Chapter Summaries

Douglas turned the Underground Lake into a larger prison and built stone rooms for the incoming captives, while Barty Crouch Jr. remained stranded on the island. Douglas told Barty that he would soon have company and, as the first resident and current prefect, needed to set an example.

• Douglas left Old Crouch with a crate of Magic-Suppressing Potion and told him to prepare chains for giants.
• Douglas silenced Barty Crouch Jr. and magically expanded the Underground Lake, pushing the island far from shore.
• Douglas enlarged a crate and sent hundreds of stone pillars into the lake to create an examination hall.
• Douglas crossed the lake by boat and told Barty that the island would become his new dormitory.
• Douglas said that Barty would soon see old friends and told him to set an example as the first resident and current prefect.

Douglas forced Barty Crouch Jr. into a study cell on a stone pillar in the lake, where he could not escape and was expected to study. He announced that Barty and future prisoners would compete through scholarship and rehabilitation for the right to move closer to Voldemort’s island.

• Douglas grabbed Barty Crouch Jr. and threw him toward the lake, where a stone pillar rose and caught him.
• Barty found a furnished study on the pillar, stocked with books, stationery, and a bed.
• Barty tried to return to the island but struck an invisible barrier and fell back onto the platform.
• Douglas explained that the pillar’s One-Way Repulsion Barrier prevented escape and said other prisoners would soon join Barty.
• Douglas announced that prisoners who wrote the best papers and produced the most valuable research would earn the right to move closer to the island.

Douglas forced Barty Crouch Jr. to compete for privileges by writing assignments, then shrank the Demon-Suppression Tower into a portable pagoda for capturing Death Eaters. He left Hogwarts for Holmes Manor as he prepared to head to Azkaban and recruit more prisoners.

• Douglas told Barty Crouch Jr. that the best-performing Death Eater could earn a cell near the island and stone basin, spurring him to compete with Bellatrix.
• Douglas assigned Barty Crouch Jr. a three-foot essay on optimizing Muggle technology and magic, threatening to withhold his food if he failed.
• Douglas decided to bring more prisoners from Azkaban to the Hogwarts Reeducation Center for Special Talents.
• Douglas used an Eastern incantation to shrink the eight-story Demon-Suppression Tower into a foot-tall pagoda that could serve as a mobile prison.
• Douglas used Floo Powder to travel to Holmes Manor while carrying the miniature pagoda.

Filch discovered that Professor Holmes’s Demon-Suppression Tower had vanished from the Hogwarts courtyard, though the ground showed no sign that it had ever stood there. The professors gathered to investigate, and Flitwick found no residual magic or damage while speculating about a powerful displacement spell.

• Filch noticed the courtyard was unusually open and realized the Demon-Suppression Tower was gone.
• Filch rang the emergency bell, bringing nearly every professor on the grounds to the courtyard.
• McGonagall asked Filch whether Hogwarts was under attack, and he told the professors the tower had vanished.
• Flitwick examined the empty site and found no residual magic, explosion traces, or disturbed foundations.
• Trelawney feared Voldemort was responsible, but an icy voice cut her off.

Hogwarts professors found the Demon-Suppression Tower missing, and Snape blamed Douglas Holmes for its disappearance. Dumbledore calmed everyone by claiming the tower had gone on summer holiday, leaving the professors to accept that it was undergoing maintenance.

• Snape inspected the empty clearing and accused Douglas Holmes of moving the tower.
• McGonagall questioned whether Douglas could move such a huge building, while Filch said he had seen Douglas near the clearing that afternoon.
• Dumbledore arrived and said the Demon-Suppression Tower had gone on summer holiday.
• Dumbledore told the professors to describe the tower’s absence as maintenance and sent them back to bed.
• Snape left grumbling, while Filch stayed behind, puzzled by the tower’s summer holiday.

Douglas led Bill Weasley, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, and Valerius on a mission to Azkaban to survey the prison for renovation and gather supplies. They reached the island by speedboat and began setting hidden alarms, but the fortress was surrounded by hundreds of Dementors.

• Douglas assembled the crew in Holmes Manor’s basement and tested their encrypted communication earrings before announcing the operation.
• The group teleported to the Reef of Silence, where Douglas summoned the company’s rune-shielded speedboat and Sirius took the helm.
• As they sailed toward Azkaban, Sirius planted concealed alarms on the outlying islands while Lupin watched for defenses.
• The crew saw Azkaban’s black stone fortress and the hundreds of Dementors surrounding it, prompting Bill to warn that a mass attack could overwhelm their Patronus Charms.

Douglas and his allies isolated Azkaban from the outside world and placed an Emotion Crystal doll in the courtyard as bait. Hundreds of Dementors emerged, far more than Ministry records indicated, and Douglas suggested that Azkaban’s accumulated despair had spawned them.

• Douglas activated Bill’s twelve Rune-covered stakes, creating a barrier that cut Azkaban off from outside signals.
• Douglas assigned Lupin and Valerius to watch for anyone escaping, then transformed into a white crane and carried a doll into Azkaban’s courtyard.
• Douglas changed back into human form and used the Occlumency Book to shield his emotions while the doll’s Emotion Crystals drew the Dementors out.
• Hundreds of Dementors poured from Azkaban’s openings, and Bill noted that there were twice as many as Ministry records reported.
• Douglas explained that Dementors were non-beings and proposed that Azkaban’s accumulated despair and suffering had caused them to appear in such numbers.

Douglas and Bill captured Azkaban’s Dementors in a dragon-hide book, then prepared to enter the fortress and recruit its surviving prisoners for their Research Center. The chapter ended with Douglas leading the way inside, determined to give even Bellatrix a chance to start over.

• Bill photographed the Dementors as they crowded around the happiness-emitting doll, while Douglas explained that they could not consume its Emotion Crystal.
• Douglas used the doll as bait and activated the dragon-hide book’s Edict: Devour, which began sucking the Dementors inside.
• Douglas trapped the fleeing Dementors within a ring of Patronus-like light, and the book swallowed the entire legion in three minutes.
• Douglas sealed the book and stored it, then told Sirius to bring the speedboat to Azkaban’s entrance.
• Douglas led Bill and the others into the fortress to find the surviving prisoners and recruit them, including Bellatrix, as prospective researchers.

Douglas Holmes arrived at Azkaban after the Dementors vanished and told the Death Eaters he had taken control of the prison. He invited them to transfer to Hogwarts' Talent Introduction Plan, where they would work on research projects in exchange for the chance to avoid being used as materials.

• The Death Eaters celebrated the Dementors' disappearance, assuming Voldemort had come to rescue them.
• Prisoners in the ordinary wing feared Voldemort would seize Azkaban and kill them.
• Douglas Holmes arrived carrying a Blue-Gray Miniature Tower and introduced himself to the prisoners.
• Douglas told the Death Eaters that Voldemort was unavailable and that he had taken over Azkaban.
• Douglas offered the Death Eaters a transfer to Hogwarts' Talent Introduction Plan, with research work and the possibility of reduced sentences.

Douglas ignored the Death Eaters’ taunts, used a Skeleton Key to open Antonin Dolohov’s cell, and captured him in a miniature pagoda. He invited the others to follow, leaving them stunned by his power.

• Bellatrix, Dolohov, and Rodolphus mocked Douglas and threatened him as he walked toward Dolohov’s cell.
• Douglas used the Skeleton Key to disable the cell’s magical protections and open the door.
• Dolohov lunged at Douglas with a wandless curse, but Douglas released a miniature pagoda that trapped and absorbed him.
• Douglas reclaimed the pagoda and asked the remaining Death Eaters if anyone else was dissatisfied with the accommodations.

Douglas used the Demon-Suppression Tower to capture the Death Eaters imprisoned on Azkaban’s top floor. Bellatrix was the last to resist, staring at Douglas as the tower’s suction pulled the others away.

• After the tower swallowed Antonin, the terrified Death Eaters tried to block their cell keyholes and protested that they had a legal right to remain in Azkaban.
• Valerius photographed the prisoners as they invoked the law, explaining that Mr. Weasley had asked him to take pictures.
• Douglas dismissed their appeals and used the key’s “Unlock All” spell to open every cell on the floor at once.
• Douglas enlarged the tower and commanded it to capture everyone, pulling the Death Eaters inside despite their attempts to flee or cling to the bars.
• Bellatrix remained the last to resist, gripping an iron bar with bleeding hands and glaring at Douglas.

Douglas cleared the top floor of Azkaban by capturing its prisoners in the Demon-Suppression Tower, then recruited Gilderoy Lockhart to handle publicity at the Hogwarts Reeducation Center for Special Talents. He left Lockhart captured and ready to join the other inmates.

• Douglas used the Demon-Suppression Tower to capture Bellatrix and the other prisoners on the top floor.
• Douglas checked in with Bill, Sirius, and Lupin as they gathered prisoners on the lower floors.
• Douglas found Gilderoy Lockhart grooming himself in his cell, and Lockhart blamed Douglas for costing him a Hogwarts teaching post and ruining his career.
• Douglas offered Lockhart a publicity director position, stationery, and an office mirror in exchange for writing.
• Lockhart accepted the offer, and Douglas captured him with the tower.

Douglas, Sirius, Bill, and Lupin emptied Azkaban by transporting its prisoners into Douglas's pagoda. As they prepared to leave, Bill discovered a concealed entrance beneath the courtyard that seemed to draw in fear and despair.

• Sirius, Lupin, and Bill gathered the prisoners in Azkaban's courtyard while Douglas arrived after capturing the remaining inmates.
• Douglas used his pagoda to pull the prisoners into it, and Sirius taunted them as they were swept away.
• Douglas confirmed that Azkaban was empty, and the group prepared to retreat.
• Bill discovered a black stone slab beneath the courtyard and detected a hidden entrance marked by ancient dark magic.

Bill opened the sealed cavern beneath Azkaban, where Douglas discovered a pool of negative energy that could spawn new Dementors. Rather than destroy the source, Douglas secretly sealed it for future harvesting and research before asking Valerius about his observations.

• Bill broke the curse on the stone slab, revealing an opening that released an intense chilling aura and foul stench.
• Douglas, Bill, Sirius, and Lupin descended into an underground cavern and found a pool of gray mist surrounded by black fungal growth.
• Douglas explained that Azkaban collected prisoners’ negative emotions and that the pool could use them to create new Dementors.
• Sirius tried to destroy the pool, but Douglas stopped him and argued that it could serve as a renewable source for experiments and energy.
• Douglas drove rune-covered stakes around the pool to seal it, then asked Valerius whether he had finished recording his observations.
• Valerius said he had recorded everything, including the graveyard, and already had some ideas.

Douglas and Bill waited atop Azkaban as the Death Eaters approached, then dropped the Protective Shield and escaped through their prepared route. The released magical surge exposed the emptied prison, setting the stage for a confrontation with the Ministry of Magic.

• Douglas and Bill drank ginger milk pudding atop Azkaban and discussed how they had emptied the prison and taken its assets.
• Bill detected powerful magical fluctuations approaching from the southeast, while Douglas noted that Voldemort’s position had not changed.
• Bill confirmed that the Evacuation Route to a Safe House fifty nautical miles away was ready.
• Douglas ordered Bill to drop the Protective Shield, releasing the magical energy and disturbances accumulated around Azkaban.
• Douglas and Bill teleported away as the magical surge scattered the clouds and churned the surrounding sea.

Sirius and Lupin met Minister Fudge in Diagon Alley, where a company alarm interrupted their conversation. The alarm reported violent Dark Magic at Azkaban and displayed the message “The North Sea, the Dark Mark!”

• Sirius and Lupin sat outside Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour while Sirius pretended to enjoy a carefree afternoon.
• Sirius invited Fudge to discuss Hogwarts brooms and security for the Quidditch World Cup.
• Sirius's emergency communicator sounded, and he announced that the company's North Sea surveillance array had detected a devastating alarm at Azkaban.
• Sirius told Fudge that violent fluctuations of Dark Magic had appeared at Azkaban, then showed him the communicator's message: “The North Sea, the Dark Mark!”

Lucius Malfoy led a group of Death Eaters to Azkaban to rescue their imprisoned allies, but they found the island unnaturally sunny and devoid of Dementors. As the group feared a trap, Lucius realized Douglas Holmes may have cleared the prison and began considering how to disguise the mission’s failure.

• Lucius arrived at the North Sea reef with Avery, Nott, Macnair, and other Death Eaters, but sensed that Azkaban’s usual aura of despair was gone.
• Lucius blamed the strange emptiness on the Dementors hiding their presence and ordered the group to cross the sea to rescue Goyle and Crabbe.
• The Death Eaters approached Azkaban and saw its fortress shining in golden sunlight, with gulls perched on its towers instead of Dementors.
• Avery warned that the magical readings showed no dark magic, while Macnair suspected a trap set by Dumbledore.
• Lucius concluded that Douglas Holmes had likely removed the Dementors and considered staging the rescue attempt as a failure caused by circumstances beyond their control.

Scrimgeour and the Aurors discovered the Death Eaters fleeing Azkaban and pursued them in the Marauders Power Company’s new high-speed interceptors. Lucius tried to turn the escape into a show of resistance, but the Aurors caught up and fired an adhesive net at his boat.

• Scrimgeour and Tonks emerged from a secret passage near Azkaban and realized the Dementors had vanished.
• The Aurors spotted three boats carrying Death Eaters, and Scrimgeour ordered his team to pursue them.
• Lucius cast the Dark Mark over Azkaban and presented the retreat as a defiant response to an ambush.
• Scrimgeour and the Aurors launched the MPC-01 interceptors, which skimmed above the sea and rapidly overtook the Death Eaters.
• Scrimgeour activated the interceptor’s automatic capture mode, and it fired a glowing adhesive net toward Lucius’s boat.

Lucius and the Death Eaters used stolen Marauders Power Company equipment against Scrimgeour and the Aurors, who responded with a lethal-force spell barrage. The Death Eaters' supposed ultimate weapon turned out to be a prank from the Weasley Brothers.

• Lucius threw a Screaming Smoke Bomb at the Aurors, dissolving their light net in corrosive mist and amplified banshee screams.
• Scrimgeour recognized the stolen equipment and ordered the Aurors to activate Pursuer Mode and unleash a Charms Saturation Strike.
• Macnair used a Deflection Glove to redirect the Aurors' spells, while the Death Eaters struggled under the barrage.
• Lucius ordered the Death Eaters to throw black iron balls from a crate, believing them to be a powerful weapon.
• The iron balls opened into jeering clown dolls that displayed an April Fools' Day message from the Weasley Brothers.

Scrimgeour’s Aurors captured Macnair and two other Death Eaters after Lucius Malfoy’s supposed weapons turned out to be prank toys, but Lucius escaped with the remaining attackers. Scrimgeour withdrew from Azkaban, suspecting corruption in the Ministry’s supply chain and leaving the prison’s fate to Fudge.

• Lucius Malfoy discovered that the weapons he had bought were prank toys and cursed Holmes for swindling his own side.
• Scrimgeour rammed Macnair’s boat, and the Aurors captured Macnair and two other Death Eaters from the sea.
• Lucius crushed a black bone and escaped with the remaining Death Eaters using forced Apparition.
• Scrimgeour examined the confiscated MPC products and concluded that the Ministry’s supply chain and key departments were compromised.
• Scrimgeour ordered the Aurors to take the captured supplies back for questioning and left a report about Azkaban’s security, telling Fudge to handle a new prison.