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Chapter Two: Black Misfortune

The Wizarding prison known as Azkaban held many of the most vile and cruel dark wizards in all of Great Britain and perhaps the world. Many spent the prime years of their life due to high crimes as dark wizards, getting every happy memory sucked dry from them, until they became soulless and evil much like those who guarded the prison.

Oh yes, the guards of the prison were just as evil as many of the prisoners. Soul sucking, rotten, nasty things these guards were. The Dementors were not creatures a person would want to meet in a dark alley or any other place for that matter.

Fog surrounded outside the prison, due the Dementors breeding. For Dementors this occurance is accomplished once a Dementor consumes enough emotion, it splits in half before forming two Dementors, just as powerful and vile as the single Dementor that bred them.

One prisoner was above all of the others, locked in the highest security cell. His name was Sirius Black and if you heard what the outside world said, you would think of him to be the epitome of evil. He was said to be second in command of the Death Eaters, just behind Lord Voldemort himself. Twelve Years ago, evidence pointed to the fact he killed thirteen people, twelve Muggles and a wizard with a high power dark arts spell. A shockwave curse blasted apart the whole street, killing everyone it touched. Sirius did not do at, as another did it, but since when did the Ministry of Magic ever listen to reason. They bumbled beyond even their worst and the real culprit got free. Sirius wished he could wring the neck of the traitor right now. To top the Ministry justice system off, Sirius never got a trial, which irked Black to no end as several top ranking Death Eaters got trials, including the evil in the cell right across from him.

Sirius shivered, he could sense the Dementors coming. They taunted him more than all of the other prisoners combined. This little predicament could be bad enough on its own but another high security prisoner taunted him from across the passage way.

"What’s the matter, ickle cousin, scared of the big bad Dementors," cooed the crazed woman who Sirius was ashamed to call his cousin.

See this other dangerous prisoner was a sadistic cold-hearted bitch by the name of Bellatrix Lestrange and she was not all there mentally before Azkaban. Only Merlin knows what kind of mental state she was in then. Bellatrix had been pretty high up in the Death Eater ranks, one of the few privileged to be in Voldemort's inner circle, Bellatrix had been one of the most prominent members along with Severus Snape, Lucius Malfoy, Evan Rosier, Michael Wilcox, and Roderick Sampson. Aurors had killed Sampson, Rosier, and Wilcox in the first war, and they deserved their fates, as they had been especially vicious in their assaults on Muggles and non-supporters of the Dark Lord. Snape and Lucius somehow wormed their way out of prison although Sirius was at a loss how as both were the lowest of the low, the vilest of the vile. They were no better than the sadistic woman across from him.

"I must escape this place and soon or the Dementors will make me like...well like my sadistic cousin," muttered Sirius darkly.

Bellatrix laughed maniacally, her insanity showing through even after many years in Azkaban. She was quite fond the ever-painful Cruciatus Curse. This curse when in the hands of that lunatic had drove countless people to insanity, including Frank and Alice Longbottom.

"Futile dreams my dear cousin, escape is not possible, trust me, if I knew I could find a way, I would try!" cried Bellatrix insanely. "I would like to get my hands on ickle bitty little Harry Potter myself, make him pay for defeating my Master. That wasn't nice what he did! Oh no it was not. He needs to learn how to play nice and let the purest of the pure rule over the Wizarding World. It is what is meant to happen, the Dark Lord ruling over the Wizarding World."

Bellatrix laughed again as Sirius fell back onto the cot in his cell, weakened by the effects of the Dementors. Maybe a transformation into his other form would be in the works soon. Bellatrix did not seem to suffer by the Dementors as she was pure evil when she came in, she was maybe just a bit below Lord Voldemort on the scale of evil.

"Ickle bitty, Potter, the so-called savior of the world, but we'll see how much of a savior he is if I ever meet up with him," cooed Bellatrix in her annoying baby talk voice. "I dreamed a lovely dream last night, about your Godson dear cousin. I had him screaming, begging for mercy and I made him join the Longbottoms at St. Mungos. Wouldn't that be a blast, Sirius? The little Potter driven insane at my hands."

Sirius gritted his teeth weakly. His cousin was just trying to get under his skin and it was working. Bellatrix grinned one of her sadistic grins and started to giggle like a madwoman. Well, scratch like, because she was mad and completely out of her mind. Bellatrix finally managed to sit herself down but insane giggles still erupted out of the woman and she peered out of the cell, with an insane glare in her eyes.

The other prisoners muttered darkly in their cells about something or other as Sirius attempted to vainly shut out of the effects of the Dementors and the insane giggling in the cell across from him. Honestly, it was bad enough he was thrown in Azkaban, but did he have to put up with her for the rest of his life.

The door opened and Sirius groaned as the Minister of Magic decided to make an appearance on this day, no doubt patrolling the grounds. The Minister was flanked by a half a dozen Aurors, who looked they'd rather be anywhere but Azkaban due to the effects of the Dementors.

Fudge looked around, this inspection trip had been long and he only had to inspect this high security prisoner wing. The Daily Prophet was tucked underneath one arm and he held his wand in another. No doubt due to the unbreakable locking charms on the cells, which only could be broken by the strongest dark magic, the prisoners would not be getting out with a wand anytime soon. Still, Fudge was uneasy by one prisoner, as she heckled him every time he made a routine trip to Azkaban.

"Fudgey!" cried Bellatrix. "What brings you to my humble home? No wait, don't tell me, routine inspection trip. Now if only I had a wand, so I can transfigure some flaming toilet paper and throw it at your empty head."

Fudge attempted to ignore Bellatrix who threw her head back and cackled in a slightly creepy way that gave the Minister of Magic the shivers. The Minister decided to ignore the mentally unhinged woman in the cell and focus on the other prisoner across from him.

Sirius saw the picture on the front of the Prophet sticking out from underneath the Minister's arm and he thought Azkaban was finally driving him mad, as he could have swore he thought he saw a very familiar rat on the front of the paper.

"Minister, could I see your paper for a moment please?" said Sirius in a calm tone of voice.

"What?" said the Minister a bit distracted before registered what Black said. "Oh yes, yes of course, I don't see the harm in doing that."

The Minister slipped the paper through the spell.

"Thank you, I really miss doing the crossword," said Sirius weakly before looking at the paper.

Bellatrix saw an opportunity she was not going to pass up. An Auror, no doubt weakened by the effects of the Dementors, was leaning by her cell with the wand sticking out of his pocket. Slowly, Bellatrix removed the wand, stashing it under the thin mattress of her cot. When the time was right, she would use it to escape.

Sirius looked at the front page of the paper. It was that traitor, the rat was missing a toe and he appeared to be a pet of a Hogwarts student. That means, with any news of Voldemort becoming stronger, he was poised to strike, strike the one that defeated the Dark Lord twelve years ago.

"He's at Hogwarts," whispered Sirius. "He's at Hogwarts."

"What's that Black?" asked Fudge sharply.

Sirius went quiet, slumping onto his cot. Fudge shrugged his shoulders.

"Aurors, move out," said Fudge shivering slightly at the effects of the Dementors. "The sooner we leave this horrid place, the better."

The Aurors followed the Minister away from Azkaban as Sirius made plans. Sirius knew exactly what he needed to do and he needed it to do it soon. The prisoner planned to commit the crime that he was put in Azkaban but first he needed a plan of escape.

Later that night, Sirius heard the Dementors open the cell to bring him food. The food was a disgusting slop and Sirius shuddered to think what might be in it. One time, he found something alive crawling in it, but food was food and in this hell he would take whatever he could get. Sirius decided to take his chance right now.

Transforming into his Animagus form, Sirius managed to slip through the bars, past the Dementors. He was heading towards Hogwarts right now. Maybe he would see Harry; no doubt the boy would be a Gryffindor just like James and Lily even through Sirius would have to admit Lily could be cunning enough to be a Slytherin at times. Still, Sirius felt confident in this fact even through he did not know it for sure. News did not travel into Azkaban that well or that often.

Sirius slipped outside the prison, and leaped into the murky waters below, swimming as a dog, not stopping until he would reach land.

Bellatrix's eyes were wide in shock. She did not think the blood traitor had it in him to break out of Azkaban but he just walked out the door as an Animagus. Bellatrix reared back her head and laughed at the trouble the Ministry was going to have but then she grew serious. If her blood traitor cousin could get out, then she could as well. While Bellatrix did not have an Animagus form, she did have a wand she stole from that Auror earlier today.

Reaching underneath the ragged mattress of her cot, with a sadistic grin spreading on her face. Bellatrix raised the wand and did some wordless dark magic. This tactic melted the bars on her cell, allowing her freedom although it took a quite a bit of hard work to accomplish. In fact this process took about twenty minutes but Bellatrix managed to accomplish it by trial and error. Bellatrix stepped out but the Aurors were coming back. Bellatrix cursed at her bad luck.

"Lestrange is escaping!" cried one of the Aurors.

"First Black, than Lestrange, we are not letting this one get out," said a second Auror. "Stupefy!"

Bellatrix lazily deflected the stunner before running towards the nearest exit. The Aurors were blasting spells but none were all too lethal. The Ministry restrictions had handcuffed the Aurors and Bellatrix could fight anything they threw at her.

More Aurors appeared to be blocking the exits and to add to that, the Dementors were coming. Bellatrix gathered up her happiest memory, the night she tortured the Longbottoms into insanity while raising the stolen wand into the air.

"Expecto Patronum!" cried Bellatrix as her Patronus, a gigantic Black Widow spider, erupted out of the wand keep the Dementors at bay.

Bellatrix was surrounded as the Aurors closed in, the odds were against her but she was crazy enough to do something a bit risky. The crazed witch raised her wand into the air before blasting a hole through the wall, making her own exit. Bellatrix leaped from thirty feet into the air, plunging into the murky waters below.

The Aurors, including a twenty-year-old apprentice Auror by the name of Nymphadora Tonks, looked down as Bellatrix Lestrange had escaped from Azkaban.

"I think we she really go after her, instead of standing here, looking stupid," suggested Tonks.

"Tonks, your job is to just observe as you are simply the apprentice," growled the Auror named Dawlish. "I’m leading this mission, and my job is to make the decisions regarding the capture of the prisoners. We’re to report back to the Minister, as we will never find Lestrange in all that water. Perhaps she’d have drowned…"

Tonks rolled her eyes behind her superior's back. Being a former member of the Slytherin House, it was tough to break into the Auror ranks because unlike the rest of the Ministry, it was crammed with former Gryffindors. Tonks found this to be true and as she was a former Slytherin, she struggled to make it in a division of the Ministry crammed with former Gryffindors who were notoriously prejudice against anything Slytherin. Only one former member of the Slytherin house made it to the highest Auror rank, Auror Elite, in the last fifty years and that man was the legendary Mad Eye Moody.

Tonks would need to follow her superior’s orders exactly if she hoped to be promoted from Apprentice Auror to Junior Auror next spring. It was going to be a long ten months, following that impulsive Gryffindor and hoping not to get herself killed.

Hours later, Bellatrix had reached land. It was late, extremely late, into the morning even. She would rest before she decided to set out to commit some random Muggle killings, to keep the Ministry on their toes. First, however, Bellatrix was hungry and she needed something to eat. She had not had a warm meal since before Azkaban.

Looking around, Bellatrix grinned evilly as she spotted her pray crawling up onto the beach

"Avada Kedavra!" cried Bellatrix wickedly.

The green like struck her pray dead. Bellatrix looked down at the animal with disdain, a sea turtle that crawled onto the beach. Bellatrix despised turtles, as she felt they were slimy, disgusting and the whole lot of them should be put down. This hatred may have came when Sirius put a bunch of the slimy horrors in her bed as a twisted prank when her aunt forced Sirius to come over for a visit to her house when he was younger. Of course, she did not mind eating them, as she felt they tasted good, especially in a soup.

Bellatrix took her pray. Revenge on Harry Potter for defeating her Master and killing random Muggles could wait, right now Bellatrix was going to eat some Breakfast.

At the Ministry of Magic, Fudge had his head in his hands in frustration. Black had escaped and his approval ranting was already going through the toilet as it is due to the fiasco with the Heir of Slytherin. In addition, the Minister had developed an Excedrin headache.

Of course, his morning was going to get even more troubling as an Auror came into his office, looking rather unnerved about something.

"I’ve been elected to tell you some unfortunate news, Minister," said the Auror nervously.

"Well, what is it, Auror," said Fudge, attempting to keep his cool at all the bad things that had been happening recently.

"Bellatrix Lestrange also managed to escape Azkaban," said the Auror darkly.

Fudge looked up in horror. One was bad enough but Fudge shuddered at the damage both could do when escaped. Fudge put his head into his hands and wept for a moment before regaining his composure.

"Black and Lestrange both escaping in the same day," said Fudge darkly. "This is just not my day."

"What should we do, Minister?" asked the Auror.

"Fetch me some Headache Curing Potion," ordered Fudge. "Oh and tell the Department of the Magical Administration Press to spin this story of Black and Lestrange to the Daily Prophet in a way that does not make me look bad. Find any scapegoat you can, just don't blame me."

The Auror left as Fudge threw a handful of Floo powder into his fireplace.

"Madam Umbridge," called Fudge. About a minute later, the face of a toad like woman appeared in the fire.

"Yes, Minister," said the sickly sweet voice on the other end.

"Call, Dumbledore," said Fudge. "Black muttered something about someone being at Hogwarts and I have no doubt he’s after Harry Potter, as he was the one who caused You Know Who's downfall. Also Lestrange may try the same thing, as she has escaped as well. Ask Dumbledore if he is able to meet me, as I need to try and convince him to allow Dementors to patrol Hogwarts to guard the school against the two escaped fugitives."

"I will get on that right away, Minister," replied Umbridge sweetly.

Umbridge vanished from the fire as Fudge wondered how his approval rating would survive this crisis