Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban attacked by a big black dog, which Harry has seen several times before. The dog drags Ron through a tunnel under the Whomping Willow into the Shrieking Shack. Harry and Hermione follow, and there is a brief standoff when they find Ron with Sirius Black, who has transformed from the dog. Lupin enters, and they explain the situation to Harry and his friends: Lupin is a werewolf, which led to his friends James Potter, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew becoming animagi. Lupin explains that Scabbers is Pettigrew in his animal form; he has been hiding from Black, whom he had
Religious debates over the Harry Potter series a second letter, the cardinal gave the author permission to make his first letter public. These letters from Ratzinger prior to his elevation to the papacy have been used to suggest that the pontiff was officially opposed to the novels. Criticism against the books also comes from one of the official exorcists of the Archdiocese of Rome, Gabriele Amorth, who believes that, "Behind Harry Potter hides the signature of the king of the darkness, the devil." He further told the "Daily Mail" that the books make a false distinction between black and white magic, while, in reality, the distinction "does