black and white ✰ g.w.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Being away from Hogwarts for a few weeks had allowed Olivia and everyone else to relax a little, but now that they were back, Olivia in particular found that she was on high alert nearly constantly. In typical Umbridge fashion, the small yet wretched woman had managed to push through even more educational decrees while they were gone, one of which forbidding teachers to talk to students about anything that wasn't specifically about the subject they taught; Olivia was sure this had at least something to do with when Umbridge witnessed McGonagall informing Olivia about what had happened to Arthur.

Lee being Lee had decided to attempt to make light of the situation by pointing out to Umbridge that because of her own decree, she technically had no authority to tell Fred and George not to play Exploding Snap in the back of the class. He had promptly found himself in detention and because of this, found out about Umbridge's unique and barbaric way of punishing her students: making them write lines with an enchanted quill that carved the words they wrote into the back of their hand.

"I've found that essence of murtlap works really well on that," Harry suggested after spotting Lee's new injury during one DA meeting.

"Essence of what?" he asked the others once the boy had walked away.

"I'll get some for you," Olivia offered.

"Oh, thank you so much, Liv," Lee replied in a grateful tone. "I owe you."

Olivia grinned. "If you insist..."

Lee's eyes widened as he looked to George. "What did I just get myself into?"

"I guess you'll just have to see, won't you?" George told him.

Olivia already spent half the time she was in the corridors looking over her shoulder because of nerves, and one morning's issue of the Daily Prophet would only make this worse.

"Looks like the Aurors are going to have their work cut out for them," Alicia commented with a worried expression after taking just a single look at her newspaper.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Olivia asked.

"Just read it." Alicia slid the newspaper across the table to her. While she read, many people left their seats to read over her shoulder.

The headline read:

MASS BREAKOUT FROM AZKABAN

Below it were ten photos of ten different people, all of them Olivia recognized, all of them Death Eaters, and all of them now roaming free.

"Antonin Dolohov..." Arabella repeated the name of one of the escapees in a quiet voice. When Olivia looked up at her, she and Ginny were exchanging a solemn look with their older brothers.

"What?" Fraser asked, looking from Arabella to Fred and George. "Why are you looking at each other like that?"

Fred looked back down at the newspaper. "He's the one that killed our uncles," he explained. "Well, he didn't do it himself, he had the help of four other Death Eaters - they're there, too..."

Under each photograph of an escapee was the crime or crimes for which they were imprisoned. Under Antonin Dolohov's face, it read "convicted of the brutal murders of Gideon and Fabian Prewett."

Olivia looked over at George with compassion in her eyes, but before she could say or do anything, the group was joined by two more people.

"What's going on?" Evelyn asked.

"Yeah, why are we all grouped up like this?" Duncan asked.

"There's been a mass breakout from Azkaban," Ginny informed them.

"There's been a what?" Evelyn and Duncan asked in shock.

"Yeah, and they're blaming Sirius-" Fraser began.

"Ahem!" Olivia cut in, reminding him that they weren't supposed to be friendly with the man.

"-Black. They're blaming Sirius Black. The crazed murderer man."

"Well, it's possible," Dean spoke up. "I mean, Black was the only person to break out of Azkaban before this, and it says right there that he and - what's her name? - Bellatrix Lestrange are cousins."

"She's my cousin too, I wouldn't help her break out," said Faustus, joining the ever-growing group along with Rosalia. "Actually, I was kind of hoping she'd rot in there..."

"Hey, maybe you'll be receiving an invitation to a family reunion soon," Fraser joked, earning sniggers from many in the group.

"That's not funny, Fraser," Evelyn said, failing to hold back her own laughter.

"It's a little funny," Faustus said.

"In all seriousness, though, how did this happen?" Angelina questioned. "I mean, it's one thing for just one person to escape, but ten? All at the same time? There's something more to this, there's gotta be."

The children of those in the Order all exchanged looks.

"I don't know if you remember," Olivia began later that day as she and Faustus patrolled the corridors, "but at the end of last year after the third task, Dumbledore and the Minister were arguing in the hospital wing and Dumbledore said that the dementors were sure to fall into Voldemort's ranks. That must've been what happened, how they all escaped. I mean, we know how Sirius escaped, it makes sense, and he was just one person, but there's no way ten high-security prisoners would have escaped if the dementors were on our side."

"I know, I agree," Faustus said. "I just don't like how Fudge is blaming it on Uncle Sirius when the reality is so obvious."

"I know you don't, but it's not like he has a choice. Fudge is not going to admit that he's wrong until it's much too late." There was silence for a moment. "Does it worry you? Your cousin having escaped? Do you think she'll try to come find you?"

"Well, I'm worried, sure, but not about that. I don't think she even knows I exist, it's not like my parents announced it. Grandma and Grandpa didn't even know I existed until I was crying on their doorstep. Besides, even if she did know, I don't think she'd care. She probably knows by now that my parents defected, so I don't think I'd be very popular among that crowd."

[word count: 1061]
[written: 8/21/20]
[published: 8/21/20]
so i just published a sort of wikia thing that has all of my original characters from this universe included in it, so if you're confused about all the characters or want to know more about a certain one, i would suggest checking it out. also, letting you know right now... faustus has so much family, and i didn't even go as far back as i could have... if you see it, you'll get it. it's called -CITYBCY HP WIKI