Prisoner of Azkaban

“Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if only one remembers to turn on the light.” Albus Dumbledore

 

The third installment of the Harry Potter Universe begins yet again at Harry’s least favorite place, The Dursley’s. Harry is having Uncle Vernon’s sister stay over for a week who is worse then the whole Dursley family. Harry also desperately wants his ‘family’ to sign his form so he can go to Hogsmeade with all his friends at Hogwarts. However, with Harry’s luck it doesn’t go the way he wanted it. Aunt Marge (the sister) starts insulting and antagonizing Harry, this cause Harry to uncontrollably to use magic and blow up his Aunt as a massive floating balloon. Harry being so infuriated gathers all of his belongings and runs off into the street. Not having anywhere to go he sits on the curb waiting for something. It’s not until he sees a very large black dog appearing out of the bushes staring at Harry. He stands up then trips over the curb, suddenly a great blue bus appears out of no where and stops right in front of Harry. A man appears on the bus explaining that it is the Knight Bus and his name is Stan the conductor. He also says it’s a bus for wizards that appears when it’s summoned and no Muggle can see it. Harry having no idea where to go says he wants to go to the Leaky Cauldron where wizards are able to go. While on the bus, Stan is reading the newspaper and Harry sees on the front page a man has escaped from Azkaban. Stan explains that it is Sirius Black a notorious murderer sentenced for killing twelve Muggles and killing Peter Pettingrew. He is on the front page of The Daily Prophet for being the only person to escape from Azkaban and also being a big supporter of Voldemort.

 

 

 

Upon arriving at the Leaky Cauldron Harry finds Ron and Hermonie arguing over Hermonie’s cat allegedly trying to kill Ron’s rat along with the rest of the Weasley family. Arthur pulls Harry aside and asks if he has heard about Sirius Black, he warns that he is extremely dangerous and his goal is to find Harry and kill him because Black thinks if he kills Harry Voldemort will return to power. Arthur also warns that Harry must not go looking for Black. On the train to Hogwarts the trio sit in a compartment with R.J Lupin who appears to be asleep while they discuss Black. During their journey the train stops suddenly and everything starts freezing and it gets really cold and icy. Outside their compartment door a black dead hand appears and enters the carriage, the giant cloaked floating figure turns to Harry and starts breathing in his soul. All the trio are helpless but it’s not until Lupin wakes up and casts a bright light shining out of his wand that rids the Dementor. Harry blacks out and wakes to Lupin holding chocolate saying if he eats it he ill feel better. Lupin explains that it was a Dementor which are extremely dangerous creatures that suck the happiness out of people. He is explains that they are the guards of Azkaban and boarded the train looking for Black.

Harry begins another year at Hogwarts with the official announcement that the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher is Professor Lupin and Haagrid will be teaching Care of Magical Creatures. Dumbledore also announces that Dementors will guard Hogwarts to keep the grounds safe from Black. Classes have commences but Herminie seems to be taking more classes than anyone even classes that run on the same time. This year they all start a new class called Divination. Their teacher, Professor Trealwany, a loopy and some what crazy teacher has the class tea leaf reading to foresee their futures. Harry’s leaves read that he has gotten the Grim, an omen that represents death in the future. In their first Care of Magical Creatures class, Hagrid introduced them to a Hippogriff. Harry excels at earning the trust of the Hippogriff but Malfoy becoming jealous calls it an act and approaches the Hippogriff only to get attacked. Malfoy’s father, a powerful person within The Ministry of Magic, argues that the Hippogriff called Buckbeak will be sentenced to death for being dangerous. A Defence Against The Dark Arts class rolls around and it’s their first with the new teacher. Lupin explains that they will be learning how to defeat a Boggart which transforms into a persons fear. Harry steps up and the Boggart turns into a Dementor, Lupin steps in and takes care of it. During a Quidditch match Harry is inches from catching the Snitch but a Dementor swoops in and causes Harry to faint and fall of his broom. Dumbledore slows him down with an incantation. He makes a full recovery but his broom fell into the Whomping Willow and didn’t fair so well. Harry becoming frustrated by always getting targeted by the Dementor convinces Lupin to teach Harry to defend himself while everyone else is at Hogsmeade. While everyone is at Hogsmeade Harry decides to go to Hogsmeade under his Invisibility Cloak. While trying to escape Fred and George catch Harry and tell him to use The Marauder’s map they stole from Filch’s office. It shows all secret passaged that lead to various places, a full map of Hogwarts and where students and teachers are currently. Harry takes a passage that leads him directly into Hogsmeade, he finds Professor McGonagall and The Minister of Magic, Fudge, mentioning Sirius Black and Harry together. Harry’s curiosity tells him it’s a good idea to follow them under the cloak. McGonagall and Fudge converse about how Black was Harry’s parents best friends and he betrayed them and told Voldemort their location so he could kill them. McGonagall further explains that Black is Harry’s godfather, Harry filled with rage vows to kill Black when he finds him.

Upon sitting up one night staring at the Marauders Map Harry finds the name Peter Pettingrew walking around in Hogwarts. Harry believed that Pettingrew was murdered so he goes and investigates Pettingrew’s location. He arrives but can’t find Pettingrew despite being right on top of him. Suddenly Snape appears around the corner and interrogates Potter about what he is doing walking around the castle. He notices the Map but it appears blank after Harry said “Mischief Managed”.  Then Lupin appears looking more shabby than usual. Snape gives the Map to Lupin for him to look at as it is his expertise. Harry follows Lupin to his office and Lupin knows what the map is, he becomes angry that Harry didn’t turn it in as Black could have found him in an instant. Lupin lets Harry go off the bed. During Harry’s lesson learning how to defend himself against Dementors he fails the first few times but eventually successfully conjures the spell against the Boggart. Another Divination class rolls around, Harry and Ron are sitting in class and Hermione appears right next to them despite them not having nay idea when she arrived. Hermione has always disliked Divination as she prefers facts and logic rather than ‘foreseeing the future’. Upon getting told she isn’t good enough for this class by Professor Trelawney she knocks over a crystal ball and leaves the class early. Harry finds the ball outside in the hall when class ahs finished and went to return it. When he returns the ball Trelawany grabs Harry’s wrist possessed and gives the following prophecy that tonight master and servant shall be reunited and innocent blood will be spilt.

 

Pettingrew on the Marauders Map

 

The day of Buckbeak’s execution is arrives and the trio go to visit Hagrid knowing that he would be  a wreck. Hagrid is trying to keep it together but is doing poorly, he tells them that they can’t be around when the execution happens. Hagrid also happens to be in possession of Scabber’s, Ron’s rat.  Suddenly Harry gets hit in the back of the head by a stone that is thrown through the window, he spots the executioner, Dumbledore and Fudge approaching the hut. They all exit through the backdoor and go back to the castle and watch from a distance. Sacbbers suddenly bites Ron’s finger and tries to run off, everyone chases after him. Ron finally catches him but tell Harry and Hermonie to run because the death omen of the Grim is right behind them, the black dog. It jumps over them and drags Ron and Scabbers through an opening in the Whomping Willow. Harry and Hermione follow not knowing where it leads. After some time they find themselves in the Shrieking Shack and find Ron upstairs holding Scabbers with a bleeding leg. Ron explains that He is the Grim and an Animagus, they turn around and see Sirius Black standing there. Lupin suddenly arrives and hugs Black, Hermione accuses Lupin of being a Werewolf after he has noticeably been missing classes . He admits that he is and explains the whole situation. Lupin says that Black didn’t betray his parents but it was actually Pettingrew who was believed dead. Lupin says that when he seen Pettingrew on the Map he had to be alive. Pettingrew has been living as an unregistered Animagus for twelve years hiding from Voldemort and other Death Eaters. Lupin says that Pettingrew betrayed Harry’s parents and framed Black for murdering twelve people. Snape then arrives but is dispatched by Harry wanting further information about Pettingrew. Lupin and Black transform Pettingrew into human form where he confesses everything to be true.  Pettingrew is to be take to the castle to confess his crimes. Once they return to Hogwarts grounds Sirius suggests that Harry can come live with him, however, Lupin starts to turn into a Werewolf from the full moon that is rising. In the middle of all this happening Pettingrew transforms back into a rat and escapes. Black responds by turning into his Animagus to fight Lupin. The werewolf throws Black down and injures him but the werewolf runs off after hearing a howl. Sirius transforms into human and stumble down to the lake where Harry follows him. Sirius is laying there unresponsive but the lake starts freezing and Harry can see a swarm of dozens of Dementors approaching the two. Harry cant defend himself and Sirius against them all as he slowly faints. In the woods a figure appears and casts a Patronus that fends of all the Dementors but Harry faints.

 

 

Harry again wakes up in the hospital wing with Hermione and Ron, Dumbledore arrives and the trio try to convince him that Black is innocent and it was Pettingrew. Dumbledore believes them but says they need proof and looks at Hermione. She grabs Harry leaving Ron because of his leg and pulls out her necklace that is a Time Turner which is how she has been getting to all her classes because she has gone back in time. Hermione uses the Time Turner and her and Harry travel back in time to save Sirius but they can’t be seen. They arrive outside Hagrid’s hut and throw the stones hat hit Harry and set Buckbeak free while the executioner is still in Hagrid’s hut. They take Buckbeak into the forest and tie him up. They then travel to the Whomping Willow and wait for everyone to return from the Shrieking Shack. Lupin and Black transform and battle when Hermione howls to get Lupins attention not realizing that he would come after them now. They run through the forest to escape Lupin but he finds them and goes to attack them but Buckbeak appears and attacks Lupin instead scaring him off. Finally Harry and Hermione arrive at the edge of the lake watching past Harry and Sirius on the lake. After Harry nearly faints future Harry realizes that no one is coming to produce the Patronus until he realizes that it is actually him that produces it learning that he has family. This happy thought allows him the produce a full Patronus. Harry and Hermione use Buckbeack to fly up to the tower to set Black free. Learning that Pettingrew escaped Black has no proof of his innocence so Harry can’t live with him yet. Black leaves on Buckbeack and Harry and Hermione return to the hospital wing just in time as they were leaving.

Another year has past at Hogwarts, Harry grew close to Lupin so he goes to wish him good bye only to learn that he is resigning after parents found out that he was a werewolf. Before he leaves he returns the Marauder’s map to Harry as he is not his teacher anymore. Just before they leave for the train Harry receives a mystery package, he opens it and finds out it is a new broom the Firebolt, the new fastest broom out. Harry realises it’s from Sirius and is seen flying off into the sky with it ending another installment.

 

Credit to werewolf Image – Pinterest

Credit to Pettingrew Image –Harry Potter Wiki – Wikia

Credit to Sirius Image –  Pinterest

Credit to Feature Image- blogs.slj.com