Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

“Harry Potter was a highly unusual boy in many ways. For one thing, he hated the summer holidays more than any other time of year. For another, he really wanted to do his homework but was forced to do it in secret, in the dead of night. And he also happened to be a wizard”. – J.K. Rowling third book in the Harry Potter series.
A lot has been said and written about the magical phenomenon in the world of literature popularly known as the Harry Potter series. Born as a result of the desperate effort of poverty-stricken single mother J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter has become the most well loved literary and cinematic phenomenon. Worshipped by kids, enjoyed by adults, this modern myth has become an accepted classic worldwide. Pull out any book of the series and you are up for a roller coaster ride into the realms of the amazing world of magic. However, my favourite book of the series is the third book, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the only book in the series missing the main villain of the story, You Know Who. But to make up for it there are parallel mysteries, there is drama, there is humour, and on top of it all, there is a traitor in their midst.
The book picks up where it left in the last book, Chamber of Secrets, with Harry bringing to light the mystery surrounding the long standing legend of a secret chamber within the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and the demon living inside it, finally, rescuing Ron’s (his best mate’s) younger sister from the memory of the school going Voldemort, Tom Marvolo Riddle.
Harry is spending another dreadful summer at home with the Dursley’s, his only known living relatives, when an unfortunate run in with Aunt Marge ends in her sudden balloon like inflation. Harry runs away and fears expulsion from Hogwarts for his use of magic outside of term time. At the same time Sirius Black escapes from Azkaban Prison and this adds to Harry's woes as it appears that Black seeks to kill him for his part in foiling Voldemort's plans.
Harry arrives back at Hogwarts where the Quidditch season is a welcome relief to the presence of the Dementors, mysterious guards from Azkaban searching for Sirius Black. But an extremely annoying Divination teacher Professor Trelawney who predicts Harry’s death at every opportunity available makes life at Hogwarts a tad more difficult. Harry and his friends attempt to unearth the truth surrounding Sirius Black and discover why the Dementor's presence has more influence on him compared to others.
A great addition to the character list is Professor R. Lupin, the new Defence against the Dark Arts teacher, who happens to be a cool, reasonable professor and is an instant hit with the Gryffindor house but at the same time receive the same look of pure loathing from Potions’ Professor Snape that he normally reserves for Harry.
The success of the book lies in the fact that the audience can easily relate to the characters. Since the majority of the readers are teenagers, they find it easy to empathise with the characters in the book. Entering his teenage, Harry is someone whom kids would definitely want to be friends with.
The book is filled with plethora of emotions and learning to control them. With Harry’s departure from his uncle’s home in the darkest hours of the night you feel a boiling rage within you for Aunt Marge’s prejudice against Harry’s parents, only to be followed by amazement at the incredible Knight Bus that takes Harry to the safe havens of the Diagon Ally. Following pages take you through a bumpy ride where you see the pleasant times (the last three weeks of the vacation exploring the unending streets of Diagon Ally, Defence against the Dark Arts lessons, Hogsmede trips), sad times (when Harry loses for the first time in a Quidditch match and to add to the misery his Nimbus 2000 is ripped into twigs by the Whomping Willow, when Ron refuses to speak to Hermione as a result of her cat eating away his pet rat Scabbers and Harry is angry as he loses his new broomstick, the Firebolt due to Hermione’s interference, Hagrid’s plight when Buckbeak, the Hippogriff is to be beheaded and he is about to lose his job as a teacher). There are several mystifying instances like when Harry first finds out about Sirius Black’s motives from Mr. Weasley, Hermione’s new timetable and why Lupin was frightened of crystal balls. One emotion gives way to another unconnected emotion at the speed of light, like the festive mood after the Halloween feast is suddenly replaced by the mystery of how Sirius Black got into the castle.
Another significant feature of the book is the number of new magical creatures it adds to our dictionary, the most sinister among them being the Dementors. To put in the words of Professor Lupin, “Dementors are among the foulest creatures that walk this earth. They infest the darkest, filthiest places; they glory in decay and despair, drain peace, hope, and happiness out of the air around them.” Another central creature in the story is the Hippogriff, the proud half horse, half bird, with gleaming coats, changing smoothly from feather to hair. Various other creatures include Boggart, the shape shifter, the Grim, the giant, spectral dog that haunts churchyards, an omen of death, Grindylows, the water-demons, Kappas, creepy water-dwellers that looked like scaly monkeys, with webbed hands itching to strangle unwitting waders in their ponds, Red Caps, nasty little goblin-like creatures that lurked wherever there had been bloodshed and last but not the least the Werewolves.
However, the winning stroke is the mystifying Marauder’s Map, a superb artefact of magic, a map showing every detail of Hogwarts and grounds. Furthermore, it showed the various people living within the boundaries of the castle. But most importantly, it shows the hidden passages that lead out of Hogwarts. What’s more interesting is its working. To state in Muggle technical terms, the password to the map is “I solemnly swear that I am up to no good” and to wipe off the map, “Mischief Managed!”
Harry Potter is not just another story full of a bunch of words that sound gibberish to a normal person nor is it merely a children’s fantasy novel. It transcends to a level that can appeal to each and every one of us. It teaches you to face your fear and overcome it with determination like Harry does by constantly fighting and ultimately overcoming his fear of Dementors; it highlights the bigotry in the society and encourages you to fight it like the one against the werewolves; it emphasizes that no one is perfect and everyone has something to be proud of like Harry having faults and Neville being good at herbology or in this case fighting the Boggart successfully. But most importantly it makes you realise the importance of friends in your life. In trying times, in the times of despair, it is your friends who will come to your rescue like in the climax Harry and Hermione go after the giant dog to save Ron and Ron and Hermione being ready to lay their lives for Harry. It further accentuates the power of love. The same is reflected in these words of Dumbledore - “You think the dead we loved ever truly leave us? You think that we don’t recall them more clearly than ever in times of great trouble? Your father is alive in you, Harry, and shows himself most plainly when you have need of him”
All in all "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" is a gripping book that leaves you not only transfixed but yearning for more. It is well plotted with strong characters. There is one excellent and well spelled out moral in the story that doesn't detract from the plot that fear and anger are emotions that can only lead to more despair and hurt, while laughter and happiness bring about hope. Harry's struggle in this book to find the hope in the darkest of times, to go on enjoying life even when there seems little to be joyful about exemplifies this.