Voldemort's Army

[ghinghapuss]

No: HPFGUIDX 85228

It seems to me that Voldemort has the potential to have a formidable 
army amassing somewhere in the background. Principally, where have 
the Dementors have gone and just who is left to guard the Wizard 
prison?

Draco tells Harry at the end of OotP that the Dementors have left 
Azkaban Prison.  (pg 851, chapter 38) Thanks Eowynn for that page 
quote.  Where have they gone?  I can see two possibilities: Either 
rallying behind The Dark Lord or running loose around Britain.

If they are rallying behind Voldemort where are they and how will he 
use them?  As an invading army?  To force the Ministry to do his 
bidding?  Or to simply control the WW?  Any of those options seem 
likely to me.  We don't know whether the Dementors guarded Azkaban 
willingly or were forced to by the ministry as a way for the ministry 
to control the Dementor population.  Whatever the reason they seemed 
to have a `good' life, for a Dementor at least, working the halls of 
the Wizard prison.  Plenty of humans to feed on, despair and misery 
everywhere and the occasional soul to suck out.  So why leave?  What 
has Voldemort offered them?  An incentive bigger then the deal they 
have with the ministry.  Unlimited muggles to feed off of when ever 
they want to? It would be a convenient way to get rid of some of the 
annoying muggle population.  And they may be happy to offer their 
assistance to the Dark Lord if there are plenty of souls to feed upon 
and a war within the WW would provide that reward.

Or if they are simply running loose couldn't this also potentially 
serve LV?  If the Dementors caused enough of a menace used the entire 
Auror population to keep them under control, and distracted the WW 
enough, Voldemort could slip right in under their noses.  It  could 
even give him a legitimate reason to step up and `offer his 
assistance to save the populous from this evil menace.'  Just imagine 
we have Dementors running loose causing mayhem and sucking souls out 
of innocent muggles and wizards it's enough of a scandal to 
potentially bring down the Ministry.  Dumbledore could be implicated 
by the fact he `allowed' Dementors to guard Hogwarts from Sirius 
Black and Voldemort could step in and offer a convenient solution to 
the Dementor problem.  The WW would be so desperate they might just 
be willing to accept the proposal.

What ever the reason for their departure from Azkaban, one thing we 
do know is they have left, so who is there to guard the prison?  The 
most logical choice would be the Aurors.  Trained Dark Wizards 
hunters, the wizard police force.  They seem to be the most logical 
choice and the most trained and capable to handle the job. But how 
many Aurors are there?  During the last 10 years of peace the chances 
are Fudge and the Ministry haven't invested money into a large police 
force and why should they when the threat of He Who Must Not Be Named 
had been vanquished.  So if the WW has their best and brightest 
Aurors guarding a prison just who is left to guard the WW?  It looks 
like a hole big enough for Voldemort and his army to march right 
through to me.

 And an army of Dementors would be formidable.  There are hundreds of 
them perhaps Thousands.  There were hundreds on the Qudditich pitch 
during Harry's game in PoA.  hundreds baring down on Harry , Hermione 
and Sirius at the end of PoA.  And that doesn't include the Dementors 
that were still at Azkaban prison.  

Lord Voldemort could have an army of a thousand plus Dementors, the 
Giant population, potentially the Goblins and goodness know what 
other Dark creatures. A very scary thought. 

Mandy