Harry slightly overdid his out of nerves and Ron, who was partnering him, ended up in fits of hysterical laughter and had to be led away to a quiet room for an hour before he was ready to perform the Charm himself. Harry Potter is now in his third year at Hogwarts, the school for wizards and witches. Since there is reason to expect that this person will turn up at Hogwarts, security there is very tight, with all entrances being guarded by Dementors, horrible beings who suck the joy out of existence, leaving only horror and despair. In spite of this situation, school continues to be interesting. Ron has a new wand, and Hermione appears to be taking more courses than are physically possible, but there is a new master of Defense Against the Dark Arts who is both nice and competent, almost compensating for Professor Snape's continued antagonism.
Strange things happen, however - things that, when the mystery is finally resolved, all make sense.
As a story, this volume is more satisfactory than the previous book. The mystery and its clues are well disguised, but loose ends are nicely tied off at the end without too much obvious use of unnecessary coincidence. All in all, a fine continuation of the series, and I look forward to Number Four. Mary Thomas, who works in two Winnipeg elementary school libraries, is wondering how to ration out her few copies of the Harry Potter books. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained.