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Chapter 68: A Race Against Time
Amelia Bones strode through the halls of the Ministry of Magic, her robes billowing as Alastor Moody matched her pace. The torches lining the walls cast flickering shadows, their hurried steps echoing in the near-empty corridor. They had just returned from Azkaban, and she wasn't wasting a second. The weight of the breakout pressed on her shoulders—this was the most significant security failure in years.
As they approached her office, Moody's magical eye spun wildly in its socket. "Potter and Black are already inside," he grunted.
Amelia wasn't surprised. James Potter and Sirius Black had been running their own investigations for years, those two are her best Aurors in the department. If they were here, they had something important. She pushed open the door without hesitation.
James and Sirius looked up immediately. James's expression was grim, while Sirius, despite his usual nonchalant demeanor, carried an edge of tension.
Amelia lifted a hand, silently gesturing them to speak.
James didn't waste time with pleasantries. "We've got answers."
"Let's hear it," Amelia said, folding her arms.
James exhaled sharply. "Bartemius Crouch Senior has been dead for days. His body was found at his home this morning—signs of magical binding, no defensive wounds. Whoever killed him caught him off guard."
Amelia frowned. "Cause of death?"
"Avada Kedavra," James answered grimly. "No doubt about it."
Moody let out a low growl. "Let me guess—the time of death probably less the 12 hours after the mark vanished."
Sirius nodded. "We found traces of another magical presence in the house. The signature matched an old record—Bartemius Crouch Junior."
"The son who supposedly died in Azkaban," Amelia muttered, her jaw tightening.
James continued, "Winky, the Crouch family's house-elf, confirmed it. She'd been taking care of Crouch Junior for years—kept under Imperius by his own father. The moment the Dark Mark vanished, Junior snapped out of it."
Amelia's eyes narrowed. "And the first thing he did was kill his father."
James nodded grimly.
Sirius added, "When Winky refused to help him, he sacked her on the spot."
"She's at Hogwarts now," James said. "I figured she'd be safest there. She's confused and devastated, hopefully she would feel better there."
Amelia exhaled, her mind rapidly connecting the pieces. "So, Crouch Junior, freshly unshackled from his father's control, wasted no time rallying the Dark Lord's most devoted followers. He broke into Azkaban, freed the Lestranges and Dolohov, and now they're Merlin-knows-where."
Sirius grimaced. "That about sums it up."
For a moment, silence filled the room as the weight of the situation settled over them. Then Amelia turned to Moody.
"Inform Dumbledore. He needs to know."
Moody gave a curt nod. "Aye. He won't like this."
Amelia then turned to James. "Be on guard. Crouch Junior and the others won't sit idle. If they believe the Dark Lord is dead, they might come after Harry—or your family."
James's expression darkened, his Auror instincts taking over. "Understood."
"Sirius," Amelia continued. "Stick with James. Extra protection and immediate backup if needed."
Sirius smirked. "Like I'd leave him alone anyway."
Amelia finally turned back to Moody. "How long do we have before the news spreads?"
Moody's eye whirled before settling on her. "At best? Twenty-four hours."
Amelia clenched her fists. "Then we have less than a day to find them before the entire wizarding world panics."
She turned toward the door, her voice ringing with command. "Mobilize every resource we have. I want every Auror on high alert. We find them before they vanish into the shadows."
James nodded, already moving toward the door, but then he hesitated. "Amelia, what's the plan if we don't find them before the news breaks?"
Amelia sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Then we contain the fallout. We assure the public that we are handling the situation, that the Ministry is doing everything possible. But proof of what really happened, fear will spread quickly."
"People will think You-Know-Who is coming back," Sirius said, his voice dark.
"Yes," Amelia admitted. "Even though he's gone for good."
Moody snorted. "That won't stop the panic."
"Which is why we need to get ahead of this," Amelia said firmly. "We find Crouch Junior. We track down the Lestranges and Dolohov. We put them back in Azkaban before the public even knows they're gone."
"And if we can't?" Sirius asked.
Amelia met his gaze evenly. "Then we hunt them. However long it takes."
Silence fell between them, the gravity of the situation settling over them like a heavy fog.
Then Moody cracked his knuckles. "I'll start with my contacts. If Crouch Junior got his hands on those wands, someone supplied them. And I have a few names in mind."
James added, "I'll check with the Unspeakables. There's a chance someone might have detected unusual magical activity around the time of the breakout."
Sirius, despite his usual recklessness, looked serious. "I'll go through our old case files. See if there were any former Death Eaters with connections to Crouch Junior."
Amelia nodded. "Good. Move fast. We don't have time to waste."
They all turned to leave, but just as James reached the door, he hesitated. "Amelia," he said, his voice quieter, "what are the chances we're underestimating him?"
She frowned. "What do you mean?"
James ran a hand through his hair, clearly uneasy. "Crouch Junior's escape wasn't just a random jailbreak. It was planned. Precise. He knew exactly who to free, exactly how to get past Azkaban's security. He even had their wands."
Amelia's stomach twisted. "You think someone else is involved?"
James's jaw tightened. "I think it's possible. Someone had to provide those wands. Someone had to know Azkaban's defenses well enough to bypass them so efficiently. So either someone else is involved… or Crouch Junior is lot more dangerous and than we expected" He let the implication hang in the air.
Then Moody spoke, his voice gruff. "Either way we've got a bigger problem than a few escaped Death Eaters."
No one said anything for a moment. Then Amelia squared her shoulders. "Then we will be prepared for both possibilites."
With that, she dismissed them, and they all set off on their respective tasks.
As the door shut behind them, Amelia leaned against her desk, rubbing her temples.
This wasn't just a breakout.
This could be the beginning of something much worse.