Azkaban

Losha sat in Diagon Alley. She saw the Aurors and Umbridge go inside Gringotts, and she saw them leave with Brain. All the while, she sat in plain sight, flicking her tail back and forth. People were gathered all around, too interested in watching events unfold to notice a white fox.

Except Brain. She noticed.

<I told you to get out of here!>

<No one cares. I can tell.>

Brain didn't spare her more than a glance. They dragged her off, likely to a holding cell before taking her to Azkaban.

Their plan wasn't complicated. Rose had hidden her notebook somewhere in Azkaban. Brain was going to spend the next few weeks looking for it. Once she'd found it, she'd inform Losha, and the two of them would get it and get out.

It seemed simple when Brain had explained it. Compared to dealing with Gringotts, it was simple. While it was supposedly equally difficult to break into either place, a factor had been removed: subtlety. Once they had Rose's notebook, there was no need for stealth anymore. Slytherin could know where they were, but it wouldn't matter.

Once Brain disappeared from sight, the crowd dispersed. Losha moved among them, picking up Crookshanks and Tutela on her way out of Diagon Alley. Once they left, they walked out of London, rousing a little suspicion as they did. Losha had the harder job. While Brain would be escorted into Azkaban through the front door, Losha had to spend time figuring out how to get inside without assistance.

Luckily, she didn't have to do it alone.

That night, Hermione was taken from her new cell and shoved onto a boat not unlike the ones she'd ridden on to get to Hogwarts her first year. Except these weren't taking her to a castle of wonders.

They sailed through stormy waters, but she remained shackled to the boat. If it capsized, a normal prisoner would have trouble staying alive, something she suspected happened often. Azkaban itself loomed in the distance, shrouded by constant storm clouds. The seas were always raging here, threatening anyone that tried to enter or exit.

When she arrived, they took all her possessions save two and gave her rags to wear. She was provided no privacy to change, but did learn something interesting: Dementors weren't the only wardens of Azkaban anymore.

A human guard greeted her and her chaperons after she'd finished getting ready. A Patronus Charm accompanied him, a leopard, forcing the few Dementors in the room back.

"This must be Hermione Granger," he said, looking her over. His eyes lingered over her for longer than she'd have liked. She looked him in the eye when he stepped forward.

"I suppose I must be," she said, trying not to laugh that he couldn't see it either.

Funny enough, she had Slytherin to thank for the idea. Unbeknownst to any of the guards, they hadn't taken everything away from her. They'd taken the stick she was pretending was her wand, the clothes on her back, and she'd already left her bracelet in her pack, and her pack safely with Moon's. What they hadn't taken were her hair clip or ring, because they didn't know she had them. After a few minutes of focusing on them, it became easy enough that she didn't need to put any effort into it. With the charms in place, they didn't see those, nor did they see the rune on the back of her neck that let her stay in communication with Moon.

The guards led Hermione to her cell, accompanied by a Patronus Charm. It surprised her that they had any sort of protocol. Nonetheless, they locked her inside and left.

The smell was rank, leaving her to suspect she wasn't leaving her cell. As much as she tried to ignore it, it still made her want to be sick.

A Dementor glided past. It stopped and stared at the prisoner across from her, then moved on. It paid no attention to Hermione.

"At least I know that works," she muttered.

She looked over the mess in her cell. There was muck and grime everywhere, likely left over by the previous inhabitant. She glanced out of her cell, not that she could see much in the dark.

When she didn't see any guards, she got to work cleaning. She cast prestidigitation on her cell cleaning what she could. The bulk of the muck she banished, then cast a charm to deal with the smell. After she'd finished, she sat down and checked in with Moon.

<Moon, can you hear me?>

<Yup.>

<I'm in. We'll meet up when you're ready.>

<Okay.>

Hermione idly wondered how her friends would react to her being in Azkaban. She didn't know if they'd find out. Would it be in the Daily Prophet? She figured they had more important things on which to report, although the capture of Hermione Granger might be a nice feather in Umbridge's cap.

Another Dementor drifted past, once again ignoring her. After it had left, she walked to the front of her cell and tried to get the attention of the prisoner across from her.

"Hello?"

Something shifted around in the dark. She activated her night vision and saw a disheveled woman in the other cell.

"What's your name?"

Still no reply. The woman gave little indication she could even hear Hermione. She stayed where she was, slumped against the wall. Hermione could see her chest rising and falling, otherwise she would've thought the woman had died.

Hermione sat back in her cell, then looked around at the others she could see. It looked like the state of the other prisoners was much the same as this one. The Dementors sucked what little happiness any of the sane prisoners could muster out of the air.

She thanked Rose again for her hair clip, and herself for the perception charms. They'd worked perfectly. She could hold onto her ring and hair clip indefinitely, which meant she'd be fine in Azkaban.

Another Dementor drifted past. Hermione knew she couldn't risk trying to fend one off, but it infuriated her that the other prisoners suffered. What was the point of keeping them here? If they were released, they'd suffer from PTSD forever. Sirius had only mostly recovered, so long as the topic of Dementors didn't come up, and he only got through it because of his resolve to save Harry. Most people likely died, even if their sentence did end eventually.

"At least execute them if you're going to leave them in here to rot."

There wasn't a chance of escape for normal prisoners, if only because they didn't care enough. But she wasn't a normal prisoner.

She rested her back on her newly cleaned wall and closed her eyes. If they let them out for exercise (which she didn't think was likely) she'd be able to talk to the other prisoners then.

Hermione closed her eyes. It wouldn't be a comfortable rest, but it'd be something to pass the time.

Hermione sat in her cell and recited spells in her head. She rehearsed anything of which she could think, struggling to deal with boredom more than anything.

Shawx walked down the line of cells, rattling the bars and tossing plates of food inside. Most prisoners ignored it. When he approached Hermione, he narrowed his eyes at her, then walked past.

"Didn't bring enough for everyone?" she called after him.

"You haven't been here long enough to get food!" he called back.

She rolled her eyes. As if the Dementors weren't bad enough, the few human guards were jerks too.

"Figures," Hermione muttered before settling back into her cell.

Shawx brought them their next meal passed Hermione by again. This time, Hermione tested out a new trick on him. She concentrated on him as he passed, then got inside his head.

Mudblood, not good for anything. See how much spirit she's got when she's in here another few days.

She narrowed her eyes at him. She'd found something to keep her occupied for the next few weeks.

"Have you thought about how you're getting there?" Saturn asked.

Losha, Tutela, and Crookshanks had set up camp in a forest somewhere to the west. While she didn't know exactly where Azkaban was, they'd already worked out a plan for that. Her part of that plan was to figure out how to get there.

"Go by ship," Neptune said. "If you try using a broomstick—"

"She's blind," Mars said, "but Tutela can fly."

"Azkaban itself is in the Atlantic," Neptune said, ignoring Mars. "It moves along the border between the Atlantic and Arctic to stay unplottable, but it's possible to get there. The Ministry uses boats, so we can too."

"Tutela can fly," Mars repeated. "Moon can't steal a boat."

"I don't have to," Losha said. "Like Mars said, Tutela can fly me there." She smiled at Tutela, who wagged her tail. "She's strong enough to make the trip, and I can provide protection if she needs it."

"Easy," Mars said, "but how are you going to find it?"

Losha smiled, despite Mars's repeated attempts to get under her skin. Brain had a plan for that.

"I can't see where Brain is, but she can see where I am. If I follow her directions, she can lead me to her."

While it sounded easy in theory, it relied on Brain not being distracted, and there being no unforeseen problems. Which meant it wouldn't be that simple.

"You're going to mess up," Mars said, although Losha was sure the real Mars would've used different language for telling her that.

"She'll be fine," Saturn said. "She and Brain are clever enough to get through any obstacle."

Losha smiled at Saturn's optimism. With them being so close, she refused to be the one to make a mistake and let everyone down. Brain wouldn't either, so she knew they'd be alright.

"Wakey, wakey, Mudblood!"

Hermione opened her eyes as a tray of food slid into her. It banged into her head, but she focused on the person sneering at her from the bars.

She'd quickly noticed that the time of day never changed in Azkaban. At least, no one could see the sky to tell. After a few days, she still hadn't gotten used to the seemingly random times Shawx came around with food. There was no one else either; it was always Shawx.

"I prefer 'Brain', but I'm sure you'll figure it out eventually," she said as she sat up. "It's only one syllable, so it should be simple enough for you."

Shawx threw his head back and let out a barking laugh.

"You still think you're going to survive this, don't you?"

Before Hermione had had a chance to answer, he continued.

"Here's what's gonna happen, Mudblood."

"Brain."

"When your friend Lovegood—"

"Moon."

"—gets here to rescue you, we'll be waiting for her. She's going to be taken away and thrown in a cell far away from you."

He waved his wand and summoned the tray of food.

"Oi!" Hermione exclaimed, trying to keep up the impression that she needed to eat.

"You haven't learned your manners yet," Shawx said, flinging the tray at another cell. It bounced off the bars, making a loud clanging noise that echoed down the quiet prison.

"If you ever learn to show some respect to those that are better than you, let me know."

He walked off, and Hermione closed her eyes. For a moment, she tried contemplating her current situation, but another voice interrupted her.

"Are you going to take that from him?"

She opened her eyes to glare at Rose.

"You'd better be a hallucination," she said. "Otherwise you're in so much trouble."

Rose sat next to her, rocking her head from side to side, as if listening to music Hermione couldn't hear. Her red hair seemed out of place among the gloom of Azkaban.

"You'd think he'd notice that your cell smells nicer," she said.

Hermione kept glaring at her, still evaluating how real she was. If Rose wasn't real, which Hermione was certain she wasn't, then Hermione would only be talking to a hallucination. She wasn't sure how she felt about that.

"I doubt he cares," Hermione replied. "He seems more interested in taunting people who can't fight back."

"Just like old times," Rose said, beaming.

Hermione rolled her eyes. She should've been more concerned about how casually she took hallucinating, but she was too happy to have company to care.

"Where am I going?" she asked.

Rose shrugged, much to Hermione's frustration. She didn't know what she'd been expecting, but it would've helped if Rose had offered something.

"Of course not," Hermione said. "That would be far too helpful."

"It's nothing you can't handle Brain. You'll figure it out. Just ask yourself what I'd do."

"Hide it in a random cell to make me suffer."

Rose had the nerve to look shocked.

"I'm hurt that you—"

"Save it," Hermione snapped. "I'm getting tired of your games."

The smile faded from Rose's face.

"I'm not real, Brain. I can't tell you anything you don't already know. If you were me, how would you find it?"

Hermione frowned as she pondered the question. It didn't take long before the answer crossed her mind: prying eyes. Another thought quickly entered her mind after that.

"Where would you have hidden it? You couldn't know where they'd put me, so you would've picked a cell that held importance to you. No, you wouldn't have hidden it in a cell; too risky. What else is there here? It's almost all cells."

Hermione tried pulling up a map of Azkaban in her head, but she didn't have the layout memorized well enough to be sure about anything.

"Once I've gotten Moon here, she'll find it."

While getting Moon safely to Azkaban seemed daunting, compared to actually finding where Rose had hidden the notebook, it was simple. Hermione couldn't risk leaving her cell, only for Shawx to come by and see her missing.

She shuddered a little, hoping that he didn't take an interest in every prisoner.

"He thinks you're pretty," Rose said, beaming.

Hermione narrowed her eyes at Rose.

"That's just you."

Rose's grin grew wider.

"Great! Then I get you all to myself!"

Hermione went back to figuring out how to find the notebook. If Moon didn't have to search every cell, that drastically reduced the time it'd take to find it. It didn't stop their big problem: Moon didn't have her pendant as a fox, but she wasn't protected against the Dementors as a human. That meant she couldn't spend too much time as a human, but she'd be slower to search as a fox. On top of that, she couldn't sneak in and out too often, otherwise they risked someone catching her and the animals.

"There's got to be something I can do."

She closed her eyes again and returned to contemplating her options.

Losha rode atop Tutela high above the clouds one night. Crookshanks had been the one to point out how conspicuous a flying dog was, which hadn't occurred to Losha.

"We could've sailed," Neptune reminded her.

Losha ignored her and got another update from Brain.

<You're heading right for me. Keep on that path, and you should be fine. Are you sure you haven't been seen?>

She relayed the question to her lookout, who stuck his head out of her pack.

<Crookshanks says no one's following us.>

That high up, her sense of smell didn't do much good. Even at night, she didn't want to risk being seen and ruining the whole operation. The more she could do to avoid detection, the better.

"There's a storm up ahead," Neptune said. "I can feel it."

While her sense of smell was diminished, her sense of hearing worked fine. She heard the storm up ahead and knew they were about to be in trouble.

"No more than usual," Mars said. "That's Azkaban."

Losha frowned, then asked Brain how far away they were.

<The rate Tutela's flying, you'll be here in a few minutes. If you could see, you'd be able to see the storm clouds.>

They slowly dipped down from the clouds, then Losha began casting a spell. A few seconds later, the only sign that anyone was approaching Azkaban was a shimmer.

Before they reached the island, Losha sensed the Dementors. An overwhelming feeling of dread washed over her, nearly causing her to turn back. The image of losing her mother threatened to consume her. Unlike the last time she'd encountered Dementors, there were more memories to accompany it.

Toad!

At first, she thought someone was banging on Azkaban, but she soon realized that it was only a memory. Her memory of losing Toad.

"My turn."

The memories slipped away, leaving a strange clarity in her head. She could feel the Dementors' effect, but it didn't matter. Nothing could stop her; she was Lady Mars, Queen of Magical London.

Sirius Black had escaped from Azkaban by using his Animagus form, so her future plan was to do just that. On this particular visit, she had something more important to do.

She took out a knife from her pack that she hadn't told Moon about, then started carving something into the side of the fortress. Dementors flew around overhead, where they'd no doubt sense her eventually. Between her mental mastery that could defy even the Imperius Curse, and the lack of joy or love in her heart, she had little doubt that she'd have plenty of time before they found her.

<Mars, we've got more Dementors,> Tutela informed her.

As much as she hated Moon's life, she did like her dog.

<I'm almost finished. Unless you want to risk Brain getting caught a second time.>

Once she was finished, she charged the rune and dumped the knife in her pack. She turned into a fox and let Moon take over again.

The three of them ran off, then Losha tested the rune Mars had carved. Sure enough, she got a sense of the direction to it.

<The locator rune is working. We should make those for ourselves.>

<Once we get out of here, I think that'd be a great addition to our network. How much time do you have?>

She sniffed the air, sensing the Dementors nearby. She could also smell some humans walking around, although none of them seemed like they were in a rush. After that, she asked Tutela what she saw.

<I think we can stay another five minutes before the Dementors start to notice us.>

<Then get out of here in four. Don't waste time with the cells; do reconnaissance. Once I know everywhere Rose could've hidden it, I can work out where it is.>

She walked along the shoreline, sniffing around for any sign that her sister had been there. It didn't help; Rose had never had a particular scent anyway.

<Dementors are beginning to swarm.>

Without resuming her human form, Losha hopped onto Tutela's back along with Crookshanks. The three of them flew as fast as they could, once again hidden by her Disillusionment Charm. Once they were far enough away, Losha returned to normal and nestled onto Tutela's back. The warmth of her homunculus washed away any residual effects of the Dementors, leaving her mind clear.

Almost there.

After a few nights, they'd narrowed down the possible locations of Rose's notebook to a few options. The most likely place was the graveyard, although without her human form, Moon couldn't inspect each grave. There was a courtyard somewhere, although the likelihood that Rose had hidden it under Azkaban was seeming more likely. That meant they'd have to search for it together, which meant another plan.

While they were in the middle of working out said plan, Hermione got a visitor.

Shawx never announced himself, or said "hi", or anything else that resembled a greeting. Instead, he liked to bang on Hermione's cell to get her attention.

"Ready to tell me what you were doing in Gringotts, Mudblood?"

While Hermione had found it amusing the first several times she'd corrected him, she'd grown tired of it over the past few days. The idea that Moon could get caught chipped away at her nerves enough that she had little patience for Shawx.

"No, I'm not."

A sneer spread over Shawx's face.

"Good. It's more fun this way." He pressed his face against a gap in the bars. "I'm gonna guess it has something to do with Rose Peta-Lorrum."

Hermione took an involuntary breath, then glared at Shawx.

Hallucination Rose sat in the corner, her face blank.

"That's what I thought. See, Mudblood, I know all about your friend Peta-Lorrum."

I sincerely doubt that.

"I know she wasn't like other witches. I know she faked her own death, abandoning you and your poor friends."

Hermione clenched her fists, but said nothing to give Shawx anything more.

"Sort of like what you did to your friends."

Hermione glared at him. How did Shawx know all this? Was he another hallucination? She hoped so; she hadn't heard another voice that grated her nerves as much as Umbridge's had, nor did she want there to be another one.

"I didn't abandon them."

The sneer returned to Shawx's face.

"Really? That lot at Hogwarts — the Weasleys, Perks, Potter. They know all about you, don't they?"

"They don't know anything!"

Hermione hadn't intended to snap at him, but she realized it was worse the moment she had. If they knew something, she'd have just given them to the Ministry; if they didn't, she just gave Shawx more to use.

"Good news, Mudblood. I believe you. I believe that you don't care at all about what happens to them."

"I—"

"I believe that no one's really coming to get you, apart from your friend Lovegood. I know all about your little gang: You, Longbottom, and Lovegood. Except that Peta-Lorrum killed Longbottom, didn't she?"

"That's a lie!"

Hermione leapt at the bars, but something caught her foot and she fell forward. Her head slammed into the bars, leaving stars in her eyes.

Shawx howled with laughter as Hermione lay in pain on the floor. She looked back and saw that Rose had caught her ankle. No, not Rose — she was a hallucination — but a small piece of trash, animated by what little common sense she still had left.

Shawx crouched down to put himself level with her.

"Longbottom's dead. Lovegood will be mine soon enough. Even if Peta-Lorrum wasn't dead, she kept killing your friends anyway. You were Vector's favorite student, right?"

Despite the splitting pain in her head, Hermione was able to think clearly for a moment and realize why Shawx knew all this: Umbridge. Umbridge had told him all about her.

"And yet, you were in a vault that Peta-Lorrum opened. You know what I think?"

Hermione glared at him, knowing it didn't matter what she wanted.

"I think Peta-Lorrum sent you on some wild goose chase that ended in an empty vault. I think she wanted to screw with you one last time." His sneer returned. "She's my kind of sadist."

Rage burned inside her, and she flung herself at the bars again.

"Rose is nothing like you!"

Once again, she'd played straight into Shawx's hands. He grabbed a tuft of her hair and held her in place, pressing her head into the bars. He held his own head a few inches from hers. His breath smelled like he didn't know what a toothbrush was, much less own one.

"That's the real psychopath inside you, isn't it? Deep down, you and me ain't that different, Mudblood. I knew it the moment I laid eyes on you. I can always see the monster inside."

Hermione glared defiantly at him, refusing to back down.

"Here's the thing, Mudblood. I know all about you. I know where the people you love live, and I know people that can make that place here." He sneered again. "But after another week in here, that won't matter. See, by then, there won't be anyone you love. Because no one's coming to get you, Mudblood. It's just you, me, and the Dementors. Soon, you'll have to pick: them or me. The Dementors won't spare you. They don't care if you watch them suck the life out of Lovegood. They don't have mercy, but I'm very merciful once you get to know me." He leaned in closer, and Hermione began to shake with anger.

"And I've got plans to get to know you very well."

After staring into her eyes for a moment to enjoy her repulsion, he shoved her to the ground.

"Later, Mudblood!"

Shawx whistled as he walked away from her cell. It took everything in her not to kill him. She could feel the ooze ready to escape, to rip into him, to make him scream.

She couldn't. She knew she had to keep waiting. Instead, she pressed her back against the wall and breathed until she'd calmed down.

And I always thought the Dementors were the real monsters.

With Shawx gone, she returned to planning with Moon. She still had one person, and she had plenty of ideas. Shawx was wrong; she'd get out of there eventually. She just had to find what she was looking for first.