Disclaimer: I own no part of this story except for the plot and spell work. J. K. Rowling owns everything else, including dozens of hours of my life that I am dedicating to this story.
When Darkness Surrounds Us All
Chapter 27: A Chance for Victory
Harry let out a tired sigh as he slowly lowered himself down to the bench. Last night's raid had been a tough one and Harry was stilling hurting from some of the wounds he had sustained two weeks ago with Jessica's rescue. Harry had spent three days in a private ward at St. Mungo's under constant supervision. Every muscle in Harry's body had been torn, including his internal organs, during Harry's desperate attempt to save both his and Kingsley's lives. Only Harry's determination and the constant flow of magic coursing through his body had kept Harry from dying from the serious wounds.
It had taken four mediwizards, numerous spells, and seven long, hard hours to stabilize Harry's condition and rebuild the torn tissue. Harry spent the next two days taking muscle strengthening potions, having several advanced healing spells performed on him, and doing numerous exercises to get his newly rebuilt muscles back in shape.
The mediwizards hadn't wanted to release Harry when he had left, but Harry hadn't had any choice. In the three days that Harry had been away from the Aurors, Voldemort's attacks had become more and more brutal. Seventy-two Muggles and thirteen Aurors had been killed over the past few days. Voldemort's forces had taken a few casualties, but the loss of seven Death Eaters did little to phase Voldemort's wrath, especially after the loss of thirty-seven Death Eaters hardly put a dent in Voldemort's seemingly endless forces of Darkness.
Since Harry had come back, morale had soared and the Aurors began to once again triumph over the Dark Lord's army. However, now both sides were at a stalemate, with neither side at a clear advantage.
Today's mission would change that.
It would change everything.
This was the Light's best chance at finally seeing Voldemort's defeat as an actual possibility.
Azkaban had long been a symbol of the Dark Lord's power. A tall, impregnable fortress that struck fear into even the bravest witch or wizard. Over three hundred and ten captives were held on Azkaban, ranging from Aurors to their families to Hogwarts students to important political prisoners of war. These good people had been trapped in Azkaban for far too long, but every Ministry rescue attempt had been rebuffed with little effort and the number of prisoners in Azkaban increased with every failed mission.
Still, this was their best chance to take Azkaban back from Voldemort. The Ministry had an operative inside Azkaban who would bring down a tiny portion of the anti-apparition fields surrounding the island. It had also been confirmed that Voldemort and a significant portion of his Death Eaters would be away from the island.
France had recently declared their support of Britain's Ministry and would be sending French Aurors to Britain any day now. Voldemort had chosen to make an example of France and would be attacking Paris at midday. The French Ministry had been contacted and put on full alert. France had declined the offer of British Aurors to help defend Paris due to the importance of the mission Harry, Kingsley, and the rest of the Aurors were about to conduct. France and Britain had both agreed that taking Azkaban was a necessary step in winning this war. France had even sent over a few Aurors to support Harry and his team, including a guide who had supposedly been in Azkaban before.
Harry stood up to greet Kingsley as the tall Auror walked into the room, and Kingsley gave Harry a warm smile as Harry shook his hand. Kingsley had immediately declared Harry to be a licensed Auror after Jessica's rescue and had thanked Harry both privately and publicly for saving Jessica and himself that night. Harry had been awarded several prestigious awards, including the Magical Star of Valor, the British Ministry's highest honor, and had been promoted to Deputy Head of the Auror Division. This made Harry one of the most prominent Aurors in Britain, second only to Kingsley who was the division head of the Aurors.
Kingsley had offered Harry his title as well, but Harry had steadfastly refused. Kingsley had experience in heading up a Ministry division and Harry knew that if he became division head, things would get worse before they would get better; something the Aurors could ill afford at such a critical time in the war.
Harry toke his seat as Kingsley went up to the podium at the front of the room. Kingsley looked over the assembled Aurors before speaking.
"Good day everyone. I know that it seems early in the morning for us to conduct a mission, but this is the only timeframe our window of opportunity will allow. In fifteen minutes, Voldemort will be taking the majority of his Death Eaters to attack Paris. The French Ministry has been notified and put on full alert. With this advance warning, I am perfectly confident that the French will be able to repel Voldemort's attack without our assistance. However, instead of helping the French, we will be making the most of Voldemort's absence."
Kingsley paused and extinguished the lights in the room and, with a few more spells, a model of Azkaban appeared in the middle of the room. Azkaban was a fortress that was built upon an island. The shore sloped sharply upwards towards the outer walls of the prison complex. The fortress itself was located behind four towering walls, each seven meters tall. Dementors patrolled the outer wall and the buildings located inside. Several small buildings were spread out throughout the complex. These buildings contained no prisoners, but instead had been used for preparing food and laundry when Azkaban had been in Ministry and, previously, Muggle possession. Now however, these buildings have been rarely used since Azkaban fell under the Dark Lord's control. Linens were never washed and food and other necessities were kept at a bare minimum.
However, the Aurors' main target was not these buildings, but the large building located in the center of the complex. The building was at least five stories tall, four fifths of a kilometer long, and half a kilometer wide. There were no windows at all so the Aurors could do little to estimate the number of cells in the prison, although their informant indicated there were well over seven hundred. According to what Sirius had told the Order about Azkaban when he had first escaped, the majority of the cells had no light at all. You couldn't even see the Dementors as they patrolled the halls, but their presence was always there, as were the dark memories that followed in their wake.
This was the main security complex; the place where most of the prisoners would be located.
Harry's eyes focused on the main feature of Azkaban, Voldemort's startling display of power and where the Dark Lord laired.
A huge black tower rose over ninety meters in the air and was at least sixty meters from one side to the other. Windows with bars on them were scattered around the outside of the tower. The tower had appeared overnight after Voldemort had taken control of the island. No one was sure if Voldemort was powerful enough to conjure the tower himself or if his Death Eaters had worked overnight to complete the seemingly impossible task. Still, regardless to how it had gotten there, the tower stood as a testament of Voldemort's strength and power over those who tried to oppose him.
Harry felt a chill run down his spine just looking at the image of the seemingly impenetrable fortress. Kingsley paused and began to point at specific places on the map.
"This will be the insertion point, here at where the docks used to be. Azkaban used to be part of a Muggle prison system. There were two other similar prisons that the Muggles built, one of the west coast of America and the other hidden deep in India. The idea of this prison system was that there would be a maximum-security prison located in every third of the world. The project was a success until the American government ruled that the prison was inhumane in 1969. With one third of the system out of commission, the whole project was scratched and Azkaban was given to the wizarding community so that they might be able to make use of the facility. America's "Alcatraz" is now a tourist location known throughout America and India's "Alzanhir" was destroyed during the war against Pakistan in 1971. Although the prison facilities share many similarities, Azkaban is and was the largest and most well defended of the three."
"CONSTANT VIGILANCE!"
The loud shout was accented by an earsplitting bang that echoed throughout the room.
Kingsley looked up at where Moody was eyeing two young Aurors near the back. "Thank you for keeping our attention focused Alastor. Shall we continue?" Kingsley asked directing his attention at the two Aurors Moody had caught sleeping.
The two cornered Aurors looked back in fright at where Moody was waving his wand menacingly before quickly turning back to Kingsley and nodding their heads in quick succession.
"Excellent. From the docks the group will split into two. I'll be taking a small strike force that will travel up the sewage system until we reach the inside of the prison complex." Kingsley drew a yellow line on the map with his wand as he traced the path.
"It is likely that most of the defenses will be directed toward the outer wall of the complex and it will be yellow team's job to get inside and open the outer gate for the rest of the force. Orange and blue teams will remain hidden until the doors are open. Once yellow team opens the doors, all three groups will concentrate our attack on whatever is guarding the outer gate."
"After the outer defenses are eliminated and all teams are inside the prison complex, we'll enter Azkaban itself. I'll take yellow team East, Alastor will take orange team West, and Harry will take blue team up into the tower itself. Each team will clear out the cells and move as many prisoners as they can back to the central corridor located on the first floor. Those who can move themselves will be on their own and it will be up to you to administer medical attention to those who need it and help them get back to the extraction point. Once the prisoners have taken a Portkey back to the Ministry, they will be tended to by trained mediwizards and witches so try to keep whatever field medicine you do use to a minimum. All prisoners will take individual Portkeys back once they reach a group of five individuals. Hermione, you and a few other Aurors will be waiting at the extraction point to insure the prisoners get away safely. As soon as your section of the prison is cleared out, return to the extraction point for further instructions. Does anyone have any questions?"
Harry raised his hand, "What are the defenses like?"
Kingsley gave him a grim smile, "Although most of the Death Eaters will be with Voldemort in France, it is likely that the Dementors will still be in the prison. Also, even with the minimal security, there is generally no less than fifty Death Eaters in Azkaban at all times. Normally taking on a force this large with only ninety-three Aurors would be considered insane, but this is too big of an opportunity to pass up. We simply have to complete this mission and this war will be on the verge of ending. Any other questions?"
When no one spoke up, Kingsley continued on. "Excellent. Now I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that the large tower located at the center of Azkaban has prison cells located all the way up the tower and no means of transport other than stairs. This means that blue team will have to climb all thirty flights of stairs on their own and will also have to find a way to get the prisoners down to the extraction point.
Harry bit back a groan. The stairs would hurt but it will be more difficult for them to get any wounded prisoners down to the extraction point.
"Most of the prisoners in that area have been in Azkaban a long time…long enough for them to have lost their sanity and will to live. Those who aren't injured physically are likely to be mentally and there will be some with a bit of both. It would be easier to herd hippogriffs down those stairs rather than those prisoners."
"And now for the good news. Harry, blue team may not need to worry about transporting the prisoners back down. Hermione believes it may be possible to make use of a charm she has been working on that will transport them down to the extraction point, but she won't know for sure until we get into the prison. Speak with her as soon as we get in to see if you to can get it worked out."
Kingsley let a grin slide across his face. "Hermione has been very busy the past few days. All of you who have been in a covert operation know the difficulties in communication when on a mission. Communication charms require you to speak out loud…not a possibility with missions such as these. Hermione has recently perfected a communication spell that will allow you to speak privately with any member of your team, as well as those of any others, without actually speaking out loud. I've seen a map of this spell and it seemed downright impossible for anyone to accomplish, especially a young girl fresh out of Hogwarts, but impossible is such a strong word and Hermione has proven herself once again."
Harry ribbed Hermione in the side and gave her a smile as she looked about embarrassedly. Applause started to break out across the room and Hermione started to turn a bright red, but Kingsley quickly waved it down.
"Wait…wait just a second…I'm not done yet. As many of you have likely noticed, there are no windows in Azkaban. There will be no light at all inside and we were prepared to use the typical night vision spell because we didn't have any other choice. The night vision spell has one huge limitation. After casting the spell, the witch or wizard finds his vision like that of a dog or any other animal that can see at night. Their vision is much better but they only see black, white, and shades of gray. Despite common belief, Dementors are highly intelligent and have been the primary reason why every previous rescue mission by the Ministry has failed. Dementors would remain motionless against the walls and would be impossible to detect against the dark prison walls until it was too late. After telling Hermione about this problem, she has somehow altered this spell so that the caster can now see the room in full color. I must admit that I took a look at the map of the spell and not a bit made any sense to me, but the spell works perfectly and couldn't have been completed at a better time."
Kingsley turned to face Hermione directly, "Hermione, with two spells you have managed to triple our chances of survival on this mission. Thank you for your help."
Loud applause echoed through the room and this time Kingsley made no attempt to stop them. They all needed a little enthusiasm right now as it was anyway. Hermione had turned so red that Harry thought she was going to pass out, although, Harry wasn't helping the situation as he was standing up and being the loudest one of all those congratulating her.
After the applause finally died down and Hermione face had returned to its usual shade, Kingsley began once more. "As for the last bit of good news, the French Ministry has been kind enough to send us a few of their Aurors on this mission, despite an imminent attack by Voldemort. We have with us Aurors Trotter, Delacour, Dering, Emerson, Sully, and our guide for this mission who will only be known as Jacques."
Harry turned around while clapping to see what the French Aurors looked like. Trotter was an average Auror and was built the same way. There was a bit of a grin pulling at the edge of his mouth and Harry decided that Trotter would be a good person to get to know. Harry did a double take as his eyes crossed over Fleur. Fleur seemed to be looking for him and, as her eyes met his, she gave him a smile and a little wave making Harry the envy of all the male Aurors. Next to Fleur was Dering who seemed to be the epitome of the perfect Auror. He was tall and muscular and there seemed to be something about him that radiated complete confidence. Harry didn't know much about Dering, but if the man did have an ego Harry hoped that he would keep it in check throughout the mission. Emerson was a very pretty woman who, like Fleur, looked as if she should be modeling rather than fighting darkness and Harry respected her for her choice. Sully seemed to be the quietest and most inept of the Aurors. Sully was a short man who was constantly looking back and forth as if he was afraid something was going to pop out at him any second. Harry wasn't sure how he would hold up once they got to Azkaban. Once Harry's eyes traveled over Jacques, Harry found it difficult to not stare at the man. Jacques was completely covered in a long cloak and his head was hidden beneath a hood. Harry could only tell it was a man by Jacques' strong build but little else could be said about their mysterious guide. Still, there was something that seemed familiar about the man; something about the way he moved that reminded Harry of someone else.
Before Harry could think any more on the matter, Kingsley began speaking once more. "Once again, thank you France for your support and we are grateful to have you on this mission with us." Kingsley nodded at the French Aurors at the back and a murmur of agreement floated throughout the room.
Kingsley looked seriously around the room. "Make no doubt that this mission will be one of, if not the, most difficult mission the British Ministry has ever undertaken. Times are desperate and, even with France's support, we need this victory. I'm not sure how many of you are keeping up with the numbers in this war but, for those of you who aren't, Voldemort is steadily gaining the upper hand. He has more troops than us, has powers that rival even Dumbledore himself, and can turn the tide of any battle with his presence alone. I won't try and fool you. If we didn't have Harry, this war would have been over a long time ago. Harry has given us hope and made us believe that we can succeed. Put your trust in him and at least some of us will go home to our families tonight.
Silence greeted Kingsley's words and every eye in the room turned back to where Harry was sitting. Harry rose from his chair and shook Kingsley's hand before turning to the crowd.
"It is time for us to move out. On the way out, grab the piece of parchment with your name on it to see what team you are on. I'm sorry but no outgoing communications will occur due to the secrecy of this mission. We will be departing for Azkaban immediately. Good luck everyone."
Author's Note: So guys…I imagine you all hate me by now if you have been trying to keep up with this fic. Let me tell you that college is not some picnic you get to sit around at. I rarely get more than five hours of sleep a night and usually am up doing homework till that time rather than anything enjoying. But still, all excuses aside, I am sorry this took so long to get out. But hey…I did get it out didn't I? I don't know how many of you plan on continuing to follow this fic but hopefully I haven't let you guys down too much. Once again, I'm sorry it's so late and I promise I'll work harder (and faster) on the next one.