章節 7: Discoveries
Rose explored the hideout after lunch. She had nothing better to do, since she definitely did not want to sit upstairs, and watch Scorpius slowly lose his mind, and feel the stares from the Death Eaters. Albus was sleeping, and she didn't want to wake him.
This hideout was a lot older than she had thought. The design of it made it clear that it was a hideout created in a space between other buildings. It was a lot of mismatched spaces that somehow connected. It seemed like all the rooms were at slightly different levels.
Had this always been a wizard hideout or was it some Muggle hideout from a war? The state of the kitchen indicated that wizards had been here before. But she also found several old Catholic crucifixes in a storage room. So, maybe it had been a Catholic hideout first and then later wizards had taken over? This idea would normally make her very excited and make her study it more, but all she wanted now was to find another secret exit. Sadly, there was no sign of anything like that. And there was no attic or any access to a roof. The Death Eaters would probably have found any exits already, if it was obviously visible. It was a desperate hope, but desperate hopes were all she had.
She didn't dare to linger in any place for long. Lestrange still popped up when she had been out of sight for too long. He had said he didn't care what she did, but he clearly wanted to keep an eye on her anyway. She sometimes deliberately lingered in nearly empty storerooms just to see how long it would take him to check on her. None of the other Death Eaters seemed to care. And Scorpius didn't seem to notice her absence at all. That last was painful, but she refused to let it drag her down. Deal with the things she could do something about first. She couldn't do anything more for Scorpius until they were out of here.
She went back upstairs to make dinner. These Death Eaters sure ate a lot. She would need them to make another supply run soon. Maybe that would offer her some possibilities.
She was so distracted by her thoughts that she tripped on the stairs up to the kitchen level. Lestrange grinned, but Rose ignored him. She had just noticed that one of the steps above her had a slightly different angle than the others. This could just be because this old building had shifted slightly. But it was still something worth checking out further. But she couldn't do it with Lestrange hovering over her.
"Careful on the stairs." Lestrange said with a mocking grin as she made it up to him. "They can be unstable."
"I'm fine, thank you." Rose replied shortly. She ignored him and went to the kitchen to start making pork chops for dinner.
It was a long night, but she confirmed that Scorpius did have his wand, and she could use it fairly well. A plan was forming, but there were still so many uncertain elements. Not the least the question of whether there was another way out or not.
***
Hermione arrived in Azkaban only hours after she had discovered Rose's abduction. She was still in shock, but she needed to keep a calm head. She still shuddered at the thought of what had happened the last time she had let her anger fuel her actions. She needed to stay focused on the task at hand.
The head of the guards, a small, nervous man named Perrot, met her at the docks. He looked extra nervous today. Well, he should be, if he had somehow failed to notice at least two top-security prisoners escaping! She thought they were done with this! Clearly the prison system needed further work. But for now, all she needed was to know how many of them had escaped this time.
"Madam Minister," Perrot said. "What brings you here today?"
"I have come because of disturbing news, Perrot. Two Death Eaters that are supposed to be under your care have been seen in England. Can you help me understand how that may have happened?"
"It is impossible, Minister. I can assure you; all the prisoners here are accounted for. We check that several times a day, when we do the food rounds."
"I would like to see that for myself. Let us go." She started walking towards the top-security cells, meaning Perrot had to jog to catch up.
"I-I can assure you, Minister, the reports you have heard must be mistaken! They are all here."
"That may be, but I need to talk to them myself." She said as she continued walking, not really listening to Perrot's assurances.
She first went to the cell where Crabbe was held. Sure enough, there he was. He looked up at her and stretched out his hand, ready to accept food. But he didn't say anything, and his facial expression didn't change when he saw her. She looked at his eyes. They had no expression at all. What was this?
She looked into another cell, the one that held Goyle. He had the same blank expression. She looked over at another cell, housing Brutus Malfoy. He had broken down when they had destroyed Malfoy Manor. He too looked up and recognised her enough to give her a hateful look, even if he wasn't able to say anything besides mumbles. Very different from the other two.
"How do you explain this?" Hermione asked the guards, pointing to Crabbe. "What has happened to him?"
"People react strangely when staying here for an extended time. These people seem to have just given up. It happens sometimes."
"You mean you have seen this before? When was the last time they said anything? Do they talk in their sleep? Are they responsive at all?"
"No, they are just quiet like that. They've been like that for over two weeks now."
"Two weeks!? And you didn't think this was important to report?"
"Why? They are here, secure, that is all that really matters, isn't it?"
"You think that? Has it ever occurred to you to check if they are human? To me, this looks like ghouls, or another dark creature being dressed as the prisoners. It is a known trick, though I have never heard of it being successful in a prison before. Now, how could they have managed the swap under your watchful eyes, Perrot?"
"Ghouls? Surely you are mistaken? It is impossible. There is no way out of this prison." Perrot looked bewildered and confused. It seemed he struggled to keep up with her reasoning. Why was he the head of security here? Surely, there had been better candidates?
"That is not true, and you know it. Some people have escaped here over the years. Many of the people on this very ward escaped less than a year ago. I thought that would have alerted you to the gaps in security, but it seems not." She took out her wand. "Homenum revelio" No reaction. No humans present in this cell. Perrot gasped and looked around, clearly still struggling to understand what had happened. A quick inspection showed that 10 cells had no humans in them. Perrot seemed to be at a loss for words.
"We will deal with this later. Right now, I got the confirmation I needed. There are at least 10 Death Eaters on the loose, and they have at least two weeks head start!" Hermione sent one of her characteristic displeased angry glares in Perrot's direction. He wilted under her stare. "Now. If you want to have any chance of ever getting a job anywhere in Britain again, Perrot, I suggest you find out how the prisoners were swapped out with these creatures, who aided them, and how they got off the island."
Perrot had gone white. He simply stuttered words, words that were probably supposed to be excuses and hopefully assurances that he would figure it out. She didn't have time for him right now. She started walking, briskly, towards the docks, to head back to the mainland. She sent a hasty Patronus message to Harry though, so he could start preparing for a thorough search.
This is almost exactly what happened a year ago, she thought to herself. Except this time, Hermione doubted the Death Eaters believed that Albus and Scorpius were on their side.
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