Video games loosely based on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban were also released for several platforms, and most obtained favourable reviews.

While staying at the Leaky Cauldron inn, Harry is visited by Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge, who warns him about Sirius Black, a mass-murderer who escaped from the wizard prison Azkaban.

During a Care of Magical Creatures lesson with Hagrid, Draco Malfoy is injured after provoking a hippogriff named Buckbeak.

Harry repeatedly faints in the presence of the Dementors, but eventually is taught by Professor Lupin, a new teacher, how to repel them using the Patronus Charm.

When Harry is unable to participate in weekend trips to Hogsmeade Village, Fred and George give him a magical map that shows him how to get there using a secret passage.

As the friends make their way back to the castle, Ron is attacked by a large black dog, which drags him through the passageway leading to Hogsmeade.

Harry and Hermione give chase, and find themselves in the Shrieking Shack, where the dog is revealed to be Black in his Animagus form.

He explains that Scabbers is Peter Pettigrew, who betrayed Harry's parents to Voldemort and framed Black for mass murder.

[14] Gregory Maguire wrote a review in The New York Times for Prisoner of Azkaban: in it he said, "So far, in terms of plot, the books do nothing new, but they do it brilliantly...so far, so good.

"[19] In addition, a Publishers Weekly review said, "Rowling's wit never flags, whether constructing the workings of the wizard world...or tossing off quick jokes...The Potter spell is holding strong".

[20] However, Anthony Holden, who was one of the judges against Prisoner of Azkaban for the Whitbread Award, was negative about the book, saying that the characters are "all black-and-white", and the "story-lines are predictable, the suspense minimal, the sentimentality cloying every page".

[36] Prisoner of Azkaban sold more than 68,000 copies in the UK within three days of publication, which made it the fastest selling British book of the time.

[37] The first UK proof, in purple wrappers, differs from the second in a number of respects, and is thought to have been printed in a small edition of 50 copies.

Accordingly, we have rushed to bring this Advance Reader’s Edition to you as quickly as possible.Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was released in hardcover in the UK on 8 July 1999[38] and in the US on 8 September.

[38] The UK edition was released at the unusually precise time of 3.45pm, so as to avoid children skipping school in order to purchase the book.

[40] Bloomsbury additionally released an adult edition with a different cover design to the original, in paperback on 10 July 2004[41] and in hardcover in October 2004.

[44] Beginning on 27 August 2013, Scholastic will release new covers for the paperback editions of Harry Potter in the United States to celebrate 15 years of the series.

[47] The film version of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was released in 2004 and was directed by Alfonso Cuarón from a screenplay by Steve Kloves.