Hogwarts: What are the four great masters doing?

He said apologetically.

"Oh, you don't have to be so polite, Cornelius."

Dumbledore's words revealed the other party's identity - Cornelius Fudge, the current Minister of Magic.

This identity meant that he was, at least in name, the most powerful person in the British wizarding world.

"Needless to say, this must be Mr. Ryan Elias!"

But at this moment, the Minister of Magic showed extraordinary enthusiasm for Ryan.

He came closer to Ryan, stretched out his right hand and held his hand: "The hero who repelled the dark wizard, the heir of Hufflepuff, the creator of the miracle of St. Mungo's - it is obvious that our wizarding world has a new amazing star!"

He said exaggeratedly, and then patted Ryan's shoulder with his left hand: "I was going to apply for a Merlin medal for you... the most outstanding little wizard in the British wizarding world. Believe me, you deserve it."

Ryan caught a whiff of old-fashioned perfume.

"But unfortunately, some people obviously don't like my care for talented young people. I think he's just too old and conservative to tolerate new blood... I went to his house a few days ago to discuss this, but he kicked me out before I even got through the door!"

His words continued: "That house-elf... I saw her eyes glancing at me all the time. Old Barty was humiliating me!"

"Don't say that, Connelly—I believe Batty didn't mean that. He was just doing his job."

"Besides, I think Ryan is really too young, isn't he?"

Dumbledore obviously knew who Fudge was talking about.

Ryan knew it, of course; he had heard it from Cedric.

Barty Crouch Sr. - former Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Although he stepped down due to a scandal, he was transferred to the position of Director of the Department of International Magical Exchange and Cooperation.

But he is still the powerful and iron-blooded faction in the Ministry of Magic.

It was he who stopped Fudge from applying for the Order of Merlin for Ryan... Well, Ryan was actually very grateful to him for doing so.

His reputation is already loud enough.

But while speaking, Ryan noticed another person in the office.

It was a short, plump woman in pink.

Her robe, hat, sweater, nail art and even the quill in her hand are all pink.

Ryan noticed the label on her chest - [Senior Undersecretary of the Ministry of Magic - Dolores Umbridge].

At this moment, she had an uncomfortably sweet smile on her face as she looked at Fudge and Ryan, holding a magic camera in her hand and taking pictures continuously, while the quill in front of her was constantly writing and drawing.

Ryan could roughly guess what the other party was doing - he estimated that tomorrow the news "The heir of Hufflepuff was received by the Minister of Magic, and the two had a friendly meeting" would probably appear in the news related to the Ministry of Magic.

After all, after what happened at St. Mungo's Hospital, Ryan's reputation is really hot in today's wizarding world.

"Oh, this is Madam Dolores Umbridge... She will be taking you to Azkaban."

At this moment, Fudge said to Dumbledore apologetically: "Albus, I was planning to go with you and Ryan, but I have a meeting later. The German and French Ministers of Magic seem to be interested in reopening the Triwizard Tournament..."

"Oh—of course, you can go about your business, Cornelius."

Dumbledore said with a smile.

Then Fudge said goodbye and left.

Instead, the woman named Umbridge came up.

"Hello, I'm Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary... What a cute little kitty... Oh!"

She forced a warm smile on her face and her voice was deliberately kept sharp.

She might have thought it would make her look cute, but in reality it only made her already not-so-good looks even more disgusting.

It wasn't that Ryan had any ill will towards her, it was just the truth.

Because at this moment Umbridge noticed the Friday on Ryan's shoulder, she seemed to reach out to touch it.

Then it was scratched back by Friday with a hissing claw!

This obviously made her a little angry, and she looked at Friday in disbelief.

"Oh, sorry—my cat has a bad temper."

Ryan said softly.

"Meow!"

Friday was very dissatisfied after hearing this - it was not because he had a bad temper, but because the woman looked too scary.

She looks like a pink-skinned toad!

"No...it's okay."

Umbridge forced a smile again and said to Dumbledore, "Headmaster Dumbledore, you have applied to visit Sirius Black, the prisoner of Azkaban."

"As you know, Azkaban is a very sensitive place, holding extremely dangerous criminals... Therefore, I will accompany you and observe your conversations with the criminals throughout the process to ensure safety."

She emphasized the word 'safe'.

"of course."

Dumbledore, however, nodded as if he didn't notice anything. "Azkaban's safety is of course very important."

"Thank you for your understanding."

So, Umbridge nodded with satisfaction.

Then she took out a box from her arms that had obviously been prepared long ago.

After opening the box, Ryan saw a pocket inside.

"Azkaban completely restricts Apparition. This is a special portkey that will teleport you to the visitation area on the island."

Umbridge smiled and said, "Now, we can set off."

So not long after.

As the door key continued to turn, Ryan found himself in a completely new place again.

"trickle!"

He heard the sound of waves lapping against the shore and smelled the unique scent of the sea breeze.

This subconsciously reminded him of the sea breeze at the Silver Linden Welfare Home.

But the difference is that the sea breeze at the Silver Linden Welfare Home is gentle and carries the fragrance of silver linden leaves.

The sea breeze here carries a fishy smell and...the sound of heavy rain.

"..."

Ryan looked towards the vicinity of the island—thick fog and heavy rain almost obscured everything visible.

They ensure that Muggle ships do not stray into the island.

Thus, Ryan determined that his short trip to the Ministry of Magic was over.

He came to the wizard prison 'Azkaban'.

"Meow!?"

At this moment, Ryan noticed that Friday on his shoulder was bending down slightly vigilantly and growling towards the sky.

Then Ryan looked up.

Then... he saw those 'creatures' floating in the thick fog in the sky.

They floated in the air, wrapped in a tattered, seemingly rotten black cloak.

Beneath their hoods was darkness, save for the sight of bony, grey arms protruding from beneath their cloaks.

Corruption, darkness, filth, cruelty, all the ugly adjectives seem to be able to be concentrated on them.

Of course Ryan knew what it was—they would appear in any book about dark creatures and in any record about Azkaban.

Dementors, the jailers of Azkaban.

They are a special kind of magical creatures, inherently evil and strange.

To be more precise - they can't even be called living things.

They are a kind of 'non-existence', a special existence between life and death.

They cannot be killed, they cannot be destroyed, they can only be expelled.

They are born with the ability to absorb positive emotions from living things - happiness, excitement, kindness, enthusiasm, happiness...all positive emotions are their favorite food.

This is why they serve as jailers.

All prisoners imprisoned here will have their happy emotions sucked away by Dementors day and night.

The cold chill of the Dementors would penetrate into their bones and become their only 'feeling' in this prison.

Time will become a blunt knife, constantly scraping away their will - so prisoners who enter Azkaban often end up going mad and dying.

At this moment, the Dementors seemed to have noticed the new people appearing on this dead island.

They fluttered their cloaks and flew down from the sky.

Ryan saw frost beginning to form on the ground, and then a cold feeling rose from the depths of his soul.

"Ok?"

But after feeling this chill, Ryan suddenly raised his eyebrows.

"This feeling..."

He looked thoughtfully at the creatures falling from the sky.

But at this moment...

"beep!"

A sharp whistle pierced the darkness, and then Ryan saw the Dementors pause.

Then, they actually stopped moving and slowly gathered together.

Ryan turned his head and saw Dolores Umbridge standing behind him.

In her hand she was holding a rather old and worn-looking whistle—apparently, it was this thing that had stopped the Dementors in their tracks.

"Oh, excuse me—Mr. Lane, you must be terrified."