Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Books/Prisoner of Azkaban/Chapter 21
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Chapter 21 of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: Hermione's Secret
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
Harry awakens in the infirmary and hears Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge and Professor Snape discussing the night's events. Snape says that the cut on his head was Harry, Ron, and Hermione's work but that they were probably under a Confundus charm by Black. When he regained consciousness, the Dementors were returning to their posts, and he found Harry, Hermione, and Black unconscious beside the lake. He conjured stretchers and brought them to the Hospital Wing. Fudge says this will probably put him in line for the Order of Merlin, Third Class. Harry opens his eyes and sees Hermione in the next bed, wide awake and looking frightened. Nearby, Madam Pomfrey is attending to Ron. Hermione tells Harry that Black has been captured, and the Dementors will shortly administer the Kiss. Harry leaps up, shouting that Sirius is innocent and Peter Pettigrew is alive and is an Animagus. Snape says he is obviously Confunded, and Madam Pomfrey forces him back into bed. When Professor Dumbledore arrives, Harry also tells him. Dumbledore says he has spoken with Black and needs to speak to Harry and Hermione alone. Madam Pomfrey and Fudge depart, but Snape protests that Black has shown that he was capable of killing someone when he was 16. Dumbledore responds that he is aware, and Snape leaves stiffly.
Harry and Hermione try to explain what happened, but Dumbledore says their unsupported word will not save Sirius. Neither can Lupin, even if he were not currently roaming the Forbidden Forest. Apart from being Sirius' old friend, a werewolf's word counts for little. Snape's version will bear the most credibility, and while Dumbledore believes Harry and Hermione, he cannot force other people to see the truth. "What we need," Dumbledore comments, "is more time." Hermione apparently understands. He mentions Black is in Professor Flitwick's office. He cryptically says it is five minutes before midnight, that they must not be seen, and that more than one innocent life can be saved. He tells Hermione that "three turns" should do it, then leaves, locking them in the infirmary.
Harry is mystified, but Hermione produces a tiny sparkling hourglass from her robes. She loops the chain around herself and Harry, and turns the hourglass over three times. The world becomes a spinning blur; when it settles, they are standing in the deserted Entrance Hall, and the sun is shining. Pushing them into a broom closet, Hermione tells Harry that they are now three hours in the past. Slow footsteps are heard going past, and Hermione says that it is themselves under the Invisibility Cloak; Harry is trying to comprehend being in two places at the same time, in the closet with Hermione as well as under the Cloak with Ron and Hermione heading for Hagrid's hut. Hermione explains that the hourglass is a Time-Turner; she has been using it all year to get to all her classes. Professor McGonagall instructed her to tell no one about it.
Now that they have gone back three hours, Hermione is unsure what Dumbledore expects them to do. Harry guesses that he intends for them to save Buckbeak and Sirius, who is locked in Flitwick's office. Buckbeak can fly them to Flitwick's window to save Sirius. They head for the Forbidden Forest, edging around it until they reach Hagrid's pumpkin patch. There they watch themselves going in the hut. Harry wants to grab Buckbeak, but Hermione says the Committee must see him first, otherwise they will think Hagrid freed him. They hear Hagrid breaking the milk jug and the other Hermione finding Scabbers. Harry wants to dash in and grab Pettigrew, but Hermione asks what would he think if he suddenly saw himself bursting in that way. There is a reason Dumbledore said they must not be seen.
The Committee, including Professor Dumbledore and Cornelius Fudge, approach. Harry and Hermione watch Harry, Ron, and Hermione vanish under the Invisibility Cloak and exit at the back while the Committee enter the front. The executioner, Macnair, spots Buckbeak. Deciding it is time to act, Harry bows to Buckbeak and starts leading him into the forest, but Buckbeak resists. As the Committee starts to exit the hut, Dumbledore calls them back, saying that the decree needs another signature. Just as Harry gets Buckbeak into the woods, the Committee emerges to find Buckbeak gone. Macnair buries his axe in the fence in anger.
Harry and Hermione, with Buckbeak, move closer to the Whomping Willow and watch as the black dog drags Ron into the tunnel. Shortly, Crookshanks stills the branches and their other selves go into the tunnel. Almost immediately, Dumbledore, Macnair, Fudge, and the old Committee member walk past on their way back to the castle. Now they see Professor Lupin running to the Whomping Willow and diving into the passage. Harry wonders if he could dash out and collect his Invisibility Cloak, but Hermione dissuades him. Two minutes later, Snape arrives, and, putting on the Invisibility Cloak, goes into the tunnel.
Now they must wait while the events inside the Shrieking Shack unfold. Hermione wonders how they were saved from all those Dementors. Harry says it must have been a powerful Patronus; he believes the caster is his late father.
An hour later, everyone exits the tunnel and Lupin transforms into a werewolf. Realizing they are standing where Lupin is about to run, Harry and Hermione rapidly retreat to Hagrid's empty hut. Despite a werewolf roaming loose, Harry wants to see who cast the Patronus and takes off for where the spell-caster was standing. No one is there. Harry suddenly understands: it was not his father he saw, it was himself. As the Dementors attack Sirius and the earlier Harry and Hermione, he casts the Patronus. A large animal bursts from his wand, and charging the Dementors, scatters them. When they disperse, the Patronus, in the form of a large silver stag, canters back across the lake to Harry, who now realizes his father's Animagus form was a stag, hence the nickname, "Prongs".
Hermione appears, furious that Harry has been up to something. He explains that his earlier self had seen his later self casting the spell, and he was only performing the events that already happened. They watch as Snape conjures stretchers and transports everyone to the castle. They mount Buckbeak and fly to the West Tower. Hermione opens the window, and Sirius climbs out onto Buckbeak. Harry and Hermione dismount on the tower top, and Harry urges Sirius to leave quickly. Sirius first asks about Ron, then escapes with Buckbeak into the night.
[edit] Analysis
Many small mysteries in the book are cleared up with the revelation of the Time-Turner. The Time-Turner explains why Hermione is able to take three exams on the same morning, why she is continually appearing and disappearing, and how she could "forget" Flitwick's class when she had been headed to it with Harry and Ron immediately after hitting Draco in an earlier chapter. It also explains a lot of Hermione's stress: she is artificially lengthening her days, and likely is not getting enough sleep.
Dumbledore already knows that Buckbeak will be saved at the start of this chapter, although he may not yet know how; he was in the party that was present for the earlier execution. One rather wonders if he has not planned this rescue; it was Dumbledore who called Macnair back into the hut for his signature on the form, giving Harry the few extra seconds he needed to get Buckbeak under cover. It is certain that Dumbledore was aware that Buckbeak had vanished between their arrival at Hagrid's and several minutes later. If he had not been planning Buckbeak's rescue, he was certainly able to connect the fact of the rescue with Hermione's Time-turner, and provide the clues that Hermione and Harry needed to rescue both Buckbeak and Sirius. It is possible that Dumbledore had seen, through Hagrid's window, that Harry was pulling Buckbeak into the forest.
This chapter seems to show how far Fudge will go in order to keep the Wizarding world from falling into chaos. Though he hears from both Harry and Hermione that Sirius is innocent, he convinces himself that Snape is telling the truth. He further accepts Snape's theory that the Trio are under some sort of spell, and brushes off their claims. Fudge is so overjoyed that Sirius is in custody, and that the threat he sees to the Wizarding world is contained, that he gives the Dementors permission to administer the "kiss" to Sirius.
It appears that Dumbledore was unaware that Sirius, James, and Peter Pettigrew were Animagi until his talk with Sirius.
Before escaping, Sirius asks Harry how Ron is before he flies off on Buckbeak. This is apparently meant to illuminate something about Sirius' character; like Lupin, he is concerned about how his actions affect others. In this case, he knows Ron was injured, and inquires about his condition before saving himself.
In the film version of this chapter, there is significant interaction between Harry and Hermione, and their earlier selves. When the Committee is coming down the hill, Hermione (later) gets Harry (earlier)'s attention by tossing snails at him. When Lupin changes to a werewolf, Hermione (later) attracts his attention away from Harry and Hermione (earlier) by howling like a werewolf herself. This, of course, goes against Dumbledore's repeated injunction, "You must not be seen!" In the book, Hermione is deathly afraid of being seen, and for good reason; as she explains to Harry, many wizards have died because they allowed their earlier selves to see them, and the earlier self thought that the later self was a Dark attack. It is this fear that makes Hermione so shocked when she learns that Harry actually produced the Patronus that saved them. Hermione here is facing a conflict: doing something against the rules has saved their lives, is it possible that rules are not always there to be followed?
[edit] Questions
[edit] Review
- How was Hermione getting to her many classes during the year?
- What does Dumbledore mean when he tells Harry and Hermione they need more "time"?
- Harry initially believed it was his father he saw on the lake shore who cast the Patronus. Who did he actually see?
- How does Sirius escape? Who goes with him and why?
[edit] Further Study
- Why would the Ministry of Magic consider Harry, Ron, Hermione, and also Lupin, as unreliable witnesses regarding Sirius' innocence?
- Why is Hermione so concerned that she and Harry not be seen when they use the Time Turner? What might have happened if they were seen?
- Why is Harry so convinced that it was his late father who cast the Patronus?
[edit] Greater Picture
We will learn more of Fudge's personality in later books. We can already see that he seems quite pleased with himself at Sirius' capture, perhaps inordinately so, particularly given his apparent belief, expressed at Christmas, that Voldemort is still out there, seeking allies to help him return to power. It will turn out, unsurprisingly, that Fudge's main motivation is to keep himself in power. This will explain his readiness to accept Snape's story over Harry's and Hermione's; if Sirius is the threat that Fudge believes him to be, then his capture and execution, while Fudge is in charge, can only enhance Fudge's reputation and consolidate his grip on power. Snape's story, of course, supports this view. Accepting Harry's story would be political suicide: the placement of Dementors in Hogsmeade has proven extremely unpopular, and the revelation that the Ministry could be so easily hoodwinked as to put an innocent man in Azkaban for twelve years would seriously affect the population's trust in the Ministry.
