I ran on, my feet consistently pounding against the muddy forest floor like a drum counting down to the grand finale or maybe like a heart that was running out of time, cramming its final beats into this one last stretch. Because this was my last stretch; my last shot at life. I knew that soon they would find me and when they did it would all be over.
As I rounded the corner I spotted them with dread; they were gliding along through the cold night air, sucking the light out of even the stars that were beginning to fade overhead. My lungs turned to ice. I was struggling to breathe. The sounds of the worst moments of my life began to relay in my head. Finding out that Lily and James were dead; being condemned to a life in Azkaban; the time my mother had used the cruciatus curse on me. It hadn't worked, Pettigrew would live on and I would remain a soulless shell, left to rot on this forest floor. One of them lowered its hood towards me, causing me to almost throw up. How did it know that this was me? It wasn't even permitted inside the Hogwarts grounds but then again, neither was I.
As a last attempt I let out one long, howling bark. It reverberated back to me from the trees. There was no other reply. I was alone. I was about to die. Well, it wasn't even death. Death would be a blessing compared to what the Dementors had in store for me. As it glided closer I said my goodbyes to nobody and prepared myself for the inevitable kiss.
But it didn't come. I opened my eyes, not remembering closing them and saw the Dementors retreating. What was happening? Above the canopy of green leaves the stars began to pop out but I remained oblivious, simply dumbstruck over this sudden change of events. Then I saw him. The glow from the patronus was casting a slivery light over his already sliver beard and hair. Turning his head slightly, he nodded once in my direction with a small smile tugging at his lips. Then he vanished.
I didn't know what to do. He knew that I was here and from the almost fond expression that had been covering his face, he knew who I was. But how? Then reality hit me and I began to run again. My only objective was to run as far from this spot of the forbidden forest as I could and as I ran, I thought. Dumbledore had just saved me and for that I owed him an explanation…