Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: Chapter Twenty-Two Summary & Analysis

With ten minutes to get back to the hospital wing, Harry and Hermione race through the castle. They hear Fudge and Snape walking towards the hospital wing but when they start in that direction themselves, they hear Peeves ahead. They duck into a classroom to avoid him and finally make it to the corridor and the hospital wing. They see Dumbledore step out of the door and run forward. He smiles at them and Harry tells him they did it. Once Dumbledore is sure that the other Hermione and Harry are gone from the hospital wing, he lets them back in. They climb into their beds and accept their chocolate without question.

Harry hears a furious roar from somewhere above them and within a minute, they hear Snape's voice getting closer, shouting that Harry has something to do with Sirius's escape. Dumbledore looks calm as Snape tells Harry to reveal what he did, but Dumbledore asks Snape to think and reminds him that the door has been locked for the last ten minutes. Snape angrily leaves the ward and Fudge says that the Ministry will be in trouble once the news of Black and Buckbeak gets out. Fudge does say that the dementors will be removed from the school, as they can't be attacking students. After the adults leave, Ron moans, wakes up, and asks what happened.

The castle is almost deserted when Harry, Ron, and Hermione leave the hospital wing the next day. They sit by the lake and Hagrid finds them to tell them the good news about Buckbeak. Hagrid also shares that Lupin is a werewolf and just resigned. Harry runs to Lupin's office and knocks on the open door. Lupin greets him and says he saw Harry coming on the Marauder's Map. He confirms that he resigned because Snape leaked that he's a werewolf and parents will be distraught.

Lupin asks Harry to tell him about his Patronus and confirms that James's Animagus form was a stag. As he finishes packing, Lupin gives Harry the Invisibility Cloak and the Marauder's Map. Harry asks Lupin about his earlier comment that Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs would've wanted to lure him out of school. Lupin explains that James would've wanted Harry to find the passages out of the castle. A knock on the door interrupts them and Dumbledore arrives to tell Lupin that his carriage is ready. Lupin bids Harry goodbye, shakes Dumbledore's hand, and leaves.

Harry flops down in Lupin's chair and says that what he did didn't make any difference since Pettigrew escaped. Dumbledore quietly says that Harry saved an innocent man and discovered the truth. This jogs Harry's memory and he tells him about Trelawney's prediction. Dumbledore seems impressed, but Harry is distraught. He says that since he stopped Sirius and Lupin from killing Pettigrew, it'll be his fault if Voldemort returns. Dumbledore tells Harry that consequences are complicated and what Harry did was noble. He points out that Pettigrew is in Harry's debt now, which could come in handy later. He assures Harry that James would've saved Pettigrew.

Harry admits that he thought James conjured his Patronus across the lake. Dumbledore says that it's an easy mistake given how much Harry resembles his father, but Harry says it was a stupid mistake since he knows James is dead. Softly, Dumbledore tells Harry that he found his father inside himself through his Patronus.

Over the next few days, rumors fly about how Sirius and Buckbeak escaped. Malfoy is furious, while Percy spouts off about what he'll do once he gets a job at the Ministry. Harry, however, feels awful. His entire class is sad to see Lupin go, and he fixates on Trelawney's prediction. He also hates that he has to go back to the Dursleys, especially after believing for a minute that he could go live with Sirius. On the last day of term, the students get their exam results. Harry somehow makes it through Potions, but he suspects Dumbledore didn't allow Snape to fail him. In classes Snape seems to hate Harry even more.

On the train back to King's Cross, Hermione tells Harry and Ron that she's handed in her Time-Turner and dropped Muggle Studies so that she can have a normal schedule next year. Ron grouses that Hermione should've told them about the Time-Turner and then invites Harry to come and stay with him over the summer so they can go to the Quidditch World Cup. Later in the afternoon, Hermione notices a tiny gray owl outside the window. Harry grabs it out of the air and takes its letter. The letter is from Sirius. He writes that he's in hiding, admits to sending the Firebolt, and apologizes for scaring Harry in his dog form. He also encloses a note for Dumbledore giving Harry permission to visit Hogsmeade and says that Ron can keep the owl. Ron holds the owl out to Crookshanks, who purrs.

Harry holds onto Sirius's letter until he arrives in King's Cross and greets Uncle Vernon. Vernon asks about the letter and refuses to sign another form, but Harry cheerfully says it's from his godfather, who's a convicted murderer and wants to know that Harry is happy. Harry feels hopeful that this will be a good summer.