A tiger dies and leaves its skin; a man dies and leaves his name.
And that Dementor, upon its destruction, left me its magical power.
I briefly sifted through the unpleasant memory and checked the magical power the Dementor had left behind.
Indeed, as befitting a conglomerate of the emotion called pain, I could tell that a considerable amount of my magical power had increased.
Of course, to me, who already possessed an enormous amount of magical power from having swallowed the emotions left by Morgana, this wasn't a very large amount.
But then, a thought occurred to me.
"Huh, come to think of it, doesn't that make a Dementor nest an elixir emporium for me?"
[T/N: Elixir (영약/yeong-yak): The literal translation is "divine/elixir medicine." Aisen uses this term to describe a potent source of power or a magical ingredient he can consume to grow stronger.]
At this unexpected gain, I forgot the unpleasant feeling from a moment ago, and Azkaban suddenly seemed to sparkle.
I grinned and shook the fallen Harry awake.
"Harry! Let's get into Azkaban, quickly!"
"Umm... Master?"
Harry, who had just woken up from fainting, asked in a daze.
"Why was I... ah."
He briefly put a hand to his head, and then his complexion suddenly turned pale, as if the memory of the Dementor had returned.
"The Dementor, what happened to the Dementor?"
I gave Harry, whose face had gone white, a wide grin.
"Of course, this master of yours took care of it."
What do you think? Do you now understand the greatness of your master?
If Deek or Ardeura had been here, they might have given me a pathetic look as if to say 'grow up,' but right now, it was just me and Harry.
So I puffed out my chest with all the pride I could muster.
But even after hearing my words, Harry's complexion was still pale.
"Master, I, I heard something when I met the Dementor."
"Heard what?"
"Well, I don't know how to say it... it was a woman's scream."
A woman's scream? What reason would Harry have to hear a woman's scream?
As I was pondering this, Harry said.
"And, I saw a green flash of light..."
A green flash of light.
To wizards, that meant only one thing.
The Killing Curse.
Combined with the woman's scream he mentioned earlier, it was perfectly clear what memory Harry had seen.
It was probably from that moment when his mother sacrificed herself to protect him.
He had seen the most terrifying memory, one that must have been engraved even in his subconscious.
I let out a sigh and said to Harry.
"Harry. That was probably your mother's voice."
At my words, Harry clenched his fists tightly.
Seeing that he didn't react with much surprise, it's possible that Harry himself had already suspected it to some extent.
Come to think of it, this might be an overly harsh ordeal for a mere eight-year-old. When I think about when I was eight... hmm. I was no slouch either.
In any case, I felt a sense of concern and asked Harry.
"Harry, do you want to call it a day and go back? Now that we've been here once, we can always come back, so you don't have to worry."
He seemed to think for a moment at my words, then he stood up and brushed the dirt off his pants.
And Harry, as if his mind was firmly set, said to me.
"No, Master. I want to go now. If not now, I feel like I'll never be able to."
Seeing his determined expression put me in a good mood, and I clapped him on the back.
"Heh, good. You're definitely a Gryffindor."
"A Gryffindor?"
"Ah, Gryffindor. It's the symbol of courage."
Our chitchat was brief. We once again made our way toward Azkaban.
"Diffindo."
Slice.
Slice-slice-slice.
The enhanced Diffindo I used on the entrance to Azkaban literally shredded the door into rags.
I hadn't wanted to damage the entrance this much, but there was no other way.
It didn't seem like the main gate would break unless I used a spell enhanced with the Elder Wand and ancient magic.
And it's not as if the entrance to Azkaban, of all places, would open with a simple Alohomora.
Anyway, through the destroyed main gate, Harry and I were able to enter Azkaban.
"Reparo."
The moment we were inside, the Azkaban door was immediately fixed with a mending charm.
It would be a big problem if someone were to escape, after all.
"Wow, that's amazing."
Harry let out a small gasp of admiration beside me.
Actually, if you took away the fact that it was a prison, it was a magnificent enough building to warrant admiration.
The pillars that soared to the sky, the densely packed iron bars, the monochrome walls made entirely of gray stone, and the Dementors shrouded in black smoke that filled the interior of Azkaban.
His admiration of the overwhelming scenery was brief, as Harry's body flinched again at the sight of the Dementors that filled Azkaban.
Once you've faced a Dementor, that fear is instinctively hard to shake until you've defeated one yourself.
Should I teach Harry the Patronus Charm soon?
My worry was brief; after a quick glance at me, Harry had already regained his composure.
I could feel the trust in his gesture, and I let out a small laugh.
And just in time, dozens of Dementors, realizing that fresh humans, not nearly-dead prisoners, had arrived, flew toward us.
The chill created by the dozens of Dementors gathered together was enough to form frost on the stone floor.
Alright, then I should repay that trust.
I raised the corners of my mouth into a smile and aimed my wand at the clumps of elixir.
"Your suffering, I shall take it from you."
Kieeeek?!
Kiaaaaaak!!
Kieeee-ya-ek!!
And the dozens of Dementors froze in place and screamed.
From the chests of the dozens of Dementors, their 'emotions' began to be extracted all at once.
At the sight of the very essence of their existence being sucked out in real time, the Dementors screamed in fear.
It might not have been as dangerous as the cry of a Mandrake, which is said to be the most dangerous in the world, but in terms of sheer horror, the sound of their screams had already surpassed that of a Mandrake.
As a sound hundreds of times more horrible than nails on a chalkboard echoed in a chorus, even the prisoners, who had been lying limp and lifeless, began to rise and writhe in agony.
"Gah, gaaaah! What in the world is that sound!"
"Help me, help me, help me!"
"Aaaargh!"
Of course, I had long since cast a soundproofing charm around myself and Harry to protect our ears.
Hmm.
And after a long wait, when the terrible screaming finally subsided, I gathered the extracted emotions into one and absorbed them.
Swoosh.
The clumps of emotion that seeped into my body with my breath raised my magical power by another level.
Absorbing dozens of them at once certainly allowed me to gain a rather significant amount of magical power.
As I was sorting out my newly replenished magical power, I heard Harry's voice, full of admiration, from behind me.
"Master, how in the world did you do that? The book definitely said that Dementors are beings that cannot be destroyed!"
I grinned and said.
"It's something that only I in this world can do. What do you think, feeling a sense of respect?"
"Yes!"
Well, it might be possible if another person with a talent for ancient magic appeared, but still.
The Dementors, which possessed a certain level of intelligence, were shocked at the sight of me destroying and absorbing their brethren and moved away from me.
If I had my way, I would have liked to catch and absorb all those Dementors that looked like shimmering elixirs, but then all the prisoners in Azkaban would escape.
Hmm.
Actually, I might have overdone it a bit.
At the sound of the Dementors' death cries, all the inmates who had been lying around like corpses began to wake up.
There are hundreds of Dementors in Azkaban. Destroying a few dozen won't cause a major problem, but what is certain is that the environment for the prisoners has improved compared to usual.
In the end, Azkaban began to grow noisy with the sounds of the inmates who had regained some of their vitality.
"Who's there!"
"Damn it, I'll do anything if you just get me out of here!"
Woof woof!
All sorts of shouts and the sound of a dog barking echoed together.
I had no idea why a dog was barking in the middle of all this. Why is there a dog in a prison like this?
Anyway, what was important now was to find the Lestrange couple.
I said to Harry.
"Harry, it seems the inmates have woken up. Be on your guard."
"Yes."
At my words, Harry took his wand out from his robes.
Ah, for the record, Harry is currently using the wand I used to use.
Although it was twisted and bent while passing through the rift in time, it still cast spells surprisingly well.
Because of some law, he had to wait until he was eleven to buy a new wand, so I had no choice but to give him that one.
"Lumos."
Harry produced a light from the tip of his wand.
Woof woof!
No, but really, why is there a dog barking in a prison?
Do they raise a mascot animal at important facilities like this to give out as a souvenir?
It was a ridiculous thought, but remembering Hedwig from Gringotts, it occurred to me.
In any case, Harry and I headed deep into Azkaban in search of the Lestrange couple.
It was cold. It was painful.
Nothing ever changed in this damn prison. It was unchangingly quiet, and unchangingly horrible.
He had no idea how much time had passed.
How many years had it been since he was locked up in this damn prison?
How long had it been since he had transformed into a dog to avoid the Dementors?
He no longer knew anything.
The only thing that allowed him to maintain his sanity through his fading consciousness was the conviction that he was innocent.
And what was more painful than the wasting away of his soul and body was the fact that his enemy was alive and well out there.
A crime that had occurred solely because of his own mistake.
The thought that his enemy's blade would one day be aimed at his friend's child felt like his heart was being torn apart.
Because this was all his fault.
And yet, he held on stubbornly. He did not let go of the thread of life.
Because one day, he had to settle his own mistake himself.
With that thought alone, Sirius Black was enduring his days in Azkaban.
Today was the same.
Sirius, who was having another horrible day in Azkaban as usual, was woken up by a terrible sound in his ears.
Kieeee-ya-iik!!
Kiaeeeeeek!!
It was an unprecedentedly horrible sound. It was so horrible that he wondered if it was the most terrible sound a human ear could hear.
Sirius covered his ears and frowned, thinking.
What's going on? Don't tell me the Dementors are on a rampage.
Instantly transforming into the form of a dog, which drew less attention from the Dementors, through his Animagus magic, Sirius listened to the sounds outside.
He could faintly hear the conversation of some wizards. Was someone here for a visit?
—Yes!
But for some reason, one of the voices was extremely familiar.
A voice that was, for some reason, very nostalgic.
"...Woof? (James?)"
Sirius himself was more startled than anyone at the bark that had escaped his own mouth.
What had he just said? To think he would mistake someone else's voice for that of a dead man. It was literally nonsense.
Setting aside the fact that this was Azkaban, there was no way he could hear the voice of the already-dead James. It must have been an auditory hallucination.
...Was it really a hallucination?
Even if it wasn't James's voice, wasn't there one person left in this world who had a voice that would be similar to his?
It was a thought so vain that he himself let out a hollow laugh, but in order to survive in Azkaban, such vain hopes were absolutely necessary.
But then, he heard the unfamiliar voice speak.
—Harry, it seems the inmates have woken up. Be on your guard.
—Yes.
Harry. Did that person just say Harry?
If it was a Harry with a voice similar to James's, there was only one person Sirius could think of.
But, Harry should still be a child. Why in the world was Harry here?
He pushed aside the question that popped into his head. That wasn't important right now.
Woof woof! Woof woof! Arf arf! Woof woof!
Sirius barked and howled like a mad dog, trying to call Harry without drawing the Dementors' attention.
Arf arf arf! Woof woof!
Flash!
Gaaah!
A flash of light and all sorts of sounds came from outside the bars, but Sirius just kept barking.
How long had he been barking?
Finally, as if he had succeeded in getting their attention, Harry came into his view.
It really was Harry Potter!
Harry had grown up so well. His appearance, which was the spitting image of his father, and his well-built physique with a decent amount of muscle.
Harry must have been full of magical talent as well. Look, he was already holding a wand and using magic!
And the first time he saw his godson use magic, it was to cast a Cruciatus Curse on a prison inmate.
...What? A Crucio?
Sirius blinked at the mind-boggling sight and rubbed his eyes with his front paw.