Homecoming from Hogwarts

The sun was still shining brightly in the sky, but Sirius and the others felt a biting cold enveloping them. In a trance, the whole world seemed to have dimmed!
Azkaban was captured. Who did it?
Those who heard the news were all sensible people, and no one would be stupid enough to ask unnecessary questions.

"I'm sorry, Dumbledore, Amosta--"

Mrs. Bones pursed her lips. She knew that many people were looking at them and she had to remain calm.

"The ministry must be in chaos right now. I have to go back and take charge of the situation!"

"Wait a minute, Amelia."

As if fate had already been decided, the horn of war finally sounded. Amosta felt relieved, but he did not feel any throbbing. He looked at Scrimgeour and asked calmly,

"How many people have been confirmed to have escaped Azkaban?"

Familiar names came out of Scrimgeour's mouth one after another. Sirius and Remus clenched their fists unconsciously and their faces turned pale.

They were the most stubborn and hardcore Death Eaters during the last war.

". And you arrested Adam Vogel and Jasna Rosier in Germany, as well as some remaining Witch Party members. Vitia Cliona was also rescued."

Scrimgeour stared at Amosta, his breathing ragged.

These are all extremely dangerous dark wizards, each of them has the ability to cause serious harm to the wizarding community. And now, this group of dark wizards have gathered together to act. It is hard to imagine what kind of drastic changes will come to the British wizarding world!
Amosta was silent for a moment, and no one noticed the fleeting joy in his eyes.

"I'm more concerned about--"

Mr. Weasley asked in a high, off-key voice.
"How did they do all this? Could it be that the You-Know-Who led the Death Eaters to break into the Ministry of Magic?!"

"According to the Aurors' findings, a group of people have taken control of an Unspeakable in the Department of Mysteries, and he has taken them to Azkaban."

Scrimgeour's eyes were gloomy.

"The Unspoken Man holds something extremely important in his hands, so the guards of Azkaban are of no use."

A flash of lightning flashed through Amosta's mind. He immediately opened his eyes and asked solemnly,

"What does the Silent Man have?"

Scrimgeour stopped talking and looked at Madam Bones.

This is a core secret of the Ministry of Magic and he has no right to disclose it.

"A contract. It is the key to the Ministry's ability to command Dementors. That contract has been passed down from generation to generation by the Unspeakables in the Department of Mysteries."

Ms. Bones responded to Amosta’s question.

Amosta nodded slightly, his face unmoved, but his heart was completely turned upside down!

The contract left by Rowena Ravenclaw a thousand years ago is indeed in the hands of the Ministry of Magic!

This contract that can control Dementors is of little use to Amosita, but this incident proves another of Amosita's guesses.

That stone door!

He had seen it once in the underground lair on the island of Azkaban, and a second time in the memory left by Helga Hufflepuff. The stone door that leads to the starry sky should also be kept in the Department of Mysteries. And this is what Amostasi is determined to get!

Dumbledore looked at the silent Amosta thoughtfully, and asked the question that concerned him most.
"I suppose Cornelius knows what's going on, Rufus. What is he doing?"

"He ordered all the strikers to hunt down the criminals who escaped from Azkaban, and then blocked the news."

Scrimgeour's mouth twitched.
"But there is no way to hunt them down. Those people killed the Unspeakables and left Azkaban directly using the Portkey. We are not even sure whether they are still in the country. As for blocking the news, it is impossible. Almost everyone in the Ministry has heard about this incident today. Many people handed in their leave notes on the spot. I believe that by tomorrow, the whole world will know about this!"

Fudge was finished.

At this moment, everyone sentenced the Minister of Magic to death in their hearts.

Such a terrible incident has never happened in the past decade or so. The people who heard about it would immediately fall into an uncontrollable panic unless the Ministry of Magic could catch all the fugitives.

However, everyone knows that this is impossible.

"Those Dementors!"

Sirius, who had been in Azkaban for more than ten years, suddenly thought of a question and asked urgently,
"The Death Eaters have obtained that magical contract, right? That means the Dementors have also joined the rebellion and they no longer obey the Ministry's orders. How will the remaining prisoners in Azkaban be looked after?"

After Sirius' question, except for Amos Stark who remained calm and Dumbledore's frown deepened, the others showed varying degrees of panic, including Scrimgeour who broke the news. "They...are still in Azkaban to guard the prisoners."

The color drained from Scrimgeour's face. Apparently, in their panic, they had indeed overlooked this problem.

"But yes, the contracts are lost. They are indeed unreliable. We must alert the Ministry as soon as possible and decide whether to transfer the prisoners first."

"I'll go with you, Rufus!"

Mrs. Bones said stoically,
"I have to talk to Connelly as soon as possible. Now is not the time to let him continue to act willfully!"

"I'm not suggesting that, Amelia."

Amosta said calmly, and he turned to look at Dumbledore. He knew that Dumbledore still held out some hope that Fudge would change his mind.

"When this happens, there is no doubt that the Minister of Magic must take responsibility. At this time, if you go to Fudge, no matter what you say, he will regard it as you forcing him to step down from the position of Minister as soon as possible. That will push Fudge to extremes, even though you are indeed doing the right thing."

"Amosta--"

Remus couldn't help it.
"Are we just going to do nothing?"

"The Ministry is already on a manhunt, isn't it?"

Amosta asked back,

"As for blocking the news, of course, we all know that this matter will soon spread everywhere, but if the Ministry of Magic remains silent, many people will be skeptical. So, for now, it is indeed a way to suppress the spread of panic."

Sirius almost thought he had heard it wrong. Amos Towers actually agreed with Fudge. The two of them were obviously enemies!

However, on second thought, Sirius had to admit that there was some truth in what Amosita said.

"Panic spreading does us no good at all."

Amosta continued,
"The best way now is to stay calm and see how the situation develops."

The group accepted Amosita's opinion, and Dumbledore did not "make trouble", which made Amosita feel relieved.

He had long expected the Azkaban prison break, and both Dumbledore and he were tacitly aware of it.

The two men acquiesced because, firstly, since Fudge did not acknowledge Voldemort's resurrection, they had no right to interfere in the matter.

Secondly, Dumbledore hoped to use this incident to wake Fudge up and make him face the fact of Voldemort's resurrection. But Amos knew that this was an old problem of Dumbledore's, always hoping to save people from losing their way.

The reason why he allowed this to happen was due to multiple considerations. First, to force Fudge and Umbridge into a desperate situation, and then to kick these two people out of their positions.

He didn't have the patience to wait another year for the next ministerial election. But Voldemort must want Fudge to continue working for a while so that he would have more time to accumulate strength. Anyway, Dumbledore would not show up in public until he died.

"There is something I want you to take on next."

Amosta looked at Sirius with a stern expression.

"what's up?"

Sirius responded solemnly.

"Amelia's safety."

Amosta said to Sirius as well as to Scrimgeour,
"In fact, from this moment on, the wizarding world has entered a state of war, and Amelia's safety must be ensured."

Sirius was of course aware of Mrs. Bones' special status in the Ministry of Magic. He nodded seriously.
"rest assured."

"I will be careful, Amosta, but I think it is more important--"

Amelia knew that Amosta was also warning her, so she agreed and then turned her attention to a large screen standing at the border of the forbidden forest.

On the shiny screen, the boy with black hair, green eyes and a lightning scar on his head was trying his best to attract the monster.

"Harry Potter."

(End of this chapter)