Running maniacally on all fours, I look swiftly behind me to find that they are still chasing me. The stag is closest to reaching me, the black dog not far behind him, and the rat bringing up the rear. My gruesome teeth are bared into a smile for I know that they cannot catch me. In my elation I fail to notice a significantly large tree stump in my path. As the stump hits my front paws I stumble onto my back. I attempt to quickly get back on all fours and continue the chase but it is too late.

Padfoot has already jumped on top of me, holding me down, his tail wagging all the while. Prongs is nudging my side playfully with his antlers while Wormtail takes a particular fascination in running his tail between my toes.

I am about to make my attempt at escaping my defeat when the cold air of the night drops significantly. It feels as though an unbearable frost has enveloped my current form. From the looks on the faces of my friends I can tell that they feel it too. We turn our heads into the distance looking for the cause of such chilling unhappiness in our moment of contentment.

And then it happens. I startle awake feeling more upset than usual that I have been disturbed from dreams of the nostalgic glee I experienced as a young man at Hogwarts. That is when I notice I am not alone in the compartment. Four students sit before me, their faces display a look of petrified horror. Instinctively, I check that I am in fact Remus Lupin, man not wolf. I follow the direction of their faces to see a Dementor standing in the doorway of the compartment fixated on a young boy with black hair and round glasses.

Before I know what I am doing my hand is pulling out my wand and I am speaking the incantation that will protect this boy. He faints and without hesitation I bend over him to assess the damage when I notice something. Not the scar on his forehead barely hidden by his unruly hair but simply the features on his face. It’s James Potter.

One of the students, a girl with untamed brown hair, jumps swiftly down from her seat. She begins to lightly slap James’ face.

*“Harry! Harry! Are you all right?�

Harry? James and Lily’s son? But his face, it’s James’, distinctedly so. But just then the boy opens his eyes, green, shocking green. I know now that this is their child. The one we all protected, his parents, my friends, with their lives. I grab for the chocolate stashed inside my robes. I had known the Dementors would be at Hogwarts, but on the train? Dumbledore would never have allowed this.

*“Here,� I offer a piece of the chocolate to Harry. “Eat it. It’ll help.�

*“What was that thing?� he asks. His voice didn’t falter, but his eyes betray his fright.

*“A Dementor,� I told him giving chocolate to the other students as well. “One of the Dementors of Azkaban.�

They all stare at me expectantly, chocolate uneaten. My mind, however, is elsewhere. Why were they on the train?

*“Eat,� I repeat. “It’ll help. I need to speak to the driver, excuse me…�

In the hallway outside the compartment, I realize that I feel sadder now without the Dementor present. Already the lives of the Hogwarts students are in danger and I feel responsible. If only Dumbledore had denied me the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor there would be one less danger lurking the Hogwarts grounds. Even with Severus’ promise to provide me with the Wolfsbane Potion, I fear that he still holds a grudge against the Marauders.

There’s myself, there are the Dementors, and there’s Sirius… I almost chuckle when I think, of course it would be the two of us that would be wreaking havoc to the school, just like old times. I miss Sirius, the only other of the Marauders that’s still alive. I shudder at these thoughts. He’s the reason the rest are dead! And now, he’s after Harry again, after he protected him, after he was made Harry’s godfather…

Eventually reaching the driver by the front of the train, I search my mind for words. The polite, calm conversation I had planned is lost in my mind, surging through me is a rage I didn’t know I could feel. I yell about the Dementors, scream about Sirius. I bawl about the danger he had put everyone through. My usual cool demeanor and even temper is most definitely shot. It is with great shame and utter embarrassment that I walk back to the end compartment to collect my things as the train halts to a stop at Hogwarts Station.

Stepping off the train Harry and his friends catch my eye and I give them a small smile. Across the lake I can see that Hogwarts hasn’t changed a bit since I had been there last, many years ago. I can’t help thinking that it looks more beautiful and enchanting than ever.

Staring in awe at the place where I had grown up, where I learned to trust and be myself a thought crosses my mind. As much as I believe myself to be an added possible danger to the school, I will not back down in protecting the school from the likes of Voldemort and his followers.

The only thing I know for sure is that as long as I’m around, James and Lily’s son will never cease to be protected.