Chapter 384: Prisoner of Azkaban
Chapter 384: Prisoner of Azkaban
In the fog, the three of them continued to move forward in the dangerous plank road, and with the endless sound of the waves, the road seemed to never end.
This was not just physical, but the same was true in the spiritual world.
Evan felt like he was on a road that was doomed to no end.
Negative emotions such as depression, fear, and despair came with the pressure brought by the mist, creeping in into their souls.
He remembered that he had met horrible monsters with holes in their heads before in the Centaurs’ colony, and that the illusions they created could also make people lost in them.
Back then, what awaited him was the monster’s mouth full of fangs and by the time he found a way out, he didn’t have time to rejoice, for his head was about to become food to the monster, if it wasn’t for Okegiga saving him.
Would it be the same now? Would a monster be waiting for them ahead? Perhaps, they weren’t going to Azkaban! Perhaps, they were going to their death!
Evan took a deep breath to sober himself up, but the cold fog mixed with the Dementors’ smell made him feel very nauseous.
What should he say to dispel the growing panic within him?
“Nothing can be seen here. What does the main Azkaban building look like?” Evan felt as though his voice did not belong to him. It rang from far away.
“It’s a huge castle like the main building of Hogwarts!” Dumbledore’s voice drifted from the front. “There are theories that Salazar Slytherin built Azkaban, and he imitated Hogwarts Castle.”
There was another moment of silence. When Evan wanted to say more, he suddenly heard a woman’s voice singing in the mist. He could not tell which direction it came from.
The song was very beautiful, like the sound from heaven. However, it had a hint of sadness hidden within it.
Evan stopped and listened with amazement. He had never heard such a beautiful song before. There was one thought in his mind; he wanted to stand there and keep on listening to it.
He lost track of time; not knowing if he was there for seconds or centuries!
Evan suddenly felt pain in his right leg!
He woke up and saw that the huge black dog that Sirius turned into was tugging at his trousers and dragging him forward.
“What is this song?” Evan murmured.
“They’re Mermaids. They are the only creatures here that don’t fear Dementors.” Dumbledore explained, “In ancient times, the Mermaids used to lie on the reefs of the deep sea, seducing sailors by singing songs and sinking ships on rocks, feeding on the corpses of crew members.”
Evan remembered this horrible magical creature that he had read about in books before.
Ugly-looking sirens make beautiful songs to lure passing ships. Evan used to rely on imagination before, but today he really saw it.
The way to deal with Merpeople is also very simple. Just plug your ears! They have almost no attack power, with their bodies similar to fish.
At the end of the plank road, a Dementor in a black cloak appeared in front of them.
Its body smelt rotten, and its scabby palms slowly extended out.
It sucked hard, but because of the Patronus Charm, it couldn’t absorb anything.
This made the Dementor very dissatisfied. It rushed forward with a cry. Its ragged cloak was dragged behind it like a black fog, making a loud trembling sound.
Almost at the same time, Phoenix, Dumbledore’s Patronus faced forward.
The Dementor retreated, and it seemed to recognize Dumbledore.
Under the gaze of the old wizard’s cold, light blue eyes, Evan clearly felt that the Dementor was the one afraid!
“We’ve got permission from the Ministry of Magic to visit Pettigrew!” Dumbledore said calmly, with no emotion in his voice.
The Dementors slowly receded and eventually disappeared into the endless fog.
“Let’s go, they allowed us in!” said Dumbledore.
They went into the building in front of them. It was dark inside.
Obviously, the Dementors didn’t need torches or anything like that, and they didn’t have any intention of preparing this for prisoners.
The surrounding temperature had dropped a bit. Even with the help of the Patronus charm, Evan couldn’t help but feel cold.
It was like walking into the mouth of a monster choosing people to send to hell.
The faint fluorescence at the end of his wand flickered in the darkness and seemed it could be extinguished at any moment.
There were no guards on the ground floor, and the rooms on both sides of the corridor were all converted into cells.
Through the railings, Evan saw that there were many strange-looking creatures in them, but none of them were human wizards.
In a huge room, there were seven trolls sitting side by side.
They sat on the ground with glassy eyes, staring at the ceiling with their eyes open, without the slightest anger, disregarding Evan and the others passing by.
Only the movement of their chests as they were breathing proved that they were still alive.
“As one of the evillest creatures on earth, Dementors feed on peace, hope and happiness in the air around them!” Dumbledore paused and said slowly, “There are too many Dementors in Azkaban. They are spread all over the island and their numbers are increasing. Prisoners held here alone can’t satisfy them. The Ministry of Magic has to regularly transport other creatures here as food for these monsters.”
Looking at the trolls in front of him, Evan felt sad for their fate.
When too close to Dementors, any good feelings, any happy memories are sucked away by them.
They have gathered here for a long time, like parasites, to feed on the happiness of other creatures in the building and to live on them.
They sucked their lives little by little, and the ultimate fate of these inmates was to become walking corpses, soul-free and evil, with only fear following them like a shadow.
Moving on, all creatures imprisoned in the surrounding rooms were like this.
The first, second and ground floors were similar and filled with a large number of non-human magical creatures.
None of them was angry. There was only despair and thirst for death.
Evan felt that if he was confined here for only one day, he would be driven mad, let alone 10 years!
On the third floor, human wizards began to appear in cells on both sides of the corridor.
Like the monsters downstairs, some of them looked helplessly at the only narrow window on the wall, the only light in the darkness.
From time to time Dementors flew by in groups in the fog outside.
The rest of the people were lying on rusty iron beds to force themselves to sleep, as if they could escape everything in front of them if they fell asleep.
But every now and then there was a scream. It was easy to imagine that they would only have nightmares awaiting them.