No one liked to go to Azkaban. If you weren't a prisoner there, you needed a damn good reason to go there. Of course, the Aurors that were stationed there got a bump on their salaries for being so close to the dementors regularly, but they weren't there for that extra pittance, they were there for the bribes. Like Sirius's good friend Humpty, everyone was smuggling something in or sending communication out for the inmates who could afford it. The Ministry knew it was happening, of course. If they didn't turn a blind eye to these activities, they would need to pay the guards there a substantially higher amount from their own coffers. It was better to let the inmates provide the incentive instead.
So, when it was announced that the newly elected Minister Cornelius Fudge would be visiting the prison, everyone wondered why. After much debate, it was determined that he was facing scrutiny for some of his actions over the past year. Some of the citizens said he wasn't acting soon enough over the petrifications, while others were on his case regarding his backing of Lucius Malfoy for the removal of Dumbledore at the time. Regardless of the reason, Minister Fudge knew he needed to kiss some babies and press the flesh to show he was a strong leader and get the public back on his side. So he chose to visit Azkaban to inspect the troops serving there and make sure the public knew he was tough enough to withstand the darkness still lingering in the Fortress of Ekrizdis.
Minister Fudge also brought along the newest group of trainee graduates who would be serving at the prison. These were the few that didn't have a choice about their assignment. At some point in their basic training or time as a cadet, they had pissed someone off who was in a position of power and their first assignment was this god-forsaken island.
Sirius watched The Minister's boat arrive with the fresh group of young Aurors. He spotted a few cute ones in the group as they were lined up on the shore and given some sort of motivational speech by the minister about serving their country or some other garbage. When he was done speaking he watched the fresh aurors head to the elevators to begin their orientation.
Hours later, there was a surge of happiness from what had to be over a dozen Patroni coming to his level. Whispers from the other inmates relayed down to him that Fudge was paying a visit to the maximum-security prisoners. Such a brave man, visiting without ever feeling the slightest touch of cold from the dementors.
The minister stopped at each cell along the way and spoke to what had to be reporters about what each prisoner had done to get there. He was laying it on thick about how he was protecting the country from the terrifying animals locked up here. Finally, four Patroni passed his cell followed by the Aurors commanding them and Fudge arrived at Sirius's cell.
Three reporters stood next to him with dictation quills floating over pads of paper while they looked into the cell.
"And here," Minister Fudge announced, "We have Sirius Black, betrayer of the Potters, and right hand to the Dark Lord himself."
Well, that was a new one. He slowly approached the bars, with the Minister and reporters backing away.
Sirius leaned as much of his head through the bars as he could, and called out down the hall, "Hey Bella! Did you hear that? Apparently, I am the Dark Lord's favorite! What do you think about that?"
Bellatrix started screaming and cursing. Sirius smiled before Fudge turned to one of the Aurors and said, "Please go shut her up."
A moment later, she was silenced, but she started banging something on the bars of her doors and was stunned to keep her quiet.
"Sorry, just a family disagreement," Sirius gave his best roguish smile at the Minister and reporters.
"Not even one ounce of repentance," Fudge gestured to Sirius. "I was the first on the scene the day he was caught. Stunned him myself."
That was also news to Sirius. He knew he had been hit by two stunners, but not who cast them.
"That was you, Fudge? Impeccable aim. Had I been able to, I would have voted for you when you were running for the minister. We need a strong, capable leader like you. Though you might need to lay off the fudge, Fudge." Sirius glanced down at the man's stomach.
"I don't need your support," Fudge frowned. "Maybe we should take away some of the comforts you have accumulated here."
"Like my reading chair?" Sirius gestured. "I do like curling up there with a good book as the dementors drain away every happy thought I have in my head. You must feel so strong coming down here with a dozen Patroni. Tell your guards to dispel them so you can feel the dread and despair that I am treated to every day of existence here together and see who can keep smiling longer."
"I suppose you suffer enough," Fudge told him. "Anything I can do to ease your stay?"
"Your publicity stunt blocked my newspaper delivery today. I don't suppose you have one with you."
Fudge looked toward one of the reporters next to him. She wore fitted robes that showed off a nice figure and had black hair in a tight bun tied up on her head. Sirius hadn't seen a woman other than the aurors in quite some time, with the obvious exception of the ones in his magazines, so this young woman was a treat to behold. She nodded to the Minister. He seemed to be weighing being strict against being magnanimous. He chose the latter and gestured for the lady to hand over the paper.
Sirius gave his most flirtatious smile toward the reporter, "Would you be interested in an exclusive interview sometime? I don't bite." He blew her a kiss and then said, "Wait, no… I bite quite a lot."
Before she could respond, Fudge just shook his head and the procession continued to the next cell.
One of the things the Aurors did to pass the time in Azkaban was gamble. Whether it was cards, dice, or betting on everyday events, anything and everything could be wagered on. There was a board in the guard room that had odds on all sorts of things, among them; the sun being seen tomorrow, which of the new prisoners would break first or when other prisoners would eventually break, and even one for whom The Grim would kill next.
The prisoners who had been there the longest and hadn't gone insane or broken down in hysterics had been merged into one large pot. Most of them were hardened criminals and weren't likely to break, but there were still people putting money into the pool, just in case they did. The older veterans always tried to pressure the new recruits into throwing a bit more money into those pots, knowing that it was a sucker's bet that would never be paid out. With the Minister bringing in fresh blood, that also meant fresh money.
After two of the recruits had placed their bets, one on Sirius, the other on Dolohov to break down sometime in the next month, they were given dinner duty for the maximum-security prisoners. It was the worst job in the prison, so it always went to the newest guards with the lowest ranks. Being that close to the dementor's pit, that close to nighttime was horrible, and even with both Aurors maintaining a Patronus, they could still feel the cold in their bones down that deep in the prison.
When the two recruits came back up with one of them demanding the pot on Sirius breaking down, no one believed them. It took a while before a squad of old aurors followed the recruits down to the base of the prison to authenticate his story. Guarded by eight Patroni, they entered the maximum security floor. They stopped before arriving at the cell of Sirius Black as four dementors were hanging out in front of his door.
They could hear him screaming and destroying everything he could in his cell, "I'm going to kill him! Rip him! Tear him! Cut off ALL of his fingers! Slice his tongue off! I will make sure he's dead! DEAD!"
The guards listened in shock at his tirade before one of the older guards commanded his Patronus forward and pushed the dementors out the way. Inside the cell, most of it was in tatters, only the newspaper clippings on one wall were untouched, all of them featuring Harry Potter. He saw the guards looking at him and Sirius just started laughing.
"I'm going to kill him," he smiled at them, the kind you made when you had a plan. "I'm going to kill him," he repeated. "I'm finally going to get a chance to kill him." Sirius continued to laugh and rant until the guards backed away and left him to his madness.
When they got back to their room at the top of the tower, the new kid asked, "So when do I get paid?"
When the guards arrived down at his cell the next morning to deliver breakfast, Sirius Black was gone.
