History Fridge / HarryPotterAndThePrisonerOfAzkaban

* Every Animagus turns into an animal indicative of their true personality: James Potter became a stag and was a proud leader; Sirius Black became a dog and was very loyal, and Peter Pettigrew became a rat, suspicious and parasitic animals that steal food and spread disease. Also, to "rat on" someone is to betray them by informing the authorities of a crime or misdeed they committed. Rita Skeeter, the life-ruining IntrepidReporter, became a beetle, which are often seen as pests. And Professor [=McGonagall=] becomes a cat, creatures known for being [[CatsAreSuperior proud, aloof, austere and intelligent,]] which certainly fits her as a SternTeacher and IronLady. Also, [[CatsAreMagic cats are often connected to magic]], and [=McGonagall=] is the Hogwarts professor that introduces Muggle-borns to magic.

* After Snape confiscates and attempts to read the Marauders Map, only for the map to insult him, he calls Lupin and asks if he believes Harry may have gotten the map from the makers. Because Harry hasn't connected the dots about "Mr. Moony" being Lupin, he doesn't realise Snape is directly accusing Lupin of giving Harry the map.

* Lupin is one of the few who deliberately perform wandless magic when he conjures fire on the train, so it seems to be either a rare skill or just not something most people bother with. Why would he have learned how to do it? Without the Wolfsbane Potion, he transforms and probably can't have his wand with him. So doing basic spells without an expensive, breakable, and gnawable wand would be really useful.

* When Uncle Vernon is talking to Aunt Marge about James, he says James was unemployed. He was right, as Jo said: after graduation, the Marauders and Lily became "full-time fighters" for the Order - mostly because James (who Marge was trying to cast as a drunk vagrant) was set for life due to his parents having become wealthy from inventing Sleekeazy's Hair Potion, and thus he didn't need a full-time job.

* It has been implied that Hogwarts itself has some level of awareness, refusing to let Umbridge into Dumbledore's office for instance. If so, Sirius being able to make it to the Gryffindor dorm entrance before anyone stopped him makes sense. The school deduced that he was innocent and trying to remove a legitimate threat, and so allowed him to proceed.

* Every animagus turns into an animal indicative of their true personality: James Potter became a stag and was a proud leader; Sirius Black became a dog and was very loyal, and Peter Pettigrew became a rat, suspicious and parasitic animals that steal food and spread disease. Also, to "rat on" someone is to betray them by informing the authorities of a crime or misdeed they committed. Rita Skeeter, the life-ruining IntrepidReporter, became a beetle, which are often seen as pests. And Professor [=McGonagall=] becomes a cat, creatures known for being [[CatsAreSuperior proud, aloof, austere and intelligent,]] which certainly fits her as a SternTeacher and IronLady. Also, [[CatsAreMagic cats are often connected to magic]], and [=McGonagall=] is the Hogwarts professor that introduces Muggle-borns to magic.

* Regarding the scene where Neville faces the Boggart in the wardrobe which has turned into Snape at the moment. It's mentioned that before Neville uses Riddikulus on it, the Boggart-Snape was reaching inside it's robes, presumably for a wand. Now, on the first reading of the book (and for this Troper, right up until this very day) you might just think something like "Oh, poor Neville, he's so frightened of Snape that he on some level might be able to believe he'd actually ''attack'' him", which is bad enough. But, adding in [[ColdBloodedTorture what we]] [[DarkAndTroubledPast learn about Neville]] come [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire the next book]], and that it's mentioned in a bit of Foreshadowing that the Dementors had a notable effect on Neville (likely due to his parents), it makes one wonder: If Boggart-Snape ''hadn't'' been interrupted by Neville using Riddikulus on it, would it have pulled out a wand and tried/threatened to use the ''Cruciatus Curse'', in particular, on him!?

-->"Ron... haven't I been a good friend... a good pet? You won't let them kill me, Ron, will you... you're on my side, aren't you?"

* The scene where Sirius and Lupin interrogate Pettigrew and give him a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech starts out as well-deserved but gets scary after the two openly admit to planning to kill Pettigrew, especially when we have every reason to believe that they would have done it, had Harry not intervened (admittedly, just to have Pettigrew submitted to a FateWorseThanDeath in Azkaban and probably to clear Sirius' name by showing everyone the very person Sirius was supposed to have killed. This is hammered home by the Ministry of Magic song "Marauder's Map".) The casual way they discuss killing Pettigrew is very disturbing as well as the fact that they had no problem trying to do it in front of Harry, Ron and Hermione. Sure, he may had deserved it but that doesn't change the fact that three kids would've had to see two adults (one of whom they'd considered a mass murderer a while ago and the other, a respected and trusted teacher) murder someone in cold blood. Plus there's no guarantee that producing Pettigrew's body would've cleared Sirius's name since as Pettigrew mentioned, the officials could claim that Pettigrew had chosen to hide himself from Voldemort spy and mass murderer Sirius
* Sirius has been living off rats. Peter's animagus form is a rat.

* Peter knew sirius was coming for him and that Lupin was at Hogwarts as a teacher. Snape, at the very least, already suspected that Lupin was helping Sirius to enter the school. It would have been incredibly easy for Peter to steal Lupin's wand, kill at least Harry, and frame Lupin and Sirius for it. If Peter had just a bit more courage and initiative things would have gone much worse.

* Harry comes to Lupin for help with Dementors after Sirius breaks into the castle at Halloween. Lupin obtains a Boggart for these lessons from Filch's filing cabinet. Given that the last Lupin ever knew about where the Marauders' Map was located is that Filch confiscated from them in their seventh year, it's possible that Lupin was snooping around in Filch's office looking for the map with the purpose of using it to catch Sirius the next time he got in.

* Once Scabbers is outed as Peter Pettigrew, Ron realises that he and Percy handled Peter Pettigrew's poop for 12 years, and were likely naked in front of him.

* On the way to Hogwarts, at least one Dementor searches the train. A creature that ''feeds on happiness'' and ''souls'' was in confined quarters with a few hundred emotional children and teenagers. Even worse, it's implied that there wasn't an Auror or official around keeping an eye on it. What if Lupin didn't drive it off with a Patronus? This might be a bit of FridgeBrilliance itself. What if the reason Lupin came on the train was because Dumbledore asked him to so he could keep an eye on the students in case a Dementor (or even Sirius Black) showed up?

* Sirius explains that the main reason that he was able to survive the effects of Azkaban was that as a dog, his emotions aren't as complex, indicating perhaps that nonhumans hold up against Dementor proximity better than humans do - or even maybe that Dementors don't register emotions from nonhumans as strongly as they do from humans.

* Readers have also noticed that Snape's behavior is particularly unbalanced in this novel, especially towards the end. Taking later revelations into account, Snape is probably just as vulnerable to dementors as Harry was. Snape spends months being forced to relive [[spoiler:his terrible childhood as a victim of constant abuse at home and bullying at Hogwarts, along with losing Lily's friendship and then her life. What's more, Snape couldn't even cast a Patronus Charm to protect himself without giving away his deepest secret]]. No wonder he fell apart.

* Lupin is one of the few whom deliberately perform wandless magic when he conjures fire on the train, so it seems to be either a rare skill or just not something most people bother with. Why would he have learned how to do it? Without the Wolfsbane Potion, he transforms and probably can't have his wand with him. So doing basic spells without an expensive, breakable, and gnawable wand would be really useful.

* Sirius's nickname, Padfoot, seems a pun like the rest of the Marauders, because dogs have padded feet. But after looking into the mythology of the British Isles, the black dog is a death avatar that goes by many different names, one of which is Padfoot. This gives more credence to Trelawney's prediction. Sirius is a death avatar; his friends from school all die rather violent deaths, as does Sirius himself, Harry and his cousin Tonks.

* Every animagus turns into an animal indicative of their true personality: James Potter became a stag and was a proud leader; Sirius Black became a dog and was very loyal, and Peter Pettigrew became a rat, suspicious and parasitic animals that steal food and spread disease. Also, to "rat on" someone is to betray them by informing the authorities of a crime or misdeed they committed. Rita Skeeter, the life-ruining IntrepidReporter, became a beetle, which are often seen as pests. As for [=McGonagall=], cats are often regarded as [[CatsAreSuperior proud, aloof, austere and intelligent,]] which certainly fits her as a SternTeacher and IronLady. Also, [[CatsAreMagic cats are often connected to magic]], and [=McGonagall=] is the Hogwarts professor that introduces Muggle-borns to magic.

* Trelawney making a big panic about "when thirteen dine together, the first to rise shall be the first to die" is played for laughs, as Trelawney sits down, and later Harry and Ron get up at the same time. There are actually ''fourteen'' people sitting around the table before Trelawney arrived. The thirteenth was ''Pettigrew'', in his Scabbers disguise. [[spoiler:Dumbledore gets up to greet Trelawney as she enters.]]

* Professor Trelawney is noted to be unusually thin. Given that she's constantly predicting doom and disaster, she might eat little because she's afraid of being poisoned.

* Professor Trelawney is noted to be unusually thin. Given that she's constantly predicting doom and disaster, she might eat little because she's afraid of being poisoned, by accident or on purpose.

* The boggart taking the form of Snape for Neville makes a lot of sense. Because of what Neville went through, why would he fear Snape? Two reasons.
** Lupin put him on the spot so it was on his mind. That way the Boggart wouldn't take the form of the Lestranges or an insane version of himself.
** Snape represents an ''immediate'' threat to Neville. Voldemort as far as he knows is dead. The Lestranges are in jail. His parents are in a hospital. Snape ''can'' act upon him. Snape can fail him. Snape can single him out in front of his peers to mock him. Snape can turn a blind eye to bullies. Snape can give him unfair detentions. Children, especially his age, will think more of immediate threats.

* After Snape confiscates and attempts to read the Marauders Map, only for the map to insult him, he calls Lupin and asks if he believes Harry may have gotten the map from the makers. Because Harry hasn't connected the dots about "Mr. Moony" being Lupin, he doesn't realize Snape is directly accusing Lupin of giving Harry the map.

* Why does Harry have such a negative reaction to the Dementors? He's not just hearing his mother’s voice as she was protecting him, but the Dementors are also forcing the piece of Voldemort to relive its worst memory as well: the memory of being ripped apart by the backfired Killing Curse. This also becomes Fridge Horror when you realise that both memories are ''Voldemort's''.

* Lupin regularly hands Harry chocolate after a Dementor attack, insisting it will make him feel better. Chocolate contains amino acids that encourage the production of dopamine, a chemical that in very simple terms makes you happier. It's a known anti-depressant. Probably the best way to help recover from creatures thematically based on depression that literally suck the happiness out of you.

* Every animagus turns into an animal indicative of their true personality: James became a stag and was a proud leader; Sirius became a dog and was very loyal, and Peter became a rat, suspicious and parasitic animals that steal food and spread disease. Also, to "rat on" someone is to betray them by informing the authorities of a crime or misdeed they committed. Rita Skeeter, the life-ruining IntrepidReporter, became a beetle, which are often seen as pests. As for [=McGonagall=], cats are often regarded as [[CatsAreSuperior proud, aloof, austere and intelligent,]] which certainly fits her as a SternTeacher and IronLady. Also, [[CatsAreMagic cats are often connected to magic]], and [=McGonagall=] is the Hogwarts professor that introduces Muggle-borns to magic.

** It's also mentioned at one point that before Hogwarts, Hermione had little to no friends, due to her high intellect and bossy nature. If she were to be expelled, she would also lose the only place she ever found friends as loyal and caring as Harry and Ron, as well.
* After Snape confiscates and attempts to read the Marauders Map, he calls Lupin and asks if he believes Harry may have gotten the map from the makers. It's not obvious at the time, but he's directly accusing Lupin of giving Harry the map.

* Why does Harry have such a negative reaction to the Dementors? He's not just hearing his mother’s voice as she was protecting him, but the Dementors are also forcing the piece of Voldemort to relive its worst memory as well: the memory of being ripped apart by the curse that backfired. This also becomes Fridge Horror when you realise that both memories are ''Voldemort's''.

* When Vernon is talking to Marge about James, he says he was unemployed. He was right, as Jo said: after graduation, the Marauders and Lily became "full-time fighters" - mostly because James (who Marge was trying to cast as a drunk vagrant) had so much money for everyone to live off that he didn't need a full-time job.

* Trelawney making a big panic about 'when thirteen dine together, the first to rise shall be the first to die' is played for laughs, as Trelawney sits down, and later Harry and Ron get up at the same time. However, there were actually ''fourteen'' people sitting around the table before Trelawney arrived. The thirteenth was ''Pettigrew'', in his Scabbers disguise. [[spoiler:Dumbledore gets up to greet Trelawney as she enters.]]

* It has been implied that Hogwarts itself has some level of awareness, refusing to let Umbridge into Dumbledore's office for instance. If so, Sirus being able to make it to the Gryffindor dorm entrance before anyone stopped him makes sense. The school deduced that he was innocent and trying to remove a legitimate threat, and so allowed him to proceed.

* An InUniverse one as Ron realises he and Percy handled Peter Pettigrew's poop for 12 years, and were likely naked in front of him.

* When the dementors appear at the Quidditch match and Harry hears Lilly's final moments, he starts to lose track of where he is. Specifically, he wonders why he is flying thinking he needs to help her. Remember Harry is reexperiencing the emotions he felt at the time of his worst memory, and one year is plenty old enough to recognize when someone is in distress. Even as a baby Harry's instinct was to help and protect people. And the Sorting Hat wanted to put him in Slytherin.

* An InUniverse one as Ron realizes he and Percy handled Peter Pettigrew's poop for 12 years, and were likely naked in front of him.

-->"Kind boy... kind master... " Pettigrew crawled towards Ron. "You won't let them do it... I was your rat... I was a good pet."

* Percy and Ron Weasley handled Peter Pettigrew's poop for 12 years and were likely naked in front of him.
-->'''Ron:''' I let you sleep in my ''bed''!

* Professor Lupin steps in before Harry can face the Boggart, so we see his own, instead: the full moon, which the students mistake for a crystal ball. It's all pretty harmless. But return to this chapter later, having read ''Order of the Phoenix'' where Molly's Boggart takes the form of her children and husband, murdered, you realise how very lucky this class of thirteen-year-olds was that their teacher's greatest fear was so inoffensive.

* Harry's dad was the genius behind the three animagi -- an incredibly difficult transfiguration to pull off which he pulled off as a teen (as did Rita Skeeter). Back in ''Philosopher's Stone'', Ollivander described James Potter's wand as "good for transfiguration". Wand and wizard were more than just good; they were exceptional. Exceptional enough that with James' and Sirius' help, mediocre Peter, whom [=McGonagall=] was often harsh with, managed to pull it off by 4th or 5th year.

* When Harry, Hermione, Ron, Neville, and Ginny are confronted by the Dementor on the Hogwarts Express, Harry passes out because, as Lupin later states to him: "There are horrors in your past that others don't have." Of the other four kids, the one most affected is Ginny, "who was huddled in her corner looking nearly as bad as Harry felt". Not much emphasis is put on this because she's only ''two months'' removed from having been MindRaped by Diary Horcrux-Voldemort. Lastly, Neville was very pale and had a higher voice than normal, which foreshadows the reveal of his parents having been tortured into insanity by Voldemort and no longer recognising him.
* Sirius's nickname, Padfoot, seems a pun like the rest of the Marauders, because dogs have padded feet. But after looking into the mythology of the British Isles, the black dog is a death avatar that goes by many different names, one of which is Padfoot. This gives more credence to Trelawney's prediction. Sirius is a death avatar; his friends from school all die rather violent deaths, as does Harry and his cousin Tonks.

** Especially when you consider that Lupin also lived through the first war against Voldemort, and lost all three of his closest friends and was witness to the horrors that the members of the original Order went through (including Frank and Alice Longbottom). And yet he's ''more afraid of the moon.'' Transforming into a werewolf must truly be hell.

* A fridge TearJerker: in the film, when Harry tells Lupin that he saw Peter Pettigrew on the Marauder's Map, Lupin is deeply stunned and emotional, but also looks almost hopeful as he tells Harry "that's not possible." This is when Lupin first realizes that things may have worked out differently than he had thought--and that first thought is that Peter somehow survived Sirius's attack and that he might be able to get one of his close friends back after all these years.