Harry Potter, #3
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
by J.K. Rowling
Contents
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Overview
Harry and Hermione slip back to the hospital wing moments before Dumbledore locks it, shielding their Time-Turner rescue. Snape explodes as Sirius vanishes; Fudge orders the Dementors removed. Lupin resigns and returns the Cloak and Map; Dumbledore reframes Harry’s choices and Patronus. Term ends; Hermione drops courses, and Sirius’s letter secures Harry’s Hogsmeade permission and gifts Ron a tiny owl.
Summary
Harry and Hermione race back from freeing Sirius and Buckbeak, slipping into the hospital wing seconds before Dumbledore locks it. As Madam Pomfrey fusses, uproar erupts: Snape storms in with Fudge and Dumbledore, accusing Harry and Hermione, but Dumbledore proves they never left their beds. Fudge, shaken by the Dementors’ near-Kiss on Harry, agrees to remove them from Hogwarts.
The next day, Hagrid happily hints Buckbeak escaped. He also reveals Snape exposed Lupin as a werewolf; Lupin has resigned. Harry rushes to Lupin’s office, where Lupin confirms his departure, praises Harry’s Patronus, returns the Invisibility Cloak and the Marauder’s Map, and identifies James as “Prongs.” Dumbledore arrives to see Lupin off.
Alone with Dumbledore, Harry despairs that Pettigrew escaped. Dumbledore insists saving Pettigrew and revealing the truth “made all the difference,” explains the life-debt Pettigrew now owes Harry, and gently connects Harry’s stag Patronus to his father’s Animagus form, assuring Harry he found his father “inside himself.”
As rumors swirl, students misread the events; Malfoy fumes over Buckbeak. Exam results arrive; Gryffindor wins the House Cup. On the train, Hermione announces she’s dropped Muggle Studies and returned the Time-Turner to reclaim a normal timetable. Ron invites Harry to the Quidditch World Cup.
A tiny owl delivers a letter from Sirius: he funded the Firebolt, is safe in hiding, will distract the search, and officially grants Harry permission to visit Hogsmeade. Sirius also gifts the small owl to Ron to replace Scabbers. At King’s Cross, Harry unsettles Uncle Vernon by mentioning his fugitive godfather, heading into a much brighter summer.
Who Appears
- Harry PotterReturns unseen to the hospital wing, visits Lupin, learns about his Patronus, receives Hogsmeade permission from Sirius.
- Albus DumbledoreCovers Harry and Hermione’s alibi, has Dementors removed, counsels Harry about Pettigrew’s debt and James’s legacy.
- Hermione GrangerTimes the return, secures alibi, later drops Muggle Studies and returns the Time-Turner.
- Severus SnapeRages over Sirius’s escape, accuses Harry and Hermione, reveals Lupin’s condition to students.
- Remus LupinResigns after being outed as a werewolf; returns the Cloak and Map; affirms Harry’s progress.
- Cornelius FudgeEmbarrassed by Sirius’s escape; orders Dementors removed from Hogwarts.
- Madam PomfreySupervises the hospital wing and confirms the students never left their beds.
- Rubeus HagridHints at Buckbeak’s escape and shares news of Lupin being outed.
- Sirius BlackFrom hiding, sends a letter granting Hogsmeade permission and gifts Ron a tiny owl.
- Ron WeasleyRecovers, invites Harry to the World Cup, happily adopts the tiny owl.
- Draco MalfoyAngry over Buckbeak’s escape, resentful of being outwitted.
- PeevesNearly exposes Harry and Hermione as they race back to the hospital wing.