Harry Potter 3 Characters

Aníbal González
27 Feb 2015

HARRY POTTER and the
Prisoner of Azkaban
Case Study

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is the third part of the seven-book fantasy novel series written by JK Rowling. The first one, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, was published on 1997, and soon became famous all abroad the world.
The chosen topic for this case study is the characters, in the sense of what they represent and their importance in the saga. JK Rowling tries -and manages- to represent some significant values such as friendship, courage, loyalty or intelligence through the characters, at least the main ones, and that’s what we’re going to discuss.
There are three main characters through all the saga which remain the same: Harry
Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. They are the most important in every sense.
The first one, Harry Potter, is the titular protagonist and center of the series. He is known as «the boy who lived» and is famous due to being the only one who survived Lord
Voldemort’s attack, back when Harry was a kid.
He is a thirteen-year-old wizard who tries to have a normal life like any other of his kind, but he out stands not only because of his fame and being part of a prophecy, but also
(and most important) because of his courage:
“The taunt about his father rang in Harry’s ears as though Black had bellowed it. A boiling hate erupted in Harry’s chest, leaving no place for fear. For the first time in his life, he wanted his wand back in his hand, not to defend himself, but to attack … to kill”
- page 427
As we see, he is a very brave boy who almost does not mind being in danger as long as he gets to do or to get what he needs, unlike others his age would.
This also means that he is able to even disobey the authority if he has to in order to get where he needs. He believes that knowledge and truth are more important than

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following the laws and not doing anything wrong or dangerous. For example, there’s a chapter in this part of the saga where, although he is not permitted to, he goes to
Hogsmead thanks to his invisibility cape:
“To everyone’s delight except Harry’s, there was to be another Hogsmeade trip on the very last weekend of the term.”
-page 228
“Harry traced the secret passage to Honeydukes with his finger.
Then, quite suddenly, as though following orders, he rolled up the map, stuffed it inside his robes, and hurried to the door of the classroom. He opened it a couple of inches. There was no one outside. Very carefully, he edged out of the room and behind the statue of the oneeyed witch.”
-page 232
As in every book, he ends up knowing much more things than in the beginning. He has discovered a lot of things about the world and prophecy that surround him, as well as his own capacity and talent.
“Nobody at Hogwarts now knew the truth of what had happened the night that Sirius,
Buckbeak, and Pettigrew had vanished except Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Professor
Dumbledore. ”
- page 538
In the end, he proves to be up to his fame and having an incredible talent, alongside a honest, brave and honorable personality.
“Harry flung himself out from behind the bush and pulled out his wand.
“EXPECTO PATRONUM!” he yelled.
And out of the end of his wand burst, not a shapeless cloud of mist, but a blinding, dazzling, silver animal. He screwed up his eyes, trying to see what it was. It looked like a horse. It was galloping silently away from him, across the black surface of the lake. He saw it lower its head and charge at the swarming dementors. … Now it was galloping around and around the black shapes on the ground, and the dementors were falling back, scattering, retreating into the darkness. … They were gone.”
-page 488
Therefore, we could say that, although he has several remarkable traits, he represents courage. The bravery to do what you have to do in order to get what you need (or what your loved ones need).

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The second main character is Ron Weasley. He is Harry’s best friend. He is very loyal, kind, humble, and a bit fearful, but actually just as brave as any of his friends.
Although his family is not rich, he tries to be up to his loved ones. Unlike Harry, he tries to avoid problems, but he often proves that he can deal with them just as any other wizard if he has to.
“Quite a few people screamed. A giant spider, six feet tall and covered in hair, was advancing on Ron, clicking its pincers menacingly. For a moment, Harry thought Ron had frozen. Then —
“Riddikulus!” bellowed Ron, and the spider’s legs vanished;”
- page 176
Even though he does not play a vital role in this part of the series, he is as always a constant support to Harry and Hermione. He cares about them and he faces anyone who tries to mock or hurt them in any way, even if he has to make an effort to do so. He always tries to defend them.
“Hermione gasped in a petrified whisper; Ron, however, spoke to Black.
“If you want to kill Harry, you’ll have to kill us too!” he said fiercely, though the effort of standing upright was draining him of still more color, and he swayed slightly as he spoke.”
- page 427
So, in the end, he proves not to be less than any of his friends or classmates. We could say he represents loyalty, being this his main trait. He always remains by Harry and
Hermione’s side, no matter what they confront.

Last, but not least, Hermione Granger is the third of the main characters, and the only girl of them three. Her main trait is her intelligence, although she has several nice attributes such as righteousness or honesty. She is a very clever and talented witch that out stands her classmates.
“Please, sir,” said Hermione, whose hand was still in the air, “the werewolf differs from the true wolf in several small ways. The snout of the werewolf —”
“That is the second time you have spoken out of turn, Miss Granger,” said Snape coolly.”
- page 217
But, even though she’s outstanding and talented, Harry and Ron are two of her few friends. Not many people accept her, maybe because of her parents being muggles (nonwizards). But she does not seem to really care about it, since she is still really kind, helpful

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and always adventurous like Harry, although she makes sure not to break any rule or, at the very least, getting caught.
“We attacked a teacher. … We attacked a teacher … ,” Hermione whimpered, staring at the lifeless Snape with frightened eyes. “Oh, we’re going to be in so much trouble —”
-page 430
At the end, she is still as focused as before in her studies, but she has become even more fond of Harry and Ron, and aware of all the dangers that surround them. She has proven that she will follow them and, above all, advice them inconditionally, and that she is indeed as clever as everyone says.
“Lupin forced a laugh.
“You’re the cleverest witch of your age I’ve ever met, Hermione.”
- page 435
We could say she represents intelligence and cleverness. Although she is also very loyal and brave, there is no one as clever as her (at that age), and thanks to that, they are able to get over any problem they have.
So, to finish, I would say this sums up one of the most important things in Harry
Potter. The characters are well built, and they represent important traits that should never be lost or forgotten. Plus, not only they are important because of these representative characteristics, but also because of what they show being together. They three represent friendship, the true power of friendship. Throughout the saga, it is that, their friendship, one of the things that help them overcoming any problem.
I think it is important how JK Rowling tries (and manages) to show the importance of values such as these.

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