J. K. Rowling’s third book commences with Harry Potter bearing another bad summer at the Dursleys’ House. One day, Harry accidentally heard a news report about escaped convict, Sirius Black. When Uncle Vernon’s sister, Marge, brutally maligns Harry’s mother, his infuriation causes her blow up and float to the ceiling. Furious and dismayed, Harry runs away. On a dark alley, he sees a large black beast of a dog grimly gazing at him from the shrubs, but the Knight Bus suddenly arrives and takes him to the Leaky Cauldron. During the trip, Harry came to know that Sirius Black, who murdered thirteen people in the past and a supporter of Lord Voldemort, broke loose from Azkaban prison. Upon his arrival at the Leaky Cauldron, he was met by the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge; who Harry thought will expel him from Hogwarts for resorting to under-age magic to blow up her aunt. Surprisingly however, the matter was dropped. At the Leaky Cauldron, Harry overheard Mr. and Mrs. Weasley debating whether he should be apprised relating to Black.
Two new wizards joined the staff of educators: Professor Remus J. Lupin to teach Defence Against the dim Arts and Rubeus Hagrid for Care of Magical Creatures. While Lupin’s lessons were enjoyable, Hagrid’s in contrast was dreary. During their first class meeting, Draco Malfoy thoughtlessly provokes the hippogriff Buckbeak, a half-horse, half-bird creature, into attacking him. Draco’s father, Lucius Malfoy, files a complaint against Hagrid.
Because Sirius Black was still at enormous, Dementors were stationed at all entrances of the school. Dementors, the inhuman prison guards of Azkaban, drained happiness from those with sad experiences in life. Harry was especially affected by them. He sought help from Professor Lupin who in turn teaches him the Patronus charm. The charm however failed to work when several Dementors attacked Harry during a Quidditch game, causing him to faint and fall off his broomstick. Professor Albus Dumbledore stopped Harry from falling but his Nimbus 2000 broomstick flies into the Whomping Willow and was destroyed.
When Harry went to Hogsmeade Village under the invisible cloak and with the help of the Marauders Map, he overheard a conversation between Professor McGonagall and two other wizards that Black was his parents’ bestfriends and is his godfather and legal guardian. He was the Potters’ Secret Keeper and he supposedly divulged the Potters’ secret whereabouts to Lord Voldemort and murdered their friend Peter Pettigrew, as well as twelve Muggle bystanders. This caused Harry to vow revenge on Sirius Black.
Meanwhile, tension grew between Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley because Hermione’s cat, Crookshanks was continually tormenting Ron’s rat, Scabbers. The tension was worsened by Hermoine’s stress level because of her class schedule. Ron and Harry’s could not help but wonder how she could attend a number of classes simultaneously. Hermoine’s heavy workload began to get too difficult to cope with that she accidentally missed a Charms class. She also dropped of Divination class, altogether.
One day, after Harry’s Divination class, Professor Trelawney went into a trance and predicted that a dark Lord’s servant will return that night in Hogwarts. Harry and Ron and Hermione also recieved news that Buckbeak will be executed. When they visit Hagrid to console him, Scabbers bit Ron’s hands, Ron ends up chasing him to the Whomping Willow. A large dog appeared and attacks Ron and drags him and Scabbers into a hole at the tree’s base. Harry and Hermione followed, finding a tunnel under the tree leading to the Shrieking Shack. Inside, Harry confronts Sirius Black, who appeared to be an Animagus, someone who can transform into an animal at will. Lupin, who spotted the group on the Marauder’s Map, suddenly bursts in and embraces his old friend Sirius Black. Confronted by Hermione, Lupin admits to being a werewolf and the Map’s creator, along with Black, Pettigrew, and James Potter, the latter two also being Animagi (a rat and a stag, respectively). Lupin and Black explained that Scabbers is actually Peter Pettigrew in his Animagus form and that he was Voldemort’s servant who betrayed the Potters and framed Black to answer for the crimes. Black and Lupin then force Pettigrew back into his human form and was about to kill this when Harry stopped them thinking that his father would not have wanted his two friends to become killers.
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On their way back to the castle, Sirius Black asked Harry if he wanted to come live with him since he is Harry’s guardian. However before Harry could answer, the full moon rises, causing Lupin to turn into a werewolf. During the ensuing commotion, Pettigrew escapes. Black turned himself into a dog again to protect the others from werewolf Lupin. Lupin flees, leaving Black injured. As Dementors move in to attack Sirius, Harry sees a mysterious figure in the shaped of a stag, a Patronus, scattering the ruthless creatures. Harry was convinced it was his father, or his father’s spirit. Black was then captured and taken to the castle tower.
Hermione revealed to Harry that she was entrusted with a time-travelling device called a Time-Turner, which is how she was capable to attend so a lot classes at the same time. Hinted by Dumbledore, she and Harry traveled three back, watching themselves go by way of the night’s previous events. They set Buckbeak free and returned to the Whomping Willow. As the Dementor’s were about to attack the “other” Harry and Sirius Black, Harry realizes that the mysterious figure he saw earlier was truly himself. Armed with the new memory of his talk with Black, he casts the powerful Patronus that repelled the Dementors and saved Sirius Black and himself. Harry and Hermione freed Sirius, who escapes on Buckbeak as the two returned to Dumbledore and resumed their normal life.
