Dawn Rivera

The Beetle at Bay

When Hermione and I's Daily Prophets arrive the very next morning we smooth them out, gaze for a moment at the front page and give yelps that cause everyone in the vicinity to stare at us.

"What?" say Danny and Ron together.

For an answer we spread the newspapers on the table in front of us and point at ten black-and-white photographs that fill the whole of the front page, nine showing wizards' faces and the tenth, a witch's. Some of the people in the photographs are silently jeering; others are tapping their fingers on the frame of their pictures, looking insolent. Each picture is captioned with a name and the crime for which the person was sent to Azkaban.

Antonin Dolohov, reads the legend beneath a wizard with a long, pale, twisted face who is sneering up at me, convicted of the brutal murders of Gideon and Fabian Prewett.

Algernon Rookwood, says the caption beneath a pockmarked man with greasy hair who is leaning against the edge of his picture, looking bored, convicted of leaking Ministry of Magic secrets to He Who Must Not Be Named.

But my eyes are drawn to the picture of the witch. Her face leapt out at me the moment I saw the page. She has long, dark hair that looks unkempt and straggly in the picture, though I saw it sleek, thick and shining. She glares up at me through heavy-lidded eyes, an arrogant, disdainful smile playing around her thin mouth. Like Uncle Sirius, she retains vestiges of great good looks, but something - perhaps Azkaban - has taken most of her beauty.

Bellatrix Lestrange, convicted of the torture and permanent incapacitation of Frank and Alice Longbottom.

Hermione and I nudge Harry and Danny and point at the headline over the pictures, which I, looking at the pictures, have not yet read.

MASS BREAKOUT FROM AZKABAN
MINISTRY FEARS BLACK IS "RALLYING POINT
FOR OLD DEATH EATERS

"Black?" says Harry loudly. "Not -?"

"Shhh!" whispers Hermione desperately. "Not so loud - just read it!"

The Ministry of Magic announced late last night that there has been a mass breakout from Azkaban.
Speaking to reporters in his private office, Cornelius Fudge, Minister for Magic, confirmed that ten high-security prisoners escaped in the early hours of yesterday evening and that he has already informed the Muggle Prime Minister of the dangerous nature of these individuals.
"We find ourselves, most unfortunately, in the same position we were two and a half years ago when the murderer Sirius Black escaped," says Fudge last night. "Nor do we think the two breakouts are unrelated. An escape of this magnitude suggests outside help, and we must remember that Black, as the first person ever to break out of Azkaban, would be ideally placed to help others follow in his footsteps. We think it likely that these individuals, who include Black's cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange, have rallied around Black as their leader. We are, however, doing all we can to round up the criminals, and we beg the magical community to remain alert and cautious. On no account should any of these individuals be approached."

"There you are, Harry," says Ron, looking awestruck. "That's why he was happy last night."

"I don't believe this," snarls Danny. "Fudge is blaming the breakout on Uncle Sirius?"

"What other option does he have?" I say bitterly. "He can hardly say, 'Sorry, everyone, Dumbledore warned me this might happen, the Azkaban guards have joined Lord Voldemort' - stop whimpering, Ron - 'and now Voldemort's worst supporters have broken out, too.' I mean, he's spent a good six months telling everyone you and Dumbledore are liars, hasn't he?"