Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Summary: Plot, Characters and Ending
In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry's third year, the infamous prisoner Sirius Black escapes from Azkaban, apparently to kill Harry. Dementors guard Hogwarts, and a kind new teacher teaches Harry to fight them. In the end Harry learns that Sirius is innocent and the real traitor has been hiding close by all along.
It is the third book in the Harry Potter series and the only one in which Voldemort does not appear.
| Character | Who they are |
|---|---|
| Harry Potter | Third-year student |
| Sirius Black | Escaped prisoner, Harry's godfather |
| Remus Lupin | New Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher |
| Peter Pettigrew | Friend of Harry's parents, thought dead |
| Scabbers | Ron's old pet rat |
| Crookshanks | Hermione's cat |
| Buckbeak | Hippogriff |
| Severus Snape | Potions master |
How does the year begin?
After Harry accidentally inflates his horrible Aunt Marge, he runs away and is picked up by the Knight Bus. He learns that Sirius Black, said to have betrayed Harry's parents to Voldemort and killed thirteen people, has escaped from Azkaban. On the train, a dementor attacks Harry, and Professor Lupin drives it away.
↑ Back to the topHow does Harry fight the dementors?
Dementors guard the school and affect Harry worse than anyone, making him hear his mother's last moments. One makes him fall from his broom in a Quidditch match. Lupin teaches him the Patronus Charm. Fred and George give him the Marauder's Map, which shows everyone in the castle. Harry overhears that Sirius was his parents' best friend and his godfather.
↑ Back to the topWhat happens to Buckbeak?
In Hagrid's first class, Draco Malfoy insults the hippogriff Buckbeak and is scratched. His father has Buckbeak sentenced to death. Ron's rat Scabbers seems to have been eaten by Hermione's cat, Crookshanks.
↑ Back to the topWhat is the truth about Sirius?
On the night of Buckbeak's execution, Scabbers reappears, and a huge black dog drags Ron into the Shrieking Shack. The dog is Sirius, who can transform. Lupin arrives, and they reveal the truth: Lupin is a werewolf, and Scabbers is Peter Pettigrew, who betrayed Harry's parents, faked his own death and framed Sirius. But the full moon rises, Lupin transforms, and Pettigrew escapes. Dementors surround Sirius and Harry, and someone across the lake casts a Patronus that saves them.
↑ Back to the topHow does Prisoner of Azkaban end?
Sirius is caught and sentenced to the dementors' kiss. Dumbledore hints to Hermione to use her Time-Turner, which she has been using to attend extra classes. She and Harry go back three hours, rescue Buckbeak and, at the lake, Harry realizes the Patronus he saw was cast by himself. They free Sirius, who flies off on Buckbeak. Lupin resigns after Snape reveals he is a werewolf. Sirius later sends Harry a letter and permission for Hogsmeade visits, and Harry learns the new Firebolt broom was a gift from him.
↑ Back to the topMore about Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
This summary reveals the whole plot, including the ending.