HARRY POTTER and the Prisoner of Azkaban CHAPTER 4
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Chapter 4
THE LEAKY CAULDRON
Harry is not used to his new freedom. He can wake up when he wants and go where he wants, but only on Diagon Alley. Still, he is happier than ever.
Every morning after breakfast, Harry goes behind the Leaky Cauldron. He takes out his wand and touches the third brick from the left above the trash can. This opens the doorway to Diagon Alley. Harry spends many days exploring the streets and shops. There is so much to see and do!
Harry goes to Gringotts to take out money for the school year. He finds it hard to control himself because he wants to buy everything. But there is one thing he wants to buy more than anything else. It is in his favorite shop, Quality Quidditch Supplies. It is the most amazing broom he has ever seen:
There is a sign that says: ASK VENDOR FOR PRICE. Harry wants the broom very badly. He really wants to know how much it costs. He knows it’s not a good idea to spend all his money on the Firebolt. He already has a good broom. He has never lost a Quidditch game with his Nimbus Two Thousand. But he still goes every day to look at the beautiful Firebolt.
Harry also needs to buy things for school. He buys new robes and more ingredients for his potions. He also needs to buy new schoolbooks. He needs books for his new subjects: Care of Magical Creatures and Divination. When he goes to the bookstore Flourish and Blotts, Harry gets a big surprise!
In the front window of the bookstore, Harry sees a large iron cage. Inside the cage, there are about one hundred copies of The Monster Book of Monsters. They are all trying to fight and bite each other! Pages are flying everywhere! Now Harry understands the present he received from Hagrid. This is one book he does not need to buy this year.
Harry asks the manager of the bookshop to help him find the books he needs. While the manager looks for his books, Harry sees another book on a small table: “Death Omens - What to Do When You Know the Worst Is Coming”. “Oh, that is not a good book for you to read,” says the manager. “If you read it, you will see signs of death everywhere!"
But Harry is not listening. He is looking at the cover of the book. It shows a large black dog, as big as a bear, with bright eyes. It looks very familiar. Harry thinks he has seen the animal before. But before Harry can do anything, the manager puts Harry’s books in his hands. Harry leaves the bookstore soon after. He has all the books he needs and he returns to the Leaky Cauldron.
He throws his books on his bed and looks in the mirror. “I don’t believe it,” he says to himself. “I don’t believe it was a sign of death. That creature I saw in the alley was only a dog. Just a street dog.” He tries to fix his hair, but the magic mirror laughs at him. “That is a battle you cannot win, boy!” Harry ignores the mirror.
As the days pass, Harry sees more and more Hogwarts students in Diagon Alley. He hopes to see his best friends, Ron and Hermione, before school begins. Finally, on the last day before school starts, while Harry is standing in front of the Firebolt store, he hears a voice. “Harry! HARRY!” Harry turns around. Ron and Hermione are there, eating ice cream cones.
Harry is very happy to see them. They talk about their vacations and laugh together. Ron asks about Harry’s Aunt Marge, and Hermione is upset that Harry used magic outside of Hogwarts. But they all agree that Harry was not expelled because he is very important to the wizarding world.
They are all ready to begin the next year at Hogwarts. They have all their books and potions, but Hermione still does not have an animal friend. Ron has his old rat, Scabbers. Harry has Hedwig. But Hermione doesn’t have an animal. They decide Hermione should go to the Magical Menagerie to buy an owl. The store is full of all kinds of creatures: owls, rats, turtles, frogs, two-headed lizards…and cats.
As they are looking for an owl for Hermione, something very big and very orange jumps on top of Ron’s head. His rat, Scabbers, jumps out of his pocket and runs quickly out of the store. “What in the wizarding world was that?” yells Ron, holding his head.
“CROOKSHANKS, COME BACK HERE!” yells the witch who manages the store. “What was that?” asks Ron. “It was either a very, very big orange cat or a small tiger,” says Harry. They leave the store quickly to look for Scabbers. When they return, Hermione does not have an owl. She is carrying the big orange cat that attacked Scabbers!
“You bought that monster?” says Ron. “He’s beautiful, isn’t he?” says Hermione. She is holding him tightly in her arms. “Hermione, that thing almost killed me!” yells Ron. “He didn’t mean to, did you Crookshanks?” says Hermione. The children leave the Magical Menagerie and walk back to the Leaky Cauldron.
Mr. Weasley is there, reading the Daily Prophet. Harry can see the cover of the paper. There is the familiar picture of Sirius Black on it. “They haven’t caught him yet, have they?” Harry says. “No, but the Ministry is using all its power to look for him,” Mr. Weasley says tiredly. “The Azkaban guards will find him for sure. I know it.”
Dinner that night is a wonderful event. All the Weasleys are there. Mrs. Weasley is especially proud that Percy is Head Boy this year. He is the second Head Boy in the Weasley family. “And he’ll be the last one,” says Fred. Mrs. Weasley is not happy at all with his bad joke. Ginny is there, too. She is still very shy and does not talk to Harry at all!
As dessert arrives, they begin to talk about the big day tomorrow. They must catch the train at King’s Cross Station. “How are we all getting to the station, dad?” asks Ron. “The Ministry is driving us in two cars tomorrow,” says Mr. Weasley. “They are doing me a favor.” Harry is watching Mr. Weasley. His ears turn red, just like Ron’s ears when he lies. Mr. Weasley is lying.
Mrs. Weasley interrupts quickly. “Well now! You all need to go and finish packing. We have a big day tomorrow. Let’s go! Go to your rooms!” All the children run upstairs. Soon Harry is all packed. He decides to go back downstairs to the bar. He passes Mr. and Mrs. Weasley’s door. He hears them talking in an angry tone. He stops and listens.
“...if we tell Harry the truth, he will be terrified,” says Mrs. Weasley in a nervous voice. “I think Harry must know the truth about Sirius Black,” says Mr. Weasley. “He escaped three weeks ago, and the Ministry can’t find him. But we think he wants to kill Harry. Harry deserves to know this.” Mr. Weasley bangs his fist on the table. “Fudge has been lying to the papers to hide the story, and to protect Harry.”
“Black was You-Know-Who’s second in command. He knows Harry will be at Hogwarts. And Black thinks that if he kills Harry, You-Know-Who will return. Black lost everything that night when Harry defeated You-Know-Who. All he has been thinking about in Azkaban is how to escape and find Harry and kill him!”
“Harry will probably be safest at Hogwarts. Dumbledore knows about everything. He knows that the Azkaban guards will be watching the entrances to the school grounds. He doesn’t like it, but he agreed. No one likes the Azkaban guards. They might be dangerous, but a wizard like Black is too dangerous. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”
Harry understands everything now. Sirius Black is coming to kill him. Fudge did not expel Harry, because he knows Harry will be safe at Hogwarts. The Ministry is sending cars tomorrow to take them to the station, to protect Harry until he gets on the train. Harry agrees that he will be safe at Hogwarts, especially since Dumbledore is there.
And there are also the Azkaban guards. Everyone keeps talking about the Azkaban guards. It seems like they scare everyone to death. Harry thinks that if they are watching the entrances to the school grounds, it will be difficult for Black to get into the school.
Later that night, while he is in bed, Harry remembers the creature in the shadows when the Knight Bus arrived. Then he remembers the book he saw at Flourish and Blotts - “What to do when you know the worst is coming”. Is it a sign that something terrible is going to happen? But Harry has already escaped Lord Voldemort three times! He can take care of himself.
