Chapter 1049: The Great Azkaban Escape
Chapter 1049: The Great Azkaban Escape
"We're almost there, keep up and don't fall behind."
Avery, riding a broom at the forefront, led the way so that the prison-break squad wouldn't get lost in the stormy sea.
At this moment, they had to cross the perpetual storm surrounding Azkaban to reach the infamous wizard prison in the wizarding world—Azkaban.
The exact location of Azkaban Prison had long been hidden by the wizards of the Ministry of Magic, and ordinary wizards had no idea where this sea prison was. However, finding the exact location of Azkaban wasn't as difficult as one might imagine.
At least, not for the Death Eaters who had already begun to infiltrate the Ministry of Magic.
"Damn this storm, how much longer do we have to fly before we reach Azkaban?"
A masked Death Eater muttered a curse, having nearly been blown off his broom into the sea.
Without the Ministry's flight path, ordinary wizards attempting to infiltrate Azkaban would have to brave the surrounding storm and could easily get lost without guidance.
No one answered, as the Death Eaters were all focused on flying.
As they crossed the storm and caught sight of the island at its center, they breathed a sigh of relief.
"Next, we need to... break into Azkaban Prison and rescue those who are imprisoned there..." Avery held his wand to his throat, trying to project his voice through the rain to reach each Death Eater.
"Why not just have the Dementors let them go?" asked a Death Eater, soaked to the bone.
"The Dementors need to remain in Azkaban until the Dark Lord officially resurfaces. Any rebellion now will only cause panic and alert the wizarding world, which is detrimental to... well, the Dementors need to stay here for now," Lucius Malfoy said, struggling to control his broom against the raging storm.
However, he didn't realize how ironic his words sounded.
"Your joke is quite amusing."
A massive prison break at Azkaban was bound to cause panic and alert in the wizarding world, unless Fudge was a complete idiot.
"Be careful, they're coming." Avery warned.
As if sensing the approach of strangers, a large number of Dementors surged out of the prison like a tidal wave, gliding towards them like black cloth.
The Death Eaters drew their wands, feeling tense despite knowing that the Dementors had already defected to the mysterious man. Before everything was settled, seeing such a large number of Dementors approaching was unnerving.
When the Dementors showed no signs of attacking, the Death Eaters relaxed. If something went wrong, they would have no choice but to Disapparate, and not even a Dark Wizard could resist such a vast number of Dementors.
"As agreed, we are here to take away our comrades who are imprisoned here." Avery shouted to the horde of Dementors.
However, the Dementors did not move aside.
"The Dark Lord needs you to temporarily remain in Azkaban until he announces his return. Only then can you leave this place. The Dark Lord allows you to obtain more food from Muggles and breed without restriction." Avery conveyed the generous terms offered by the Dark Lord to the Dementors.
Avery's words worked, and the Dementors parted to create a path.
"Hurry, don't waste time, and don't give the Ministry a chance to react. Remember that damn prophecy about the prison break." Avery rode his broom towards the gap at the top of Azkaban Prison, encountering no obstacles along the way. It was as if all the Dementors had turned blind.
When the masked Death Eaters appeared in the prison where the inmates were held, the entire prison erupted in chaos, with the clanking of countless chains echoing through the cells.
The Death Eaters ignored the unruly prisoners and began searching for their imprisoned comrades, using magic to open the prison doors and release them.
The true guardians of Azkaban Prison were the Dementor guards; the rusty iron doors and cells were useless against magic.
So, once the problem of the Dementors was resolved, the prison break was relatively straightforward.
Ha ha ha ha! Bellatrix, having broken free of her chains, laughed maniacally.
"Shut up and keep up."
Lucius Malfoy strode quickly towards the exit, intending to meet up with the others and then leave. The mission would be complete then.
Bellatrix's mad laughter rang through the cells, agitating the imprisoned wizards, who frantically pulled at their chains and shouted into the corridor, demanding to be released.
The Death Eaters were indifferent to the plight of the other prisoners. They were only here to rescue their own. If it came to fighting the Ministry, they wouldn't mind releasing the others, but now was not the time.
"The Aurors from the Ministry could arrive at any moment. Do you want to stay here?"
Lucius Malfoy glared at the crazy woman before him. If she weren't Narcissa's sister, he wouldn't bother with another word.
The Death Eaters who had completed the prison break hurried towards the top of Azkaban Prison, intending to leave through the gap in the prison as soon as possible.
According to the original plan, they would rescue their comrades and evacuate within a quarter of an hour. However, it was obvious that they couldn't complete the escape that quickly, although thankfully, the Ministry wouldn't be able to react that fast either.
Malfoy wasn't worried about the Ministry. He was more concerned about interference from those in the Order of the Phoenix. If he found out who was behind this, he would make sure to kill them personally.
"Is everyone here?"
At the gap at the top of Azkaban, Avery was handing out brooms from a bag to the Death Eaters who had just escaped from the prison. They needed to fly out of Azkaban's Anti-Disapparition Jinx range before they could Disapparate.
"Bella isn't here."
Rodolphus Lestrange looked around and didn't see his wife among the group.
"She's behind, she'll be here soon. You all go ahead," Malfoy said impatiently. "Don't waste time. Someone prophesied about this prison break, and I'm worried the Aurors might arrive at any moment."
The prisoners looked bewildered, unsure what was happening, but they mounted their brooms and flew towards the storm.
They were anxious that the Ministry might have believed the prophecy and sent Aurors to intercept them, in which case, the Dementors could side with anyone.
Bellatrix finally appeared at the gap at the top of Azkaban Prison, gazing at the Dementors in the storm, and laughed heartily.
She could already feel the breath of freedom! After the mass breakout from Azkaban, Sturgis Podmore, the Head of the Auror Office, was awakened from his sleep in the middle of the night.
In fact, Sturgis hadn't slept at all that night. He quickly got dressed and headed towards the fireplace to travel through the Floo Network to the Ministry.
As the green flames rose, Sterling's gaze shifted from the radio on the mantelpiece, and he stepped into the fire and disappeared without a trace.
After receiving the radio, Sterling had been informed of the approximate time of the Azkaban breakout, but for certain reasons, he ultimately chose to ignore those warnings.
There was no evidence to prove that those warnings were credible, and he couldn't possibly mobilize the Aurors of the Ministry of Magic or take the risk himself because of them.
That's just how politics works—wonderful, isn't it?
This prison break wasn't all bad, though. At the very least, Fudge would be out of luck, and he believed that the other man would step down.
However, the price paid was a little too high, and many people were destined to have a sleepless night.
Among those who would be losing sleep, however, was not Albert Anderson.
"What a big surprise first thing in the morning!"
The next morning, as Albert unfolded the copy of the Daily Prophet that had been delivered by his house-elf, he saw the "astonishing" news splashed across the front page. Noticing Isabelle's inquiring gaze, he spread the newspaper out on the table and pointed to the ten black-and-white photos that dominated the page, saying quietly, "It looks like my prediction has come true."
Albert was not surprised by this outcome.
Although he had secretly given Sterling a reminder and wanted to see the Aurors fight the Death Eaters, he had ultimately failed to get his wish.
Albert was not surprised by this turn of events.
Sometimes, people will do anything to bring down their political enemies, not to mention that Sterling had absolutely no reason to take such a risk.
In any case, with the escape of the Azkaban prisoners, the first one to suffer the consequences would be Fudge, not Sterling.
"A massive prison break has occurred at Azkaban." Isabelle read out the headline of the front-page news and turned to look at Albert, sighing softly, "It failed, didn't it?"
Isabelle's words were somewhat puzzling.
"It's not surprising; I expected it would turn out this way from the beginning. You can't expect everyone to be a saint like Dumbledore." Albert smiled and pointed to his cheek, "If you want to comfort me, that is."
"What a mess!"
Isabelle kissed Albert's cheek and gave him a big hug, feeling that sense of security that he always brought her.
The safe house was indeed safe, and she didn't have to worry about what was going on in the outside world.
What happened at Azkaban had little to do with her.
"What mess are you talking about?"
Katrina pulled out a chair and sat down, her eyes lowered as she stared at the food on her plate, avoiding the gaze of the couple across from her.
For some unknown reason, she suddenly felt like she had lost her appetite that morning.
"A massive prison break has occurred at Azkaban." Albert pushed the copy of the Daily Prophet towards Katrina.
Although this world could not yet be described as one where the strong ruled, Albert was not too concerned about the chaotic situation in the wizarding world, having accumulated enough strength and made adequate preparations. Sometimes, the more chaotic things were, the easier it was to fish in muddy waters and turn a profit.
In fact, he had planned to do so for a while.
As for the panel task that had just been triggered, Albert completely ignored it. It would be an extremely difficult task to recapture the escaped prisoners.
Although the task offered a generous reward, Albert had no intention of completing it unless he could play the role of Dumbledore and capture all the Death Eaters, which was clearly an unrealistic fantasy.
"It looks like you were right, Fudge will be out of office." Katrina looked at the content of the newspaper and shook her head, "I really don't understand what Fudge was thinking. He spent six whole months constantly telling everyone that Harry Potter and Dumbledore were liars, and now this happens. I remember you also warned about the upcoming prison break at Azkaban."
"It's quite normal," Isabelle said.
"If we're talking about conspiracy theories, then Cornelius Fudge is actually quite clever, more so than most people," Albert said as he picked up his glass of milk and took a sip, finishing off a piece of bread before continuing to speak in a calm and unhurried manner under the watchful eyes of the McDougal sisters, "Fudge very likely already believed that the mysterious man had returned."
"But why would Fudge..."
"If Amelia Bones is unlucky, we'll hear news of her death this summer. And even if Rufus Scrimgeour becomes the Minister of Magic, he won't live more than a few years, and the minister after him will inevitably be a puppet controlled by the Imperius Curse, and the one after that will be a Death Eater."
"So, our Minister of Magic has been doing everything he can to deny that Voldemort has returned. As long as he keeps attacking Dumbledore, the mysterious man won't make a move against him."
Katrina opened her mouth but ultimately remained silent, listening to Albert continue.
"If the day ever comes when it can be proven that the mysterious man has returned, Cornelius Fudge will simply step down from his position as Minister of Magic and leave all the mess for the next minister to deal with. In fact, the Muggle Prime Minister often does the same thing."
"Of course, Cornelius Fudge's reputation is ruined, but at least he got out alive, and neither he nor his family will become targets of the Death Eaters," Albert said with a meaningful smile. "What's even more interesting is that because he made such a mess of the Ministry of Magic, the next minister will need to hire him as an advisor for a period of time to quickly figure out the powers and responsibilities of the Minister of Magic and the current situation, so that they can take over the Ministry more smoothly."
Katrina was almost stunned by Albert's speculation.
She had originally thought that Fudge was just a fool who had been blinded by power, but hearing Albert's analysis, she suddenly felt that it made a lot of sense.
Could someone who became a minister really be a fool?
Even if they weren't particularly competent, they certainly wouldn't be complete idiots.
"Of course, he could also just be an idiot. After all, 'stupidity' is also one of the characteristics of politicians; they often tend to lean towards whatever benefits them the most." Albert finished his glass of milk in one go, "Of course, I'm not exactly in a position to call others idiots. People like Dumbledore, who are selfless, are always in the minority. And who among us can truly make the right decisions at the right time?"
Katrina rolled her eyes and continued to look at the newspaper, at the photos of the nine wizards and one witch, sighing softly to herself. It seemed like she would have to spend a lot more time with them from now on.
(End of Chapter)
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