Harry Potter, #3
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
by J.K. Rowling
Contents
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Overview
Snape confronts Lupin and Black, but Harry, Ron, and Hermione disarm him. Black and Lupin expose Scabbers as Peter Pettigrew, the true betrayer of Harry’s parents, and recount the Secret-Keeper switch and Black’s escape from Azkaban. Harry forbids Pettigrew’s execution, insisting on Dementor justice, and the group prepares to return to Hogwarts.
Summary
Snape bursts into the Shrieking Shack, binds Lupin, and threatens Sirius Black, convinced they’ve conspired to kill Harry. Despite Hermione’s plea to listen, Snape plans to deliver them to the Dementors. Harry, Ron, and Hermione simultaneously disarm Snape, knocking him unconscious, and Lupin is freed.
Pressed for proof, Black shows the Weasley family photograph that revealed Scabbers on Ron’s shoulder. Lupin and Black explain the missing toe and Scabbers’s longevity, concluding the rat is Peter Pettigrew. Working together, they force Scabbers to transform, revealing Pettigrew.
Pettigrew denies guilt, accusing Black of being Voldemort’s spy, but Black and Lupin describe the last-minute switch making Pettigrew Secret-Keeper, Pettigrew’s staged explosion and escape, and Black’s recognition of him in the Prophet. Black recounts surviving Azkaban by transforming into a dog and escaping after seeing Pettigrew in the paper.
Confronted, Pettigrew breaks down and admits fear guided his betrayal. Black and Lupin move to kill him, but Harry intervenes, insisting his father wouldn’t want his friends to be killers. He demands Pettigrew face Azkaban and the Dementors instead.
Lupin binds and gags Pettigrew, warning he’ll be killed if he transforms again. Lupin splints Ron’s leg and levitates the unconscious Snape. Chaining Pettigrew between Lupin and Ron, the group prepares to return to the castle, led by Crookshanks.
Who Appears
- Harry PotterDisarms Snape with friends, hears Black and Lupin’s revelations, believes Black, and spares Pettigrew from execution.
- Sirius BlackReveals Scabbers is Pettigrew, explains Secret-Keeper switch and Azkaban escape, attempts to kill Pettigrew, relents at Harry’s insistence.
- Remus LupinRestrained by Snape, then freed; proves Scabbers is Pettigrew; condemns him with Black; binds Pettigrew and aids Ron.
- Peter PettigrewExposed as Scabbers; revealed as the Potters’ betrayer; begs for mercy; bound and chained for return to the castle.
- Severus SnapeConfronts the group with the Invisibility Cloak and Map; is disarmed and knocked unconscious; levitated for transport.
- Ron WeasleyHolds Scabbers, helps disarm Snape, reels from Pettigrew’s reveal, agrees to chain himself to Pettigrew, leg splinted.
- Hermione GrangerUrges Snape to listen, helps disarm him, questions Black’s escape, recoils from Pettigrew, supports taking him to Azkaban.
- CrookshanksCat who aided Black; recognized Pettigrew; leads the party out of the Shrieking Shack.