"The objective is clear. Let's synchronize our watches again."
Douglas placed his finger on a triangular fortress on the map.
The point of light flashed an ominous red.
"Phase three: withdrawal."
Douglas's voice was calm.
"After clearing out all of Azkaban's assets, we must withdraw completely within one hour. That's a hard deadline."
He turned to look at Sirius and Lupin.
"Remus, Padfoot, your task is crucial-even more important than ours on the front line."
Sirius put away his usual playful grin. He sat in a dragon-hide chair, leaning forward with his hands clasped beneath his chin.
"Don't worry. I've arranged everything."
Sirius spoke in a low voice, a calculating gleam in his gray eyes.
"Remus and I will appear in Diagon Alley on time, make a very conspicuous visit to the ice cream parlor, then pick out a few ugly robes at a clothing shop. We'll even deliberately run into Ministry of Magic officials and discuss next quarter's defense orders."
"We'll make sure everyone sees that when the Azkaban alarm sounds, the boss of the Marauders Power Company and the werewolf leader are enjoying afternoon tea."
Lupin added this with a composed smile.
"That's a perfect alibi."
"Very good."
Douglas nodded and drew a red line on the map, connecting Griffin's Nest to the Ministry of Magic.
"When that old alarm at the Ministry of Magic goes off, the Marauders Power Company, as the technological leader of the United Kingdom's wizarding world, must react faster than the authorities."
"We need to warn the Ministry of Magic ourselves."
Douglas stressed the point.
"The Auror Office in particular."
"I've already worked out our explanation: our long-range magical fluctuation monitoring array detected a large-scale dark magic reaction in the North Sea region.
This will both clear us of suspicion and demonstrate the