The rest of the trip was uneventful. After a few hours, all the interviews were over. Rose had been right about one thing. Her mother's gesture of touching them on the shoulder had been interpreted by most of them as a sign of approval. Only one or two had thought it weird. No one said anything about what the Minister had asked them, only general things like she had.
Then, at last after almost 4 hours they finally arrived in Azkaban. Rose couldn't help but gasp when she saw it. It looked so dark and menacing.
"Wow," Sam said. "This is even worse than I imagined. How can a place like this even exist?"
"Imagine what it must have looked like when there were Dementors here as well. No wonder people are going mad here." Thomas seemed to be equally shocked at the view.
"It is not a pretty sight, is it?" Hermione said from behind them. They all jumped and looked around. The few that were still seated got to their feet. Rose made sure to take the same step back in shock. She was used to her mother's impeccable timing, now she had to try to forget that it was her mother and to see her as the others did.
Hermione smiled at them. "It is not a happy place, and it is not intended to be. You must remember that when you get on the island. You can leave at any time. You may be overtaken by gloom there, even if you are guards. Be aware of it and it may help you feel better."
They all nodded, barely able to take their eyes away from the impressive dark fortress. Their boat docked on a small gloomy harbour. There were several other boats there, about the same size and type as the one they had arrived on.
One man stood there waiting for them. Once they had all left the boat, he spoke to them, with a voice that made it clear that he had said the same thing many times before.
"Welcome to Azkaban. This will be your new home for the next month, after which we will assess whether you can be trusted to work in this important job or will need to be sent home. If you are deemed ready, you may get employment and stay here with set intervals of your choice. These first few days you will be training in different departments to see where you fit, then you will be able to choose which area you would like to work in, if they are willing to have you. Remember we have a variety of things that need to be done. Not all of you need to have direct contact with prisoners. We also need people to make food, clean, and keep order. Now, if you will please follow me, I will show you your quarters before you get to meet the head of security, Mr. Perrot." All of this was said in the same monotone voice. He had not even said his own name. Rose noticed that he hadn't even seen Hermione coming up behind them. But as he straightened, about to ask them to follow, he jumped back in shock.
"M-Madam Minister. My pardon, I have not been told you would be arriving, or I would have come to greet you first. Does… Does Mr. Perrot know you are coming?" He asked all this while bowing at almost every syllable. He looked ridiculous, and Rose couldn't help but notice the difference in how he treated them and her. She had thought him impassionate, but maybe he was just bored. She suspected he had to do this greeting speech many times.
"No, I did not tell you that I would be arriving today specifically, but I did say that I would come occasionally to check up on the security issues here." Hermione said. Her voice was pleasant, but she had a very good way of letting people know she was displeased or unimpressed while maintaining decorum. "I will leave you to deal with these ones while I go and speak to Perrot."
"I-I can show you to him, Minister…" the guard began, but Hermione interrupted him. "No, no, you clearly have enough on your plate. I know the way." And before the guard could say another word, she was gone up the stairs. He stood there gaping after her. Rose and the others stood waiting. Eventually, the guard turned back to them. He had a slightly less monotone voice now.
"Yes, well, as I said, we will take a short tour of the facilities before you get your assigned quarters. There isn't enough space for all of you to get single rooms, so some of you may have to share."
Rose hadn't thought about that. How would she be able to change in private if she had to share a room? Would it look suspicious if she asked for a single room? She couldn't ask her mother to fix these sorts of issues, that would definitely be suspicious. She supposed she would just have to accept it.
The tour of the facilities was done quickly. There wasn't much to see. Most of the upper floors were prisoner cells, but only a few of the floors were actually in use. The lower floor with cells had instead been made into guard barracks, with actual doors instead of bars, allowing for some privacy. It was not the most inviting room, but it would work. There was also a kitchen, with a fairly large staff. The food seemed to be decent. Rose would have to be careful to not show skills in that area, or she would be stuck on kitchen duty. She had cooked enough meals for Death Eaters, and she wouldn't make much headway from the kitchen.
It quickly became clear that none of the new recruits, as they were called now, would get a separate room. They were in pairs. And even worse, the bathrooms were in a common area. How would she be able to take showers with all the others?
She understood what her mother meant. This was not meant for females. The only women she saw were a few that worked in the kitchen. She would have to pretend to be shy, and shower when there weren't any others there.
Her assigned bunkmate was Thomas. She was pleased with that, since she felt they had already made a connection. Thomas seemed happy with that as well. They talked a bit before bed but didn't stay up long. They had an early start tomorrow.
Rose's final thoughts before bed went to Scorpius. She wanted to be there for him, but she couldn't. So, she might as well be here instead, where she might learn something useful.