Harry Potter, now 13, spends another miserable summer with the Dursleys. After accidentally inflating his awful Aunt Marge, he flees and is taken in by the Knight Bus to the Leaky Cauldron in London. There, he learns that Sirius Black—a convicted mass murderer and loyal follower of Lord Voldemort—has escaped from the high-security wizarding prison, Azkaban. The Ministry of Magic fears Black is coming after Harry.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is the bridge. At the end of the book, Harry learns a devastating truth: he has a family member (Sirius) who loves him, but he cannot live with him because he is a fugitive. That brief moment of hope—the offer to live in a cave eating raw fish—is ripped away. Harry returns to the Dursleys for the summer, not with joy, but with a grim acceptance. harry potter and prisoner of azkaban
: Ron’s pet rat, Scabbers , is actually Peter Pettigrew , an Animagus who betrayed Harry's parents to Voldemort. Harry Potter, now 13, spends another miserable summer
Interestingly, Lord Voldemort does not physically appear in this book. He is only mentioned in passing. For the first and only time, Harry faces a threat that is not directly tied to the Dark Lord’s return. This absence is powerful. It proves that the wizarding world has its own internal problems—corruption, prejudice, and flawed justice systems—independent of Voldemort. It expands the world beyond a simple "good vs. evil" war. The Ministry of Magic fears Black is coming after Harry