Harry Potter Book 3
The Prisoner of Azkaban

Memorable Harry Potter Quotes
The Prisoner of Azkaban - Harry Potter Book 3

Then you should have died...died rather than betray your friends, as we would have done for you! (Sirius to Peter Pettigrew, p. 375)

Why would I go looking for someone I know wants to kill me? (Harry to Mr. Weasley, p. 73)

If all goes well, you will be able to save more than one innocent life tonight. But remember this, both of you: you must not be seen. Miss Granger, you know the law - you know what is at stake…You - must - not - be - seen. (Dumbledore to Harry and Hermione, p. 393)

Harry Potter Book Report
The Prisoner of Azkaban - Harry Potter Book 3

Harry's second summer at the Dursley's since finding out he is a wizard is a little better than before. He can communicate with Ron and Hermione and the Dursleys are scared of him so he has a little power. Aunt Marge comes to visit, says terrible things about Harry and his parents so Harry blows her up in anger. He decides to leave his Aunt and Uncle's house. He has no idea where he's going - he just knows that it's better than there.

As he is walking through the dark streets the Knight Bus comes upon him, which is a transport system for stranded witches and wizards. The conductor, Stan Shunpike, tells him about Sirius Black escaping from Azkaban Prison. They get to the Leaky Cauldron where Harry meets the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge. He does not get in trouble for blowing up Aunt Marge and ends up getting to stay in Diagon Alley until school starts.

On the Hogwarts Express, Harry is attacked by a Dementor, the hideous guards of Azkaban. They are searching for Black but will harm anyone that gets in their way. When Harry's train car is attacked he faints. Professor R.J. Lupin scares off the Dementor and revives Harry by giving him chocolate.

So starts another year in the Potter saga. Harry Potter Book 3 is full of new classes, specifically Divination and Care of Magical Creatures. Divination is taught by Professor Trelawney who seems to be a bit of a fraud. On the first day she worries Harry because she says she sees the Grim in his Tea Leaves which is an omen of death. Professor McGonagall assures him that Professor Trelawney predicts at least one student death a year - but to no avail. Care of Magical Creatures is taught by Hagrid who has them use The Monster Book of Monsters which bites when anyone tries to touch it ("stroke the spine of course!"). At his first lesson he introduces them to Buckbeak, a Hippogriff, whom Harry successfully befriends but Malfoy angers. Buckbeak injures Malfoy and Hagrid's first class ends in ruin. Hermione takes an extra class load and is stressed all the time trying to get her work done.

Harry continues to be plagued by the Dementors who are guarding Hogwarts and staying in Hogsmeade Village while looking for Black. When Lupin is teaching them how to disarm a boggart in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Harry's turns into a Dementor. He asks Lupin why he is affected more than others by the Dementors and Lupin tells him it is because he has seen death. Harry asks Lupin for help in warding off the Dementors. Lupin agrees and teaches Harry how to conjure a Patronus Charm which comes from pulling together all a person's best, happy feelings and aiming it at the Dementor so it's scared away.

Harry Potter's Godfather?
On a secretive trip to Hogsmeade Village using the Marauder's Map given to him by Fred and George, Harry finds out that Sirius Black is his godfather and that he revealed the Potter's location to Voldemort. He also killed Peter Pettigrew the Potter's good friend. All that was left of Peter when Black was through with him was a finger. This greatly disturbs Harry. A little further along in the year Harry sees Pettigrew on the Marauder's Map and when he is caught by Snape, he tells Lupin what he saw. Lupin seems totally surprised.

The search for Black continues as does the regular school year. Buckbeak is sentenced to death because of his attack on Malfoy. On the night of the execution Harry, Ron, and Hermione go to Hagrid's cabin to comfort him. While there Hagrid gives Ron his rat Scabbers who has been missing for some time. On their way back to the castle Scabbers gets loose and Ron goes after him. A huge black dog comes out of nowhere and attacks Ron and then drags him off to the Whomping Willow where they disappear. Harry and Hermione follow. They end up in the shrieking shack. Lupin shows up and the trio find out that Sirius Black is an Animangus which means he can transform into an animal at will. He is the black dog that Harry has been seeing all year long. Come to find out that Sirius was not responsible for the Potter's deaths, it was in fact Peter Pettigrew who gave them up to the Dark Lord. Snape shows up but is disarmed by Harry, Ron, and Hermione because they want to find out the truth. Turns out, Pettigrew is also an Animangus who has been living as Ron's rat Scabbers all this time. They capture him and set out to take him back to the castle to turn him in. Before they can make it Lupin, who we have found out is a werewolf, transforms and things fall apart. Pettigrew escapes taking Black’s only chance at freedom with him.

When Harry, Ron, and Hermione try to tell Fudge what is really going on he thinks they are mad. Dumbledore, of course, believes them and asks them to help Sirious escape. At this point we find out that Hermione has been using a Time Turner all year which gives her the ability to turn back time so she can be in two places at once. Ron is hurt so Harry and Hermione go back to the beginning of the evening to Buckbeak's execution. They figure out they have to save Buckbeak to save Sirious. After a complicated, hold-your-breath adventure, Harry and Hermione are able to save them both, confounding Fudge and Snape and pleasing Dumbledore.

Although Pettigrew escapes, Harry is united with Sirius, his Godfather, who says that someday he can come live with him. This thrills Harry so when he has to return to the Dursley's this summer it doesn't seem that bad after all.

Harry Potter Book Review
The Prisoner of Azkaban - Harry Potter Book 3

Wow. From this point forward, each book's plot becomes so intricate it would be impossible to tell you about every single thing. Harry Potter Book 3, The Prisoner of Azkaban is one of my favorites. There are so many important things happening in Harry's third year I don't know where to start! Lupin as the new, awesome D.A.D.A teacher, Hagrid also as a teacher, Harry’s discovery of his Godfather, his new Firebolt broom, the Marauder's Map - the list is endless.

Harry Potter Book 3 is pivotal in the saga because we start to learn more about Harry's parents and the world when Voldemort was in control. Although Voldemort is not in this book, his evil presence is always lurking about, propelling the action toward the inevitable showdown between himself and Harry.

The friendship between Harry, Ron, and Hermione grows stronger as we really feel like they are becoming Harry's family. Mr. Weasley takes on the role of father figure to Harry as he also grows closer to the rest of the Weasley clan. Lupin secures our loyalty as he teaches and guides Harry as well as gives Harry a glimpse into the kind of people his parents were. Our fondness for Dumbledore grows deeper as he, again, believes unconditionally in Harry. Finally it seems as though Harry has a life full of people who care about him. And let's not forget Hagrid, the ever present rock standing behind Harry's every action.

At thirteen, Harry is becoming a young man and no longer the little boy of books 1 and 2. He feels more deeply, he grows wiser, and he tries harder than ever to understand his past and the future to come. The emotions of this book take a turn toward adolescence instead of childishness, showing us the type of wizard and person Harry is destined to be.

If you thought you loved Harry the raggedy, lost little boy - you'll find that this book cements his place in your heart as a fearless, intelligent young man.

...Uh Oh! I have a tie for…

...Harry Potter Time Turner AND The Marauder's Map

Why? The Time Turner is responsible for Hermione's ability to be in two places at once all year long and ends up being the thing that enables them to save Sirius and Buckbeak. But the Marauder's Map is equally important because without it Harry would not have figured out that Peter Pettigrew was still alive. Plus, it'll become one of his biggest assets in the years ahead!

Harry Potter Trivia
The Prisoner of Azkaban - Harry Potter Book 3

1. What is James Potter's Animangus nickname?
   Prongs

2. When does Hermione first learn that Lupin is a werewolf?
   When Professor Snape assigns the werewolf essay during his substitution for Lupin in Defense Against the Dark Arts.

3. What does Professor Trelawney see in Harry's tea leaves?
   The Grim

Harry Potter Spells
The Prisoner of Azkaban - Harry Potter Book 3

"Riddikulus" - disarms a boggart
"Expecto Patronum" - conjures a patronus which scares off dementors

Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher
The Prisoner of Azkaban - Harry Potter Book 3

Professor Lupin

And What About Lord Voldemort?
The Prisoner of Azkaban - Harry Potter Book 3

We don’t hear about Voldemort's whereabouts in Harry Potter Book 3. The focus is on Peter Pettigrew and his escape. Professor Trelawney does have another valid premonition in which she says "The Dark Lord will rise again with his servant's aid, greater and more terrible than ever he was. Tonight...before midnight...the servant...will set out...to rejoin…his master..." (p. 324) which suggests that Pettigrew will escape and somehow help Voldemort return to power.

Harry Potter Information Tidbit
The Prisoner of Azkaban - Harry Potter Book 3

The driver and conductor of the Knight Bus, Ernie and Stanley, are named after J.K. Rowling's grandfathers.

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