Life in Azkaban

The sun is shining brightly, and the sky is cloudless. Today is August 11th, Ministry of Magic time. There are 20 days left until the start of Hogwarts.

Two weeks have passed since the Hunter Family last caused trouble. Now, almost all the prominent families in the Knockturn Alley know that the Hunter Family disappeared mysteriously after causing trouble for Lester.

For a time, the Hunter Family's incident became the talk of the town in Knockturn Alley. Some said that their family had offended a powerful dark wizard because of their domineering style, while others said that their family had made too many enemies, so they staged this whole drama to prepare for their future retirement.

However, this claim is usually only circulated among ordinary dark wizards. Prominent dark wizard families in Knockturn Alley know that the disappearance of the Hunter Family is definitely related to that strange shop in the Knockturn Alley commercial district.

So, seemingly out of fear of Lester's power, even though Lester was just an 11-year-old boy, those powerful families tacitly refrained from taking action against Lester. After all, no one could guarantee that they wouldn't become the next Hunter Family.

At this moment, in the lobby of the Guild, Lester, whom all the bigwigs of Knockturn Alley were thinking about, sat on a bench with a worried look on his face, helplessly surveying the deserted environment of the lobby.

In his mind, how could the Guild hall he had painstakingly built be so deserted? Wasn't it because Muggle-born had been wronged and had no way to seek justice came to him every day?

It's so deserted now, just like Plankton's the Chum Bucket, you can't even see a single person.

"I just want school to start already!" Lester lay listlessly in his chair, silently hoping for the start of the new semester.

"I wish school would start soon!!!"

Inside Azkaban Prison, Franklin, who had earned the right to study at the Azkaban Vocational Technical College due to his excellent Lunyu test scores, would get up very early every day.

He got up early not for any other reason than to better learn the Lunyu.

If he previously considered Azkaban a terrible hell, now in Franklin's eyes, Azkaban was clearly a paradise.

Everyone is equal here. Whether you are a new prisoner or an old prisoner, everyone has the opportunity to reform. Except for a few beasts who are here for trafficking children and raping women, everyone is treated equally.

Most importantly, Franklin saw hope in Azkaban, which gave him something to look forward to in the future!

It's laughable, really. In the vast Wizarding World, there's no place that belongs to Muggle-born. Wherever they go, they face discrimination from Pure-blood wizard, and even when they're working, they're exploited by them.

At that time, the future was a terrifying word for Franklin, because in his eyes, Muggle-born like himself had no future in the Wizarding World.

Even if one's magical abilities are exceptionally high, unless one can defeat Auror from the Ministry of Magic, one still has to obediently abide by the Ministry of Magic's laws, which only apply to Muggle-born, and become the prey harvested by purebloods.

In that cruel Wizarding World, Franklin saw no hope, but in this cold prison, Franklin saw hope instead.

Having just graduated from Hogwarts, Franklin was still quite sharp and quick to learn new things. Coupled with his fascination with Lunyu, he passed the exams smoothly in his second week Franklin and became a student at Azkaban Vocational Technical College.

At first, Franklin was worried that the older students would bully him because he was new, but Franklin soon realized that he had worried too much.

Although the students here are all prisoners, everyone at Azkaban Vocational Technical College is united and friendly, and every student helps each other. Some professors may seem mentally unstable, but they teach things that would never be taught at Hogwarts.

This place is unlike Hogwarts. There is no discrimination against Muggle-born by pure-bloods. Everyone here is Muggle-born. Even if there are impoverished pure-bloods, no one discriminates against them. It's completely different from Hogwarts.

"Mike, it's time to get up. We have to go to our Lunyu class at the academy later!"

After a brief sigh, Franklin looked at the prison warden who was still fast asleep in bed, and somewhat helplessly woke him up, telling him that class was about to start.

After Mike woke up, Franklin quickly washed up and, amidst the envious glances of the other prisoners, set off for school with his cell boss.

Last week, not only did I pass the exam, but so did my cell boss, the one who taught me to Lunyu.

According to Mike, he killed his wife at home because she was having an affair with a yoga instructor. Mike was so enraged that he couldn't contain his anger and used Killing Curse to kill her.

With Mike's wealth, even though he was a Muggle-born, he could have easily gotten away with the matter by giving the Wizengamot members a large bribe. However, he never expected that the yoga instructor he killed would be a pureblood.

When it comes to purebloods, there are no small matters; no matter how much Mike tries, it's all in vain.

Muggle-born who dares to attack Pure-blood wizard will surely be imprisoned in Azkaban, and that's how Mike ended up.

On his way to the Azkaban Vocational Technical College, Franklin continued to speak at length about his bright hopes for the future.

"Mike, I feel like we're a team. Maybe, I mean maybe, during our vacation, we can get medical parole and pull off a heist."

Having been exposed to the ways of many prisoners, Franklin has evolved from a naive boy into a ruthless Blackie. As the saying goes, "One is influenced by one's company." Franklin, who used to be beaten rather than fight back, now wants to go out and make a fortune.

"It's true, Professor Leona, who's in charge of issuing medical parole, really likes me. He said that as long as I get 80 points on my Lunyu test this week, I can go on a week-long trip under the guise of medical parole. Maybe we can go together!"

Mike: "..."

In the past, he would have readily belittled the excited little wizard and told him how cruel the world was. But now, Mike hesitated.

Unlike Franklin, a fledgling wizard, Mike was already over 40 years old, with a wife and children. Having been a dark wizard himself, he had truly witnessed the dark side of the world and knew that it wasn't as wonderful as he had imagined.

But he was really undecided about Azkaban.

If he hadn't been imprisoned in Azkaban for killing Pure-blood wizard, he probably would have lived his life in a daze.

But now, having come into contact with the Azkaban Magic Academy and surrounded by a group of energetic young people, Mike feels, for some reason, that his mindset has become younger as well.

"Is this what it feels like to have hope?" Mike sighed wistfully.