Pictured above is a scene from the film Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban featuring characters Hermione Granger, Harry Potter, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, and Ron Weasley.
I first started reading the Harry Potter series in 2009, and I remember I read the whole series for a second time my senior year of high school in 2013. Most people know I am a Harry Potter fan, but not a lot of people know how much time and thought I have put into analyzing these books.
I have read the entire series through a total of 3 times now, and I have read certain books more times than that – specifically Prisoner of Azkaban and Deathly Hallows are my two favorites.
I chose to focus on Prisoner of Azkaban because this is the book that I believe changed this story from “just a kids story about wizards” into the universe it has become today. Book 3, Prisoner of Azkaban, was the pivotal moment in the series that altered the way readers saw Harry Potter and his fight.
One could argue that Goblet of Fire was the pivotal moment because of the death of Cedric Diggory – and while this may ring true for the wizarding world as a whole, it’s not so for Harry himself – Prisoner of Azkaban was the pivotal moment for Harry.
Up until this book in the series, Harry and his friends at Hogwarts had faced some pretty serious battles – from Professor Quirrell with Voldemort’s partial possession to Tom Riddle’s Diary and, unbeknownst to Harry at the time, the first Horcrux in the series. Up until book 3, Harry was really just getting lucky… very, very lucky, but just lucky.
Book 3 presented Harry with real emotional and intellectual challenges – and keep in mind, he was only 13 years old.
Hermione helped Harry alter time with the Time Turner. They made the emotional decision to save Buckbeak, no matter the consequences. Harry was taught how to conjure a Patronus, one of the most difficult spells, and successfully conjured a full Patronus at a dire time – something most adult wizards cannot accomplish.
But more so than all of that, Harry was put in the situation where he had to figure out who he could truly trust – Peter Pettigrew, Sirius Black, Professor Snape, Professor Lupin, or no one.
Prisoner of Azkaban was a pivotal moment in Harry Potter’s life, because he was given the opportunity to meet his father’s best friends. However, this was ultimately what put him in the most adult situation he had to be a part of up to this point. Harry was challenged not only in his abilities as a wizard as he battled the dementors, resulting in his Patronus accomplishment, but he was challenged mentally as he chose who to trust when faced with Sirius Black – a man he had been told was responsible for the death of his parents.
It’s well-known that Harry Potter was an orphan, raised by Muggles, non-magical humans. Harry’s parents were killed by Lord Voldemort when Harry was just a baby, making Harry one of the most famous wizards of his time. Harry’s father, James, had 3 best friends: Sirius Black, his closest friend of all, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew.
The rumor had it that Sirius leaked information about the secret location of Harry and his parents, leading Voldemort to kill Harry’s parents and attempt to kill Harry. These rumors went around for the following 12 years as Harry grew up while Sirius served his time in the Prison of Azkaban.
In this story, Sirius escapes, rumored to be coming to find Harry. Once they are encountered with each other Harry hears the story from Sirius’s side, an accused criminal and accomplice to murder; Peter Pettigrew, a believed-to-be friend of James; and Remus Lupin, a trusted teacher of Harry’s and friend of both Harry and James.
Every time I read this book, I think back to when I was 13 and what I would have felt if I were put in this situation (highly unlikely, but let’s ponder, shall we?)…
Let’s consider:
13 years old, both parents are dead
you just found out 2 years ago you’re a WIZARD
you have 3 grown men telling you slightly different versions of a story about your parents death
1 of these men, mind you, just escaped out of prison – like, WHAT?
another of the men is also a werewolf?!
let’s not forget you just disarmed a professor, which you know is going to land you in the worst detention
But you have to think quick, Harry!
And that’s just a starting point to all the madness… so who do you believe?
I have read this book upwards of 5 times and every time I do, I think about how much these moments change Harry as a person, a student, a wizard, and most importantly as a fighter in the battles to come.
For me, Prisoner of Azkaban changed the way I felt about the Harry Potter series. It made it see that J.K. Rowling wasn’t just writing a children’s novel. J.K. Rowling was writing about a revolution. I look back on this series and see that with every page, every chapter, every BOOK – J.K. Rowling taught us so much, Harry Potter taught us so much, Ron and Hermione taught us so much. It’s not about your blood, your race, your background – it’s about what you do when you’re faced with evil. It’s about coming together and standing up for what is right.
For me, Prisoner of Azkaban is the book that showed me how every decision matters and sometimes just because the media is telling you one thing, that doesn’t make it true. The truth does come out, and we all deserve the truth. Harry found the truth in Prisoner of Azkaban. Harry fought for his life, Sirius’ life, and Buckbeak’s life. Harry found the truth, he found what was right. And he, most of all, found what he needed to be a part of the battle that was ahead of him – his team.
I am a firm believer that the Harry Potter series is extremely educational, enlightening, and all around amazing, call me biased, but Prisoner of Azkaban is what started the belief. This book changed how I read this series and this book is why I keep going back to the series.
Thank you to J.K. Rowling for creating and building this Universe.
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