I Want to Do a Crossword

In a dark, fog-shrouded sea, there sits a lonely little island.

The turbid waves surged and crashed violently against the jagged rocks that jutted out around the island, creating an echoing sound like a mournful cry.

A small boat appeared in the mist, gliding like a slippery bar of soap across the jagged rocks. It took quite a few twists and turns before it was finally able to land.

"Ugh!" Cornelius Fudge was the first to jump off the boat, leaning against a dead tree on the shore, gagging loudly.

Two Auror calmly jumped off the small boat, with a blond wizard floating behind them;

The blond wizard, with pale lips, hair like a tangled mess, and an extremely haggard appearance, was none other than Gilderoy Lockhart, who had been sentenced.

There is only one rugged mountain path on the island, covered with gravel, and the surrounding area is full of jagged rocks.

Cornelius Fudge initially led the way, walking at the very front of the group, but as they continued forward, he gradually fell behind, eventually ending up panting at the very back, his chubby face covered in sweat.

At the end of the mountain road appeared Azkaban, which resembled a triangular prism. The building was entirely black, like a sinister tombstone.

"Ha... ha..." Cornelius Fudge shuddered, and puffs of white breath came out of his mouth, as if he had come from the height of summer to the depths of winter.

Black cloaks appeared in the sky, tattered and worn, revealing grayish-white skin covered with scars and pustules.

These are Azkaban's guardian Dementor, who stand in front of Azkaban, blocking the iron gate leading inside.

Faced with the sudden Dementor, Cornelius Fudge urged hurriedly, "Hurry... hurry up! This is too uncomfortable! Hah..."

"Expecto Patronum!" One of the Auror raised his wand, and a silver-white boar flew out from the tip of the wand.

The appearance of the Corporeal Patronus restored Cornelius Fudge's spirits somewhat, and he shouted at the group of Dementor, "I am Cornelius Fudge! Minister of Ministry of Magic! Get out of my way!"

The boar Patronus flew into the air, Dementor, like oil dripping from a pot, quickly rose higher and higher, circling and hovering in the sky.

Cornelius Fudge took out a handkerchief, wiped the sweat off his body, and straightened his clothes before giving the Auror beside him a look.

Another Auror stepped forward, pressed the tip of his wand against the iron gate, and with a slight movement of his lips, the gate slowly opened with a rumbling sound.

The guard waited at the door, panting, as if he had just come down.

Upon seeing Gilderoy Lockhart, they immediately stepped forward and lifted him up. "Minister Fudge, please come with us..."

This was Cornelius Fudge's purpose in coming here: to imprison Gilderoy Lockhart in Azkaban and, incidentally, to conduct his annual routine surveillance—a win-win situation.

"Hmm?" Cornelius Fudge raised an eyebrow and picked up the Daily Prophet that had fallen to the ground. "Who left this here?"

The two guards paused, and said somewhat nervously, "It might not have been placed properly... It was just a coincidence... It definitely won't happen again!"

"Arthur, what good luck..." Cornelius Fudge glanced at the newspaper and couldn't help but sigh when he saw the headline.

"Give me..."

The faint sound startled Cornelius Fudge, who quickly tried to remain calm and looked toward one of the cells.

Because the dead are thrown out of Azkaban, he was certain that the sorcerer before him, who resembled a corpse, was actually still alive.

The male wizard was just too thin and weak, like a skeleton with skin made of wax, without a trace of blood in his eyes, which were also dull and lifeless.

Cornelius Fudge didn't have a good memory, but he couldn't forget the name of the wizard in front of him— Sirius Black.

Back then, he was the deputy director of the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes. When he came to handle a magical accident, he happened to run into Sirius Black, who was standing there laughing hysterically.

Based on his assessment at the time, he concluded that Sirius Black killed Peter Pettigrew and orchestrated subsequent events that led to Sirius Black's imprisonment in Azkaban.

It was precisely because of this achievement that he was able to win the position of Minister of Magic by a narrow margin many years later.

In some ways, perhaps he should thank Sirius Black ...

"Give me that..." Sirius Black's voice came again.

Cornelius Fudge held up the Daily Prophet, looking down at it condescendingly, and said, "You want this? What do you want to do with it?"

Sirius Black said calmly, "I want to play a crossword puzzle... There's nothing here..."

Such a calm voice struck Cornelius Fudge like a thunderbolt, sending a chill down his spine.

His hand trembled involuntarily, and the Daily Prophet fell to the ground. Sirius Black stretched out his arm, his shoulder easily passing through the iron bars, and grabbed the Daily Prophet in his hand.

Sirius Black, like Evil Hound guarding its food, stuffed the Daily Prophet into his arms, went straight to the window, and began to read it by the dim light.

Cornelius Fudge grew even more uneasy and quickly called over a guard, "Go! Bring me the newspaper!"

"Stupefy!" The guard nodded and immediately drew his wand to cast Stunning Spell.

With a flash of red light, Sirius Black crashed into the wall, and the Daily Prophet fell to the ground.

"Does he usually act like this?" Cornelius Fudge asked doubtfully.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" The guard cast Levitation Charm and slowly retrieved the Daily Prophet. "He wouldn't normally do this... He usually just says things like 'I killed them...'"

"This is abnormal! This is very abnormal!" Cornelius Fudge muttered. "Keep an eye on him!"

The guard immediately stood at attention, head held high, and replied, "Yes, Minister Fudge!"

"No wonder the Dementor were so restless today... They've probably never eaten anything this good before..."

"Gilderoy Lockhart ...my wife loves his books, thank goodness he's a fraud!"

"Haha! Now that you see him suffering, you've finally gotten your revenge..."

"That's true. I reckon he'll be like the other prisoners in a month at most..."

"I hope he doesn't end up like Black... that was really scary!"

"What exactly happened during my handover with the Auror?"

"It's the Daily Prophet we didn't hide well, right? Fudge stole it, didn't he? Then, I don't know what happened... Black stole it too... Fudge was terrified..."

"He deserves a scare. I've heard there are a lot of people who are unhappy with him... If another accident happens, he might have to say goodbye to his ministerial position..."

"That was a short-lived minister. How long had he been in office? Was there any wizard who stepped down before him?"

"I don't know... I've given it all back to Hogwarts. All I remember is how to cast spells. Who's going to memorize the History of Magic...?"

"With so many Dementor in Azkaban, it shouldn't be possible for anything to happen, right?"

"That's right! That's the key point! No one can escape from here!"

A series of sounds gradually brought Sirius Black back to consciousness...