Back at Hogwarts
I found it exhilarating to be back at Hogwarts. I loved teaching, especially my favorite subject. I loved seeing kids accomplish spells or understand concepts.
Through that year I established myself as a mentor of sorts for Harry. I have many fond memories of teaching him the patronus charm. He was eager to learn and certainly amazed me again and again. The only hard part with my mentor relationship with Harry was that it drudged up memories of my days as a Marauder.
Harry was naturally curious about his parents. Around Christmas he somehow learned about Sirius' friendship with his parents. I can remember him asking me about it, knowing I had been friends with his father. He was understandably angry, not that I blamed him, that a friend could betray another friend like that. He felt at the time that Sirius deserved the Dementor's kiss.
It was then that I learned of Harry's worst memory. He told me that when he is near the Dementors he hears his parent's final moments. I was shaken up by this. In all my years of despair and grief that was one subject I'd stayed away from. Of course, I'd known that they'd died from the killing curse delivered by Voldemort but I'd never known how their last moments had played out. Harry informed me that James had tried to duel with Voldemort to give Lily time to try to escape but Voldemort had quickly killed James. Voldemort had then gone after Lily who pleaded with Voldemort to not kill her son. But Voldemort had only wanted Harry due to the prophecy and would have spared Lily and James had they not stopped him. Lily's sacrifice, trying to save her son's life, had paid off in Harry's survival.