Prologue part IV
June the 10th of 1982:
"Those of us who entered to investigate formally refuse to talk of what we have found inside, but the least frightening of what we could say is that the place is infested with dementors."- Connor Weasley
Those are the only words the head of the Auror office that visited the fortress when it was discovered, agreed to ink in his memoirs…However, now that the ministry of magic owned the place, they knew plenty about the worst place to be around in Great Britain. The island in the North Sea on which the wizard prison is built has never appeared on any map, wizard or Muggle. Its first known resident, Ekrizdis, practised the worst kinds of Dark magic and constructed a fortress on the island, luring Muggle sailors there to torture and murder them. After his death, the various concealment charms placed on the isle faded, and the Ministry of Magic became aware of the mysterious site's existence. The wizarding authorities of the time considered destroying the fortress, but, fearing reprisal by the dark entities or the island itself, decided against such action, and the ministry allowed the sizeable colony to remain; the island was thus left unmolested and unchecked for many years, perhaps decades until the International Statute of Secrecy was established.
Due to the impracticality of using small, local prisons, which could result in bangs, smells, and light shows, if inmates escaped, plans for a single, purpose-built wizarding prison on some remote Hebridean island were made at the passing of the International Statute of Secrecy. However, when Damocles Rowle was elected Minister for Magic in 1718, he insisted on using Azkaban instead, seeing the Dementors as a potential asset: putting them to work as guards would save expense, time, and lives. This plan was eventually put into motion, and, despite protests, Azkaban remained the prison of the wizarding world until the end of the Second Wizarding War, primarily due to its seemingly zero breakout rate. From that point on, Dementors served the ministry as the Azkaban guards, as the arrangement allowed them to feed on the prisoners' emotions within its walls. Opposition to Azkaban's use did manifest; however, somewhere between 1733 and 1747, Minister Eldritch Diggory visited Azkaban and was horrified at the inhumane levels of despair insanity that the Dementors induced in the prisoners. He formed a committee to find alternative solutions or mitigating measures, the least of which was to remove the Dementors; even this, however, met opposition from those who feared a mainland invasion if the Dementors were deprived of their food source. But not short after, Diggory died of Dragon Pox while in office, and thus the campaign to find an alternative to Azkaban's Dementors stalled. Reversing his predecessor's position, when Minister Hesphaestus Gore took office, the prison was renovated and reinforced. No serious opposition to the prison's continued use arose in the next few centuries, and no Minister considered closing the prison.
Kingsley was the first to arrive at the fortress. Due to an anti-apparition jinx, he had to sail from the coast. A soon he stepped out from the ship, he understood why the older Aurors always did their best to avoid this place, sending the rookies instead. The prison's appearance alone was horrendous, only staring at it was enough nightmare material for a lifetime… However, the fortress's look, that he could take, but the atmosphere that surrounded it, that was an entire story… In this bloody place, the stars nor the moon did exist. It was only silence and a strong smell of rottenness…
Suddenly he saw them appear, with their black cloaks floating toward him at a speed that, in an instant, made him instinctively reach his pocket, draw his wand, and aim at them:
"EXPECTO PATRONUM"
A silver lynx erupted from his wand and charged the dementors, and kept them at a safe distance from him, although he could still feel their power, sucking every drop of happiness from him, every drop of life. He wasn't going to stay at the place any longer than necessary, absolutely fucking not. He raised his voice, attempting to cover the noise of the waves dying on the rocks at the shore and shouted at them:
"MY NAME IS KINGSLEY SCHAKELBOLT, I AM AN AUROR FROM THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC SENT TO INVESTIGATE THE ESCAPE OF SIRIUS BLACK! YOU ARE TO RETREAT TO YOUR ROUNDS AND CLEAR THE WAY SO I COULD ATTEND AN URGENT MEETING WITH THE GOVERNOR OF THE PRISON"
To his surprise, the guardians immediately obeyed his commands, clearing the way for him. He wasn't going to trust them. Kingsley kept his Patronus active and murmured- Protego- making a circle with his wand around him, enveloping himself in a magic shield before stepping inside the prison.
The corridors were dark, darkness was everywhere here anyway, as fas as he kept walking between the black stone walls of the halls, he couldn't suppress the feeling that the walls were going to close at him, trapping him inside that castle. That fortress wanted him to be kept there forever or at least until the dementor had fed enough from his soul, drained from him every inch of life they could as payment for letting him access their domain…He felt as there was absolutely no way out, that anyway, everybody had already forgotten him and in case he couldn't come back, no one would come asking for him. He stopped, his hand went to his chest, he felt his heart beating like it never did before, a man like him who never backed off from any situation and bravely led the capture of four death eaters today incarcerated between these same walls, today he learned what fear was. Then when he saw his lynx getting weaker, what he could describe as an electric shock hit him, helping him regain his mind. Someone who was supposed to be crazy and in an advanced physical weakness just escaped from this fortress, with no wand, and no one notices his absence for 10 hours.
He arrived at the governor's office, and the moment he stepped inside, the atmosphere radically changed; he couldn't feel the presence of the dementors anymore, lurking in the shadow, nor their powers, his body was warm again, as if he was back at the Aurors office miles away from this place. It didn't take him long to guess why, as a large silver bear was sitting in a corner, the Patronus of the governors was expanding his aura around the room in a way his lynx couldn't compete, reflecting the level of the ward as a wizard… The governor was an imposing figure with broad shoulders, a stern gaze, and a long grey-white beard; most Aurors consider him a good and strong leader and a proven military commander. Thinking about it, he remembered the position was entrusted to him as he was a veteran Auror who's been already on duty before Kingsley was even born. Kingsley waited at the door frame, so as not the bother him, as he was responding to a floo call, but didn't have to wait too long before the ward stood up and gave him a small smile before speaking to him, politely.
" Good evening Mr. Schaklebolt, please forgive me for not greeting you at the entrance…I got delayed by a call with the minister…He is on his way by the way…Did the dementors cause any trouble?" he asked taking a look at the lynx
"No, Sir. Everything went fine," he answered, shaking his hand " So, we have a man at large?"
He conjured a seat for him and invited him to sit.
" Yeah … I might look calm, but to be honest, I am livid …The dementors too, we all have been fooled…Damn it! It never happened in history!"
"What do we know so far, did he use any wandless magic? Do you think that he got helped by a dementor? Many of them were on you-know-who's side, he could still have some leverage on them…"
"No, I am certain that no dementor is involved in his escape…You see… Dementors are effectively evil creatures; you can't expect any loyalty from them unless you are the strongest and have more to offer to them…The one-who-must-not-be-named lost the war and disappeared; some say he is dead, they would never risk the "commodity" of this hell to help a prisoner, to them it is a free all you can eat buffet… And no, I inspected the cell myself, the door showed no magical signature whatsoever, and that section has no windows…It's like if he just disappeared," he finished with tired sight
"How about the wards? What wards did you set around his cell?" Kingsley asked
The ward raised an eyebrow at him, before asking:
"What wards?... The prison is already unplottable, protected by an anti-apparating jinx and the dementors do the rest. I can use my fireplace to talk when there is an emergency like this but can't floo anywhere, I also have to take the boat before disaparating on the shore …Only individuals with a special permit issued by the department of magical law or officials owls can find and access the perimeter of the fortress, and to do saw they must sail from the coast."
"How about magic? Could the inmate use magic inside their cells?
"That would be impossible, their wands are taken from them at the moment they get arrested, Sirius Black didn't have his wand when he arrived…Then, I am not sure if even Albus Dumbledore could cast a spell without his wand between these walls, the presence of the dementors makes it very hard to focus…No…it's just impossible."
"So, he left in his human form? How do you think he managed to neutralize his handcuffs so he could transform."
"Human form?!... What are you talking exactly about Schaklebolt?"
"Well, Black is an Animagus…I assume that has been restrained with anti-transfiguration handcuffs when he arrived here."
"Yes, of course, he…No…Wait…." He jumped from his seat and rushed to a locker on the right wall, pulled a file and drop it loudly on his desk, his eyes wide, hands nervously opening it. He read Sirius Black's form carefully before raising his head looking at Kingsley, saying to him with an angry voice, "There is …ABSOLUTELY NOTHING…that says that Sirius Black can turn into a BLOODY ANIMAL!... What is it? a BAT? A Snake? "
Kingsley heart star beating hard assumed that it was taken care of… He never would have imagined that they could have screwed up so badly…
"A rat, sir…he can turn to a rat…Sir, it was in my report!"
"You must be shitting me…." He said, face-palming, he took a moment the think, Kingsley has held his breath to what was going to happen next. And then the ward gave his instructions " Schaklebolt, listen carefully …You are going directly to Alastor Moody, you will not stop to talk to anyone until you find him, you will not speak about this to anyone…It's classified…Not even to the minister…I mean…the press…it would be a disaster…Do you understand?"
Kingsley stood up, straighten his posture before nodding affirmatively to him.
"Good! Now go! Don't waste any time…And don't worry about the dementors; they are all on the upper floors."
He didn't have to say it twice; Kingsley rushed to the door, ran in the prison corridors, passed the gigantic iron door, the adrenaline didn't make him realize that his Patronus has long vanished from his side. He sailed back to the coast before apparating to the Atrium of the ministry where he went straight to the elevator, then to the Auror office.
Kingsley didn't bother with the mud trails of his steps or the coworkers' complaints. He dashed away and irrupted inside the head of the Auror office before slamming the door behind him. He took his breath, cleaned the sweat from his front before raising his hand only to find the office empty.
It took him a moment before remembering that he was in the office of Alastor Moody, the most paranoid man of Great Britain, if not the world…Any wrong step could trigger a defense system that could make him a permanent resident of St mungo, or well…Kill him. Kingsley stood there, unsure of himself. Lost in the memory of the earlier meeting, about the morning he spent months ago in chesterfield… He wondered what had become of that inspector he spends the morning with, smiling at the memory of the brief encounter they had with the supermarket manager… Muggles weren't so different from wizards after all…He would bet Moody and that inspector could get along if he managed to bring them together around a drink … Suddenly, Moody stepped out of the fireplace, and walked directly toward his desk and let himself fall on his chair:
"Was in Little winging… Took an eternity to find it… Dumbledore…And they say I'm the crazy one…No, he's right CONSTANT VIGILANCE! What are you doing here, kid?... Stealing my booze?" he asked checked the drawer of his desk…"No, still there… I guess you'll survive the night…"
Yeah, the same, said Kingsley to himself…
" What's in Little winging sir?" asked Kingsley
"Pilates…What do you want?"
"Sir, I'm just back from Azkaban…I went to investigate the escape of Black… "
"Ah yeah, Scrimgeour sent you…That lazy clown, he was supposed to go himself…How's the old bear taking it?"
"Bad Sir! It's awful… They screwed up badly but for their defense, it's mostly our fault."
"What are you talking about, Schaklebolt. EXPLAIN!"
"Sir, it was in my report of the murder of that Muggle in chesterfield last year, I remember it perfectly well… Sirius Black transformed to his human form from his rat form. Then cast the killing curse that ended up killing the man who was inspecting a motorbike assumed to belong to Sirius Black… It's in the report Sir, I wrote it and sent it to the department of law and magical justice, didn't it come up during his trial?"
"There was no trial…Black got arrested by a HIIT wizard team, he didn't resist the arrest, his wand got snapped, and he got shipped directly to Azkaban with a life sentence…You say you sent your report to the magical law and justice department?"
"Yes, sir."
Moody nodded at him before standing up, pointed at a chair near Kingsley and said calmly to him, a tone he didn't recognize in him:
"Wait for me here, I will be back shortly." And left the office.
Kingsley let himself fall in the chair and sat there waiting patiently for his boss to come back. The ministry of magic was buried under London, even if most of the offices had enchanted windows to make it more supportable for the employees. He hated not to be able to just open actual real windows and breath some fresh air…His eyes travelled around the room; Moody's office was full of devices made to detect dark magic, intruders, enemies, invisible creatures, etc.… All the other Aurors tried to make their workspace more homie. They plugged pictures of relatives and friends to the walls, favourite quidditch team's posters or their former Hogwarts house banner…He couldn't find any of that in Moody's office, no pictures of him smiling with a friend or his family, no quidditch posters, there was absolutely nothing personal in here, was it because he was too professional and prudent to expose his private life? Or was it because he gave everything to the job because he was indeed alone? All by himself …Was it the price to pay to become the best Auror of the ministry of magic history? Kingsley always knew that the Auror career was going to be demanding, that he was going to give a lot from himself, probably also assign his life to the corp, but was this the only way to become the best, or was this Moody's own choice?
He jumped back to reality when he hears the offices door open behind him, letting inside Alastor Moody followed closely by a man the entire ministry staff both feared and respected, Bartelimius Crouch senior, the head of the department of magical law and justice, in other words, the boss of his boss. He went straight to Alastor Moody's chair, where he sat, put his arms crossed on the desk, his elbows put on the desk, looked him in the eyes, waited for Moody to sit in the chair next to Kingsley before talking:
"Mr. Kingsley Schaklebolt, the head of the Auror office here present says that months ago you sent a report that contained a piece of crucial and valuable information concerning Sirius Black, the Death Eater. Is it correct, or would you correct your statement?"
Kingsley looked at his right for a brief moment to seek Moody's support, who only nodded. Kingsley looked back Crouch and answered without any sign of hesitation:
"Yes, Mr. Crouch, it exactly what I did…Last year, on November the 1st. I was dispatched to investigate the murder of a muggle named "Steven Blakeley." The investigation led me to find that the crime was committed by a wizard able to transform into a rat. The videotape didn't help identify the man in question; however, the motorbike was the property of Sirius Black; we know that later the same night, he gave it to Rubeus Hagrid, Hogwarts gatekeeper, probably to make it hard for us to locate him…I made all this very clear in my report then sent it to your office...After coming back to the ministry, I have been informed that Sirius Black had been arrested, confessed the murders and that the case was closed."
"Barty, this is all true… It was me who informed Schaklebolt of Black's arrest, and if he tells you he sent you his report, then he did, period." Added Moody.
Crouch stayed silent for a long moment, watching Kingsley directly in the eyes. Kingsley felt a soft wave rub his front, his eyes couldn't look away from Crouch's, then he felt a gentle pressure on his forehead, a cold sensation on his front lobe…Then Crouch blinked and looked away from him. Kingsley was surprised to find that his mouth was slightly open. Crouch spoke to him with a less intimidating voice:
"Do you remember who in my office was there when you brought it?"
"Yes Sir, it was November the 2nd, the minister gave everyone the day off except for a few departments; there was only one man at your office, he was a year ahead of me in school … I remember having it to Dolohov," Kingsley said.
"Dolohov?... Antonin Dolohov?" asked Crouch with a surprised look on his face.
"Yes sir, the same one…Long, pale with a twisted face…" Added Kingsley
Crouch looked at both Kingsley and Moody. The talked directly to Kingsley:
"Did you talk about all this story with anyone? About your report and Black ability?"
"No, sir, it's only the three of us and Azkaban's governor."
"All right…Antonin Dolohov…"-He clapped his hands-"Let's pick him up."
Less than an hour after the meeting with Crouch, Moody had already gathered a team of three Aurors, Kingsley Schaklebolt, John Dawlish, and Moody himself. Antonin Dolohov residence was located in Mayfair, an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly, and Park Lane. One of the most expensive districts in London and the world, for muggles anyway… Antonin Dolohov was born in an ancient wizard family and was not short on gold. They arrived in front of the Dolohov resident; the suspect didn't have any criminal record, was a model student at Hogwarts, and even got recommended by the Slytherin house head, so they were just to escort him to the ministry of magic where he was to be interrogated.
Moody advanced first toward the door, Kingsley, and Dawlish on each side behind him, knocked on the door three times. A short moment after, the door opened and a house-elf bowed to them. Moody declared:
"Good morning, sorry to bother this early in the morning; we are sent by the Ministry of Magic. We would like to have a word with Mr. Antonin Dolohov about an urgent business."
The house gave them a preoccupied look, glanced behind him before saying:
"If you masters could wait a moment…"-before Moody interrupted him-" Make it quick, we do not have all day."
The house-elf closed the door, the next time the door opened, they were greeted by Dolohov in person. He gave them a wild smile before handing his hand to Moody, both men shook hands before Dolohov spoke:
" Alastor Moody! What a pleasure is to meet such a legend!" -he nodded toward the two other Aurors before stepping aside, showing them to way inside the house. -"Please come inside, Toky just made breakfast! He always makes too much…"
Moody nodded, smiling politely at him, he walked past Dolohov, grabbed the doorknob, and closed the door, locking them outside. Two seconds, two seconds that ran out like two hours, then the four of them draw their wands at the same moment:
"EXPULSO," shouted Dolohov at them.
"PROTEGO" shouted both Moody and Kingsley while Dawlish was thrown away, crashing on the side of the car, his wand rolling under the car.
"GET YOUR WAND BACK IDIOT," screamed Moony at him while Kingsley got Dolohov in the leg with an anti-apparition jinx.
"AVADA KEDAVRA" shouted at him, Dolohov. Still, Kingsley ducked, letting the curse explode a fire hydrant behind him, while moody apparated behind Dolohov's' back. With a slight movement with his hand and an "EXPELLIARMUS", Dolohov's wand jumped from his hands to moody's before Kingsley grinned at his face and the last words Dolohov would have heard before waking up chained to a chair, a dementor behind him, face to face in a courtroom of the department of mystery with the entire wizengamot, would be "STUPEFY."
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