Book: The Prisoner Of Azkaban When reading The Prisoner Of Azkaban for the first time, readers were under the impression that Sirius Black was a mad man. He was bloodthirsty and dying to get to Harry to finish off the whole Potter family. Black was a lunatic with blood on his hands and he was also a very unlikeable character; he was a traitor. So when Black escapes from Azkaban and kidnaps Ron, it was a scary moment for Harry and Hermione who might not have time to save their friend's life. With Black forcing them into The Shrieking Shack, no one would be able to hear them if they screamed or called for help and it didn't help that no one was aware of where they were. They were all alone with a mass murderer.