A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
Reminisce

The sight of the Hogwarts Express brought back memories of both wanted and not wanted. One memory, the memory from his days as a student regarding which compartments on the train filled up last, led Professor Remus Lupin to one train compartment in particular, and there he settled in, closing his eyes and pretending to sleep. At the same time, his mind sorted through his memories of his friend group.

He could remember, as he sat there listening to the students outside and inside of the train, how Peter Pettigrew, the smallest of them, would always be the first to greet the Trolly Witch when she arrived at their compartment with her sweets, always indecisive and how, while James Potter laughed, Sirius Black would brush aside another Black when he showed at their compartment instead of the Trolly Witch.

"Sometimes I wish I could go back to those days when we were all innocent," he thought as he sat there, his trunk already on one of the upper racks above him. "To the days we were students like they are now."

Students like the ones outside the compartment he settled in, but when the door opened, he overheard one of the boys just outside the door say, "I caught Sirius Black on camera."

The voice sounded young in their first years of being a student at Hogwarts, which in turn brought doubt that the boy had caught Sirius on camera. " Particularly given Sirius killed Peter as well as twelve Muggles that day. It 's still hard to believe he went mad as he did and betrayed the Potters. "

He continued pretending to sleep, listening to what was happening around him. Two of the boys entered the compartment, closing the door behind him while the girl and the boy who thought he'd caught Sirius on camera went to speak. The boy who had refused to take Crookshanks for the girl spoke up. "So what do you think about what Creevy said? About catching Sirius Black on camera?"

"I really wish Hermione had let me listen in," the other boy said. Remus could hear the boy first situating an owl. He called Hedwig into the compartment before taking care of the wicker basket Crookshanks was in, yet there was a whistling sound in the compartment that Remus couldn't place.

"Why? I'm sure it'll come to naught. This is Creevy we're talking about, after all."

"Because Sirius Black is after me," the boy said, which caught Lupin off guard, yet he continued to sleep in the compartment.

"What do you mean Sirius Black is after you? Where'd you get the idea from?" the boy who didn't want anything to do with Crookshanks, whatever a Crookshanks was.

"Your parents. I overheard them talking," the boy said, confirming to Lupin that the second boy, the one who brought Crookshanks into the compartment for the girl, was, in fact, James and Lily Potters boy, yet hearing that Harry knew what Sirius' goal was—

"That's disconcerting, but at least he doesn't know Sirius was his Godfather, nor does he know Sirius is the reason his parents are dead," Lupin thought to himself as the two boys continued talking.

"Hermione didn't know, or she'd have let you listen in," the other boy said.

"She's probably right that it's nothing, Ron," Harry said, sighing and muttering something to Crookshanks.

"I wish Crookshanks would stop looking at Scabbers like he's going to make my rat his next meal."

"He's a cat," Harry said. The seat cushions squeaked slightly as Harry sat down, but eventually, the door to the corridor opened, and Hermione came in. "So? Was it Sirius Black?"

"No."

"Then who?" Ron asked. "Who did Creevy see?"

"My dad," the girl said, catching Remus off guard yet again as he continued to pretend to sleep on the train.

"Say what?" Ron let out a laugh. "What do you mean, your dad?"

Hermione said, "Colin Creevy thinks my dad is Sirius Black."

"Mr. Granger?" Harry choked out. "Your parents are Muggles, like Creevy's parents!"

"I know, but he's convinced they look like each other," Hermione said.

"Why would he do that?" Ron asked.

"Black hair and gray eyes," the girl said, which made Remus imagine the girl with black hair and gray eyes while remembering black hair and gray eyes were trademarks of the Black family look, although there were exceptions such as Sirius' cousin Narcissa who was now a Malfoy.

"But how would he know that?" Ron asked. "I don't recollect the Daily Prophet reporting his hair and eye color."

"Oh. He must be talking about the Muggle newscast," Harry said. "They used a colored picture there. He does have black hair and gray eyes like Hermione's dad, but they're not the same person. I mean, we met him last summer. Remember?"

"Not really," Ron muttered.

"Ron!" Hermione said with exasperation, which was how Remus felt at the one student—Colin Creevy—thinking he'd caught Sirius Black on camera.

"Well, I knew when I took the job that there some of the students would be jumpy because of the news of Sirius Black escaping," he thought to himself, continuing to listen to the conversation while pretending to sleep, finding himself glad he'd decided to take the train to Hogwarts rather than another means of travel even though Dumbledore offered.

"Could he? I don't know. Replaced your dad?" Ron asked, which resulted in Hermione chewing him out for going along with the Creevy boy's conspiracy theory. Harry filled her in on Sirius being after him, to which she noted that Malfoy had overheard the conversation with his lackeys.

"Of course, Malfoy would find Creevy mistaking your father for Sirius Black amusing," Harry muttered.

"He's a right git," Ron said. "But I bet he'll let the entire school know Creevy thinks your dad is Sirius Black. He's a Malfoy, after all."

Remus, however, wasn't sure, given the Malfoy connection to the Black family and how a rumor of a Muggleborn being related to them wouldn't be something they'd want floating around the school, and yet he said nothing and continued to sleep, listening to them discuss a variety of things such as going to Hogsmeade as they were now in their third year, and could thus go to the small village when trips were planned—if, of course, they had their permission slip signed. " Glad Harry 's family didn't sign, given Sirius is after him. That would be another thing for us staff to worry about this year. "

Hermione, much to Ron's dismay, let Crookshanks out of his wicker. The Trolly Witch came and went as Remus continued pretending to sleep. And then it happened.

Remus felt it , the Dementor, before it arrived. In the back of his mind, he knew the ministry would be interested in sending those horrid creatures after Sirius Black, given Black's status as a mass murderer. Yet, he'd not expected the Dementor to be there, stopping the train. He sprung into action, disliking the fact the presence of the Dementor resulted in Harry, who looked so much like his father, onto the compartment floor, and he made the creature leave, using a Patronus.

It disappeared in the white light of his wolf Patronus, and the lights flickered back on before he started handing out chocolate, giving Harry a piece first once they roasted him before he headed to the front of the train to speak with the one in charge of the train, far from pleased at the ministries meddling, but then—

"It's something I should honestly be used to, what with how they treat us werewolves," Remus thought to himself, the frustration not going away. The rest of what he heard in the compartment was forgotten, drifting to the back of his mind to hide behind memories he'd rather forget as he didn't want to think of Sirius Black going mad and killing little Peter Pettigrew. However, when it happened, Peter wasn't little anymore and an adult. "This is going to be a rough year at Hogwarts, I think."