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Prisoner of Azkaban Summary:
Chapter 19: The Servant of Lord Voldemort
Snape announces that when he brought Lupin his potion, he saw them on the Mauraders Map. Then he says that he has been right all along - Lupin and Sirius were working together, and they would be going to Azkaban for this. Lupin tells him it isn't worth putting an innocent man back in Azkaban for a schoolboy grudge, and for this Snape ties him up in cords. Hermione points out that it wouldn't hurt to hear what Lupin and Sirius have to say, but Snape yells that she is already facing suspension and that she shouldn't talk about what she doesn't understand.
Black says he'll go up to the castle as long as the rat comes along, but Snape says the Dementors will be so happy to see him that they'll give him the kiss before he gets as far as the castle. Snape is elated that he is the one who caught Black. Harry goes across the room and blocks Snape from taking Lupin and Sirius to the Dementors, yelling that Snape is pathetic since just because he was humiliated by the Marauders in school he won't listen to them. Snape is furious at Harry, yelling that he should be thanking him for saving him, and that he is just as arrogant as his father. Then, Harry, Hermione, and Ron all use expelliarmus on Snape simultaneously, knocking him out cold.
Black unties Lupin and thanks Harry for giving him a chance. Sirius asks to see Scabbers. Ron still refuses to give him up and asks how he could possibly know Scabbers is Pettigrew, as he could be one of millions of rats. Sirius said that he saw Scabbers in the picture from the Daily Prophet of the Weasley's vacation to Egypt. He had gotten the paper from Fudge when he visited the prison. He recognized Scabbers because he was missing a front toe - from when Peter cut off his own finger to fake his murder twelve years earlier. Scabbers is sick because he is worried about Sirius's breakout from Azkaban, knowing that Sirius will come after him. Crookshanks has been helping Sirius try to catch Scabbers, and has helped by stealing the Gryffindor Tower passwords from Neville. Scabbers then faked his own death again by biting himself to leave blood on the sheets.
Harry insists that this cannot be true because Sirius was the Potters' secret keeper, and that Sirius had already admitted to murdering them. Sirius explains that they had switched to Pettigrew as their secret keeper, thinking he was the perfect decoy, since no one would ever suspect him. Sirius had gone to check on Peter, but he disappeared. Sirius had realized their mistake. The house was destroyed by the time Sirius arrived. He blamed himself for their deaths because he had been mistaken in trusting Pettigrew.
Lupin demands to see the rat, saying this is proof once and for all. In a flash of light, Scabbers is frozen in midair and transforms slowly back into a human. Lupin tells Peter that they were just having a chat about how James and Lily died, and that they would like him to clear up a few matters. Peter insists that Black is trying to kill him, but Lupin says they won't kill him until they get some answers. Peter has been hiding from Voldemort's supporters the past twelve years, which is why he stayed a rat instead of transforming back into a human. Since Voldemort met his downfall using Peter's information, all the old Death Eaters would kill him if they ever found out Peter was alive. Hermione asks why Peter never tried to hurt Harry before, and Black replies it is because there was nothing in it for Peter - that he wasn't going to risk his life for Voldemort until Voldemort had gained power again, so he was just biding his time until it was safe to rejoin him.
Hermione then asks how Sirius managed to get out of Azkaban. Sirius says he doesn't really know, that he managed to keep his sanity because he knew that he was innocent, and that being sane helped him keep his powers so that he could transform. Dementors couldn't feel him leaving when he was a dog. After Sirius saw the picture of Pettigrew, he knew it was time to escape. He had to do something, as he was the only one who knew that Peter was still alive and dangerous. Sirius tells Harry that he would have died before he betrayed James and Lily. Harry agrees with him.
Pettigrew, realizing his fate, tries to beg for his life. Lupin and Black decide to kill him together. Peter pleads to Ron, Hermione, and finally to Harry, saying that Harry looks just like his father and that James would have shown him mercy. Sirius is furious at Peter for daring to speak to Harry after what he did to him, saying that Peter had been passing information to Voldemort for a year before Lily and James died. Black says Peter should have died rather than betray his friends.
As Lupin and Black are about to kill Peter, Harry runs in front of him, saying that they can't kill him. Harry says that they can take him to the castle and give him to the Dementors, and that he can go to Azkaban. He says he isn't doing this for Pettigrew; it is because he doesn't want his dad's best friends to become murderers just because of Peter. They tie up Pettigrew and tell him that they will kill him if he transforms into a rat again. Pettigrew is then chained to Lupin and to Ron. Black takes Snape's limp body back, simply because they don't want to revive him until they are back in the castle. Crookshanks leads the way out of the Shrieking Shack.
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Book 3 Summary | Book 3 - Prisoner of Azkaban
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