The Ministry Announces a Mass Breakout from Azkaban, Blaming Sirius Black

PAGES: 544-545

Ministry of Magic, represented by Cornelius Fudge, announces that ten high-security prisoners have escaped from Azkaban. Fudge suggests that Sirius Black might have helped orchestrate the breakout and that Bellatrix Lestrange, his cousin, and others are rallying around him as their leader. The Ministry urges caution, but Harry Potter is outraged that Sirius is being blamed for the escape.