Chapter Text
I have heard about Azkaban from two of my brothers. Which is perhaps more than any other family could say about itself. But the Black family never existed based on average statistics.
I knew as much as everyone else did, of course. That the prison of wizards is located on an island in the North Sea. Its first known inhabitant, Ekrizdis, practiced the worst kinds of dark magic and built a fortress on the island, luring Muggle sailors to torture and murder them there. After his death, the various charms placed on the island that hid the place faded, and the Ministry of Magic learned of the existence of the mysterious site. Those who entered the abandoned fortress to investigate it, among other horrific things, discovered an infestation of Dementors. The wizarding authorities of the time considered demolishing the fortress, but fearing retaliation from dark entities or the island itself, they decided not to take this step. And the Ministry allowed the significant colony to remain; Thus, the island remained undisturbed and uncontrolled for many years, perhaps decades. Until finally, from the seventeenth century, it began to be used as a prison.
But really... They never needed the thick brick and the water that surrounded everything to keep the prisoners inside. Not if they were almost locked in their own minds, forgetting even the memory of happy thoughts.
It was known that most people would go crazy within weeks.
So this is where I was headed. Together with my brother.
The accounts of my brothers, Sirius and Cygnus perhaps showed a common point only in one place. Namely, that... How terrified they were both when they were on the island.
Perhaps these were not my wisest thoughts, as I sat in the swaying boat in the middle of the dark sea, and Azkaban itself covered everything before my eyes. I gritted my teeth, pulling my robe together and glanced back at my little brother. I still didn't think it was the right decision to take him with me, but it gave me a little security that I didn't have to go to the gruesome prison alone.
"Have you ever met a Dementor, Lyra?" Arcturus asked, very quietly and hesitantly, as our boat docked at the edge of the island, at the bottom of a flight of stairs.
"Never," I shook my head honestly and accepted his hand, which helped me out of our boat. And I knew that I should answer another question in the same way. Since who knows how long, the two of us were the first visitors to the wizards' prison. Only high-ranking aurors were allowed to visit, with permission and only in very justified cases.
Squinting through the rain, I tried to recognize the assigned Auror who was standing next to the gate and waiting for us. He must have arrived right before we did, but he was already glancing to the side, as if he were waiting for a Dementor to stab him in the back. Which, let's face it, was not impossible. The Dementors were the only guardians of Azkaban on normal days, and there was no need for anyone else. However, the Dementors... They realized embarrassingly quickly if a healthy, happy, intact soul came close to them, mainly because... Those in prison no longer satisfied their appetites. After all, those were already worn-out, crumpled, empty frames.
"I'm Lyra Black!" I reached out quickly and firmly to the unknown Auror, who was already eager to get the hell out of the island. "Assistant to Theseus Scamander."
"Your permissions!" The gentleman barked impatiently, and I pulled out the sealed permit from the pocket of my skirt. The night before, I managed to sneak into Theseus' office to forge a piece of paper for myself. And in the morning, before we left, I wrote an apology letter to Theseus, explaining to him why I had bypassed him.
I hoped to return to London with information that would make Theseus forgive me sooner.
But I knew that no amount of information would be enough for Theseus to accept this. That I put myself in danger without him, and with deliberate intention.
The auror tore open the Ministry's seal and read the permit as quickly as he could.
"And the boy?" He nodded behind me, glancing at my brother. I tried not to care that the man degraded Archie without thinking, with the adjective boy, and I hoped that this would not be the case either. Loudly. I swallowed, trying to think of an easier role for Arcturus, which wasn't such a huge lie.
"Arcturus Black, clerk in the ministry, official companion of Miss Black. The lady can't go anywhere without me" I didn't look back, but I could still sense confidence in my brother. Black through and through. My little brother.
"And the prisoner you would visit is... Wilhelmina Rosier," the auror glanced at the letter again to read out the name. The name I heard from Violetta earlier. I was still deeply convinced that Wilhelmina Rosier could give us valuable information. Honestly, I didn't quite understand why she wasn't interrogated by someone else already, why she wasn't connected to the Grindelwald case, even though she had an obvious connection with it. Perhaps because of the nepotism, and the fact that a cousin of the Minister of Magic also belonged to the group of deserter Grindelwald who escaped to England with Wilhelmina.
"You'll get half an hour," the stern-looking auror warned us, surveying the prison with a dark gaze. "We can contain the Dementors so that they don't attack you in that time."
"Thank you," I replied dryly, though my pride was slightly hurt by the way the man suggested that I could not defend ourselves against the Dementors. But I decided not to grimace and rather accept my fate, while thanking Merlin that we hadn't been caught for the little lie and deception yet.
Half of my plan has already succeeded. We got into Azkaban.
All that was left was that... To find out if I was right and to find out what Wilhelmina Rosier knows.
If I was wrong and forged the signature of Theseus for nothing... If I endanger Archie for nothing... If I lie to Theseus for nothing...
I couldn't afford to think about it. I had to let go of unnecessary anxiety.
I bit the inside of my mouth as we stumbled through the unlit corridor in the direction where the auror had led us. Wilhelmina Rosier's temporary cell.
I whispered a Lumos in the black corridor in front of me, and for a moment looked back at my brother, who was turning his head suspiciously, expecting Dementors from every corner. I would have lied to him if I had told him that nothing would go wrong. I couldn't know. I couldn't know anything. And... I didn't want to lie to him.
"Archie," I told him when I noticed that he stopped and nodded my head for him to come closer. We reached our destination.
I don't know what I expected. From Violetta's account, I knew that Wilhelmina Rosier had been brought to Azkaban just two days ago. So maybe I was right to think that the woman wouldn't be too disjointed yet. She will not be like the other prisoners yet: in a catatonic state, like an earthly dustpan, with veiled eyes.
But I definitely didn't expect that the lady... will be in such good condition.
As soon as she heard our arrival, Wilhelmina stepped out of the corner of the cell, straight into a thin strip of moonlight shining through the fist-sized window. The woman's hair fell down on her shoulders in dark brown waves, only a few specks of dust betraying her sleeping place the day before. She was still wearing the dress in which she could have been captured, a Slytherin green silk dress. The superiority of the Pureblood woman in the cell of Azkaban, barefoot, filthy, stinking, did not fade at the beginning of her torture. Either she was terribly strong, or she was already insane in default.
When she saw us, a small, almost devilish smile sat on the edge of her mouth. We have brought with us the first and probably the last event of her short stay and probably the last of her long prison life. Which will probably be played many times in her mind after that.
"Well... Does the Ministry already employ children?" The woman's voice had a hint of French accent mixed with British, and as she tilted her head to one side, a chill ran down my spine.
"My name is Lyra Black. Auror." I felt it was important to highlight my title, just as much as my family name. Although my auror training was years ago and I haven't had a proper fight for more than half a year... I was still an Auror. Whether you like it or not. I earned the respect that comes with it.
"And I'm Arcturus Black. Clerk at the Ministry" Archie also stuck to his usual confidence, for which I was infinitely grateful. The posture of my brother also inspired me not to bend under the pressure placed on me.
Wilhelmina Rosier, of course, recognized our last name. She immediately put us in the right place in her brain. She nodded her head, thoughtfully, and then stepped closer to the bar. I gripped Arcturus's robe carefully so that he wouldn't dare to step back.
"It is believed that when a Black is born, the gods throw a coin galleon into the sky," the Rosier woman began, with a majesty almost worthy of a Seer. She recalled a saying that I hadn't heard since I was a child, so just... I swallowed and let her finish. "Whichever side it lands to, will decide if the Black will go crazy."
The last time I heard this saying was when my brother Phineas was disowned and banished.
Now I only saw an opportunity in it.
"These are your chances, too," I smiled darkly, allowing my brain to switch something inside me. "Maybe I'm a Black whose coin has fallen on the crazy side, and you don't even know it."
My whole life was about this. To prove that I am intact, not broken, not corrupt. Valuable. I was always on the edge of the abyss. Once I almost fell into the endless darkness. Maybe I've never pulled back from the edge of the abyss, and to this day I'm just hanging there, waiting for my arms to run out of strength and let go of the handrail.
"They also believe that Blacks are closer to gods than to humans," of course, my family liked to make society believe that, and they eventually realized that we were better than all of them. "Keep that in mind during our conversation."
"Oh, alas. Not that you can hurt me," Wilhelmina chuckled incredulously. To her chagrin, she didn't see what I could do with a small wave of my wand. "Heroes like you have... a moral compass."
"Who said I was a hero?" It was my turn to make my dark grin wider. I let my ruthless, radical, impulsive self out of its cage. I realized that the only way this interrogation could lead to success was to show the whites of my teeth. Like I haven't done for a long time. Just as I forced myself not to. For the same reason that I condemned myself to the status of a draftsman.
Wilhelmina Rosier seemed to have seen the train of thought running through my eyes exactly. She recognized the dubious sparkle in them.
"Of course. Even the purest soul can be tempted by the dark side. A little power can be intoxicating." Wilhelmina slowly grabbed one of the bars finger by finger and pulled her face closer to us. Her skin had not yet lost its sun-tanned, natural color, her eyes had not yet emptied, only a little natural madness could be seen in them. I couldn't tell if it was the effect of the Dementors or if it was natural. "It's happened to many people, you know. Also with the great man whom you worship. Dumbledore."
His name made me step closer.
Albus Dumbledore was a professor at Hogwarts, whom I had just avoided during my student years. He had a reputation as an extremely powerful wizard, perhaps the most powerful ever. The Ministry considered his persona as a threat and took his knowledgeable help for granted. It seemed that he might be the only wizard who could stand up to Gellert Grindelwald. Yet he did not.
I knew that Wilhelmina had not brought up Dumbledore by accident. She had a purpose with it. This was the information she was able to give us from Grindelwald's side. If we are smart enough to get out of her.
"So... do you know the plans of Grindelwald's action?" I asked, very cautiously.
"I know enough to stay away from him," Wilhelmina retorted in reply. And that was enough explanation for her escape. When she got close enough to the fire and got a more complex picture of Gellert Grindelwald's inner circle, she got terrified and fled to England as a coward.
"Anyways... You must have some idea of his plans. About his goals," I continued the train of thought cautiously.
"I don't know anything specific. All I know is that he recruits followers and that he can use anything to achieve his desires," Wilhelmina pushed a few hairs away from her shoulder with a dispassionate face. Then... Her eyes flashed and she looked back at me again with cat-like cunning. "How well do you know the prophecies of Tycho Dodonus?"
The name sounded familiar, I could read about it somewhere, but I didn't remember clearly where. The prophecies were in the Department of Mystery Affairs, Nash's department. I may even have heard about it from him.
"Not at all," I shook my head firmly, and I didn't even understand how much this was related to the whole affair. "I don't believe in these sort of things."
"You're doing that wrong," the former Rosier heir snorted, then giggled darkly. "The stars tell us a lot about life. Just like the higher powers that have blessed some people."
Great, a lunatic. Dementors work fast.
"You're a Black, aren't you?" She nodded her head at us, and I nodded. "The stars are the only reason you exist at all. It's quite ignorant and arrogant if you don't care about them."
It was as if I was spat in the face again for not being able to perform well in divination. But what Tycho Dodonus had to do with Grindelwald I could not figure out. And I probably won't know until I see the full text of the prophecy.
"I don't believe in prophecies," I said finally, completely dismissing the importance of the matter and leaning a little further into the cell so that Wilhelmina could see how unshakable I was. At least it was a mask that I wore confidently. "It's just an excuse to make people believe they have influence over their future."
But this prophecy... It had such an impact on Wilhelmina Rosier that she fled from her former allies to save her skin.
"What if this prophecy is true?" I asked, tilting my head.
"Then we must stop Grindelwald," Wilhelmina whispered to herself, mournfully contemplating.
I swallowed.
"And what about the Obscurus? What does Grindelwald want with him?" I felt that I had caught the thread and Wilhelmina started pouring out the information I needed. I had to ask her as long as I could.
"All I know is that he really wants to find it..." Maybe the two things have something to do with each other," I snorted at the information, and Wilhelmina seemed to fall out of a trance and shook her head on us. Archie behind me was so frightened by the movement that he even jumped a little. The environment, the location, the whole situation... He must have felt that his nerves were stretched thin and they snapped right away.
Wilhelmina, on the other hand... She giggled as my brother pulled away.
"Weak," she hissed, straight into Archie's eyes.
"He's not weak!" I snapped louder than I should have. "He's a Black. Not weak."
"Yes, of course," Wilhelmina continued to giggle darkly. "I bet the boy can't even summon a patronus. That's why he's so afraid.... Wasted pureblood. Grindelwald wants us to the top of power for the greater good. But this boy... If he wasn't a noble Pureblood, he wouldn't be worth anything."
"Stop it! You don't know him," I pulled out my wand with great momentum and stuck it between the bars of the cell, pointing at her. I couldn't let her insult my brother any longer. "You don't know him."
"Hah... The arrogant and the useless," she rolled her eyes. "What an outpost Dumbledore's great army had. You will all end up at Père-Lachaise, that is ordained."
That made me think. I knew that name.
The Père-Lachaise cemetery.
"I think our time is up," a grin spread across my face as I pulled back my wand and nodded to my brother with an expressive look that we could head for the exit. We can finally leave Azkaban. "Thank you for your time, Wilhelmina Rosier. Have a nice time in the prison of Azkaban!"
I tried not to be a snob, I really tried. But this woman... I could feel exactly what kind of person she was. A bigot, a blind Pureblood, a Grindelwald fanatic who was terrified of power and transformed into who she really was. A cowardly Pureblood woman who loved to hate from the shadows. Typical Rosier.
"Why would we leave this soon?" Archie asked when we had already left the island of Azkaban and our boat was heading for the mainland again. "We didn't get anything out of her."
"Oh, of course we did!" I grinned, and Archie just looked at me in amazement. Maybe he was a little scared of my sparkling eyes. "There was the prophecy of Tycho Dodonus. And the biggest clue she threw at us. The Père-Lachaise cemetery."
"And... What is so valuable about it?"
"The Père-Lachaise is in Paris," I replied. "Shee wouldn't have just scattered such random information if it wasn't fresh in her head. So Grindelwald is in Paris."
___________________________
I ran through the Atrium, drumming with my feet in the elevator on the way to the Auror Headquarters. It was noon when I got back to the Ministry.
On my desk were the same folders that I had left on it, and no one looked at me with strange eyes.
The only thing that was out of the ordinary was the closed office door of Theseus. The shutters were also pulled down, so you couldn't see in properly. I could only see the outline of him walking behind his desk, with his back to the door, tense.
He was tense because of me, I was sure of that.
As I moved, I dropped my bag on my desk and opened the door to Theseus' office. Without knocking.
"Theseus..." I started as soon as I entered the office through the smallest gap and closed the door behind me. Theseus leaned against his desk and looked at me with furrowed eyebrows and upset. As if he couldn't find words. And it affected me worse than I would have thought. I saw everything in his eyes, everything he had experienced during the morning, and I knew it was because of me. I breathed out, tears began to sting my eyes, and all the talk I was supposed to save myself went out of my head. "I am sorry."
"You know, Lyra..." Theseus began to drum on the edge of the table as he spoke in a low voice. It was worse than shouting. And he called me Lyra. That was the worst thing about everything. That's how I knew there was a problem. "I didn't think about anything in the first hour. Then I wrote to Cygnus. Belvina. Eviana. They couldn't say anything about you. Where you are. What you're doing."
"I wrote to you..." I interrupted, with half a sentence that I wanted to defend myself with, quite weakly.
"A letter, I know." Theseus floated the letter I had smuggled to his desk when I forged the Azkaban permit for myself. The paper has become fringed in the last few hours. "Do you think a letter explains everything?"
I couldn't answer. I couldn't even speak. I couldn't even look him in the eye.
Theseus, on the other hand, stepped one step closer to me and grabbed both of my wrists.
"Lulu, for Merlin's sake! You went to Azkaban! Without me. Without saying anything! Without..." Theseus' voice grew louder and more angry with any word, my face shuddered, but I still didn't look at him. Theseus also recoiled at my face and let go before he even accidentally squeezed me. I knew he would never do it. Still, he backed away.
"A few minutes after I found out, a patronus sent Lysandra's reply. Archie called in sick at work, but of course he wasn't really sick. I put two and two together," Theseus concluded, accompanied by a big sigh. "So you've got your brother in trouble too."
"I didn't want to! He wanted to come!" I exclaimed. Sincerely. "I... I wanted to help. And I didn't mean to get you in trouble. Your name and your reputation. Mine can't be more ruined if I'm wrong, but yours..."
I finished the sentence trembling.
"Lyra..." Theseus took another deep breath and touched me again. He pulled one of my hands close to him this time, and our fingers clasped together. "If something happens to you there and I don't know where you are and what exactly happened and I can't get you out of there... I would never forgive myself."
I squeezed his hand and a tear rolled down my cheek. It hurt more that I disappointed him than if I had been attacked by a Dementor. I reached for his robe with my free hand and laid my palm on his chest. I could feel his heartbeat. Its beating has always calmed me down for as long as I have known him.
"I'm sorry," I moaned. Theseus stroked my face with his own free hand and wiped the tears from my skin. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to... lie to you. I would have told everything personally, no matter what happened. If I return...."
"When you return," Theseus corrected me, as if he had rejected the mere fact that anything could have happened to me and I could not have returned. To him. "You lied to me a little, though. And how many times have you lied to me in your life, Lulu?"
I was relieved when he finally called me Lulu again. So much so that I was able to answer his question honestly.
"Once..." I confessed, staring at the floor again.
"What, once?" Theseus asked back, confused.
"Yes, once." I bit my lip so that the terrible memory would not come back to me. When I lied to him. When we broke up.
"You know why girls lie to their partners... About the sexual things..." Theseus tried to find the right words.
"No! No!" I shook my head. In vain, Theseus Scamander is also a man. And his male ego is also sizable, not just anything else on his body. "Never in relation to that. You know I'm not a liar."
At least... I wasn't. When I was with him.
"How many times have you lied to Nash?" he knew exactly what to ask.
"Nash. Once. Daily." I snorted, laughed, and closing my eyes, leaning my forehead against his shoulder. "And you, to Leta? Have you ever lied to her?"
"Of course I lied. I think I lie every day." That surprised me.
"Theseus Scamander, the statue of glory..." I laughed sarcastically, to disguise how much the sentence made my heart beat faster. He lies to Leta, but not to me. He lies to Leta, but not to me.
"I've changed since you're not with me..." Theseus placed his chin on the top of my head.
"No, you haven't changed," I shook my head. Theseus was always Theseus. The caring one. The honest one. The faithful one. The gracious. Damn, he was so perfect. And he couldn't be mine. Every sentence in my head was bitter, so I pulled away from him, but I was still standing in his arms. "I'm really sorry."
Theseus only nodded. He accepted my apology, but it was certain that I hurt him. Before he let go, he leaned towards me with a hesitant gesture and pressed a long kiss on my forehead. He left his lips there for a moment. And I felt... The world stop for a moment, that my body was made of jelly and that all the flowers sprouted only because of me. For a brief moment, everything fell into place and I stood exactly where I belonged in the world.
And the moment ended.
I stepped away from him. Everything became cold without his closeness.
"We're going to Hogwarts this week," Theseus pulled himself up again, I could see that he was also trying to find his way back to his inner peace. Maybe so that he doesn't jump on me again. "Travers suspects something about Dumbledore."
"Dumbledore?" I raised my eyebrows, but it didn't catch me off guard.
"You're not surprised," Theseus muttered, then put the pieces together. "She said something..."
"Yes," I nodded, then tried to formulate my conclusions. "Dumbledore has something to do with Grindelwald and his past."
Theseus also sensed this coming, so he just nodded.
But only then... I realized the other half of his sentence.
"But wait! What do you mean we're going? Am I going? To the field?" I raised my hand in protest and my heart quickened for a moment.
"Yes, Lulu. You're coming. You went around my back, so that's revenge," Theseus had an almost Slytherin grin on his face. That melted my insides into gelatine again. "I'll keep you by my side as much as possible, so that you don't get lost there for me. You are coming to Hogwarts with us!"
"But..." I started arguing. The very idea of the place gave me goosebumps. "I don't even know Dumbledore. We were already Seventh Years when he got there freshly, he didn't even teach us anymore."
"I'm sure you'll be able to come up with something. You're a smart girl," Theseus stroked my chin with two fingers, which only made me shiver even more. He knew exactly how to influence me.
"Theseus," I moaned, without much success.
"You'll come with me. With us..." said my boss, in an uncontroversial voice. "But only after you have told all about your conversation with Wilhelmina Rosier."
That was the least I could do. And maybe it even stops me from feeling like I'm sitting in a puddle all the time around him.
