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Azkaban
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| Harry Potter location | |
 Azkaban (heavily damaged) as seen in the film Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. |
|
| Azkaban | |
|---|---|
| Location | The North Sea |
| Owner | Ministry of Magic |
| Affiliation | British Ministry of Magic |
| Permanent residents | Dementors (until late 1997) and convicted criminals |
| First appearance | Chamber of Secrets (first mentioned); never actually visited. Then in Order of the Phoenix film (actually seen). |
Azkaban is the fictional wizard prison in the Harry Potter series of books by J. K. Rowling. Wizards who violate the laws of the British wizarding world are sent there. Only one other such prison; Nurmengard, is known to exist. By the start of the series, Azkaban is guarded by the Dementors, working under the British Ministry of Magic. Generally, only very severe crimes are punished with a term in Azkaban. Many of the prisoners were supporters of Lord Voldemort, though some misunderstandings have resulted in others' imprisonment. Rubeus Hagrid, for example, was sent there in Harry Potter's second year at Hogwarts because of a crime he did not commit.
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According to Half-Blood Prince, Azkaban is located "in the middle of the North Sea"; some fans cite Heligoland, in the North Sea, as the perfect match for the island.[citation needed]
Azkaban is probably not found on Muggle maps, as wizard land is often made hidden or unplottable, or not able to be put on a map, (thereby keeping it secret from Muggles and sometimes from other wizards) and as a wizard prison, Azkaban would probably be especially well hidden.
See The Unplottable Charm for more information.
Azkaban has a reputation of evil and fear throughout the series. The large presence of Dementors renders the inmates incapable of happiness and forces them to relive their worst memories, as they become gradually helpless and often severely insane. According to Sirius Black, many inmates simply stop eating and eventually die of starvation. As Dementors are extremely difficult even to injure — the only spell effective against them is the Patronus Charm — Azkaban was long considered impossible to escape, until Sirius Black escaped (although Barty Crouch Jr. had previously broken out by help of his parents); however, Dumbledore claimed he could break out of Azkaban if he wished to.
Performing any of the Unforgivable Curses (the Imperius Curse, the Cruciatus Curse, or Avada Kedavra—the Killing Curse) on a human is punishable by an automatic life sentence in Azkaban, although several characters throughout the series have performed the curses and not been punished accordingly. Other crimes which merit imprisonment here include assaulting the Ministry (for example, the Death Eaters detained in Order of the Phoenix), being an unregistered Animagus[HP5] and impersonating an Inferius.[HP6]
Throughout the series of books, Azkaban has played a very significant role. In Chamber of Secrets, Rubeus Hagrid is placed under temporary imprisonment there, an experience so traumatic that he refuses to talk about it after being released. Sirius Black becomes the first wizard known to escape (Prisoner of Azkaban), although it is later discovered that Bartemius Crouch Jr escaped with the help of his parents while Sirius was still imprisoned (Goblet of Fire). Albus Dumbledore once declared in front of the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, that he could easily break out of Azkaban. However, this remark should be seen in the light of who made it – Dumbledore was probably the most powerful wizard alive, and the only wizard Lord Voldemort ever feared. In other words, what is impossible for most wizards would usually be easy for him.
At the present moment Azkaban has been severely compromised; Professor Dumbledore was always vocal in declaring that it was a mistake to guard Voldemort's greatest supporters with those creatures who have the most to gain if Voldemort returned to power. In Order of the Phoenix he is proven right as the Dementors leave their posts at Azkaban and join ranks with Voldemort. The prison is still in use, but greatly weakened by the revolt of its wardens. Presumably Aurors are the only ones who stand between the convicts and their freedom.
By the start of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, there had been another mass breakout from Azkaban, and several Death Eaters escaped.
Following Voldemort's ultimate demise, Kingsley Shacklebolt sees to the end of use of Dementors at Azkaban, their use having always been a mark of the underlying corruption of the Ministry.[1]
| Prisoner | Current status | Crime |
|---|---|---|
| Avery | Imprisoned (Presumed) | Attacking the Ministry |
| Sirius Black | Escaped (only actual unassisted escape from Azkaban while the Dementors were guarding it); now deceased | Framed - Imprisoned without trial after being falsely accused of murdering Peter Pettigrew and a dozen other innocent bystanding muggles |
| Crabbe | Imprisoned (Presumed) | Attacking the Ministry |
| Bartemius Crouch Jr | Smuggled out by his parents; now soulless, Imprisoned (Presumed) | Torturing Frank and Alice Longbottom |
| Mrs Crouch | Died while imprisoned, disguised as Bartemius Crouch Jr | Served time in place of her son, Barty Crouch Jr |
| Antonin Dolohov | Killed by Filius Flitwick. | Murdering Gideon and Fabian Prewett; re-imprisoned for attacking the Ministry |
| Mundungus Fletcher | No longer imprisoned, unknown how he escaped or if he was released; fate unknown | Impersonating an Inferius during a robbery |
| Marvolo Gaunt | Released after serving at least one term; now deceased | Assault on Ministry of Magic officials, served six months |
| Morfin Gaunt | Died in prison while serving what was at least his second term | First term: Improper use of magic on a Muggle and assault on Ministry officials, served three years Second term: Murder of the Riddle family, life sentence (falsely accused, framed by Tom Marvolo Riddle) |
| Rubeus Hagrid | Set free | Charge: Re-opening the Chamber of Secrets (falsely accused, framed by Tom Marvolo Riddle) |
| Jugson | Imprisoned | Attacking the Ministry |
| Igor Karkaroff | Set free; now deceased | Membership in the Death Eaters; released in exchange for the names of several other Death Eaters |
| Bellatrix Lestrange | Killed by Molly Weasley at the The Battle of Hogwarts | Torturing Frank and Alice Longbottom |
| Rabastan Lestrange | Re-imprisoned after mass breakout in 1996 | Torturing Frank and Alice Longbottom; re-imprisoned for attacking the Ministry |
| Rodolphus Lestrange | Re-imprisoned after mass breakout in 1996 | Torturing Frank and Alice Longbottom; re-imprisoned for attacking the Ministry |
| Lucius Malfoy | Escaped from Azkaban in 1997 | Attacking the Ministry |
| Walden Macnair | Imprisoned (Presumed) | Attacking the Ministry |
| Mulciber | Re-imprisoned after mass breakout in 1996 | Captured prior to Karkaroff's trial (possibly for use of the Imperius curse); re-imprisoned for attacking the Ministry |
| Nott | Imprisoned | Attacking the Ministry |
| Sturgis Podmore | Free after serving six months | Attempting to break into the Department of Mysteries within the Ministry (actually controlled by a Death Eater's Imperius Curse at the time) |
| Stan Shunpike | Imprisoned; presumed released in the mass breakout and controlled by the Imperius Curse | Arrested on suspicion of Death Eater activity |
| Augustus Rookwood | Imprisoned (presumed); defeated by Aberforth Dumbledore | Spying on the Ministry; re-imprisoned for attacking the Ministry |
| Travers | Presumably released in Mass Breakout (Appears in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows at Gringotts) | Captured (and presumably imprisoned) for the murder of the McKinnon family |
| Percival Dumbledore | Deceased | Imprisoned for attacking Muggles |
| Dolores Umbridge | Imprisoned | Imprisoned for her crimes against Muggle-borns |
Azkaban is shown briefly in the film version of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix as a triangular fortress somewhere out at sea.
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