Volume 1 Chapter 61 Silent Island
The gray mist was filled with dead despair.
Tall creatures covered in tattered black robes roamed around the island, guarding the ancient castle in the middle of the island.
Under the erosion of time, the castle looks extremely dilapidated, and the mottled stone walls are covered with black moss. Bathed in the sea breeze, they look like withered arms extending from the walls, struggling between sin and death.
Watching the two Dementors floating away side by side in the corridor, Lupin, with a pale face, steadied his breathing, stepped lightly on the black stone slabs, and walked to a cell in the deepest part of the prison.
There was something strange in the prison. There was no one imprisoned in it. Instead, there was a big dog with pure black hair lying inside.
The black dog's keen perception allowed him to detect the movement outside the iron railings. He opened his fierce eyes, but after seeing Lupin, his gaze became calm again.
The black dog's body was twisting, and almost in the blink of an eye, a tall, strong man with fair skin and a pair of striking gray eyes appeared in the cell.
"You came here too soon this time ," Sirius said casually.
He seemed to be unaffected by the Dementors. He did not feel any sadness or despair at all. Instead, he was full of activity and restlessness.
Lupin looked to be in poor condition. Not only was his face pale, but he seemed to have overdrawn a lot of physical strength . His breathing was obviously much faster than that of a normal person, and his bloodless hands were trembling slightly.
"I can't help it. I came out of the cave last night right after the full moon. There is a lot of news coming out from outside, and there are many things on the island that I want to let you know. If it wasn't the wrong time, I should have come here last night."
Sirius sat down on the dry straw and raised his eyebrow.
"Let me guess, is it more of a good thing or a bad thing that made you come here so anxiously..."
"Dedalo died in prison."
The scene became quiet.
It was so quiet that only the breathing of the two people could be heard.
Sirius, who was sitting casually, suddenly tensed up for some reason. His grey eyes stared at Lupin, and his voice sounded as if squeezed out from between his teeth.
"You told me last time you came here that he performed very well!"
"Yes, he was really good, but he was almost crazy at that time." Lupin's already rapid breathing became even more unstable. "He cried and laughed, and said he was in so much pain that he wanted to die. Then he said he must hold on and go home to visit his mother..."
"When I went to see him the day before yesterday, he couldn't hold on any longer. I brought him a lot of his favorite chocolates and puddings, but he was lying on the ground and couldn't even sit up. He could only keep repeating that he wanted to see his mother..."
Lupin's voice was trembling, and he could only say this. Sirius clenched his fists tightly, and he tried his best to suppress his voice, as if he had used up all his strength to say this sentence.
"67! When we came here, there were 67 of our people imprisoned here! Now that Dedaluo is dead, there are 42 left! Including the three people including Haisijia who were captured later! In the past three years, 28 people have been sucked alive by those beasts! 28 people! 28 lives!"
In the end, he seemed to have controlled his emotions, just like putting a lid on a pot of boiling water, covering up all his temper, and asked in an eerily calm voice.
"What is the current progress?"
Lupin took a deep breath.
"This is exactly the second thing I came to tell you. Dumbledore has sent me news. If nothing unexpected happens, we can start before June next year."
"Wait another year?"
"This is just the right time. According to our previous estimates, we will be able to complete all preparations by next spring."
“Why not earlier?”
"Don't forget what the consequences of failure will be if you start ahead of schedule without meeting your expectations." He stared into Sirius' eyes. "There are still so many people counting on us. We have been encouraging them to hold on until now. Don't let them end up in despair."
Sirius fell silent, and Lupin also stared quietly at the windowless gray stone wall of the prison.
Azkaban is quiet today, but it won't stay quiet forever.
…
The summer vacation at Hogwarts has begun.
But in fact, for the vast majority of students, it makes no difference whether there is summer vacation or not. They are already homeless and have to stay in the carriage even if they have no classes to attend.
Among the freshmen who will no longer be freshmen in two months, Ron and Neville will still have a home to return to, but Justin and Lavender will have to spend the summer in the carriage.
Just when they thought that Jon was the same, on the evening of the third day after the final exams, when the students gathered in the restaurant for dinner, Dumbledore took Jon away from the carriage without disturbing anyone.
Their appearance at this time is no longer what it originally was.
Dumbledore's Transfiguration skill has reached a superb level. Even the title of Master of Transfiguration is not worthy of his level of Transfiguration.
Without the help of any potion, he could completely change his and John's appearance just by relying on the spell itself.
They all look like middle-aged wizards, without any notable features. They are the kind of ordinary faces that would be subconsciously forgotten after just one glance .
Jon asked puzzledly after being taken off the carriage by Hagrid in a field.
"Professor, how do we get to our destination?"
"Use Apparition, but Apparition cannot allow us to land directly at our destination. Wherever there are a large number of wizards, the starting and landing points of Apparition are strictly monitored. We need to wait until the carriage is far away, and then choose a location not far from our destination."
He explained softly and gave a reminder.
"Don't forget, don't call me professor from now on. You are Jack, and I am Williams. We are brothers. Our mother is a Muggle wizard, our father is a pure-blood, and we ourselves are mixed-blood."
Jon nodded.
"Don't worry, Williams. I have already written down the information you prepared in the carriage."
Estimating the time, Dumbledore grabbed Jon's arm.
"It's highly likely that we won't need these things, but it's always better to be prepared in advance." He said as he waved his wand.
"Apparate."
The next moment, the figures of the two twisted and disappeared into the air, and at the same time, in an empty alley in London, the "wizard brothers" reunited.
