Crookshanks Character Analysis in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

A huge and ugly orange cat that Hermione adopts instead of an owl. He immediately gets on Ron's bad side by trying to attack Scabbers in the magical creatures shop, and he spends the rest of the year attempting to follow through on this first attempt. Though Harry and Ron resent Crookshanks for this, Harry begins to suspect that there's more to Crookshanks when he sees the cat outside with the hulking black dog Harry initially believes is the Grim. In the Shrieking Shack, Sirius Black--the black dog--explains that Crookshanks is the smartest cat he's ever met and seems to know that Scabbers isn't actually a normal rat. Crookshanks helps Sirius throughout the novel and even steals Neville's list of Gryffindor Tower passwords for him.

Crookshanks Quotes in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

The Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban quotes below are all either spoken by Crookshanks or refer to Crookshanks. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Hermione burst into tears. Before Harry could say or do anything, she tucked the enormous book under her arm, and, still sobbing, ran toward the staircase to the girls' dormitories and out of sight.

"Can't you give her a break?" Harry asked Ron quietly.

"No," said Ron flatly. "If she just acted like she was sorry--but she'll never admit she's wrong, Hermione. She's still acting like Scabbers has gone on vacation or something."

Related Characters: Harry Potter (speaker), Ron Weasley (speaker), Hermione Granger, Scabbers/Peter Pettigrew, Crookshanks

Page Number and Citation: 265

Explanation and Analysis:

Crookshanks Character Timeline in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

The timeline below shows where the character Crookshanks appears in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...but instead of an owl, she has the orange cat. Glowing, she calls the cat Crookshanks and gives Ron his rat tonic, insisting that Scabbers will be fine. (full context)

...Fred and George interrupt. Finally, everyone assembles downstairs with their trunks and animals. Hermione assures Crookshanks that she'll let him out on the train, while Ron snaps that Scabbers needs his... (full context)

Hermione lets Crookshanks out of his basket. The cat immediately jumps onto Ron's lap and Hermione raises her... (full context)

...that Harry ask McGonagall for permission, while Hermione disapprovingly tells Harry to stay at school. Crookshanks interrupts the conversation by leaping into Hermione's lap with a dead spider. Ron tells Hermione... (full context)

On Halloween, Harry feels very morose. Ron and Hermione even put aside their argument over Crookshanks to promise to bring Harry candy from Honeydukes. Malfoy taunts Harry about the dementors as... (full context)

...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... (full context)

...a Firebolt. There's no card and the boys wonder who sent it. Hermione arrives with Crookshanks and when she learns that the broom came without a note, she's not excited. Before... (full context)

Ron and Hermione are so angry with each other over what looks to Ron like Crookshanks' success in eating Scabbers that Harry fears this is the end of their friendship. Harry... (full context)

...a pair of glittering eyes in the darkness. Ron lights his wand and they see Crookshanks. Ron angrily throws a stone, but Crookshanks disappears. Harry is secretly relieved; he thought the... (full context)

...than objects. Ron angrily says that he'd speak to Hermione if she got rid of Crookshanks, and then the conversation turns to Quidditch. (full context)

...goes to Hogsmeade again. Ron tells Hermione to leave it alone and Hermione leaves when Crookshanks jumps into her lap. Harry agrees to go with the Invisibility Cloak. (full context)

...the match and finally wakes up before dawn. He goes to the window and sees Crookshanks on the lawn with the huge black dog. Harry tries to wake Ron and wonders... (full context)

...the castle. Darkness starts to fall around them and Scabbers continues to struggle. Harry notices Crookshanks stalking them. With a final twist, Scabbers breaks free and races away. Crookshanks chases Scabbers,... (full context)

...root. Ron’s leg cracks and he vanishes. Harry tries to run through the branches, but Crookshanks weaves through and puts his paw on a knot on the trunk. The tree stops... (full context)

...destroy furniture. They hear a creak upstairs and silently climb to a landing. They hear Crookshanks purring and a moan through a doorway and see Ron on the floor. Ron moans... (full context)

...to fight Harry in time. The two scrabble on the floor until Hermione steps in. Crookshanks tries to keep Harry from getting his wand, but in the end, Harry and Hermione... (full context)

...and Ron argue about whether Scabbers's health started going downhill after Sirius escaped or after Crookshanks came on the scene. Black says that Crookshanks is a smart creature and has been... (full context)

...live with him, and Harry leaps at the chance. Soon, they reach the opening and Crookshanks stops the Whomping Willow while everyone steps out. As they make their way towards the... (full context)

...stops watching when Hermione screams. He sees Pettigrew grab Lupin's wand, knock out Ron and Crookshanks, and then transform and flee. As Lupin races into the forest alone, Harry yells to... (full context)

Responsibility, Morality, and Time Theme Icon

...Hogsmeade and says that Ron can keep the owl. Ron holds the owl out to Crookshanks, who purrs. (full context)