The Reprise

Despite being on a train full of chatter and joy, Remus was surrounded by darkness. The moment he had found an empty compartment, he wasted no time settling into his favorite corner—the one he used to sit in during his Hogwarts years—and peacefully drifted off into much-needed slumber.

McGonagall had sent him a letter beforehand, asking him to accompany the students on the train to Hogwarts as a lookout for any potential danger. Remus knew this was only a safety precaution, and despite knowing that September first fell the day after the full moon—when he would undoubtedly be exhausted—he agreed.

It felt strange for Remus to be attending Hogwarts all over again. When he first received the letter from Dumbledore inviting him to take over the Defense Against the Dark Arts position, he had almost declined out of guilt. But the thought of seeing Harry, even for just a second, made him accept the offer. He was doing this for Lily and James. And, partly, for himself.

Remus had always been a deep sleeper, and this time was no exception—especially the day after a full moon. However, an icy chill caused him to stir awake. At first, he thought someone had opened the window in his compartment, but when he opened his eyes, he found himself surrounded by darkness once again. The train stood completely still, and he was no longer alone. Three other people were sitting beside him.

There was a girl with frizzy brown hair and a ginger cat, a ginger-haired boy with freckles, although Remus couldn’t see them clearly enough. And finally—oh.

The boy sitting next to him was rather skinny, and Remus immediately recognized the infamous scar on his forehead. However, that wasn’t the first thing to catch his attention. It wasn’t even the messy black hair sticking out in every direction or the round glasses that reminded him so much of the boy’s father. It was the bright green eyes scanning the place, trying to understand what was wrong with the train. Those same green eyes Remus used to share all his deepest secrets with. Those same green eyes that had been there for him in times, when nobody else was. Without a doubt, he was sitting next to Harry Potter.

“You think they caught Black?” Harry asked his two friends in a hushed tone. The red-haired boy shook his head.

“Nah. Dad says they’re not even close,” he replied. “He could be anywhere. Apparently, it’s like catching smoke with your bare hands.”

Hearing Sirius’ name everywhere these days was not the kind of healing journey Remus had hoped to experience by accepting this job offer. He tried not to think about it much, but just the sheer mention of Sirius’ name felt like being stabbed by a thousand needles.

Suddenly, a small figure entered the compartment, interrupting his thoughts. Remus decided to sit still and quietly listen, not wanting to disturb them.

“Hello, Neville,” Remus heard Harry say. His heart sank—this must have been Alice and Frank’s son. He didn’t know many other Nevilles out there. Remus quietly fought the urge to ask if he was doing okay.
“Harry, is that you? What’s happening?” asked Neville in a shaky, high-pitched voice. For a moment, Remus wondered if this wasn’t some first-year with the same name who had stumbled into the wrong compartment.

“No idea! Sit down—” Harry replied. There was some shuffling before they fell into silence again. However, this didn’t last long, as the compartment door slid open once more.

“Who’s that?”
“Who’s that?”
“Ginny?”
“Hermione?”
“What are you doing?”
“I was looking for Ron—”
“Come in and sit down—”
“Not here!”
“Ouch!”

Remus suddenly snapped back to his senses. Sirius was on the loose, the train had stopped, it was cold and dark—and unhappy. The Dementors were, without a doubt, looking for Sirius on this train!

The children kept bickering until Remus finally interrupted them. “Quiet!” he said in a hoarse voice, as he had just woken up. He was all too aware of how shabby he must look at the moment. He pushed his thoughts aside and conjured a simple bluebell hand-held flame to create light in the gloomy compartment.

“Stay where you are,” Remus instructed as he slowly got to his feet—his hip protesting painfully—and held the light out in front of him.

Before he could reach the door, it suddenly slid open, revealing a Dementor. The hooded creature moved as though it were searching for something— or someone.

Then, the Dementor moved closer to Harry, inhaling deeply, as if it were pulling the very life out of him. It was a terrible sight for Remus to witness.

“None of us is hiding Sirius Black under our coats. Go!” Remus stepped closer to the Dementor, but it did not move.

It was the first time in twelve years that Remus had spoken Sirius’ name, he realized, though he quickly pushed the thought aside. Pulling out his wand, he murmured, “Expecto Patronum.”

A blue light emerged from his wand, sending the Dementor flying out of their compartment—and hopefully off the train.

Harry, meanwhile, fell unconscious and slid off his seat, onto the floor.

“Harry!” the girl with frizzy hair cried, crouching down next to him.

“Don’t worry, he’s going to wake up soon,” Remus said calmly, grabbing a cushion from one of the seats and sliding it under Harry’s head for support.

“But, sir, what was that?” the girl asked, her face full of worry. Remus only frowned in response and internally decided he would explain properly once Harry woke up.

“Ginny, please leave now. I’m cramped over here,” said the red-haired boy to the girl who matched him in hair and freckles as he pushed her off the seat she was sitting on.

Ginny scoffed and rolled her eyes and left the compartment, though she seemed glad to go, as she looked a bit shaken.

Almost as if on cue, the lights returned, and the train resumed its journey. They sat in silence for a moment before Remus broke it.

“I’m Professor Remus Lupin, by the way. I’ll be teaching you Defense Against the Dark Arts this year,” he said.

The frizzy-haired girl immediately introduced herself as Hermione Granger, pride evident in her voice. Something about her reminded Remus too much of Lily. She nudged the red-haired boy beside her, who introduced himself as Ron Weasley.

Remus suddenly realised he hadn’t properly spoken to Molly nor Arthur since Gideon and Fabian’s funeral.

The third boy, looking nervous, stated, “I’m Neville. Neville Longbottom.” Remus smiled at him—partly out of sympathy and partly because he had guessed correctly.

“Well, it’s very nice to meet you all,” Remus said, digging into his bag for the chocolate he had brought for the train ride for himself. However now it came in handy even more. Though he hadn’t dealt with many Dementors personally, he knew chocolate helped. He remembered this from the extra healthcare lessons Poppy held after classes every Wednesday.

Suddenly, Harry began to stir, his eyes fluttering open. Ron and Hermione crouched beside him again, worry evident on their faces.

“Are you okay?” Ron asked nervously.

Harry looked disoriented for a moment before replying, “Yeah,” as he started to glance around.

“What happened? Where’s that—that thing? Who screamed?” he asked, his voice unsteady.

“No one screamed,” Ron replied, equally uneasy.

Remus went pale as he realized whose scream Harry might have heard.

“But I heard—” Harry began again, but Remus cut him off, breaking a piece of chocolate from the bar in his hand and offering it to him. He split the rest between Ron, Hermione, and Neville.

“Eat. It’ll help,” he said firmly but kindly, not wanting to frighten Harry any more.

Harry accepted the chocolate but only stared at it, not eating it.

“What was that thing?” Harry asked again.

“A Dementor. One of the Dementors of Azkaban,” Remus replied calmly, putting the chocolate wrapper back into his bag.

“Eat,” he repeated, glancing at Harry’s still-uneaten piece. “It’ll help. I need to speak to the driver.” With that, he left the compartment and headed toward the front of the train.

When he reached the front, he decided to send an owl to Professor McGonagall, to let her know what had just happened. Taking a school owl that happened to be on the train, he quickly jotted down a letter:

Dear professor Mcgonagall, 

The train ride has gone pretty smoothly so far (as far as I know), however, about three-quarters of the way, the train had suddenly stopped and a dementor was let onto the train. I understand that the Ministry of Magic required this procedure but I think we can both agree on how this is completely unacceptable. While the dementor was searching for Sirius  Sirius Black  the wanted criminal  Black  Mr. Black, it had taken Harry as a victim. He was unconscious for a few minutes but he has thankfully woken up now and he seems quite alright. I just wanted to pass on the message, in case Poppy  madam Pomfrey found it best to give him any additional care.

Kindest regards,

R. J. Lupin

Remus glanced over the letter, wincing at his multiple crossings-out and rewrites, but there was no time to perfect it. He attached the letter to the owl, which flew off into the sky.

As he was leaving the driver’s cabin, he was informed that the train would be arriving in ten minutes. Making his way back to the compartment, he found everyone exactly where he had left them, with the chocolate still mostly uneaten—except for Ron, who seemed to have finished his.

Remus smiled faintly. “I haven’t poisoned the chocolate, you know,” he said lightly.

At his words, Harry hesitantly took a bite. Almost immediately, he seemed to relax, and Remus noted the change with quiet satisfaction.

“We’ll be at Hogwarts in ten minutes,” Remus informed the group, his gaze lingering on Harry, who still looked a bit shaken. “Are you alright, Harry?”

Harry’s ears turned pink as he muttered, “Fine.”

The children sat back in their seats, and no one spoke until the train finally pulled into Hogsmeade station. Remus gathered his luggage and managed to secure a thestral-drawn carriage to himself, hoping to sneak in another brief nap before the feast.

Once at the castle, he quickly deposited his belongings in his quarters behind the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. The attached dormitory was small and isolated, but Remus found it was for the best, as the other teachers may or may not eventually find out where he goes each full moon and they may not exactly be delighted about the news. It was a miracle Snape even accepted to brew Remus some Wolfsbane potions, although based on the letter Remus received, it most likely took a lot of convincing on Dumbledore's part. 

…

Sooner than later the feast had started, all the first years had been sorted into their houses and Remus felt like he was back where he was meant to be. Sitting at the staff table, he felt both a strange sense of belonging and an emptiness he couldn’t quite place. As he looked up at the enchanted starry sky above the Great Hall and looked for a very specific star, he tried not to dwell on it too much.

Dumbledore rose from his seat, tapping his goblet to get everyone’s attention.

“Welcome!” Dumbledore’s voice boomed across the hall. “Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I have a few things to say to you all, and as one of them is very serious, I think it best to address it before you are befuddled by our excellent feast.”

The hall fell silent as Dumbledore continued.

“As you will all be aware after the search of the Hogwarts Express, our school is presently playing host to some of the Dementors of Azkaban, who are here on Ministry of Magic business.”

He went on to explain that students were no longer permitted to wander the grounds without permission. He then went on to introduce the Head girl and Head boy and Remus felt like it was only yesterday he was congratulating Lily and James for getting the titles back in their 7th year. 

“On a happier note,” Dumbledore continued, “I am pleased to welcome two new teachers to our ranks this year.”

“Firstly, Professor Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.”

Remus stood up in response, trying to mask the pain of his hip as much as he could, and bowed his head slightly to the small applause he received. He also didn’t miss how Harry and his friends from the compartment were clapping the hardest out of everyone. 

As Remus sat back down and winced under his breath he also didn't manage to miss Snape looking at him like he wanted his guts on a silver platter instead of the feast which was currently laying in front of him. Remus promised that he wouldn’t pick a fight with him throughout his stay here, despite how much he wanted to, even after all these years. Remus was honestly just grateful he was persuaded to actually make the Wolfsbane potions for him. 

As the chatter in the hall rose and the feast began,  Remus just slightly smiled to himself, leaned back in his chair and let the noise wash over him, hoping that if he’d get lost enough in it, he’d perhaps hear a few familiar voices call out his name again.