Religious symbolism is prevalent throughout the Harry Potter series. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban plot had a very similar to certain passages in the Bible. The betrayal and the trial of Jesus Christ mirror many characters’ own trials and unfairness that is their justice system during the course of the book. The tale of betrayal never gets old, but where do we draw the line on when history repeats itself? If we had the ability to go back in time and change it, would we want to have that ability, that life-altering decision? The Ministry of Magic seems to have ever-changing policies about the laws and regulations of the wizarding world. Harry Potter becomes agitated with Aunt Marge because she insulted his deceased parents. He inflates her to the size of a sumo wrestler; she is shot into the sky, and eventually found in a field. The Ministry gives Harry Potter no punishment and laughs it off because he is young. Corruption of the Ministry of Magic could be used as a metaphor of the High Priests during Jesus’s time. The High Priests are supposed to be men of God and are set to a higher moral code. They chose to act against Jesus because it endangered their way of life. The High Priests will do what it takes to get what/whom they want. The Ministry is motivated to protect and preserve their investors and aristocrats’ interests. That is shown in action when Lucius Malfoy throws a fit about a beast “attacking” his son. There are many falsely accused persons in the third book. James and Lilly come to mind because of the Dursleys and other relatives that come to visit to speak ill notions and lies. The Dursleys want to seem as normal as possible; they don’t want a bad reputation anywhere. They would rather live in a on a denial island than face their own reality. Maybe that’s why they treat Harry so horribly. He is a reminder of an imperfection in their lives they can’t hide or erase. It could be suggested that Harry is the reason everyone is on edge about everything, all the time. They are so afraid of what he could potentially do; they lock away all his happiness. A personal observation of mine is that each time they lock away his things and happiness; they are throwing their own happiness away as well instead of embracing who Harry truly is. Sirius is the main accused character in this book. They had sentenced him to Azkaban without a trial. He allegedly killed a man named, Peter Pettigrew only leaving a finger behind in his wake. Killing anyone is an obscene offense in society. In contrast, Buckbeak, an animal, had a trial and was unanimously convicted and sentenced to death. The fact that an animal, who was acting on instinct because it was being bothered, and a human being who was clearly innocent was sentenced to live out eternity in a cell is sickening. Professor Lupin had a history with Harry’s father, Sirius, and Peter. They were all best friends throughout school and there was a betrayal amongst them. As stated before, it was determined that Sirius had killed Peter, but it was Peter who made the ultimate betrayal. Just as Crookshanks was accused of chasing after Scabbers because he was a cat and Scabbers was a mouse proves that everything is not what it seems nor is it ever normal in the world of magic. Judas betrayed Jesus in a similar fashion. The question remains if Peter even had a choice in the matter to betray or not to betray his friends. Psychologically, he saw a threat that would endanger his well-being and had two options to pick from. He chose not to bear the cross he should have if he was a true friend. He chose to run away and hide rather than to stand fight for the greater good so his friends could live another day, but still in hiding as a lowly rat that has rested in Ron’s arms for twelve years at this point in time. Does his animagi tell something about his true nature? I personally think so. Most people choose their favorite animals when they are young, mostly girls, on how cute it is, if it’s fluffy, etc. People in their adult life, would pick something that fit their personality more, their true essence in animal form. If this logic was applied, Peter could have always been a rat, in two different meanings. Was he predestined for this path of destruction and disloyalty to those he cared for the most? There are those in our lives we care deeply for, but how far are people willing to go to look after the people they love? Perhaps our destinies change when our priorities do. Sirius said he would have rather died than to be a coward like Peter. He would have chosen to end his legacy right there, unlike Peter. Peter made that only choice Peter thought was logical. His loyalty was to himself and to no one else. Evil and dark thoughts had consumed his mind even though people had pegged him a clear and innocent. He was two shades of the same face and had to make a judgment of himself.
Another example of an accused criminal is good-natured Professor Lupin. He is an excellent teacher, but with a sickly disease. Sirius risks his life to save him from the transformation and ultimately fails. He defends Harry and his friends by transforming to his animagi, a black dog. Lupin was accused by Snape of letting in Sirius, a crazed murderer at the time as everyone didn’t know the truth. Honestly, I don’t know if the allusions serve a purpose. The allusions could be a part the reader being familiar with the structure with the story. Good versus evil, a good guy turns bad, etc. As humans, we go with what we can adapt to in our environment. Do I think J.K. Rowling put these allusions in the book for a purpose? Yes, I do think she did that for a purpose. They not only connect the book together, but connect to the other books and mirror them in some ways as well. Imaginably, there was more than one Jesus in this story. Sirius had been falsely accused and still played into his character of a crazed mad man fittingly. Buckbeak accepted his fate as well, he didn’t try to stop it, and he knows he couldn’t. He did not try to repent nor was himself clean. How could he? He’s an animal, all knows is his animal things he does and nothing more. I have another theory that Peter Pettigrew is Judas, that’s obvious, but could also be Peter; one of Jesus’s disciples. Peter denied Jesus three times. Peter denied his friends when he first betrayed them. He denied them the second time because of the prophecy that was foretold, and he will deny them again in the later books.
Do you think they characters would change history if they had the chance to at this point? Especially Harry, he has lost so much and most people wouldn’t want to go on. I think, if he could, he would take back the time turner to see his parents, not interfere, but just to see them doing something they would normally do. He wouldn’t want to mess with magic as precious as time. If he changes one detail, it could mess up his entire life. It could change his destiny, could face a worse reality than the one he already did and still remember everything from the one before. He could face a destiny he might not be able to face.