Snape, the Sunshine of Hogwarts.

Chapter 86 The Gravesites of Azkaban (Third update, please subscribe)

I was just about to write you a letter.

With an extremely serious expression, Kingsley led Severus to a private lounge.

Severus was still holding the snacks the little girl had given him, and he ate them as he spoke.

"I knew you'd be interested in this. Have you looked into it?"

After taking a deep breath, Kingsley spoke.

“I went to the archives and checked the file on that person. The records show that he died in a prison in Azkaban in March 1984 and was later buried in a cemetery on that island.”

“Then you should also know that it’s actually quite simple to verify this,” Severus said, staring into his eyes.

“Dig up his grave and we’ll know if he’s really still alive!” Kingsley didn’t avoid Severus’s gaze. “If someone who takes Polyjuice Potion dies, their body will take on a deformed form, but no magic can withstand the erosion of time. Once the body turns to bones, it will revert to its original state!”

"Then what are we waiting for?"

Should this matter be reported further?

"The only person higher than the Director is the Minister of Magic. By the time you schedule your meeting with Bagno, the werewolves will be starting a new operation."

Severus shrugged.

“If you’re willing to listen to me and do as I say, then for now, don’t tell anyone about this except the two of us. Use your identity to apply for something right now, and we’ll go to Azkaban Island immediately. After we get the evidence from the island, we’ll raid his house!”

"Just the two of us?" Kingsley hesitated.

"Believe me, the fewer people who know about this before we catch him, the better. He's been the director for over ten years, and there are countless spies within the Ministry of Magic. Every additional person who knows increases the risk."

Severus tapped the table with his finger.

"Besides, the two of us are enough!"

Kingsley himself didn't realize that he no longer doubted Severus's words; he was simply considering the possibility that he had revealed the plan.

After hesitating for a few seconds, he gritted his teeth and stood up.

"I'll find someone to issue us a pass to Azkaban!"

Severus, who was not at all surprised by his decision, raised his cup of black tea to him.

"Remember to hurry, Azkaban is no place for humans at night."

Kingsley did act quickly, but the Ministry of Magic's efficiency was what it was; they didn't receive the permits until 4 p.m.

Without lingering, the two used the Floo Network within the Ministry of Magic to reach a Ministry of Magic outpost on the North Sea coast.

This is the only outpost leading to Azkaban.

Kingsley, with Severus by his side, handed the application to the administrator who remained there, and they were subsequently assigned a small boat with an orange lantern hanging from its prow.

“Azkaban Island is not accessible by Apparate, there is no connection to the Floo Network, and the surrounding seas are shrouded in mist. It is impossible to reach it by normal means. Only a ship from the Ministry of Magic can take us there.”

As he spoke, Kingsley jumped into the small boat first, and Severus followed without hesitation.

After the two boarded the small boat, it began to move automatically without wind, heading north at an extremely fast speed.

And so they continued driving for about two hours until they finally entered a thick, gray fog that seemed to completely envelop the vast North Sea!

Fortunately, their vision remained normal within the range of the orange hanging lamp, and the small boat did not lose its way in the gray fog. It maintained its original speed and continued forward for nearly half an hour until they could vaguely see land. It was a deathly gray island, full of gray rocks, with very few plants to be seen.

As they drew closer and closer, until the small boat was almost touching the shore, they were finally able to see the castle in the middle of the island through the gray mist!

Having withstood the test of time, the castle appears extremely dilapidated.

The mottled stone wall was covered with black moss, which, bathed in the sea breeze, looked like withered arms reaching out from inside the wall, struggling between despair and pain.

Countless tall figures draped in black cloaks floated around the castle.

They are the only jailers on this prison island—Dementors!
Kingsley took the hanging lamp from the bow of the small boat and turned to Severus, giving him instructions.

"Stay close to me. Those Dementors aren't very obedient; they've attacked Aurors before when they mistook them for humans."

Severus nodded and followed Kingsley. Instead of approaching the castle guarded by Dementors, the two circled around the island's shore and arrived at the southeast corner of the island.

This is a vast cemetery!

A simple fence surrounds the entire cemetery, and at the entrance there is a crooked wooden archway that has been rotten for who knows how long.

Severus looked up and saw an ancient inscription on the seemingly fragile archway.

May the Lord forgive us. July 10, 1730

“After Azkaban was officially designated as a wizarding prison and put into use, those who died on this island were buried here.”

Kingsley said, whether he was affected by the chilling cold of the island or simply wanted to educate Severus.

"The fourth Minister for Magic, Aldridge Diggory, was the first minister to actually set foot on Azkaban. It was after seeing this cemetery that he had the idea of ​​canceling the use of Azkaban as a prison and having the Dementors serve as jailers."

“Do you think this is too inhumane?” Severus followed him through the archway and into the cemetery filled with tombstones.

"Yes, he felt that using Dementors to torture prisoners was too cruel."

“I think it’s not just that. Putting a group of vicious criminals here and then torturing them all day long with a group of monsters who live on hope will only produce a group of madmen to survive.”

As they talked, they also began to search separately in the vast cemetery.

Before the entire island of Azkaban was completely shrouded in night and so thick with fog that one could not see their own hand in front of their face, Kingsley finally made a discovery.

"At this!"

He called out loudly, and Severus hurried toward him, where he indeed saw a tombstone with a name engraved on it.

[Barty Crouch, 1962–1984]

Upon seeing the name, Severus's lips curled into a mocking smile.

"To be honest, although I only had nodding acquaintances with Barty before, he was one of the few Death Eaters who did not discriminate against me because of my mixed blood."

"Does this make you feel uncomfortable about digging up his grave?" Kingsley's voice was tense; he was uneasy about the truth beneath the grave.

"obstacle?"

Severus chuckled and raised his wand.

"Thunderbolt explosion!"

(End of this chapter)