The summer before his third year at Hogwarts was supposed to be uneventful for Harry Potter—or at least as uneventful as life could be when living with the Dursleys, his miserable relatives. Dudley’s Aunt Marge came to their house to spend some holidays. Her satirical and scornful comments about Harry pretty much revealed her dislike for him. He tried not to get in her way and maintain a safe distance from her. But one day, things took a turn and Harry unwillingly let the anger get the better of him. Her disgraceful comments about his parents made Harry inflate her like a balloon in the air.

Panicked, he fled into the night, expecting the worst punishment from the Ministry of Magic. Expulsion from Hogwarts was all he could think of. After walking about a mile, he reached the deserted and dilapidated slums. Chills were running down his spine; the streetlights were dim. So he sat down on a bus station.

Suddenly his ears heard distinct footsteps and shuffling of leaves in bushes. Harry stood up and had a tight grasp on his wand. He saw a pair of eyes staring at him. He threw a stone at him and sat back on his place. Then he saw it clearly, a dog. It came closer to the bush and all of a sudden, Harry shuddered and jumped with terror, for the dog had unusually bright red eyes.

Before Harry could cast a spell, a strange, towering bus—the Knight Bus—arrived, whisking him away to Diagon Alley, where he was surprised to find that he wasn’t in trouble at all. Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic, seemed oddly eager to let him off the hook, only advising him to stay put until school began. The reason? A notorious prisoner, Sirius Black, had escaped from Azkaban, and the entire wizarding world was on edge.

A Grim Warning and a Return to Hogwarts

During his time in Diagon Alley, Harry reunited with Ron and Hermione though their usual excitement about the upcoming school year was overshadowed by the chilling news about Sirius. He had been a follower of Voldemort, and rumors swirled that he had broken out of Azkaban with one goal: to find and kill Harry Potter.

On the way back to Hogwarts, things took a darker turn. A ghostly, cloaked creature boarded the Hogwarts Express, sending an icy wave of terror through the train. Harry blacked out, waking to find that the creature—a Dementor, one of Azkaban’s soul-sucking guards—had affected him more than anyone else. Fortunately, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Remus Lupin, drove it away.

Once at Hogwarts, it was clear that things weren’t normal. Dementors were stationed around the castle, supposedly for protection, but their presence made everyone uneasy, especially Harry, who seemed particularly vulnerable to their chilling effect.

Then there was Professor Trelawney’s Divination class, where Harry saw a spectral black dog in his tea leaves—an omen of death known as the Grim. It was a disturbing sight, especially given the looming threat of Sirius Black.

Voices of the Past and an Unforgiving Teacher

Harry’s school year was dominated by two very different professors. Lupin, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, quickly became one of the best Hogwarts had ever had. He was patient, knowledgeable, and, for the first time, made the subject feel practical. He even took Harry under his wing, helping him learn how to fight off Dementors with a powerful spell called the Patronus Charm.

However, nothing seemed more frustrating than the sudden scowling encounters with Professor Snape through the hallways. At the beginning of the new term, his only wish was not to see him as his course professor. Unlike in past years, there was no relief for him this time. The course of “Defense Against the Dark Arts” offered two teachers on alternative days. The joy of having Professor Lupin resided simultaneously with the misery of having Snape on alternative days.

Fortunately or unfortunately, Harry was not on the top of Snape’s hot opprobrious list this year. He was replaced by Lupin. Among all the odds, Harry could not unveil the secret behind Snape’s grudge against Lupin. But he was happy for not being a bull’s eye.

Meanwhile, Hermione took multiple courses and was striving harder than ever to manage all concurrently. Her persistent knack for attending all the classes made Ron suspicious, especially her sudden episodes of vanishing. Despite all his struggles, he was unable to satisfy his curiosity.

Hermione’s cat, Crookshanks, was in murderous battle with Scabbers, Ron’s rat. These continuous little happenings were putting Ron and Hermione on edge.

Then there was Hagrid, who had started teaching Care of Magical Creatures. His first lesson introduced them to a magnificent Hippogriff named Buckbeak, a proud and sensitive creature. Unfortunately, Draco Malfoy, ever the instigator, insulted Buckbeak and was swiftly attacked. Draco milked his minor injury for all it was worth, leading to a trial that would determine Buckbeak’s fate—one that didn’t look promising.

The Truth About Sirius Black

Harry had always known that his parents had died at Voldemort’s hands, but he had never known the full story. One night, while sneaking around under his Invisibility Cloak, he overheard a conversation that left him shaken.

Sirius Black hadn’t just been some random Death Eater. He had been James Potter’s best friend—his most trusted friend and Harry’s godfather. And yet, he had betrayed them, revealing their location to Voldemort and causing their deaths.

Not only that, but Black had also murdered Peter Pettigrew, another one of their friends, along with twelve innocent bystanders. He had been captured at the scene, laughing amidst the destruction. That was why he had been sent to Azkaban.

Harry’s hatred burned hot. This was the man responsible for everything—the reason he had grown up unloved, the reason his parents were gone. He wanted revenge.

The Final Chase

The school year built toward a boiling point. Buckbeak was sentenced to execution; Ron and Hermione’s friendship splintered under the weight of too many arguments; and Harry’s hatred for Sirius Black grew with every whispered tale of his betrayal.

Then, one night, Scabbers disappeared, leaving behind blood and fur. Ron was devastated, convinced Crookshanks had finally eaten him. But before they could dwell on it, something else happened: a huge black dog—the very same omen of death Harry had seen in his tea leaves—lunged from the shadows and dragged Ron underground, straight into the Shrieking Shack, a haunted building on the outskirts of Hogsmeade.

Harry and Hermione chased after him, only to find themselves face to face with Sirius Black himself. But Sirius wasn’t alone. Professor Lupin arrived too—and to Harry’s shock, he wasn’t there to attack Black.

He was helping him.

A Web of Lies Unraveled

What followed was a truth more shocking than Harry could have imagined.

Sirius hadn’t betrayed Harry’s parents. He had never served Voldemort. The real traitor had been Peter Pettigrew, the friend everyone believed had been murdered. But Pettigrew wasn’t dead—he had been in hiding for twelve years… as Scabbers.

Peter was an Animagus, a wizard who could transform into an animal at will. He had faked his death, framed Sirius, and lived for over a decade as Ron’s pet rat.

Sirius had escaped Azkaban not to kill Harry—but to protect him.

Harry’s world tilted. The man he had hated for months wasn’t his enemy. He was his godfather—the closest thing to family he had left.

The Escape and the Clock

They captured Pettigrew, intent on turning him in and clearing Sirius’s name. But the full moon rose, and in the chaos of Lupin’s transformation into a werewolf, Pettigrew escaped.

To make things worse, Dementors swarmed them, drawn by the magic and emotions of the night. Harry collapsed, barely conscious as they closed in, ready to suck the life from him. Then, a blazing silver stag appeared across the lake, scattering the Dementors and saving them.

Before he passed out, Harry saw a figure across the water—someone who looked like his father.

When he awoke, all was lost: Sirius was captured; Pettigrew was gone; the truth would never come to light.

But then, Hermione revealed her final secret: she had been using a Time-Turner, a device that allowed her to travel through time. Together, she and Harry went back three hours to set things right.

They saved Buckbeak and Sirius. And just before Sirius flew to freedom, Harry cast the powerful Patronus Charm, realizing that the figure he had seen was not his father—it had been himself all along.

A New Path Forward

Sirius was still a fugitive, but he was free. He sent Harry a letter, offering him hope and something he had never had before—a chance to live with someone who loved him.

The future was uncertain, but for the first time in his life, Harry knew one thing:

He wasn’t alone anymore.