Third year

A Third Year is a student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry who is in their third year of magical education. Third Years are typically 13 to 14 years of age. The third year is an important one for students, as it is the first year that they are permitted to sit elective courses. Each student in their third year must select at least two elective courses to pursue in addition to the core classes. Third year classes consist of Potions, Herbology, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, History of Magic, Astronomy, Charms, and two or more electives.

Electives
Students have to do two or more electives during this year. The List of Electives is so: It teaches methods of divining the future, or gathering insights into future events, through various rituals and tools. The magic taught in this class, as well as the ability to say prophetic things is a branch of magic referred to as "divination." It is apparently a more accurate (or at least more accepted) way of predicting the future, similar to an obscure but existing hobby of numerology - the belief that number patterns existing in real life can be calculated to give information regarding the future. Ancient Runes is a mostly theoretical subject that studies the ancient runic scripts of magic. In the class, students learn about a wide range of magical creatures, from flobberworms to Fire crabs, and even unicorns and thestrals. Students are taught about feeding, maintaining, breeding, and proper treatment of these various creatures.
 * Divination
 * Arithmancy
 * Study of Ancient Runes
 * Care of Magical Creatures

It is exactly what the name implies - the study of the daily lives of Muggles and how they cope with not being magical.
 * Muggle Studies

Hogsmeade
Hogsmeade weekend trips are special trips that the students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry can take on certain weekends to Hogsmeade village. Only third year students and above are allowed to go with the permission of a parent or guardian.

Harry's third year (1993-1994)
Main articles: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and 1993-1994 school year

There are a few changes at Hogwarts as Harry begins his third year. For one, Hermione Granger is taking nearly twice as many classes, including some taught at the same time. In addition, 2 new wizards join the staff: Professor Remus Lupin for Defence Against the Dark Arts and Rubeus Hagrid for Care of Magical Creatures. While Lupin's lessons are enjoyable, Hagrid's soon become dreary. During the first class, Draco Malfoy deliberately provokes the hippogriff Buckbeak, a half-horse, half-bird creature, into attacking him. Draco's father, Lucius Malfoy, files a complaint against Hagrid.

Rising tensions
Because Sirius Black is still at large, Dementors, the inhuman Azkaban prison guards, patrol the school. Dementors drain happiness from anything they approach, though they tend to choose human emotions over those of animals. Harry is particularly affected, and Professor Lupin teaches him the Patronus charm that repels them after several Dementors approach Harry during a Quidditch match, causing him to faint and fall off his broomstick. Albus Dumbledore stops Harry's fall, but his Nimbus 2000 flies into the Whomping Willow and is destroyed, much to Harry's dismay.

Meanwhile, tension grows between Hermione and Ron because Hermione's cat, Crookshanks, continually torments Ron's rat, Scabbers. At Christmas, Harry receives a new, superb Firebolt broomstick, although Hermione suspects Black is the anonymous donor. She reports it to Professor Minerva McGonagall, who confiscates the broom for testing. Harry and Ron are furious with Hermione and they stop speaking to her. When the broom is returned some months later, the two boys try to make up with Hermione, but it goes wrong when Ron discovers Scabbers is missing; Ron blames Crookshanks because he found cat hairs and blood on his dormitory floor.

Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, & Prongs
Shortly before Christmas, the Weasley twins give Harry their Marauder's Map, a magical document that shows every person's location within Hogwarts as well as secret passageways in and out of the castle. Harry uses a tunnel to sneak into Hogsmeade village where he overhears a disturbing conversation that Black was his parents' best friend and is his godfather and legal guardian. He was the Potters' Secret Keeper and he supposedly divulged the Potters' secret whereabouts to Lord Voldemort and murdered their friend Peter Pettigrew, as well as the 12 Muggle bystanders. Peter left a finger to prove that he has been killed with the 12 Muggles.

After Harry completes his Divination Exam, Professor Trelawney enters a trance and predicts that the Dark Lord's servant will return to him that night. Harry and Ron finally make peace with Hermione, but the trio soon learn that Buckbeak will be executed. When they visit Hagrid to console him, Scabbers appears, and Ron picks him up. Cornelius Fudge, Albus Dumbledore and the executioner are making their way to Hagrid's hut, and Harry, Ron and Hermione make their way out the back door. As they are walking up the path, they hear Buckbeak executed, when all of a sudden, Scabbers bites Ron, and Ron chases him to the Whomping Willow. A large dog attacks Ron and drags him and Scabbers into a hole at the tree's base. Harry and Hermione follow, finding a tunnel leading to the Shrieking Shack. Inside, Harry confronts Sirius Black, who, as an unregistered, and therefore illegal, Animagus, can transform into an animal at will. Lupin, who spotted the group on the Marauder's Map, suddenly bursts in and embraces his old friend Black. Confronted by Hermione, Lupin admits to being a werewolf and also the Map's creator, along with Sirius, Peter Pettigrew, and James Potter, the latter 2 also being illegal Animagi (a rat and a stag, respectively). Remus Lupin and Black explain that Scabbers is actually Peter Pettigrew in his Animagus form. He is Voldemort's servant, and he betrayed the Potters, framing Black for the crimes. Harry is sceptical until Black and Lupin force Pettigrew back into his human form. Black explains he discovered that Pettigrew was still alive and escaped Azkaban to seek revenge as well as make sure that Pettigrew couldn't harm Harry. Harry stops Black and Lupin from murdering Pettigrew, believing that his dad, James, wouldn't have wanted his 2 best friends to become killers.

Saving the innocent
As the group heads back to the castle, the full moon rises, causing Lupin to turn into a werewolf. During the ensuing commotion, Pettigrew escapes. Sirius turns into his dog form to protect the others from werewolf Lupin. Lupin flees, leaving Black badly injured. As Dementors move in to attack Black, Harry sees a mysterious figure in the distance cast a powerful stag-shaped Patronus, scattering the vicious creatures. Harry becomes convinced it is his father, or at least his father's spirit, who produced the Patronus. Black is then captured and taken to the castle where the Dementors intend to suck out his soul.

Hermione reveals to Harry that she was entrusted with a time-traveling device, called a Time-Turner, which is how she was able to attend so many classes. Prompted by Dumbledore, she and Harry travel 3 hours into the past, watching themselves go through the night's previous events. They free Buckbeak and return to the Whomping Willow. As the Dementors are about to attack the "other" Harry and Sirius, Harry realises that the mysterious figure he saw earlier was actually himself. He casts the powerful Patronus that repels the dementors. Harry and Hermione free Black, who escapes on Buckbeak, as they rush back to where they were before. As they see Dumbledore exiting the hospital wing, they complete their journey.

After Sirius is revealed to have once again escaped, Severus Snape bursts into the hospital wing and blames Harry, but leaves when he is unable to convince anyone without any proof. Fudge says he will remove the Dementors because they tried to perform their kiss on Harry. Draco Malfoy is furious that Buckbeak escaped while Hagrid is ecstatic. Professor Lupin resigns after Snape "accidentally" reveals that he is a werewolf.

When Harry tells Dumbledore about Professor Trelawney's prophecy, Dumbledore tells him to not feel guilty about letting Pettigrew live. One the train back, Harry receives a letter from Sirius. It tells him that he sent him the Firebolt, and includes a letter saying that he gives Harry permission to visit Hogsmeade, the letter is delivered by a small owl, which Sirius gives to Ron as a replacement for Scabbers. The owl is later named Pigwidgeon.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
 * Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
 * Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)