Chapter 669 It’s all Fudge’s fault
Since inviting Lucius to his home for that dinner, Fudge had asked his assistant to arrange an inspection of Azkaban Prison.
To be honest, Fudge doesn't like Azkaban Prison, and it's probably that no wizard wants to set foot on that island. If he could avoid it, Fudge would never go to such a ghost place.
After Scrimgeour, the director of the Auror Office, received the news, he did not object to Fudge's inspection, and he would not object either. To put it bluntly, Fudge was just doing it as a formality. Especially after Scrimgeour heard some rumors and was amused by their minister's so-called reasons for maintaining peace in the wizarding world, this political show seemed a bit late.
The notorious Azkaban Prison in the wizarding world is located on a small island in the middle of the North Sea. It has been shrouded in storms all year round, and the island is often submerged by waves. Only when ships get very close can you see a towering The fortress stood erect in the storm, and the light from the fortress could hardly penetrate the rain curtain and be noticed by the outside world.
There are no living creatures here other than prisoners. Employees of the Ministry of Magic simply cannot work in such a harsh environment, and no wizard is willing to stay and work here.
Normally, only a few Aurors would interact with Azkaban's jailers, escorting prisoners through the Aurors before handing them over to the Dementors.
As for prison visits, there is no such thing in Azkaban's prison.
Fudge's inspection undoubtedly made him very determined.
One night during a snowstorm, a ship sailed toward the Azkaban prison in the North Sea in the wind and waves.
There was a lot of space inside the ship. Fudge was standing in the cabin, which was illuminated by warm yellow lights. He stood absentmindedly by the window, looking through the glass at the dark night and turbulent wind and waves outside. He didn't know what was going on. Think about something.
In the seat behind Fudge, the two Aurors accompanying Fudge were sitting in armchairs drinking hot tea and reading newspapers to pass the boring time.
As for the driving issue, this ship will automatically drive to Azkaban Prison, which is also the only way to Azkaban Prison.
Everyone knows that there is Azkaban Prison and that it is located somewhere in the North Sea. However, since the location of the prison cannot be marked on the map, very few people actually know the specific location of the prison.
The ship passed through the storm smoothly, approached the fortress of Azkaban Prison, and stopped at the port.
Fudge reached out and held down his wizard's hat, boarding the notorious prison.
On the pier, the wind was strong and the rain poured down, instantly drenching the three people who had just got off the boat.
Fudge regretted why he didn't add a thick cloak when he came.
Suddenly a bolt of lightning struck from the sky, and the dark night was instantly reflected into day. Above the fortress, a large number of dementors were monitoring the island.
The chill seeped into his skin little by little, making Fudge couldn't help but shiver. In order to maintain his image as a minister, he could only grit his teeth to hold on.
The three of them walked through the pier and came to the entrance of the fortress.
The Auror named Delis stepped forward to deal with a dementor and had some simple exchanges, indicating that the Minister of Magic was coming to inspect Azkaban Prison.
There are actually not many wizards imprisoned in Azkaban Prison. Most of them only committed some minor crimes and were briefly imprisoned here for a few months.
If they had not been tortured to madness by the Dementors, they would have been released. Most wizards who have been to Azkaban Prison are afraid of making mistakes again, for fear that they will be imprisoned in this terrible place. in prison.
In fact, Azkaban Prison is where the authority of the Ministry of Magic is maintained. Even if Fudge is unwilling to admit it, most wizards are willing to keep their peace. That is because they are afraid of being imprisoned in Azkaban Prison and facing those evil spirits. of dementors.
The longest-term residents here are the Death Eaters who committed countless heinous crimes when the mysterious man came to power last time. There are actually not a few Death Eaters who have been sentenced to life imprisonment.
However, to Fudge's dismay, the Death Eaters themselves were a group of extremely evil guys, and were much less affected by dementors than ordinary wizards. After staying here for more than ten years, their crimes still could not be completely erased. , luckily they are still affected by the dementors.
When Fudge inspected the prisoners, he saw them all sitting in the cells, muttering something to themselves in the dark, and many of them seemed to be delirious.
There is nothing more comforting than a crazy prisoner, at least they can no longer pose a threat to the magical world. Of course, it would be better if they could die quickly. This is probably the last contribution that group of people can make to the magic world.
While Fudge was inspecting each prison, he finally came to Black's cell.
Fudge was extremely shocked by Black's condition. He did not look crazy like the other wizards imprisoned here, but was "normal".
This is undoubtedly not good news, and old man Lucius's wish may be in vain.
"Cornelly Fudge, why are you here?" Black was also surprised that a wizard appeared in Azkaban Prison. He hadn't spoken to anyone else for a long time, his voice was hoarse and he spoke very loudly. slow.
"I'm here to inspect Azkaban Prison. This is the responsibility of the Minister of Magic." Fudge glanced at the two Auror guards beside him, and then at the two Dementors standing on both sides of the cell, trying to cover up Inner uneasiness.
Those dementors actually had no effect on Blake. You must know that every prisoner has a dementor standing guard at his door.
"Minister of Magic?" Black seemed to be bored here and said in a hoarse tone: "I didn't expect that there would be a Minister of Magic willing to come to such a ghost place. It's so boring here. By the way, do you have any newspapers that you haven't read yet? , I want to do the crossword puzzles in the newspaper to pass the boring time, the crossword puzzles in the Daily Prophet should not have been cancelled!"
Fudge seemed to have been greatly insulted, and his pale face suddenly turned rosy. He originally didn't want to pay attention to Black, but before leaving, he finally asked the Aurors around him to ask Delis to stuff him. He gave himself the copy of the "Daily Prophet" he had put in his pocket, and then handed it to Black through the iron cabinet railing, which was considered as fulfilling the other's little wish.
"Black was not affected much. It really shocked me." After Fudge left the prison, he turned to the two Aurors beside him and said, "It seems that it is necessary to come to inspect. Send more guards to keep an eye on Black. If there is any Whatever happens, you must report it to me as soon as possible."
"I can understand your concerns. I'm afraid only those very evil wizards can ignore the influence of dementors." Delis was also very surprised to see that Black was not affected. He nodded to show that he understood Fudge's concerns, "I Just ask the jailer to send more people to keep an eye on Black."
However, Fudge didn’t know that he was in trouble.
Something changed after he handed the copy of the Daily Prophet to Black. The man who was preparing to do the crossword puzzle in prison had his eyes wide open at the moment, staring at the headlines of the newspaper. That was A family photo of the Weasley family traveling to Egypt after winning the Galleons Prize, and Black's eyes were fixed on the mouse with one missing toe in the hand of a certain boy in the photo.
"He's not dead, he's at Hogwarts, he's at Hogwarts!" Blake stared at the newspaper and murmured this sentence softly.
He suddenly raised his head and looked in the direction of the prison entrance, his eyes shining brightly, as if someone lit a fire in Blake's eyes.
He knew he had to do something.
(End of this chapter)