Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: Chapter Nine Summary & Analysis

Dumbledore summons the entire school to the Great Hall. He announces that the students will sleep there while teachers search the castle, and he conjures sleeping bags. Percy shouts that the lights will go out in ten minutes, so Harry, Ron, and Hermione drag sleeping bags into a corner. Hermione and Ron note that they're lucky Sirius Black tried to break in tonight, since nobody was in the tower for him to hurt. They hear a Ravenclaw suggesting that Black Apparated into the castle, which annoys Hermione: according to Hogwarts: A History, a person can't Apparate in, and the dementors see through disguises.

At about three in the morning, Dumbledore finds Percy near Harry, Ron, and Hermione. They pretend to sleep so they can listen. Dumbledore whispers to Percy that he's found a temporary guardian for the portrait hole, and Snape arrives to say that Sirius Black is nowhere to be found. Snape asks if Dumbledore has any theories as to how Black got in, and reminds Dumbledore of a conversation they had in which Snape expressed "concerns." Dumbledore, in a tone of finality, says that nobody in the castle would've helped Black get in. Percy asks if the dementors wanted to help search the castle, but Dumbledore replies that dementors won't enter the castle while he's around.

Over the next few days, the rumors about Sirius Black get wilder and wilder. Sir Cadogan replaces the Fat Lady, which annoys all the Gryffindors—he changes passwords all the time and challenges people to duels. Much to Harry's annoyance, teachers start to walk with him in the corridors and Percy trails him as well. Then, McGonagall summons Harry to tell him first that Black is after him, and second that she doesn't think Harry should be practicing Quidditch in the evenings. Harry is distraught, but McGonagall agrees to let him practice if Madam Hooch supervises.

A few days before the first Quidditch match, Oliver tells the team that they won't play Slytherin as planned since Malfoy is still "injured." They'll play Hufflepuff instead. He's worried because their new captain and Seeker, Cedric Diggory, is very good. At the mention of Diggory, Angelina, Alicia, and Katie giggle that he's handsome. Oliver is distraught, but Fred assures him they'll take Hufflepuff seriously. Oliver tries to talk strategy to Harry every chance he gets over the next few days. This makes Harry late to Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Snape greets Harry instead of Lupin, docks points from Gryffindor for Harry's lateness, and explains that Lupin is ill. He tells the class that Lupin's lesson plans are disorganized and tells Hermione to be quiet when she lists the creatures they've already studied. Both Dean and Parvati try to help Hermione and defend Lupin, but Snape menacingly tells the class to turn to the chapter on werewolves. Nobody except Hermione raises their hand when he asks how to distinguish between a werewolf and an actual wolf and when Hermione tries to answer, Snape docks more points because she's "an insufferable know-it-all." Ron asks why Snape even asked the question, which earns him detention, and they spend the rest of class silently making notes on werewolves. At the end, he asks for a long essay on werewolves, due Monday.

The next morning, Harry wakes early to a draft on his neck—Peeves is blowing in his ear. Peeves zooms away, cackling, and Harry decides to get up. He stops Crookshanks from entering the dormitory and listens to the noisy storm outside. As Harry thinks of Cedric Diggory, who is much heavier than Harry is, he begins to feel apprehensive—Diggory is less likely to be blown off course. Finally, Harry heads down to the locker rooms with the team.

Harry worries he won't be able to see, as the rain covers his glasses. The wind is so loud that he can't even hear Madam Hooch tell the players to mount their brooms and start flying. Harry is frozen within minutes. He lands when Oliver waves at him; Oliver tells him to get the Snitch soon. Hermione appears as though on cue and puts a charm on Harry's glasses so they repel water. The lightning and thunder get worse and as lightning lights up the stands, Harry sees an enormous dog. He nearly falls off his broom but refocuses on the game when Oliver yells and points to Diggory, who's chasing the Snitch.

As Harry chases Diggory, he notices the noise of the storm diminishing and suddenly feels a familiar sense of cold. He looks down and sees a hundred dementors below him. Harry hears a woman screaming and thinks he needs to help her as he starts to fall. He comes to in the hospital wing listening to his teammates talk about things that make no sense. Harry opens his eyes and asks what happened.

Fred and Angelina explain that Harry fell off his broom, and George says that Diggory caught the Snitch right after. Diggory tried to demand a rematch when he realized Harry had fallen, but even Oliver agrees that Hufflepuff won fairly. Fred and George talk through Gryffindor's chances of winning the Cup and then Madam Pomfrey kicks the team out. Hermione and Ron stay and tell Harry that Dumbledore was furious with the dementors. Harry is barely listening; he's thinking about the screaming in his head. Harry asks about his broom, and Hermione and Ron hesitantly tell him that it blew into the Whomping Willow. Hermione dumps broom pieces onto Harry's bed.