Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban By Jessika Bouvier (originally by J.K. Rowling) It was a cloudy and chilly Wednesday when Harry woke up, opening his eyes to see a grey sky and his best friend Ron eating chocolate on the windowsill. Harry attempted to rub the sleep from his eyes, and let out a yawn. He quickly slipped on his glasses and hopped out of bed, walking towards the bathroom as he asked Ron about their plans that day. “Anything exciting going on today?” hollered Harry from the bathroom, his tooth brush hanging half way out of his mouth. Ron looked up from his chocolates to reply. “Actually, Dumbledore made an announcement this morning that all Hogwarts students should report to the Great Hall this morning, even if we are ill, injured, or whatever,” The red head seemed bored with the idea, but he shrugged and yelled back to Harry, “I don’t really care as long as I get to eat my chocolate while they talk.” Harry snickered from inside the bathroom, tossing his toothbrush down and running his fingers through his messy black hair. He quickly ran to his wardrobe and pulled out his Hogwarts uniform, throwing it over his pajamas in a rush of excitement. “I want to know what all the fuss is about, let’s go!” he declared, waving his hand as a gesture for Ron to follow him. The clumsy ginger stuffed his chocolates into his robe pockets, adjusted his Gryffindor tie and stumbled out of the door after Harry.
Transcript
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban By Jessika Bouvier (originally by J.K. Rowling)
It was a cloudy and chilly Wednesday when Harry woke up, opening his
eyes to see a grey sky and his best friend Ron eating chocolate on the windowsill. Harry attempted to rub the sleep from his eyes, and let out a yawn. He quickly slipped on his glasses and hopped out of bed, walking towards the bathroom as he asked Ron about their plans that day.
“Anything exciting going on today?” hollered Harry from the bathroom, his tooth brush hanging half way out of his mouth. Ron looked up from his chocolates to reply.
“Actually, Dumbledore made an announcement this morning that all Hogwarts students should report to the Great Hall this morning, even if we are ill, injured, or whatever,” The red head seemed bored with the idea, but he shrugged and yelled back to Harry, “I don’t really care as long as I get to eat my chocolate while they talk.”
Harry snickered from inside the bathroom, tossing his toothbrush down and running his fingers through his messy black hair. He quickly ran to his wardrobe and pulled out his Hogwarts uniform, throwing it over his pajamas in a rush of excitement. “I want to know what all the fuss is about, let’s go!” he declared, waving his hand as a gesture for Ron to follow him. The clumsy ginger stuffed his chocolates into his robe pockets, adjusted his Gryffindor tie and stumbled out of the door after Harry.
It seemed that the entire population of Hogwarts gathered in the Great Hall. No student wandered aimlessly through the corridors as they waited for morning classes to begin, but instead all sat patient and still with their houses, quietly munching on breakfast and chattering curiously about what the importance of this “meeting” was. Some jokingly guessed that He Who Shall Not Be Named had invaded the school and was going to take them all hostage, but none joked too loudly, afraid that a teacher might hear them.
Ron and Harry ran into the Great Hall to find Hermione, their best friend, and Ginny, Ron’s younger sister, sitting at the Gryffindor table talking over bowls of oatmeal and slices of buttered toast. Ron eagerly sat down and began stuffing his face with food, while Harry took a moment to greet both girls before gathering his breakfast.
“Hello Harry,” chirped Hermione, her frizzy brown hair bouncing as she giggled at him. Ginny gave a similar reply, smiling warmly and winking at him. Ron mumbled a “good morning” to them through a mouth full of pancakes. Before Hermione or Ginny could scold him, however, Dumbledore suddenly stood at the front of the Great Hall, clearing his throat loudly enough to catch the attention of all people in the immediate area. Every pair of eyes turned towards him curiously, watching his every word. All of them wondered what this meeting was about.
“Good morning,” started Dumbledore, his voice both calm and demanding
of attention, “I hope you all slept well.” A few heads in the audience bobbed, but no one spoke.
“I stand before you this morning to tell you that Hogwarts recently adopted to apply fifteen of the U.S. Amendments to the rules of Hogwarts. This decision was made in order to control bullying and unfairness amongst teachers and students alike, and we hope that the installment of these new rules will help control the problems at Hogwarts,” Dumbledore’s voice remained even, those his eyes widened slightly at the whispers coming from the students in the Great Hall.
Deciding to leave them to their own, Dumbledore concluded by saying: “The amendments can be found hanging around Hogwarts, as well as in each of the classrooms. You are within your rights, under these amendments, to refuse or object to certain violations of your personal rights. If you have any problems, please report them to Madam McGonagall or myself,” with that Dumbledore and the other teachers filed out of the Great Hall, which signaled that the students should leave and head to their first class of the day.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione all talked with excitement about the new amendments as they walked to Potions, and were brainstorming different ways to get away with things by using the amendments. Their first opportunity presented itself when Professor Snape, in the middle of class, told Ron that because he had been caught talking in class would have to spend twelve hours picking off the rotted leaves of the meat-‐eating flowers in the Herbology ward. Ron exclaimed that that was cruel and unusual punishment for an exceptionally minor mistake on Ron’s part, and he was protected under the 8th amendment. Snape grumbled and complained, but eventually agreed that Ron was correct. Before Ron and his friends could celebrate, however, Snape just told him that detention after school hours would serve just as well, glaring at Ron with a mean smile.
Harry was beginning to wonder about the negative effects of the amendments on the school when in the middle of Defense of the Dark Arts class, Hermione pulled out her wand to magically solve a difficult problem on her paper. Their professor, Remus Lupin, immediately stopped her and told her to put it away, declaring that it was too dangerous to have out in class without permission, and that she could not draw weapons without asking first. Hermione immediately defended herself by pointing to the 2nd amendment, and told Professor Lupin that she was allowed to have it. Unmoved, Lupin swept past Hermione and picked up her wand, and scolded her, telling her that there was an exception to that amendment in school classrooms and government buildings. Hermione was upset and pouted, but eventually got her wand back at the end of class because they were working on confronting Boggarts, which were simulations of their greatest fears. When Neville’s Boggart, a giant spider, appeared, he fainted and fell to the floor. When he awoke a minute later, he got up on his knees and began to pray. The other students gave him weird looks, which upset him.
“I have the freedom of religion under the 1st amendment, leave me alone!” he screamed, his face red with embarrassment. The other students did not want to argue with the authority of these new amendments, so they simply turned their backs and ignored him.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked outside to find their next class, Care of Magical Creatures, which was taught by Hagrid, the Hogwarts groundskeeper and their favorite staff member. They could not find the class sitting outside of Hagrid’s hut, so they started to search around, hoping that Hagrid wouldn’t count them tardy to class. It took a while to find them, but eventually Hermione spotted Hagrid’s gigantic height amongst the trees and saw the rest of their classmates standing in front of him. He held in his hand the leash of a strong and beautiful Hippogriff, a hybrid between an eagle and a horse. As they approached they saw Draco Malfoy, their biggest enemy and meanest bully at Hogwarts, walk aggressively towards the hippogriff. He whipped his arm out as if to pet it forcefully, but the hippogriff drew away from him and clipped him with one of his
claws, leaving a bloody gash to form on his shoulder. Draco immediately took this opportunity to get back at Hagrid and began to yell at him and threaten to tell Dumbledore that he ordered the animal to attack him. Baffled, Hagrid shook his head and told Malfoy not to lie, but instead to go to the nurse’s office and get medical help. Harry and Ron ran ahead of Hermione and push through the crowd of students in time to here Malfoy demand Hagrid to become his slave.
“Why, Mr. Malfoy, haven’t yeh got any manners?” Hagrid grumbled, his words mushy underneath his bushy
beard, “the 13th amendment protects me and all others from yeh wrath, Mr. Malfoy. I can’t be no slave er’ yers.” Draco’s face grew red with rage.
“Fine! If you can’t be my slave, then you have to house my friends and I, and our dementor soldiers to protect us from your evil!” Draco huffed and puffed at him, daring Hagrid to challenge him. Hagrid simply laughed.
“The 3rd amendment counters yer proposal, Mr. Malfoy,” Draco began to sweat from anger, but Hagrid quickly spoke again, “somebody get Malfoy to the nurse, please and thanks.”
A group of massive boys helped Draco up and carried him towards Hogwarts castle, ignoring his whimpers and cries about the pain in his shoulder. Hagrid dismissed the class, telling them to head inside early so that he could find Dumbledore and speak to him. Harry, Hermione, and Ron considered going after him and asking if he needed assistance, but decided that Hagrid should probably handle a serious matter like this on his own. As they turned to head inside, Crabbe and Goyle, Draco Malfoy’s best friends and partners in crime stopped them. Ron and Harry immediately told Hermione to go inside, afraid that they would hurt her. Hermione nodded and promised to return with help, and turned to flee towards the castle.
“What do you want?” asked Harry cautiously, looking at the angry faces of Goyle and Crabbe.
“We’re gonna beat your brains out!” exclaimed Crabbe, cracking his knuckles and rolling his neck. Goyle stood ready beside him, hands clenched.
“Why would you do that?” asked Ron, staring wide-‐eyed at Goyle’s massive body looming over his. He and Harry would have no chance against the two bullies.
“Because it’s fun,” cackled Crabbe, “and because no amendments can save you now!” Crabbe and Goyle began closing in on the two smaller boys when a voice from the top of the hill interrupted them.
“Actually, the 9th amendment protects all personal rights not specifically mentioned in the other amendments, so technically, you could get in a lot of trouble for beating them up!” screamed Hermione from the top of her lungs. Crabbe and Goyle glanced at each other in thought, and before they knew it, Harry and Ron had run half way up the hill to Hermione. Crabbe and Goyle attempted to go after them, but quickly realized they were much too fast. They gave up and were beginning to walk in the other direction when Madam McGonagall’s voice erupted in all of their ears, declaring that all students must report to the loading docks with their permission slips in order to go on the field trip to Hogsmeade. Harry realized that he had forgotten to get his permission slip signed and tried to sneak on with Ron and Hermione, but was caught by Professor Flitwick. The stubby professor ordered Harry to go back to the castle and stay there until the rest of the students and teachers returned. He thought about attempting another escape, but decided against it and turned to go inside. Before he could get too far though, Fred and George, identical twin brothers and older brothers of Ron and Ginny, stopped him and told him they had a surprise for him. They handed him the Marauder’s Map, a secret map that showed the names of everyone person in Hogwarts and where
they were located. They told him to use it with his invisibility cloak and to have fun, because he would be able to get away with anything.
“But,” interrupted George as Fred was telling Harry of whom to spy on, “be careful, because if a teacher catches you in another person’s room without a search warrant, they can arrest you under violation of the 4th amendment.” Harry nodded and told them not to worry. The twins quickly boarded the train after patting Harry on the back, and Harry took off towards his room to find his invisibility cloak. After he found it and put it on, he began to wander the hallways of Hogwarts, wondering what the professors were like when no students were around to watch them. He stumbled upon Dumbledore and Hagrid talking quietly in the hallway, and Harry realized that Hagrid was in tears. He tried to be as quiet as a mouse, and crept up near them in order to hear what they were saying better.
“Don’t worry Hagrid. Even though Mr. Malfoy will be able to try you in court does not mean that you will be found guilty. Plus, under the 6th amendment you have the right to a fair trial by jury, and if you are found innocent Mr. Malfoy cannot charge you or Buckbeak again because of the 5th amendment,” Hagrid seemed unconvinced because he was still crying, so Dumbledore continued, “Just the other day Snape was incorrectly charged with stealing Madam Pomfrey’s owl, and he got a jury even though it was a civil case under the 7th amendment, and he wasn’t even found guilty! I’m sure you’ll be fine Hagrid, you shouldn’t worry so much,” Hagrid nodded weakly, and quietly told Dumbledore that he would pack up his things for his trip to the court house in Diagon Alley. Harry scurried out of the hallway as he heard Dumbledore wish Hagrid good luck.
Harry was very upset about the possibility of Hagrid having to go to prison, so he decided to snoop around in some dorms for a little while to cheer him up. He hoped that he would find some funny objects hidden in students’ rooms that could take his mind off of things. He thought that it would be interesting to visit Draco Malfoy’s dorm since Malfoy was probably stuck in the healing ward. As Harry approached the Slytherin dungeons, he heard muffled laughing and familiar voices down a secluded hallway. When he turned down the hall, he found Blaise Zambini and Theodore Nott, two of Draco’s acquaintances, sipping alcohol in the dark. Harry immediately threw off his invisibility cloak and cast a spell that would light up the room. His presence startled Blaise and Theodore, who shied away from the light.
“The 18th amendment prohibits consumption of alcohol!” Harry exclaimed in a hushed voice, “What do you think you’re doing?”
Blaise was unimpressed. “Maybe so, Potter, but the 21st amendment repealed it,” he laughed, sneering at Harry, hoping to embarrass him. Harry shook his head in fury.
“It doesn’t matter! You’re both under the legal drinking age for wizards,” stated Harry, shaking his fists in the air, “I’m going to tell Dumbledore what I’ve caught you doing.”
In a flurry of motion Harry sped out of the dungeons, racing through the halls with invisibility cloak in his hand and the Marauders’ Map in his robe pocket. He ran through the Hogwarts hallways for what seemed like ages, unable to find Dumbledore or any other teachers to tell about his mishap with Blaise and Theodore. After running for a little while longer, Harry decided to give up since he knew that all of the students would be returning from Hogsmeade very soon. He retired to his room until Ron and Hermione came to get him after their return.
Upon arriving, Harry told Ron and Hermione about the conversation he overheard between Dumbledore and Hagrid. Hermione immediately became upset, while Ron sat shocked and stuffed his face with chips as he thought of what to say. They spent the next few hours trying to think of ways to help Hagrid until they had discovered it was close to dinnertime, and headed out towards the Great Hall.
The Great Hall was packed much like it had been that morning, with students sitting patiently on the benches and talking quietly with their friends. However, the air at this gathering seemed more relaxed, which made the trio of friends feel better. The professors and Headmaster Dumbledore eventually filed in and sat down in their elevated seats. Before long, Dumbledore cleared his throat to get the attention of everyone in the Great Hall.
“Students,” his voice bounced off of the walls, “aside from eating, we have gathered you all here to discuss your feelings on the new amendments. If anyone has any objections to making these a permanent part of Hogwarts, please speak now.” Immediately Draco Malfoy’s hand shot up. Without waiting to be called on, Malfoy stood up and tugged at his tie.
“Excuse me, sir? I object to these amendments. I find them to be even more unfair than the previous rules,” his voice was coated with arrogance, “ and the 10th amendment even says that the ‘government’ should not have too much control,” Malfoy said, smirking with confidence.
Dumbledore responded calmly, with no hint of anger, “Mr. Malfoy, I understand your point. Although you are slightly incorrect on the interpretation of the amendment, what you say is partially true and is applicable. Therefore, we shall have a vote. Each student will vote whether or not to keep or discard the amendments.” All of the students in the Great Hall began to whisper in curiosity.
“That’s perfectly fine,” declared Malfoy, as if he had a say at all, “but only pureblood males should be able to vote, since that’s whom the amendments were written by.”
“Nice try, Mr. Malfoy,” interjected Professor McGonagall, “the 15th and 19th amendments declare that voting is a privilege held by all blood types (races) as well as woman. You may sit down now.” Malfoy sent her a rude glare, but did as he was told.
Within a few minutes the ballots had been magically handed out and all of the students had written down their answers. With a wave of his wand, Dumbledore gathered all of the ballots and magically tallied them until he got the final result.
“The overwhelming majority have voted yes, that Hogwarts should make the amendments a permanent part of our rules,” said Dumbledore with a hint of a smile in his voice.
The students exploded in cheers, and Harry, Hermione, and Ron all hugged each other with excitement. The amendments would forever protect them from the bullying and misfortune that had previously made their school miserable. All was well.
Link to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4mpOY0KWsM Link to biography of J.K. Rowling: http://www.jkrowling.com/en_GB/#/about-‐jk-‐rowling/ Link to background on conflict between Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy, see
