"'We'll see each other again,' he said. 'You are - truly your father's son, Harry...'"
Sirius Black, Chapter 21, Hermione's Secret.
Hello again, dear readers.
I've literally just closed my copy of 'Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban' and by golly I was thrilled with it. This is the only Potter book I can vividly remember reading as a child and, thus, has always held a special place in my heart.
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| Remus Lupin as portrayed by David Thewlis. |
Upon rereading I realised that another reason I adore this particular instalment above all others is because it introduces two of my all time favourite characters within the wizarding world. Now, those that have been following my twitter feed during the reading of this book will probably have guessed that, certainly, one of those is Professor Remus Lupin. Never before in the Potter series have we seen a teacher so quintessentially Professorial and I absolutely worship Lupin for that. His robes are tatty and threadbare, he is dishevelled and unkempt but, amazingly enough, he knows his subject which, at Hogwarts, seems to be a slight rarity... *cough* looking at you Trelawney *cough*
Aside from being an absolute boss of an educator, Lupin is also hardcore enough to be a mother-flipping werewolf! Now, this is a detail I love and think expands the Potter-Verse while simultaneously adding depth to the character. Good job JK. As well as all this, we have the further historical detail involved; most noticeably, the inclusion of the Marauder's Map and those behind the writing of it. Wonderful stuff!
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| Sirius Black as portrayed by Gary Oldman. |
Another wonderful inclusion, of course, is the prisoner of Azkaban himself, the (supposedly) dastardly Sirius Black! Of course, as one nears the end of the book it becomes clear that not all is as it seems and that Black has, unfortunately, taken the fall for a crime he didn't commit. The character is oozing in style and literary wit and feels fully fleshed out (for lack of a better phrase) even though we only really get to know him the last two chapters of the text. We go from being scared of him, to being uncertain of his motive, to adoring him unreservedly... Not many writers can do that!
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| The Time Turner. |
On top of all of this wondrousness, we also get the inclusion of the o-so-important Time Turner... While I love it as a piece of wizarding tech, I'm slightly taken aback that Professor McGonagall allowed Hermione to have one for the sole-purpose of attending more classes than otherwise physically possible. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate that Hermione wants to be the best witch she can possible be, but the fact that she's been allowed to play around with time in order to achieve that smacks of the deepest levels of irresponsibility... even if it was okayed by the Ministry of Magic!
All in all, I adore this story and will, undoubtedly, hold it in my heart for as long as I live. I know for a fact my future children will be read the Potter series at bedtime and I will, certainly, do a little fanboy squeal when we can move onto 'The Prisoner of Azkaban.'
Until next time.
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