Harry Potter, #3
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
by J.K. Rowling
Contents
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Overview
Dumbledore cannot overturn the Ministry but urges Harry and Hermione to gain time. Using Hermione’s Time-Turner, they save Buckbeak, observe their past actions, and Harry realizes he himself cast the powerful stag Patronus that repelled the Dementors. They then fly Buckbeak to Flitwick’s window and rescue Sirius, who escapes.
Summary
In the hospital wing, Fudge praises Snape, who claims Harry and Hermione were Confunded by Sirius. Madam Pomfrey insists on rest, but Dumbledore arrives, believes Harry and Hermione, yet explains there is no proof to save Sirius. He hints they need more time and instructs Hermione to act discreetly.
Hermione reveals her Time-Turner and rewinds three hours. Hiding by Hagrid’s, they wait until the execution party arrives, then untie and lead Buckbeak into the Forest unseen, framing his escape as self‑liberation. They relocate to watch the Whomping Willow events unfold without interfering.
From concealment they witness their earlier selves enter the tunnel, Lupin follow, and Snape pursue under the Cloak. As they wait, Hermione questions the mysterious Patronus. Later, as the moon emerges, they race to Hagrid’s to avoid the transformed Lupin, then Harry slips out to the lakeshore to see the rescuer.
Realizing no one else is coming, Harry understands he himself cast the Patronus he earlier saw. He conjures a brilliant stag—Prongs—which drives the Dementors away from his past self, Hermione, and Sirius. They observe Snape levitating the unconscious back to the castle and prepare for Sirius’s imminent transfer.
Spotting Macnair fetching Dementors, they mount Buckbeak and fly to Flitwick’s office window. Hermione unlocks it, and Sirius climbs onto Buckbeak. After confirming Ron will recover, Sirius departs astride Buckbeak, promising they’ll meet again and calling Harry his father’s true son, escaping moments before the Dementors arrive.
Who Appears
- Harry PotterUses the Time-Turner with Hermione, saves Buckbeak, realizes he cast the stag Patronus, and frees Sirius.
- Hermione GrangerReveals and operates the Time-Turner, helps rescue Buckbeak and Sirius, cautions against interfering with time.
- Albus DumbledoreBelieves Harry and Hermione; directs them to use time to save innocent lives without being seen.
- Sirius BlackWrongly condemned; rescued from Flitwick’s office and escapes on Buckbeak.
- Rubeus HagridGrieves Buckbeak’s impending execution; unknowingly benefits from Buckbeak’s secret rescue.
- Severus SnapeClaims students are Confunded, retrieves the Cloak, later levitates victims back to the castle.
- Hermione’s Time-TurnerMagical hourglass enabling three-hour rewind, crucial to saving Buckbeak and Sirius.
- BuckbeakHippogriff saved from execution; later carries Sirius to freedom.
- Cornelius FudgeSupports Snape’s account, readies Dementors to perform the Kiss on Sirius.
- Walden MacnairExecutioner; nearly kills Buckbeak, later fetches Dementors to Kiss Sirius.
- Remus LupinChases to the Willow, transforms into a werewolf, forcing Harry and Hermione to hide.
- Peter PettigrewEscapes during the chaos; his absence thwarts any official exoneration for Sirius.
- Madam PomfreyTreats the injured and tries to keep Harry and Hermione in the hospital wing.
- DementorsClose in to perform the Kiss; driven off by Harry’s stag Patronus.
- Ron WeasleyInjured and unconscious; later seen levitated back to the castle by Snape.