Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Books/Prisoner of Azkaban/Chapter 22
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Chapter 22 of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: Owl Post Again
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
Hermione tugs at Harry's sleeve, saying they have only ten minutes before Dumbledore locks the Hospital Wing. They dash off, hiding as Snape and Fudge walk past on their way to watch the Dementors administer the Kiss to Sirius Black, and again as Peeves drifts past. They reach the Hospital Wing just as Dumbledore is coming out. Harry and Hermione tell him Sirius is safely away on Buckbeak. Dumbledore lets them into the Hospital Wing, empty except for the still unconscious Ron, and locks the door.
Madam Pomfrey, nettled, returns but is interrupted by a roar of rage from above. Shortly, they hear Snape outside, shouting that Black could not have Disapparated because it is impossible inside the castle. Someone must have freed him, and as he slams the doors to the infirmary open, he says that Potter must somehow be involved. Dumbledore says Harry has been locked in the infirmary, and Madam Pomfrey verifies that no one has left. Snape, snarling imprecations, leaves. Fudge suggests he may be unbalanced, but Dumbledore says that he has simply suffered a great disappointment. Fudge says The Daily Prophet will have a field day if they find out Black was in custody and escaped again. When Dumbledore suggests removing the Dementors from Hogwarts, Fudge complies—if they tried to administer the Kiss to an innocent boy, then they are certainly unsafe. Dumbledore and Fudge leave, and Madam Pomfrey relocks the door and returns to her office. When Ron wakes up, he asks what had happened; Harry tells Hermione to explain.
The castle is nearly deserted when Harry, Ron, and Hermione are released from the Hospital Wing the next day. It is another Hogsmeade weekend, but Ron and Hermione decide to stay at Hogwarts with Harry. Relaxing by the lake, they are met by Hagrid, who says Buckbeak escaped. They pretend to act surprised. Hagrid also says that Snape told the Slytherins at breakfast that Professor Lupin was a werewolf, and Lupin has resigned. Harry finds him in his office, where nearly everything is packed. Lupin says he cannot stay—too many parents would object to a werewolf teaching their children. He then asks about the previous night's events, including Harry's Patronus. He says that Harry is correct, that James transformed into a stag, hence his nickname "Prongs." Lupin returns the Invisibility Cloak and the Marauder's Map to Harry, saying James would have been disappointed if Harry had not found any of the secret passages.
Dumbledore arrives to tell Lupin his carriage is ready. After Lupin leaves, an upset Harry tells Dumbledore that what he did made no difference: Pettigrew still got away. Dumbledore replies that his actions saved two innocent lives. Harry remembers Professor Trelawney's prediction during his exam, and tells Dumbledore. Dumbledore is quite pleased, saying that brings Trelawney's true predictions up to two. Harry is dismayed that even forewarned, he was unable to prevent Pettigrew's return to Voldemort. Dumbledore points out that Pettigrew now owes Harry a life debt. Voldemort will be displeased at having a servant who owes so much to his worst enemy. Harry tells Dumbledore about his Patronus' form, and that he thought it was his father casting it. Dumbledore says "You think the dead that we have loved, ever truly leave us?" He said that it was the memory of James that allowed him to produce that particular Patronus. Harry realizes Dumbledore must now know about James' Animagus ability. Dumbledore says Sirius told him about it.
Meanwhile, Malfoy is furious that Buckbeak escaped and is convinced Hagrid is responsible, and nearly everyone is upset over Lupin's departure.
Marks come out at the end of the term, and Harry is amazed he has passed everything, even Potions. Ron and Hermione also pass everything. Percy has his top-grade NEWTs, while the twins have each managed to scrape a handful of OWLs. Gryffindor wins the House Cup for the third straight year, largely from winning the Quidditch Cup.
As they head home on the Hogwarts Express, Hermione tells Ron and Harry that she has dropped Muggle Studies. With that and Divination off her schedule, she will not need the Time-turner and so has returned it to Professor McGonagall. Ron suggests Harry might like to come to the Quidditch World Cup. His dad is usually able to get tickets. Hermione spots something flying outside the widow. Harry reaches out and grabs a tiny Scops owl carrying a message far too big for it. It is from Sirius, who writes that he is safe. He says that it was he who sent Harry the Firebolt for Christmas. He got Crookshanks to carry the message to the Owl Office for him. Enclosed is a Hogsmeade permission form for Harry. Because he was instrumental in losing Ron's rat, Sirius gives him the little owl. Holding the owl up to Crookshanks, Ron asks if he thinks it is real. Crookshanks purrs, so Ron claims him.
As he meets his uncle at King's Cross Station, Harry tells him that he has met his godfather, Sirius, who is a wizard and a convicted murderer on the run. Since Sirius is very interested in Harry's well-being, Harry can now expect that he will have at least a bit more fun with the Dursleys than in previous years.
[edit] Analysis
The book concludes as usual with Harry returning to the Dursleys' at school's end. Unlike the previous two summers, Harry has a much happier outlook about the time he must spend there. He is comforted by knowing that he now has a caring godfather that he may eventually be able to live with. Harry also knows that Sirius being a wanted fugitive has provide him with some leverage with the Dursleys, who will likely be intimidated by this new information into treating Harry better. Ron also throws out hope that Harry's stay there will be shorter than usual, further uplifting Harry's spirits. Harry is probably relieved that Hermione will be returning to a normal class schedule, making her company in the coming school year far more agreeable.
There is one small inconsistency in this chapter. Fred and George apparently receive their OWL results at the end of term, and Percy receives his NEWT results at the same time. While Harry, Ron, and Hermione sit their OWLs at the end of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, they don't get their results until the summer. As the description of Harry receiving his OWL results is quite detailed, where the description in this chapter of Percy and the twins getting their results is one throw-away sentence, this is almost certainly a slight mistake by the author. It is much more likely that the twins wouldn't have actually gotten their results until summer, because decisions depending on OWL results aren't necessarily made until the following September. However, as employment starts right after graduation, and would be expected to depend upon NEWT results, it is likely that these results would have come back sooner for Percy, quite possibly before end of term. This is, of course, assuming that Wizard bureaucracy is no more inefficient than Muggle civil servants.
[edit] Questions
[edit] Review
- Why does Lupin resign?
- What does Dumbledore tell Harry about his Patronus?
- What does Black give Harry? What does he give to Ron and why?
- Why does Harry tell Uncle Vernon about his new-found godfather?
[edit] Further Study
- Dumbledore tells Snape that Harry could not have set Sirius free, saying, "Unless you are suggesting that Harry and Hermione can be in two places at the same time." Is Dumbledore deliberately giving Snape a hint as to what has happened? If so, why? Wouldn't Snape likely already know about Hermione using the Time Turner all year?
- What does Pettigrew now owe Harry? How will this affect Pettigrew's relationship with Voldemort?
[edit] Greater Picture
When Dumbledore mentions that this would be Trelawney's second real prediction it is easy to brush it off as unimportant, but this is actually a major plot detail for the fifth installment, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. In that book, Voldemort's energies will be bent towards procuring the record of that first prophecy, which will eventually result in Voldemort tricking Harry into retrieving the record for him. Voldemort's attempt will, however, fail in the end.
We can already guess that, despite our seeing him wing off into the sunset, we have not seen the last of Sirius Black. He will appear again in the next two books, and again in the seventh. Lupin also will reappear; he will be mentioned in the fourth book, and will appear in person in the fifth, sixth, and seventh books. Despite Sirius being Harry's godfather, we see that Lupin's ideas and personality, resonating more closely with Harry's, will have something of a greater effect on Harry's maturation than Sirius will.
Pettigrew's owing a life debt to Harry will not have any immediate effect on the relationship between Voldemort and Pettigrew. Voldemort understands what Pettigrew is, a weak, largely ineffectual menial, almost a classic toady, who is hitching himself to Voldemort's star as a way to gain rewards for himself. We have already seen that in his nature in the Shrieking Shack, and cannot be surprised that Voldemort, a keen judge of character, sees it in him as well. As a result, Voldemort will use Pettigrew as a means of returning from near-dead, will at least initially depend on him for survival, but will understand that Pettigrew's loyalty is to the main chance, and so will never entirely trust him. In the end, this life-debt will save Harry's life at the cost of Pettigrew's; Harry, at a critical point, will remind Pettigrew of the debt, and Pettigrew will hesitate. The weapon he is wielding, which was given to him by Voldemort, will sense this hesitation and fatally turn on Pettigrew.
