Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban

Harry and Ron are both furious with Hermione for telling McGonagall about the Firebolt, and Hermione begins to distance herself from them to avoid their anger. Harry and Ron notice that Professor Lupin still looks unwell. Hermione implies that she knows what’s wrong with Lupin, but she won’t tell Harry or Ron because they aren’t speaking. Harry begins his anti-dementor lessons with Lupin, who uses a boggart and teaches Harry how to conjure a Patronus: “a guardian that acts as a shield between you and the dementor” (237). Harry must think of a very happy memory when he faces the dementor, but his first few attempts are complete failures, and he is overwhelmed by someone screaming, “Lily, take Harry and go!” (240) in his head. When he revives, Harry tells Lupin that he heard his dad for the first time, and Lupin reveals that he used to be friends with Harry’s father. Reluctantly, he admits that he also knew Sirius Black. They try one more time, and this time “a huge, silver shadow [comes] bursting out of the end of Harry’s wand” (242). Lupin ends the lesson and congratulates Harry for his progress.

Meanwhile, Ron continues to wonder how Hermione is attending multiple classes at the same time each day, and Harry routinely asks McGonagall when he can have the Firebolt back. During an anti-dementor lesson, Lupin tells Harry about the Dementor’s Kiss, an act by which a dementor can “suck out [a victim’s] soul” (247). He adds that this fate awaits Sirius Black if he is captured. McGonagall finally returns the Firebolt, declaring it safe and remarking that Harry’s “got a very good friend somewhere” (248). With the Firebolt returned, Harry decides to try to patch things up with Hermione, but he is interrupted when Ron bursts into the Gryffindor common room carrying his bedsheets, which are dotted in blood. Ron yells “[SCABBERS IS] GONE!” (251) and shows Hermione the orange cat hair that was next to his bed, insinuating that Crookshanks killed Scabbers.

Ron is distraught about the loss of Scabbers, and Harry worries that this is the end of Ron and Hermione’s friendship. Hermione, thinking that Harry is siding with Ron, distances herself from them both. As the Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw Quidditch match approaches, Harry finally gets to practice with his Firebolt, and it is “better than he’d ever dreamed” (254). On the day of the match, the Gryffindors proudly display the Firebolt at breakfast. During the match, Harry is initially distracted by the prettiness of the Ravenclaw seeker, Cho Chang, and again when a group of “three tall, black, hooded dementors” (262) invade the Quidditch field. Harry uses the Patronus Charm to drive them away, and with the help of the Firebolt, he catches the golden snitch, earning his team their first victory of the season. After the match, Harry discovers that the dementors were actually just Draco Malfoy and his fellow Slytherins attempting to frighten Harry. The Gryffindors party late into the night, but after everyone goes to bed, Harry is awoken by Ron screaming. As the dormitory awakens again, Ron claims, “SIRIUS BLACK WAS STANDING OVER ME, HOLDING A KNIFE!” (267). Professor McGonagall appears and is doubtful, believing that Ron was just dreaming, but she asks the Fat Lady’s replacement, Sir Cadogan, if he “let a man enter Gryffindor Tower” (268). Sir Cadogan replies that he did because the man had the password. In fact, he “[h]ad the whole week’s [...] Read ‘em off a little piece of paper!” (268). Furious, McGonagall discovers that Neville Longbottom, an extremely forgetful Gryffindor boy, wrote down all the passwords and then misplaced the list.