73 A Week Later

A boat was traveling in gray waves, rocking dangerously as if about to rip over.

In the boat were five men.

One of the men had rumpled gray hair and an anxious expression, and was wearing a strange mixture of clothes: a pinstriped suit, a scarlet tie, a long black cloak, and pointed purple boots. Under his arm he carried a lime-green bowler.

The man stared at the huge building that stood tall and marveled in its change.

The once rusty red walls have become obsidian black and the stormy clouds parted directly above the prison to reveal a beautiful breathtaking night sky.

The prison had lost its overall... evil aura. In its place was a calm, but cold feeling. The feeling you feel at the dead of night.

Fudge and the other four mages couldn't help but mutter to themselves.

"How is it possible for a place to change this much in a week?"

The most unnerving part was that the dementors, who where usually swarming all over the place, were nowhere to be seen.

The boat let out a skidding sound as the bottom of the hull scraped along the rocky sand bottom and everyone excited the boat and made their way to the entrance of the prison.

Fudge inadvertently clicked his tongue.

"It seems that there has been a change in the inside as well."

The floor was repainted in a luminescent white while the walls were painted to match the theme on the outside. The cells seemed to be darker, and the four of them couldn't determine whether or not the cells held any prisoners.

Another unnerving thing was the silence.

Usually, there would be an occasional scream or sob that reverberated throughout the entire prison. However, now there was only silence. Nothing could be heard, not a muttering, nor the sound of a breath.

Just total utter silence.

Fudge let out a shiver.

"What exactly did that boy do to this prison?"

Suddenly, Fudge felt an unnatural shiver running up his spine, he swirled around to find the source only to realize that it came from a pair of glowing white eyes from within a cell.

Fudge gave a sigh of relief.

"So there are prisoners inside the cells, good golly was I frightened."

"... who are you? Did the prince send you?"

Fudge furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"Who? Prince? Who are you talking about?"

The man gave a soft snort.

"Not from the prince it seems, no need to bother with you anymore."

With those words, the man closed his eyes and once more blended into the shadows.

"What an... oddball. staying in Azkaban sure does take a toll on your sanity doesn't it..."

The five of them continued to walk up the floors one by one, searching for the other five people they had left behind a week ago.

However, the more they climbed, the more unnerved they became.

Everyone was silent and still, hiding in the shadows of their stares while intently watching the five people walk by.

A few asked them the same question as the first, and immediately lost interest when they received the same answer.

They finally made it to the guest rooms where a huge man was sleeping in one of the beds.

"Hagrid?"

The man didn't answer, for he was too busy sleeping.

One man was found, yet the other four where missing.

The five of them continued their way up until they reached the very top.

Before the sight that greeted them, they froze in terror.

Hundreds of dementors were standing guard at the top of the tower, still, as if they were knights awaiting orders from their prince.

Fudge couldn't help but swallow.

"So that's where they where... but why?"

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps echoed and got louder. Along with it came the sounds of voices talking together.

"Ohh, So that's the reason why people use wands and say verbal spells... it helps retain focus and increases power... I didn't know that."

"It's an easy mistake to make. Although non verbal casting is very effective, when you seek for control and power, it's best to use verbal incantations. And once your at a high enough level, you can shout out an incantation to offset your opponent and shoot out an entirely different spell. It's common in real life battles. Thus, powerful wizards don't rely on incantations or listen to the opponent's incantation."

"Then how do they counter each other's spell?"

"By reading the mana fluctuations."

"Oooh, thanks Mr. Shacklebolt."

A black haired boy and three adult men were walking closer and closer to the five people.

Fudge, seeing them, gave a sigh of relief and got up.

"Hello there Arth, I'm back, how has your-"

The moment Fudge took a step forward, the dementors all flinched and turned their heads toward Fudge causing him to falter and stop. They slowly made a blockade around Arth as if protecting him.

"Oh come on, there's no need to do this, go away, I said go away. Do your job and stop following me."

The dementors immediately complied and backed off.

The boy finally saw the five trembling people and waved with a big smile on his face.

"Hello there Minister, is it already time to go back to Hogwarts?"