A word of warning, if you plan to read the book, don't go any furthur.
In book 3 of Harry Potter's series, Harry is 13 and getting comfortable in his wizarding world. Unfortunately for him, his enemies are also growing in power.
 | Once again, the story starts with poor Harry home for the summer with his aunt and uncle, the Dursleys. This time, he accidentially turns his Aunt Marge into a balloon and races away from home, afraid of the consequences. |
He's picked up in a three-decker, purple bus and taken to the Leaky Cauldron, a wizard inn. It turns out that a prisoner has escaped from Azkaban - the wizard prison - and the adults are worried that the prisoner is after Harry. The prisoner, Sirius Black, has killed a wizard and 12 muggles (non-wizard humans) in the past.
Harry now runs into Dementors, who are the "jail keepers" at Azkaban. Apparently they make you relive your worst memories over and over, eventually sucking the will to live out of you. They guard the school now, too.
At school, the Dark Arts of Defense position has fallen to Professor Lupine. You meet another new teacher, Professor Trelawney, a flaky fortune-telling woman who keeps insisting Harry will die soon. When the Dementors keep bothering Harry, Professor Lupine agrees to teach him a "patronus" spell which will create a protective power for Harry.
The trio of friends get their hands on a "Marauders Map" which helps them see how to get through the school without being caught. They sneak out to Hogsmeade, a nearby town, and overhear more news about Sirius. Apparently he had been a friend of Harry's parents and turned them in to Lord Voldemort.
Later, when the group is near Hagrid's hut, a giant dog grabs Ron and takes off. The others chase it to the Shrieking Shack and run into Sirius. There's a fight, but suddenly Professor Lupine shows up and is great friends with Sirius. It turns out Lupine is a werewolf, Sirius is innocent. It is Peter Pettigrew, another friend, who is an "Animagus". Peter has been disguised this entire time as Scabbers, Ron's rat. As an animagus, he could change forms. He is the one who betrayed Harry's parents.
Unfortunately, Snape shows up and gets Sirius locked up. Hermoine uses a time traveling spell to go back in time and save Sirius and the gang. Sirius is still on the run, but is happy and safe. Ron even gets his own owl as a present in thanks.
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