HARRY POTTER and the Prisoner of Azkaban CHAPTER 1

Chapter 1

A DELIVERY FROM OWLS

Harry Potter is not like most boys. He is a wizard and a student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He loves Hogwarts. It is the only place where he feels happy. And it is the only place where he feels he belongs. 

But now it is summer, and Harry is not at school. He is at his aunt and uncle’s house. He hates summer because he misses his school. He misses his favorite game, Quidditch. And most of all, he misses his best friends, Ron and Hermione. Harry is small and thin for his age, but he has grown a little in the last year. He has messy black hair, green eyes, and round glasses. There is a thin scar on his forehead.

Harry lives with his uncle Vernon, aunt Petunia, and their son, Dudley. They are his only living family, but they are not kind to him. They are cruel. Harry’s parents were a witch and a wizard, but the Dursleys never talk about them. They do not like anything strange or magical. 

Because they hate magic, they have taken away Harry’s magic books. They have locked his books, potions, and broomstick in a small room under the stairs. Harry cannot study magic during the summer, but he must do homework for his potions class. Professor Snape teaches Potions class. Harry does not like Snape.

One day, Harry secretly opens the door to the small room. He does not have the key, so he picks the lock. He takes some of his books and hides them in his room. If he is careful, his aunt and uncle will not discover them. They will not know he is studying magic at night. He studies magic in secret, only at night.

Summer is hard for Harry. The Dursleys do not let him get letters from his friends. Harry spends many weeks alone. He has no one to talk to. This summer, he is very unhappy. But there is one good thing: Harry has an owl named Hedwig. He can let his owl out of her cage at night. Harry is happy she is free. 

One night, very late, Harry is studying magic. He looks at the clock. It is one o’clock in the morning. Harry realizes he has been thirteen years old for one hour. Harry does not like his birthdays. Before Hogwarts, he never got a birthday card. The Dursleys hate him, so they never celebrate his birthday. Harry thinks they will ignore his thirteenth birthday too. He puts down his magic book and walks to the window.

The night is cool and fresh. Hedwig is not in her cage. Harry looks out the window. He feels lonely. He looks at the night sky. He sees something strange. He sees a large creature with many wings flying in the sky. It is coming closer to his window. Harry is about to close the window, but the creature flies near a street light. Harry sees the “creature” clearly and does not close the window.

Three owls fly through the window! Two owls are carrying packages, and holding a third owl. They land on Harry’s bed. The third owl looks very sick. Harry knows this owl. It is Errol, Ron’s owl. There is a package tied to Errol’s legs. Harry takes the package and puts Errol in Hedwig’s cage.

One of the other owls is Hedwig. She has a package too. Harry unties the package and Hedwig flies into her cage to be with Errol. Harry does not know the third owl. It is a brown-orange color and very beautiful. This owl has a package and a letter. The letter has the Hogwarts seal. Harry takes the package and the letter. The owl flies out the window.

Harry sits on his bed and looks at the packages. He opens Errol’s package first. Inside is a present and his first birthday card! There is a letter and a newspaper article from the Daily Prophet, the wizarding newspaper. The people in the picture are moving!

Harry reads the headline: “Employee of Ministry of Magic Wins Gold Prize!” The article says, “Arthur Weasley, Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office, wins the Daily Prophet Grand Prize.” Mr. Weasley says, ‘We will use the gold to visit Egypt and see our son Bill, who works for Gringotts Wizarding Bank.’ The Weasley family will spend one month in Egypt and return when school starts.”

Harry is happy for the Weasleys. Next, he opens Ron’s letter. Ron writes:

Harry remembers when Ron’s wand broke last year. Ron made many magical mistakes because of it, but the broken wand also saved them all.

Harry opens Ron’s present. It looks like a spinning top. Ron writes that it is a Pocket Sneakoscope. He says that if someone near you is doing something bad, it will light up and spin. Ron says it works because his brothers put insects in his dinner, and the Sneakoscope lit up!

Next, Harry opens Hedwig’s package. There is a present and a letter from Hermione. She is on vacation in France and having a wonderful time. Her letter says she will return to London a week before school starts.

Harry opens Hermione’s present. It is heavy, and he thinks it is a book. But it is not. It is a black leather case with silver words:

“Broomstick Fixing Kit.”

Inside are tools to take care of and fix a broomstick. Harry loves Quidditch and is very good at it. He is the youngest Seeker on the Hogwarts team. His favorite thing is his Nimbus Two Thousand broomstick. This repair kit is the perfect present.

Finally, Harry opens the last package. It is from Hagrid, the gamekeeper at Hogwarts. As he takes off the paper, the thing inside moves. It feels like it is trying to bite him, as if it has a mouth and teeth. This gift is dangerous!

Harry knows that Hagrid is not dangerous on purpose. But he also knows that Hagrid has strange friends: giant spiders, dogs with three heads and dragons that breathe fire. Harry looks at the present again. It tries to bite him again. Harry puts the package on his desk. The present is a book! 

But it is not a normal book. Harry reads the title: “The Monster Book of Monsters”. Then the book jumps off the desk and moves quickly under his bed. It moves like a large crab. “Uh-oh,” says Harry, worried. Harry reaches under his bed to get the book… 

“Ouch!” The book opens and closes quickly on his fingers, like a mouth! Then it moves quickly past him. The book uses its covers like strange legs. Harry jumps quickly on top of the book. Harry holds the book closed in his arms. He opens a drawer and takes out a belt. He puts the belt around the book tightly. The book is angry! But it can’t open and close anymore. Harry throws the book onto his bed. Then he opens Hagrid’s letter:

Harry is very happy! He has received three letters from his best friends. Now, there is only the letter from Hogwarts. It is much heavier than the other letters. He opens the letter and begins to read:

Harry is not so happy anymore. He does not think the Dursleys will sign the permission form. They will never give him permission to leave Hogwarts. He does not know what to do. He looks at the clock. It is now two o’clock in the morning. He decides he will worry about this problem in the morning.

Harry gets into bed. He cannot wait until the school year begins. He takes off his glasses. He pulls the covers up and he looks at his three birthday cards. For the first time in his life, just like a normal boy, Harry is happy that it is his birthday.