Harry's Third Year at Hogwarts: The Prisoner of Azkaban Explained
The Best Fantasy book for Children and Adults
DISCLAIMER: This review may contain some spoilers so if you are one of the very few people who have not read Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, you may want to hold off on reading this review.
The first book in this hugely successful series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, also published as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in 1997, was an immediate hit. It appealed to both children and adults and still does today, as does the rest of this magical series.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is the third book in this series. It follows Harry’s adventures in his third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Like the other books, this book is full of adventure and danger. We are introduced to the Knight Bus and we see Harry’s unique reactions to Dementors. We also meet two of Harry’s fathers’ best friends, Remus Lupin and Sirius Black. One of the big plot points of this book is that Sirius has escaped from the wizard prison, Azkaban.
There is no moment to become bored while reading this book.
I have split this review into the following sections: a little about the author, a summary of the book, and getting to know the characters better. This is then followed by my top five funniest moments from the book, my top three darkest moments, and five of my favorite quotes. Finally, I end with my review and rating of this book. I have also added a list of all the names of the books in this series, I highly recommend reading all of them.
A Little about the Author
Joanne Kathleen Rowling, more commonly known as J K Rowling, was born in the UK in July of 1965. A famous British author, known best for the critically acclaimed magical Harry Potter series about a young wizard’s adventures with his friends.
After graduating from the University of Exeter in 1986, Rowling continued to write alongside working full time. Continuing on from the great success of the Harry Potter series, Rowling ventured into adult fiction in 2012 with The Casual Vacancy. In 2013, the author had written the crime novel The Cuckoo’s Calling, using the pseudonym, Robert Galbraith.
Since the release of the first Harry Potter book in 1997, the books have found great popularity, amazing reviews and commercial success worldwide. As of February 2023, the books have sold more than 600 million copies worldwide, making them the best-selling book series in history. They are available in 85 languages and the last four books in the
series set the record as the fastest-selling books in history. The final book sold approximately 2.7 million copies in the United Kingdom and 8.3 million copies in the United States within 24 hours of its release.
Other books J K Rowling is known for, apart from the Harry Potter series, are: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016), Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018) and The Ickabog (2020).
Summary of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
There is a significant shift in the vibe from the first two books. The third book is much darker and has a more ominous tone overall. Similar to the first two books in the series, this book also starts with Harry spending his summer break at the Dursleys. One of the aspects I enjoy the most about all the books, including this one, is that every chapter is filled with action.
No sooner than the book starts, we read about the ‘blow-up of Aunt Marge’, as I like to refer to it.
Aunt Marge is Uncle Vernon’s sister and she shares the same distaste for Harry and his parents that his aunt and uncle do. Each of her visits was quite eventful and this one was no different.
“It all comes down to blood … Now, I’m not saying nothing against your family, Petunia … but your sister was a bad egg. They turn up in the best families. Then she ran off with a wastrel and here’s the result right in front of us.”
Harry had kept quiet up until this point but he had had enough and finally spoke up, much to his aunt and uncle’s dismay. What follows is Aunt Marge’s entire body swelling up, “each of her fingers blowing up like salami”, and she floated up into the sky. I really wanted to discuss the opening of the book in a little detail so you can see that there is no slow build-up to the adventure, it very much begins from page one.
The rest of the book follows Harry, along with his friends Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger, getting through their third year at Hogwarts by investigating Sirius Black, an escaped prisoner from Azkaban. In this book, we are also introduced to Professor Lupin, who helps Harry to protect himself from the Dementors. Lupin also plays a massive role in explaining the truth behind Harry’s parent’s death and how Sirius Black is innocent and Peter Pettigrew is the one who betrayed his parents to Lord Voldemort.
Characters
I have included some old and some new characters who were introduced to the audience in this book. I have not discussed every single new character, only those I felt played a great role in this book. Other new characters we were introduced to in Prisoner of Azkaban are:
Cho Chang, Cedric Diggory, Crookshanks, the Prime Minister and Stan and Ernie.
Harry Potter
Harry is the thirteen-year-old hero heading into this third year at Hogwarts. He is famous within the wizarding world for surviving the curse from Voldemort, the evilest and most powerful dark wizard to ever exist. From this encounter, Harry has been left with a lightening shaped scar on his forehead.
Harry is a very humble person. He tries to steer clear of flattery, special treatment, and praise. He strives to live a normal wizard’s life and, mostly, succeeds. What makes him different is the danger he comes across and the strength and bravery he faces it, each and every time.
Ron Weasley
Ron is the son of Molly and Arthur Weasley, a poor but kind family. Ron is deeply loyal to his family, friends, and his pet rat, Scabbers. This can be seen in the third book when he refuses to speak to Hermione for allowing her cat to attack his rat or for turning Harry’s new broomstick to Professor McGonagall.
Where Harry is the bold leader of the group, Hermione is the textbook brain, and Ron often acts as the defender and jester. He is adventurous like Harry and similar to Harry, he has a wry, skeptical sense of humor. Although he is best friends with Hermione, they are often in disagreements.
Hermione Granger
Hermione was born to a Muggle family but she is the top student in all her classes. She is the brains of the trio, the same way Harry represents courage and Ron represents loyalty. Her being born into a muggle family is the trait that makes her one of Malfoy’s favorite targets.
Although she often disapproves of her two best friends’ actions, she stands by them. Hermione loves to learn, is kind and brilliant, and loves adventure. When in doubt, she always turns to books and almost always knows how to find the answer.
In this book, she is especially stressed by her classes and constant conflict with Ron, which results in her once snapping at Malfoy when she slaps him and also walking out of Divination class when the teacher insults her. It is her magic hourglass that can be used to turn back time that allows Harry and her to save Sirius Black and Buckbeak.
Sirius Black
Sirius, also known as Padfoot, is Harry’s godfather. He was best friends with James Potter, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew. The four friends called themselves the Marauders when they were in school and eventually joined the group to fight against the evil of Lord Voldemort.
Sirius has immense love and affection for Harry. As they make their way back to the castle, Sirius asks Harry if he would like to live with him and Harry enthusiastically agrees.
Harry grew to rely on Sirius when he needed help and advice, which can be seen in the later books. Prisoner of Azkaban is the book where Harry and Sirius meet and their relationship begins.
Remus Lupin
Lupin, also known as Moony, is a half-blood wizard. Along with his three best friends, he created the Marauder’s Map. By the end of the first wizarding war, Lupin lost all his friends, in one way or another. James died, Sirius was sent to Azkaban and Pettigrew faked his own death after his ultimate betrayal.
Professor Lupin becomes one of Harry’s first mentors. Unlike Dumbledore’s distant protectiveness, Hagrid’s cozy friendship, or Molly’s coddling, Remus Lupin is the first adult who treats Harry as an equal who can make his own decisions. He asks Harry to rethink his assumptions about Sirius and offers Harry Patronus lessons when Harry shares his fears.
In The Prisoner of Azkaban, Lupin becomes the father figure Harry needs, the one that Sirius desperately wanted to be and the one James was sadly unable to be.
Peter Pettigrew
Pettigrew, also known as Wormtail or Scabbers was the one who betrayed the Potters to Lord Voldemort. Although he acted as part of the Order of the Phoenix, he was in fact a spy for Lord Voldemort. He then faked his own death and framed Sirius for betraying James and Lily, as well as his own death and the death of the twelve muggles killed during his escape.
Buckbeak
Buckbeak is a male hippogriff. He lives with Hagrid during Harry’s third year at Hogwarts. He was later unfairly sentenced to death, after he attacked Draco Malfoy, after being provoked.
With the help of Harry, Ron, and Hermione, Buckbeak escaped and he came under the care of Sirius Black.
Sybill Trelawney
Professor Trelawney is a half-blood witch and a professor of Divination at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
It was Professor Trelawney who made the prophecy concerning Lord Voldemort returning.
Top Five Funniest Moments
#1 PHONE CALL
Ron used a telephone for the first time to call Harry over the summer break.
“HELLO? HELLO? CAN YOU HEAR ME? I – WANT – TO – TALK – TO – HARRY – POTTER!”
Ron was yelling so loudly that Uncle Vernon jumped and held the receiver a foot away from his ear, staring at it with an expression of mingled fury and alarm. Anything that riles and upsets the Dursleys is a funny moment for me! Well done, Ron.
#2 FLOATING FAMILY
Harry turns Aunt Marge into a balloon after she mocks Harry’s family. “She seemed to be swelling with inexpressible anger – but the swelling didn’t stop. Her great red face started to expand, her tiny eyes bulged and her mouth stretched too tightly for speech. Next second, several buttons burst from her tweed jacket and pinged off the walls – she was inflating like a monstrous balloon, her stomach bursting free of her tweed waistband, each of her fingers blowing up like salami.”
No matter how many times I read this scene, I am always left chuckling. It is so satisfying to read after the hate she spews against Harry’s family.
#3 THE FUNNIEST PROFESSOR
Professor McGonagall. No need to say anymore. Some of the funniest lines from the book are by Professor McGonagall and I’m going to share two of my favorites, both in relation to Divination.
“You look in excellent health to me, Potter, so you will excuse me if I don’t let you off homework. I assure you that if you die, you need not hand it in.
“Ah of course. There is no need to say anymore, Miss Granger. Tell me, which one of you will be dying this year?”
Her humor is dry and direct, it never fails to make me laugh!
#4 FACE YOUR FEARS
Neville is the first to face the boggart and his greatest fear is Professor Snape and so Professor Lupin asks him to imagine the scary professor with his grandmothers’ clothes.
“Snape stumbled, he was wearing a long, lace-trimmed dress and a towering hat topped
with a moth-eaten vulture, and swinging a huge crimson handbag from his hand.”
It is impossible to read this and not at least smile. With how horrible Snape is to some of the students, it is very satisfying to read this scene and laugh at his expense.
#5 FOUND FAMILY TROPE
The final page of the book, where Harry informs Mr. Dursley that he does indeed have a godfather.
“Godfather? Spluttered Uncle Vernon. You haven’t got a godfather!’
‘Yes, I have,’ said Harry brightly. ‘He was my mum and dad’s best friend. He’s a convicted murderer, but he’s broken out of wizard prison and he’s on the run. He likes to keep in touch with me, though… keep up with my news, check I’m happy…”
As I mentioned earlier, any discomfort to the Dursleys is immensely satisfying to read. This was the perfect ending to Harry’s third year at Hogwarts.
Top Three Darkest Moments
1. The Dementor on Hogwarts Express
On the way to Hogwarts, the Hogwarts Express randomly stops before reaching the school.
The temperature drops, all the lamps go out and they are plunged into darkness.
“Harry’s eyes rolled up into his head. He couldn’t see. He was drowning in cold. There was a rushing in his ears as though of water. He was being dragged downwards, the roaring growing louder…”
When he comes to, he learns the creature was a Dementor, instructed to search the train for Sirius Black, the escaped Azkaban prisoner who wants to kill Harry.
2. The Fat Lady Goes Missing
After the Halloween Feast, Harry, Ron and Hermione are returning back to Gryffindor Common Room, which is surrounded by students so they are not able to go in.
“The Fat Lady had vanished from her portrait, which had been slashed so viciously that strips of canvas littered the floor; great chunks of it had been torn away completely.”
When Dumbledore arrives, he learns from Peeves the Poltergeist that Sirius Black attempted to enter the Common Room. This event forces the Professors to search the entire castle for Sirius Black, while the students wonder about how he got into Hogwarts in the first place.
3. Harry and Sirius are Attacked by Dementors
At the end of the book, Harry and his godfather, Sirius are subjected to a powerful attack.
“And then Harry saw them. Dementors, at least a hundred of them, gliding in a black mass around the lake towards them. He spun around, the familiar, icy cold penetrating his insides, fog starting to obscure his vision; more were approaching out of the darkness on every side; they were encircling them…”
The time-turner allows Harry to travel back in time and save both himself and Sirius from a horrible fate.
My Five Favorite Quotes
“I solemnly swear I am up to no good.”
“Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn
on the light.”
“Are you insane? Of course I want to leave the Dursleys! Have you got a house?
When can I move in?”
“Nasty temper he’s got, that Sirius Black.”
“You think the dead we loved ever truly leave us? You think that we don’t recall them
more clearly than ever in times of great trouble? Your father is alive in you, Harry,
and shows himself plainly when you have need of him.”
How Harry Grows throughout the Book
I think the events of Harry’s life, such as his parent’s death and the manner in which they were killed, have forced Harry to mature quicker than others his age. His third year at Hogwarts only increases this maturity due to the event that takes place and the dangers he faces.
In the first two books, the overall tone is positive, hopeful, and upbeat as a young wizard learns about his magical talents. Yes, he faces danger, but he does have his friends with him for the adventures. When Lord Voldemort returns in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the story takes a darker and more serious turn. Because of this, Goblet of Fire can be considered the book where Harry, Ron, and Hermione grow up. However, it is possible they could not have handled the events in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire without the lessons they learned or the events they faced the previous year. Therefore, Prisoner of Azkaban can be considered the film where his growing up begins.
As Harry, Ron, and Hermione start their third year at Hogwarts, news reaches them that a dangerous wizard named Sirius Black has escaped wizard prison and wants to kill Harry. In the meantime, Harry faces new threats such as life-sucking Dementors and werewolves.
Even though in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry faced Tom Riddle, The Prisoner of Azkaban was the first time he faced loyal Death Eaters. This is also the first time he knowingly interacts with someone tied directly to the conspiracy to kill his parents. Harry’s choice to take the high road and spare Peter Pettigrew shows great maturity on his part. It also reflects a strength to not give in to his darker urges when offered a chance at revenge.
Prisoner of Azkaban also shows us the first time Harry puts himself in danger to save a life he hardly knows. After traveling through time with Hermione, Harry saves his past self and Sirius, when the Dementors find him and give him their deadly kiss. Although he did not know Sirius until that night, his urge to help those in need begins to shine through.
What age group should read this book?
This book has been categorized as a middle-grade read, which typically encompasses 9- to 12-year-olds. I will add that I think it is important for a child to understand the concept of death and good versus evil prior to reading this book.
I believe reading is very subjective. Children under the age of 9 could very well read, understand and enjoy these books as well as teenagers and adults. So many of my friends read these books as adults, unlike myself, who read them when I was a teenager and have since re-read them many times as an adult.
I personally believe that one of the reasons these books are so successful is that they reach out to readers of all ages. Children under the age of 9 could read this book, teenagers can read this book and adults definitely can read this book and all three age groups would thoroughly enjoy themselves. The fantasy, adventure, and magical aspect is something that interests people from all age groups, it is something everyone can enjoy.
My Review and Rating
Yes, 5 stars! This may be my favorite book in the series. I really enjoyed learning the truth about Harry’s parents’ death and seeing him create a bond with Sirius Black, even though there time together was short. Learning more about Harry’s past really helped develop the plot and made the present events make so much more sense. I enjoyed watching Harry, as well as his friends, grow and mature together in this book.
“I’ll fix it up with Mum and Dad, then I’ll call you. I know how to use a fellytone now—”
“A telephone, Ron,” said Hermione. “Honestly, you should take Muggle Studies next year…”
One of my favorite things about this book is the comic relief! There are definitely laugh-out-loud moments and it provides the perfect balance alongside the dark and dangerous moments. If the book did not have these funny moments, I think the story would be much darker and maybe only suitable for an adult audience. The comedy is pivotal to the story and is found in every book, making the read just that much more enjoyable.
I am a massive fan of the found family trope and meeting Lupin and Black fit perfectly into this trope and made my heart so happy for Harry. He deserves all the love he can get and meeting people who were his father’s best friends is the best kind of love.
If it wasn’t glaringly obvious, I highly recommend this series. I do advise reading it in order, it just makes more sense and will make your reading experience much more enjoyable.
