Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban

“I swear I’ll remember where I’m supposed to go to school, and I’ll act like a Mug— like I’m normal and everything.”

Harry despises his non-magical relatives just as much as they despise him. Harry must be cunning and crafty to get what he wants, and whereas the first novels in the Harry Potter series show Harry largely being compliant and keeping his head down, The Prisoner of Azkaban shows that Harry is beginning to test the limits of what he can and cannot do in the Dursley household. Here, he manages to successfully blackmail his uncle into a deal: He will “act normal” if his uncle signs his permission form for school.

“I don’t want you wandering off into Muggle London, all right? Keep to Diagon Alley.”

The conversation with Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, hints that there is something going on that Harry is unaware of. Fudge doesn’t want Harry wandering off because Sirius Black is on the loose, and the Ministry of Magic has reason to believe that Black is after Harry. Because the Ministry feels very little control over this situation, they must ask Harry to stay within their bounds of influence.

“An ordinary common or garden rat like this can’t be expected to live longer than three years or so.”

While in the magical pet shop in Diagon Alley, the shopkeeper points out Scabbers’ age. Although Ron cannot recall exactly how old Scabbers is, the rat has been around for at least two years already, and he belonged to Ron’s older brother before he was passed down to Ron. This scene raises questions about Scabbers and his unusual longevity, and the author uses this moment to hint that there is more to Scabbers than meets the eye.

“We thought Azkaban was perfectly safe. If Black can break out of Azkaban, he can break into Hogwarts.”

The concept of security and safety is a recurring topic in the Harry Potter series. Although Harry is initially told that Hogwarts is one of the safest, most secure places in the world, the events of the first and second novel show that the security of Hogwarts can be compromised. Azkaban, the infamous wizarding prison, was no match for Sirius Black, which means that Hogwarts will be an easy mark and no significant protection for Harry.

“Harry, swear to me you won’t go looking for Black.”

Harry is confused when Mr. Weasley makes this request, because no one has bothered to tell Harry why Sirius Black is after him. Still, Mr. Weasley’s comment and Malfoy’s later remark about wanting revenge hint that many people in the wizarding world are aware of Black’s betrayal of the Potters. Harry is once again excluded from important information because the adults in his life do not trust him with hard truths.

“It happened in a flash of steely talons; Malfoy let out a high-pitched scream and next moment, Hagrid was wrestling Buckbeak back into his collar as he strained to get at Malfoy, who lay curled in the grass, blood blossoming over his robes.”

Buckbeak’s attack on Malfoy becomes a significant subplot of the novel. Although Hagrid clearly communicated the danger of hippogriffs and warned his students about insulting them, Malfoy thought he was above that rule and paid the price. However, Malfoy’s injury is minor, whereas Hagrid and Buckbeak face the serious reality of termination and execution, respectively, in the months-long aftermath of that fateful Care of Magical Creatures lesson.

“D’you get the feeling Hermione’s not telling us something?”

Hermione, who is typically very open with her friends, begins to behave suspiciously in the third book. Hermione becomes secretive, appearing and disappearing at strange moments and carrying an impossible course schedule. As the novel progresses, Ron’s curiosity begins to intensify, and finally it is revealed that Hermione has been dabbling with secret time travel all year long. 

“I wonder why Professor Lupin’s frightened of crystal balls?”

During the first Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson with the boggart, Lupin’s worst fear is revealed: a silvery orb that the students believe to be a crystal ball. The orb, as it turns out, is the full moon, and as a werewolf, Lupin’s worst fear is what happens to him when the moon is full. Lupin’s fear is not of something or someone hurting him, but that he will inadvertently hurt others.

“That cat’s got it in for Scabbers!”

Ron has never been a fan of Crookshanks because the cat has shown a particularly violent fixation on Scabbers since their first meeting in the Magical Menagerie. As the story progresses, Scabbers’s health continues to decline, and Ron blames Crookshanks. This strains his friendship with Hermione, but as Ron learns at the end of the novel, Crookshanks was trying to protect the children from a disguised murderer. Crookshanks knew that Scabbers wasn’t a real rat, which is why he did, in fact, have it “in” for Scabbers. 

“And it hit—it hit— oh, Harry— it hit the Whomping Willow.”

In the first novel of the Harry Potter series, Harry received his prized Nimbus Two Thousand broomstick, and it is love at first flight. Harry feels free and safe on a broomstick, and when the dementors interfere and cause his broom to fly into the Whomping Willow, Harry feels as though he has lost a part of himself. The broom is smashed into unrecognizable pieces, and Harry insists on holding on to the broken bits, even though there is no hope of repairing it.

“When the dementors approached him, he heard the last moments of his mother’s life, her attempts to protect him, Harry, from Lord Voldemort, and Voldemort’s laughter before he murdered her.”

Harry’s parents were murdered when he was a baby and far too young to remember what happened. However, Harry still holds the memory of what happened that night, and when he comes face-to-face with the dementors, he is forced to relive the most traumatic experience of his life. Harry never knew his parents, and now the only connection he has to them is the sound of their voices crying in pain and desperation, begging for mercy from the evil Lord Voldemort.

“The dementors affect you worse than the others because there are horrors in your past that the others don’t have.”

As an orphan who witnessed a brutal murder as a child, Harry is haunted by this memory. Much of The Prisoner of Azkaban deals with Harry learning to overcome the horrors of his past. He is different from his classmates in many ways, and he has had to overcome far more trauma and pain than most of his friends. The dementors feed on misery and pain, which means that they have a strong attraction to Harry and his memories.

“Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs, Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers are proud to present The Marauder’s Map.” 

The Marauder’s Map was penned by four mysterious figures with unusual nicknames, and although Lupin tells Harry that he knew the mapmakers, it is later revealed that Lupin was one of them. Despite their legacy of mischief and teenage rebellion that lives on in the Marauder’s Map, the four mapmakers found themselves in a terribly complex tragedy later in their lives. Still, the map offers a window into the boyhood thrill of adventure, providing a sense of escapism to people like Fred, George, and Harry.

“Pettigrew died a hero’s death.” 

When Harry eavesdrops on Fudge and the Hogwarts teachers in the Three Broomsticks, he learns that Sirius Black allegedly killed an innocent boy named Peter Pettigrew who dared to stand up to him. However, Harry later learns that it was all a lie. Pettigrew was a murderer who betrayed his friends, framed Black for his own crime, and disappeared into hiding after carelessly killing thirteen Muggles. Pettigrew made sure that his legacy throughout the wizarding world is one of a hero, and only Harry, Hermione, Ron, Sirius, Lupin, and Dumbledore know the truth about this strangely elusive man.

“Why had nobody ever told him? [...] why hadn’t anyone ever mentioned the fact that Harry’s parents had died because their best friend had betrayed them?”

When Harry learns that Black was the best friend of the Potters, he isn’t just angry with Black: he doesn’t understand why no one told him about it. Harry’s anger reaches a boiling point in The Prisoner of Azkaban because he feels like he is intentionally being excluded from meetings and discussions that directly pertain to him. Harry is struggling to achieve some sense of control over his life, and every time he learns that something important was kept from him, his anger mounts.

“Because I thought—and Professor McGonagall agrees with me— that that broom was probably sent to Harry by Sirius Black!”

While Harry and Ron are enamored with the Firebolt that arrives for Harry on Christmas, Hermione is the only one who takes a sensible approach to the anonymous gift. She worries about Harry’s safety, and she knows that a free, expensive gift like the Firebolt might be too good to be true. Still, Harry and Ron resent Hermione for spoiling their fun, which shows their lack of practicality. Hermione spends much of the novel reminding Harry that he must not take risks, which strains their friendship.

“Ron threw something down onto Hermione’s rune translation. Hermione and Harry leaned forward. Lying on top of the weird, spiky shapes were several long, ginger cat hairs.”

The conflict between Ron and Hermione reaches its climax when Ron presents Hermione with evidence that Crookshanks has eaten Scabbers. Ironically, Black later explains that Pettigrew has a history of faking his own death, and in hindsight this is exactly what happened in the Gryffindor Tower. Scabbers led Ron to believe that he was dead so he could escape the castle and hide from Black, and when Scabbers is found alive in Hagrid’s hut, the rat still struggles to escape from Ron.

“THE DARK LORD WILL RISE AGAIN WITH HIS SERVANT’S AID, GREATER AND MORE TERRIBLE THAN EVER HE WAS.”

Rowling spends most of the novel convincing the reader that Professor Trelawney is not a real Seer but simply a good guesser with a flair for the dramatic. However, during Harry’s Divination exam, Trelawney makes a prediction in a strange, trancelike state, and when she snaps out of it, she doesn’t remember anything that she said. This prediction states that Voldemort will return to power with the help of a loyal servant, and he will be stronger than ever before. This foreshadows the events at the end of The Prisoner of Azkaban and the plot of the later Harry Potter novels.

 “Harry, don’t trust him, he’s been helping Black get into the castle, he wants you dead too— he’s a werewolf!”

One of the biggest reveals in the novel—the truth that Lupin is a werewolf— is delivered by Hermione. Hermione, who is particularly studious and observant, has known that Lupin was a werewolf for most of the school year, but she chose to remain silent about it because she thought that Lupin was trustworthy. Here, Hermione is distraught to think that someone she trusted turned out to be accomplice to a murderer, and she blames herself for not speaking up and outing Lupin.

“An Animagus [...] by the name of Peter Pettigrew.”

When Lupin and Black reveal that Scabbers is Peter Pettigrew, questions fly. The puzzle pieces begin to come together, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione are horrified to learn that the person responsible for the deaths of Lily and James Potter has been living in their midst for the past three years. The introduction of the Animagi opens a new world in which the reader might need to question the appearance of any animal. After all, if a seemingly harmless rat could be a murderer, someone else could be hiding in plain sight.

 “Believe me, Harry. I never betrayed James and Lily. I would have died before I betrayed them.”

 Harry has spent most of the novel believing that Black was a murderer who betrayed his best friends. However, when Harry comes face-to-face with Black, he realizes that the man is still wracked with pain over the loss of his best friends. Black loved Lily and James like they were his own family, and Black even becomes choked up when he talks about the Potters. Black may have a rough exterior, but he has a big heart for the people he loves.

“If all goes well, you will be able to save more than one innocent life tonight.”

Dumbledore’s cryptic instructions to Harry and Hermione are open to interpretation. Although Dumbledore seems to want them to rescue Sirius, he also implies that they should save Buckbeak. Dumbledore is always careful not to give explicit instructions in case he is implicated for helping, and in this case, he knows that the Ministry of Magic wouldn’t be happy about his involvement in this act of interference. Harry and Hermione have to do some problem-solving in order to save as many as possible.

“And then it hit him—he understood. He hadn’t seen his father—he had seen himself.”

Originally, Harry thought he saw his father standing on the lake and using the Patronus Charm to save him from the dementors. In a bizarre twist in time travel logic, Harry discovers that he saved himself. This meaningful moment helps Harry realize that he is far more powerful than he once believed himself to be, and with the confidence that he already did the Patronus once, he does it again, casting a powerful spell and defeating a hundred dementors single-handedly. Harry, who has craved a sense of control over his own life, claims his power in this scene.