Snape, the Sunshine of Hogwarts

After using the Explosive Charm to deal with the remaining Madago cats around him, old Lupin protected Granger and took care of the two on his side.

The three of them did not linger for a moment. Severus knew very well that these cats were just a means for Greyback to stall for time, and that Harry, Hermione, and the other children he had captured were definitely hiding nearby!

They chased after the direction in which the werewolf had disappeared and soon discovered a man-made stone staircase carved out of the sea cliff.

They continued up the stone steps and soon reached the end, where they saw the cave entrance blocked by a huge rock!

"Back off."

Severus raised his wand and then pressed the tip against the boulder.

"The Divine Edge is Shadowless!"

Old Lupin and Granger could only hear a loud "boom" as the boulder, which was seven or eight meters high, was instantly shredded to pieces!

As countless rocks fell and dust billowed, Severus led the two of them quickly into the cave.

However, they were clearly still held up.

Apart from the tents and some personal belongings left behind, the place is now completely deserted.

Old Lu Ping slammed his fist into the stone wall beside him.

"Those bastards ran really fast!"

Severus then ventured deeper into the cave, and he soon realized that he had not left any trace of Apparition.

“They made preparations in advance; they didn’t escape using Apparition, but rather with something like a Port Key.”

"Can you find out where it landed?" Granger asked, frowning.

"We can investigate, but we can't do it on our own; we need to find professionals from the Ministry of Magic."

Severus straightened up and continued peering inside, soon discovering something else unusual.

It was a stone sheep, about the size of a palm, left behind by a transformation spell, behind a pile of messy tents and behind a pile of stones.

However, the spellcaster's transformation technique was clearly hasty and crude. The sheep still retained most of the original characteristics of the stone, and it could only be vaguely seen that it was the shape of a sheep.

If this were presented in Hogwarts' Transfiguration class, it would be an absolutely unacceptable piece of work, and Professor McGonagall might even deduct points from it.

But on the top of that sheep's head, you can clearly see that it has four horns!

"What does it mean?"

Severus picked up the failed stone sheep, but even he couldn't figure out if it was a clue left by Lupin, or what it represented.

On the contrary, Granger hesitated after seeing the four horns on the ram's head.

"Could it be a four-horned sheep from the Isle of Man?"

Severus and old Lupin couldn't help but turn to look at him.

Have you ever seen a sheep like this?

“When Hermione was seven, I took her and Jane on a vacation to the Isle of Man, where there are two native animals: the tailless cat and the four-horned sheep,” Granger said.

This answer caused Severus and Lupin to exchange a glance.

"Remus lived on that island for a month when he was a child; his mother took him there!"

Finally, upon hearing Lupin's addition, Severus confirmed...

"That's most likely it! Lupin's wand was probably confiscated, so he couldn't use any advanced magic and could only leave this kind of hint in desperation!"

"Should we head over there immediately?" Old Lu Ping asked.

“Take Robert and interrogate the werewolf I captured outside with the petrification spell. See if you can get any useful information out of him. After that, you and Robert go to that island together. He's been there before and knows it better than any of us,” Severus said thoughtfully. “I need to go see Kingsley first. He must have received my letter by now. If we want the Aurors to make any progress, we must first solve the problem of the one above them.”

Old Lupin and Granger naturally had no objection to this arrangement, as their actions were basically organized and carried out by Severus.

"How long will it take you to get here?" Granger asked as a final question.

"Tomorrow at the latest."

After giving a specific time, Severus used Apparition to disappear from the spot.

Ministry of Magic, Auror Office.

Kingsley, who was still sorting out the internal relationships of the Aurors and trying to find the traitor, received the letter from Severus before noon.

His body began to tremble after reading only half of the letter!

This is such a big deal!

If what's said in the letter is true, then...

After reading the letter in its entirety, he destroyed it immediately. Then, looking hurried, he stood up from his workstation and made his way to the archives of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

"I want to request an investigation into the information of an Azkaban prisoner."

The wizard, idly keeping watch in the archives, noted down Kingsley's needs.

Who are you looking for?

“According to regulations, I can leave the name of a prisoner who has already died on the island unrecorded.”

“Alright, Mr. Shakel, please fill out this application form first, then go to the third room, second row of the archives and find the file you are looking for. It contains information on prisoners who died in Azkaban.”

After filling out the application form as quickly as possible, Kingsley went into the archives and found the row of files.

And after a simple search, I found what I wanted!

[Barty Crouch, imprisoned in November 1982, died in March 1984]

He quickly flipped through the useless information at the beginning of the file and finally found that line of record.

After his death, he was buried in the cemetery on the southeastern corner of Azkaban.

Kingsley abruptly closed the file and put it back in its place. His breathing became noticeably rapid, but his expression remained impassive. He then left the archives room as if nothing had happened.

When he left, the wizard guarding the door of the archives was still drinking tea and reading the newspaper, unaware of anything unusual.

Kingsley didn't return to the Auror office; his mind was a jumbled mess, and all he wanted to do was find someone to discuss what to do next.

He thought and thought, but in the end, he could only think of the man who had sent him the letter.

As Kingsley, preoccupied with his own thoughts, prepared to head to the Ministry of Magic's owlhouse to borrow an owl to write a letter...

An Auror in an office suddenly found him.

"Shakel, someone has come to the ministry looking for you."

Kingsley stopped in his tracks.

"who is it?"

“Professor Snape, no, he should be called Mr. Snape now.”

The Auror sighed.

"He's very popular now. Many people in the department greet him. I remember the last time he came, they were all avoiding him."

Before he could finish speaking, when he turned around again, he found that Kingsley had already hurriedly left.

This prompted Auror to mutter something under his breath.

"Lockhart is almost not as popular as he is in the wizarding world."

Taking the elevator, Kingsley returned to the Auror office, panting, in less than five minutes.

As soon as he opened the door, he saw Severus sitting at his workstation, eating the snacks brought by the new Auror girl. When she saw him, she smiled and waved.

Chapter 86 The Tomb of Azkaban

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, covered with gray stones, and 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.