On the Coffee Table: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Title: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Author: J.K. Rowling

via Amazon

Sirius Black has escaped from Azkaban, the high-security wizard prison.  The faculty at Hogwarts are worried he has it in for Harry so he's kept under unusually close watch.  Azkaban's ghoulish guards, the Dementors, have been enlisted to protect the school, much to Dumbledore's frustration.

For every classic book/film/TV/etc. series, there's one story that sets a launch point for broader exploration.  Message to the audience: we're in it for the long haul if you are.  For Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back sets a moral spectrum with Yoda at one end, the Emperor at the other and then drops a bombshell that challenges every assumption we had made about the story to that point.  Star Trek's "Balance of Terror," an episode in the first season of the original series, introduces the Romulans, the initial arch-nemesis.  More importantly, it offers a glimpse of a complicated history for the Federation, narrative gaps still being filled 54 years later.  For the Potterverse, the key story is The Prisoner of Azkaban.

The first book established Harry's dismal expectations regarding life with the Dursleys, all blown to smithereens when the Hogwarts letter arrives.  As this third volume begins, we all know the basics of Harry's wizarding life, too.  He loves being at Hogwarts.  He has good friends and loads of people looking after him but at the end of each year, he's alone again - no real family worthy of the name.  I won't spoil the ending for anyone who hasn't read it except to say that all of the assumptions he has made about even his own wizarding life are changed with one astonishing revelation.  There's a lot more to his own past than he realized.

It's on now!

Strong world-building elements:

• The Dementors are brutally effective.  Several years ago, when I posted about The Muppet Christmas Carol, I noted that the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come in that movie had been my mental image for the Dementors.  Even after having seen the film adaptation of Azkaban, it's still my go-to.  Five points to Kermitdor!
• Chocolate has healing powers in the wizarding world.
• The Hogwarts-scape expands as Harry and friends visit the nearby village of Hogsmeade, specifically Honeydukes, the candy store, and Three Broomsticks, the pub.
• I feel as if I should learn to make butterbeer.  Naturally, there are recipes: this one, for instance.
• We get our first named Ravenclaw students in Prisoner of Azkaban.  Penelope Clearwater is Percy Weasley's girlfriend and, not coincidentally, Head Girl.  Cho Chang is the Seeker for the Ravenclaw quidditch team and also has an evident crush on young Master Potter.

I'd forgotten - or entirely failed to appreciate - that Cedric Diggory, the Hufflepuff Seeker, was introduced in this book, not The Goblet of Fire.  Those who know the saga are well aware of his significance...

In this re-read, I was particularly touched by the Weasley twins' gifting of the Marauder's Map to Harry.  It's such a selfless act.  Obviously, it's essential for moving the plot forward but that's not why they did it.  It was simple kindness.  They love Harry.  They love him in a way they don't even love Ron.  All of the Weasleys love Harry (save Percy, who only loves himself).  They essentially adopt him, though Harry never fully grasps that fact (not officially, of course - good thing given Ginny's long-term designs).  Overall, I was struck in this reading how many people are looking out for Harry and how little he seems to notice - consider all of the presents he gets; we hardly ever read about the ones he gives.  For many of the adults, it began as a sense of loyalty to his parents but over time, that same devotion shifts to Harry himself.  It's a strong reminder of how much we all depend on the selfless and unappreciated help of others to make it through this crazy, often cruel world.

The fundamental moral question of Star Trek is tolerance.  For Star Wars, it's power and how we choose to wield it.  For the story of Harry Potter, it's loyalty.