I mean, I got to see Hogwarts Castle:
Walk through its halls and see the Sorting Hat...
I went to Honeydukes and bought a Chocolate Frog, had fish and chips at The Three Broomsticks...
...And of course, what's a trip to Hogsmeade without some delicious Butterbeer!
I also got quite a few souvenirs, including this bad-ass Ravenclaw cup that I am IN LOVE with.
It was all in all an amazing day, and even though I only visited the Hogsmeade branch of the park (Diagon Alley hadn't opened yet), I found myself craving to be in that world again, with those characters, even after I'd left the park. So, once I got back to Kansas and began suffering not only post-vacation withdrawals but post-Potter withdrawals, I decided to pick up one of the books and start reading. Since I had Hogsmeade on the brain after visiting the park, I felt that Harry's thrid adventure, PRISONER OF AZKABAN, made the most sense.
First of all, let me just say how much I love this cover. All of the new covers are just so fresh and beautiful (not throwing any shade to the classic covers, still love those!). I actually received the box set of the entire series with these new covers for Christmas last year--just another reason to get back into the series.
It's been a LONG time since I read POA for the first time. Like, third-grade-long-time. I distinctly remember sitting in Ms. Rust's classroom--Ms. Rust and Mrs. Thacker had decided to switch classes that day, for whatever reason--reading the part where Hermione has Harry's new Firebolt broomstick confiscated because she thinks it was sent to him by mass murderer Sirius Black. I remembered how much I enjoyed it then, and POA has always been one of my favorite of the movie adaptations, so I was very excited to dive back into Harry's third year of maps, boggarts, and dementors.
Like pretty much everyone who loves this series can tell you, time away from it or "growing up" doesn't cause one to grow out of this series. Despite the decade-gap in reading it the first time and re-reading it now, I had a blast re-reading POA; since it had been so long since reading it before, it almost felt like I was experiencing the book for the first time. I've seen the movie so many times over the years (POA came out 10 YEARS AGO this summer. 10 years!), so of course I knew how and when things were going to happen, but it didn't take away from the thrill of going through it again thanks to J.K. Rowling's wonderful storytelling skills.
Re-reading POA demonstrated to me once again how much better books are compared to their movie counterparts. While I adore each and every HP film in its own way and have a specific soft spot for POA, revisiting the story via book form showed me some key things the movie left out or switched around. They aren't huge omissions, but I felt they would've been nice to see on the big screen:
1. The Firebolt subplot: In the film, we don't see the Firebolt until the very end, when Harry receives it from Sirius at the end of the year. In the book, Harry receives the Firebolt in the middle of the book, soon after his Nimbus Two-Thousand is destroyed by the Whomping Willow. Then comes the whole confiscating situation that I mentioned above; Hermione turning in Harry's gift to McGonagall to check for jinxes puts a rift between the three friends that I found to be interesting to read. I understand it was probably cut out to tighten the main plot for moviegoers, but it would've been fun to see nonetheless. It widens the gap of friendship more so to Ron and Hermione, who have already been at odds over Hermione's new cat, Crookshanks, trying to kill Ron's rat, Scabbers. Which brings me to the second point...
2. Crookshanks: Hermione's cat is, well, just a cat in the movie, but in the book he proves to be so much more. In the book's climax Crookshanks proves to be just as important as any human character, a smart animal who has been working with Sirius Black to try and capture Scabbers the rat, a.k.a Peter Pettigrew the Traitor. He wasn't trying to kill Scabbers simply due to animal instinct; he was fighting for the Greater Good. It may have been stretching it to cast Crookshanks in this light for the film, especially with Potterheads who haven't read the books, but as I like to say...READ THE BOOK FIRST!
3. The Whomping Willow and its ties to Lupin: Much like the Crookshanks situation above, this is another point of the book I had forgotten. Once Harry and the gang are confronted by Black and Lupin in the Shrieking Shack, Lupin lays in on a story that connects him to the lethal tree's origins: As a werewolf in hiding, Lupin needed an isolated place to stay when he transformed as not to hurt anyone while in wolf form, so Dumbledore planted the Willow to prevent anyone from taking the tunnel to the Shack where Lupin stayed during the transformations. I found this to be so fascinating, and when I re-read it, wished this tidbit had made it into the movie. Once again, I'm sure time constraints had a lot to do with it, but I think any fan of HP wouldn't have objected to a few extra minutes for this explanation. I feel bad for all those who are just movie fans, who only see the Whomping Willow as an annoying tree that gets in the way. It has feelings, and its own backstory, to boot.
4. Sirius's Hogwarts Break-ins: In the film we are treated to the Fat Lady scene, which plays out in the book pretty much like it does on screen. However, Black makes a second, more successful attempt at breaking into Gryfinndor Tower about midway in the novel, stealing the password and sneaking up to the boys' dormitory, where he is seen standing over Ron's bed before escaping once more to avoid capture. As a reader this definitely added another layer of suspense to the "Black is a dangerous murderer" subplot, and a scene like this would've worked pretty damn well in the film, I think.
There are other things they twisted around in the film, but this isn't meant to be a critique of the film. Like I said, I enjoyed POA the movie very much and think it's a visually stunning piece of work on its own. Reading the book, though, you find yourself getting to know more about these characters than you ever could with the film, namely Black and Lupin. Their friendship, as well as their past friendship with Harry's late father, is more explained and three-dimensional on page, specifically the whole Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs aspect. This past friendship proves to be more important in later books than later movies, and it was great to get that refresher as a reader and that added depth to these characters.
A few other quick bullet points worth sharing with you all...
*Does anyone else imagine the Dumbledore from the first 2 films, played by the late Richard Harris, when reading the books? I enjoyed Michael Gambon's Dumbledore and the youthful energy he brings to the character in the later films, but I can't get that image of Dumbledore being extremely old out of my head. Maybe it's because Gambon looks younger compared to Harris, and book-Dumbledore may-or-may-not-be over 100 years old.
*I'd forgotten that Snape's "insufferable know-it-all" line to Hermione was in the book too; it being one of my favorite lines from the movie, I was happy to see it originate on the page. Hermione, I love ya, girl, but no one can deny the snark in Snape's comeback. Also, I liked that Ron defended Hermione in the book at this part as opposed to just agreeing with Snape like he does in the film. It makes their future union more believable.
*McGonagall throws some major shade at Professor Trelawney in this book and her psychic abilities. "But surely you already knew that, Sybil?" LOL.
*Hermione's boggart is McGonagall telling her she's failed at her classes. Again, LOL.
Before I sign off, here's another HP-related gem via Buzzfeed. This guy is watching the films for the first time, and he just published his POA play-by-play, which is appropriate to post here, obviously. It's LOL-worthy and worth the read/viewing:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/danieldalton/why-so-sirius
As you can probably tell, I loved re-reading POA. I hadn't intended to do so this summer, but my heart led me one way, and I don't regret for a second that I put quite a few books I intended to read aside in order to tag along with Harry and Co. once more. I took longer reading this book than I should have, but I just couldn't bring myself to end it so quickly. The act of reading this book in this series that I have loved almost my whole life simply solidified my love for all things Harry. And whether it be through the page, the screen, or the park, it won't be the last time I revisit this world.
--Dustin
@DustinVann
