The previous 4 chapters took place throughout the month of September. This chapter takes place in January 1996 - around the time of the first mass breakout from Azkaban.
Dolores Umbridge walked further into the forest. She had finally achieved her goal: she had managed to track down the Dark Lord and had asked him to meet with her. She was ready to give him her services. She could no longer tolerate Fudge and his half-breed loving ways. If he was going to undo and reverse the legislation she herself had presented to the magical community, that was not going to be something she took lying down. It was time for her to take action.
Dolores has spent the better part of the last six months working on tracking down Voldemort. She interrogated several of his Death Eaters who were in Azkaban and got them to show her an easy way to communicate with him. She had them press their Dark Marks together, but the protection around the prison had made it impossible for even Voldemort to enter without the Aurors who were placed around the prison noticing.
The Aurors had been given strict instructions to immediately report back to the Ministry at the first sight of trouble, and Fudge had authorized the entire Ministry of Magic to come down on to Azkaban if necessary. Try as she might, she couldn't quite get a hold of all the Aurors to convince them not to follow Fudge's orders. Kingsley Shacklebolt in particular seemed to be leading some sort of revolution against Umbridge; the Aurors seemed to think they did not report to her, but to Fudge and Scrimgeour.
Umbridge sighed. Fudge had never found out that it had been she who had ordered the dementors to attack the Potter boy. She allowed their escape in the dead of night, though she didn't dare risk sending more than two. Luckily, she received word from her new master that the dementors had found him and had joined him. She smiled at her success.
Umbridge stopped walking. She had reached the clearing where Voldemort had said he would meet her. She checked her watch; she was a little bit early. She sat down on a flat-looking rock and instantly felt her wand fly out of her pocket.
"Don't kill me!" she cried.
"That was not my intention, woman."
Umbridge jumped and turned around. Right behind her stood a man with red eyes and a snakelike face. Umbridge had never seen this man before. He was somehow even creepier and scarier than she had envisioned.
"Now, what message does that pitiful Fudge bring for me, woman? And tell me why I should not kill you on the spot?"
Umbridge gulped. "No…no message from him, my Lord. You got the wrong idea. I come on my own. To offer my services to your cause."
Voldemort stared at her. He couldn't shake the feeling of the utmost dislike for the woman. "What can you offer me?"
"I am Senior Undersecretary to the Minister–I can give you information–"
"I have already gathered all of the information you can give me from your puny mind. Fudge's secrets are displayed before me like a book. Security around Azkaban, the Ministry and Hogwarts have been reinforced so it is quite unlikely I can take any of them. Fudge has sent envoys to the creatures your Ministry has deemed unfit for society. And…what's this? Fudge has ordered the Department of Mysteries to conduct some research…into what? You don't know the details, but you've been trying to find out."
Umbridge stared directly into Voldemort's eyes. Voldemort smiled. It made him look more menacing.
"Yes, I think I can put you to good use, Dolores. You are Warden of Azkaban, are you not? You're the one who has been torturing my loyal servants with your blood quills and forcing them to try and summon me to the prison. Well, you must realize that I was not foolish enough to try and force my way into the prison."
"No, of course not, my Lord–"
"But not to worry, my dear. Not to worry. For you are going to break my loyal servants out of the prison."
Umbridge swallowed. "With all due respect, my Lord, I do not see how. The Aurors are there at all times of the day, and have been given strict orders to–"
"Yes, I know, Dolores. I can see into your mind all of Fudge's orders and policies. But not to worry. I have a plan. Lord Voldemort always has a plan."
"And your plan for me, my Lord?"
Voldemort smiled again. "You seek power, Dolores. That can easily be arranged. Once I take over, you will have the power and authority you seek. For now, I'd like for you to do a little bit more digging into what Fudge has the Department of Mysteries up to. Try Imperiusing Broderick Bode–that worked so well on Pius Thicknesse, didn't it?"
"Yes, until he entered the lift. Fudge had it bewitched to lift all enchantment as soon as you enter–"
"Yes, we've established I'm aware of this, Dolores. But his little outburst prompted others to question Fudge's motives, did it not? You undermined his authority at his own Department Head meeting. And you did it without even attracting attention to yourself. It matters not that the curse lifted after the meeting–the damage to Fudge's credibility was done. He now has a team of employees who aren't sure they can trust him. Perfect."
"Yes, of course, my Lord."
"What times of day are shift changes at Azkaban for the Aurors?"
"Rufus Scrimgeour set up a schedule so only one Auror comes and goes at the top of each hour. So waiting for a shift change won't work, my Lord. There are always 24 Aurors within the prison. Who they are changes day to day."
"Which are the weakest group of Aurors?"
"They rotate all of the Aurors out to prevent burnout."
A bird flew off a tree branch. Instinctively, Voldemort drew his wand. When they realized it was just a bird, he relaxed.
"The only way in or out of that prison is through a fireplace?"
"Connected directly to the Auror Headquarters. So you'd have to enter the Ministry of Magic–which is swarming with security guards at all times of day now–take the lift down to the Auror Headquarters, and use the Floo Network through the fireplace connecting the Auror Headquarters to Azkaban in order to get there. Then, even if you managed that, you'd have to do the same thing on your way back. There is no other way in or out of the prison. The place has been magically sealed so tightly even flies and birds–" she nodded at the tree "-can't get in or out."
"And what of the dementors? You managed to get two of them for me."
"In the chaos of taking over the prison, I managed to help two of the dementors slip away from the prison unnoticed. I ordered them to attack Harry Potter and then join you."
"Yes, and that they did, Dolores. It just so happens you gave me one male and one female Dementor and they are now breeding. That's why it's so misty around this forest."
Umbridge looked around. It was indeed very misty. She hadn't really registered that before.
"What are the chances of a full frontal assault on Azkaban working?"
"Very low, my Lord. Like I said, the prison has been magically barricaded. No one can enter or exit the prison through any means other than the Floo Network, which is connected to only one fireplace–the one inside the Auror Headquarters within the Ministry itself. Aurors, the Dementor Control Unit, and guards from the Magical Law Enforcement Squad are there at all times of day–no less than one hundred people there at any given time. The Aurors have been given orders to call for reinforcements immediately if anything out of the ordinary has been detected, and Fudge has ordered the entire Ministry of Magic to respond if an Auror summons them. You are good, my Lord, but I doubt even you could take on over 500 Ministry employees at one time."
"I will not do that, Dolores," said Voldemort simply. "Your first order of business is to get those Aurors to trigger that alarm as often as you can. I want the Ministry workers responding to nonsense calls as often as possible–so that when I strike, no one is in a huge hurry to get there. Let's start with that. Once you have gotten the Aurors to issue the alarm more than, let's say 5 or 6 times, and you've found out what Fudge is guarding in the Department of Mysteries, call for me using Bellatrix's Dark Mark. Then we will go from there."
Voldemort threw Umbridge back her wand, then Disapparated. Umbridge, a smile so wide she looked like she was about to swallow a fly, Disapparated back to the Ministry.