Mummy
The next morning, Sirius, Peter and James woke up to Remus screaming and hyperventilating at two in the morning.
“I can’t I can’t I can’t I can’t I can’t I can’t Ican’tIcan’tIcan’tIcan’t” He was whispering, over and over and over.
“Remus?” James asked, reaching out; Moony had begged him to stay in bed with him the night before.
“James? James what the bloody hell are you doing in my bed, and why is Sirius…” Remus managed to gasp out, between his rocking back and forth and his quiet, dry sobbing. “Why is Sirius over there?” He gestured to Sirius’s bed, where he was sitting, stunned.
“Remus?” Sirius asked, almost pleading for this whole thing to be over.
“Yeah?” Remus had slowed down his sobs and his rocking somewhat.
“Are you… back?”
“Back from what?” Remus asked, confused, beginning to cry more; Moony would never cry this much in front of them. It had to be part of the curse.
“Oh, mate, come here.” James whispered sadly, reaching out and enveloping Remus in a hug.
Rubbing Remus’s back, James looked over at Sirius, concerned. He mouthed, “Come here. He needs you.”
Sirius rose tentatively, and walked slowly over to Remus’s bed, untangling himself from his blankets.
“Hi Moony.” Sirius whispered into his ear, the way that they used to talk whenever something was important.
“S- Sirius…” Remus sobbed, turning away from James and grabbing Sirius instead.
After five minutes of Remus sobbing into Sirius’s shoulder, sufficiently covering his boyfriend in snot and tears, Remus stiffened, and Sirius knew that the younger Remus was back.
“Grant?” Remus said, voice muffled. “Grant, I want my mummy.”
He removed himself from Sirius’s arms, instead turning towards James, eyes red and puffy.
“Grant! Where’s my mummy?” Remus pleaded, tears streaming down his face.
Sirius couldn’t stand it anymore—the look of pure fear on Remus’s face when he turned to him, the heartbreaking cries for his mother. He stumbled to his feet, his chest tightening with every sniffle and sob that escaped Remus’s lips.
“I’ll get Lily,” he muttered, not waiting for James’s response as he bolted out the door.
James glanced down at Remus, who was still clinging to him like a lifeline. “Lily’s coming, Moony,” he whispered, brushing his hand over Remus’s hair. “She’ll make it better, I promise.”
Remus sniffled, looking up with teary eyes. “Mummy’s coming?”
James hesitated, the lump in his throat making it hard to speak. “Yeah, Moony. She’s on her way.”
Sirius didn’t bother knocking as he burst into Lily, Marlene and Mary’s shared dormitory, and he also didn’t bother thinking about why the stairway had let him up.
“Lily!” he gasped, doubling over to catch his breath.
Lily sat up in bed, alarmed. “Sirius? What’s wrong?”
“It’s Remus. He—he needs you. He thinks you’re his mum,” Sirius said, his voice shaking.
Lily’s face softened, but her resolve was immediate. “Give me a second.” She threw on her day clothes and slippers before following Sirius back to the boys’ dormitory.
When they returned, Remus was still curled in James’s arms, his frame trembling. As soon as Lily stepped through the door, his head shot up.
“Mummy?” he whispered, his voice small and hopeful.
Lily’s heart clenched. She approached slowly, her expression warm and kind. “I’m here, love,” she said softly, crouching down next to him.
Remus reached out, and Lily gathered him into her arms without hesitation. “Mummy,” he murmured, burying his face into her shoulder. “Everything’s scary. I don’t like it here.”
“I know, sweetheart,” Lily soothed, rocking him gently. “But you’re safe now. I’ve got you.”
Sirius leaned against the wall, watching as Lily comforted Remus with an ease he couldn’t muster. His jaw tightened, and he wiped at his eyes before anyone could notice.
Lily glanced over at him, her green eyes filled with empathy. “He’ll come back to us, Sirius,” she said quietly, her voice firm.
Sirius nodded, though he didn’t fully believe her.
“Mummy, don’t leave,” Remus pleaded, clinging tighter to Lily.
“I’m not going anywhere, love,” she assured him, pressing a kiss to his hair. “I’ll stay as long as you need me.”
James placed a comforting hand on Sirius’s shoulder, his expression grim. “We’ll get him back, mate,” he whispered.
But Sirius couldn’t tear his eyes away from Remus, now dozing fitfully in Lily’s arms. “What if we don’t?” he whispered back, his voice barely audible.
James didn’t have an answer.
The room was eerily quiet except for the occasional sniffle from Remus, who clung to Lily as though she were the only solid thing in a world full of shadows. James was still seated nearby, watching his friend with a guarded expression. Sirius, meanwhile, had retreated to lean against the wall, his hands balled into fists.
Peter, who had been uncharacteristically silent through the whole ordeal, suddenly stood up. He glanced between Remus and the rest of the group, his face uncertain but determined.
“Where are you going?” Sirius asked sharply, his voice raw.
Peter didn’t respond immediately, instead heading to the trunk at the foot of Remus’s bed. He rummaged through it carefully, muttering under his breath, “It’s gotta be here somewhere…”
After a few moments, Peter emerged with a worn, slightly frayed blanket that had been folded neatly at the bottom of the trunk. It was an unremarkable thing—soft but faded, a deep blue with faint silver stitching along the edges.
Sirius blinked, realizing what it was. “Is that—”
“His favorite,” Peter confirmed softly, holding it close. “It’s Moonie.”
James’s eyebrows shot up. “Moonie?”
Peter shrugged. “He named it when he was, like, nine or something. Said it made him feel brave on full moons when his parents couldn’t be there. It’s been with him ever since.”
Sirius opened his mouth, then shut it, his mind flashing back to a memory from third year:
“You can’t seriously think we’re calling him that,” Sirius had said with a bark of laughter, lounging dramatically on his four-poster bed.
James grinned mischievously from where he was perched on his trunk, tossing a Quaffle between his hands. “Why not? It’s fitting.”
“Fittingly ridiculous,” Sirius quipped. “Moony? Really? He’s going to hex us into next week.”
“Only if you tell him,” James shot back, raising an eyebrow.
“Tell me what?” Remus’s voice interrupted, and the boys froze as he appeared in the doorway, a curious expression on his face.
Sirius and James exchanged a glance.
“Er, nothing,” Sirius said, far too quickly.
James sighed and tossed the Quaffle aside. “We’ve come up with a nickname for you.”
“…Oh?”
“Yeah,” Sirius said, smirking. “It’s ‘Moony.’” He sat up straighter, fully expecting Remus to roll his eyes, scoff, or give a sarcastic retort.
Instead, Remus blinked. Then, to their astonishment, a small smile crept across his face. “That’s perfect.”
James frowned, his confidence faltering.
“Wait, you actually like it?”
Remus nodded. “Yeah. It’s… perfect.”
Sirius snapped back to the present, the memory of Remus’s soft smile and quiet acceptance cutting through his chest like a knife.
“At any other time,” James muttered softly, as if reading Sirius’s mind, “we’d have taken the mickey out of him for naming a blanket.” His voice was thick with emotion.
“Yeah,” Sirius murmured, swallowing hard. “But not now.”
Lily smiled softly, her voice warm and gentle. “Good thinking, Pete.”
Peter handed the blanket to her, his hands trembling slightly. “Here, Moony. I got this for you.”
Remus’s small, trembling fingers reached for the blanket, and as soon as it was draped over him, a soft, contented sigh escaped his lips. He nestled closer into Lily, clutching the blanket tightly. “Moonie,” he whispered, his voice muffled but calmer than before. “You found Moonie.”
Peter hesitated, then reached out to pat Remus’s shoulder awkwardly. “Yeah, Moony. I found him for you.”
Remus didn’t say anything else, but his grip on the blanket tightened, and the trembling in his body seemed to lessen.
James gave Peter a firm nod of approval, while Sirius stared for a long moment before muttering, “Yeah… good call.”
For the first time in three days, the tension in the room seemed to ease, just a fraction.