Azkaban was supposed the most secure prison in Harry Potter, but two men demonstrated how easy it is to escape the Dementors’ attention.
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Azkaban was believed to be the most secure prison in the world of Harry Potter. It can house any wizard, no matter how powerful. However, it might not be as well-respected as some wizards thought. While Azkaban housed powerful wizards but Harry Potter was enrolled at Hogwarts for the short time he was there, and Sirius Black was freed.
Siris wasn’t the only one who escaped Azkaban. He was not the only one who managed to escape Azkaban. The “inescapable prison” was quite escapable. Unfortunately, the Dementors charged with guarding prisoners did not do their jobs well.
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How Sirius Black used His Animagus to Escape
As shown in the Harry Potter Series, Azkaban was a strong protection system that kept Britain’s most dangerous wizard criminals locked up. It was situated on an island in the middle of the North Sea. It was constructed in the 15th Century and had been in operation since 1718. To hide it from the Muggles, the prison used charms. The prison was unplottable which meant that it didn’t exist anywhere on maps. Azkaban had Dementors as prison guards. Many people found this inhumane. One specific power of the Dementors was to drain happiness from people and leave them with only the worst memories. Most Azkaban prisoners died from despair and were then buried in Azkaban. in 1998, the Ministry of Magic declared illegal Azkaban use of dementors. But, before that, at most two people managed to escape from the eye of these creatures.
Sirius Black was the only wizard to ever escape Azkaban. Sirius was sent to Azkaban by Bartemius Crouch Senior, who sentenced several suspects in the First Wizarding War without trial. The death Eaters were locked up before they could use their powers to escape justice. But innocents were sent to prison, with Sirius one of the unfortunate. Sirius was accused by James and Lily Potter of murdering Peter Pettigrew and 12 other Muggles, as well as serving Lord Voldemort. All of this was untrue, since Pettigrew, who was still alive, was the one that killed the Muggles, and helped Voldemort. It was therefore justifiable for Sirius to flee Azkaban.
As Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban revealed, Sirius Black was best of friends with James Potter, while Sirius was Harry Potter’s godfather. To help Harry Potter, he needed to escape Azkaban. Sirius’s unregistered Animagus was a big help. These wizards can transform themselves into animals. Professor Minerva McGonagall was one of these registered Animagus. He could even turn into a cat. Sirius was able to transform into a dog and no one knew of this ability. After twelve years of being locked up in Azkaban prison, he was shocked to see a newspaper that featured Pettigrew in his Animagus rat form and decided to free Harry. He morphed into his dog and was able to escape prison with no Dementors realizing. But he wasn’t the first to escape Azkaban.
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Sirius Wasn’t the First Wizard To Escape Azkaban
Although Sirius’ escape was easy and shocking to Harry Potter‘s audience, it wasn’t his first escape. Barty Crouch Jr. was the escapee, and this made it so embarrassing for the Wizarding World. It is because his parents orchestrated the escape and helped him cover up. Barty worked for the Death Eaters, and he pledged his loyalty to Lord Voldemort after the First Wizarding War. So when it came to the end, his father, who was the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement sentenced him to Azkaban. His son was condemned to death by the torture of Aurors Alice and Frank Longbottom.
Crouch Sr. however had other plans. He did the unthinkable to save Crouch Sr. He sent his 19-year-old son to Azkaban for life and allowed him to go to prison. There, the Dementors started robbing him of every joy in his life. A year later, his wife died from the effects of what had happened to their son. Bartemius, a government official, took his wife to visit their son before she died. Barty agreed to her place. They used Polyjuice Potion, to change their appearances. Crouch Sr. sent his son home and disguised himself as Barty, his wife then died in Azkaban and was buried there. Barty was only taken into custody by Voldemort, who used him as a means to get into Hogwarts with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. This is when the Wizarding World learned the truth and Azkaban got another black eye.