Power ▸ Ron Weasley [1]

XVI. BLACK ROSES

CHAPTER SIXTEEN:

BLACK ROSES

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      Nova Nott had limited interaction with any Death Eaters besides her Potions professor and the head of the Malfoy household. This fact didn't make her upset, but it did upset her just slightly that Theo had been exposed to nearly all of them. If he hadn't met them, he had been in correspondence with them somehow. All because Edgar Nott had wanted his son to be familiar with the people he'd force his son to associate with.

      There had only been one interaction with any other Death Eater. 

      She remembered the dyed black roses sent to her mother's bedside at St. Mungo's only hours before her life had ended. Nova had always thought it was odd that whoever sent the flowers seemed to know it was her last few hours of life, but it had been suggested that Nova didn't need to know anymore about it or the sender. As she stared at the Prophet the next morning at breakfast, her lips moving silently as she read the headlines that covered nearly every inch of the page, she remembered that day. The day of the mysterious black roses.

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

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 of 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," said 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 beg the magical community to remain alert and cautious. On no account should any of these individuals be approached."

      Nova scanned over the article with apprehension, her eyes taking in the names of the prisoners that had escaped. She knew them all, of course. She had grown up hearing their names and about the great service they had done in the Dark Lord's name. Her eyes, however, were glued on one in particular. Bellatrix Lestrange. A spark of recognition.

      "Did you know about this?" Nova asked Theo quietly when he sat down for breakfast, looking sickly pale. His hand twitched up and loosened the tie around his neck.