In 1999, JK Rowling published her third book in the Harry Potter series, which became a worldwide success. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is the third book in a series of seven, and although it is not the middle book of the series, there is a certain twist in the third novel and the series becomes darker and more serious. The themes of this novel are more serious than the previous novels, some of the most important ones being deception, time, good versus evil, and compassion/forgiveness. The characters grow up a bit and begin to face issues that older generations can relate to. The Prisoner of Azkaban has many biblical allusions hidden in plain sight throughout its 435 pages. The events and characters of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban have many allusions to the biblical story of Jesus' betrayal and crucifixion on the cross. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay What are the biblical allusions in the Harry Potter stories? In the third Harry Potter novel, Harry receives information that an escaped prisoner, Sirius Black, is accused of killing James and Lily Potter is hunting him down to kill him. At the end of the story, it is revealed to Harry that Sirius is his godfather, and was also the original secret keeper of James and Lily's whereabouts. However, Sirius did not believe he was suited to this responsibility, and the job was given to Peter Pettigrew. When James and Lily died, it was because Peter betrayed his best friends and told Voldemort where their secret location was so they could be killed. This story is a biblical allusion to the story of Jesus' betrayal. At the Last Supper, Jesus confides to his Apostles that that same night he would be betrayed by one of them. A few hours later, while Jesus and his apostles pray on the Mount of Olives, Judas approaches with the soldiers, kisses Jesus and in turn betrays him to the high priest. Jesus was then sentenced to death and was killed on the cross. These two stories have many similarities that directly parallel them to each other. Peter Pettigrew and Judas were both responsible for protecting the secret of their friends' whereabouts. However, both of them deceived their friends and revealed the information for their own good. Peter betrayed James and Giglio out of fear, Judas betrayed Jesus out of greed. At first, Peter was fighting Voldemort with the good guys, but as Voldemort began to become more powerful, Peter began to believe that good could not defeat evil and that it would be better to join the dark side in the interests of his own. life. Peter says, “The Dark Lord…he-he has weapons you can't imagine…he was taking over everywhere…w-what was there to gain by rejecting him” (page 374)? He chose the death of his friends over his own, which is the ultimate act of betrayal. Furthermore, Judas betrayed Jesus because there was a monetary reward for turning him over to the chief priests. Matthew 25:16 states, “And he said unto them, What ye shall give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they made a covenant with him for thirty pieces of silver. Judas revealed the secret location of Jesus for only 30 pieces, proving that the main reason for his betrayal was greed for money. This biblical allusion shows that Judas is the parallel of Peter Pettigrew, and Jesus is the parallel of James and Lily. Peter Pettigrew fully represents Judas; and although the reasons for the betrayal were different, in the long run their actions were very similar. After Judas betrays Jesus, he is consumed by guilt and hangs himself. Similarly, in the seventh novel Peter begins to feel what seems like a shadow of guilt or duty, and he strangles himself. While Judas and Peter become incarnate.