Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 214: Visiting Azkaban
"Sorry that you had to accompany us, Mister Potter." Regulus sounded very apologetic since they left the house.
"I told you a hundred times to just call me James." He responded.
"He is always overly courteous." Sirius pointed out.
"As opposed to his brother. "Andromeda added." Let's just get this over with…I don't like this place." She looked up at the building with dread.
The prison of Azkaban was already unsettling from the outside, not to mention once you got in.
The guard at the door gave them a sign to approach, and the four of them did just that.
After verifying their identities, they were escorted inside.
They passed by almost two dozen guards on their way to the third floor, which was the last one before starting on the cell blocks.
"From this point on, I can only bring one person at a time. The rest of you will have to wait here." The auror told them. "There is also a five-minute time limit for you to be in the cell area. Any more than that and the dementors can get…let's just say 'too excited' from seeing new people."
"Security is tight, huh?." James commented.
The auror escorting them turned to look at him. "Aye, after what happened last month, the Ministry duplicated the number of active guards and changed some of our protocols." He was referring to the attack on Diagon Alley.
After that day, the Minister had no choice but to recognize the threat that this new Dark Lord represented and increase the budget of the Auror Department so they could hire extra personnel.
A few of the new guys were former hit wizards, so they had combat experience, but most of them were young wizards and witches.
Regardless, security had been increased in Azkaban, Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade, and a few of the major magical communities in the country.
"Yet you are still depending mostly on Dementors…" James muttered under his breath. He had warned Dumbledore about it, but after informing the Minister, the man just refused to part with them.
The Ministry had become used to how things worked until now, and it was not willing to change anything based on the sole word of Albus Dumbledore.
'At least I don't think there is anyone in here that Voldemort would want to get out at this time.' James thought. 'But it would still be bad if he took all the dementors away.'
"You should go first, I'm in no hurry to see her," Sirius told his brother. He could already imagine that his mother would start demanding he do something to free her from the prison the moment she saw him. Either that, or she'd tell him how much of a disappointment of a son he had been.
Andromeda turned to glance at James. "Sorry that we made you come to such a place. I'm sure you had better plans for today."
"It's no problem. I was actually planning on visiting Diagon Alley. There are a few materials that I require and…can't request via owl."
"Oh?." This piqued her interest. "Are we talking about something…illegal?." She made sure to whisper.
"Something like that, I suppose." He wasn't sure if they were legal or not, but he certainly wouldn't find them in the most public part of the alley.
"Do you mind if I accompany you? There is someone I'm hoping to see there…"
"That boyfriend of yours? What was his name?" James knew the girl had been exchanging letters with someone since the moment they started living in their house.
Andromeda smiled. "Ted Tonks. He told me he was going to spend a few days in the Leaky Cauldron with his parents before traveling to Germany for a short vacation."
"That's fine, you can tag along, but I cannot bring you with me into the shop I'm visiting, so…"
"That's okay. If everything goes well, I will disappear for a few hours…" A light blush appeared on her face. "But don't tell anyone, okay?."
James raised an eyebrow. "You are already an adult and about to start your last year of school. When are you planning on telling your family about him? Only Bella knows about it, right?."
"Mmm…let me see…never?." Andromeda responded.
"I'm sure your grandfather won't complain too much." James said.
"He will, but not as much as my parents." Andromeda shook her head. "You don't understand…if he was at least from a wizard family, then maybe I could convince them he was right for me. But…"
"But he is a muggleborn." James added.
"And the motto of our house is 'Always Pure'..." Andromeda shook her head.
"Would you let me talk with your grandfather about it? I'm sure I can convince him that supporting your choice for a partner will be the right path to take." He didn't want this Andromeda to end up completely separated from her family, like what happened to the one from his world. At least not if he could do something about it.
"Would you do that for me? Why?." Andromeda asked. "We have only known each other for a few months."
James shrugged. "It doesn't cost me anything. And we are kinda family, right?."
"Hey, what are you guys talking about?." Sirius sat down next to James.
"Our love lives." Andromeda told him. "By the way, how is yours?."
"What, mine?." Sirius was taken aback. "I mean…fine? Marlene only sent me one letter this summer. It was kinda weird."
"Could it be that it's because you forgot her birthday? And then lashed at her when she asked where her present was?." James pointed out.
"I thought she was joking!." Sirius said.
"How could you forget your girlfriend's birthday?." Andromeda glared at him in disbelief.
"I had a lot of things on my head this year. But forget about me…"
"I think that's what Marlene may be trying to do right now." Andromeda commented.
"That's not funny!." Sirius snapped. "Why don't we talk about you instead. Who are you dating?."
"Not telling." Andromeda responded.
"That's not fair."
"I don't care. I'm not telling you."
All of a sudden, the calm atmosphere in the room completely changed when they heard an alarm sounding.
"What's going on?." Andromeda looked around.
"Are we under attack or what?." Sirius looked confused.
The guards were nervously running and yelling.
"Alert!, Alert!."
"We have a security breach on the sixth floor!"
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