Chapter 384 Prisoners Of Azkaban
In the mist, the three continued to advance along the perilous plank path, with the endless sound of the waves, the path seemed to have no end.
This was not just physical, but the same occurred in the spiritual world.
Evan felt as if he were on a path destined to have no end.
Negative emotions like depression, fear, and hopelessness came with the pressure brought by the mist, infiltrating their souls.
He remembered encountering horrible monsters with holes in their heads in the centaur colony before, and how the illusions they created could also cause people to get lost in them.
Back then, what awaited him was the monster's mouth full of fangs, and by the time he found an exit, he had no time to rejoice because his head was about to become the monster's food, if not for Okegiga who saved him.
Would it be the same now? Would a monster be waiting for them ahead? Perhaps they were not heading to Azkaban! Perhaps they were heading towards death!
Evan took a deep breath to calm himself, but the cold mist mixed with the scent of Dementors made him feel very nauseous.
What should he say to dispel the growing panic within him?
"Nothing can be seen here. What is the main building of Azkaban like?" Evan felt as if his voice did not belong to him. It sounded distant.
"It's a massive castle like the main building of Hogwarts!" Dumbledore's voice came from ahead. "There are theories that Salazar Slytherin built Azkaban, mimicking Hogwarts Castle."
There was another moment of silence. When Evan wanted to say more, he suddenly heard a woman's voice singing in the mist. He couldn't tell from which direction it was coming.
The song was very beautiful, like the sound of heaven. However, it had a hidden touch of sadness in it.
Evan stopped and listened in astonishment. He had never heard such a beautiful song before. There was only one thought in his mind; he wanted to stay there and keep listening.
He lost track of time; he didn't know if he had been there for seconds or centuries!
Suddenly, Evan felt pain in his right leg.
He woke up and saw the huge black dog Sirius had transformed into pulling at his pants and dragging him forward.
"What song is this?" murmured Evan.
"They are Sirens. They are the only creatures here unafraid of Dementors," explained Dumbledore, "In ancient times, sirens used to rest on the deep sea reefs, seducing sailors with songs and wrecking ships on rocks, feeding on the sailors' corpses."
Evan recalled this dreadful magical creature he had read about in books before.
Ugly-looking Sirens sing beautiful songs to lure passing ships. Evan used to rely on imagination before, but today he saw it for real.
The way to deal with Sirens is also very simple. Just cover your ears! They have almost no attack power, with bodies similar to fish.
At the end of the plank path, a Dementor in a black cloak appeared in front of them.
Its body smelled of rot, and its scab-covered palms slowly reached out.
It sucked forcefully, but due to the Patronus Charm, it could not absorb anything.
This made the Dementor very dissatisfied. It lunged with a cry. Its tattered cloak trailed behind it like a black mist, emitting a loud rattling sound.
Almost simultaneously, Fawkes, Dumbledore's Patronus, faced forward.
The Dementor recoiled, and it seemed to recognize Dumbledore.
Under the gaze of the old wizard's cold, bright blue eyes, Evan clearly felt that it was the Dementor who was frightened!
"Dumbledore said calmly, with no emotion in his voice, 'We have obtained permission from the Ministry of Magic to visit Pettigrew.'
The Dementors withdrew slowly, eventually disappearing into the endless fog.
'Come on, we have been allowed in!' Dumbledore exclaimed.
They entered the building in front of them. It was dark inside.
Obviously, the Dementors did not need torches or anything of the sort, and they had no intention of preparing anything for the prisoners.
The ambient temperature had dropped slightly. Even with the help of the Patronus, Evan could not help but feel cold.
It was like stepping into the mouth of a monster that chose who to send to hell.
The faint luminescence at the end of his wand flickered in the darkness, as if it could extinguish at any moment.
There were no guards on the ground floor, and the rooms on both sides of the hallway had been turned into cells.
Through the bars, Evan saw many strange-looking creatures inside, but none were human wizards.
In a vast room, there were seven trolls sitting side by side.
They were on the floor with glassy eyes, staring at the ceiling with open eyes, showing no sign of anger, ignoring Evan and the others passing by.
Only the movement of their chests as they breathed proved they were still alive.
'As one of the most malign creatures on Earth, Dementors feed on the peace, hope, and happiness in the air that surrounds them!' Dumbledore paused and said slowly, 'There are too many Dementors in Azkaban. They are spread throughout the island, and their numbers are increasing. The prisoners here are not enough to satisfy them. The Ministry of Magic has to regularly transport other creatures here as food for those monsters.'
Looking at the trolls in front of him, Evan felt sorrow for their fate.
When one is too close to the Dementors, they suck out any good feelings, any happy memories.
They have gathered here for a long time, like parasites, feeding on the happiness of other creatures in the building and living off of them.
They sucked their lives slowly, and the final fate of these inmates was to become walking corpses, soulless and malevolent, with only fear following them like a shadow.
Moving forward, all the creatures imprisoned in the surrounding rooms were like this.
The first, second, and ground floor were similar and filled with a large number of non-human magical creatures.
None displayed anger, only despair and a thirst for death.
Evan felt that if he were confined here for just one day, he might go insane, let alone after 10 years!
On the third floor, human wizards began to appear in cells on both sides of the hallway.
Like the monsters below, some gazed desperately at the single narrow window on the wall, the only light in the darkness.
Occasionally, Dementors flew in groups in the fog outside.
The rest of the people lay on rusted iron beds trying to force themselves to sleep, as if they could escape everything if they fell asleep.
But every now and then, a scream could be heard. It was easy to imagine that only nightmares awaited them."