Harry Potter and the Mother Who Lived

by Gracques

When Lord Voldemort went to Godric's Hollow to kill Harry Potter, he agreed to a request from one of his disciples to spare his mother. The Dark Lord remained true to his word. Lily Evans Potter survived the night of October 31, 1981. Follow the story of Harry Potter where Voldemort kept his word and Harry was raised by his mother.

213. Amelia VI

Another chapter on the aftermath of the mass breakout. This time though, from the perspective of someone who is actually doing something.

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AMELIA VI

She stood in the middle of the room where it happened. The place was cold, dark and damp, like everything in Azkaban. It was not as cold and lifeless as it should be right now, for three Patronus were keeping the effects of Dementors away. But they couldn't remove the natural weather of the island. As a result, Dawlish was shaking out of cold at the center of the communal area, where the prisoners classified as being low risks were allowed to take their meals together, and even to hold reunions and social events, in the rare occasions they felt like it.

"How could this even happen? How did the eleven prisoners who were classified as the highest risks managed to leave their isolated cells, to enter the common areas and to all Apparate from Azkaban together, all at the same time?"

She asked the question with all the calm she could muster, for inside she was angry beyond measure. How could they have allowed something like this to happen?

"We are still examining the scene," Auror Williamson replied. "The Dementors claim they have no idea how it happened. These prisoners are not supposed to be allowed into common areas. They are being kept into their cells at all time. They even eat and wash in those cells, and they are not allowed any contact with the other prisoners."

"And yet, those elven prisoners managed to all leave their cells and escape together." Amelia shook her head. "They couldn't have done this without being able to communicate between them. That kind of plan takes preparation."

"And exterior help, for sure," Dawlish said. "They couldn't have done it by themselves. Not to mention that after so much time here, these people were too diminished. I'm surprised they could even try to Apparate." He walked to a spot in the corner of the room. "Everything shows that it happened here. We have found traces of Apparition. And this is the only place where the Anti-Apparition Charm was weakened."

"Any idea how Anti-Apparition could have been weakened?" Amelia asked.

"Probably a mistake that was made in covering the whole island when Anti-Apparition spells were renewed the last time," Williamson said. "I would have a few words to tell the idiot who made a blunder like this."

"We'll find back at the Ministry," Amelia decided. "But even if the Anti-Apparition Charm was weaker, it was still there. How to explain that they managed to get through it?"

"If they all Apparated at the same time," Dawlish explained, "the magical power of eleven simultaneous Apparition could have been strong enough to get through Anti-Apparition. Though it would have been very painful. I wouldn't be surprised if all these people suffered splinching when they arrived at their destination. Some of their body parts might even have mingled. It is rare, but in cases of Side-Along Apparition, it can happen. And considering they were eleven…"

"Can we estimate where they Apparated to?" Amelia asked, cutting Dawlish's explanations.

"Unfortunately, it will take weeks for us to get an approximation of where they might have gone," Williamson said. "And even then, we will have no certitude."

"Do it anyway. They will be gone, for sure, but it might give us an idea of their journey and where they will be. They must be tracked."

"What I don't understand," Dawlish said, "is how they could manage to Apparate? Even if they didn't need wands and even if they were eleven at a weak spot of the Anti-Apparition Charm, all these people except one spent years here. They were very weak. I don't get how they managed to escape."

"Don't underestimate these people," Amelia warned Dawlish. "Some committed the crimes that brought them here while knowing perfectly they would spend the rest of their lives in Azkaban. With such fanatics, even the Dementors might not have the effect we expected on them."

Amelia had clearly in mind the image of Bellatrix Lestrange as she was carried away to Azkaban, looking and feeling more like a queen than someone who was sentenced to a life in prison.

"They had help from the outside, for sure," Dawlish went on.

"And other prisoners must have helped them," Williamson said. "Among some low security prisoners, these criminals are considered legends. They might have managed to communicate with them. Even the Dementors cannot control everything in this place. This might have helped to set a plan. We should interrogate the other prisoners."

"Only once they are all out of this place," Amelia stated firmly. "For now, go through the crime scene, keep interrogating the Dementors and search for any clue that might give us the actual position of the fugitives and how they managed to escape. Once it is done, return to London. I'll need to talk to you both as soon as you come back."

Amelia turned her heels and walked away through the dark and damp corridors of the prison. She managed to maintain her calm composure, but her mind was reeling and working hard to manage the situation. The eleven most dangerous criminals of their country managed to flee. This was probably the greatest security breach in the Ministry since Augustus Rookwood, a former employee of the Department of Mysteries, was discovered to have provided crucial intelligence to Lord Voldemort. And Rookwood was now among the fugitives, along with ten others, including Mulciber and two others who participated in the slaughter of Amelia's family.

She had to force herself to remain calm again. She couldn't give in to panic or anger, as she was needed to lead the efforts necessary to find out those criminals and how they escaped.

Her Patronus followed her on the way, but he couldn't protect her from the island's natural cold weather. As a result, she also shivered. She also had to cast a protective spell when she walked out and the heavy rain poured on her. Far over her head, Dementors were hovering in the sky. She walked along a path made of muck. This was the one each and every new prisoner had to take when they arrived in Azkaban. She had taken it a few times over her career, and each time had been disturbing, when not traumatizing. Most people didn't dare to speak of their experience when visiting the island, and Amelia herself didn't share it with her family. The only people she ever truly wished to suffer the presence of Dementors for their whole life had only been those clearly identified as her family's assassins. And now, they were free. At least, Susan was safe at Hogwarts, and she had dispatched people to warn and protect her brother and his wife right when she was informed of the mass breakout.

On the piers, she found three of her employees, including one of her Aurors, watching over a few wooden boats.

"Madam Bones," Kingsley Shacklebolt said as she approached. "We have moved out all the prisoners."

"Are you sure?" She didn't want to leave someone behind on this island.

"Sure. We checked every list, every cell and every corner again and again. Aside from the investigating team, there's no human left on the island."

Amelia nodded. "Good. Then it's time for us both to leave. You'll be more useful at the Ministry than here."

"Yes, Madam."

She and Kingsley used broomsticks to leave the island. The others they left behind would use boats, as they might need to carry objects necessary for the investigation back to London. When the investigators would leave, Azkaban would only be home to Dementors, with no human left.

Amelia had taken the decision immediately after learning of the mass breakout. As she felt the cold rain splash over her face in the skies, a part of her was worried that removing all remaining prisoners from the island was a grave mistake. Not only they might not be as safely restrained in the place they were being transferred to, but this might cause a rebellion among Dementors if they had no human to feed on.

But Amelia pushed aside these thoughts. She had taken this decision in full awareness of the risks involved. In fact, she had already made this decision a long time ago. Following Dumbledore's announcement of Voldemort's return, she had prepared evacuation plans to take all prisoners out of Azkaban if the guardians proved to be unreliable. After the assault of Harry Potter and her niece this summer, she decided to implement a special protocol, making it possible to move all prisoners out of the prison within a few hours after she took the decision. When she received information that eleven prisoners escaped, all Death Eaters, she knew that Dementors could no longer be trusted. Not only they couldn't prevent prisoners from escaping, but Amelia had the responsibility of ensuring the safety of the other prisoners, which could become victims of the Dementors if they did not obey the Ministry anymore. Now that all prisoners were moved to London, the entire island would be placed under quarantine, to keep all Dementors within its vicinity. The time when Amelia's department trusted Dementors to a certain extent was over. They were now all considered suspects for helping dangerous criminals escape, and as such they could not be trusted with the safety and imprisonment of the other prisoners.

The journey back to the mainland was cold and long. It took two hours to reach the eastern shores of Scotland. From there, Amelia and Shacklebolt apparated back to the Ministry, all wet and cold. Even the heating spells they cast upon themselves were not enough to warm and dry them up. But Amelia couldn't let her visit to Azkaban impede her work. The first hours following such a mass breakout were critical to maximize their chances of tracking the fugitives. However affected she was by her recent interactions with Dementors, she had to focus on the ongoing crisis. It requested all her attention and all her energy.

She and Kingsley had no choice to Apparate into the atrium of the Ministry. Only a few hours after the mass breakout, all medias were aware of it and packed the place. As a result, they were assaulted by journalists the moment they showed up.

"Madam Bones, Madam Bones, what is the Ministry doing?" a woman asked.

"Have you found out where they went?" another asked.

"Should the population be worried?" yet another wondered aloud.

"We will keep the population informed as the situation evolves," Amelia said, making her way to the lifts. It was hard as the journalists pressed themselves against them. She and Kingsley finally struggled their way to the elevators and punched the buttons.

"Others are interrogating persons of interest," Amelia said as a matter of fact to her Auror. "Go and join them. They will need extra help."

"Yes, Madam. Of course." The black man looked at her. "It's not going to get better," he warned.

"No," she acknowledged. "But we have a job to do, and no one else can do it." The doors of the elevator opened. "Let's get to work."

The entire Department of Magical Law Enforcement was on alert tonight. In all branches, offices and services, people were working feverishly. Everyone wanted to help in whatever way he could to find the fugitives. Amelia noticed employees from the Improper Use of Magic Office, the Wizengamot Administration Services and even the two employees of the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office working side by side with investigators, Aurors and other law enforcement officials. Everyone was collaborating to track and find the criminals.

In the Auror Office, the atmosphere was even more feverish. People were running everywhere. A large map of the world and smaller maps of Great Britain, Ireland and Europe showed the most likely locations of the fugitives. Rufus Scrimgeour himself was staring at the maps, consulting reports and people, ordering to add or move pins all around the maps.

Amelia turned to Kingsley. "You first."

The Auror headed towards Scrimgeour, who took away his gaze from the maps for a moment.

"Mr Scrimgeour, all the remaining prisoners at Azkaban have been moved. The transfer is complete."

Rufus nodded. "Anything to signal?"

"No, sir. Except that Dementors seemed quite upset and agitated."

"I suppose so. We have a whole team interrogating people of interests there." He indicated the direction where interrogation rooms were. "I want you to supervise them. Where are Dawlish and Williamson?"

"Still investigating the crime scene. They should be back soon."

"Very well. Off to work."

Kingsley went to the interrogation rooms. Amelia stepped in to discuss with Rufus.

"No sign, I suppose?" she asked the Head of the Auror Office.

"None," he confirmed. "We're investigating all possible leads, but so far, no sign of any of the fugitives. They planned their escape very well."

On that, they both agreed. All around, people kept working. Amelia favoured a work culture where employees kept working when she was around or arrived anywhere, instead of the tradition of stopping to work when the Head of Department was present which existed under Barty's tenure, especially in his later years. Tonight, it showed its efficiency as people kept searching for the fugitives instead of stopping everything with her arrival.

"I ordered that we estimate the places where they could have Apparated, but we will not get this information before a few weeks," Amelia informed Rufus. "We will not be able to use that information to find them for now."

Rufus' displeasure was plain to see. "We must find them."

"We know. Keep me informed of the significant developments."

"Yes, Madam Bones."

Amelia then headed for the interrogation rooms. She wanted to get a feeling on how it was going. The interrogation rooms benefitted from darkened windows, which allowed people like Amelia to watch from the outside what happened during interrogations, without the people being interrogated seeing or hearing her. Right now, all interrogation rooms were occupied. Aurors but also other investigators and employees of law enforcement services were questioning people: relatives and former friends of the fugitives, other criminals who once had ties to them, sources and even employees of the Ministry. Analysts responsible for managing the prison from the offices of the Ministry were among those who were questioned. She knew that the transferred prisoners were also being questioned on another floor of the Ministry as they spoke. Kingsley himself was interrogating Macnair, a former Death Eater who now worked for the Ministry, and who Amelia knew was still a Death Eater. The only reason he wasn't arrested was because Cornelius Fudge protected him.

She went to see a particular interrogation. When she looked through the window, she saw a young woman pacing alone in the room. Her interrogator had not arrived yet.

Amelia recognized this young woman. A few years ago, a Japanese wizard by the name of Kazuhiro Shiratori had been put on trial for assassination attempt of a Hogwarts student and use of Unforgivable Curses. This young woman, a seventh-year student at Hogwarts back then, had been called to testify during the trial. She had not changed much since. She still had short, messy brown hair, with bangs being coloured orange. Her eyes were also of a very particular colour. It was clear she was using either a potion or a spell to have lavender eyes. It was obvious that she was impatient, probably eager to be done with all this. Unlike her, Amelia waited patiently for less than a minute before one of her employees, an investigator, walked in. He had been the student Shiratori had tried to kill a few years ago.

Merula Snyde scoffed aloud when she saw him, though Amelia also noticed a small, fugitive smile on her lips as she did so.

"I should have known they would send you to interrogate me," she said.

"I'm sorry, Merula," the investigator said, "but you had to expect we would have questions for you. Please, sit."

"As you wish," she replied in a theatrical, exaggerated way, sitting face to face with the young man. "So, how is Chiara?"

"Merula, you know I cannot answer you. And you should stop behaving this way, especially right now, considering your parents' situation."

Merula Snyde scoffed again, though this time there was no sign of humour in her demeanor. "So it is true? My parents have really escaped Azkaban?"

"Yes," the investigator confirmed. "Do you have any idea where they could have gone?"

Percy Weasley entered the antechamber where Amelia was watching the interrogation at this moment. He said nothing, and Amelia said nothing either. She didn't like having one of Cornelius' minions breathing down her neck or the neck of her employees, but she had no argument to demand his leaving.

"Are you sure that you're asking the right question?" Snyde retorted sarcastically. "Is it really important where they have gone? Or rather to who they have gone?"

Amelia rolled her eyes internally. It had to happen right when one of Cornelius' Junior Assistant walked in.

"Merula, I'm serious," her friend asked her. "Do you have any idea about where your parents might be?"

She straightened on her seat and stared straight at him. "No, I don't. But I can tell you how they escaped and who they have joined." She turned to stare at the window through which she could see nothing. "And I hope that there are other people on the other side. My father and my mother have been freed from Azkaban by Lord Voldemort to rejoin him. And you would need to be a complete idiot like your Minister to not realize it."

Amelia watched from the corner of her eye Weasley's reaction. Aside from the brief terror at the mention of the name, there was only contempt, disdain, and most especially anger in the young man's eyes. This proved that Fudge and his entourage were still nowhere close to believing it. This didn't bode well.

"Look, Merula, you can believe what you want on this matter…" the interrogator carefully said. Amelia knew that by only stating people had the right to think what they wanted, he could end up in trouble with Cornelius. "… but geographically speaking, can you think of any place where your parents might have gone?"

"No," the young woman replied. "No place in particular." She leaned forward. "Look, I haven't seen my parents in years. I never visited them in Azkaban, and that's not for a lack of trying. Your Ministry never allowed me to see them. And truth be told, it's probably for the better. Because the last time I asked to visit them, it was to tell them they no longer had a daughter. So if they ever contact me, I know very well where I'll send them. To hell!"

Merula's friend facing her sighed. "You really have no idea where your parents might have gone? Not even of people who might try to help them?"

"No. I don't know where they are. As to who might be helping them, well, think of anyone who has ever been a Death Eater. The likes of Avery, Nott, Carrow, Macnair, Malfoy…" Amelia sensed the growing tension from Weasley again. "But I believe you already know that. Only, our stupid minister will not let you search their properties." She sighed. "Believe me, if I had the slightest idea where they could be, I would tell you."

"Okay. Well, thank you for your cooperation, Merula. If you think of anything that might be of help, if your parents contact you or you receive any information concerning them, please inform us."

Merula Snyde smiled wickedly. "Don't worry. The most powerful witch at Hogwarts will keep the friends of Jacob's sibling informed if she ever notices something."

Amelia caught the glimpse of a smile on the interrogator's lips as they both stood up.

"Leaving a friend to interrogate a suspect was stupid," Percy Weasley declared at this time.

"I disagree," Amelia replied. "Merula Snyde would probably never have answered a random stranger. He received more information from her than any other Auror could have gotten."

"Which means no information at all, in this case," Weasley snapped.

"She told us she knew nothing about her parents' whereabouts. This is already more than if she refused to talk at all."

She said this in a very factual tone, avoiding to anger Percy Weasley further while pointing evidence to him. She also avoided mentioning the accusations Merula Snyde made towards Lord Voldemort and other Death Eaters, as she already knew it would be useless with this young man.

"By the way, I noticed Barnabe was also called for questioning," Merula asked her friend as they left the interrogation room. "His parents are among the fugitives as well, I guess?"

"Yes, they are," her friend confirmed.

"What a day," she sighed.

The door of the room opened, allowing the two to leave. Weasley headed straight towards the young woman.

"Do you think this is funny, Miss Snyde?" he asked, imperious.

The young woman turned towards him. She smiled wickedly again. "Well, look at that. A Weasley. But which one?" she asked herself in obvious fake ignorance. "I remember Bill, who was Head Boy. Very cool guy. And then Charlie, both Prefect and Captain of the Quidditch team. An even nicer guy. And then there were were Fred and George, the twins. Very funny kids, if you want my opinion. But I don't seem to recall you."

Percy Weasley made a few steps towards her. He was taller than she was. "Be careful, Miss Snyde. You are a suspect in this whole matter. It is your parents who have fled from Azkaban."

"Yes, I know. Thank you very much for letting them go. You did a marvelous job," she retorted sarcastically.

"If we find that you have anything even remotely to do with their escape, we will not hesitate to arrest you and send you back to the prison with them."

She laughed. "Now, I remember you, Percy. You have changed, I must say. And not for the better. Do you mind if I give you an advice?"

"We don't need your advice."

"I'll give you one all the same. Tell your boss to resign and let Dumbledore take his place. You'll have way more chance to catch my parents if he leads the Ministry."

If Percy Weasley had been angry before, now it reached the highest levels.

"Out." He said the word on a controlled manner, his imperious finger pointing to the exit.

"As you wish, Mr Prefect," she said mockingly while curtseying. She then added in a whisper to her friend as she left. "I'm glad we left Hogwarts right before he got his badge." She said it loud enough for Amelia to guess she wanted Weasley to hear.

"The Minister will hear about it," Weasley said before he stormed out of the room. Amelia expected some people, including herself, could end up in trouble simply because they were present when Merula Snyde made these comments.

Amelia went to see a few other interrogations, including those of Barnabe Lee and Alecto Carrow, but she had more important things to do. From what she saw though, she knew that former Death Eaters would not help them. They all denied any involvement or knowledge about the fugitives' movements. Relatives were also ignorant of their whereabouts or so they claimed.

She returned to her office, where notices and reports from all other departments were waiting for her. She had gathered all other heads of departments in her office when the mass breakout was known, requesting their help in finding the fugitives. The first results of their respective efforts were to be found on her desk. Unfortunately, but not unexpectedly, these early results were disappointing.

The Department of Magical Transportation could not find any trace of the use of a portkey or brooms or any other means of transportation the fugitives could have used after their escape. They couldn't find yet where they had Apparated either. They had placed the Floo Network under surveillance, watching for movements to and from places where the fugitives were suspected to go. However, they had refused to watch some residences, such as Lucius Malfoy's manor, despite Amelia's demand. She wrote a notice to the head of this department, ordering him directly to put the residences of any former Death Eater under surveillance.

The Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures claimed that no beast was detected near the island that could have been used as transportation either. They also reported no abnormal activity among beings that were suspected of cooperating with Voldemort. According to them, giants, werewolves and all others were all calm. But their note gave plenty of details about the negative reactions of goblins, their leaders blaming the Ministry and wizards in general for even allowing such a catastrophe to happen. Amelia skipped over this section. Public relations would become important later. For now, they needed to focus on gathering any useful information to find the fugitives.

The Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes reported nothing unusual that may indicate the fugitives could already be committing crimes. Even their Muggle Liaison Office claimed that Muggles did not report anything unusual. Amelia almost regretted it. If some of the fugitives had committed illegal actions in the first few hours of their freedom, it could have been easier to locate them. Considering they had spent over ten years in a prison surrounded by Dementors, someone had to control them with an iron fist to prevent them from doing foolish things. This further supported Dumbledore's theory about Voldemort's return.

The Department of International Magical Cooperation indicated at length the reactions of the international community. News had already reached the International Confederation of Wizards, before Cornelius even met the journalists, about the mass breakout. Reactions ranged from outrage and condemnations to offers of help and assistance. Amelia looked at the list of countries who would help them in their efforts, which was long. However, no country had any information about the fugitives so far.

Even the Department of Magical Games and Sports sent a note. Amelia didn't expect much from it, but she had asked the department to use its contacts in the world of sports, nationally and abroad, to see if there were any trace of the fugitives. You couldn't underscore the power of sports in the wizarding world and the influence it had. Bagman had once helped Amelia's employees to solve a murder committed by an Italian wizard, thanks to the assassin having a relative who was in Italy's national Quidditch team. This time, however, there was no such luck, and sports couldn't provide any information.

Even the Department of Mysteries had sent a report. With such a crisis and one of their former employees who betrayed them on the loose, they had accepted to cooperate for a rare time. Their report was the shortest of all, indicating that for now, they had no useful information to provide, and they would keep her aware of anything of value they might find. This could mean lots of things.

Amelia looked at the hour. It was time to meet her contact. She left the department and headed for the ninth level. She walked into the circular entrance room of the Department of Mysteries, stood in front of another door and said the words.

"Seek to open the minds of men, but require obedience to rules."

The mechanism started. Amelia had to be careful, for she needed to use the appropriate words to activate it depending on the time of the year and the moment of the day. If not, she may lose access to this room forever. She had access again for the door opened on the blue and fluorescent space. Torches lit as the door closed behind her. The hooded figure of Kassandra was already there, waiting.

"You took your time," the Greek woman said as she removed her hood.

"Time is a luxury right now," Amelia retorted. "So what do you have?"

"Nothing," Kassandra replied shortly. "Nothing about his supporters who left Azkaban tonight." Despite her frustration, Amelia waited. She knew Kassandra would not have come for nothing. "But I have something about the twelfth fugitive."

Amelia understood immediately who she was talking about. "What about him?"

"My information is relatively old, but last month, he was in Washington, then to Los Angeles two weeks later. I don't think I need to tell you who he was following."

"Barty Crouch Junior is following his father," Amelia concluded.

"Yes."

"I will take measures. Anything else?"

"Yes, maybe. It doesn't concern your fugitives, but…"

"Then it will have to wait." Amelia had no time to lose with anything that wasn't related to the prisoners. "Unless this is life-threatening."

"Not immediately. But it will become a threat in the long term. Just know that the Templars have captured a wizard." This was surprising news. "But you are right, this is no immediate emergency. We will talk about this another time."

Amelia nodded. As unbalancing and grave this news was, the Azkaban fugitives were more important. Amelia said goodbye to Kassandra and left the Department of Mysteries. However, she didn't take the lift back to her department. She instead used the stairs to go down to the courtrooms. But the tenth level was not her destination. It was the eleventh where she headed.

A long time ago, before the establishment of a prison on the island of Azkaban, holding cells were built deep into the Ministry of Magic. They were only meant as a temporary measure, while a place more suited for a prison was chosen. They were afterwards used to keep prisoners while they waited for their trial in London or for their transfer to Azkaban. They were also used during the last war when Azkaban was used at full capacity, and also to encourage prisoners to betray Voldemort. Those who cooperated with the Ministry could be offered to spend their sentence on the eleventh floor instead. After the war was over, as capacity had been increased at Azkaban and to reduce the costs of keeping inmates in two different places, it was decided to empty the eleventh floor. Now it was being revived to welcome all remaining prisoners, to ensure the Dementors were no longer entrusted with the criminals of the wizarding world.

Taking another flight of stairs after the tenth level, Amelia finally reached the eleventh. It was a dark and damp place, not unlike Azkaban. But it had the benefit of having no Dementor around. It was still heavily protected, both from outside and inside threats. Two guards were positioned at the entrance of the floor, and others patrolled between the cells. Anti-Apparition spells prevented the prisoners from escaping, along with various shield and protection spells that robbed them from any chance of leaving their cells. There were also Anti-Detection spells to stop people outside from discovering where the prisoners were. Amelia knew it wouldn't last. Information would eventually leak out, but the longer they kept it a secret the better.

Amelia was relieved and proud to see that despite the rushed evacuation of Azkaban, the new detention area was well organized. Of course, she had taken early dispositions to make sure the eleventh level was ready in a single hour notice if need be. Still, she was impressed by the efficiency of her employees.

As Amelia walked along the rows of cells, Miranda Savage came her way. She was responsible for the interrogations of the prisoners.

"We have completed the interrogations, Madam Bones," the Auror said.

"And? Anything to report?"

"No one knows, saw or heard anything, apart from how they escaped. Or no one wants to tell us what they know."

Amelia nodded. She suspected it was probably the latter. The prisoners were all diminished by months if not years of imprisonment under Dementors' influence. They were also probably afraid, both from Dementors and from anyone who helped the fugitives. Whoever managed such a breakout definitely had the means to threaten other prisoners, or to give them the impression he could threaten their lives. It wouldn't be enough for Dementors to obey the culprit. Amelia felt they would need to convince the prisoners they were safe by cooperating with them. It would take time, time that they didn't necessarily have.

"They will need to be interrogated again," Amelia said. "Let's wait for tomorrow." She looked around before she whispered. "What about Sturgis Podmore?"

"We got nothing out of him. He said that he saw nothing and that he did nothing. He claims he only wants to serve his sentence and be done with it as soon as possible."

"Well, he doesn't have much time left. You may leave. Make your report to Mr Scrimgeour."

Miranda nodded and left. Amelia headed towards one of the cells, knowing where Podmore was. When she arrived, she found him in quite a different state from how he was when she sentenced him. It wasn't rare for Azkaban to have such an effect on people, degrading them both physically and mentally. However, she couldn't discard the possibility that he felt miserable because of the mass breakout of prisoners.

There were no guards nearby. Amelia did something that was against all regulations when she lifted the protection spells and walked alone into his cell, her wand still in hand. She reactivated the protection spells when she was in.

Podmore was sitting on the stone floor. He looked up at her when she walked in.

"Look at this. Madam Bones who comes to visit me," he said in a clearly sarcastic tone.

"Mr Podmore, I need your help," she retorted as a matter of fact.

He burst into laughter that was not funny at all. "My help? After you sentenced me for six months in Azkaban!"

She guessed he had good reasons to be angry, but she had good reasons as well to not be patient with him. "You didn't offer any defence for your actions. I had no choice but to declare you guilty. If you had wanted to avoid prison, you should have been honest from the very beginning."

"Being honest with the Ministry? Forgive me my skepticism, but these times when we tell the Ministry the truth, we're being called liars because the truth doesn't please you. And after that you discredit us in the newspapers, prosecute us for crimes we didn't commit and imprison us."

"Do you now claim that you didn't try to enter the Department of Mysteries without authorization?"

He shut up when she said those words. She took one of the two chairs in the cell and sat on it, staring straight at Podmore.

"I know what you were doing at the ninth floor that day." She leaned forward further. "I know you were supposed to guard this door on that day, and I know why." That seemed to catch his attention. So she added more. "Dumbledore told me."

Sturgis Podmore now looked at her way more carefully. Perhaps he was wondering whether he could trust her. She hoped he would, for she needed answers. Right now, she hoped that he would see her more like the sister of Edgar Bones rather than Cornelius Fudge's Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

"What did he tell you?" he asked.

"That you are protecting something that Lord Voldemort wants in the Department of Mysteries. A certain prophecy."

This seemed to catch Podmore totally by surprise, along with making him shiver. Whether you opposed this man or not, the mere mention of his name still made most people afraid. Amelia now knew she got him. She didn't let him react and went on.

"Do you know that Arthur Weasley was almost killed trying to guard this door?"

"Weasley? What happened to him?" From his worried expression, it was clear the news of the attack had not reached him in Azkaban.

"A snake tried to kill him while he was guarding the place. He was lucky to survive." She leaned even more forward. "I'm the one who found him nearly dead."

Sturgis Podmore's brain seemed to be running wild even from Amelia's point of view. He looked aside, seemingly deep into his thoughts. He slowly turned back and stared at Amelia.

"Lucius Malfoy."

The name out Amelia in alert. "What about him?"

"It was him! It was him who put me in prison!"

A part of Amelia's hopes were crushed. She thought that Podmore was talking about the mass breakout. But he seemed to be talking about the break of law that cast him personally in prison. Still, if Lucius Malfoy had something to do with this…

"Explain," Amelia told shortly.

"I was on the ninth floor one day, in front of the entrance to the Department of Mysteries. Malfoy cast an Imperius Curse on me. He wanted me to get into the Department of Mysteries… to get what You-Know-Who wanted."

She refrained from asking him what Voldemort specifically wanted. She was making efforts to find out on her own, and she suspected she would have an answer soon.

"But I couldn't open the door and I got caught. Then I was sent to Azkaban for a crime I didn't commit."

Amelia felt a wave of frustration and even anger go through her. "Why didn't you say this at your trial?"

"So you would call me a liar? And find out that we were watching the entrance?"

"If you revealed it was Lucius Malfoy who forced you, I could have arrested him."

He scoffed. "And you believe that Fudge would have allowed you?"

"He wouldn't have much of a choice. Even if Malfoy refused to cooperate and denied your version, I could have his wand examined. It would have revealed he used an Unforgivable Curse. Even if the Minister refused to believe your story, it would have been enough to send him to prison. Now, because you remained silent, it's too late. We cannot prove the spells the wand cast months ago."

Amelia was more than furious. Lucius Malfoy committed a crime, and because of Podmore's refusal to cooperate, a Death Eater had managed to get out.

"Do you really believe yourself?" Podmore retorted. "Malfoy would have found a way out of this. He would claim that it wasn't him who cast the spell, that someone else used his wand to do it. He would have claimed it wasn't cast on me, also. Even if you had managed to drag him into a trial, he's too well connected and influential, with way too much money. He would have convinced whoever judged him with you to clear him, either with bribes, calls of favours, threats, promises… Fudge himself would never have allowed him to go to prison. Malfoy is his main backer! In the end, all I would have done by telling the truth was to give Fudge an opportunity to go after Dumbledore."

He wasn't entirely wrong. Malfoy had managed to get out of more difficult situations in the past. He managed to convince everyone he never truly served Voldemort and was coerced to do so. Even with the best proofs, Amelia would be lying if she said she was sure to be able to convict him. And Fudge would not have hesitated to go after Dumbledore and even implicate him in all this. Still, she was angry at Podmore.

"You could have told me in secret, still," Amelia declared. "I would have taken measures against Malfoy."

"What would you have done? Would Fudge have allowed you to even look from afar at his main financial support? And could I be sure to trust you then? Even now, I'm not even sure I can. You still work for Fudge. You owe your current position to him. He named you at the head of your department."

She could understand as well why Podmore would be skeptical about her. Still, he should have talked when he had the chance. This culture of keeping secrets was not helping them to defeat Voldemort. If only Dumbledore talked, if no one else dared to tell the truth, then the truth would remain confined in secret corners, and Voldemort could prepare and reinforce as he saw fit.

"If you told me the truth, we may not have a massive escape from Azkaban right now," she stated without thinking.

This time, Podmore was not happy at all. "Your Dementors let these people escape." This time, he was the one to lean towards her. " I was in confinement for the whole duration of my time in this damn prison. I got this for trying to open a door, while your fugitives wandered freely with the blessing of the Dementors."

Amelia was caught by surprise this time. Sturgis Podmore was never classified as a flight risk nor as a dangerous criminal. He should have been in the general population, with some freedom of movement. But most alarming was his declaration that the most dangerous criminals in the world were allowed to wander freely within the prison.

"I suppose you may not have known what was going on in your prison," Podmore went on. "Ever since I arrived there, Death Eaters came to visit me. I was under constant watch by the Dementors. Rookwood, Dolohov, Bellatrix Lestrange, they all came to pay me a few visits. Rookwood was especially interested in my attempt to break into the Department of Mysteries. He even tried to convince me to give him information, suggesting the Dementors might keep their distance with me if I cooperated."

This was crucial information. If Podmore was telling the truth, it meant that Voldemort was really trying to get into the Department of Mysteries. More, it meant that Dementors had lied to her employees. All reports about Podmore depicted him as a model prisoner who integrated very well with the general population. No mention was ever made that he was in confinement, nor that he had any contact with the Death Eaters while in prison, who were supposed to be in permanent isolation and unable to walk anywhere in the prison.

"Did you see any employee of the Ministry while you were on the island?"

Again, Podmore scoffed. "Oh, yes, I saw quite a few. They visited regularly to inspect the place. The Dementors put me back into the general population then, and they made sure that I understood if I ever told your people about what I suffered, they would kiss me."

This sent shivers along Amelia's spine. This was a fate she wished upon no one, not even the people she hated the most.

"Anyway, what would they have done if I told them? I doubt they would even believe me."

On that, Amelia couldn't argue.

Back in her office, Amelia went through the entire file of Sturgis Podmore's incarceration. There was indeed no mention at all about his confinement. The Dementors lied to them. In itself, this was no surprise. Amelia was right to move the prisoners after the mass breakout. Of course, they should have moved them before, but she knew well enough that Cornelius would have vetoed such a decision.

Amelia felt guilty for this. As Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, she was responsible for the prison of Azkaban. And despite all the measures she put into place, eleven dangerous criminals, all partisans of Lord Voldemort, had escaped, from the worst mass murderer to the only idiot who got caught during the riots of the Quidditch World Cup. And now they had to devote additional ressources not only to track and catch them, but also to keep and protect the other criminals who were no longer in Azkaban, and to confine the Dementors on the island as well. All this in an atmosphere where the Minister would refuse to take the necessary steps or to allocate required resources to fight Voldemort as he still didn't believe his return. Amelia could already feel she was in for a very rough time in the following months.

As if to reflect her thoughts, Cornelius Fudge burst into her office at this very moment. He was obviously very unhappy.

"I just learned that you emptied Azkaban and relocated all the prisoners here, within the Ministry of Magic," his voice at the usual level not hiding his anger the slightest.

"I did," Amelia confirmed, trying to hide the point of exasperation in her voice. She had a good idea of what to expect next. She knew it would happen when she took this unilateral decision.

"And you decided this without warning me first?"

"Yes, because we had no time and we needed to act quickly.I considered you had more important matters to attend."

Without warning, Cornelius slammed his hand on her desk so hard that she almost jumped at the impact. "DO YOU REALIZE WHAT I JUST WENT THROUGH? I HAD JOURNALISTS QUESTIONING EACH AND EVERY OF MY DECISIONS! AND THESE WERE REPORTERS THAT WERE SUPPOSED TO BE ON MY SIDE! HOW DO YOU THINK THEY WILL REACT WHEN THEY LEARN THAT ALL THE CRIMINALS OF THIS COUNTRY ARE NOW IN LONDON? HOW WILL I LOOK?"

Amelia shook her head mentally. She should have expected this was Cornelius' priority right now. He worried about how people would think of him. She had no time for this.

"The Dementors have proved without a doubt they cannot be trusted with our convicts. So I arranged for the prisoners to be moved here, where we have all the installations and the staff to keep them locked. And I don't plan to reveal their new location, no more than Azkaban's position was known."

"You cannot do this without my approval!"

"Do you want to send them back to Azkaban, Minister? Where they will be watched over by creatures who are clearly unable to keep them inside or even to control themselves? Do you want to commit resources to this when we need all available manpower to chase the fugitives?"

Cornelius Fudge was red as a tomato. "Removing the prisoners from Azkaban will give the signal to the community that we cannot control them. We cannot give that impression."

Again, it was a matter of image. "Then we will not make this information public, as I said. I hope your advisors didn't advise you to reveal this."

"Of course, they didn't. But… YOU CANNOT MAKE THAT KIND OF DECISION WITHOUT MY APPROVAL!"

"I apologize, Minister. So what do you want me to do now?"

Cornelius slowly leaned towards her. "I want you to find those criminals and bring them back!"

"I'm working on it, Cornelius. Everyone is working on this right now."

"Like you worked on keeping them inside. Ah! I doubt you will prove competent in this case."

For a time, Amelia expected the worst. Cornelius was staring at her in pure hatred. He put his finger on the surface of her desk.

"Find these criminals. I will not give you another chance." He then straightened himself. "I'm going to Azkaban. I want to see for myself what happened. I'll take four Aurors with me."

Amelia's eyes widened. "Four? We need them to track the fugitives, Minister. We don't have enough resources to send you with four of them."

"I didn't ask for your opinion. See with Scrimgeour that they are ready to leave within an hour. If not, I'll hold you personally responsible."

Amelia checked something in her records very quickly. "Williamson and Dawlish are still at Azkaban. I'll send you with two so you may have four Aurors with you on the island. Their examination of the crime scene is nearly completed, they will be free to escort you back from the island as well."

"NO!" Fudge roared. "Four Aurors are leaving with me for Azkaban! I won't say it again. You have one hour."

He left in a thunderstorm, slamming the door behind him. Amelia shook her head for real now. Cornelius Fudge was completely out of reality now. He was asking for four Aurors to escort him, using resources that were badly needed to track the fugitives. He should have come to Azkaban earlier, when there were more staff on the site to protect him. Instead, he had prioritized communication matters.

But there was something else that worried Amelia now. Fudge had given signs that he may consider her to be responsible for the mass breakout. She should have expected this, truth be told. Azkaban was under the responsibility of her department. She did consider herself responsible to a certain extent. However, she didn't have time to think about it over the last few hours, as her priority was on moving the remaining prisoners and launching the hunt for the fugitives.

Amelia shook her head again. There was no point in worrying that Cornelius Fudge might fire her. This wasn't a priority. The priority was to find and catch the fugitives. For now, she remained at the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. As long as she remained in that position, she had to do her utmost to recapture those criminals. For now, she could take solace in the fact Fudge still left her to lead the operation, and that he didn't overturn her decision to move the prisoners to London. In comparison, assigning four Aurors for his protection for an hour or two was a small price to pay.

Amelia left her office and headed to see Rufus Scrimgeour. She had to decide with him which Aurors would be protecting the Minister when they should be chasing criminals.

---

I believe I already said it, but this fanfiction gives me the opportunity to look at what happens outside Hogwarts as Voldemort returns. This is one of these chapters that show that there is indeed a lot happening and that many people are taking action, but they are limited by factors out of their control.

Please review.

Next chapter: Lily