The Leaky Cauldron (PA)

From UnknowableWiki

(Redirected from PA4)

Several The Monster Book of Monsters books locked in a cage, at Flourish and Blotts.

The Leaky Cauldron is the fourth chapter of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

Freedom

Harry Potter is happily enjoying the freedom of not being stuck in number four, Privet Drive for the rest of the summer. He has given his word to Fudge that he would not leave Diagon Alley (PA3), and he feels no desire to do so. He eats breakfast every day at the Leaky Cauldron, and spends his day exploring the shops in the Alley. He does his homework in Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour, with the occasional help from Florean himself, who gives Harry free sundaes every half-hour.

Once Harry refills his money back at Gringotts, he has a hard time not spending it all, especially on the Firebolt. A prototype of the world's best racing broom is displayed at Quality Quidditch Supplies ("Price on request"). The shop owner announces that the Irish International Side has put an order for seven Firebolts, and that they are favourites for the Quidditch World Cup (GF8).

Harry goes to the apothecary to restock on Potions ingredients, to Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions to buy new robes, and to Flourish and Blotts to buy textbooks. He is surprised to see a cage full of copies of The Monster Book of Monsters ripping each other's pages out. The manager is relieved to find out Harry already owns a copy of the Care of Magical Creatures set book (PA1); he was bitten five times already this morning.

Beating the books with a walking stick, the manager says that he never intends on stocking the books again; it is even worse than the occasion in which he bought two hundred expensive copies of The Invisible Book of Invisibility and was never able to find them. Harry buys Unfogging the Future by Cassandra Vablatsky for Divination, Intermediate Transfiguration and The Standard Book of Spells, Grade Three. The boy catches a glimpse of Death Omens: What to Do When You Know the Worst Is Coming, and realises that the huge black dog on the cover is strangely familiar (PA3).

He dazedly returns to the Leaky Cauldron, trying to convince himself that the dog he saw in Magnolia Crescent was not a death omen. Looking at his reflection in the mirror, he automatically tries to flatten his unruly hair. The mirror says in a wheezy voice, "You're fighting a losing battle there, dear."

This chapter summary is not done yet. Please be patient.

Trivia

The Leaky Cauldron has some interesting guests:

Some elderly and venerable-looking wizards discussing the latest article in Transfiguration Today;
A witch who looks very much like a hag orders a plate of raw liver from behind a thick woolen balaclava;
Wild-looking warlocks; and
Raucous dwarfs.

Several interesting items can be bought in the shops, of course, such as:

A lunascope ("It's a lunascope, old boy — no more messing around with moon charts, see?");
A set of solid gold Gobstones;
A moving model of the galaxy in a glass ball.