Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban

The next morning, Harry goes downstairs to find the Dursleys having breakfast in the kitchen. A news report on the television announces that a convict named Sirius Black has escaped from prison. Viewers are warned that “Black is armed and extremely dangerous,” and that “any sighting of Black should be reported immediately” (16-17). Uncle Vernon’s sister, Aunt Marge, is on her way to stay with the Dursleys, and Harry is instructed to be on his best behavior. He must also keep up the Dursleys’ lie that he attends a school for criminal boys. Harry strikes a deal with Uncle Vernon: “If you sign my permission form [...] I’ll remember where I’m supposed to go to school, and I’ll act [...] like I’m normal and everything” (21). Uncle Vernon is furious at the thought of being blackmailed, but he agrees. Aunt Marge arrives, and she immediately starts to bully Harry, insulting him and bossing him around. One night, Aunt Marge begins to insult Harry’s deceased parents, calling his father a “no-account, good-for-nothing, lazy scrounger” and his mother a “bad egg” (28). Harry’s anger mounts until he lashes out and starts arguing with Aunt Marge. Suddenly, Aunt Marge begins to inflate “like a monstrous balloon” (29) as a result of Harry’s anger and magical abilities. Harry runs for his school things and his trunk as the Dursleys try to get Marge off of the ceiling. He flees from the house into the night, “heaving his heavy trunk behind him” (30).

As Harry wanders into the night with his things, he tries to figure out what to do next. He senses that someone or something is watching him, and when he looks around the shadows of the Muggle neighborhood, he sees “the hulking outline of something very big, with wide, gleaming eyes” (33). Suddenly, the Knight Bus appears: a wickedly fast, triple-decker bus that can transport Harry to the wizarding part of London, Diagon Alley. While on board the bus, Harry spies a copy of the Daily Prophet, which features a photograph and article about Sirius Black, “possibly the most infamous prisoner ever to be held in Azkaban fortress” (37). Harry learns that Black, a wizard and follower of Lord Voldemort, was imprisoned in the wizard prison Azkaban for murdering 13 Muggles with a single curse years ago.

Harry is delivered to a pub in Diagon Alley called the Leaky Cauldron, and the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, greets Harry upon his arrival. Harry is brought into the Leaky Cauldron, and Fudge assures him that he isn’t in trouble, adding, “We don’t send people to Azkaban just for blowing up their aunts” (45). Fudge urges Harry to stay at the Leaky Cauldron until it’s time to return to Hogwarts at the end of the summer, and he asks Harry to stay in Diagon Alley. Fudge implies that it isn’t safe for Harry to go wandering off on his own right now, although he doesn’t say why.

Harry spends the rest of the summer exploring Diagon Alley. He shops for his school supplies and admires a new racing broom called the Firebolt. Harry runs into Ron and Hermione, who are also staying in Diagon Alley with Ron’s family. Because Ron’s father works for the Ministry of Magic—the government for wizards in Britain—Ron and Hermione heard about what happened with Aunt Marge. Ron’s pet rat, Scabbers, is “looking thinner than usual,” and Ron “[doesn’t] think Egypt agreed with him” (57). They go to Magical Menagerie, a shop for magical creatures, and while Ron is buying rat tonic for Scabbers, a giant orange cat jumps on his head, trying to get at the rat. Scabbers runs out of the shop and Ron captures him, but to his horror, Hermione buys the orange cat and names him Crookshanks.

Back at the Leaky Cauldron, the entire Weasley family greets Harry, and later that night, Harry overhears Mr. and Mrs. Weasley having an argument. Mr. Weasley insists that “Harry’s got a right to know,” but Mrs. Weasley argues that “the truth would terrify him” (65). She insists that Harry will be safe at Hogwarts, but Mr. Weasley reminds her that they “thought Azkaban was perfectly safe. If Black can break out of Azkaban, he can break into Hogwarts” (65). Mr. Weasley states that Black is after Harry because he “thinks murdering Harry will bring You-Know-Who back to power” (66)—a reference to Lord Voldemort, whose name many people are afraid to speak aloud. Harry lies awake thinking about the idea that a mass murderer is after him. He is annoyed that everyone seems to think he can’t take care of himself, and “the thing that bother[s] Harry most [is] the fact that his chances of visiting Hogsmeade now [look] like zero” (68).