Chapter 437: The Basement of Azkaban

When he entered Azkaban Prison, Andy shivered; a creepy feeling washed over him.

It was cold and damp, and there was a strange smell in the air.

What was even more terrifying was that, perhaps because so many people had been subjected to inhumane torture here over the years, Andy felt an overpowering sense of despair and emptiness as soon as he walked in.

This feeling made Azkaban seem like a haunted castle.

Even without the Dementors, Andy felt that happiness was gradually drifting away from him.

'The atmosphere and mood are not bad!'

Andy commented and then continued walking deeper into the dungeon.

The corridor was quiet, not a sound could be heard.

The walls were made of black stones, which seemed to absorb all the light, making the whole corridor look eerie and silent.

After walking around a corner, Andy finally saw a cell.

The prisoner in the cell was wearing a tattered and filthy prison uniform, and his long hair was hanging down in tangles, making it impossible to see his face.

He huddled in the corner, motionless as a corpse. Although he was still conscious, it seemed as if he had lost his mind and consciousness, like a living dead man on the verge of death.

Andy stared at that man for a while.

'It's horrible...'

It really is horrible to be here.

The 'soul-suckers' outside take away all their happy emotions, and if they occasionally think back to something happy, the Dementors will rush in and feast on it.

Living here means either remembering painful things or not thinking about anything at all and emptying your mind.

'No wonder Sirius said most prisoners in Azkaban have gone mad.'

'No joy, no hope, even thinking has become a luxury,' Andy thought to himself.

Occlumency might be able to help a little.

But Occlumency is a very rarely practised magic, and few in the wizarding world have mastered it.

Andy didn't bother with that and continued to explore the Azkaban.

The advantage of the Ministry of Magic having Dementors guard Azkaban was clear at this moment.

Especially for Andy.

Dementors have simple minds, so to allow them to move freely in Azkaban prison, the corridors are basically doorless—Andy can say he has free rein here.

A big black dog could escape from inside.

And a cat could naturally walk in from the outside.

The Ministry of Magic clearly hadn't learnt from Sirius's escape, and when they learnt that Sirius had relied on an Animagus to fool the Dementors, they were relieved.

Andy followed the stairs to the top floor of Azkaban.

Peter Pettigrew was also imprisoned here, and four Hit Wizards were guarding the cell door—Andy only glanced at them from a distance at the top of the stairs and didn't dare go any closer.

Four Hit Wizards... If he teamed up with Snape, Andy felt that they still had a chance of winning.

But just because you can win doesn't mean you can rescue someone.

After all, there were still so many Dementors outside, and Aurors and Hit Wizards Team members from the Ministry of Magic would arrive at any moment to provide support.

In contrast, the chances of rescuing someone using the Portkey were actually quite high.

The most important thing was that rescuing someone outside would not put oneself in danger—even if it failed, one could still escape using the Portkey.

As for the layout of the seventh floor...

Andy had a quick look and saw that there was nothing here but cells.

'That's right! Even if Ekrizdis did leave some research materials behind, they would have been taken by the Ministry of Magic long ago.'

Andy walked downstairs a little disappointed.

Hundreds of years have passed, and unless Andy can find a hidden room, there are basically no secrets here.

But a hidden room...

The Ministry of Magic had done an extensive search here long ago, and they only converted Azkaban into a wizard prison after they were sure there were no hidden risks.

Even if there really is a hidden room here, Andy won't be able to find it in such a short time.

'Sigh!' Andy sighed.

He had come hoping for the best but left disappointed.

However, this visit had been quite an eye-opener. At least Andy had visited Azkaban.

Andy planned to go back down to the basement and explore it some more. After that, he would meet up with Snape at the agreed-upon location.

As for what Snape was doing... Andy was curious, but it was clear that Snape would not reveal it.

He followed the stairs to the entrance to the basement.

'A door?'

Andy was stunned and then immediately filled with joy.

Dementors could open doors, but this door was obviously not an ordinary door. Andy was sure that a dementor could never open it.

Because this door had very strong magical protection.

Andy looked around.

'No one... good!'

Andy quickly reverted to his human form, then took out the potion that could cover up odours from his pocket as quickly as he could, opened it, and gulped it down.

Taking out his wand, he tapped it lightly against himself, and Andy once again entered stealth mode.

"Hoo—"

Exhaling lightly, Andy waited quietly for a while.

Seeing that the Dementors did not move, Andy let out a sigh of relief.

'Next...this door!' Andy pressed the tip of his wand against the door, trying to analyse the defensive magic on it.

It was easy to break it, but the hard part was to restore it afterwards.

Last term, Andy had read a lot of books on magical traps and defensive magic to explore the old Gaunt family house and had learnt a lot of useful things.

If the defensive magic on the door could be restored, Andy planned to go in and have a look.

Since the basement is off-limits even to Dementors, Andy believes there must be a lot of things in there that they can't take with them.

In terms of the layout of the castle, the top floor of Azkaban should be where Ekrizdis lived and carried out his activities. As for the basement... he might have used it as a prison for muggles.

Of course, it could also be a laboratory!

After about five minutes, Andy withdrew his wand, and a flash of excitement shone in his eyes.

With a flick of Andy's wand, the large metal door leading to the basement creaked open.

Creak –

A harsh sound rang out as the door opened a crack.

The defensive magic on the door was relatively simple.

After all, no one had ever been able to break into Azkaban over the years, and no one had ever escaped from there either.

This metal door only needed to guard against Dementors.

Andy pulled the iron door open enough for someone to pass through and then carefully walked in.

As the glow of the luminous charm illuminated the place, Andy looked around at the layout of the basement.

There was a lengthy hallway lined with black iron doors spaced a few meters apart, each equipped with a small window that allowed visitors to observe the activities within.

----

Thanks for all your love and support.

Read advance chapters on P@treon. If you have some extra pocket money, Support me at P@treon: www.p@treon.com/Crazy_Cat.

Happy Reading!!!