PHANTOM FIGURES | harry potter

82. the beetle at bay

     The next morning Aspen remembered what could make Voldemort so happy. When Hermione's Daily Prophet arrived she smoothed it out, gazed for a moment at the front page, and then gave a yelp that caused everyone in the vicinity to stare at her.

     "What?" said Harry and Ron together.

     For an answer she spread the newspaper on the table in front of them and pointed at ten black-and-white photographs that filled the whole front page, nine showing wizards' faces and the tenth, a witch's. Some of the people in the photographs were silently jeering; others were tapping their fingers on the frame of their pictures, looking insolent. Each picture was captioned with a name and the crime for which the person had been sent to Azkaban.

     Aspen suddenly remembered what Regulus had told her last term about the planned breakout.

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

     Augustus Rookwood, said the captain beneath a pockmarked man with greasy hair who was leaning against the edge of his picture, looking bored, convicted of leaking Ministry of Magic Secrets to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

     But Aspen's eyes were drawn to the picture of the witch. Her face had leapt out at her the moment she had seen the page. She had long, dark hair that looked unkempt and straggly in the picture, though she had seen it sleek, thick, and shining. She glared up at her through heavily lidded eyes, an arrogant, disdainful smile playing around her thin mouth. Like Sirius and Aspen, she retained vestiges of great good looks, but something - perhaps Azkaban - had taken most of her beauty.

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

     Aspen forced her focus to the title before she felt any more sick.

MASS BREAKOUT FROM AZKABAN

MINISTRY FEARS BLACK IS "RALLYING POINT"

FOR OLD DEATH EATERS

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

     "Shhh!" Hermione whispered 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 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."

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

     "I don't believe this," snarled Harry, "Fudge is blaming the breakout on Sirius?"