Kapitel 26: Back to normal
The next few days were uneventful. Rose and the other new recruits finally got some actual training. They learned about the different wards and the old and new routines. Hermione introduced a new watch system, where groups of three always watched the sea on rotation from the top floor and roof. Another group of three were stationed on the docks and were in charge of checking any incoming or outgoing vessels. The docks were the only place you could get entrance to the prison from the outside, unless you scaled the whole outside wall and came up on the roof.
Anyone coming or leaving would be checked and visitors would need to be cleared in advance. Any owls with mail to the prisoners would be checked before it was delivered. Hermione called this "basic" security and marvelled out loud that this wasn't already in place. Many items were removed from the owl post, but things like sweets and letters were allowed through.
Rose quickly got into the routine. In the beginning, she was on guard in the regular wards, but she, Thomas, and a few others were selected for top-security training. When it came down to it, it wasn't all that much different than the regular training, but some features were reinforced. No touching the prisoners, and limited talking etc. They also learned some restraining spells that were more complicated than anything Rose had ever tried before. She eventually mastered them but waited a bit longer to show that she had, to fit better with how Kevin would do, since he didn't really have a lot of magic knowledge from school.
The first visiting day after the new rules were in place proved the first real challenge. Sam went with three of the other guards to do the control check of the visitors, and he said it had been a nightmare. So many had refused to be checked, outraged that they demanded this, and it had almost come to blows a few times. Sam found out how effective the restraining spells were, but they still had to send for Magical Law Enforcement Officers to keep the crowd controlled.
Only a handful of the visitors had been allowed through. Most of the others would be allowed the next week, after filling out the proper forms. A few, the ones that had been the rowdiest, would be excluded for various amounts of time. A lot of packages had suddenly "disappeared" on the docks, when it became clear that they would be searched through before they arrived as well.
"It is amazing how grown witches and wizards like that can behave like babies." Sam said as he dropped down on his bed, exhausted.
"I'm sure it'll be better eventually" Thomas pointed out. "This is all still new; they'll get the hang of it sooner or later."
"Please say it'll be sooner. I really don't want to have to go through this again."
Rose almost made a comment on how her father had said that the customers often behaved like children, especially if they were out of some merchandise, but she managed to hold back. Kevin didn't have contact with his father. And Kevin's father probably didn't own a shop. She found it harder and harder to keep up appearances with Thomas and Sam, since they had become friends. But the friendship was built on a lie. She had to remember that. They may be friends with Kevin, but not Rose. They didn't know Rose. She thought they might have become friends with her as well, but it was too late now. The thought made her sad, but it was true.
She met with her mother in secret for about an hour each evening, unless Rose had the evening shift. A week after they had first arrived in Azkaban, Hermione had good news. She shared it with Rose first.
"We've found the last Death Eater. It was one of the new ones they recruited a year ago, and even Albus didn't know who he was, but we nailed him at last." Hermione said with a smile. Rose gave her mother a hug. "That is great news! Is he alive? Will you return the Death Eaters here now?"
"He is alive, though he tried to get himself killed during the capture. He is not very stable. A fortnight on the run has not been good for him. And yes, I think we will move them all here in a few days. I like how this new system works, and Barnsby really does seem to have the respect of the guards."
"I honestly still don't know if I trust him. But that may just be my first impression of him that guides me. But it is your decision who to put in charge here, of course."
"I don't really have many other options. Once he said he would accept the job, no one else has come forward saying they want to apply for it as well. I don't think getting someone new in from the mainland would be the right move at the moment."
Rose still didn't like the idea of leaving Barnsby in charge of the prison. But her mother had made it clear that she would not change something just because of a vague suspicion. "You are probably right. I'll try to keep an eye on him anyway. And on some of the others I am suspicious of. Are you sure the rest of the top-security guards can be trusted?"
"As sure as I can be. They were the ones that reacted most shocked when I explained about the second break-in. And they are all fairly new hires. I was tempted to just fire all of them, but that would just postpone the problem, since I would need to train new ones. I am actually amazed that it took that long for people to break out of here, with the lax security. I suppose the ocean and the locked cells are a deterrent even with lax guards. But I think there has been extensive smuggling of illegal items into the prison. The reaction when we wanted to search the visitors showed that. Not to mention the owl post."
"Yeah, Sam mentioned that. He really hopes he doesn't have to do that again."
"Oh, it will be better eventually. They'll get used to it. But there will always be those that protest even the simplest of restrictions."
The rest of their time they talked about other things. About news from family, and what Hermione should tell them when she went home. At last, Hermione rose to get up.
"Remember, you should have this "alone time" for at least a few days after I leave, to avoid revealing that it was just an excuse for you to meet me here." Rose nodded. That was a good point.
"Oh, and I told the others that the Apparition spot is gone. It has only been moved. It is this specific cell. Only you and I know about it, for now."
Rose smiled. That was a big advantage.
"But please, be careful. Stay in character and don't take any risks. Last time it took them over a year to get out, so you may be in for a long-haul here. I have requested weekly reports from Barnsby, but I would like for you to write occasional reports too. Do you have someone that Kevin would write to, occasionally?"
"Hmm, I haven't so far, but maybe I can receive a letter from an aunt? She heard that I have got a job here and is proud of me. That would certainly make me want to write back. And, if this goes on long enough, maybe even visit in the holidays and in my off-periods."
"Good idea. She'll probably write to you in a few days then. But we need to go now. The Death Eaters are all arriving tomorrow."
Rose went back to the room she still shared with Thomas. She had been worried about sharing a room, but it was comforting, when laying down to sleep in the bleak darkness, to know that someone was close by. And if there were anyone here she trusted, other than her mother, it would be Thomas. She felt something almost like a kinship with him, though she had to remind herself that he didn't know her. She wished she had met him earlier. He must have been only a few years above her in Hogwarts, but she hadn't asked him about that, since she pretended never to have gone to Hogwarts. It would be too easy to slip up, talking about a past she had invented as she went along.
They were all anxious about the next day. The most infamous prisoners of Azkaban would be returning. Rose worried about how she would react and if any of them would recognise her. Her last thought before falling asleep was the wonder that her mother really would let her continue to stay here when she herself had to go back to the mainland. It was a sign that she had impressed her, which wasn't always easy to do.
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein