Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Books/Prisoner of Azkaban/Chapter 20
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Chapter 20 of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: The Dementor's Kiss
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
Proceeding down the tunnel, Sirius realizes he will be a free man once Pettigrew is turned over to the authorities. He mentions to Harry that he is his godfather and also his guardian. Sirius hesitantly offers to let Harry live with him. Harry's enthusiastic, "Yes!" catches him rather by surprise, and his smile makes him look ten years younger.
As they exit the tunnel, a shifting cloud bathes them in full moonlight. Lupin, who has forgotten his potion, transforms into a werewolf. Sirius yells at Harry to run, but he cannot—Ron is still chained to Pettigrew. Sirius transforms into a dog to defend the others. Lupin, now a werewolf, is no longer shackled to Pettigrew, who grabs Lupin's dropped wand and stuns Ron and Crookshanks. Harry disarms Pettigrew, but he transforms into a rat and vanishes into the grass. Lupin, prevented by Sirius from attacking Harry, Hermione, and the Stunned Ron, bounds off into the Forbidden Forest chased by a wounded Black.
Harry and Hermione run to Ron's aid, but they are unable to undo Pettigrew's jinx. Hearing a whining yelp, Harry and Hermione run to the lake and find the human Sirius cowering on the shore. About a hundred Dementors are approaching from all directions. Harry and Hermione leap to Sirius' defense, but there are too many Dementors, and Harry's Patronus charm is too weak to repel them. Both Harry and Hermione are overwhelmed by the creatures' presence. Harry falls and feels himself being lifted by one to administer the "Kiss."
As consciousness fades, Harry sees a bright light. He somehow senses the brightness is running around him, scattering the Dementors. As they disperse, he sees a large animal in the light's midst. On the opposite lake shore, he sees something impossible before losing consciousness.
[edit] Analysis
When the truth is finally revealed and Pettigrew is exposed, Harry and Sirius form an instant familial bond. It appears that Harry will not only be freed from his unhappy life with the Dursleys, but has finally found a loving home and a real father figure, who will finally be exonerated for a crime he did not commit. Unfortunately, Harry and Sirius' new-found happiness is short-lived and circumstances quickly change when Pettigrew, and the truth, escape, leaving Sirius a hunted fugitive once again.
[edit] Questions
[edit] Review
- What is the light Harry sees before losing consciousness?
[edit] Further Study
- Lupin does not transform into a werewolf when the moon rises, but rather once he is directly exposed to moonlight. Why, then, was the Shrieking Shack necessary when he was a student? Why not simply confine him in a windowless room?
- Why would the Dementors try to administer the "Kiss" to Harry?
- What might Harry have seen on the lake shore?
[edit] Greater Picture
This is the third time Dementors have attacked Harry, and it seems obvious that each incident is deliberate. Why the Dementors have continually targeted Harry is unknown, but it raises suspicions that they may have ties to Voldemort and his Death Eaters. This is not borne out by anything in the story so far. It is true that the Dementors defect to Voldemort quite quickly after his return, but until his return to power there is no center of Dark wizardry for them to return to; the Death Eaters are disorganized, and remain so until the end of the fourth book. Lupin has told us earlier that Harry is more deeply affected by the Dementors because he has suffered so greatly. It is entirely possible that the Dementors focus on Harry because he has such a rich fund of horrible memories to feast on, possibly more than nearly any other wizard at Hogwarts, and because he is unable to properly defend himself.
