Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban: All Deleted Scenes, Ranked

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is the third entry in the series, releasing in 2004 after the big box office successes that were The Sorcerer’s Stone and The Chamber Of Secrets. Like it’s predecessors it was also immensely popular, with only Shrek 2 bettering it that year. It was also the darkest blockbuster involving Harry to date, with the Boy Who Lived having to contend with the escape of Sirius Black from Azkaban – as if his life wasn’t stressful enough.

The movie, as with all titles in the series, had a few deleted scenes cut from it. The previous movie had a huge 14 deleted scenes to look at but this one has just five. However, we’ll be taking a look at what the DVD and Blu-Ray editions have to offer and will rank all cut moments from worst to best.

5 The Flying Bird

Rubeus Hagrid, like Harry himself, also has a lot on his mind during the events of The Prisoner of Azkaban. It’s revealed early on in the movie that he’ll be replacing Professor Merrythought as Care of Magical Creatures teacher, allowing the retiring Hogwarts man to spend ‘more time with his remaining limbs’. It’s a huge moment for Hagrid, who had only been accused of opening the Chamber of Secrets mere months previously.

But his time as Hogwarts teacher doesn’t get off to the best of starts. Draco Malfoy, somewhat typically, goes out of his way to make the half-giant’s life a living misery. His hippogriff Buckbeak is provoked into attacking the Slytherin student and is then consequently sentenced to death, with the Ministry of Magic dispatching Death Eater Walden MacNair to get the job done.

However, Hagrid nearly has to put up with a bird attack as well. There’s a deleted scene that involves a bird flying into him, causing him to exclaim in shock before it then flies away. It comes bottom of the list because it’s utterly pointless, merely slowing down the pace of the movie.

4 The Shrunken Head

Early on in the third movie and book, Harry is forced to go on the run when he inflates his Aunt Marge. He does this as a consequence of her provoking him, making nasty comments about his deceased parents Lily and James while Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and Dudley all lap it up.

Harry, during this time, falls over his trunk after seeing a giant black dog staring at him through the bushes. It’s at this time he accidentally flags down the Knight Bus, driven by Ernie Prang with Stan Shunpike introducing himself as the conductor. Together, they help get the Boy Who Lived to the Leaky Cauldron in London. Once there, he then meets Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge – who pardons him for attacking Marge so he can be kept safe at Hogwarts while Sirius is on the run.

Had no scenes been cut, Harry’s time on the Knight Bus would have been even more amusing. There’s a deleted moment that shows Harry screaming and holding on while Stan and Ernie attempt to get the vehicle under control. The Shrunken Head barks directions at the pair, which only adds to the craziness going on. It would have been higher on this list if it hadn’t been so insignificant in the grand scheme of things.

3 Meeting Sir Cadogan

Near the halfway point in the Prisoner of Azkaban, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley return from visiting nearby wizarding village Hogsmeade. Their high spirits soon vanish, though, when it’s revealed Sirius Black has attempted to break into Gryffindor Tower – despite being the most-wanted man on the planet. It’s a moment that spreads fear throughout the school and students are forced to sleep in the Great Hall for the night while their dormitories are searched by a combination of teachers at the school and Aurors for the Ministry of Magic.

The Fat Lady gives a harrowing account of the attack, revealing how Sirius lunged at her portrait with a knife when he wasn’t allowed into Gryffindor Tower. What the movie doesn’t explain, though, is what happens to her afterward. It’s a different story in the book, though, and there’s a deleted scene straight from the source material.

It shows Harry, Ron, Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnigan, and Neville Longbottom all meeting the hapless Sir Cadogan for the first time. The knight is a nuisance in the book, changing passwords with annoying frequency and challenging students to fight him whenever they cross his path. The scene is only brief but it would have been good to see Cadogan, despite his annoying nature.

2 Ron And Hermione Talking About Hogsmeade

Harry, unfortunately, isn’t allowed to go to Hogsmeade during his third year at Hogwarts. This is because he blew up his Aunt Marge before getting Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia to sign his permission slip. Minerva McGonagall suggests he’d normally be able to go anyway (especially with such horrible relatives) but, with Sirius Black on the loose, they decide it’s best to keep the Boy Who Lived at Hogwarts for his own safekeeping.

And, in a deleted scene from the DVD and Blu-Ray editions, there’s a moment where Hermione and Ron talk about Hogsmeade. They gush over Honeydukes sweetshop, wax lyrical over the Three Broomsticks pub, and also reference Zonko’s Joke Shop and Dervish and Banges, two more shops that sit on the high street.

The reason this gets the silver medal is it would have been good to find out more about Hogsmeade. Fans of solely the movies know about the Three Broomsticks and Honeydukes but, aside from a brief mention of Zonko’s by Remus Lupin, very little else. It would have been good to know there’s far more in the village than just a pub or two. Alas, the information was ultimately deemed too insignificant to dwell upon.

1 The Fallout From Sirius Black’s Attack

Taking the gold medal is a deleted scene that gives fans a glimpse of the fallout from Sirius Black’s unsuccessful attack on Gryffindor Tower. In the movie, after the students of Hogwarts are told they have to sleep in the Great Hall, we’re immediately moved forward. There’s no mention of what happened when they actually returned to their dormitories that night.

However, the final deleted scene does exactly this. After the attack, Gryffindor students return to their common room where Minerva McGonagall is waiting for them. Now, in this version of the movie, it appears Sir Cadogan was actually in the portrait instead of the Fat Lady. And he allowed Sirius entry because he had the password, which he’d swiped from Neville Longbottom after he’d left them lying around.

All of this happens in the books and, therefore, should have been included in the real thing. What also makes the scene so good is that it shows how Ron blames Hermione’s pet, Crookshanks, for the disappearance of Scabbers the Rat. This would have added more foreshadowing to the big reveal that Scabbers is actually Peter Pettigrew, and that Crookshanks was in league with Sirius from the beginning. The latter was never actually revealed, however, which feels like a big missed opportunity.