Excuse

It was a frustratingly slow task. After several hours of visually checking people and asking them their name, Sean insisted that they take a break and have dinner. Rose was keen to finish the job and get home, but she acknowledged that they needed a break. She sat awkwardly next to Sean in the very familiar dining hall. This was perhaps the strangest thing of all. She used to sit at this very table, usually with Thomas. She noticed that no one sat at the chair he had used. Was that a coincidence, or was it as a remembrance of the guard that was killed on duty? She couldn't ask such a question of course. 

"Is it strange, being back here after so long?" Sean asked suddenly.

"Very," Rose replied without thinking. "I thought I had come to terms with it, but some things stay with you forever." She realised what she had just said and turned to Sean. 

"How did you know I had been here before?"

"I wasn't sure, but there was something familiar about you. As far as I knew, Rose Malfoy had never been here before. Then I remembered how the news reported about you being kidnapped in Norway or something similar. The Death Eaters escaped to Norway and the report said nothing about the new guard Kevin that disappeared about the same time. Why did you go with them?"

"I wasn't planning on going with them, I was working undercover trying to figure out how they escaped. It was probably a bad idea, I had no experience with such things, and it made me horribly exposed. I caught Barnsby in the act and he made them take me after he had already killed Thomas. I was lucky he didn't just kill me too. They didn't know who I was until later." 

"That makes sense. It must have been awful though, watching a friend die in front of you like that."

"It was terrible. I still have nightmares about it sometimes. I have seen many terrible things, but that is so far the only murder. I hope it will be the last."

"I think you chose the wrong profession for that wish to be true."

"Yes, probably. Either way, you are sharp, to remember all that. I thought no one would remember me. I was barely even here for two weeks."

"It was a very eventful two weeks though. And it was my first weeks too, so I probably paid extra attention, the parts I can remember anyway. There are at least a few days still missing. But that's better than some of the other guards, who had been under the Imperius Curse for months."

"I'm curious though, how come you ended up in charge here? No offence, but aren't there others here with more experience?"

"Plenty, but for some reason, no one seemed very keen on taking on the leadership role after what happened with Perrot and Barnsby," Sean said with a smile. "And many of the more experienced guards left after they found out about the Imperius Curses. Several of us were given a chance to try out for the role and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I have been in charge here for almost two years now."

Rose didn't know what to say to that, so she just kept eating. So, Sean had recognised her after all. Had any of the others? She looked around. There were a few familiar faces, but none of them seemed to pay her any mind. That was probably for the best.

"I looked at the name of the man you're looking for. Crickey. There is something familiar with it. Where have I seen that name before?"

"You may remember Sam Crickey." Rose said. "He was also a guard here, started at the same time as us, but quit after he was put under the Imperius Curse by Barnsby. It is his brother we're looking for."

"His brother! That is terrible. Is he placed here by mistake?"

"We don't really know. He has an arrest warrant, but not for anything serious enough that he should be sent here. He was used as leverage to make Sam do something he didn't really want to do. I can't go into details, but Sam is in a spot of trouble himself now."

"That's horrible! Well, if there is a talk of punishment, no matter what he did, I can't have him here. It is a rule that anyone who's ever been a guard here cannot later be imprisoned here. There is always a chance that the person in question has made an escape plan whilst being a guard. That is the only reason Barnsby is not currently in shackles in top-security. Though it is probably for the best that he is not here, he would either have influenced people again or been subjected to too much hate from the guards. He's in a prison in another country."

"I hope that won't be an issue with Sam, but it is hard to say at present. Sam's only wish at the moment is that we find his brother. I hope he is here, because otherwise I really don't know where to look next."

"Well, let's get back to it then, if you're done eating."

Rose pushed her plate away and got on her feet. Time to get back to work.

 ***

It took several more hours of searching, but at last, in a cell that was supposed to be unoccupied, but surrounded by other, occupied cells, she found him. He looked terrified at the sight of her and tried to hide his face.

"It's okay Tom," she said. "We've found your brother and have taken care of the man that put you in here. There is no need to hide anymore. It's over now."

Tom seemed very relieved. "He said that if I told anyone I wasn't supposed to be here they either wouldn't believe me, or he would hear of it and punish me even further," he said as he was released from the cell. 

"You don't have to worry about him anymore," Rose assured him. "Are you hurt or injured in any way?" Tom shook his head. Rose decided he should probably be checked out in St. Mungo's anyway. Looking at the time, she decided that they should Apparate there, to avoid further delays. If they took the boat, they wouldn't be home until after midnight. Was it a bit of an excuse to avoid having to take the boat? Yes. But Harry had said that she could Apparate back if she found him. 

She saw Tom being visibly more relaxed the moment they were away from Azkaban. She knew how he felt. Even though it was over 20 years since there had been Dementors in Azkaban, it remained a cold, depressing place to be. And in his unique situation, it must have been even worse. He had been fed, since the guard in that block had simply fed every occupied cell, but he also had no way to know how long he would be there. 

As she let the Healers assess whether any damage had occurred to Tom, she sent an update to Harry and a message to Scorpius saying she had made it back safely. She was relieved to hear that Tom wouldn't suffer any lasting damage, but they would keep him overnight just to be sure. And their main experts on ailments on the mind wouldn't be there until morning anyway. Rose told Tom she would be back in the morning to explain what had happened and told him to have a good night's sleep. Then she went home to Scorpius. He was very relieved to see her, and she promptly forgot about anything else for the remainder of the night.