Book Review: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling

I have just finished reading the third book of the Harry Potter series. The story was so fascinating that I couldn’t stop reading the book when I was reading the climax part.

Plot

Sirius Black has escaped from the wizard prison, Azakaban, and he is on the run. People guessed that he is after Harry because of the fallen of his lord Voldemort. Cornelius Fudge, Minister of the magic is concerned about Harry’s safety and he placed dementors around Hogwarts to keep Sirius Black from breaking into the castle.

Harry met new professor, Remus Lupin, who is excellent in teaching Defense against the Dark Art subject. He learned to defend himself from dangerous creatures, including dementors. Hagrid also got a chance to teach a subject, Magical Creatures, but in his class agitated Hippogriff Buckbeak attacked Malfoy and he got into the trouble. He was founded not responsible for the accident, but Buckbeak was sentenced beheading which made Hagrid and friends of Harry depressed.

Harry and his friends visited Hagrid at the day of execution to comfort Hagrid. On the way back, Ron was attacked by a giant dog and dragged in to secret passageway under Whomping Willow. Harry and Hermione chased them and met Sirius Black there. Sirius Black was indeed an Animagus who can change into a dog. During the confrontation, Professor Lupin came after them. But he seems to be a helper of Sirius Black. The three of Harrys was bewildered at the first time. But Professor Lupin and Sirius Black started to explain what happened. Sirius Black actually was an innocent man and actual culprit of the hideous murder was Peter Pettigrew. Peter Pettigrew has been known as a hero who stood up against Black and faced the sudden death. But what happened was that Peter murdered people in front of Black and changed himself into a rat so that people who saw the murder would believe Black committed the murder.

Black told that he is after Peter Pettigrew and insisted Ron’s rat, Scabbers is Peter Pettigrew. Peter who ran away from the scene was hiding as Ron’s pet biding his time until he can rejoin his lord Voldemort. At that moment Professor Snape came in to the place and confronted them but he was knocked down by Harry and his friends. Peter revealed his appearance from Ron’s rat and Harry suggested that he should be convicted guilty and imprisoned instead of Black so they tied Peter’s hands and started walking toward the castle. But moonlight casted on them which made Professor Lupin who is a werewolf to change in to the wolf. Sirius Black defended students against the werewolf and Peter Pettigrew once again changed into the rat and ran away. Harry found Black fallen unconscious near the lake infested with a lot of dementors. Harry also fell unconscious but at the last moment he saw silvery thing pushed away dementors.

Harry, his friends, and Black were carried into the castle by Snape who got onto his feet. They insisted that Black was innocent but no one didn’t believe their words to be true except Headmaster Dumbledore. Dumbledore suggested Hermione to use the time turner which can move someone into the past. Harry and Hermione reversed the time back to their visit to Hagrid and freed Buckbeak from execution. Harry cast anti-dementor spell on the lake to save himself. And they flew on the back of Buckbeak to save innocent Black. Black ran away on the back of Buckbeak from the sentence and Harry and Hermione got back to the hospital wing so that nobody can suspect them to free Buckbeak or Black.

Later, Harry got a post from Black that he was so thankful about what happened.

Conclusion

Again very fascinating story! See you in the next post!