So we’re at the third book: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. This is the book where we meet the one and only: Sirius Black. This is the book where we learn about the marauders. A group so influential that it inspired an entire subdivision of the fandom. A subdivision so prominent that you almost forget that there is shockingly little about the marauders and their era in the actual books and most of what we think we know about them are actually head canons.

But what’s undeniable is that this book brings up a lot of trauma for Harry. This is the book where he feels the most like an orphan. In the previous book, he was forced to come out from the shield of magic. His uncle and aunt now know he’s not allowed to use magic outside of school. And so he’s forced to sit through the only woman who might be worse than them: Aunt Marge.

And she pushes him so much that he is willing to risk expulsion, if only to get away from her. And when he finally catches a glimpse of freedom. When he’s given the opportunity to instead live with his loving godfather, it’s ripped out of his grasp.

This is actually the book that had the most fitting movie adaptation of the series, in my opinion. Sure, there were many things cut from the movies (as always) and there were inconsistencies and inaccuracies. I won’t deny that. But where it mattered, the movie delivered.

Yes, I am talking about the dramatic change in tone and aesthetic from the Chamber of Secrets to the Prisoner of Azkaban. And yes, I am well aware that this is mainly due to changes in who was in charge of the creative choices made. But it’s also a great way of showing Harry’s growth. This is the first book where the main, big bad isn’t just a rumour or a story. Harry is witness to just how easily corruptible people are. He spends most of the book, knowing that there is a serial killer after him.

And yes, while it is revealed that Sirius Black was innocent, this is the first book with no real happy ending. There is no justice. And even when Sirius Black, the supposed murderer escapes, the minister for magic is more concerned over his reputation than the risk to his people.

Sirius Black: Good God Man, Stop Antagonising The Man With A Wand To Your Throat!

I love Sirius Black but he also drives me a little insane. Calling the man reckless is an understatement. He’s literally on the run from the wizarding and muggle world as a whole and he decides to pop by to watch his godson play Quidditch. And damn near gives the poor boy a heart attack. Snape points a wand at his throat, threatens to send him to the dementors and he still antagonises him. Like yeah, maybe they were rivals in school. Maybe Snape did love the dark arts a bit too much and jinx them in turn. But Sirius also almost killed him as a teenager. He betrayed his own friend just to punish Snape.

And while there’s evidence to suggest that James Potter grew out of being a little git and actually turned his life around, Sirius seems to have stayed as he was as a teenager. And I wonder if part of him actually just wants to join James. He was the one who convinced James to trust Peter. And in having faith in a friend, he orphaned his own godson and went to prison for killing his best friend. And when he was finally out, rather than receiving a fair trial and proving his innocence, he spent the rest of his life on the run.

You can’t help but feel sorry for him. Sure, he was a major asshole (particularly to Kreacher) but he was the closest thing Harry had to his father. With Sirius, he had the chance to experience what life could’ve been like had his parents lived. Sirius is the cool uncle. He’s the one who makes the bad choices and you love him for it. He was never truly meant to look after Harry. The man is vengeful and reckless, he would not make a good guardian. But he would be worlds better than living with the Dursleys.

He would be a safe place for Harry to learn and grow. And while he may not have been the ideal disciplinarian, he would’ve at least provided Harry with unconditional love. And it actually wrecked me that he was so close to proving his innocence and winning his freedom and it was all taken away by an act of self neglect. If Remus had only focused on his own needs before rushing to discover the truth of Sirius and Peter Pettigrew, he would’ve consumed the wolfsbane potion, wouldn’t have put his own students and best friend at risk of grievous body harm / death and would probably have remained a teacher at Hogwarts.

But the truth is, if Remus had remembered to take his potion, the prophecy would’ve been incomplete. The unfortunate fact of the matter is that Harry Potter was always meant to live the life of an abused orphan. That is the life that moulded him into a person who would forever choose the happiness, safety and comfort of others over his own. A loved Harry Potter is a Harry Potter who values his own life. An abused and traumatised Harry Potter is a Harry Potter who is easy to manipulate.

I Loved Movie Version Of Snape A Lot More Than Book Version

This is 100% because of Allan Rickman’s talent as an actor. I don’t care what anyone says, movie Snape is way better than book Snape. Movie Snape may have been toned down but that is what allowed him to be more easily redeemable. While book Snape was passed out from before the reveal of Peter Pettigrew to until the dementors were driven away by future Harry, movie Snape showed his true colours. I will never get over the scene of Snape going to scold the golden trio, seeing Remus as a werewolf and immediately spreading his arms before him and attempting to shield the golden trio with his body.

It was instinctive. He didn’t need to think about it. He just saw a threat and immediately put himself between him and his students. Movie Snape can be cruel at times and he definitely cuffs his students (which isn’t great). But all of his vindictive behaviour is toned down in the movies and everything that made him sympathetic in the books is dialled up. You think I can watch the scene of him holding Lily’s body crying without crying myself? No! And that’s entirely because of Alan Rickman’s talent.

And I get that a huge part of my dislike of Snape probably comes down to the fact that I’m reading the books from Harry’s perspective. But perspective or not, you can’t deny the fact that he repeatedly harms and neglects his own students. When his own students get jinxed, he pretends he doesn’t see anything because then he’d have to punish his own house. He threatens to poison Neville’s toad. He repeatedly uses his position of authority as a teacher to hurt and abuse students. Even if book Snape had been awake during this scene, he probably would’ve attempted to take Harry’s wand and curse Remus with it.

Movie Snape’s initial reaction was panic. He cared so deeply for the golden trio that he didn’t even think about what might be the most logical solution. He just knew he had to get in between them and the werewolf even if he had to use his own body to do it. You just have to look at his face to know where his priorities lie. And this isn’t the first time the movies changed a pivotal scene to let the audience know who Snape wanted to protect.

And genuinely, I prefer this.

The Fact That The Ministry Let Dementors Guard Children Should’ve Been Your First Clue They Didn’t Truly Care About Their People

I am 100% with Dumbledore on this one. Dementors don’t belong around people. We are literally talking about soul sucking monsters. It absolutely isn’t okay to punish your prisoners by pushing them into a state of depression so deep that it is not surprising to learn of a prisoner dying from continuous exposure to dementors. This doesn’t promote rehabilitation in any way. All it does is instil a grave fear of prison into your population.

Which is awesome if you want to control the people through restriction and fear. But it doesn’t exactly encourage growth and remorse. And as bad as it is to punish prisoners that way, it is unthinkable to allow such a creature around children as young as 11. I’m sure plenty of those kids would’ve developed depression anyway after realising how little support they were going to get, did the ministry really need to put depression causing monsters on the payroll?

You can understand why so many loved Dumbledore. As awful as some of his actions were, he was a product of a world much worse than him. I would take Dumbledore any day over the ministry of magic. At least I could trust Dumbledore to embody his own values. Sure, he might sacrifice me for the greater good but he would also sacrifice himself if he believed it would bring about true change. And while he never stopped his students being bullied, at least he cared enough to try and stop the ministry of magic from giving them all magical depression.

Final Thoughts

Nothing will hurt me more than knowing that Harry almost escaped his abusive aunt and uncle but was stuck with them due to a corrupt justice system. The ministry of magic does not care about its people. They care about optics and popularity. Fudge would rather risk killing an innocent man than admit he doesn’t have the solution. I can’t believe they risked the lives of innocent children by allowing soul sucking monsters around them rather than allow a man a fair trial.

And that’s what gets me. Sure, the death eaters were awful but everyone deserves a trial. Especially considering the existence of the imperius curse, every single person accused of being a death eater should’ve been looked over closely. And yet, the rich among the death eaters managed to escape unpunished while the poor and the disinherited were cast aside.

Let’s be real, the only reason Sirius Black inherited anything from his family was because he was the last person left with the Black family name. There was no other choice than him. And he didn’t receive his inheritance until after he was convicted of a crime (with no trial). And I doubt he had much power left at that stage. Especially considering the fact that the Black family was severely diminished by the time Sirius inherited anything.