Dixon led the way, with Hydrus Lestrange and Pucci following closely.
Entering the tall fortress—its cross-section shaped like a triangle—a musty smell immediately hit them.
The cells lining the corridors held emaciated wizard prisoners… and some skeletons the Ministry hadn't bothered to remove. After all, Azkaban was huge; there were always empty cells. Besides, the prisoners, constantly tormented by Dementors, soon became numb. A few skeletons nearby were nothing.
The imagined wails, complaints, or cries of injustice didn't appear. Azkaban was suffused with deathly stillness, broken only by eerie whispers and pale faces that suddenly appeared at the bars.
Pucci's voice trembled. "Mr. Dixon… how much farther?"
"Almost there," Dixon replied, quickening his pace.
Finally, their steps stopped.
"Bellatrix Lestrange, you have a visitor!" Dixon announced, then stepped back, revealing Hydrus.
"Hehehehehe…" A series of nervous, jagged laughs echoed. The voice was no longer the one Hydrus remembered—it was shrill, insane, rough as sand. "Visitor? Traitors barely escaping me, and now someone comes to visit?"
A pair of enormous eyes emerged from the darkness, made more prominent by Bellatrix's gaunt face.
"You…"
Bellatrix leapt to the bars, her skeletal face a mixture of surprise and joy.
"Little water snake… is that my little water snake?"
Hydrus studied the figure before her. Only the thick long eyelashes confirmed that this was Bellatrix—the woman she knew as her mother in this world.
Faces change, eyelashes don't.
"It's me," Hydrus said.
"Hahahaha…" Bellatrix laughed with pure joy—but her madness was so deep that it sent chills down the spine. "I knew it was you, I knew it! From afar, I could smell your sweetness, my darling!"
Her bony hands clutched the bars, fingers blanching from the force. She greedily gazed at Hydrus with a rapturous smile.
"So much like him… so much like him," Bellatrix murmured, reaching to touch Hydrus's face—but Dixon slapped her hand back. She bared her teeth at him, then looked at Hydrus again. "You take after your father too much."
Hydrus leaned close to the bars, whispering in a voice only Bellatrix could hear. "I know my father," she said calmly. "I saw him recently."
Bellatrix, unable to articulate her feelings, only uttered meaningless syllables. Surprise? Guilt? No—her heart raced with ecstatic anticipation. She pressed her face to the bars, her voice sharpening. "How is he? How is he?"
Hydrus frowned and stepped back. She wouldn't endure the stench from this woman just because she was her mother. "He's not well. He needs money."
Bellatrix didn't care about Hydrus's coldness or disdain—she was overjoyed. Her dead heart began to beat again.
"Money… money… yes, I have money! The Lestranges have money!"
She stretched her hands through the bars, waving frantically. "Child! Come! I'll tell you where the key is!"
Pucci timidly stepped forward. "Madam Lestrange, we suggest transferring vault authority to your daughter—after all, she is your only child."
Bellatrix paced, then suddenly lunged at Pucci with a loud clang against the bars, sending him sprawling.
"You're right, goblin!" she muttered, then stepped back, speaking to herself, oblivious to any onlookers. "The fortune can't stay with Lestrange. Only if it's in his hands is the vault truly valuable…"
"Goblin! Come! I'll transfer the authority now! Process it quickly!"
Pucci produced a prepared parchment for Bellatrix's fingerprints.
"Child, come," Bellatrix beckoned Hydrus near. She whispered, "Everything in the vault is enchanted with duplication and fire spells. You just need to…"
Hydrus reached into the cell and lightly tapped her mother on the back.
"Don't worry. I'll take care of it."
Hydrus led the way out, leaving behind Bellatrix's wild laughter. "Hahaha… he's coming back! He's coming back!"
"Stop!" A voice as mad as Bellatrix's shouted.
Hydrus halted. A man appeared, gaunt and haggard, tangled long black hair framing his face.
"You're Bellatrix's daughter?"
Hydrus didn't answer—she simply observed him.
"I'm Sirius Black, your uncle," he said.
"I know you," Hydrus replied. "You blew up a Muggle street."
Sirius shook his head vigorously, saying nothing, then asked, "Do you know Harry Potter?"
Of course she did. Not only did she know him—she was familiar enough to be dangerous.
"No, I don't know him personally, but as the Chosen One, he's famous outside."
Bang! Sirius pressed himself against the bars, his face flattening.
Hydrus raised an eyebrow. Do all Blacks like pressing themselves against gates?
"Tell me, how's that boy now?"
"Don't you read the Daily Prophet?" Hydrus asked. "The article 'Harry Potter Arrives'—" Though Audrey Astley's arrival had pushed it off the front page, it was still visible.
"I don't trust newspapers! It's all nonsense!"
"Fine. He's doing very well," Hydrus waved, turning to leave. "He's fine at Hogwarts. Under Dumbledore's protection, no one can harm him."
"Hahahahaha…"
"Hahahahaha…"
Bellatrix's insane laughter and Sirius's booming laugh filled the prison, breathing rare life into its walls. Without Hydrus there, their joy alone would have surely drawn a swarm of Dementors.
As they were about to leave the fortress, Hydrus paused.
She looked up at the fortress gate, inscribed with dense ancient magical echoes.
This fortress, like Hogwarts, condensed the wisdom of ancient wizards—yet the Ministry used it as a prison. What a waste!
Azkaban had once been the home of a fifteenth-century wizard, Extis, who used the darkest magic, torturing and killing sailors for sport. Some scholars even suggested that the Dementors were his experiments.
But that had little to do with Hydrus. If she wanted to explore ancient magical ruins, she had plenty of options. She didn't need to do it here.
Gringotts.
The Lestrange Family Vault.
Hydrus gazed at the treasures, stroking her chin.
Hundreds of thousands of Galleons, mountains of silver, collectibles—worth millions of pounds combined.
Yet somehow, they seemed trivial. After all, she now dealt in currencies worth trillions.
The most precious items in this vault were the humble, dusty parchments in the wall niches.
Land deeds from across Europe: forests, mountains, castles.
Audrey nodded in satisfaction. She was now a true landowner.
Exiting the vault, Pucci diligently closed the door.
"Miss Lestrange, about the loan?"
Hydrus smiled. "Such a massive loan… the only guarantee I have is Gringotts' credit. I'll need to think it over. I'll give you an answer tomorrow."
Pucci bowed. "Of course. Anyone would want to consider carefully. But our credit is far more reliable than you imagine—it's been proven by wizards for centuries!"
Hydrus left. By tomorrow, Gringotts might not even reach her.
That night, she slipped away as quietly as she came—swishing her robes without disturbing a single cloud—leaving only two vaults missing their treasures.