Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: Chapters 10–13

by J.K. Rowling
As he begins his third year at Hogwarts, Harry learns that the notorious Sirius Black has escaped from prison — and might be after Harry. Learn these words from the third novel in J.K. Rowling's wildly popular fantasy series.

Here are links to our other lists for the book: Chapters 1–5, Chapters 6–9, Chapters 10–13, Chapters 14–17, Chapters 18–22

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. fatal
    bringing death
    The fact remained, however, that it had now appeared twice, and both appearances had been followed by near-fatal accidents; the first time, he had nearly been run over by the Knight Bus; the second, fallen fifty feet from his broomstick. Was the Grim going to haunt him until he actually died?
  2. humiliate
    cause to feel shame
    Harry felt sick and humiliated every time he thought of them. Everyone said the dementors were horrible, but no one else collapsed every time they went near one. No one else heard echoes in their head of their dying parents.
  3. despair
    the feeling that nothing will turn out well
    Dementors are among the foulest creatures that walk this earth. They infest the darkest, filthiest places, they glory in decay and despair, they drain peace, hope, and happiness out of the air around them.
  4. incapable
    not having the temperament or inclination for
    “The fortress is set on a tiny island, way out to sea, but they don’t need walls and water to keep the prisoners in, not when they’re all trapped inside their own heads, incapable of a single cheerful thought. Most of them go mad within weeks.”
  5. drain
    make weak
    Black must have found a way to fight them. I wouldn’t have believed it possible...Dementors are supposed to drain a wizard of his powers if he is left with them too long.
  6. minuscule
    very small
    It was a map showing every detail of the Hogwarts castle and grounds. But the truly remarkable thing were the tiny ink dots moving around it, each labeled with a name in minuscule writing.
  7. apprehensive
    in fear or dread of possible evil or harm
    The map went blank at once. He folded it carefully, tucked it inside his robes, then, heart beating fast, both excited and apprehensive, he set off.
  8. advisable
    worthy of being recommended or suggested; prudent or wise
    Customers are reminded that until further notice, dementors will be patrolling the streets of Hogsmeade every night after sundown. This measure has been put in place for the safety of Hogsmeade residents and will be lifted upon the recapture of Sirius Black. It is therefore advisable that you complete your shopping well before nightfall.
  9. exceptional
    surpassing what is common or usual or expected
    “Black and Potter. Ringleaders of their little gang. Both very bright, of course—exceptionally bright, in fact—but I don’t think we’ve ever had such a pair of troublemakers—”
  10. inseparable
    not capable of being split
    “You’d have thought Black and Potter were brothers!” chimed in Professor Flitwick. “Inseparable!”
  11. torment
    make suffer emotionally or mentally
    “Potter trusted Black beyond all his other friends. Nothing changed when they left school. Black was best man when James married Lily. Then they named him godfather to Harry. Harry has no idea, of course. You can imagine how the idea would torment him.”
  12. divulge
    make known to the public information previously kept secret
    The information is hidden inside the chosen person, or Secret-Keeper, and is henceforth impossible to find—unless, of course, the Secret-Keeper chooses to divulge it. As long as the Secret-Keeper refused to speak, You-Know-Who could search the village where Lily and James were staying for years and never find them, not even if he had his nose pressed against their sitting room window!
  13. traitor
    a person who says one thing and does another
    “He was sure that somebody close to the Potters had been keeping You-Know-Who informed of their movements,” said Professor McGonagall darkly. “Indeed, he had suspected for some time that someone on our side had turned traitor and was passing a lot of information to You-Know-Who.”
  14. grief
    intense sorrow caused by loss of a loved one
    “It was not we who found him. It was little Peter Pettigrew—another of the Potters’ friends. Maddened by grief, no doubt, and knowing that Black had been the Potters’ Secret-Keeper, he went after Black himself.”
  15. smithereens
    a collection of small fragments considered as a whole
    And then he went for his wand. Well, of course, Black was quicker. Blew Pettigrew to smithereens.
  16. enforcement
    ensuring observance of or obedience to
    Nobody but trained Hit Wizards from the Magical Law Enforcement Squad would have stood a chance against Black once he was cornered.
  17. catastrophe
    an event resulting in great loss and misfortune
    I was Junior Minister in the Department of Magical Catastrophes at the time, and I was one of the first on the scene after Black murdered all those people.
  18. eventual
    expected to follow in the indefinite future
    “I daresay that is his—er—eventual plan,” said Fudge evasively. “But we hope to catch Black long before that. I must say, You-Know-Who alone and friendless is one thing...but give him back his most devoted servant, and I shudder to think how quickly he’ll rise again..."
  19. betray
    deliver to an enemy by treachery
    And if you’d heard your mum screaming like that, just about to be killed, you wouldn’t forget it in a hurry. And if you found out someone who was supposed to be a friend of hers betrayed her and sent Voldemort after her—
  20. affected
    influenced
    Black isn’t affected by Azkaban like normal people are. It’s not a punishment for him like it is for the others.
  21. liberty
    personal freedom from servitude or confinement or oppression
    All he knew was that the idea of doing nothing, while Black was at liberty, was almost more than he could stand.
  22. berate
    censure severely or angrily
    Ron and Hermione looked quickly at Harry, as though expecting him to start berating Hagrid for not telling him the truth about Black. But Harry couldn’t bring himself to do it, not now that he saw Hagrid so miserable and scared.
  23. leech
    draw blood
    “Think that matters to them? They don’ care. Long as they’ve got a couple o’ hundred humans stuck there with ’em, so they can leech all the happiness out of ’em, they don’ give a damn who’s guilty an’ who’s not.”
  24. confiscate
    take temporary possession of a security by legal authority
    “I haven’t got it anymore. It was confiscated.”
  25. jinx
    an evil spell
    And he explained all about how the Firebolt was now being checked for jinxes.
  26. quality
    of superior grade
    “But Black couldn’t have bought a Firebolt! He’s on the run! The whole country’s on the lookout for him! How could he just walk into Quality Quidditch Supplies and buy a broomstick?”
  27. projection
    the representation of a figure or solid on a plane
    The Patronus is a kind of positive force, a projection of the very things that the dementor feeds upon—hope, happiness, the desire to survive—but it cannot feel despair, as real humans can, so the dementors can’t hurt it.
  28. feeble
    pathetically lacking in force or effectiveness
    Several sessions on, he was able to produce an indistinct, silvery shadow every time the boggart-dementor approached him, but his Patronus was too feeble to drive the dementor away.
  29. utterly
    completely and without qualification
    “They call it the Dementor’s Kiss,” said Lupin, with a slightly twisted smile. “It’s what dementors do to those they wish to destroy utterly. I suppose there must be some kind of mouth under there, because they clamp their jaws upon the mouth of the victim and—and suck out his soul.”
  30. fate
    an event that will inevitably happen in the future
    “It’s the fate that awaits Sirius Black. It was in the Daily Prophet this morning. The Ministry have given the dementors permission to perform it if they find him.”
  31. evidence
    means by which an alleged matter is established or disproved
    Personally, Harry was sure that Crookshanks had eaten Scabbers, and when he tried to point out to Hermione that the evidence all pointed that way, she lost her temper with Harry too.
  32. outstrip
    go far ahead of
    Harry turned and raced a Bludger toward the goal posts; he outstripped it easily, saw the Snitch dart out from behind Wood, and within ten seconds had caught it tightly in his hand.
  33. acceleration
    the act of increasing the speed
    “Show her your acceleration, Harry!” Fred yelled as he whooshed past in pursuit of a Bludger that was aiming for Alicia.
  34. quarry
    animal hunted or caught for food
    He was walking through a forest, his Firebolt over his shoulder, following something silvery-white. It was winding its way through the trees ahead, and he could only catch glimpses of it between the leaves. Anxious to catch up with it, he sped up, but as he moved faster, so did his quarry.
  35. bate
    moderate or restrain; lessen the force of
    Glaring suspiciously at Ron, Professor McGonagall pushed the portrait back open and went outside. The whole common room listened with bated breath.
Created on Fri Aug 04 11:15:58 EDT 2017 (updated Tue Aug 01 14:40:54 EDT 2023)

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