"Carrow? Nott? You actually have the nerve to come to Azkaban to rescue us?"
A shrill female voice rang out, Bellatrix's sinister laughter echoing throughout the dungeon.
"This couldn't be your own initiative! Absolutely not! Who sent you? Who!!"
Just hearing that voice made old Nott and the others shudder involuntarily.
Even within the Death Eater ranks, Bellatrix had never been what anyone would call normal. After so many years locked in Azkaban, she had become utterly deranged!
"It's Master! Master has returned! Master sent us to rescue you!"
"Hahahahahaha!!"
The maniacal laughter sent chills down the arms of everyone who heard it.
A disheveled Bellatrix had already stepped out of her cell. The other prison doors were also being opened. Rodolphus, Rabastan, Crabbe, Gibbon... these villains, after so long, were finally leaving the confines of their cells!
Broomsticks and wands were handed to them. All the Death Eaters mounted broomsticks, ready to burst out of the prison.
However, just as those at the front were about to fly out from the lowest level of cells, a sudden change occurred.
Countless blinding spells shot in from outside!
The men reacted too slowly, never expecting so many wizards to appear on the island. Almost all the spells hit their targets. In just two seconds, seven or eight Death Eaters fell from their broomsticks, unconscious on the floor.
At the entrance to the lowest dungeon, more than a dozen figures revealed themselves. Each one was a familiar face to the villains present!
"Shacklebolt! Moody!"
"Sprout! McGonagall! Flitwick! Slughorn!"
And when the tall, white-bearded old man stood before them, backlit, all the Death Eaters stared in disbelief.
"Albus Dumbledore!!"
Dumbledore looked coldly at these villains. He didn't seem inclined to respond. And behind them, countless Dementors swarmed in, pouring into the lowest dungeon of the prison!
Blocked from the only exit by Dumbledore and his group, the Dementors finally gathered and reacted. They seemed exceptionally angry, completely ignoring the standoff situation, and surrounded the Death Eaters in the middle!
"If we don't break out, staying here means waiting to be Kissed! Charge out!"
Bellatrix took over command. She led the charge, riding her broomstick and raising her wand towards the exit guarded by Dumbledore's group.
However, Nott and the others had already despaired upon seeing Dumbledore!
Unlike maniacs like Bellatrix, they were well aware of what kind of wizard Dumbledore was.
Unless their Master came personally, no one could deal with him, let alone with countless Dementors surrounding them!
Someone jumped off their broomstick, dropped their wand, and tried to surrender.
A significant number of them actually still harbored the delusion that they could, as before, simply surrender, claim under Ministry interrogation that they were under the Imperius Curse, and still have a chance to avoid punishment.
But even if Dumbledore was willing to accept their surrender, the enraged Dementors couldn't care less about their current state!
The figures of the black-cloaked monsters nearly overwhelmed the Death Eaters who wanted to surrender.
And the Death Eaters led by Bellatrix, who launched a frontal charge against Dumbledore's group, could hardly expect any other outcome.
These people had been imprisoned in Azkaban's dungeons for years, tormented by Dementors. The fact that they could still maintain consciousness was extraordinary in itself, expecting them to cast powerful spells was out of the question.
Facing a lineup led by Dumbledore himself, a team strong enough to challenge Voldemort in a final battle, these people had no chance of breaking through.
Soon, not a single one of these Death Eaters, who had just been reveling in the excitement of the breakout and the thrill of the rescue, remained standing.
After their initial frenzy, where the angry Dementors Kissed four or five people to death, they began to restrain themselves, merely continuously draining the emotions of the remaining individuals, making them weaker and more feeble, completely robbing them of any means of resistance.
Old Nott, surprisingly, still managed to maintain a clear consciousness. His face was deathly pale, his whole body trembling as he looked at Dumbledore, shrieking miserably.
"You knew all along! This was a trap! A trap waiting for us to walk right into it!!"
"Who informed you! Who!!"
Dumbledore's expression was placid. He showed no intention of answering Nott's question, simply turning and walking out of the dungeon.
The four Hogwarts Heads of House following him cast one last glance filled with pity at the Death Eaters, but it was only pity.
The follow-up work here, of course, wasn't their responsibility… they could leave it to Kingsley to handle.
But regarding these people's actions today and the claims they made in the dungeon, whether it was Kingsley, Moody, or a significant number of others, they still showed...
However, as soon as someone started to bring it up, Dumbledore shook his head and interrupted.
"Rest assured, they were merely bluffing. I can assure you, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named will never appear again. Never."
His words finally eased the previously heavy atmosphere.
Moody's magical eye swiveled incessantly. He spoke in his gruff voice,
"Seems like some things have happened that we know nothing about?"
Dumbledore smiled.
"Not just some things. Many things. But they are all good things."
"Will we have a chance to know?" Kingsley also asked.
"That will depend on whether a certain someone is willing to talk about it in the future."
That night, nearly all the Death Eaters were captured in one fell swoop.
Dumbledore's group returned victorious and laden with success.
Lucius was still pacing anxiously at home. Today was the final deadline Voldemort had set for him to deliver the fresh unicorn blood, but he hadn't received any notification, neither from Dumbledore nor from Voldemort.
Severus was sitting in the Hogwarts Headmaster's office reading the newspaper, casually chatting with the portraits of past Headmasters on the wall, looking completely relaxed and showing no concern about whether the night's events would be successful.
But in the latter half of the night, neither the Ministry of Magic nor the news media could rest easy any longer.