I found this beautiful fanart here!
After escaping from the Dursley’s during his horrible summer between his second and third years, Harry is ready to return to Hogwarts. However, he is in even more danger than he was the year prior. Now, a dangerous criminal named Sirius Black, who was locked up in the wizard prison Azkaban, has escaped and is now hunting down Harry. In order to search for Sirius, Dementors have been sent to Hogwarts. These creatures can suck the soul out of a person, but they leave a sense of loneliness and despair everywhere they go. Harry has to pass his classes, worry about not going to Hogsmeade due to his unsigned permission slip, hope Black doesn’t come to Hogwarts, and avoid the Dementors who seem to have their sights on him specifically.
This is definitely one of my favorite books in the series. I love the Hogwarts setting, and this took place all on the grounds of the school. I also enjoyed the action in the book, specifically closer to the end, as this was when I started seeing the characters grow. I loved how Hermione was shown to not be this perfect character in this book as she started to perform less than perfectly (due to reasons that are revealed at the end of the book). I always wanted to see her act normal instead of stuck up as she sometimes comes off as in the early books, and now she starts to really become like family to Harry and Ron.
Also, I enjoyed Hagrid teaching a class in this story. Harry greeting and riding Buckbeak was always a very vivid scene to me when I read this story. I also loved it when I saw the movie a few years ago.
Overall, this might be competing with my current favorite in the Harry Potter series, the Chamber of Secrets. I love the setting, pacing, and storyline.
Overall Rating: 6/5
