Gringotts.
A long-sealed vault.
In the vast space, only a notebook lay on the floor, gathering dust.
Today, an old man opened the vault door.
Following the clues that someone had deliberately left behind, he had found his way here.
When he saw the notebook, the old man cautiously refrained from touching it with his hands.
The Elder Wand flicked lightly.
The Diary floated up and opened by itself.
What appeared before the old man's half-moon spectacles was a string of choice curses. At the same time, as expected, he heard someone swearing furiously in his ear. The voice was very familiar.
"Merlin's beard!"
"Oh." The old man looked a little surprised.
"What a short-tempered young man."
He spoke aloud.
Like a Howler, this Diary had a voice. As soon as it opened, someone began roaring from within!
Hysterically.
"If Herpo the Foul gave me another chance, I'd kill myself before I was sent to Azkaban.
That place is absolutely terrifying.
It's worse than death.
Even though I escaped, it's haunted my nightmares ever since.
I haven't had a good night's sleep in ages.
Those stupid Ministry bureaucrats, those disgusting Dementors.
One day, I'll kill every last Dementor. Every single one!
Disgusting things like them shouldn't exist in the Wizarding World!
I'll throw all the Ministry bureaucrats into Azkaban! I swear!"
Someone had poured out their feelings in blue ink in this utterly ordinary Diary.
Their fury was plain to see.
Below those words, there was also a false name.
Dewey Jones.
"Dewey Jones? So it really was you.
Did you bring me here just to show me your inner thoughts?
How amusing. You may not have been my most outstanding student, but you were the most interesting person I ever met."
The old man smiled softly and turned the page.
After reading it, the person perusing the Diary seemed to have taken an interest in it.
He used the Elder Wand to turn back to the first page.
The first page of the Diary was covered with increasingly haphazard sentences.
The voice coming from it grew more and more unhinged!
"An impossible-difficulty mission, and the moment I open my eyes, I'm in Azkaban?
What did I do to deserve being with Bellatrix, that crazy woman, on our way to Azkaban!
No!!!
No way. I'm breaking out. I'm not going to Azkaban.
I'm innocent!
Damn Voldemort.
Damn the Ministry of Magic.
Damn Dumbledore!
The Minister, Aurors, Hit Wizards, the White Wizard, the Dark Lord, and those damn Ministry bureaucrats!
You're all a bunch of idiots!
I'll get out of Azkaban!
Those Ministry bitches are going to pay for what they've done!"
Hearing himself called the White Wizard, the old man was at a loss for words.
He raised the Elder Wand and deflected several curses hidden among the pages, looking even more helpless.
"What a mischievous little fellow."
He said.
Even now, the old man had no idea how Dewey had escaped from Azkaban.
He didn't even know where the young fellow had gone.
He had made fools of half the Wizarding World.
How intriguing.
Just as the old man was about to learn more about Dewey's inner thoughts,
the lock behind him clicked open.
A huge figure came in.
Hagrid clanked along in his greatcoat.
He looked awful, as though he was about to throw up.
"Headmaster," he said to Dumbledore. "I've got what you asked for. Dewey left a curse on the door and turned the Goblin who opened it into a pig.
He left a Galleon and said it was for Harry Potter.
He said it was payment for the Invisibility Cloak—cash on delivery, transaction complete."
"Transaction complete? All right, Hagrid."
Dumbledore didn't seem surprised that someone had bought a Deathly Hallow for a single Galleon.
He casually slipped the Diary into his robes and said, "All right. Now that you've got it, let's go back. The Gringotts carts are quite a thrill, aren't they?
Would you like to ride one back, Hagrid? This time, though, I'll take the cart in front of yours.
Remember to keep that Galleon safe. It's for Mr. Potter."
Dumbledore spoke teasingly, then winked at Hagrid. He hopped into a cart first and sped toward the surface of Gringotts, whooping, "Woohoo!"
At the headmaster's words, Hagrid looked even worse. He forced down the urge to vomit and put on his goggles. "All right, shorty. Let's have an adventure!"
The Gringotts Goblin wore a malicious grin.
"Very well, sir. Hold tight to the railing."
The Goblin gave Hagrid a spiteful look and kicked the cart into motion. It shot toward the surface of Gringotts at a mind-boggling, rocket-like speed!
A few minutes later, in the lobby of Gringotts,
Hagrid stumbled onto the floor, his legs trembling. With a "bleurgh," he threw up all over the place.
The Goblin looked disgusted.
Dumbledore drew his wand and gave it a wave.
"Hagrid, it seems your motion sickness hasn't improved much."
Dumbledore spoke as he led Hagrid out of Gringotts. They saw the busy witches and wizards of Diagon Alley.
"Let's go back."
Dumbledore said.
"I still need to find a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher for the school. I hope this time the teacher lasts a little longer. There aren't many qualified candidates left."
He muttered to himself as he led Hagrid into the crowd, and they disappeared from view.
1982, evening.
An unknown stretch of sea.
A place beyond the reach of magical tracking.
A small boat drifted over the towering waves.
Azkaban was already visible from here.
Nervous and despairing, Dewey Jones had just crossed over, and his stomach felt terribly unsettled. He was nauseous and wanted to throw up.
He was shivering all over, too.
The woman behind him was laughing madly, making Dewey feel even more hopeless.
"I don't want to go to Azkaban. I'm innocent. I'm just a poor transmigrator."
Those were the only words in his mind.
He wanted to jump overboard, but the Aurors sitting beside him and the sharks swimming in the sea made him abandon that dangerous idea.
Beneath the sunset, Azkaban lay shrouded in shadow.
With a clunk,
the boat reached the shore.
Dewey saw several Hit Wizards from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement who had been stationed there rush over.
They couldn't wait to leave.
The boat had arrived with supplies, which meant the Ministry of Magic had sent someone to relieve them.
There were only a handful of Hit Wizards who knew Expecto Patronum. They took turns guarding the prison.
At the sight of the newcomers, they all breathed a sigh of relief, and rare smiles bloomed on their faces.
But their happiness vanished as soon as it appeared.
"We nearly attracted those Dementors."
One of the Hit Wizards muttered.
Dewey's gaze swept across the Hit Wizards before settling on what lay behind them.
Behind them was a cliff hundreds of meters high.
On top of it stood the ruined castle where the most dangerous prisoners in this magical prison were held. It was also the Dementors' nesting place, and would be Dewey's "home" from now on.
The Dementors, those powerful and evil Dark Creatures, swooped like giant bats through the castle ruins atop the cliff. One look was enough to make Dewey feel as though his breath had stopped.
"Those damn, filthy things."
Mad-Eye Moody couldn't help muttering, either.
Even an elite Auror disliked those Dark Creatures.
Being here made him feel as though he were submerged in cold seawater, damp and hopeless.
He took some chocolate out of his robes, broke it into pieces, and handed it to the Hit Wizards.
Beside him, three elite Aurors held their wands and kept the prisoners on the boat under watch.
The Hit Wizards behind them were on guard, too. If any of the prisoners so much as moved, they'd hit them with curses.
After glancing at the Dementors, Mad-Eye Moody looked at the prisoners he had escorted here. He took a swig of liquor, breathed out, and said, "Well, you bastards, enjoy your wonderful life here. I swear you'll rot in this place. Every last one of you.
Along with your master."
Dewey Jones didn't speak. He felt utterly hopeless.
"I was framed."
He spoke in a low voice.
The woman behind him laughed at him.
"You coward, you weakling, you disgusting worm.
The Dark Lord doesn't want a weakling like you among his followers!
You should be grateful I don't have my wand. Otherwise, I'd use Crucio to teach you what loyalty means."
The woman behind him ranted wildly, spittle flying.
Her once-lovely face was now twisted beyond recognition.
Dewey looked at the woman, then at the several senior Death Eater officials beside her. Despair showed in his eyes.
He didn't understand how he could be this unlucky.
When he first crossed over, he found himself in London. Before he could even figure out what was going on, he saw the senior Death Eater officials around him.
In 1981, Voldemort Avada'd Harry Potter, failed, and fled. His disembodied spirit flew through several countries before reaching Albania.
The Ministry of Magic began a full-scale counterattack.
Aurors hunted down fleeing Death Eaters everywhere.
The owner of this body, Dewey Jones, was a Ravenclaw from Ravenclaw and a loyal Death Eater. He must have been out of his mind. Instead of finding a way to beg the Ministry for mercy and claiming he'd been controlled by Voldemort with the Imperius Curse, he'd done the exact opposite: joined forces with senior Death Eater officials. Together with the madwoman Bellatrix Lestrange, her husband, and Barty Jr., he'd gone after the Aurors, the Longbottoms, tortured them, and demanded to know Voldemort's whereabouts.
He'd been an accomplice in the search for information.
In the end, they'd all been caught.
Bellatrix, her husband, and Barty Jr. were sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban.
Dewey was sentenced to forty years in prison, also to be served in Azkaban.
"Get off the boat, you scum."
Mad-Eye Moody addressed them, wand in hand.
Azkaban was the name of this island.
The entire island was Azkaban. Only the most dangerous criminals were locked away in the Dementors' lair.
Most of the other, less serious offenders were kept outside the castle, where they weren't "harassed" by Dementors around the clock.
Their chances of surviving were much better.
"Expecto Patronum!"
Mad-Eye Moody summoned his Patronus and led them toward the castle atop the cliff.
Dewey and the others behind him were under the Imperius Curse. They followed Mad-Eye Moody step by step.
Outside the castle, the Dementors swooped and soared, looking delighted.
They could feel it: they were getting an extra meal today!
Dewey was thrown into the castle. The light vanished, and the Dementors descended on him, sucking greedily.
Before Dewey could even think, the Dementors had sucked away all his happiness, and he passed out.
Once they had finished eating, the Dementors turned and left, going in search of other happiness.
Mad-Eye Moody continued leading the remaining prisoners deeper into the prison.
Before you continue