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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
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Characters
Harry Potter -
The hero and protagonist, Harry is a twelve-year-old boy with messy hair and glasses who became famous within the wizard community by surviving the curse of a powerful wizard. Harry frequently finds himself entangled in dangerous adventures but he always lives to tell the tale. Harry's character represents good intentions, innocence, and the fantasies of childhood.
Ron Weasley -
Ron is tall, red-haired, and from a respected but poor family. Ron is one of Harry's two best friends at Hogwarts. He is loyal to Harry, and belligerent to their enemy, Malfoy. Ron uses experience and a process of trial-and-error to solve most mysteries. Ron's character is often overshadowed by Harry's, but Ron always manages to succeed.
Hermione Granger -
Hermione is always the top student in her class. She is clever and well-read. Most spells come easily to her and remain in her encyclopedic mind.. However, she is in principle a rule-follower, and so in this story she often alienates Harry and Ron by reporting or threatening to report them to Professor McGonagall, in cases such as Harry's gift of the Firebolt, or his possession and use of the Marauder's map.
Voldemort -
Once a student who attended Hogwarts fifty years prior to Harry's time, Voldemort molded himself into the most powerful dark wizard the world has ever seen. Twelve years before, he killed Harry's parents and tried to kill Harry, only to have his curse backfire and render him powerless. It is generally believed that Sirius Black turned Harry's parents over to Voldemort, although in truth, Peter Pettigrew is guilty.
Remus Lupin -
Lupin is the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and he is very competent and likeable. He teaches Harry how to defend himself against Dementors, but he is forced to leave Hogwarts at the end of the year on account of his being a werewolf. He is one of the creators of the Marauder's Map.
Sirius Black -
Once James Potter's best friend, now an escaped convict from the wizard prison Azkaban, Black is suspected to be the cause of twelve Muggle deaths as well as the indirect cause of the deaths of Harry's parents. He is a threat on the frontier of this story, one of the premier good wizards turned bad, although in the end he is revealed to be innocent in addition to being Harry's godfather. Also, Black is able to transform himself at will into Padfoot, a large black dog that Harry mistakes for the Grim. One of the creators of the Marauder's Map.
Hagrid -
The gamekeeper at Hogwarts and a good friend of Harry's, Hagrid is a giant, hairy man with an inimitable accent, and he has a great liking for strange and dangerous creatures. In this book, he is the defender of Buckbeak, a hippogriff that is placed on trial for injuring Draco Malfoy.
Peter Pettigrew -
The fourth in the group of friends that included James Potter, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin, Pettigrew betrayed Lily and James, turning their whereabouts over the Voldemort, then blowing up a dozen Muggles, framing Black and turning himself into a rat so that he could escape. Another of the creators of the Marauder's Map. Disguised as Scabbers, he has lived many years as Ron's pet rat.
Albus Dumbledore -
Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts, is a wise, powerful, elderly man with a long silver beard, and he is one of the most impressive characters Harry has ever met. He has a calm, secretive demeanor and is extremely intuitive, tolerant, and trustworthy.
Sibyll Trelawney -
The Divination Professor; an insect-like, rather dramatic women who loves predicting deaths but is not at all accurate in her predictions.
Minerva McGonagall -
The head of Gryffindor House, a stern but deeply concerned witch, and a great aficionado of Quidditch.
Severus Snape -
The Potions teacher, and a slimy, ill-tempered man, Snape is the head of Slytherin House and gets great pleasure out of trying to get Harry into trouble.
Draco Malfoy -
A slimy, smirking, and snotty boy from Slytherin House, Malfoy is Harry's greatest Hogwarts nemesis (not counting Voldemort, who usually resides outside Hogwarts). Because his family is very wealthy and influential, Malfoy is able to use his father's power as an intimidation tactic, in this book when he tries to have Hagrid fired and Buckbeak executed.
Lucius Malfoy -
Draco Malfoy's father, a mean, powerful man whose name and money his son, Draco, uses to get his way.
Ginny Weasley -
Ron's younger sister, and a sweet and shy red-haired girl with an enormous crush on Harry.
Percy Weasley -
Ron's oldest brother still at Hogwarts, a prefect, and a somewhat pompous figure, with, in the end, good intentions.
Fred Weasley -
One of Ron's older brothers, Fred is a beater for the Gryffindor House Quidditch team, and a good solid troublemaker when paired with his twin brother, George. Fred has the slightly louder, more over-the-top sense of humor of the two, but they are identical and usually inseparable. He and his brother George are responsible for passing the Marauder's Map onto Harry.
George Weasley -
One of Ron's older brothers, George is a beater for the Gryffindor House Quidditch team, and a good solid troublemaker when paired with his twin brother, Fred. He is somewhat subtler and more tongue-in-cheek than his twin, but otherwise, for the most part identical. Together, the Weasley twins are an infamous, amusing, and charming pair.
Arthur Weasley -
Ron's father, who works in the Misuse of Muggles Artifacts Office within the Ministry of Magic. He loves any sort of Muggle things with a buoyant, childlike enthusiasm. A thoroughly likeable man, Mr. Weasley treats Harry as if he were one of his own (many) children.
Aunt Marge -
Vernon Dursley's visiting sister; a loud, beefy, nasty-tempered Muggle woman who adores attack dogs and enjoys insulting Harry and his late parents.
Lily Potter -
Harry's mother who sacrificed herself to save Harry from Voldemort; Harry can hear her screams when Dementors are near.
James Potter -
Harry's father, also killed by Voldemort; his animagi stag becomes the shape of Harry's patronus. One of the creators of the Marauder's Map.
Cornelius Fudge -
The rather eccentrically dressed Minister of Magic, very involved in the protection of Harry and Hogwarts against Sirius Black.
Cedric Diggory -
The handsome Hufflepuff seeker; catches the Snitch when Harry falls from his broom.
Neville Longbottom -
A sweet, pudgy, and very clumsy Gryffindor boy; leaves the passwords on a scrap of paper in the corridors, thus allowing Sirius Black to enter Gryffindor Tower.
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