Chapter 62: The Ace of Spades
The cold waters of the North Sea, with howling winds and turbid waves. Pen ~ fun ~ Pavilion www.biquge.info low lead clouds hovering in the sky, and the eternally gray sky does not have a trace of warm sunlight. On top of a bare reef stands an angular black building that rises straight into the sky, Azkaban. The most feared prison in the wizarding world, the starting point of the terrible nightmares of countless dark wizards, and the pitiful burial place of many evil wizards, it is known as the safest and strongest prison.
The solitary reef rises slightly above the deep black sea around it, and from a distance, it looks like a nameless monster floating on the black water, ready to devour everything. The cold waves howling madly are like the cry of the sea, reminding wizards that the world's greatest wound is standing and festering until the world falls to the end of hell.
The black triangular building stood stiffly in a cold and gloomy mist, like the corpse of a long-dead monster, still unwilling to suffer abrupt silent curses, exuding the aura of death and decay. Even those who call themselves evil, the evildoers who are extremely twisted in their minds, will taste the pain in this terrible structure, and eventually go mad or die silently, falling into the final darkness and silence.
The notorious Dementors are the caretakers here, who are selfless and never favoritism, treating any wizard the same: whether you were once in a position of prominence or not, and whether or not you have a mountain of savings in Gringotts. Their only interest is in how to squeeze more happy memories out of your mind and then watch you move towards a silent and barren death in a painful madness. In a way, the Dementors were the most appropriate prison guards, even though they never had any concept of human rights.
Legend has it that no one ever left here, and no matter how monstrous the magic was, wizards who thought they were strong, they were suppressed and tortured by the powerful power of the Dementors until they went mad and died. Barty Crouch II's escape, exchanging the life of a poor mother for the life of a mad son, is just one of the untold stories. There may have been other unknown fugitives, but the Dementors and the Ministry of Magic were never willing to admit it.
This hell, which seems to have been full of pain and torment since the beginning of time, has been manifested in the world, and now a malicious visitor has arrived.
He was in the middle of a raging storm, and the glowing magic shield ensured that the rain wouldn't wet his white wizard robes. It's good to have zero degrees Celsius here, and it's late autumn, and the cold wind of the North Sea is stuffed with biting ice slag. He had already cast a warm-up charm on himself, but he still couldn't prevent the cold droplets from falling on his white beard. The rain tried to soak into every inch of exposed skin, and the ice slag from the turbidity was terrible.
A magic shield protects against most evil spells, and can block most attack spells, but it can't keep people warm. Dumbledore stood in the void, looking at the ugly building with a cold, emotionless gaze.
Percival Dumbledore, father of Albus Dumbledore, died in Azkaban.
Cold disgust spilled over every wrinkle on Dumbledore's face, elderberry's wand glowed with a cold white light, and the sea and wind slammed straight into the magic shield, shattering into smaller marks.
Dumbledore's sleeves, brimmes, and shoes were dry, and he had apparitioned from far away to this closest place to Azkaban, and the powerful magic was surging through him like a tidal wave, permeating every inch of space around him.
At the top of the black, sharp triangular building, in the Aurors' permanent office, a team of three Aurors were gathering in a hut to play Muggle bridge. It is said to be an office, but in fact it is just a small cell of more than ten square meters converted into an office. Azkaban didn't need a wizard to guard it, but sometime before, a wizard who had a huge influence on the Ministry of Magic felt that it was too brutal and cruel to simply hand over a stumbling wizard to the Dementors and ignore it, so the Ministry of Magic arranged for a wizard team to be stationed in Azkaban to oversee the management of Azkaban prisoners by the Dementors.
The office is rudimentary, with a large, ferocious brazier in the middle of the room, which brings a touch of warmth to the eerie room. Inside, around the small table sat three Aurors, their wands in their hands, keeping their patronus alive, and looking at the playing cards in their hands by the light of the fire. The silver figure was only one step away from the open window, shielding them from the dementors' gaze.
The trio, accustomed to barrenness and coldness, never looked out the window, and not even a single bird appeared in the eternally gloomy sky. Every day when the sun is at its strongest, one or two rays of sunlight will shine through the thick clouds and reach the very center of the Hell Pool, and then the three of them will lazily go out of the warm hut and walk around the building, not caring whether the wizard prisoners in the cage are dead or alive, they are just there to supervise the Dementors.
The reason for working here for more than a year is not because of a sense of justice, nor because of a bitter hatred like those Death Eater hunters, but simply because of the high salary. Three ordinary wizards from non-prominent families who needed large sums of gold for different reasons took on the job for a salary several times higher than that of ordinary Aurors.
"You've got to find a hobby here, or you'll soon go crazy like those scoundrels. The Chinese wizard Mar repeated his mantra, complaining about his bad luck today, and punched a 7 of diamonds.
"Come on, Lao Ma, your luck is good today, I'm the one with the worst luck, hurry up and finish this game, I can't help but start another game." Max, the white wizard, looked at the little change he had left on his table, and couldn't help but put a hand on the table.
"Haha, old horse, you're dizzy with this card, look at me!" Another chunky wizard with rosacea looked like he had the most chips on the table, and he stared at the pile of cards on the table with a shiny face, quickly counting something.
The wizard who was closest to the stove, with his back to the door and facing the window, liked to be called Lao Ma unintentionally raised his head from the table, looked out the window, and saw a little light suddenly appearing in the storm outside, and he couldn't help but feel a little uneasy in his heart.
While studying the cards in his hand, there were also a few A-Humpty Wizard Williams sitting across from the old horse, and when the old horse stood up, he blocked the fire and cast a huge shadow on the table.
"Old horse, what are you doing, get out of the way, I can't see the cards. William said excitedly, "Hurry up, I'm going to win this game again!"
Max, who had given up because his hand was too bad, followed the old horse's line of sight and also looked out the window, and at this time, the distant point of light had turned into a fast-moving white cold firework.
"What's that? Could it be a wizard?" Max asked, meaningfully.
William, who finally realized that something was wrong, clenched the good deck of cards in his hand, turned his head to look out, and the Dementors around Azkaban had gathered outside the window, rushing towards the white meteor.
"Someone seems to want to attack Azkaban?" the old horse clenched his wand and called his Warhorse Patronus to his side, and the three of them stood in front of the window, nervously watching hundreds of Dementors leave the cave like bats and silently rush into the sky.
"My Patronus tells me that the white light is a powerful Patronus!" a Patronus that looked like a mallard duck landed on William's shoulder, looking nervously out the window.
"Quick, I think we should get on the roof and get some preparations. Max, whose Patronus is a shepherd dog, nervously walks out of the office, trying to go to the roof to help the Dementors.
"No, Max, the Dementors are already out, and it's not easy to defeat hundreds of them here. Let's wait and see. I hope the other party is just a fool who misses his relatives and wants to go crazy, otherwise..."Lao Ma couldn't help but think of the previous legends.
"Old horse, what are you talking about, those fools can't find here, there is a powerful protective magic here, it can't be apparitioned, it can't be marked, it expells all wizards who don't know the address, and there are many detection and alarm magic that the Aurors don't know. Ordinary wizards can't even find this place! If it's really a wizard, being able to find this place shows that he is powerful. Max said nervously. At this time, although the distance was still far away, the occasional bright light from the gap of the Dementors had already proved the strength of the comer.
"Maybe we should call for reinforcements, the enemy is too strong!" William's fat face was soaked with more sweat, and his whole face was like a roasted duck.
"Yes, William, you're right, tell your duck to inform the Auror office of the Ministry of Magic, Director Amelia Bones must still be in the office. The dementors were scattered, and the ball of light was coming this way, and they might not be alone. Quick, old horse, we have to get ready!" Max's sheepdog rushed out of the office first, and the old horse glanced at William and followed.
"Oh my God, it's really here, hundreds of Dementors have been scattered, oh my God, it can't be that person coming, no, he's dead, who the hell is it!? Go, go, tell Director Bones that someone is attacking Azkaban, maybe more than one wizard, let her bring someone to support her!" Seeing the Dementors fleeing like rags in the wind and rain, and the hazy Patronus floating quietly in the air like a water moon, the Overseer of Azkaban, who was sure that there was at least one powerful wizard among them, panicked and ordered his Patronus to go to the Ministry of Magic to report the news.
The duck patronus screamed and rushed out of the window, but a white light shot from the rain like a sharp arrow, and the duck patronus was shot directly into pieces!
"What's the matter, my Patronus, my Patronus has been killed!" William, who found his Patronus punctured like a balloon, turned ashen and looked at the crescent-like Patronus outside in shock.
Descending the spiral staircase to the roof, Pony and Max were equally shocked to see William's Patronus smashed to pieces. The two of them stood in the rain in a daze, and the rain mixed with ice particles flowed down the neck into the old horse's wizard robe, and in less than a few minutes, the old horse, who was already soaking wet, couldn't help but shiver: a powerful wizard who can easily kill the patron saint is not something he can deal with at all!
The old horse's war horse patronus chirped, as if saddened by the disappearance of his friend, and the shepherd dog roared and glared angrily at the patronus who was already close in front of him.
"It's a phoenix! I've seen this patronus, it's a phoenix! Oh my God, could it be—" Max looked at the crescent moon in front of him in shock, and it was actually a phoenix patronus with huge wings spread.
Two white lights shot out directly from the Phoenix Patronus, the Shepherd Dog Patronus and the War Horse Patronus bravely rushed forward, and then the two Patronus were also like balloons, pierced by the white light.
Before the two Aurors could be shocked, two white rays of light shot from behind them, and they were both struck almost at the same time, and their bodies fell limply on the cold roof.
Invisible feet step on the rain of the roof, leaving a fleeting footprint on the water. Like a giant crescent moon, the phoenix followed the invisible wizard closely, and the water stain continued until the spiral staircase, and the invisible wizard arrived at the Auror office.
In less than a few minutes, William, who had not yet recovered from the shock of his Patronus being killed, felt a cold wind rushing in from outside, and William, who was suddenly awakened by the cold wind, looked at the chief magician of Wizengamot, who was wearing a white wizard's robe and a white wizard's hat, and his beard was white, and he was completely speechless in shock.
"Time is pressing, although I have temporarily blocked you from informing Bones, but the Dementors have other ways to contact the Ministry of Magic, William, you have always been smart in school, and now I need you to answer me a question, where is Black?" The founder and secrecy of the Order of the Phoenix did not have the slightest urgency or threat in his tone, but asked his former students as if they were a classroom question.
"Professor, I didn't expect to see you again after graduating from Hogwarts, I heard that you have been promoted from our humorous Transfiguration professor to the headmaster of Hogwarts, and I haven't had time to congratulate you yet. I wonder why you're here today?" "Although extremely nervous, the Auror William, who has a lewd appearance and has actually experienced a hundred battles, is still thinking about delaying time through talking, waiting for the Ministry of Magic to help.
"William, I've always thought you were a smart student, but your performance today is not very smart, I really don't have much time, please cooperate with me, I will revise the memories of the three of you later, no one will know what happened here today." So, tell me, where is Blake in this hellish prison?" the Order of the Phoenix's secrecy asked in a flat tone, as if a student in class had made a minor mistake and the professor was reminding him.
"Blake, there are two members of the illustrious Black family who are being locked up here right now, which one are you talking about?" William smiled as hard as he could, as if he really just hadn't finished his homework on time.
"Regent. A white light flashed, and countless memory fragments mixed with various playing cards poured out of William's mind, and it felt like a long time, but it was actually just a breath, and William's consciousness was finally frozen on an ace of spades, and then the whole world fell into darkness.