"No! Are you out of your mind, Harry? That's the latest model of the Nimbus 2000!"
"Another Nimbus 2000?"
Harry scratched his head. He had just received a Nimbus 2000 before Halloween—something Professor McGonagall had specifically requested from the Headmaster for the Quidditch match.
And now he had received another one.
He quickly rummaged through the package but found no information about the sender.
"Could it have been sent to the wrong person?"
Ron stood by, his face full of envy. "No way! Owls never deliver to the wrong address. This is awesome, Harry! You now have two Nimbus 2000s. You could…"
Hermione pursed her lips. "Use one for Quidditch, and the other for sweeping?"
"…You're hopeless."
"You two are the hopeless ones."
The usual bickering between the two resumed as Harry stared at the broomstick, deep in thought. Suddenly, he remembered what Edward had told him a few days ago: "Wait until Christmas...or maybe even earlier. I'll definitely give you a gift you'll love."
Could it be from Edward?
Yes! When he got the first Nimbus 2000, Edward had been away on a study tour. But still… this gift was way too expensive!
Thinking of this, he immediately stood up to go find Edward.
"Whoa!!!"
The Weasley twins suddenly shouted from not far away:
"Big news! Huge news!"
"Azkaban…Azkaban was breached last night!"
"More than half of the prisoners have escaped! This is massive!"
The two of them began reading the headlines aloud, one sentence at a time.
"This is a scandal unseen in centuries! A gross dereliction of duty by the Ministry of Magic! An indictment of the incompetence of Minister Cornelius Fudge! Just think—if the top official of the Ministry can't maintain control and lets the most dangerous wizards roam free, threatening the lives of ordinary people, does such a Minister even deserve to remain in office?"
"Furthermore, most of the prisoners in Azkaban have connections—close or distant—to pure-blood families. And as we all know, the majority of pure-blood families once served You-Know-Who. Is there perhaps some inevitable link here? Is it not irresponsible to public safety that such wealthy and powerful groups exist within our wizarding world?"
"If you still don't know the true face of the pure-blood aristocracy, stay tuned for our next issue, where we will uncover their tangled web of connections to Lord Voldemort!"
Hearing this, the Weasley twins were stunned.
"Did the Daily Prophet suddenly switch sides? Why are they suddenly tearing into Fudge and the pure-bloods?"
Cedric rubbed his ears. "I must be dreaming…Azkaban, breached? That's impossible."
Edward furrowed his brows. "Over half the prisoners escaped? What, did the Enforcers, Hit Wizards and Dementors just vanish? That shouldn't be possible—there were still quite a few Dementors stationed around Azkaban."
"So…maybe the report is exaggerated?"
His eyes instinctively turned toward the Slytherin table—Audrey was also looking over, a confused expression on her face.
At this point, other students who subscribed to the paper also began reacting, a rising wave of gasps spreading throughout the hall. For all the young wizards present, if Hogwarts was considered the safest place (which it wasn't), then Azkaban was undoubtedly the most dangerous.
Especially for those whose families had former Death Eaters—the news was terrifying.
Edward scanned the hall, then turned to a fellow Hufflepuff sitting two seats away.
"Hey, Kevin—mind if I borrow your paper for a second? I'll give it right back."
A crew-cut boy casually tossed the paper to him. "Go ahead—I've got another one."
It was an issue of the Wizarding Express. On the front page was an image of the crumbling, smoke-covered Azkaban fortress, with Dementors swarming in the sky and Hit Wizards and Aurors flying on broomsticks.
"AZKABAN BREACHED! Majority of Prisoners Escape!"
The headline blazed in a bold, blood-red font that seemed to drip from the page.
"Last night, Azkaban was attacked twice in succession, resulting in the escape of a large number of inmates. This marks the first successful breach in over two centuries since Azkaban became Britain's wizarding prison!"
"According to the Hit Wizards at the scene, they were briefly overwhelmed by two powerful dark wizards, who slew dozens of Dementors and confiscated their wands before leaving them on the lighthouse island. The attackers' identities remain unknown, as do the full details of the incident."
"While interviewing several Hit Wizards, some angrily complained: 'Those two bastards broke their promise! They said they'd leave the items at Azkaban, but by the time we finally got back, there was nothing there!' This has left us wondering—what exactly happened that night?"
"The reason we believe there were two waves of attacks comes from the testimony of the remaining prisoners. According to them, two wizards arrived first and left after the breach. Then a second group appeared, flying in on fire-breathing dragons and clashing with the Dementors, causing the collapse of Azkaban's fortress. The identities of this second group remain unknown."
"Actually, the identities of the first pair remain a mystery as well. As of now, the Ministry of Magic has yet to release an official statement."
Edward put the paper down and gently patted his forehead.
"…I forgot to return the confiscated items to them…Damn it, and those guys even dared to report it in the papers!"
"Could that second attack wave have been from Voldemort's people? What rotten luck…"
Cedric, who had been reading over Edward's shoulder, looked shocked.
"So it's true…That's…almost unbelievable."
Edward shook his head and sighed. "Yeah, hard to imagine just how powerful a pair of wizards would have to be…to take down the Hit Wizards and Dementors on their own."
"…"
Cedric suddenly raised an eyebrow and stared at Edward.
"Uh…Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Last night...you and Audrey just so happened to go out late at night to practice magic, right?"
"Yeah."
"You didn't go all the way to Azkaban to practice, did you?"
Edward looked completely shocked. "You don't seriously think it was us, do you?"
"…"
Cedric rubbed his chin thoughtfully for quite a while. "Hmm…There's no way you two could be that powerful."
Tsk, just wait until the next report mentions that those two mysterious wizards had a cat and a dog with them—Cedric would definitely become even more suspicious.
But so what if the traits were that obvious? They'd transformed into two completely fabricated identities, and both Lilith and Susie had changed their appearances. No one would ever suspect that two Hogwarts students had pulled it off.
Just then, Harry walked over with the broomstick in his arms. "Hey, Edward."
"Morning, Harry. What's up?"
He hesitated and asked, "Did you give me this broomstick?"
"Huh?"
"It's just too expensive. I feel kind of bad...I mean, I already have a Nimbus 2000, and there's really no need for a second one. Maybe you could return it?"
Edward blinked. "But…I didn't give it to you."
"Huh?"
Harry was stunned too. "It wasn't you? Then who?"
"Oh…I think I know."
It wasn't a difficult answer to guess. Edward quickly smiled and said, "It must've been the Christmas present I'm going to give you."
"???"
Why do I understand every word you just said, but not the sentence?
"You'll figure it out in the next few days. For now, just hold on to the broomstick. Worst case, you can always use it to sweep your dorm."
Harry scratched his head and thought for a moment. "Alright, I'll rewrap it later so it won't get dirty… just in case I have to return it."
"Mm, sure."
If you don't want it, Sirius would rather set it on fire than return it.
"WHOOOOO!!!"
Suddenly, cheers erupted from the Gryffindor table. The Weasley twins shot their arms into the air:
"HAHAHAHA! Fudge is finished!"
"I declare, Dumbledore doesn't even need to campaign—just take office already!"
Their excitement quickly spread through the hall, and soon Gryffindor was in a full uproar. Their older brother Percy Weasley was stomping his feet furiously nearby, but it didn't help at all.
It wasn't until Professor McGonagall came storming in, stern-faced and barking orders for everyone to head to class, that the Great Hall gradually quieted down.
———
Inside the Defence Against the Dark Arts office, Umbridge was pacing nervously back and forth in front of the fireplace, a pile of newspapers tossed haphazardly on the floor—all of them reporting on last night's incident at Azkaban.
Though Umbridge seemed foolish at times, her political instincts were quite sharp. After all, she hadn't become the Minister's most trusted confidante just by sucking up to Fudge.
Strictly speaking, the Azkaban debacle wasn't directly Fudge's fault. But since he was the current Minister of Magic, it was only a matter of time before public opinion dumped the blame squarely on his shoulders.
There weren't many days left before the ministerial election. Even with the support of the pure-blood families, his chances of winning might be gone. And when that happened—what would she do?
Whoosh—
The flames in the fireplace suddenly flared up, and several figures stepped into the room. Leading them was none other than Cornelius Fudge himself, flanked by a few trusted aides.
"Oh, Minister! You're finally here!"
Fudge took off his hat, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and muttered, "It's too damn hot in here."
"What's the latest, Minister?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean…Azkaban."
Fudge's pudgy face darkened instantly. "I suspect this is Dumbledore's doing!"
"Huh?"
"No! It has to be Dumbledore!"
"Oh…"
Umbridge caught on immediately.
"Heh, you think I'm just falsely accusing him? No! I've got evidence!" Fudge declared loudly. "Just last week, he submitted an application to the Merlin Society about methods for killing Dementors. Then bam, last night, a bunch of Dementors were wiped out in the Azkaban attack. That's my proof!"
"…"
Umbridge opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say. She'd seen that application too—but Dumbledore had proposed luring Dementors into fighting each other, not some mysterious, unknown magic like what was reported last night.
"I've already ordered Dawlish to bring in a huge number of Dementors. Starting today, they'll have free rein to search Hogwarts!"
"But…what if Dumbledore kills those Dementors too?"
"Hahaha! That would be perfect! Then I'll have the Aurors arrest him on the spot and lock him up in Azkaban!"
Fudge took a deep breath and went on, "I've also contacted the Hogwarts Board of Governors to push for Dumbledore's impeachment, and I'm submitting evidence of all his misconduct to the Wizengamot."
"Dumbledore's days are numbered!"
Umbridge immediately responded in her sickly sweet voice, "Brilliant as always, Minister! You've turned his evil plot on its head and transformed it into a blade aimed right back at him."
"Hmph! Dumbledore may be a professional when it comes to teaching—but when it comes to politics, I'm the expert!"
———
[Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps me motivated.