks. They sat for a few moments, listening to Remus's strangled cries before Sirius couldn't take it any longer.

He got up and paced over to the four poster, James following close behind. They both felt awful by the way Remus was reacting, even though it was Peter who set off the whizbee. But they were a little confused about what was so special about a baby blanket?

"Remus?" Sirius asked quietly, standing beside the bed.

They heard him sniffle. "Go away," he cried, voice lilting in a heartbreaking way.

"Remus, we're really sorry, it was an accident," James said.

Remus didn't answer, wrestling with himself. He wanted to forgive them immediately, but he was so, so upset...He didn't know how to react.

Sirius pulled aside the curtain to see him sitting at the headboard, knees pulled up to his chest, clutching the few blackened pieces of the blanket that were left. Tears were absolutely streaming down his face and his face reddened in embarrassment when he saw Sirius and James watching him, and he buried his face in his knees.

James set aside any tiny amount of judgement he previously had and sat down next to Remus and put his arm around the shaking boy.

Sirius's face softened and he sat on Remus's other side and did the same.

"We truly are sorry, Remus," Sirius said quietly when Remus didn't lift his head. "I know that blankie meant a great deal to you."

Remus finally lifted his head, opening his hands to look down at the little crumbles of fabric and his face twisted again in a fresh wave of sorrow. "M-m-my mum made it w-when I was a b-b-baby. It's th-the last thing I've got f-from her."

James and Sirius's eyes met over Remus's head as the pieces finally clicked together. It made a sense why Remus loved it so much. It left a sickening feeling in the boys' stomachs. This priceless blanket that they'd destroyed was the only thing Remus had left of his mother and now it was gone.

It was awhile before Peter worked up the courage to sit with them at the end of the bed and the three of them sat with Remus for hours until he calmed down and then some. Even though Remus felt like his heart was in physical pain, he couldn't help but be thankful for his friends and how much they cared for him.

Long after the other boys had gone to bed, Remus lay awake, staring numbly at the fabric top of his four poster. His heart still ached terribly, but the tears were gone. He felt immensely tired and his eyes were dry and heavy, but he couldn't fall asleep.

He hardly reacted when Sirius crawled into bed with him. He knew he was delayed by a few seconds and urged his mouth to react.

"Wha--"

"Shh," Sirius whispered. "I thought I'd keep you company."

Remus was thankful that Sirius couldn't see his blush in the dark. Remus could hardly admit to himself, much less Sirius, that he was incredibly grateful that Sirius joined him. He felt safe and at peace finally, and he was able to sleep with Sirius there.

And he slept better than he had with the blanket.

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