Harry Potter and the Ties that Bind

Chapter 4

Author's note: This is chapter 4.

Dumbledore was sitting in his office. In his hands was the Daily Prophet. He normally didn't read the Daily Prophet, except when he wanted a good laugh, but these days, even false news derived from a newspaper like this one was like an Elixir of Life to him. And he'd become rather good at reading between the lies and coming to his own conclusions.

Just then, his ward's flared to life, just like he'd anticipated. He had actually been expecting this meeting for a while, ever since he'd seen the front page headline for the Daily Prophet this morning, in fact.

"Come in, Cornelius," he called out, then waited. He could almost picture the way the minister had paused at the door, standing there with a stunned expression etched upon his face. It would have amused him in most circumstances, this image, but the gravity of recent events weighed him down too much to take joy in much of anything.

"You really do need to tell me how you do that, Albus," Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic, said as he entered the room and closed the door behind him.

"It is merely a matter of experience and logical deduction, Cornelius," Dumbledore replied as he set the newspaper aside and placed his hands on the desk, "Now then, what may I do for you, Minister?"

Cornelius stopped in front of his desk, wringing his hands together.

"I need your help. I'm sure you've seen the front page of this morning's Daily Prophet."

Dumbledore glanced at the Daily Prophet. The front page headline read "Sirius Black Escapes from Azkaban!" in big bold print. Below the headline title was an image of the man in question, his snarling visage containing insanity as he fought against the chains wrapped around him.

"I have indeed," he turned back to Cornelius, "And I must admit, we have quite the predicament on our hands. Sirius Black escaping from Azkaban prison is startling enough, but with everything that's happened recently, the situation with Black may escalate to unprecedented levels."

"Harry Potter," Cornelius said. Dumbledore nodded.

"Harry Potter is still missing, and now Sirius Black has escaped from Azkaban. If we do not find Mr. Potter before Black does, I fear what may happen to him." Dumbledore paused to collect his thoughts. "Do we know how Black escaped?"

"We don't," the confession made Cornelius' shoulders slump, "We've questioned all of the guards, but none of them ever saw Black leave his cell, and there are no signs that he broke out. It's as if he simply vanished."

Dumbledore contemplated this new information. People, even wizards, do not simply vanish. They could apparate, but Azkaban was heavily warded. Apparition was impossible there. So was portkeying, for that matter. For someone to escape, they would have to not only break out of the prison, but also sneak past all of the guards, which included the dementors--the most vile creatures that Dumbledore ever had the displeasure of meeting. There was a reason no one had escaped Azkaban.

At least until now.

"When was the last time Black was seen?" he asked. Cornelius' face scrunched up.

"The last time he was seen? I believe that was when I visited Azkaban on a routine inspection--I do that twice a year, you know, in order to make sure the prisoners are behaving. Black was the last prisoner I visited there. He seemed unusually lucid, unlike the other prisoners, perfectly capable of holding a conversation. He was even polite, greeting me as if I were an old friend or something--preposterous as the notion may be. I had that morning's Daily Prophet with me, and he asked if I would let him read it. I, well, I didn't see the harm in that, so I gave the paper to him. He apparently disappeared a few hours later. No one saw him leave, though, and the cell was still locked."