Azkaban was supposed to be the safest prison in Harry Potter’s world. But two men proved how easy it was for them to escape the Dementors’ notice.
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Azkaban was the safest prison in the Harry Potter world. It can hold any wizard, regardless of its power. The prison might not have the reputation that many wizards believe. Although Azkaban was home to powerful wizards, Harry Potter spent the last few years at Hogwarts and witnessed the escape of Sirius Black, a prisoner.
Siris was not the only one to flee Azkaban. A second wizard also fled Azkaban long before Siris. The prison’s “inescapable” was extremely escapable. It seems that the Dementors who were supposed to guard prisoners didn’t do their jobs very well.
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How Sirius Black used his Animagus form to escape
As we have seen in the Harry Potter series of books, Azkaban provided protection and kept the most dangerous wizard criminals from Britain behind bars. It was located on an island in the North Sea. It was built in the 15th century and has been in operation since 1718. To keep it hidden from Muggles, the prison used charms. It was also Unplottable, which means that it wasn’t on any maps. Azkaban employed Dementors instead of prison guards. This seemed cruel to many. One power was unique to the Dementors: they could drain people of their happiness, leaving them with only their worst memories. Many Azkaban prisoners died of despair and were buried on the island. The Ministry of Magic banned Azkaban’s use of Dementors. However, at least two individuals managed to escape the watchful eyes of these creatures.
Sirius Black was the last wizard to be able to escape Azkaban by himself. Sirius was sent by Bartemius Crouch Senior to Azkaban after he sentenced several people to the First Wizarding War. Many Death Eaters were taken to prison before they could escape justice. However, innocent people were also sent to Azkaban. Sirius was accused of killing Peter Pettigrew, 12 Muggles, and betraying James Potter while serving Lord Voldemort. This was false as Pettigrew was alive and was the one who helped Voldemort and killed the Muggles. This made Sirius’ escape from Azkaban possible.
As Harry Potter fans discovered in Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban Sirius Black and James Potter were best friends and Sirius was Harry Potter’s godfather. He needed to escape Azkaban to save the boy. Sirius was an unregistered Animagus, which helped him here. These wizards can transform into animals like Professor Minerva McGonagall who was a registered Animagus, and who could also turn into a cat. Sirius could transform into a dog but nobody in Azkaban knew this. After 12 years in Azkaban, he stumbled upon a newspaper showing Pettigrew as an Animagus rat. He realized he needed to escape to save Harry. He transformed into his dog form and escaped prison without any of the Dementors realizing it. He wasn’t the only one to escape Azkaban.
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Sirius wasn’t the first wizard to escape Azkaban
Although Sirius’ escape from Azkaban seemed easy and not surprising to Harry Potter, he wasn’t the first one to do so. The Wizarding World found it embarrassing that Barty Crouch Jr. escaped long after the fact. His parents helped him conceal the fact that he had escaped and set up the escape. Barty was a Death Eater and pledged his loyalty after the First Wizarding War to Lord Voldemort. His father, who headed the Department of Magical Law Enforcement sent him to Azkaban. His fate was sealed by the death of his son, Barty, through the torture of Aurors Alice & Frank Longbottom.
Crouch Sr., however, had other plans and did what was impossible to save his son. His 19-year-old son was sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban. He allowed his son to enter Azkaban prison where the Dementors began to drain him of all joy. His wife was already suffering from a decline in health one year later due to the events that had happened to her son. Bartemius was able to take his wife to the hospital before her son died because of his government position. This was just a plot where she agreed to take Barty’s place and used Polyjuice Potion for the switch. Crouch Sr. returned home with his son, while his wife, disguised as Barty died in Azkaban. They were buried on the grounds. Barty was taken in by Voldemort who used him to enter Hogwarts in Harry Potter. The Goblet of Fire was also used to do this. Azkaban then received another black eye in the history of the Wizarding World.