Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
Harry Potter's third year at Hogwarts begins badly when he learns that Sirius Black has escaped from Azkaban prison and is believed to be hunting him. As Harry, Ron, and Hermione try to uncover the truth, they face Dementors, a mysterious new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and secrets about Harry's past. The investigation reveals that the situation is more complex than it first appears, and Harry must confront hidden connections between Black, his parents, and Voldemort.
Narrative Score
Full Plot & Ending Explained
Intro
Harry Potter returns to Privet Drive for the summer, but after Aunt Marge cruelly insults his parents, he loses control and accidentally inflates her into a giant balloon, then flees before he can be punished.
Turning Point 1
While Harry is on the run, the Knight Bus takes him to the Leaky Cauldron, where Cornelius Fudge surprisingly does not expel him; there, Harry learns that Sirius Black has escaped from Azkaban and is believed to be coming after him because Black allegedly betrayed Harry’s parents to Voldemort.
Turning Point 2
On the way to Hogwarts, the train is boarded by Dementors searching for Black, and Harry collapses when one enters his compartment; Professor Remus Lupin, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, drives it off and later begins teaching Harry the Patronus Charm to defend himself from the creatures.
Turning Point 3
At Hogwarts, Hagrid’s first Care of Magical Creatures class goes disastrously when Draco Malfoy provokes the hippogriff Buckbeak, gets injured, and Lucius Malfoy later pushes for Buckbeak’s execution; meanwhile, the Dementors patrol the school, the Fat Lady is attacked, and the entire castle believes Black has breached Gryffindor Tower.
Turning Point 4
Harry sneaks to Hogsmeade using the Marauder’s Map that Fred and George Weasley give him, overhears at the Three Broomsticks that Sirius Black was Harry’s godfather and was thought to have betrayed James and Lily Potter, and becomes convinced Black is the enemy he has been warned about.
Turning Point 5
After seeing the mysterious “Grim,” Harry, Ron, and Hermione end up following events to the Shrieking Shack, where they discover the truth: Peter Pettigrew is alive, has been hiding as Ron’s pet rat Scabbers, and was the one who betrayed Harry’s parents; Sirius Black is innocent and had been trying to protect Harry.
Turning Point 6
When Pettigrew escapes, Lupin reveals he is a werewolf and transforms under the full moon, forcing Black to shift into dog form to protect the children; Harry and Hermione are then attacked by Dementors, and only an unseen Patronus saves them before Black is captured again.
Ending
Harry and Hermione use Hermione’s Time-Turner to go back several hours, rescue Buckbeak and Sirius during the earlier chain of events, and ensure the Patronus that saved Harry and Sirius was cast by Harry himself; Sirius escapes on Buckbeak, Lupin resigns after his lycanthropy is exposed, and Harry receives a Firebolt broom from Sirius.
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