"What did you say?" Scrimgeour stared at Moody in shock.
Moody stared back with his mismatched eyes. "Azkaban has just been breached. All the prisoners have escaped!"
"How... how is that possible?" Madam Bones clearly could not believe it either.
"Hmph. Voldemort appeared here alone. Clearly, besides wanting to kill Potter, he also wanted to draw everyone's attention here," Moody said grimly.
"Moody, it was to give his followers an opportunity to break into Azkaban. Word just came from the Ministry: the Dementors guarding Azkaban rebelled, and the wizards stationed around the perimeter were killed in the line of duty. Ninety percent of the prisoners escaped."
"Damn it." Scrimgeour's face was now darker than that of his newly arrived subordinate, Kingsley-who was of African descent. He gritted his teeth. "I said it before: why did Harry Potter become an extra Champion? It was for his influence!
"Because Potter became a Champion, the Ministry agreed to assemble a Spectator Delegation of this size, leaving us exposed back home... where's Crouch?"
"Yes, bring Barty Crouch here." Madam Bones looked equally grim. "He was the one who suggested assembling the Spectator Delegation. He even said Harry Potter was a matter of great importance, and that the Ministry should pay him special attention. Now it seems..."
As they spoke, officers from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement arrived with an ashen-faced Barty Crouch and Ludo Bagman, whose legs had almost given out and who had to be supported as he walked.
"Where's the Minister? Why didn't he come with you?" Scrimgeour frowned when he saw Crouch and Bagman arrive without Fudge.
"The Minister just returned to the Ministry. He said he needed to take charge of things there," Kingsley replied.
"He went back to take charge at a time like this?" Scrimgeour looked displeased.