The world is just a giant chaotic stage performance. Owen knew many people looked down on the Ministry of Magic, but he never expected the Ministry to be this incompetent!
One prisoner escapes from Azkaban, and the entire Ministry of Magic is running around like ants in a hot pan. But if you look closely, you'd realize that among these frantic Ministry employees, only a very few actually showed genuine fear. The rest were just busying themselves with tense faces, putting on a show of urgency.
Owen had only taken a few steps out of the fireplace when he saw Dumbledore talking to someone. Upon spotting him, Dumbledore waved and quickly ended the conversation.
"Headmaster, judging by this situation..." Owen glanced around and asked leisurely, "Did all the prisoners in Azkaban break out?"
"No, Owen, only one..." Dumbledore trailed off. Truthfully, he was also quite dissatisfied with the current Ministry, but it was better not to show it in front of the young wizard.
"One..." Owen chuckled. "So the Ministry invited you here because all the Aurors are injured and can't participate in the capture?"
"Oh, my dear, I think we shouldn't be so harsh. Fudge invited me here to check Azkaban for any loopholes. Didn't you always want to visit?"
Loopholes? The biggest loophole in Azkaban was hiring Dementors as guards!
Although Dementors' abilities and characteristics were indeed suited for the job, look closely: they were hired by the Ministry. That meant as long as someone could pay the right price, Dementors could very smoothly switch from guards to accomplices.
Owen didn't believe no one saw this flaw. What he couldn't believe was that people saw it, recognized it, yet no one raised the issue...
In his opinion, a Ministry like this had no reason to exist. Instead of trying to maintain it, it would be better to let it rot completely and then rebuild a new one. At least that would take less effort.
Azkaban was an island. After reaching the coast via the Floo Network, they had to take a boat. The perimeter guards assigned two officials to accompany them onto the island.
"Is that thing flying in the sky a Dementor?"
"Yes, Mr. Corlett. They are extremely danger—"
"Come here!"
Owen ignored the official completely. Instead, he beckoned to the Dementor flying overhead. And that Dementor actually flew toward them. Before it even got close, the two officials retreated, their faces pale.
But what no one expected was that after arriving, the Dementor quietly floated beside the young wizard, showing absolutely no intention of attacking.
Ugly!
But ugly in a distinctive way. The kind of ugly that makes people scared, but not that scared—bold people might even want to slap it.
Coincidentally, Owen was the latter. So he raised his hand and slapped the Dementor.
The slapped Dementor felt wronged. It had instinctively obeyed the summons and come obediently, yet it still got hit. But it had no intention of fighting back or even fleeing, because it sensed extreme danger radiating from this young wizard.
"Alright, that was just a reflex. Now, take... us inside. Let's see what the situation is."
The Dementor turned and flew ahead to lead the way. Owen followed. Dumbledore smiled and waved to the two dumbfounded officials. "Gentlemen, we'd best keep up. Don't worry, with Mr. Corlett here, we are safe."
The Headmaster was very relaxed now. His old friend was right: if you can't control the water-like magic, then expand the pool that holds it. The Eastern magic from his old friend was proving effective. He believed little Owen could grow normally now. So, he needed to slowly, bit by bit, pave the way for Owen.
Fame should come early, and while he was still around to guide it!
"Look at this. Is this pale, tender little fellow our dinner for tonight?"
Just as they approached the first cell, a dissonant voice rang out. Owen didn't care at all. Dark Wizards were mentally unstable to begin with; after being locked up here for so long, their minds were bound to be twisted. This double affliction highlighted another characteristic: fearlessness of death!
So words were useless. Owen casually flicked a Cruciatus Curse. The fool who didn't fear death could only scream in agony, unable to utter another word.
Of course, there were plenty of people like that, but not too many. After someone set an example, no one dared to speak rudely to the young wizard again.
"Mr. Dumbledore, that just now... was that the Cruciatus Curse?"
Dumbledore chuckled. "Mr. Corlett isn't even fourteen yet. He wouldn't use Unforgivable Curses. That was a brand-new minor jinx, just for pranks. It causes no harm whatsoever."
The old man was tall and walked ahead of the two officials, so his expression wasn't visible. But his calm tone relieved the officials. Dumbledore's credibility still held significant weight, at least for now.
"Was the prisoner kept here before?"
Owen examined the cell carefully, then frowned. He turned to look at the two officials. "The prisoner kept here was an Animagus. You didn't know that?"
The two officials shook their heads in unison. No matter how much they disliked the young wizard's attitude, they didn't dare act up. Because right now, hovering beside the young wizard wasn't just one Dementor, but a full squad of twelve!
Before figuring out why the Dementors were acting like this, it was better to be obedient. This was Azkaban, the Dementors' territory.
"If he turned into a normal animal, you couldn't detect it?"
The twelve Dementors nodded in unison.
Owen said nothing more and walked toward another cell. At first glance, he saw a woman. Without saying anything else, just from her eyes, Owen saw only chaos and madness.
Look at that. What an excellent experimental subject. Pity the old man won't let me move in here. Forget it. If I want to take over as Headmaster of Hogwarts, I can't have stains on my record. Better look for opportunities outside.
Thinking this, he could only smile helplessly at the woman, then turn and leave with his squad of Dementors.
"Um... Mr. Dumbledore, could you ask Mr. Corlett not to gather so many Dementors?"
One Dementor could lower the surrounding temperature significantly. A whole group was enough to turn the area into a giant freezer.
Owen and Dumbledore didn't feel anything wrong, but the two officials couldn't take it. their lips were already turning blue from the cold.